MI32: Subtle Yet Drastic Changes (Patreon)

Though Jean would typically wake him up around 2 AM, their late arrival the previous night meant Paul could sleep in as long as he wanted. Well, nearly as long as he wanted. 

Much like when Paul had initially arrived at the Academy, Erinellis, the Elven Secretary of the Academy's Headmistress, arrived around noon to welcome him. When Jean knocked on his door, Paul opened his eyes to find the beet-red face of Barbara staring back at him. He had rolled onto his side in the night, so their faces were less than a few centimeters away from each other as she whispered, "Good afternoon, Master Paul..."

After recovering from his momentary stupor, Paul returned a smile as he replied, "To you as well, Barbara." before rising to a seated position. She quickly followed suit, hurriedly explaining, "I thought you might feel a little lonely if you woke up by yourself, so I stayed with you after everyone else woke up..."

Resisting the urge to inform the overly-earnest girl that her explanation was unnecessary, Paul replied with a curt, "Thanks." before lightly patting her head. This was something Ningguang had suggested in lieu of things like hugging and kissing. It started with Diona, but due to how assiduous girls like Barbara, Xiangling, and Ganyu were, it quickly spread to the point Paul was patting nearly every girl in his entourage.

Adopting a radiant smile, Barbara waited until Paul was finished patting her head before asking, "Would you like me to prepare some warm water, or will a normal bucket suffice?"

Having grown accustomed to having his body wiped down in the morning, Paul unhesitantly replied, "Normal water is fine. Just wring out the cloth a bit beforehand."

Nodding her head in affirmation, Barbara crawled towards the edge of the bed on her hands and knees before climbing off and scurrying over to the bucket at the corner of the room. As for Paul, he began to strip out of his pajamas, leaving only a pair of silk undershorts to protect his dignity from Barbara's comprehensive cleansing...

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Emerging from his room spick and span after around twenty minutes, Paul found Jean and Erinellis standing quietly in the foyer. As for Xiangling and Xinyan, Paul assumed the Liyue duo was preparing his meal based on the sounds coming from the kitchen.

"Good afternoon, Ms. Erinellis. It pleases me to see you in good health."

Bowing low and respectfully, Erinellis calmly replied, "You honor me with your words, Master Paul."

Gesturing for Erinellis to raise her head, Paul asked, "I suppose you are here at the behest of your Master? Tell me, how is Headmistress Rumina these days?"

Adopting a faint smile, the blue-haired Elf answered, "Upon learning of Master Paul's return, my Master has been in high spirits. The Academy received a rather substantial increase in funding after your previous stay, so there are many new facilities and staff. She had been looking forward to showing you around."

"Mmm...I see. And did she say when?"

Bowing her head a second time, Erinellis politely replied, "At Master Paul's convenience."

Nodding his head in approval, Paul gestured for Erinellis to rise again as he said, "Return to your Master and tell her my schedule for tomorrow is clear. I look forward to seeing her sometime around noon."

Understanding that Paul was dismissing her, Erinellis supplied one final bow, answering, "By your will, Master Paul." before raising her head and swiftly departing. When she was gone, Paul turned to Jean, smiling as he said, "Thanks for waiting with her. Sorry for taking so long."

Returning a smile of her own, Jean placed her hand over her heart as she said, "Master Paul need not concern himself with such things. It is my-"

Adopting a deadpan expression, Paul interrupted Jean's polite response, saying, "Come on, Jean. There's no one else here. You know I dislike that overly formal crap..."

Covering her mouth, Jean giggled in response to Paul's words before lowering her hand to reveal a far more sincere smile as she said, "I was just teasing you." Then, after sparing a glance towards Barbara, who had just emerged from Paul's room, she asked, "Did you sleep well...?"

Nodding his head, Paul adopted a wry smile as he answered, "At the very least, it's easier than sharing a bed with six to eight people..."

Though he would be lying if he said he didn't miss his Ganyu-shaped hug pillow, Paul was simultaneously relieved by her absence. He didn't know if it was the world or his genetics to blame, but there were mornings where he woke up with a rather substantial tent in his trousers. It was actually a little jarring as he still had yet to hit his growth spurt or start puberty...

"Jean? Master Paul...?"

Seeing the duo standing in the foyer, Barbara made her way over, asking, "Are you about to go somewhere? If so, I will accompany you."

Shaking his head, Paul explained, "No. We just saw off the Headmistress's messenger and got caught up chatting."

"Ah, I see..."

With the atmosphere suddenly becoming a little awkward, Paul decided to break the silence before it could fully settle in, asking, "Now that we're at the Academy, have you decided what you want to focus on? There are classes related to Healing and Water Magic, but the former is restricted to the Beginner Rank."

Surprising both Paul and Jean, Barbara adopted a resolute expression as she said, "I wish to learn swordsmanship alongside Master Paul. Since we promised to grow stronger together, I want to follow a different route than my previous self. This time around, I won't be the same weak person that everyone thinks needs protection..."

With the final words directed at her sister, Barbara's expression became even more resolute. In response, Jean just adopted a wry smile as she said, "I believe in you, Barbara. Work hard to support Master Paul, okay?"

Though she was a little surprised by her sister's supportive words, an especially happy smile developed across Barbara's face as she pumped her fists and chimed, "Nn! Leave it to me~!"

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Though she would never say it aloud, Barbara immediately regretted her decision to pursue swordsmanship when Jean awoke them the following morning for training. She rarely exercised even in her previous life, so the pain that came with straining her body for hours on end made her want to cry. 

Fortunately, unlike a conventional swordswoman, Barbara had an innate affinity with Healing Magic. When she learned that Paul used his own to heal his injuries and stave off fatigue, it took her less than a few hours to develop a far more efficient version of the technique he had spent nearly a year trying to perfect. Paul was more than a little annoyed by this, but, much like Barbara, he would never voice such thoughts aloud.

While neither seemed to notice it, nearly everyone else had taken notice of the fact that Paul and Barbara had remarkably similar personalities. It took Jean a while to realize it, but, in hindsight, she speculated it was his similarities to Barbara that resulted in her becoming so fond of Paul. Thus, even though she still wished Barbara had never been summoned, she did her best to support both of them...

"Don't be afraid to strike one another. If you hold back during training, you condition yourself to hold back in an actual fight."

In response to Jean's words, Paul deflected the tip of Barbara's sword and motioned to slash at her side. Instead of following through, however, he stopped with the flat of his wooden sword against her ribs.

Since she was still unaccustomed to training, Barbara didn't stop when Paul tapped his sword against her. Instead, she sliced down towards the crown of his head with a resolute, "Ei...!"

Stepping in and twisting his body, Paul managed to knock Barabara's sword away a second time. In the same series of motions, he thrust his elbow into her diaphragm, holding back but still striking with enough force to send her stumbling back and choking for air.

Seeing the pained expression on Barbara's face, Paul's first instinct was to apologize. Before he could, Jean shouted, "Continue...!" in a firm tone.

Clicking his tongue, Paul lunged toward Barbara, slapping away her sword as she attempted to guard. Paul thought this had ended the fight, but his beliefs were proven wrong when a ball of water promptly smacked him in the face. Barbara was a novice when it came to the Water God Style, but she was a natural with Water Magic.

"My goodness! Master Paul, are you okay...!?"

Not expecting her Water Ball to send Paul's head jerking backward like a whip, Barbara ran forward to check on him. When she did, it was Paul's turn to surprise her as he lay the flat of his sword against her body and said, "Gotcha..." between choking coughs.

Though a pout developed across her face, Barbara helped Paul sit up so she could gently pat his back and use Healing Magic. Jean used this as an opportunity to lecture both of them, stating, "While I can understand your desire not to harm one another, neither of you benefit from holding back. It's fine since this is the first time you're training together, but you'll need to correct your behavior if you're serious about getting stronger."

With Barbara helping to clear his lungs of excess water, Paul adopted a frown of his own as he said, "I'm aware of that, Jean. However, Barbara is just now familiarizing herself with a longsword. We should give her a few weeks of practice against others before advancing to sparring."

Demonstrating why she had a greater aptitude for the Sword God Style than the Water God Style, Jean refuted Paul's words, stating, "While it is true that techniques are important, nothing beats actual combat training. Without the resolve to strike your opponent, it doesn't matter how many times you swing your sword."

Exhaling a sigh through his nose, Paul rose to his feet before extending his hand to help Barbara do the same. He knew Jean was right, so, after a moment of hesitation, he surprised Barbara by asking, "Are you ready to continue?" The latter had half-expected him to get into an argument with her sister, so it was a little jarring to hear him ask such a question all of a sudden.

After a very brief moment of hesitation, Barbara forced a smile as she answered, "If Master Paul intends to continue, I will accompany him..."

Nodding his head in approval, Paul gently ruffled Barbara's hair before returning to his starting position and waiting for her to do the same. When she had, the two waited for Jean to give them the signal before beginning their seventh spar. All while Xiangling and Xinyan observed from the side, tiny fireballs dancing above their palms...

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Similar to when Paul had initially arrived at the Academy, Headmistress Rumina helped him register Jean, Barbara, and Xinyan for classes before personally guiding them around the campus. 

Contrary to expectations, little had changed in the fourteen weeks since Paul had last toured the grounds. There were several new facilities under construction, but most of them would take months to complete. The only real change was that the Academy had hired six additional teachers, each Saint-Rank or higher in their respective fields.

The most surprising and notable addition to the teaching staff was none other than Lilia's father, the scarlet-headed Sword King Augusta. When Rumina first introduced him to the man, Paul was utterly taken aback. Not by Augusta's presence, but by the fact he was apparently in a relationship with his previous instructor, Headmistress Rumina's daughter.

Though Paul knew the common sense and morals of the Asura Kingdom were ridiculously 'loose' compared to his previous world, he couldn't help feeling annoyed with Augusta. The man was nearing his fifties, yet he had courted a woman in her mid-twenties. While his actual wife was around the same age, that was part of the problem. Augusta had a wife and child yet didn't even bother to ask about them during his brief encounter with Paul. It was like he didn't even care.

Fortunately, while the rest of the new instructors had substantially less 'prestige' than Augusta, they appeared to be far more reliable. Amarant had even sent a request to Millishion, so the Academy now had a small chapel and a Priest authorized to teach Advanced Healing, Barrier, and Detoxification Magic. The odds of any students progressing beyond the Rank of Intermediate were exceptionally slim, but it was nice to have the option. As for the other instructors, they were Saint-Ranked Wind, Water, Fire, and Earth Magicians. 

Though Paul felt it was a little extreme, he was happy to see just how far his father was willing to go to set him up for success...

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