That night, in Naoki's room.
"Ouch... it hurts... Merlin, go easy on me."
"You should be thanking me for being willing to treat you. As a man, you have to endure this pain."
After saying that, Merlin applied another bandage to Naoki's body, causing him to take a deep breath from the pain.
After closing the first aid kit and looking at Naoki's body covered in bandages like a patchwork quilt, Merlin smiled with satisfaction: "Alright, that should do it. You'll be healed in about a week. But I'm really curious, you left this morning in good health, so why did you come back tonight all beaten up? Did you fall down the stairs?"
"No, I just wanted to change my appearance."
"What kind of appearance is this? A war-damaged version of a handsome blonde young man?" Merlin said with a laugh. "Tell me, who beat you up? You're a human fused with a Servant, practically a Demi-Servant. Even though you haven't received systematic combat training and rely more on instinct when fighting, there shouldn't be many people at the Clock Tower who can defeat you, right?"
"Professor Kayneth beat me up."
Naoki finally confessed.
"This afternoon there was a martial arts class, and I was chosen as one of the examples to spar with Professor Kayneth. At first, I thought I could hold my own, since his physical abilities are poor. But who would have thought he's been secretly training in martial arts for a whole year!"
Without a doubt, Kayneth is a genius, and his talent isn't limited to Magecraft—no, it should be said that as long as it's related to Magecraft, he will demonstrate the corresponding talent.
And body enhancement is clearly a form of Magecraft.
"Hmm~ So that's how it is, that lemon-headed guy. Indeed, when it comes to pure combat strength, not many Magi can defeat him, excluding war Magi."
Saying that, Merlin patted Naoki again: "But it's okay, getting beaten up a few times is good for you, it can boost your vitality. Even though the process isn't very serious, the result perfectly achieves the goal of martial arts."
After all, the ultimate goal of martial arts is to enhance a Magus's vitality.
Hearing that, Naoki immediately frowned: "Do you think I enjoy being beaten up? If I want to boost my vitality, wouldn't it be better to go to the gym? Besides, I can avoid the pain."
"But if I'm not mistaken, that martial arts class is once a week, right? And it's tied to the general basic course. After switching to another major, it becomes an elective. The general basic course lasts five years, meaning you might have to endure being beaten up for another five years."
"Don't continue... I'm already numb..."
Merlin's words immediately crushed Naoki.
Five years! Getting beaten up for five years! Even though the general basic course can be completed faster depending on the situation, how could Naoki possibly graduate from the general basic course before the next martial arts class starts?
Not even in your dreams!
Seeing Naoki lying on the bed, Merlin smiled: "If you don't want to be beaten up, why don't you beat him up instead?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"You can also learn martial arts, then turn the tables and beat up that lemon-headed guy. That way, he'll be the one getting beaten up every week."
That makes sense!
A light appeared in Naoki's eyes, but it quickly dimmed again: "But where can I learn martial arts? Watch videos online and mimic the moves? Or take a specialized course? But I heard those are expensive, right?"
"Ahem!"
Merlin suddenly coughed twice, then placed her hands on her hips and puffed out her chest, as if giving a hint.
"Hmm~ That's right, Waver has already graduated from the general basic course, so he should have completed the martial arts class credits. But looking at his body... he probably just scraped by. I'll ask him later how to pass the credits."
"Ahem!"
Merlin coughed twice again, puffing out her chest once more.
Seeing her like that, Naoki frowned: "What's wrong with you?"
"Ahem! (Puffing out chest)"
"If you're coughing, I have medicine in the drawer. By the way, can succubi catch the flu? Sleeping with your belly button exposed?"
"No! I sleep in a proper position!"
Merlin retorted while patting her chest: "What I mean is—if you want to learn martial arts, you can learn from me!"
"..."
Naoki looked at Merlin twice.
"You?"
"Yes!"
Naoki kept staring at her.
Seeing his gaze that couldn't hide his doubt, Merlin frowned: "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Nothing, just wondering if you're really capable of martial arts? Even though I know Merlin here is very skilled with a sword, but you... might be different from the version in another world."
"Yes, that's true." Merlin said with a smile. "Compared to Merlin here, I am indeed more skilled in Magecraft. After all, I'm a girl, fighting and killing don't fit my image at all."
"Then how do you—"
"Of course, with Magecraft."
As she said that, Merlin extended her hand and held a staff in the air, tapping the floor once. A knight in armor suddenly appeared in front of her.
"This is an illusion I created by reading my memories—simply put, it's a puppet."
Seeing this, Naoki immediately understood: "Oh, so you mean I should learn from these puppets, huh?"
Merlin is a court Magus who once collaborated with the Knights of the Round Table. If she uses this illusion to revive those knights and have them teach Naoki combat techniques, that would indeed work.
But—
"No, you'll be beaten up by them."
"WTF?"
Merlin's words immediately shocked Naoki.
Getting beaten up by Kayneth isn't enough? Now I have to be beaten up by puppets too? What kind of suffering is this?
*TOK!*
Merlin tapped Naoki's head with her magic staff while smiling: "Learning combat techniques isn't something you can do overnight. In your current condition, rather than learning moves that might not be useful, it's better to improve your reaction ability. If you don't want to be beaten up, just make sure your opponent can't hit you."
"Afraid of pain, so all points go to evasion?"
"Although the way you put it isn't quite right, that's the gist of it. So, let's set a small goal first: last ten minutes without getting hit by this puppet."
After saying that, Merlin controlled her illusion to attack Naoki, causing him to immediately roll away to dodge!
"Hey! This is still in my room! And I haven't agreed to the training yet!"
"So, you want to keep getting beaten up by that lemon-headed guy?"
"...."
"If not, then train—by the way, if you get hit once, I'll give you a one-hour nightmare, plus tentacles."
"You're a demon!!"