Three days later.
Under a moon hanging pale over Yotsuba Village, the atmosphere in the courtyard of the Main House felt heavy with the sound of labored breathing and physical impact.
Upon the training grounds illuminated by floodlights, Yuuta, wearing a light green tracksuit, was sparring against the second butler and resource manager of the Yotsuba Clan, Hanabishi Tajima.
Tajima was far more than a mere butler; he was the clan’s resource manager and a former soldier with extensive combat experience.
*SWISH!* Tajima launched a swift jab that missed Yuuta’s cheek by a hair’s breadth, followed immediately by a low kick toward his lead leg.
*BAM!* Yuuta attempted to parry by crossing his arms, but the sheer force of Tajima’s strike sent him skidding several inches to the side.
Without giving him a moment to breathe, Tajima pressed forward, using his shoulder to ram into Yuuta’s center of gravity until the boy wavered.
*BAM!* “Ugh…!” A solid punch landed in Yuuta’s solar plexus, forcing a groan of pain from his throat as he dropped to one knee on the cold ground.
Despite facing his own young master, Tajima showed no mercy.
The moment Yuuta tried to stand, Tajima swept his legs again with a precise low kick.
As Yuuta fell, Tajima immediately pinned his movements, pressing Yuuta’s wrist behind his back.
The sound of rustling uniform fabric and heavy, rasping breaths were the only music in the courtyard.
“Ngh…” Yuuta winced, feeling a pressure that almost made his joints pop, yet his eyes remained focused, searching for a gap to break free.
He tried a body roll to escape the lock, but Tajima coldly anticipated it, applying more pressure with a knee against Yuuta’s back.
“Too slow.” Tajima released the hold and allowed Yuuta to roll away.
Every movement he made was highly efficient, with no wasted energy, reflecting the fighting style of a professional accustomed to living on the thin line between life and death on a real battlefield.
Tajima had been specifically chosen by Yotsuba Genzou for this task not because of his magic capacity—which was average—but because of his tactical expertise.
The Yotsuba Clan was not an organization that merely produced academic Magicians who stood prettily in the backlines; they were specialists in counter-terrorism, covert operations, and assassination.
Without proficient close-quarters combat skills, a Magician would only become an easy target once an enemy managed to close the distance.
“You are still thinking too much before moving, Yuuta-sama.” Tajima adjusting his slightly disheveled sleeve.
“The enemy will not wait for you to confirm their position.
Earlier, when you tried to parry, you left your lower left side wide open.
That is a fatal mistake that could be used to break your ribs in seconds.
In close combat, instinct must precede logic.” “Hah…
Hah…
I see.
I’ve learned something new.” Yuuta stood up with difficulty, wiping away sweat and a bit of dust from his face.
On the engawa, two small female figures sat watching with enthusiasm.
Maya and Miya, who had been observing with sparkling eyes, began to cheer and offer their support.
“Do your best, Onii-sama!
Don’t lose to Tajima!” Maya cried out, pumping her small fist into the air.
Miya nodded vigorously beside her, her soft voice carrying through the night wind.
“Go, Onii-sama!
You can definitely pay him back this time!” Seeing his two cousins so full of spirit, Yuuta took a long breath, steadying his racing heartbeat.
He settled back into a fighting stance, staring at Tajima with a gaze that was now much sharper.
Tajima lowered his stance, regulating a breath that remained stable despite the series of brutal movements he had just performed.
He looked at Yuuta, who still stood tall despite his body trembling from exhaustion and pain.
“You have good eyes, Yuuta-sama.” Tajima praised in a sincere tone he rarely showed.
“Eyes full of calculation, yet possessing a burning, unyielding determination.
With the talent and intellectual depth you have now, I am certain you will be a figure who shakes the world in the future.
I look forward to seeing the day when the world must consider the consequences of provoking you.” Yuuta wiped a thin trail of blood from the corner of his lip, a confident, thin smile carving itself onto his still-childish face.
“Thanks for the compliment, Tajima.
But I won’t make you wait too long.
I’ve already set my goal: I will definitely become a Strategic-Class Magician before I turn sixteen.” Hearing a declaration that sounded impossible for a child his age, Tajima did not laugh in the slightest.
As someone who had seen the horrors of the world, he knew that ambition was the primary fuel for great power.
“A very high ambition…
but entirely fitting for a Yotsuba.
I believe you can surely make it a reality, Young Master.” What was a Strategic-Class Magician?
They were individuals capable of releasing magic with a scale of mass destruction equivalent to ballistic missiles or nuclear weapons.
Their existence was no longer a matter of field tactics, but a determining factor in the world’s geopolitical balance.
To be recognized as a Strategic-Class Magician, a Magician must master at least one Strategic-Class Magic.
To be considered Strategic-Class Magic, the spell’s power must be capable of, at minimum, wiping out a city with a population of over 50,000 in a single activation, or sinking an entire fleet of ships or a military base in an instant.
Maya and Miya listening from the engawa, looked at each other with wide, shimmering eyes.
Though they did not yet fully grasp the political complexities behind it, they had blind faith in their older cousin.
“Onii-sama is amazing!” Maya exclaimed with a beaming face.
“If Onii-sama says he’ll become a Strategic-Class Magician, then it will happen!
Nothing is impossible for Onii-sama!” Miya nodded with excitement, her hands tightly gripping the hem of her pajamas.
“That’s right!
Onii-sama will be the strongest in the world, and no one will dare look down on the Yotsuba Clan.
Onii-sama is a hero!” Yuuta glanced at the two girls for a moment before looking back at Tajima.
The encouragement from his cousins acted as an extra surge of adrenaline.
“Hear that, Tajima?
I can’t let them down.
Come on, continue the training.
I can still move.” Tajima gave a small smirk, revealing a predatory aura he had briefly hidden.
“Excellent spirit.
Maintain that, Yuuta-sama.
Do not let the pain dull your focus.” Without further warning, Tajima lunged forward.
The two were once again locked in a harsh physical clash.
Although Yuuta was clearly outmatched in terms of experience and physical strength, he continued to attempt counter-attacks, studying Tajima’s movement patterns amidst the storm of blows raining down upon him.
Under the night sky of Yotsuba Village, the process of forging the future “Demon” continued without end.