Chapter 63
Chapter 63
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 63
Chapter Title: The Way to Lazily Make Her Grow (3)
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I lounged comfortably on a shadow shaped like a sunbed, reading a novel as I thought to myself.
‘Just as I expected.’
Even after sparring with Artel, my Sloth Points didn’t decrease, and the system didn’t nag me about being diligent.
And the reason I’d provided her with such lavish service just moments ago.
It was simple.
Due to her personal circumstances, she had stronger competitive spirit and pride than most, but on the flip side, once broken, she shattered like glass.
Plus, she’d just suffered an overwhelming defeat in a mere three exchanges, so her pride must have taken a serious hit.
Even in the original story, after being captured by that tentacle monster, she fell into despair and became a wreck despite the protagonist rescuing her.
If that happened now, it’d be a problem.
‘I need to work her hard, so she can’t break yet.’
Artel had to get stronger!
Her growth was essential to obtain the Hydra egg in the comprehensive evaluation.
If she got upset and quit, or pretended to be fine while crumbling inside, that’d be a disaster.
So, I chose the ultimate pampering therapy.
Shower her with so much care it felt excessive, to lift her spirits.
Honestly, there was no need for that much rest after just three exchanges.
However.
Taking unnecessary rest, receiving overly generous rewards...
Wasn’t that sloth itself?!
A normal person getting this treatment might turn into a hopeless slacker.
But for Artel, who usually pushed herself way too hard, I judged that neutralizing her intensity with some sloth was necessary.
And there was evidence for it.
‘After that last slacking off, Artel’s skills improved noticeably.’
Plus, the system had specifically suggested ‘slacking off’ to her alone via a sudden quest.
There might be some deeper meaning I didn’t know about.
That led to this hypothesis.
Artel actually benefited from ‘appropriate sloth’ for her growth.
So, before the spar, I’d asked Kerr in advance.
If Artel collapsed, take very good care of her.
‘That said...’
She took even better care of her than I’d imagined.
No, what was with that fanning?
I’d think she was treating an empire emperor.
[Haa... Human. Do I look like your servant? Why should I cater to some girl?]
Kerr grumbled via telepathy but performed her duties with utmost devotion.
Something about it felt... naturally ingrained, like she was used to this?
‘...Hmm. Did she do this for her old master too?’
As I pondered that during the break.
“Artel, feeling rested?”
“Y-Yeah... If anything, it was too much rest. Why go this far...”
Artel asked, still looking dazed.
“Take it easy.”
“...Is this your training method, Jeron?”
“No real method. I just do what’s comfy for me. Try relaxing sometimes too.”
“......”
Artel seemed thoughtful, then nodded with a serious expression.
“Thanks for the advice.”
I’d love to give direct advice...
But beyond vague hints like this, specific combat advice was tough.
So, only one way.
Not with words, but make her body learn it directly.
“Here I go.”
I extended shadow tentacles.
Round two began.
***
The sparring continued.
“Kuht...!”
“Haa...!”
Artel kept losing, but each defeat brought even more lavish rest.
The rests even evolved.
“How is it?”
“...Tasty.”
Cool strawberry milk, perfectly tailored to her tastes from the original knowledge, arrived.
Knead knead—
“J-Jeron... Th-this feels weird... Eut.”
Soon, shadow tentacles began massaging her entire body...!
‘...Massage chair?!’
Wow. This was a real hit.
I hadn’t even thought of that.
What kind of life had Kerr lived?
[Heh, human, look. Every time this child channels mana, her right shoulder tenses unnecessarily. Loosen that, and her movements will smooth out.]
Kerr spoke like a pro, seeming a bit excited.
[Hmm... Yes, this spot was all knotted up.]
As Kerr’s shadow tentacles targeted the knotted muscles precisely.
“Ah, aaang...”
A strange sound escaped Artel’s lips.
“......”
She startled at her own noise, blushed, turned her head, and pretended nothing happened.
[Hehe, such an easy child.]
Kerr said in a proud voice.
‘......’
What.
Something felt off about the picture.
Anyway.
Artel, initially flustered, gradually got used to this bizarre sparring style.
She stopped feeling disappointed or self-critical after losses, accepting them more easily.
‘Great!’
My plan was working.
As the sparring dragged on, something odd happened.
Not from Artel, but from Kerr.
Shiiik—!
An ice spike flew at me, and I tried to swat it with a tentacle.
Ting!
Before I could even input the command, Kerr had preemptively countered Artel’s attack.
‘Hm?’
I tentatively eased off the control.
Yet Kerr’s shadow tentacles perfectly matched Artel’s moves, like they were in autonomous mode.
‘Kerr. Are you fighting on your own now?’
[Hmph, do you take this body for a fool? I’ve fully grasped that child’s combat style now.]
‘...Oh?’
Kerr was deep-learning Artel’s combat data like an AI, growing on her own!
There was a feature like this?!
‘This is insanely good.’
Beyond lazily growing Artel without lifting a finger, now Kerr was getting stronger too.
What was this auto-farming...!
Eventually, even without my control, Kerr fought perfectly on her own.
Kerr’s style differed from mine.
Instead of perfectly predicting patterns and countering like I did, she barely blocked or dodged Artel’s attacks by a hair, showing more amateurish moves.
But that yielded better results.
Matched to Artel’s level, it shifted from one-sided to balanced back-and-forth.
The ping-pong exchanges maximized training efficiency.
‘No way this freebie exists.’
Now, I truly had nothing to do.
Just leisurely watch them fight and grow.
***
The sky darkened, and the moon rose.
We’d trained for hours.
‘Time flew.’
Good call picking this unused training ground.
If we’d done this in a regular one, Karen would’ve caught us for sure.
100% she’d demand to spar too, being a total pain.
‘Artel maybe, but no way with just a shadow cloak against Karen.’
Absolutely couldn’t let Karen find out.
Sparring her would come after stacking more freebie power...!
I turned to Artel with that thought.
“Haa... Haa...”
She was drenched in sweat, breathing raggedly.
Clear signs of progress.
Just one day, but first and last spars were worlds apart.
“Good job, Artel. Let’s call it here for today.”
Anyway, time to wrap up.
Unlike me with nothing else, Artel was busy.
She needed to shower off the sweat, study, sleep—no holding her too late.
“Head in now?”
As I approached her slumped in exhaustion, Artel suddenly tugged my sleeve lightly.
“Haa, Jeron... Wait a sec.”
Under the pouring moonlight, her blue hair clung sweatily to her pale neck.
Flushed cheeks from intense training, ragged breaths.
Somehow more defenseless and sensual than usual.
“I-I... worked hard today, right...?”
She looked up at me with moist eyes, breathing heavily.
“Wanna go see cats together later...?”