While he might be accused of being immature, the situation called for it. The life, no, the very existence of his beloved younger sister was at stake, and he had no intention of holding back or playing around. Moreover, he made sure not to accidentally injure her cute face, and instead aimed a horizontal slash at her torso.
*Clang!*
"Eh…"
"Is something the matter, Elder Brother?"
There was no way Mavis could withstand his full-strength slash. At least, the Mavis from eight months ago could barely defend against a slash that was 70-80% as fast as his current one. So why could she easily block it now?
*Clang! Clang! Clang!*
"Wh-What nonsense…"
Even among his subordinates, few knights could fully defend against his three consecutive, deadly strikes. They were easily deflected and countered.
"It can't be…"
Stunned, Weilin muttered, and Mavis asked curiously,
"Elder Brother, did you perhaps forget that others also train daily and grow stronger? And that there are those who train more than you and become even faster and stronger…?"
"Wh-What…"
Then Mavis moved on to the final decisive strike.
"Elder Brother. Now that Father has passed his physical peak due to his age, it was said that you were the strongest in the territory. However, in reality, you are only the second strongest, even without considering Father."
"What? Then who is the strongest?"
Mavis pointed to her own face with her left thumb, which she had taken off her sword.
"Eh…"
Seeing this, Weilin was speechless and stunned once again.
No matter how much special training one undergoes, it's impossible to become that strong in just one night.
Mile, thinking that it would be difficult for Mavis to defeat her brother through normal means, had used a forbidden secret technique the day before. It was something she had decided to avoid using proactively unless absolutely necessary—yes, the nanomachines.
Mile reluctantly called upon the nanomachines and asked why Mavis couldn't use magic.
Perhaps happy to be relied upon after a long time, the nanomachines explained enthusiastically.
"Huh? She can use it."
(Wh-What did you say!?)
"There are various reasons why someone can't use magic. Mavis falls under the category of 'inability to radiate thought waves externally.' In other words, there is a problem with the function of radiating thought waves outside the body. It seems that many members of her family are in the same state, so it might be genetic…"
(That means she can't use magic, right!?)
"No, it means there is a problem with the function of radiating thought waves externally."
(…So, she can radiate them internally?)
"Exactly. Why don't you usually display such intelligence?"
(Urgh, shut up!)
From the information Mile gathered from the nanomachines, the following became clear:
Mavis had weak thought wave output, and the part responsible for radiating them, equivalent to an antenna in radio waves, was not functioning. Therefore, she couldn't radiate thought waves outside her body, making it impossible for her to use magic.
However, even without an antenna, signals still flowed within the circuit. In other words, weak thought waves still circulated within her body.
This meant that "if there were nanomachines inside her body, they would react."
"Normally, we nanomachines don't reside inside living organisms. …It's uncomfortable."
Mile could somewhat understand the nanomachines' feelings. Additionally, the directive from their creator to "maintain a certain concentration" apparently did not apply to living organisms.
"However, there are cases where nanomachines exist inside living organisms. One of them is due to the casting of magic."
Indeed, for magic effects to manifest inside a living organism, such as healing magic, nanomachines needed to enter the body. However, once their task was completed, they would exit the body. Since Mavis couldn't cast magic that would allow nanomachines to enter her body, this was irrelevant.
Incidentally, for destructive purposes, the nanomachines' reaction efficiency was poor, and it took some time to enter the body, causing a delay in the effect, similar to healing magic. Furthermore, if the host sensed something unusual and disliked the symptoms, their thoughts would take precedence, canceling the activation. This is what humans recognize as "magic resistance."
However, if the time taken was not an issue and the host did not notice the anomaly, such attacks were possible. Additionally, if the magic power was overwhelmingly powerful, interference with another's body was possible.
"Another case is 'natural entry,' meaning the entry of nanomachines into the body through natural means such as breathing, eating, and other activities. In this case, the nanomachines that are inhaled quickly exit the body, but since they exist in sufficient density in the air, a certain number of nanomachines are always present in the mouth and lungs. When these nanomachines are directly connected to thought waves, the effect is limited due to their small number…"
(They react, in other words…)
Mile then thought about a simple way to strengthen Mavis, who could not use external nanomachines but could use the few that existed internally, and who aspired to be a knight.
…There was only one option.
Physical enhancement magic.
When Mile suggested to Pauline to "turn tomorrow's mock battle into an event and receive a share of the revenue from the commercial guild," Pauline immediately set out to arrange it with the branches of the Hunter Guild and the Commercial Guild. Concerned, she also took Reina with her. Meanwhile, Mile and Mavis remained in the arena.
Thinking about it, Mavis had not benefited much from Mile's assistance compared to Reina and Pauline. True, she had the 'Godspeed Sword.' However, this was the result of Mavis's relentless training with Mile, and calling it 'power leveling' would be disrespectful to Mavis. It was the natural outcome of her desperate efforts over more than half a year to keep up with the magic users.
Even so, Mavis's improvement as a C-rank hunter was not as rapid as Reina and Pauline's, who had rapidly enhanced their abilities after receiving tips from Mile. Reina's fire magic and Pauline's healing magic, if considered individually, might be powerful enough to be B-rank, or even close to A-rank. Considering their knowledge, experience, adaptability, and speed and physical skills, their overall hunter capabilities were at the upper end of C-rank.
In contrast, Mavis's sword skills were at the upper end of C-rank or the lower end of B-rank. Despite the 'Godspeed Sword,' Mavis's speed was not as fast as she claimed. The 1.4 times speed was an exaggeration, and her original speed was not particularly impressive. Even if it improved slightly, it was not enough to significantly outperform soldiers and knights who trained daily. Therefore, while she could handle a few bandits at once, facing multiple soldiers or knights was challenging. Unless the opponent had a sharp pebble in their shoe or a worn-down sole, victory was difficult. Even against a single experienced warrior, winning was tough.
So, Mile decided to lend a hand to Mavis, who had struggled and suffered due to her lack of power.
After Pauline and Reina left for the Commercial Guild and the Hunter Guild, Mile finally approached Mavis in the now empty arena.
"Um, Mavis… you absolutely have to win tomorrow, right?"
"Eh? Yes, that's why we're training now, isn't it?"
Mavis looked puzzled, wondering why Mile was bringing this up now.
"Um, actually, there might be a way to win…"
"What! Is that true! Tell me, what is it?"
Mavis eagerly leaned in, and Mile hesitantly explained.
"Um, it's a method to enhance the human body, but it might go against Mavis's pride as a knight…"
"I don't care! I don't care at all! Whatever it takes to overcome this difficult situation, I'll accept it! Come on, tell me! How do I do it?"
Mile was taken aback, having expected Mavis to reject it as a dishonorable means for a swordsman in a match, even if it was acceptable in actual combat. This world had its own convenient sayings, equivalent to Earth's "desperate times call for desperate measures," "make a shelf in your heart," and "this is this, that is that."
Mile then explained the method of physical enhancement to Mavis. To avoid complications, she framed it as a "secret technique for physical enhancement" rather than saying Mavis could use magic, emphasizing that it involved controlling the body with the power of will. This way, it could be more easily accepted as a skill acquired through training. Mavis listened intently, her eyes shining as she absorbed the teachings.
After the explanation came the practical training.
Adjusting the level of enhancement, balancing strength, and mastering speed.
Mavis stumbled and fell multiple times, getting scraped up, and Mile healed her with magic each time.
As the sky began to darken and Pauline and Reina returned after arranging things with the guilds, there stood Mavis, brimming with confidence and a radiant smile.