Since we're back to the beach, and the tension between Lilia-san and Shiro-san... which is more about Lilia-san's nervousness, had dissipated to some extent, it seemed like it's a good time for me to visit another pair.
Leaving Shiro-san and Lilia-san's side, I slightly looked around to see where I should go next. I could see the pair of Isis-san and Fate-san, but they were quite far away.
Alice and Anima are on the beach, and Anima seemed to be listening to Alice with a serious expression on her face... or rather, it seemed like she was asking her to be taught.
As for Kuro and Sieg-san... they were a few distance away from the beach... Unnn? Arehh, what are they doing? Kuro is standing there, while Sieg-san is making strange movements in front of her.
Curious about the pair of Kuro and Sieg-san, who seemed to be a bit different from the other pairs, and unable to figure out what they were doing, I walked over to them.
A little later, as I got closer, I started to hear their voices.
[It's not about speed or strength, but about the movement of your magic power flowing through your body!]
[Yes!]
[Unnn! You're getting better and better. Just like that, do another set of... wait, unnn? Kaito-kun?]
Arehh? What's happening? I approached them because I wasn't sure what they were doing, but why is it that even after getting this close to them, I still couldn't figure out what was going on?
[...Errr... Kuro? Sieg-san? What are you doing...]
[...Hah!? Ah, that's right, we came here to play!]
[U- Unnn?]
When I called out to them, Kuro gasped in surprise. Sieg-san also somewhat looked like they were caught in the act doing something.
[...We got careless, Sieg-chan.]
[M- My apologies. Because of me...]
[No, no, don't worry about it.]
As Kuro told Sieg-san not to worry about something with a smile on her face, I tilted my head, not understanding what was going on. Thereupon, noticing my confusion, Kuro explained with a wry smile.
[Ahaha, well, we were just playing normally at first. But as I talked with Sieg-chan, the topic of her growth getting slower got brought up.]
[When Kuromu-sama said she would watch my movements, I exhibited some simple steps.]
[Ahh, I see...]
After listening to Kuro and Sieg-san's explanation, I understood immediately. Kuro likes raising people, and her teaching skills are so good that even Alice admits that she was inferior to her in that aspect... and Sieg-san, who had been struggling to grow stronger, wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to get some advice.
[...So, Kuro, what do you think of Sieg-san?]
[I think she's very talented! She may even be the best Elf I've ever seen but... all of that talent was wasted!]
[W- Wasted?]
[Unnn. You have great talent, but "you're not developing it in the right direction". That's probably the reason why you're having trouble growing right now.]
[E- Excuse me, Kuromu-sama! P- Please elaborate more about that!]
[Don't worry, I'll explain everything.]
When she heard Kuro's assessment, Sieg-san asked her back with a vigor that was unimaginable from her usual calm impression. It seemed like she's more concerned about her lack of growth than I thought.
Thereupon, Kuro nodded once, before she took a blackboard out of nowhere. Sitting on the sandy beach, Sieg-san and I looked at the blackboard.
On the blackboard, Kuro started drawing some kind of chibified characters... They aren't as good as Alice's drawings, but it indeed captures the important features, as I could see that she was drawing Lilia-san and Anima.
[The reason for Sieg-chan's slow growth... I'm sorry for my bad way of describing it, but the reason why you ended up heading in the wrong direction is simple. It was because you took Lilia-chan and Anima-chan as references.]
[...Lili and Anima-san?]
[Unnn. The only two people Sieg-san has a chance to see in battle are the two of them, so I guess it couldn't be helped. However, the problem is that the two of them "are different types of fighter" than Sieg-chan.]
[Types, is it?]
As she explained further, Kuro drew a chibified Sieg-san on the blackboard.
[Unnn. It would take too long to explain in detail, so I'll make it very simple... The battle style that suits Lilia-chan and Anima-chan are those that minimize detours and facing their opponents while increasing their magic power and dynamism. They are "power types", that just like its name suggests, are people who make use of their power to fight. On the other hand, it would be better for Sieg-chan to increase your expertise and have more cards in your hands. You are a "technique type"... a person who makes use of finesse in battle.]
[Finesse...]
[Compared to Lilia-chan and Anima-chan, who can grow rapidly with simple repetitive training, Sieg-chan would easily hit a wall if you do the same as them. So, if you trained the same way as the two of them, you would inevitably fall behind because of the difference in your growth rates.]
[...…]
When she heard Kuro's words, Sieg looked down, seemingly thinking about it. When Kuro saw this, she stopped talking, and after a short wait, Sieg-san looked up and asked Kuro.
[...If I were to hone my skills extensively... will I become stronger... that I could catch up with and overtake Lili and Anima-san?]
[Unnn, I understand how you feel. Being told that you were a technique type, you thought that you wouldn't be any match for the simply strong power types? However, that's just the growth inclination that I'm talking about. Ultimately though, it's best to train all your abilities to the limit.]
[I- I see...]
[Well, with that as a preamble, let's talk about whether the technique types can be strong... Well, you can just look over there. The girl is like the "top, or rather, almost the ultimate" technique type.]
Kuro pointed towards Alice, who was talking with Anima. I see, Alice certainly isn't a power type, and more of a technique type. However, even as a technique type, she's so strong that even the power types can't stand against her.
She certainly would be the most convincing answer to the question of whether technique types can be strong.
[Incidentally, I'm more of a power type. That's why, you should aim for a fighting style like Shalltear's, not mine. Now then, with that in mind, Sieg-chan.]
[Y- Yes!]
[...Would you be interested in taking some of "my lessons" when you have time?]
[...Ehh?]
The expression on Kuro's face as she said this with a bright smile on her face, extending her hand towards Sieg-san... somewhat makes me vividly think that she really loves to raise people.