The weather was growing colder by the day, a sign that winter was approaching. The excitement around the academy after the Victory Ceremony was fading away, carried off by the biting wind. Around that time, I made my way to the place where I had promised to meet Laneige. Even though I had arrived thirty minutes earlier than planned, she was already there waiting for me.

Surprised, I muttered, “Hmm?”

She spotted me and gave a shy little wave. “Ah! D-Dale. You’re here?”

“How long have you been waiting?” I asked.

“Uh, not long.”

“How long is not long exactly?”

“Maybe, three hours?”

How early had she come? As I looked at her in disbelief, with a dumbfounded expression on my face, Laneige blushed and fidgeted, pressing her index fingers together.

“Next time, don’t come too early to wait for me,” I said.

“O-okay. Got it.”

I looked her up and down. “Anyway...”

She had worn a white one-piece dress paired with a thin beige cardigan, low-heeled shoes, and a touch of makeup to complete the look. For a moment, I couldn’t believe this was the same girl who usually gave off that gloomy, witch-like aura. She looked stunning.

“You look beautiful,” I muttered.

Laneige’s eyes sparkled like a miner who had just struck gold. She shuffled her feet, clearly delighted. “R-really?”

“Yeah. It suits you really well.”

“Hehe. Thanks.”

I placed a hand on her shoulder. “But as much as I hate to say this, you should probably change out of those clothes.”

Her eyes went wide in shock. “What?”

She swallowed nervously, her face turning red as she nodded. “O-okay. If you want that, Dale... I-I’m ready.”

She started to slip off her cardigan.

Shocked, I immediately said, “No, not here! I mean, go change your clothes.”

“Huh?”

“Here, a tracksuit.”

Laneige looked baffled.

“Remember? We agreed to train your blessing today,” I explained.

One couldn’t exactly train in a dress and cardigan, after all.

Pouting and clicking her tongue, she took the unfashionable training outfit from me. After she had changed in the nearby public restroom, we headed toward the forested hill behind the academy. Normally, cadets weren’t allowed there without supervision, but we had special permission from Professor Baldwin.

After reaching the hill, I turned to her. “You ready?”

She nodded nervously. “Y-yeah.”

“Don’t worry too much. Take it slow, and try drawing out the power from your blessing.”

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Her soul stigmata glowed faintly as pure white frost spread across the ground. The plants around us froze solid the instant the frost touched them, shattering like brittle crackers—a sight inspiring both awe and fear. This was the power of the witch who had once turned half a continent into a frozen wasteland.

A white breath escaped her lips. Laneige carefully raised her arm and pointed toward a nearby tree. The misty frost gathered at one point, condensing into the shape of a spear. Then, the frost spear shot forward at terrifying speed, piercing through the tree.

In the blink of an eye, the tree froze completely. But that wasn’t all. The spear exploded, engulfing not just the tree but also the surrounding plants, rocks, and the tiny flying insects nearby. The blast radius extended nearly twenty meters. It was an instant circle of death.

Laneige gasped softly, staring at the frozen landscape she had created. Her eyes trembled. She looked at me as if she were a child who had just broken something precious.

She quickly apologized, “S-sorry.”

“Hmm.”

I had only asked her to pierce the tree, but the power of her blessing had gone far beyond that, freezing everything around it. As expected, she couldn’t control her strength at this point. If this had been a real battle, her allies would’ve also gotten caught in her attack.

She shouted, “I-I’ll do better on the next one!”

Then she fired several more frost spears, but the results were the same.

Looking around at the frozen wasteland, she nearly burst into tears, her head drooping miserably low. “Ugh! I’m sorry, Dale.”

I gently patted her on the head. “It’s fine. Don’t worry about it. This is exactly why we’re doing this training. It’s to help you control your power.”

“But still...”

“It’s okay. No one gets it perfect on the first try.”

I understood her frustration well; I had once been a slow learner myself.

She smiled faintly, clutching the hem of my shirt. “Thank you!”

“Alright, then. Let’s try something different this time,” I said, moving behind her.

“Huh? What do you— Kyaa!”

I wrapped my arms around her from the back. Because of our height difference, the back of her head rested against my chest.

She stiffened, panicking. “D-D-D-Dale?”

I tightened my arms gently around her and summoned embers. “Focus. Try using your blessing again.”

Ash-colored flames flared up, surrounding both of us, but they weren’t hot, and our clothes didn’t burn. I kept the intensity low so that only a faint warmth lingered in the air.

Laneige slowly closed her eyes, her face bright red. “Mmh!”

She drew in her mana again, activating her blessing. White frost spread around us again.

Unlike before, when everything she touched froze solid, this frost didn’t freeze the plants it touched; they remained perfectly intact.

Laneige’s eyes widened. “Huh?”

She slowly lifted her arm and pointed toward a nearby tree. A spear of frost materialized in the air. Then, like how cells multiplied, it split into two, then four, then eight, and so on until thirty-two spears shimmered in the air.

Letting out a quiet breath, Laneige murmured, “Freeze.”

All thirty-two spears shot out in different directions, piercing trees all around. Each of those trees froze instantly, but that was it. The surrounding ground remained untouched; not even the insects had been affected.

Stunned by her success, she stared before her. “H-huh?”

Then she hopped in place excitedly like an overjoyed child, pointing frantically as if to say, “Look!”

After a moment, she said, “D-Dale! I-I did it! I actually did it!”

I smiled and patted her head. “Well done.”

My Ashen Flame had indeed affected her Blessing of Frost. I had known there was some interaction between my flame and her frost, but for it to produce such a dramatic difference was a surprise.

“Is this... because of your fire?” she asked.

“Most likely.”

“Hehe. Then from now on, you’ll just have to hug me whenever I use it.”

“No.”

Yeah, that isn’t going to happen every time, I said inside.

I looked at her. “You should practice until you can do it without me.”

She puffed out her cheeks, clearly sulking, and fidgeted with her sleeves. “Hmm!”

I couldn’t help but chuckle and ruffle her hair. “Alright, shall we go again?”

“Mm-hm!”

***

We trained until the sky began to darken. Through this session, I learned two new things about Laneige. First, she was far more tenacious than I had imagined. Even as her lips turned blue from the cold every time she used her blessing, she never once complained or asked to stop. She stayed focused, pushing herself relentlessly.

With a crisp, ringing cry, another frost spear launched forward. The frost spear pierced straight through a massive tree so thick that three grown men would be needed to even surround it.

“Freeze!” Laneige said.

The spear detonated inside the trunk, instantly freezing the entire tree solid. But unlike before, there was no burst of stray frost or collateral damage—only the single tree, encased in ice.

Laneige’s face lit up as she jumped with joy, practically glowing with excitement. “W-wow!”

She rushed toward me, eyes sparkling, clearly expecting praise. “Hehe! Dale! I did it again!”

“Good job,” I said.

It wasn’t as spectacular as when she had fired dozens of spears at once while enveloped in my flame, but this was only her second day of training—the progress was nothing short of remarkable. Honestly, it was hard to believe she ever struggled with control in her past life.

This was the second thing I had realized about Laneige. Her growth was astonishing, almost frighteningly fast, and her talent was on par with Yurina, Berald, and even Senior Sophia. At first, she couldn’t control her blessing without my flame to stabilize her, but now she could wield it perfectly even when I stood far away. As long as she didn’t mentally snap and cause her blessing to go berserk, she would be fine from here on out.

I glanced up at the darkening sky and asked, “Shall we stop here for today?”

“Y-yeah. Okay,” Laneige replied.

It seemed she wanted to say more. She hesitated for a moment, then tugged lightly on my sleeve, looking a little shy. “I, um, packed a lunchbox. Want to eat together?”

“A lunchbox?”

She pulled out a neatly wrapped lunchbox from her bag. “Mhm. I made it this morning. It’s probably cold by now, though.”

“If it’s cold, I can fix that.”

I placed my hand over the container and summoned a small ember. The soft gray flame curled around it, and soon, gentle warmth began to radiate out. Steam rose from the lid, carrying the aroma of freshly cooked food. Inside the lunchbox were stir-fried Vienna sausages with vegetables, a rolled omelet, and pan-fried kimchi. They were simple but mouthwatering dishes.

Laneige explained, “I looked up what kind of lunchboxes people from the Republic like the most and made this.”

“Thanks. It looks great.”

I hadn’t realized how hungry I was until I took the first bite. I devoured it quickly.

“Is it good?” Laneige asked.

“It’s amazing.”

She smiled as she watched me eat, her expression warm and content. “Hehe. I’m glad.”

Suddenly, she asked, “Oh, right, Dale, did you hear the news?”

“What news?”

“We’re going on a field trip next week.”

That was news to me. “Huh?”

“Ah! I guess they haven’t told the third years yet,” Laneige said.

“Why the sudden trip?”

In my previous life, during the four years I had attended the Hero Academy, there had never been anything like a field trip.

“Well, the academy walls were badly damaged during the war. They said they’re organizing a trip while repairs are being made,” she explained.

“A field trip, huh.”

From what I knew, normal schools for minors sometimes did that, but for a hero academy, it was definitely unusual.

“Where to?” I asked.

“A place called Termal, in the Holy Empire.”

Termal was the region where the tomb of Grace, the Light of Life and one of the Great Five Heroes, was located. It was a famous tourist destination within the Holy Empire. However, the tomb wasn’t really why the location was famous these days. Termal was known for something else far more popular than an ancient hero’s grave.

Laneige looked up at me, smiling sheepishly. “T-Termal is famous for its hot springs, right? I hope I get to go to the hot springs with you, Dale.”

“No, what do you mean?”

As if that would happen on a field trip.