Roa exhaled and began to deftly manipulate the threads, controlling Eris's movements.
It actually took quite a bit of skill to treat someone like a puppet like this.
Slowing the movements slightly, Roa turned his gaze back to Eris and said, "This time, don't space out."
Eris nodded with a serious expression.
In the end, Eris did manage to learn the dance.
Edna applauded for Eris. As Eris's teacher, Edna wasn't particularly skilled in teaching methods. Most of her instruction involved rote memorization, essentially teaching in a "1 is 1, 2 is 2" manner.
This approach was naturally quite ineffective for Eris.
When Roa taught Eris, he always tried to make the lessons lively and interesting, often weaving in small stories to spark her interest in learning. Although she still wasn't particularly fond of arithmetic.
Eris's face was now drenched in sweat.
It wasn't that the dance was particularly physically demanding, but simply memorizing the movements was mentally exhausting.
This further depleted Eris's already limited brain cells.
Roa waved his slightly sore fingers and said to Eris, "Take a break for now. Later, we'll try dancing together. If it works out, it means you'll shine at your birthday party."
Eris nodded her little head.
Ten minutes later, Roa called out to Eris, "Get ready, Eris."
Eris stood up. The sweat from earlier had dried, and her face was slightly flushed.
Roa walked over to her but then felt something was off. He seemed a bit too tall.
Although there was only a three-year age difference, Roa was nearly three heads taller than her.
This significant height difference would affect their coordination.
After some thought, Roa adjusted his bones, producing a strange creaking sound as his height shrank from nearly 1.75 meters to 1.6 meters.
Edna was stunned, but Eris's expression remained calm. To her, it seemed natural that if Roa could suddenly grow taller, he could also shrink.
The memory of his battle with Ghislaine was still fresh in her mind.
Roa extended a hand, a gentle smile on his face as he said to Eris, "Well then, my fair lady, may I have this dance?"
The usually composed Eris blushed instantly upon hearing this.
"What did he say? 'My fair lady'?"
That was Eris's first thought.
Even a girl like Eris cared about how others perceived her. When a usually cold and stern teacher suddenly spoke in such a gentle tone and said those words, even Eris felt her heart race.
Roa looked at Eris in confusion, his hand still extended.
Eris snapped out of it and instinctively wanted to scoff, but considering he was her teacher, she decided to reluctantly agree.
So, Eris said to Roa, "Well, if that's the case, I'll agree to dance with you."
That's what she said, but Roa was full of questions.
His raised hand came down and lightly tapped her forehead.
"Eris, that's not how you respond. You're supposed to say, 'I'd be delighted,'" Roa said, exasperated.
Eris fell silent. The earlier shyness vanished, and she looked at Roa with a slightly dangerous glint in her eyes.
Roa continued, "May I have this dance?"
Eris remained silent, this time not even hearing the "my fair lady" part.
She nodded silently, and Roa facepalmed, feeling utterly defeated. But in the end, he said, "Alright, let's begin."
The cheerful melody began again. Roa's right hand held Eris's left, while his left hand rested on her waist as they started to dance.
Their steps were light, and the music flowed gently through the room.
The morning sunlight streamed through the window, illuminating Roa's impossibly handsome face. The warm rays of dawn passed through his brows, and his fluttering eyelashes and beautiful eyes left Eris feeling somewhat dazed.
In any world, people's perceptions are influenced by appearances. When encountering someone attractive, people instinctively take a second look. A good first impression makes others more willing to listen.
But it was in this moment of distraction that Eris's rhythm faltered. She wasn't particularly good at maintaining rhythm, and once it was disrupted, her steps became noticeably erratic.
Roa frowned. He hadn't expected her to space out again.
He sighed and tried to guide her. Feeling the sweat on her palm, he assumed she was nervous and gently reassured her, "No need to be nervous. Just keep your steps steady."
Eris nodded, but her mind was already a mess.
Her heart was racing, a feeling she had never experienced before. And Roa looked so good even when he frowned.
His golden hair cascaded down to his neck, slipping past his collar. Eris's gaze unconsciously drifted to his neck, where his alluring collarbone made her cheeks flush.
What the hell was going on?
What was wrong with her today?
Eris pushed the strange thoughts out of her mind, trying to steel her resolve, but she kept finding herself inexplicably drawn to the young man.
In the end, the dance concluded with Eris stepping on Roa's right foot.
Roa frowned, deep in thought. He found Eris's behavior today strange. While she was usually a bit of a scatterbrain and often didn't pay attention in class, her current state was unusually distracted and flustered.
He turned to Edna with a questioning look and asked, "What's going on with Eris? Do you have any thoughts?"
Edna covered her mouth and chuckled. Looking at Eris, who was avoiding eye contact, she said with the wisdom of experience, "Dancing with such a handsome young man would make any girl a bit nervous."
Eris, having her thoughts exposed, blushed furiously and retorted, "I'm not nervous! I was just thinking… about how to handle the upcoming ball."
Roa suddenly understood. He turned Eris's face toward him, pinched her cheeks, and said with a sigh, "Eris, you're at that age now. But remember, little girls shouldn't fall for their teachers, okay?"
That's what Roa said, and in response, he received a perfectly executed straight punch.
Roa didn't dodge. Eris's punch landed squarely on his abdomen, but it felt like hitting solid steel. Tears welled up in her eyes.
She glared at Roa and said, "Hmph, so what if you're good-looking?"
That's what she said, and Roa shrugged. He didn't continue teasing the little girl. While teasing a brat was fun, he was afraid of pushing her too far, leading her to declare, "I'm done with this," and go on a hunger strike.
Roa turned back to Eris and said, "Alright, let's continue. This time, focus on my steps. Don't put too much pressure on yourself. If you're nervous, take a deep breath."
Roa took Eris's hand again. Her hand wasn't as soft as one might expect; instead, it was slightly rough from years of sword practice.
However, her rigorous training had also given her a strong yet flexible body. This time, Roa actively guided her through the dance.
Edna watched with admiration and said with a smile, "If you were to wear a neat suit and attend that gathering, I believe you would be the most outstanding person there. No one could match your elegance."
Eris, hearing her usually strict etiquette teacher praise someone else so highly, felt a pang of dissatisfaction. She quickened her pace slightly, trying to embarrass Roa.
But Roa simply smiled, tightened his grip on Eris's waist, and lifted her into a graceful spin.
Setting her down, Roa stopped and said to Eris with a smile, "I think Eris has learned it, right?"
Eris snorted coldly, ignoring the young man.
Roa nodded, as if remembering something, and said to Eris, "I might be away for a while soon. When that happens, Rudeus will take over teaching you magic and arithmetic. Be good and listen to him. Rudeus is quite skilled."
Eris, who had turned her face away, turned back and asked curiously, "What are you going to do?"
Roa replied casually, "There are some things I need to take care of. Don't ask too many questions, kid."
Eris let out an "Oh" and didn't say anything more. She tried dancing to the rhythm a few more times and felt that she was indeed doing much better than before.
Roa watched for a while and then said to Edna, "Well, you can guide Eris on the movements from here."
Edna nodded, and Roa left the room, heading outside.
As soon as Roa left, Eris paused her movements, her face filled with displeasure as she watched his retreating figure.
When Roa stepped out, he happened to run into Ghislaine. Due to Eris's recent schedule, the planned sword training had been repeatedly compressed, leaving Ghislaine with a lot of free time.
In fact, Ghislaine was almost always by Eris's side. Roa had once curiously asked Ghislaine why she always followed Eris.
Ghislaine's answer was simple: "Protecting the young lady is my duty as a guard."
Ghislaine was a bit of a stickler for rules, most evident in her inability to adapt flexibly.
However, there were times when Roa admired Ghislaine's rigid adherence to duty.
Seeing Roa, Ghislaine was quite surprised. She said, "You've gotten handsomer, much more so than that brat Paul."
Roa's mouth twitched, unsure how to respond.
It seemed that everyone's first reaction upon seeing him was to comment on how much more handsome he had become.
Ghislaine circled Roa, inspecting him, and then asked, "Can I touch you?"
Roa felt a rare sense of embarrassment, but when he met Ghislaine's calm gaze, he nodded reluctantly, agreeing to her request.
Ghislaine began to feel him up, muttering, "Has your muscle density changed? No, wait, even your bones have undergone significant changes. It seems your entire body has transformed. Eris mentioned you weren't home last night, and I thought something had happened to you. But after just one day, you've become like this."
Roa's mouth twitched again. He knew Ghislaine meant no harm, but he couldn't shake the feeling that she was subtly insulting him. He coughed a few times and said, "How about we go outside and spar?"
Ghislaine smiled, patting Roa's shoulder. "I can tell you've gotten much stronger, but no, I have things to do right now."
With that, she waved and headed toward Eris's room.
Roa continued on to his own room.
With Eris's matter settled, he still had some unfinished business.
Returning to his room, he closed the door and pulled up the system panel, his gaze lingering on the last reward.
[High-Level Spirit Awakening Opportunity]
This time, Roa didn't rush in headfirst. He called out to the system and asked, "So, what about this high-level spirit awakening opportunity?"
A cold electronic voice responded.
[No problem.]
Roa, who had just relaxed, tensed up again. He was seriously starting to suspect that the system's "no problem" was actually a trap waiting for him to fall into.
As if sensing Roa's hesitation, the system, for once, gave a proper explanation: "Spirit awakening takes a considerable amount of time and won't have a significant impact on the host all at once."
Hearing this, Roa finally relaxed and said to the system, "Alright, let's awaken it."
[Spirit Awakening Initiated…]
[Selecting Suitable Spirit…]
[Spirit: Moment]
[Category: Subordinate Spirit of Time Words, Upgradable]
[Current Awakening Progress: 1%]
Roa frowned slightly. For a moment, his thoughts seemed to speed up, but by the time he reacted, he felt nothing.
Spirit: Moment.
Was it the same Moment he knew?
In the spirit cycle sequence, Time Zero was the superior spirit to Moment, belonging to the lineage of the Sky and Wind King. However, the difference in hierarchy didn't necessarily mean Moment was weaker than Time Zero. In fact, in some ways, Moment was the only spirit among a hundred that could counter Time Zero.
Roa pondered the information about Moment in his mind. This spirit was incredibly powerful, almost a killer in close combat, and in the era of cold weapons, it was practically the uncrowned king.
For Roa, it would undoubtedly be of great use.