Morning felt… off.
Not bad.
Just—clearly different.
Breakfast was good. Fresh-baked bread. A thick soup full of vegetables.
It smelled kind of like onions, but in a good way. Like countryside fields.
But Ren and Sera?
Yeah. About that.
They were never the type to make eye contact much to begin with, but today was on another level.
They sat next to each other, yet looked like the bench was on fire.
They only looked when the other wasn’t.
And the moment their eyes met, both of them looked away—like pickpockets caught in the act.
I looked at my soup.
Then at them.
Then back at my soup.
And that was my limit.
「Hey…」 I said around a mouthful of bread.
「What’s going on? Get married in a dream or something?」
「Because you look exactly like newlyweds who fought over doing the dishes.」
Ren choked a little.
Sera pointed her spoon—still full of soup—straight at him.
…Yeah. That hit something.
Bullseye.
One point for me.
—
What eased the mood a bit was Selem’s arrival.
As usual, he came in without a sound, sat down like he weighed nothing, poured tea, and said nothing.
Then he looked at us.
All three of us.
And spoke quietly.
「Last night, between waking and dreaming,
the threads of your bond seemed to whisper to one another.」
…What is he, a poet?
But neither Ren nor Sera denied it.
Selem nodded slowly, like he already knew.
「Then the time has come. We will begin training.」
Ren frowned.
「Training for what?」
「Your bond.」
Silence.
「Last night, you touched it by chance.
Today, you will walk it with intent.」
—
We headed straight down into the temple courtyard.
Moss-covered pillars.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.
Dry leaves scattered across the stone floor.
A ring of stones.
An open space where you could see the sky.
Selem stood before the two of them.
「Every bond possesses a dual magical structure.
One side is the conduit.
The other is the catalyst.」
Sera frowned slightly.
Ren stayed silent.
「The conduit gathers power and gives it form.
The catalyst receives it, stabilizes it, and releases it into reality.」
Then he added, flatly,
「At present, the two of you are doing the exact opposite of what you should.」
Ren’s face clearly said what the hell is that supposed to mean.
Sera… looked like she kind of got it.
Selem continued.
「Today, you will begin with the body, before the magic.」
Ren finally spoke.
「…How?」
「Move together.」
—
And so it started.
First, walking.
Then turning.
Matching their breathing.
Finally, pushing a stone together.
And—colliding.
Ren tried to take everything on himself. Always leading.
Sera went with the flow, but didn’t move on her own.
Selem just watched.
「Support too much, and you break it.
Flow too much, and you fall.」
Alright. Start over.
Again.
And again.
Meanwhile, I ended up stuck in a herb lesson with some of the older monks.
One taught me how to peel a certain root so it wouldn’t give you diarrhea
—very important.
Another pointed at a blue flower.
「That one. The one you wanted to touch yesterday.」
「Huh? This one?」
「We use it for bathing scent.」
My eyes went wide.
「Wait, seriously!? That bath smelled… uh…」
He told me, dead serious,
「You need to smell things more carefully.」
I swear that had to be a joke.
—
When I looked back into the courtyard, the two of them were pushing the stone.
Slow.
But their rhythm matched.
Selem muttered quietly.
「…Better.」
I thought pushing stones was the weirdest training we’d do today.
I was wrong.
The second stage started without a word.
Selem didn’t explain—he just gestured for them to stand back to back.
「You understand movement now.
Next, move on instinct.」
From the edges of the courtyard, monks began throwing things.
Cloth balls.
Big ones. Small ones.
Slow ones. Fast ones.
All aimed at Ren and Sera.
And the two of them—
tried to dodge. Without speaking.
Failure.
Sera stumbled first.
Ren reacted too late—one hit his shoulder.
Then another caught Sera’s leg.
「Again.」
Selem’s voice didn’t change.
They tried again.
Failed again.
This time, Sera shouted.
「Behind you!」
Ren answered instantly.
「Left, Sera!」
It was like a switch flipped.
Their success rate shot up.
Not perfect—but way better.
Selem watched silently, then raised a hand and snapped his fingers.
The next ball was small.
Hard.
Fast.
「Stage one: passed.
Stage two: no talking.」
Ren’s face said you’ve got to be kidding.
Sera sighed.
「Feel it. Don’t speak.
If you want to survive, think with each other’s backs.」
Poetic.
And kind of scary.
Very Selem.
Of course, it was hard.
But little by little, things changed.
When one stepped back, the other did too.
When one turned, the other turned.
Not perfect.
But it wasn’t “Ren protects” or “Sera entrusts” anymore.
It was more… equal.
Honestly, I was a little jealous.
I stood there with my arms crossed, watching—
and obviously, I couldn’t keep my mouth shut.
「If they can dodge a real fireball like this, I’ll marry a nettle.」
A soft laugh came from behind me.
「Nael.
You can use healing magic, can’t you?」
I turned around. One of the monks.
The same one who’d corrected my root peeling yesterday.
「Just a little.
Only the basics my mom taught me.」
He nodded.
「Even basics can heal wounds.
But if you want to maintain a bond…
you must heal before the pain begins.」
That line hit way too hard for me to respond.
He led me to the edge of the courtyard.
Flat stones arranged in a circle.
On each one, a small cup filled with water.
「Your task is simple.
Stabilize the surface.」
「How?」
「With your magic.
Do not touch it.
Feel it.」
「Listen… to the water?」
「Listen to your own resonance,
as it reacts to the water.」
…
It was strange.
But interesting.
I knelt, placing my hand beside the cup.
Closed my eyes.
I could feel the water trembling.
Tiny. Irregular.
My insides felt the same way.
So I tried to match it.
At the center of the courtyard, Ren and Sera were moving back to back again.
No words.
But their movements were becoming one.
I took a deep breath
and faced the surface of the water.
Heal before it breaks.
Guess that kind of magic exists too.
