"Fufu… don't pressure Riley too much, Rose," Snow said lightly, her tone calm as always. "He only helped me out a little during our personal outing last time~"
The way she said it—
Casual on the surface, but just a bit too deliberate.
Riley didn't react.
Rose did.
"What does that mean?" she asked, eyes narrowing just slightly.
Snow tilted her head, the faintest smile still on her lips.
"Just what it sounds like," she replied. "Riley helped me get stronger. I was actually planning to tell everyone about it sooner… but I thought it'd be more fun to surprise you all during the tournament."
A soft laugh escaped her.
"fufu~ I hope I did a good job"
"…Yeah," Rose muttered under her breath. "You did."
Although it was only slightly... Rose also felt a deeper resonance in Snow's elemental control, as someone who has already reached the level of an Arch mage, Rose felt like Snow's progress, was comparable to her now making her even more curious.
