The atmosphere in the villa fell into a brief silence. Rias finally made a decision. "The third phase of training will last half a month. For the remaining month, we must be back at the academy, ready for any notice."
"If you don't wish to participate in the training, you can continue self-training or study during this time, which will make catching up on missed lessons easier once we return."
Everyone exchanged glances and nodded silently.
Rias's meaning was clear: the third phase of training was exclusively for Dual Cultivation with Ethan. She wouldn't force anyone who couldn't overcome their mental block.
In reality, only Koneko Toujou and Akeno Himejima were conflicted.
Yuma Amano's trio couldn't wait to drag Ethan to the bedroom to start cultivating. Half a month of abstinence had made them yearn for Ethan's affection in body and soul.
Asia had always admired Ethan and was completely willing to offer her slender but curvy body to him.
Ethan had saved her from Freed and provided her with a place to live. He was handsome, had a good physique, and was powerful...
Aside from his tendency to have multiple female partners, he was exactly the ideal romantic partner in the blonde little nun's dreams.
However, considering that the President and so many girls who came before her didn't mind Ethan having other women, Asia felt she didn't need to mind either.
It wasn't that the girls didn't mind, but they knew that minding wouldn't help.
Ethan had never hidden his intention to have a harem. To put it harshly, he even established segregated organizations.
There were girls who considered leaving and breaking ties, and Ethan never stopped them.
He only had one rule: while they were involved with him, they could not be intimate with other men. If they left, they could never return.
The truth was, even the most passionate women, after careful consideration, couldn't bring themselves to leave Ethan.
It wasn't just because of the Dual Cultivation ability. After careful thought, they realized that Ethan seemed superior to other men in almost every aspect, except for the sheer number of women around him.
As for men equally or more excellent than Ethan, they did exist, but those men wouldn't be interested in them, and they wouldn't have fewer women around them either.
'Excellence' here refers to comprehensive attributes: potential, power, looks, personality, behavior, moral character, and so on.
Ethan considered himself at least above average, if not outstanding.
Especially in the three aspects of power, potential, and looks, he hadn't met a peer rival so far.
Getting back to the main point, while Asia was willing, her power level was still a bit low. She reluctantly left the living room, heading to the open space outside the villa to continue practicing magic.
Yuto Kiba followed closely. Before she could return to her female body, the third phase of training was irrelevant to her.
She needed to become at least neutral-to-feminine, and have the necessary 'opening' below, to engage in Dual Cultivation with Ethan, not necessarily a sexy body like Rias or Akeno Himejima.
Watching Rias take Asia and Yuto Kiba outside to train, the expressions of the four remaining people in the living room grew complex again.
Mittelt smacked her lips. "Akira is so powerful, it would be fine if we went together... now I have to wait another day..."
Kalawarner looked down at her. "Hold on, when did you decide you were second?"
"Huh?!"
Mittelt's mouth dropped open, revealing her sharp canine teeth like a startled kitten.
"Kalawarner, you're usually not proactive at all. Are you trying to steal my spot now?"
The blue-haired mature beauty's face was flushed. She swayed her tall, voluptuous body slightly. "Who says I'm not proactive? Besides, I've been holding back for half a month this time."
Compared to the LOLI-sized Mittelt, her body craved affection more. If Rias hadn't been sleeping with Ethan every night, she might have tried to sneak into his room already.
"Let's have a duel!" Mittelt stepped back half a step, cutely menacing, and challenged Kalawarner. "Whoever wins goes first!"
The blue-haired mature beauty's expression sobered. She adopted a fighting stance. "Fine!"
The two looked at each other, electric sparks seemingly flashing in their beautiful eyes.
"Scissors..."
"Rock..."
"Paper!"
Looking at Kalawarner's fair, long hand, Mittelt then looked at her own small fist and instantly deflated.
"I... I lost..."
Kalawarner gave a motherly smile, gently patting Mittelt's small head, secretly pleased at how effective the 'duel' method learned from Ethan was.
It was a bit childish, but it worked perfectly on Mittelt.
Mittelt grumpily batted away Kalawarner's hand, trying to vent her anger by hitting her with small fists. However, she happened to punch the blue-haired mature beauty's incredibly bouncy round BOOTY.
The intense rebound force made the cute, arrogant girl even angrier.
"I don't know how you eat to grow a shameless body like that..."
"Are you jealous?" Kalawarner blinked, deliberately teasing her.
Mittelt turned her head away in a huff. "No, I am not!"
While the two were making a scene, Akeno Himejima and Koneko Toujou glanced at each other and silently walked toward their respective rooms.
If they had to choose between being willing and unwilling, they were definitely willing.
As mentioned before, aside from his slightly complicated relationships with women, Ethan was completely the ideal partner.
Especially after the incident with Azazel, where Ethan disregarded his own safety to forcefully use Balance Breaker, they no longer had any feelings of rejection.
However, making the decision to actively ask him for intimacy... was inexplicably difficult to say out loud.
This situation continued for a week. Yuma Amano's trio was preparing for their third round when the two girls still hadn't taken the plunge.
At dinner, Rias suddenly announced, "Yuma, the three of you are already S-class. Dual Cultivation with Ethan is prohibited for the rest of the training."
"Huh?!"
Mittelt couldn't help but protest before Yuma Amano could speak, only to be silenced by a look from Yuma Amano.
Yuma Amano gave a meaningful glance at the obviously distracted Koneko Toujou and Akeno Himejima, then nodded in cooperation.
"Alright, President. In that case, can we end the training early?"
Yuma Amano smiled slyly. "After all, no one else is going to take the third phase of training."
Rias sighed, looking at the suddenly stiff Akeno Himejima and Koneko Toujou. They clearly wanted it so much, why couldn't they just say so?
"Mmm, we'll rest tomorrow, and the day after we'll..."
"Rias... President," Ethan interrupted. "Let's continue. The special training isn't over."
Finished speaking, he turned to Akeno Himejima and Koneko Toujou. "Akeno-senpai, and Koneko, I want to engage in Dual Cultivation with you... No, I like you, and I want to hold you. Are you willing?"
Ethan wasn't stupid. Although he couldn't claim to fully understand women's hearts, a week had been enough to gauge Akeno Himejima and Koneko Toujou's feelings.
The only thing preventing them from speaking up until now was likely their girlish pride and anticipation.
Confessed to by Ethan in front of everyone, the two were first surprised, then filled with joy and shyness.
Although it made no difference who initiated it, a girl's heart is a strange thing.
As soon as Ethan spoke, the two agreed with almost no hesitation. "I'm willing."
Ethan was also expressing his feelings so proactively and directly for the first time, feeling uncharacteristically shy.
He instinctively rubbed the bridge of his nose, momentarily at a loss for what to say next.