The beast tamer exiled from the hero’s party and the cat eared girl from the strongest race meet
"And so... my lecture on the Strongest Species begins!"
"Yay, clap clap clap!"
"Woohoo!"
Kanade and Luna clapped cheerfully, while...
“““...”””
The rest of the group looked like they were thinking, What is this?
I was part of the latter group.
Just when we were suddenly gathered in the living room by Iris, she comes out with a line like that.
What on earth is she trying to do?
"Oh my. Kanade-san and Luna-san are full of energy, but the rest of you are lacking. If you don’t show more spirit, the lecturer will lose her motivation."
"Hey, Iris. What exactly is this? You’re talking about a lecture all of a sudden…"
"This is a preparatory lecture."
"Preparatory for what, nya?"
"There’s someone pulling strings behind the scenes… and from what I’ve heard, a hateful human who once wounded my soul has become a demon and gained unimaginable power. If that’s the case, then I think it’s best for all of you to gain even greater strength."
Makes sense.
The enemy is growing more powerful.
And to stand against that, we need to grow stronger too.
But how exactly are we supposed to do that?
Through training with Suzu-san, I think I’ve learned some solid combat techniques...
Will we be repeating the same training again?
Though to be honest, it feels like we've already hit a plateau—there might not be much more room for improvement.
"Are you going to teach us combat tips?"
"No, it’s not something like that."
Iris replied to Lifa’s question with a suspicious smile.
She looked like a child plotting a prank.
"Improving combat skills, training coordination, enhancing strategic thinking… all of that is important. But you’ve all already reached a certain level. I assume you had a very good teacher—whoever that was."
"Ehem!"
Kanade puffed out her chest proudly at the praise for Suzu-san.
As her daughter, of course she’d be happy to hear her mother praised.
"However, that alone isn’t enough. Even if there’s no problem now, eventually there may come a time when you’re overwhelmed by the enemy’s power. Like that former Hero's comrade who turned into a demon."
"That’s a... serious problem."
"But there is a way to solve that problem all at once."
"And what is that?"
"Awakening."
Iris replied with a sly grin.
Even after joining the group, she hadn’t gotten rid of her mischievous streak.
Maybe it’s just part of who she is now.
"As you all know, we Strongest Species have a trump card called 'Awakening.' When we enter the awakened state, our combat power multiplies—no, increases tenfold or more."
"Tenfold…! Th-That’s amazing! But even if I became ten times stronger, I’d still probably be weak…"
"Finia-san, it seems like you need to not only awaken but also build more confidence in yourself."
Iris sighed dramatically and continued.
"Awakening, in essence… is compressing your remaining strength and releasing it all at once, gaining power incomparable to your usual state. Your combat time decreases, but in exchange, you obtain overwhelming, one-hit-kill-level firepower."
"Nyaaa, so there’s a downside too, huh."
"Still, it’s incredibly powerful, right? Iris’s awakening was amazing... and I’ve heard Kanade’s awakening was insane too?"
"Nya haha…"
Kanade blushed and scratched her cheek with her fingertip.
Her tail swished restlessly behind her.
"Yes!"
"Go ahead, Luna-san."
"How does one awaken? I, too, want to enter that state and blast magic left and right. Actually, if I awaken, I might even be able to use ultimate-class magic!"
"Using something like ultimate-class magic would alter the terrain, so I can’t recommend it… but I do understand how you feel, Luna-san. Striving for greater power is an admirable mindset."
"Heh, I was praised!"
"Ridiculous… My idiot little sister being praised… Has the world come to an end…?"
"Hey, dear sister. Are you picking a fight?"
"So… does that mean today’s lecture is about teaching us how to awaken?"
Trying to summarize, I asked the question, and Iris nodded firmly.
"I may currently have certain restrictions, so I can’t do it freely… but I do know how to enter the awakened state. And I can certainly teach it to all of you."
"Good, that helps. I want to become stronger too."
"I-I don’t know if someone like me can do it… b-but I’ll try my best!"
"Woof!"
Everyone was full of motivation, but—
"But… it’s not going to be that easy, right? If it was that easy, we’d have figured it out ourselves already without needing to be taught… So like, aren’t there some crazy tough trials involved?"
“““...”””
Tina’s observation froze the whole group.
After a moment, everyone slowly turned to look at Iris as if asking: ...Is that true?
"To be honest, yes—it is pretty difficult. To enter the awakened state on your own requires a fair amount of training. But once you get the hang of it, it becomes relatively easy to awaken. In that sense, people like Kanade-san and Nina-san, who have already experienced it, will probably have an easier time."
"What exactly do you mean by 'get the hang of it'?"
"That part… is something only those who have awakened can truly understand. However, there is a kind of trigger or condition that allows one to awaken."
"What is it, nya?"
"Truly thinking of someone else."
Iris gently placed her hand on her chest and spoke in a soft, kind voice.
Her expression was more peaceful than I’d ever seen before—there was a sense of childlike innocence that matched her youthful appearance.
Up until now, Iris had always seemed like a taut string ready to snap at any moment.
She’d calmed down a bit after the battles, but even then, there was still a sense of danger about her.
But now... she seemed different.
So calm, you felt reassured just looking at her.
I felt a strange mix of emotions—impressed by how much she had changed, and genuinely relieved to see her like this.
"What do you mean by 'thinking of someone else'?"
"Just what it sounds like. Putting others before yourself. Being willing to throw everything away for the sake of someone else. It may sound harsh, but... I suppose you could call it a form of self-sacrifice. When those strong, noble feelings are pushed to their absolute limit, that’s when awakening becomes possible."
"I see."
"Now that you mention it..."
Kanade and Nina both nodded, as if the explanation made sense to them on a personal level.
"Not using your power for yourself, but to protect someone else. To help someone. To support someone. Those feelings are what grant us, the Strongest Species, the power of awakening."
"Hmm... I kind of get it, but not really."
"Yes, I understand the words, but I still don’t know how to put that into practice..."
"Oh, in that case, I don’t think it will be an issue for any of you."
"Huh?"
Everyone, starting with Sora, looked puzzled.
Iris smiled kindly as she looked around at everyone.
"For the sake of others… All of you are already doing that naturally, aren’t you?"
"You think so?"
"I do. None of you fight just for yourselves—you always fight for someone else. Perhaps it's because of the contracts you’ve made—you resemble your master. After all, Rain-sama is always sacrificing herself and doing everything she can for others more than anyone."
"Now that you say it..."
"That might be true."
This time, everyone turned to look at me.
Their expressions were so warm that I felt strangely embarrassed.
"With people like you, I believe that after a bit of combat training, you’ll be able to awaken. Of course, to gain the ability to shift into that state at will, more training will be required… but I don’t think it’ll take too long."
"Really?"
"Yes, truly. I would never lie to my comrades."
Kanade asked with hope in her voice, and Iris answered with a mischievous little grin.
…Though she probably means she would lie freely to anyone not a comrade. That’s so like her.
"Alright! If that’s the case, I’m going to give it my all! I’m going to be even more helpful to Rain!"
"I’m not going to lose, either. I can’t just let that sneaky cat get ahead of me forever."
"Nyaah! That’s another unflattering nickname added to the list!"
Everyone laughed, and a peaceful moment passed among us.
It was the kind of moment you wish would last forever.
From the bottom of my heart, I truly wished it would...
"Excuse me! Is Shroud-san here?!"
…but peace never lasts long, and trouble came knocking once again.
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