"Loki-sama's side probably won't be a big problem," Tsuna thought.
Raul's entire contact with the Pleasure Street prostitute had been to pass along a planted message. Ishtar's current play was exactly what they'd expected from the start. Seeing Raul's tangled expression, though, Tsuna chose not to remind him. Sometimes it's better if the person involved doesn't know too much; knowing too much can be worse.
He picked up a simple tray near the dining hall and chose a quiet seat. He'd barely sat when two meal trays landed opposite him. He looked up—awkward. It was Tiona and Tione, the same pair who had fled his room that morning.
"Morning."
"Morning, Tsuna."
Tiona wore her usual bright smile. Clearly the morning incident had affected her a little, but not the way you'd fear. Tione's mood was far more complicated, though not exactly angry.
"Tione, you—"
"Don't mind it. You just saw a little. Nothing to fuss over."
Do you believe that yourself? Tsuna eyed the faint redness in her cheeks. Hard to buy that she truly didn't care. Still, at least she wasn't really mad. If she were, with her temperament, he would've already eaten a fist.
The air tightened—until Tiona, who never bothered reading the room, leaned in, eyes sparkling.
"Tsuna, what's with that bath? Sleeping in it was insanely comfy—made me doze off the moment I lay down!"
"It's a recovery bath—meant to treat soreness and pain," Tsuna replied. "Unlike Panacea's instant fix, the bath eases aches and, after training, gently stimulates the body to repair damage as much as possible. It's so comfortable you'll feel drowsy while it works."
"No wonder I felt warm all over and sleepy," Tiona nodded—then puffed her cheeks. "So why didn't you mention it after we finished training yesterday?"
"Didn't Tione bring it up?" Tsuna asked.
"Eh? Me?" Tione blinked.
"You asked if there was any way to get back into shape quickly," Tsuna said. "I was going to suggest a muscle-loosening massage. If I'd said it, I'm sure you two would've offered to help."
"Of course," Tione nodded. She'd known Tsuna the longest; helping with a massage was nothing.
"But you'd both just adapted to the training space," Tsuna added evenly. "I was worried one casual push would send me to the afterlife."
Send him… away.
The sisters involuntarily pictured placing their hands on Tsuna's back, then "lightly" pressing without control—followed by a chorus of snapping bones. Beads of sweat dotted their foreheads. It might be just an image, but they really had adapted to the space's pressure. They might press that hard without thinking.
Ah. That moment. Tione remembered lightly poking Tsuna's back earlier. Was that what made him decide not to ask them?
"Anyway," Tsuna continued, "after training, you're welcome to come use it. The reason I didn't 'roll it out' is that I hadn't tested enough to guarantee consistent results. I confirmed a few things last night: the more skin that contacts the solution, the better the effect. But if it's not in your own room, don't lie in it naked—avoids… unnecessary problems."
Both sisters flashed back to what had just happened. Their cheeks warmed again. Amazons could be open—but shy when they should be.
"Tsuna, let's not bring that up," Tione muttered, cutting the topic off. Tsuna had no issue with that; the reminder was all he'd wanted. Outside of women's baths, some things required care. Being seen wasn't great.
Tione took a long breath, forced the heat in her cheeks down, and finally returned to business.
"That training space is even stronger than I expected, but the environment is seriously extreme. Even just breathing heavy scorches and chills your lungs. Not many can tough it out at first. Add the thin air and breathing turns even harder."
Having felt that suffocating burn, Tione knew exactly how awful it was. The first thing to manage inside was breathing. If you didn't control it from the start, trying to adjust mid-workout was even worse.
"It's like controlling stamina in training," Tsuna agreed. "The key is controlling the intensity of your breath to pile pressure outside the body, so the trainee reaches their limits more easily. The whole space exists for that purpose: to boost training effects and push parameters as far as possible. That's the point—really, the only point. I made every condition extreme while stopping short of lethal, to wring out every bit of adaptation."
Tione frowned, but nodded. She still had a headache about one thing.
"Then rolling it out across the familia will be hard, right? No matter how amazing the results, that kind of environment isn't for just anyone. You nearly got yourself in trouble yesterday."
Tsuna fell silent, reflecting. He really had almost folded under the space's load.
"In that case, I'll build another space," he said at last. "A version with lower severity—specifically for Level 1 to Level 3 adventurers to acclimate to the conditions inside. How about that?"
(End of Chapter)
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