Aggressively opening the windows of Theo's room, an order boomed through the room:
"Wake up, princess," Ethan ordered, shaking the cloth off Theo's bed.
Waking up gradually, still feeling sluggish and with blurred vision. Yawning, still processing his father's voice, Theo sat up in bed. He had hoped to have daylight coming through the window, but it was still early morning.
"Come on, make your bed and come down in the next ten minutes."
Theo groaned in dissatisfaction, sleepy and uncomfortable. But, it was what had to be done.
Standing up and obeying Ethan's orders, the boy quickly joined Edward in the backyard of the residence, where the Duke usually trains casually.
On the lawn, just a few meters ahead, Ethan was warming up next to Luanne.
"Hm… Make sure you teach him properly, to develop his own ignition," Luanne said.
"I know," Ethan replied, writing on a movable board.
"Hmm… Are you sure that's all it's going to be?"
"Luanne… It's the first day of training. Do you want me to overload him with information?"
"Yes."
Ethan looked around for his friend and stared at her with a comical and judgmental facial expression. In the distance, in the panoramic view, Ethan saw Edward and Theo sitting and staring at them from afar.
The Duke ordered Theo to join.
"Tê, as I promised… I will teach you enough to survive without exceeding my limitations."
"You can't teach me much, because…"
"There is a quota, son," Luanne replied. "Knowledge is monopolized in the hands of academies; what are the centers? How to use them? These are things we can answer. However, complex and specific knowledge can only be taught in institutions."
'Nonsense,' Edward retorted, dozing over to Theo.
"I think so too, but unfortunately, there is a treaty for everyone who enters one of the Four Great Orders. We are forbidden from sharing knowledge with individuals outside the orders."
"Okay…"
Ethan tapped the board with a ruler.
"In total, there are seven core stages, five types of energy, and three polarities. I talked to Beatrice when classes were canceled due to the Cataclysm, so you should already know something, right?"
Theo nodded.
"The three polarities are: negative, neutral, and positive. Within the seven stages, there are three stages for negative and positive polarities, and only one for neutral."
"What are the colors?"
"Yellow, orange, and red for positive, blue, lilac, and purple for negative… Finally, green for neutral," Edward replied, seeing that his niece had difficulty remembering the sequences. Although he was a human, Ed used to study deviants and their structure.
"Mana, ether, ki, quantum, and psychoenergy are the types," Theo said, before Ethan could ask him.
"Great. Now, just don't worry about it. These are concepts that you will only be able to learn at the academy. I will only teach you how to convert energy into elemental attributes, recognize your affinity, and manipulate it."
"But first…" Edward said, taking Theo by the non-broken arm. "Let's prepare your body, shall we, brother?"
"Exactly," Ethan agreed.
Leading Theo across the lawn, Edward forced his youngest nephew to run around the house all morning.
Even when he was tired and his legs were weak, almost falling to the ground… Theo remained standing.
Just when he was about to give in to his own judgmental mind, he continued running until the end.
Edward forced him to practice jumping while running, moving between the trees in the forest, and even finding his way around.
Taking Theo along the road that would lead to Loureto, Edward made the boy enter the woods and get lost for a few minutes.
Running through the trees, Theo searched for his way back. Jumping over the boulders, he took a path to the right; a clearing allowed the last rays of sunlight to pass through, warning of dusk.
Sitting on a rock near the edge of the clearing, a skirran watched the Young Master's sudden movements.
A small, empty-eyed white squirrel was startled by a few strokes that Theo made on the bushes; in reaction, the little animal jumped up and activated its gliders below its armpits.
With a gust of wind, the little skirran was lost again within the forest.
Noticing that it was getting dark, Theo decided to stop running and start walking. He needed to rest: Edward had been running him for the last two hours, his energy was running out.
Still, he couldn't stop thinking about how incredible his energy reserves were for allowing him to run so much.
But even a superhuman has his limitations.
Walking calmly through the woods, Theo saw, at the end, traces of cobblestones following a straight line, as streetlights turned on and revealed that this was Theo's guide.
Even though he had gotten lost and completely lost track of the correct directions, Theo knew exactly where he was supposed to go at all times. The only problem was the steep terrain, which was unfavorable for him to walk alone.
Arriving at the cobblestone road, Theo ran back to his house, following the streetlights as the light appeared.
But at no time was he alone…
"Did you like it?" said Edward, appearing at her side. "The exploration game. Did you like it?"
"Uh-huh… I just didn't understand the purpose."
"The thing is, when you're an agent of Vagus, during breaks between expeditions, you can't just lie around and wait for information. Breaks don't mean resting, but rather trying to complete the mission faster… At least that's what your father told me."
The two boys ran side by side, looking for a pace that Theo wouldn't tire out too quickly.
"There will be days when you will be standing still, so the most sensible thing to do is to get to know your surroundings. Spending some time exploring and hunting is the best way to kill time on a mission."
"And you leave me alone, all day, for this?"
"Never! I didn't leave you alone. On the contrary, I've been following you this whole time. I even killed some beasts that tried to attack you."
Theo's eyebrows furrowed in surprise.
"But I didn't even feel that…"
"It's not supposed to feel…" Edward smiled, looking at the end of the road, an intense glow in his eyes. Turning his face to Theo, he concluded: "That's why I train like a deviant."
Their speed gradually slowed as they approached the entrance plaza of the Lawrence Residence. A surprise was in store for Theo.
The Young Master lost his speed when he understood what was happening.