I had given up on using magic in battle for the time being, and now I sat brooding in front of the weapons I had borrowed from Hayato.
A row of ominous names stared back at me: ‘Abyss Twin Edge’, ‘Fire Dragon’s Crescent Blade’, ‘Orc King’s Headsman Sword’, ‘Bloodsucker Ogre Tooth’, ‘Twin Claws Plutoloa’, ‘Mana Eater’.
These were the weapons Hayato had lent me.
Even this battered short sword covered in scars bore the grand title of ‘Veteran Warrior’.
And a small dagger, of all things, was named ‘Rag Magia Azure’. The pomp never ended.
「As expected of a hero… I’ve never even seen a Harpy’s Crying Flute before…」
What Sorte picked up was a long spear adorned with a motif of a birdkin like a harpy.
Its appearance was beautiful, almost artistic, and it looked expensive at a glance.
「It’s famous?」
「In a sense. It’s more for war dances than actual combat, I’d say. Just watch for a moment.」
Sorte took a step back from me, lowered her stance, and held the Harpy’s Crying Flute at the ready.
I kept my eyes on her, and in the next instant, she launched a burst of rapid thrusts.
With each strike, a sound like a bird’s cry, a sharp ‘kyui’, rang out.
She continued with a flurry of thrusts, a great spin overhead, sweeping arcs one after another.
Each motion shifted the pitch and tone of the sound, weaving together like a melody of birdsong.
「And… that should do it.」
「That was amazing, Sorte. Not just the sound, you looked beautiful too.」
「R-really? There are specialists far better than me, so it’s nothing special…」
「Aah! Sorte, that’s not fair! Using the explanation as an excuse to show off!」
「Th-that’s not it! I just wanted to try it out for a bit!」
「I wanna do something too… damn it, if only I had a weaponssu! Don’t you have something like a ‘Leguscatal’?!」
Apparently, a ‘Leguscatal’ was a kind of blade worn from the shin to the knee, used for kick-centered combat.
Yeah… that was way too specialized. I could already tell it wouldn’t suit me.
「Still… incredible. Every single one of these is first-rate.」
「That good? Well… I guess I can tell.」
「Any adventurer would be desperate to get their hands on them. Altogether… I’d say they’re worth as much as, or even more than, this renovated mansion.」
E-eeeh!?
That much…!?
For someone like me, less than a greenhorn, to be holding these was far too much…
That said, I still had to choose something strong.
I was weak enough as it was, and equipment was one of the few things I could lean on.
Alright… I’ll play it safe and start with a sword.
I picked up what seemed to be the safest choice, a short sword.
Alright then, nice to meet you… ‘Epsilon Saber’.
I had no idea what the name meant, but clearly, you weren’t just any ordinary short sword either.
「Hey, wouldn’t it be better if you had a partner? I’m worried you’ll end up cutting yourself.」
「That’s true… in that case, I’ll be your opponent. I’m used to training the children, after all.」
「Yeah, if we dodged, master would get hurt insteadssu. Aina’s the best one to take your strikesssu.」
「Still, swinging at someone right away is pretty scary…」
「I appreciate the concern, but don’t worry. Even if the weapon is good, I’m not so weak that you could wound me. Besides, when it’s your first time, there’s a bigger risk of you injuring yourself.」
「…I guess that makes sense. Alright, I’ll leave it to you.」
If Aina, my instructor, said so, there was no point arguing further.
She stepped in front of me, drew her sword, and took a stance.
I knew she wasn’t going to attack me, yet I couldn’t help but feel tense.
「I’m wearing armor, so don’t worry. Even if you land a blow, it won’t do much damage. You won’t cause me any serious injury. For now, just swing as you like.」
「Got it… here I go!」
I believed in Aina’s words.
Alright, take this! Hyaaah!
-0-
…Or so I thought back then.
「Haaah… haaah… wheeze… wheeze…」
「My liege!? Are you alright?」
「N… not… at all…」
Impossible! Absolutely impossible! Is this even my body!? I can’t move!
Forget lasting an hour, I couldn’t even make it through thirty minutes!
First off, the weapon’s heavy! Swinging it once is one thing, but swinging it again and again? Totally different!
「Your stamina’s way too low.」
「That’s… not what I was expecting. At this rate, checking all the weapons will be rough.」
「I agree… you should probably start with endurance training, like running.」
「Also, my liege, you should craft accessories for yourself as soon as possible. Boosting your strength and stamina while training will be much more efficient.」
「O-okay! Yeah, I’ll do that…」
Rings, a necklace, earrings, whatever I could equip, I’d put on.
If I had to throw away appearances, then I might as well go all out!
Honestly, I’d underestimated this other world.
Because there were stats and skills, I just assumed I’d find a weapon that suited me right away, spar with Aina and the others, get knocked down, and then go again, like some training arc.
Reality, however… had other plans.
Well, of course. Since becoming a working adult, I’d hardly exercised at all.
My main modes of transport were car and train, and on my days off I either gamed, went to karaoke, or drank with friends.
There was no way someone like me could suddenly swing around something this heavy and keep his stamina up!
Alright, I admit it. Unless it’s something lighter than this supposedly “safe” ‘Epsilon Saber’, I can’t handle it!
But at least I figured that much out. I’ll take it as progress.
-0-
「Master, here’s some water!」
「Th-thanks…!」
Flat on my back, staring up at the sky, Wendy propped me up and helped me drink.
Ahh… delicious. Maybe it was because I’d been sweating, but it tasted even better than usual.
「So, what do you two think?」
「Length doesn’t seem to be a problem. But I think it’s too heavy.」
「Yeah, and I don’t think daggers would work either, masterssu. Getting that close in combat would be too much… but with some accessories, you might manage this weightssu.」
「Personally, I think it’s better to have some leeway. How about trying a spear next? Some of them are light, and instead of swinging, you’d only need to thrust.」
「Medium range isn’t a bad idea… but if your balance isn’t steady, the spear tip will waver.」
「And if an enemy gets inside your reach, you’d panic and be in dangerssu.」
My instructors were seriously debating what weapon suited me best.
Looking back, it was ridiculously fortunate, being trained by A-rank adventurers and females too, who had placed third in the royal capital’s tournament.
I felt pathetic in comparison, but still…
「In any case, the biggest problem is your stamina.」
「Hmm. Agreed.」
「Rightssu. Without a stronger foundation, we won’t even know what your real aptitude isssu.」
「But where should he run? The streets are crowded, and outside the city there are monsters.」
「Ah… I’d prefer the city too. Even if I’m being guarded, I don’t think I could focus if I had to worry about monsters. What about early morning?」
「That’s possible… but mornings in this city are busy. People will already be preparing for the morning market and food stalls.」
Hmm… true, I couldn’t just run wherever I wanted.
And if I was running, someone would have to come along. Waking them up early for my sake would feel bad too…
Ah, wait.
「Then… I’ll just make one.」
「…Make what?」
-0-
Panpaka-paan!
And so, I made it.
A treadmill, designed so I could run even inside my room.
I modified rotation spheres into rollers, wrapped eight of them in slime membrane hardened into durable rubber, and assembled the device.
Pour in magic power, and the platform automatically begins to move. A built-in magic power meter allows time settings!
Speed can be adjusted with a nozzle beforehand, the on-off switch controls the magic power circuit, and for safety, it even has handrails!
A bargain at just 500,000 Nohl!
Perfect for noble ladies who’ve been neglecting exercise, or for those who don’t want their efforts to be seen by others!
…Of course, that was just a joke, price included. But the machine really was complete.
I gave it a test run, and yeah… not bad at all.
「…My lord, you’ve made another weird thing, haven’t you」
「Not weird at all. This is fun」
Shiro was already running at top speed on the test machine, laughing even though she was going ridiculously fast.
「…Hey. Let me try」
「Just a little longer」
「Next is messu!」
「I want to try it as well…」
And somehow it turned into a huge hit, so I ended up building another one.
I’d even set up an outrageous speed option as a joke, but apparently that wasn’t a problem for these girls. Figures…
「This might actually be good exercise for us too」
「Yeah, feels like training for sustained sprinting!」
「Oi, hold on. This is for ‘my’ stamina training, alright? Don’t hog it」
I placed both treadmills in the newly spacious room, and since that looked lonely, I also built other training equipment.
Machines for sit-ups, back extensions, arm strengthening, and so on…
「Master, like this maybe?」
「You can’t do sit-ups hanging upside down like that…」
Even with the incline-adjustable sit-up bench set to maximum, they did sit-ups without breaking a sweat.
「My liege, is it like this? Hm, fairly heavy」
「No, that’s supposed to be lifted with both hands…」
The barbell wasn’t meant for one-handed use…
Yet she casually hefted it, treating it like a dumbbell.
「And this one, what’s it for?」
「To help with flexibility…」
But they could already do full splits without any machine support, so it was meaningless.
Seriously… will I ever be able to catch up to these girls?
I was starting to lose confidence here!
And so, my daily routine became running, strength training, and combat practice while wearing a load of accessories, all to build stamina and condition my body through relentless training.
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