Igraine’s soft warm and fluffy bliss was broken by a whisper.

“Five minutes passed.”

“It’s a figure of speech.” The groggy woman replied.

“If you don’t wish to get up, just say so.”

“You can stop the whispering now. I’ll get up.” She sat up as Yuuki let go. “What’s the time? And where are the others?”

“A bit over ten in the morning. The rest had breakfast already and Rose left to say goodbye to people. Helen, Amanda and Cassandra said they were going sightseeing. Alice went back home to read in the library.” After having a flat stare directed at her, Yuuki continued. “I did not wake you up beforehand because I was asleep when they left. Except for Alice, she left six minutes ago.”

“Oh, so you’re back to spying on people?” Igraine asked with a smile.

“They wrote a note and left it on my face. Alice thought it was hilarious so she took it home to preserve it.” Yuuki answered, not amused.

“Huh, so only the two of us are here… huh.” She looked at the vixen with a suggestive smile.

“Are you trying to make me feel uncomfortable to get back at me?”

“Didn’t think it’d work. But it’s just some light teasing. It’s how I show affection.” Igraine said with a bittersweet smile.

“I see. Does that mean that you do wish to continue on the… path of this relationship?”

“If I’m good enough for you, I’ll happily do so.” The smile turned a bit more bitter than sweet.

“Alright.” Yuuki nodded with a blank face. “And what would it entail specifically?”

“Huh… normally I’d say follow your feelings, but… We enjoy each other’s company, we spend some time in private every so often to talk and laugh and share our feelings… We help each other get through the bad stuff. Generally, we try to make ourselves and each other better and happier people.” Igraine summed up what she could think of.

“In that case.” Yuuki appeared in front of Igraine and wrapped her in a tight hug. “Don’t belittle yourself, or think you’re not good enough.” She spoke softly as if singing a melody. Igraine practically melted in her embrace before shaking her head.

“It was just a joke, I’m fine.”

“Question. Are lies alright in this relationship?” Yuuki asked while looking Igraine in the eye. Instead of replying, she just deflated in Yuuki’s arms even further. “What would you like for breakfast?”

“Doesn’t matter. Something that’ll wake me up”

Yuuki nodded as she picked her up and carried her to the kitchen, sitting her down on a chair. A spicy dish appeared on the table alongside the appropriate silverware.

“You’re spoiling me.” Igraine said with an amused smile.

“I’ve been spoiling Alice for almost a decade now, and she’s fine.”

Igraine smiled as she dug into her breakfast. By the time she was finished, Rose and the rest were back.

“Good morning lovebirds.” Rose teased.

“Good morning lonely girl. Jealous?” Igraine fired back with a confident smile.

“Settle down kids.” Helen butted in with a tired expression.

“Oh, do shut up, hag.” Rose glared at the vampire.

Before the discussion could get any more heated, all their attention was drawn to Yuuki, who looked at them with a gentle and yet scary expression. “Now, are you ready to begin the training?”

“““Right now?””” Multiple people asked at once. Cassandra just looked like she knew what was going to happen next and pitied everyone around her, but mainly herself.

“Yes, right now. Is there anything you need to get done first?” Seeing as no answers came, she teleported them all.

They were inside a large black stone building with colorfully painted windows. There was a large pair of doors one one side, but the interior was completely empty otherwise.

“You have five minutes to warm up and I’ll test your current abilities. The door is locked, Helen.” Yuuki said as she sat down in a meditative pose. The vampire who was thinking about escaping shuddered and quickly began warm up exercises. Cassandra seemed noticeably worried.

“Time’s up. Cassandra, you’re up first.”

“Wait, not all of us at once?” She asked, knowing its futility.

“No.” As Yuuki said that, she had already rushed the priestess with a flurry of magically infused physical attacks that broke through multiple layers of protective barriers each hit. It wasn’t a pretty sight, if anything, it looked like a beast toying with its meal. After half a minute of getting ragdolled around while putting up some minimal resistance, Cassandra fell to the ground like a sack of potatoes.

“You’ve been slacking in your training. Your battle senses have dulled a lot. Only your endurance stayed the same.” Yuuki said with some disappointment. “Rose, you’re next.”

The seamstress put her hands above her head. “I don’t know how to fight!”

“There are still levels in not knowing how to fight. This is to set a baseline.” Once more rushing in while ignoring complaints, she attacked Rose with an average human level of strength and speed. Not a problem, as brute force was not needed, especially when the skill gap was so incredibly large. Rose curled up in a fetal position on the ground within twenty seconds of senselessly waving around and screaming while getting the snot beaten out of her.

“Igraine, you’re next.”

“Honey, dear, you wouldn’t beat me up, r-right?” She asked, knowing full well it wouldn't work.

“Will it end our relationship?”

“Well, no, but-” She couldn’t continue as she was too occupied with having to block a left hook. Forty-eight seconds were spent with her yelling profanities and putting up a good, but still hopelessly outmatched fight.

“Good, but a bit rusty and far too inflexible. You’re not good at adapting to different approaches.” Yuuki evaluated her as she was holding Igraine in a headlock. Placing her gingerly on the floor she looked at Amanda.

“Next.” She didn’t wait as she attacked her maid. Amanda, who relied far too much on her strength, speed and instincts was slammed to the floor in twenty-three seconds.

“Next.” This time, she wasn’t the one to initiate the fight as Helen cast over a dozen spells, some destructive, some protective, some enhancing. Yuuki dodged and cast spells with equal intensity but far greater complexity. Just like before, she matched her opponent in raw power and instead focused on testing their skill. Though it was a one sided fight, Helen lasted the longest with one and a half minutes. She was also by far the most tired out of anyone as she actually lasted long enough to grow tired.

Yuuki’s body began to glow as the others in the room, all of whom were currently on the floor, began to heal their wounds and recuperate their stamina. However, while the others were marveling at their recovery, Cassandra was staring at the floor with dread.

Yuuki’s voice got their attention once more. “Alright. Now the training can begin.”