As the night passed, the time for Damien to complete likely the most difficult task of his current mission arrived.
That was, convincing Astoria to willingly become his disciple.
Of course, he had talked it over with her father the day prior, but that agreement only went so far. With Astoria's personality, she would absolutely abhor learning from a master assigned to her by others.
If Damien even wanted the chance to teach this talent, he needed her to want to be taught.
But that didn't matter to him. Regardless, he only wanted to teach someone willing to learn from him.
After all, Astoria would be his first disciple in this life.
He didn't quite know how to approach the subject, but in the end, he decided to stop thinking about it and confront the problem head-on like he always did.
As such, he arrived in front of Astoria's quarters early the next morning, fully unprepared for what was to come.
He was let into her courtyard surprisingly easily, making it obvious that his new status had already been passed along to the palace's staff. Once he arrived in the courtyard, Damien went to a nearby stone table and sat down, enjoying the peaceful ambiance of this devil princess' abode.
There was a small creek running its length, bordered by an intricately patterned rock garden including several beautiful miniature waterfalls that heightened the peaceful feeling coming from the stream.
The entire central area of the courtyard was an open garden that was clearly well-maintained. It was surrounded on all sides by the living area, in which the devil princess currently was.
'I can't really barge into her room…am I supposed to just sit here?' He thought to himself as he wondered who took care of these plants.
However, he didn't have to do anything troublesome as he feared. Instead, Astoria soon entered the central courtyard, her eyes widening in shock when she saw him.
"Brother?!" She exclaimed.
"Who's your brother?" Damien quipped back.
"Ehhh? You didn't even tell me your name, so what else can I call you?"
"Hmm…" Damien muttered.
As Astoria approached and sat down at the table, Damien wondered how to breach the subject he'd originally come for.
"Did my father tell you to come?" Astoria suddenly asked.
Damien raised his brow in interest. "Indeed, he did. How did you guess?"
"If it wasn't for Father, would the guards have let you in the courtyard in the first place? There are only two people allowed in this courtyard, and you clearly aren't one of them!" She said matter-of-factly.
"Fair enough. Then, why do you think your father sent me?" Damien asked.
Astoria quirked her head curiously before her eyes lit up with excitement. "Did he hire you as my personal bodyguard?"
Tak!
The karate chop that landed on her forehead was a clear enough rejection, however, Damien found that this little girl had given him the perfect segue.
"Incorrect. Your father doesn't have enough money to hire me as a bodyguard. However, I have been hired for something else," he said after some thought.
He looked into Astoria's eyes and continued with utmost seriousness, deciding to be utterly blunt.
"Astoria, you have a genius spatial talent that can hardly be matched by any existence in the universe. Last night, I convinced your father to let me stay here because I wish to take you under my wing and properly bloom it, however, I do not wish to force you into learning from me."
Astoria's eyes widened at the clear meaning of Damien's words.
He wanted to be…her master?
She couldn't believe someone who didn't look even a fraction of her father's age dared to claim they could be her tutor, but she didn't immediately reject his proposition.
After all, didn't the Emperor already agree?
Aside from that…
Wouldn't this be fun?
As she listened to Damien give a quick summary of spatial abilities and concepts, of the battle usage and practical benefits of the spatial element, and of his own personal abilities, Astoria began to realize just how great her talent could become.
It wasn't a matter of battle power. Of course she wanted to protect herself better, but this wasn't the reason Damien's words tempted her.
Rather, if she mastered space, couldn't she live unhindered as she'd always wished?
Couldn't she live on her own terms, roaming the universe in search of excitement without being worried about another deadly situation taking place?
Perhaps she was overexaggerating the power of space in her mind, especially since the person telling her these things had no concept of mana capacity, but hearing that she had a supreme talent in space made her feel incredibly proud.
"…your talent is more suited for the supportive elements of space than the destructive ones, but since you are already skilled in the arts of your Golden Dragon Lineage, combat power isn't your main deficit."
"Does that mean I won't get stronger?" Astoria interrupted.
"Hah!" Damien scoffed unintentionally.
"You think you won't get stronger?" Damien said with a teasing smile.
He brought his fingers in front of Astoria's face and lightly pinched the air.
Immediately, space solidified, making it impossible for her to move.
"Go ahead, try anything," Damien proclaimed with confidence.
Astoria's eyes burned with competitive spirit.
Her immediate thought was to escape the way she usually did, but as soon as she tried to sense that feeling that she always followed to escape, she found that it was being blocked by a mysterious force.
"Haha, spatial abilities won't work in front of me, little lass. Try something more substantial."
"Hmph! Don't underestimate me!" Astoria exclaimed.
A bright golden light burst out of her body, the phantom of a golden dragon backing her. Her fists became heavier and heavier until they weighed tens of thousands of pounds.
With this amount of force in her grasp, she punched out, exploding all that power into the atmosphere!
Unfortunately, she was currently caught in Damien's trap.
"Even if you're talented, you're still at least a hundred levels below me. Your strength won't have any effect here." Damien said with pseudo-mockery, glancing down at Astoria's waist.
"Why don't you try using that? You don't have any other options, after all."
Astoria's eyes hardened.
"Don't think I'm finished yet!" She exclaimed fiercely. Her power immediately doubled. She attacked not with brute force, but using the techniques of the Golden Dragon Clan.
'Golden Dragon Fist Aura!'
A massive golden dragon materialized around her body as she struck continuously in a mysterious pattern. Once it reached saturation, the dragon flew out with extreme speed and struck against the solidified space!
Bang!
A muffled bang was all that rang out when the furious golden dragon impacted the empty air before Astoria.
Just as Damien said, the difference in level was impossible for her to overcome.
She hadn't attacked many times, but she'd seen enough battle to at least understand when an enemy was too much for her to handle.
As a last resort, she did as Damien suggested and ripped the talisman on her waist, alerting her shadow guards of the danger she was facing.
Bzzt!
The signal shot out from the talisman and…dispersed immediately.
It simply couldn't withstand the pressure of the solidified Dimensional Cage in which Damien had trapped Astoria.
He looked at the young genius with a smug smile.
"What do you think? Do you still believe you won't get stronger by learning from me?"
The Dimensional Cage began to disperse.
And Astoria…
Her eyes glowed with intrigue.
Damien grinned in satisfaction.
'The fish had bitten the hook.'
