EP.115 Not Enough Effort! Not Enough!!
Three times, just three times was all. The number of exchanges. Only three times.
For others, it would have been barely enough to even be considered a warm-up.
But in those three exchanges, Ian once again realized the gap between himself and Kyle.
'As expected, I'm still far behind. I'm, very far behind.'
If it had been his past self, his pride would have been hurt, and he would have charged in once more.
It's clear. He would have done it and more. He wouldn't have been able to accept defeat.
That petty pride, self-esteem, yes. Because of those things.
"Are you going to do more?"
At Kyle's question in front of him, Ian shook his head.
He clearly understood his own level. He also acutely realized the height of the mountain he wanted to climb.
If it had been his past self, he would have gritted his teeth and challenged again, but not now.
He knows that it would be foolish. He knows it's just arrogance, a stupid person's recklessness.
Ian stood up and let out a sigh.
It feels like something heavy he had been carrying in his chest has lessened a bit.
He also thinks it's not too bad for having been defeated.
'It's not like I gained nothing.'
He was able to understand something more specific and detailed.
Where I stand, and where the opponent stands.
How much more effort I need to put in to reach that place!
"Thanks for sparring with me, even if it was brief, Kyle."
"It was nothing."
Watching Ian quietly withdraw, Kyle thought.
As expected of the protagonist. If it had been another supporting character, they would have charged in again, consumed by anger.
Unable to accept their defeat, unable to let go of their pride, they would have repeated foolish actions.
To think he grew in such a short time and gained the perspective to look towards the future.
'If the Jonathan people saw this, they'd probably applaud.'
Applause for those who show desirable change.
A regretful beating for those who don't.
It was because of such behavioral patterns that all the people of Jonathan were humane.
"Next. Leto."
"...Pardon?"
"What are you doing? Hurry up and stand in front."
"Me, me too? I didn't say anything..."
"This isn't just any opportunity. Stop talking and quickly stand up."
At that, Leto hesitantly stands in the middle of the outdoor training ground.
It's obvious he's internally tense, wondering what's about to happen.
"I'm not going to eat you. Why are you so nervous?"
"You won't eat me, sure. But you push people to the brink as if you might, don't you, Kyle?"
Oh ho. Now you're speaking your mind without hesitation?
It was frustrating because you kept hiding your actions and words until now.
"Today is different. I won't use my hands or feet. Just stand still in that spot."
"You're not going to throw anything, are you?"
"If I throw something, could you dodge it? I don't think you could."
Leto let out a groan at Kyle's words.
"I clearly said. Just stand still. Ah, don't worry unnecessarily. I'll just be standing still too."
"What on earth are you..."
Before he could finish his sentence, Leto freezes in place.
At the same time, even Ian, who was standing quietly behind, suddenly stiffens and becomes tense.
Something ominous flows from Kyle as he looks at Leto.
Something that makes your spine chill just by looking at it, something that makes you want to run away immediately.
Yet, it was also something that made it impossible to move even a finger.
'What, what is this.'
'Insane.'
It's like watching lightning striking madly. Like facing an enormous fire demon.
It feels like facing something grotesque that a human cannot possibly resist.
Only then could Leto understand.
Why Kyle had told him to just stand still.
Why he said to just endure, as he wouldn't use anything.
'The situation today was just right.'
Just thinking about what happened earlier still makes anger flare up.
Letting those drug dealers escape, and the reason being that they were blocked by mere monsters.
Whatever it is, it's infuriating. A reason to be utterly upset.
Thanks to that, drawing out the emotional line was very easy. It was quite natural.
Just thinking about it makes irritation and anger surge up!
"Ugh..."
Unlike Ian, who was enduring without showing it, Leto was struggling a lot.
Unlike Ian, who had adapted through battling monsters and living a wandering life.
It was a natural result, given that he had lived in the Byun-kyung's residence with the best working conditions.
'I thought this kind of thing was only possible in shounen manga.'
Was it called killing intent, or some kind of pressure?
Anyway, there was a scene where one endures as the opponent's aura suddenly changes.
He thought it was possible because it was manga, because it was fiction.
No matter how scary a person's expression or aura might be, he wondered how another person could be completely immobilized.
He questioned if it was possible to be not just scared, but paralyzed to the point of being unable to move at all.
'But tada! It actually happened in real life.'
The situation from that time remained vivid in Kyle's mind.
That scene, more terrifying than any nightmare, more frightening than any disaster.
When the newly brought equipment turned out to be nothing more than a simple stand.
He still remembered the expression on Baron Jonathan's face, his father's face.
"It was a piece of equipment with no effect. Thanks to this, we wasted time and even lost muscle mass."
There was no evil spirit that could compare.
No, even an evil spirit would have turned tail and fled at the sight.
Shouting, what kind of human is this? There's someone here worse than Satan!
In front of him, not just Kyle, but also Leo and Lea who were exercising together, and the people of the castle.
They all stopped their training at once, as if by agreement, and watched Baron Jonathan's mood.
Those Jonathan people, who never stopped their training in any situation!
That's how inhuman the expression Baron Jonathan was wearing, the aura he was emitting, was.
It was then that he realized. What he had seen in manga wasn't just fiction.
That it was possible to kill someone with just a look, an expression.
"Ugh, ughh..."
Reenacting a situation similar to that time wasn't difficult for Kyle.
Whether he liked it or not, he was ultimately a Jonathan person. The son of Baron Jonathan.
"Huh, huff..."
Kyle thought to himself that Leto should endure it. If he was a man, he should plant his feet firmly and endure.
Kyle believed that Leto was used to physical pain now. Therefore, his mind could become stronger too.
He reasoned that the less fear one has of pain, the more courage one gains.
Kyle figured that having been beaten over and over again, Leto must have unknowingly developed an immunity to pain.
Therefore, Kyle concluded that this kind of fear, without even pain, Leto could surely endure.
'Hmm.'
Kyle glanced at Leto's situation. He was enduring better than expected.
Kyle had thought Leto would foam at the mouth and faint right away. He had expected him to collapse with his legs shaking.
Even as Leto's eyes were trembling non-stop, he was somehow managing to maintain his strength.
Kyle even considered making his expression a bit more serious in this state.
He could imagine not being able to catch those Roiders in the end.
But if he did that, he might witness a truly unsightly situation.
He decided to stop there. Yeah. This was enough endurance for a regular person.
Kyle thought he should preserve Leto's dignity too. It would be a bit much to forcibly create a dark history here.
He slowly returned his distorted expression back to normal.
Kyle pushed away the thoughts of the Alliance's affairs and Mathieu's words that were filling his head.
He neatly cleared away even the fiercely growling energy.
"...Huff! Gasp!"
Thud!-
Only then does Leto collapse onto the ground, exhaling rough breaths.
Ian, who was standing behind, also returns to his normal complexion from his pale, ashen face.
"How was it, Leto."
"Uh, yes?"
"Were you standing still until I finished?"
Leto could only stare blankly at Kyle's question.
He wondered if he had been standing. He was sure he was at the start, but he couldn't remember.
His legs had no feeling. No, he had no memory of what just happened.
It was as if a chunk of his memory had been cleanly sliced away by something sharp.
The unconscious oblivion of a person thrown into extreme fear and terror.
That was what had affected Leto.
"I, I'm not sure, Kyle. Was I, was I standing?"
"It's troubling if you can't remember. You should have kept your grip. Both body and mind."
"How... how..."
"Actually, you endured well. Quite well. Right, Ian?"
Ian slowly nods his head.
As he said, Leto had endured. It was 'barely', but he had endured nonetheless.
"It's still not enough. Push harder. So that you can maintain composure in any situation, so that you can finish whatever exercise you're doing first no matter what happens, and then deal with the problem."
Leto wanted to ask why exercise was being brought up here, but he held back.
If he did, it felt like one of Kyle's spicy punches would come flying.
"Your effort is lacking. It's far too lacking. Ian, you agree, right?"
"...I agree. We need to work harder."
"You too, Leto. If you can't do it like Ian, at least your mind should be alive. Right?"
"Y-yes, I suppose so."
It seemed like they had put in all the effort they could.
But with Kyle saying such things, they had no choice but to agree.
Is it because Kyle has reached such a high level? Because he's such a strong man? No, that's not it.
"You know what? I'm in a very bad mood. Really, I feel like my eyes might roll back and I might do something crazy. So I'd like you to put in two, no, three times more effort than now and show progress that much faster. Then I might feel a little happier."
Even our Saint is doing fifteen push-ups.
How can you men still be this weak? You rascals.
It's been three months, not just three weeks, so you should show some definite progress.
That's the greatest sincerity a member can show to their trainer.
Looking at Kyle, who was smiling but not smiling at all,
Ian and Leto nodded with tense expressions.
It was the moment when they saw the evil spirit in Kyle, who they thought would always be kind.