“...”
For the first time, Frondier hesitated.
Lily tilted her head.
“Why? Wasn’t Pielott’s role decided from the beginning? He was supposed to support either you or Elodie, depending on who was in danger.”
“...Right, that’s right.”
Frondier nodded in agreement, but his voice and expression remained unconvinced.
“Is something bothering you? Did you notice something, Selena?”
Normally, Selena wouldn't be the one to ask such a question. But when it came to Pielott, she was the first to speak up.
It seemed like she had sensed something.
Selena carefully chose her words before speaking.
“Pielott has been training with Frondier recently. I happened to see them.”
Pielott’s training was different from that of the magic engineering students.
Frondier himself was directly involved, essentially throwing Pielott into real-world combat scenarios.
Just yesterday, Selena went to Frondier’s workshop to report on the meeting and the progress of the plan.
And she saw it.
“Pielott defeated a Prototype. Smashed it to pieces, actually.”
“...What’s a Prototype?”
Lily asked, and Frondier answered for her.
“You saw them back then. When we were facing the Zodiacs, the golems I created to hold off the other Zodiacs while I dealt with Ludovic. Those were the Prototypes.”
“Ah, you mean the time they were bowing to me?”
“...Why do you remember it like that?”
“Because, from my perspective, that was the most impressive moment.”
Lily grinned. Then, her eyes widened.
“Wait, Pielott defeated one of those…?”
Her expression quickly morphed into one of shock. Arald, who had been listening, asked,
“Are you saying Pielott’s strength has surpassed that of the Zodiacs?”
“No, that’s not it.”
Frondier shook his head.
“First of all, there were more Prototypes than Zodiacs in that fight. And my goal from the beginning was to avoid harming the Zodiacs, so I focused solely on buying time. I also used Obsidian to protect the more dangerous golems. So a simple comparison isn't accurate.”
But even so, the fact that Pielott had defeated a Prototype was significant.
“You might be acting calm now, but the look on your face back then was pure shock,” Selena said.
“...Honestly, I was surprised.”
Pielott’s growth rate was exceeding Frondier's expectations.
It was a steep, rapid growth, as if he had boarded a high-speed train.
“Then isn’t that a good thing? If his skills have improved, he can be even more helpful,” Lily said.
“It would be good if that were the case, but humans at this stage are tricky,” Frondier said with a conflicted expression.
That’s right. That rapid growth was the very reason for his current dilemma.
“Firstly, Pielott himself doesn’t understand it.”
“What?”
“He doesn’t understand how he managed to cut down the Prototype.”
“...Huh? What do you mean how? He just cut it down, didn’t he?”
“That’s just it. He shouldn’t have been able to.”
Pielott versus the Prototype.
Frondier had intentionally kept quiet about it, but the possibility of Pielott injuring the Prototype was supposed to be zero.
He knew the power behind Pielott’s strikes up until that point.
Considering the Obsidian material and the Prototype’s construction, Pielott’s sword shouldn't have been able to scratch it, even if it stood still.
Of course, he hadn't told this to Pielott, in order to cultivate his real-combat senses.
But Pielott had cut it down. Smashed it to smithereens, even.
And he hadn’t been able to repeat the feat since.
“He definitely rode the flow of growth at that moment. That much is certain. And that’s what makes it dangerous,” Frondier said.
“Right now, his head must be swirling with thoughts: why he could cut it down then, why he can't now, what's changed, whether it was luck or skill, whether it was just a fluke he can’t replicate, and so on. His entire mind and focus are consumed by trying to break through that wall,” Selena added.
It was the anguish of being on the verge of a breakthrough, something most of them present had probably experienced at some point. Pielott was standing at that very point now.
However, most of them had climbed that step through training in a ‘safe environment.’ They wouldn’t normally be thrown into a more dangerous situation in that state.
“He won’t be able to function properly with his head all jumbled up. It’ll be difficult for him to come along,” Frondier concluded.
“Then wouldn’t it be better to remove him from the plan?” Lily asked again.
However, as if that question made things even more difficult, Frondier tilted his head with a groan.
He tilted it so far that his whole body followed.
“The opportunity for growth that Pielott is experiencing right now doesn't come around often. He probably knows it better than anyone else. At this stage, the human mind becomes simpler, clearer. Their entire being, their mind, everything is focused on breaking through that wall. This experience could potentially lead to a huge leap in Pielott’s growth…”
“Or, it could lead to him making riskier choices?” Elodie interjected.
“Ugh…”
Elodie's half-joking tone only deepened Frondier’s anguish.
“You were just saying you wouldn’t treat Pielott like a student anymore, weren’t you?” Elodie continued.
“...That’s right.”
“And that you wouldn’t be overprotective of him, even though he’s only a year younger than us?”
"That was for Basiléo."
“It’s the same difference.”
“...Yeah.”
Pielott's skills were already beyond pro level. There was no doubt about that.
Frondier’s hesitation might hurt Pielott's feelings. It might make him feel like he still wasn't trusted.
But, no, even so, what if, maybe…
“...Selena.”
After deep thought and much deliberation, Frondier finally made a choice.
“...Are you sure?”
Selena immediately understood why she was being addressed. So she asked again.
Was he truly going to make that choice?
Frondier nodded.
“Connect your shadow to Pielott.”
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