Christian was certain. It's impossible to have a high attunement without any affinity.
If the affinity had been almost zero, infinitesimally small, he could have accepted that.
But for it to be zero? Then there's something wrong.
But what's exactly wrong, as in why is she , he is still unable to find out.
Her condition was really too much for the current him, with many unknowns, but that she was special, there was no doubt.
And Christian was determined to solve and understand everything.
It could start from how that man and woman had determined that Eva was talented, all the way to him feeding her body with essence himself, again and again, until there was finally a reaction.
With her level of attunement, it was impossible that something wouldn't happen.
At least not with his measly ability.
So, Christian explained all of these things, and how they would go about tackling her condition, before returning back to his first point… how he would help her become stronger.
Christian had long since thought about this, in case his sister turned out to not be talented.
So how would he solve that?
And even if Eva and his sister were talented, would they really be able to keep up with him, who had the Idle System?
That's why the Essence Manipulation skill was important… along with the Flawless Body skill.
Flawless Body was a skill that made him to do impossible moves, ones that would always end up injuring him from the information feedback that he got, and then, he would heal himself with essence in some way.
The methods were advancing. The extent to which he would be injured would sometimes increase, sometimes decrease.
But that wasn't what was important at the moment.
What was important… was that his knowledge on how to raise the body's strength was far different from what it had been five months ago, when he had helped Eva and his sister start with simple, but still better than ordinary, exercises.
This time, they were no longer ordinary.
He could modify them in a way that there would be no risk of injury, and after that, he would channel essence into their tired bodies.
The Essence Manipulation skill was there to ensure he wouldn't make any mistake while handling the essence, and end up injuring them.
Christian explained all of that to Eva, without going too deep into details, and finally, the heavy mood in the room began to lift.
"So, you mean that while I won't be able to store essence myself… but through the modified exercises you created, and with you giving my body a serious 'massage' after that while channeling essence, I'll become stronger… and I'll also be able to live longer, right?" Eva asked, trying to summarize everything she had heard.
And Christian, smiling, nodded.
He didn't mention how increasing one's lifespan was never this simple, and that, with this method "alone," he doubted he could increase it by more than fifty years.
… But her problem would be solved long before that. And she was still young, so, there really was a long time, in that sense.
There was no need to dampen her mood.
Instead, he suddenly remembered something, smiled, and asked,
"Why do you think I caught those two criminals currently in the basement of the workshop?"
Eva, who was resting her head on Christian's strong chest, listening to his heartbeat that calmed her even more, was thinking about everything that had happened today.
From the incident with Annabelle… to the talent test… to now, this conversation.
There were so many things that had happened.
… And she didn't think anything could phase her anymore.
But when she suddenly heard his question, and thought about the possible implication behind it, she couldn't help but be stunned, and said, "You mean…?"
"Yes, it was never just about testing talent."
"Their presence was needed, since I can't start helping you or my sister raise your strength without first confirming the safety of the method."
"Them being still alive, even now, is the best proof of that."
While feeling like punching him, for not letting her stay in a good mood for even a moment without disrupting it, Eva bit her lip.
Many things would change with this statement, after all.
Her argument… or what she said to Annabelle… how it was for her sake… turned out to be wrong, after all.
She had been on the high ground before, but things had now changed.
… It's not like she cared that Christian had to kill, with herself being one of the reasons.
Something like that… was never something she cared about.
And him doing something for her was the most natural thing.
The opposite was naturally true, too.
She had never really differentiated between what was hers and what was his.
Whether she should be the one to do it, or he should.
Whoever had the ability, or simply wanted to, could do what needed to be done.
But the problem this time…
'...Wait. Why is this a problem, in the first place?'
Suddenly snapping back to her senses, Eva, who had a change of mind, pouted and looked at Christian… waiting to hear what he was going to say.
"Well, I actually heard the conversation you had with my sister earlier," Christian said.
… Mentioning the two criminals, then telling her he heard what she said.
Was it his small revenge, in his sister's place?
But setting aside the problem she was cuurently facing in regard to her talent, that no matter what, he would comfort her… help her with—
He still felt that she went too far with what she said to his sister. So this was a small comeback against her.
And it wasn't about the content of what she said—no, that was never the problem for him…
It was more about how she phrased her words… how she deliberately agitated his sister.