Chapter 174 Returned

"Hmmm… I'll give them and you a title, but I'll also reward you with something tangible. Let me think of the rewards, so all of you but Orion are dismissed. A bath for each and every one of you has been prepared," The head said, and his voice was like an angelic horn being blown, basically telling us that all of our problems were no more.

"Damn… I'm really gonna cry," Aisa sniffled as everybody began to leave the office while I stayed behind, chuckling at the sight of my friends trying their best to suppress their tears.

Creeeeeeek

And soon, the door closed on us, leaving the air of the room to be so tense that you could tug on it, and it would snap.

"You really are an asshole. Putting them through such hellish experiences… If it weren't for your help with the other families, I would've sentenced you to death for bringing my daughter into this," The head of the Wony family said as he leaned forward in his chair and placed his hands at the edge of his desk.

"They need experience in order to be ahead of everybody else… Also, clearly, you didn't care enough to actually help your granddaughter back then. I have no clue what she went through, but clearly, it was torturous enough to humble her… an arrogant prick like her being humbled? Have you ever heard that happening?"

The Wony head was obviously offended by my words, but as he still needed me to keep the other families in check, he couldn't do shit and could only meet my commands.

Not being from a large family and not being largely known is my biggest advantage… which is why I try not to stand out too much… but obviously, adrenaline gets the best of us sometimes.

"Now, I have another request. For the next three months, I'll be training with 50kg weights across my entire body. My friends can do the same if they want, but now I want to test them… If they'll keep the motivation and hunger to continue growing stronger without the stress of the battlefield… or if they'll turn into lazy slobs,"

"Is that all?"

"Two more things. Get me twelve muscle compactor potions and if the others want some, get them as well. And for my second request, get me out of this city and into a dungeon. Don't worry. I won't abandon you. In fact, we can even make a magic contract if you want," I smirked, and the man proceeded to grumble to himself in his chair.

"Fine. But you'll still be helping me out…."

"Of course. That was already a ready and done deal,"

…

The next day, I began my training immediately with 50kg of clothing that I wore under my loungewear as I slowly trained.

Of course, wearing so many weights would be too bulky and would inhibit my ability to train, so the head ordered some special magic clothing with gravity enhancements creating a weighted effect.

It was a pretty common occurrence to use these, so it wasn't impossible to get.

Now… the training was impossibly hard.

Even just moving took so much stamina that I felt the points literally drain out of my body like an open faucet.

"Training already?" Cy asked as he walked up to me with his cup of coffee, still in his pajamas and being lazy just as I had expected.

If what I knew of my friends was real, then Cy would take a few days to actually get motivated after watching me. Aisa and Luna will most likely take a week or longer after seeing the gap between us quickly widen. Finally, Bella and Findir will most likely start immediately… well, that's all speculation, of course.

"Yep…"

I gave Cy a dry reply instead of trying to motivate him because I wanted him and the others to learn the hunger for power.

If they become lazy slobs, I won't help them, and they'll most likely drown in the pit of despair as they see the gap widen almost too big.

My plan was to help them get a dipping of war on the first battlefield. The second battlefield was to help them get a taste of the lowly life on the battlefield. And finally, this last battlefield was against laziness and their own mental state.

It sounds stupid, but I knew this was the best way for them to mature and actually do something without the push of me from behind.

"Hey! Purple hair!" A familiar voice called out to me, and when I turned around, I saw Adele, the little child who was a genius with ice magic.

"What do you want?" I asked as I slumped down to the ground, my body giving out once again from swinging a wooden spear just twice.

"There is somebody at the front door, and he feels strong. I can't get near him because of how much blue light is around him," The little girl said while looking down nervously.

"*sigh*... The Wony head will definitely deal with him. Just leave him alone, and he'll call us over when he's ready,"

I slowly got up and began to train again, with the little girl keeping her eyes glued on me, unable to look away.

"M-Mister purple hair… I-I'm sorry for being mean to you," The little child said, and Cy and I looked at her with a surprised expression.

Little droplets flowed from her eyes, running down her cheeks as she adorably grabbed the ends of her little white dress.

Her eyes were looking down as she felt ashamed of something… I don't know. What did I do wrong?!

"H-Hey, what's wrong?" Cy asked as he tried to get near her, but that only made the little girl burst out in more tears.

"P-Please don't take away my big brothers and sisters again! I swear I won't be bad again!" The little girl shouting while looking at me with pleading eyes.

My face was frozen in place… and then slowly thawed out as I laughed my ass off.

"AHAHAHAHAHA! Geez! You made me think I accidentally murdered your family or something!"