Physical Training

"Today's training will be physical conditioning."

After Linus made that announcement, Isolte's face twisted as if she had eaten a Dafin.

Clearly, physical training was not an item that put anyone in a good mood.

Immediately afterward, Linus carried a set of iron plating out of the house and set it down in front of Hilde.

"What is this?" Hilde asked curiously.

"This is armor custom-made to fit your body."

Linus explained.

Unlike the Sword God Style, which won through speed, swordsmen of the Water God Style rarely moved much in battle, but they often had to deal with attacks from every direction. Since they could not quickly withdraw from the battlefield once they fell into a disadvantage, they would also run into situations where they had no choice but to endure a prolonged fight.

Stamina and physical strength were the decisive factors.

Correspondingly, in order to build stamina and physical strength, weighted training was an important part of the process.

"So I'm supposed to wear this thing for today's weighted training?" Hilde asked.

Linus shook his head.

"To be precise, starting today, you'll be wearing this for all your training. As a swordsman of the Water God Style, you must get used to fighting in heavy armor."

"..."

All right. Now Hilde understood why Isolte had made that face earlier.

Over the past few days, since they had only been training techniques, Isolte had not worn armor, but normally speaking, swordsmen of the Water God Style were supposed to be armored at all times.

With Isolte's help, Hilde soon put the armor on.

The slightest movement made the sound of iron pieces clashing together.

Her footsteps suddenly became heavy as well.

"How does it feel?" Isolte asked with a smile as she looked at Hilde in her armor.

"I'm not quite used to it, but it's fine."

Hilde moved her arm a little.

It was heavier than she had expected.

But for Hilde, it was honestly still all right.

However, that casual attitude looked like something else entirely in Isolte's eyes.

"Are you really okay? The intensity of physical training is very high. It's better not to push yourself."

"Isolte, you seem to be underestimating me a little too much."

"That's not what I meant..."

Isolte really had nothing to say to that.

So-called physical training meant running and climbing trees while wearing this armor, and even during rest periods, it could not be taken off.

"At any rate, first put on that armor and run five laps around all of Ars City."

"..."

The outermost wall of Ars City was more than ten kilometers around. Five laps meant fifty kilometers.

And on top of that, she had to wear armor like this.

For a moment, Hilde felt as if she had transmigrated into a military drama.

Fortunately, however, this was another world after all.

Although Hilde had mentally prepared herself long ago, she still found it somewhat hard to adapt to the high-intensity training. After completing the task of running laps around Ars City, she immediately continued swinging her sword while wearing the armor, swinging again and again without pause, as if trying to squeeze out the last shred of her strength.

By the time the sun set, Isolte had collapsed completely onto the ground. Sweat had soaked the dojo floor through the gaps in her armor, and she was so exhausted she could not even lift a finger.

Hilde was having a hard time too, but she was not as exaggerated as Isolte.

She simply leaned silently in the corner, using deep breaths to calm her heartbeat while feeling the aching soreness coming from her limbs.

The clothes inside her armor had been completely soaked with sweat.

Learning swordsmanship really was not easy.

Hilde tugged open her collar, and a sour, stale smell slipped from the neckline into her nose.

After wearing these clothes for an entire day without taking them off, they had become completely unwearable.

"...So stinky," Hilde complained softly.

"..."

Isolte, lying on the ground, paused in her breathing for a moment.

She glanced at Hilde, made sure Hilde was not looking this way, quietly pulled open her own collar, and sniffed the smell on her body too.

Uh...

It really was, a little.

"All right, that's enough training for today. You two go back and get some proper rest," Linus said as he stepped out.

The two of them struggled up from the ground.

The thought that this dull, painful training would go on for years was enough to make despair well up inside her.

Still...

Hilde clenched her fists.

There was one thing she knew for certain: she could clearly feel herself getting stronger.

That alone was enough.

"Come on, Isolte. Let's go change."

Hilde could hardly stand the sticky feeling all over her body and wanted to hurry back to the inn for a bath.

In truth, Isolte felt much the same.

Clank—

The heavy armor came off her body and hit the changing room floor with a dull thud.

Hilde lifted her arm and sniffed, and the look on her face instantly became as spectacular as if she had eaten Dafin.

"Oh, right, Hilde, how about we go to the bathhouse together later?" Isolte asked.

"The bathhouse?" Hilde froze for a moment. The royal capital had dedicated bathhouses?

"Of course it does. This is the oldest and largest city in human history. You can find almost anything you want here. So? Let's go together."

Isolte extended the invitation warmly.

After finishing physical training, she always made a trip to the bathhouse. For one, it washed away the stench of sweat; for another, it let her body properly relax in hot water.

From the perspective of balancing work and rest, it helped with training too.

Usually, she went by herself. Occasionally she went with her brother, but men and women were different, after all.

Hilde had her head lowered, focused on rubbing her slightly aching wrist. At those words, she was somewhat tempted.

But she was still thinking about looking for part-time work. This was a practical matter tied to her livelihood. If she could not solve it soon, who knew, things might turn into some strange direction like "The Greyrat Family's Household Finances."

"No, I'll pass..."

"Oh, don't be like that. Going to the bathhouse alone is so boring. I won't even have anyone to talk to."

"I..."

"Hilde, come with me, please? I promise it won't take too much time. Please!"

Isolte grabbed her arm and shook it back and forth, wearing a pitiful expression.

"..."

Hilde was immediately at a loss for words.

In the end, she could only sigh softly in compromise. It looked like the matter of part-time work would have to be put off again.

"...Fine."

"Yay!"

The expression on Isolte's face instantly cleared from cloudy to bright, blooming into a smile as radiant as summer sunlight.

This girl really was quick to get familiar with people...

In all fairness, Hilde could not bring herself to bathe together with someone she had only known for a few days.

The two of them changed out of the training uniforms that had been soaked through with sweat and plastered to their skin.

They were just about to head to the bathhouse together.

But before they even reached the dojo's main entrance, they were stopped by a familiar figure.

Grot once again appeared ahead of them at just the right time, as if he had been waiting there for ages.

He took a step forward and nodded to Isolte with elegant courtesy.

"Good day, Miss Isolte. I wonder if I might have the honor of inviting you to dinner tonight? I recently learned of a rather fine restaurant that has opened in the city..."

Here he was again...

Hilde honestly thought this guy had quite a bit of perseverance.

Even though Isolte had already made her refusal so clear, he still kept pursuing her relentlessly, and he even remembered to maintain a gentlemanly manner at all times.

To be honest, if he used that kind of persistence on other girls, he probably would have won them over long ago.

If there was anything unfortunate about it, it was that Isolte had absolutely no intention of dating.

It was not that Isolte hated men, nor that she lacked a woman's sensibilities. In her own words, she would not consider dating a man until she could inherit the title of Water God.

Such a shame.

"Thank you very much for your kind invitation, Master Grot."

Isolte reached out and linked arms with Hilde beside her, a polite smile on her face, her tone keeping a subtle distance.

"But unfortunately, I already made plans to go to the baths with Hilde."

"Ah, is that so?"

The smile on Grot's face stiffened for a moment.

But he quickly got his expression under control, stepped aside to clear the way, and gave a slight bow.

"...Then, please go ahead."

"Excuse us."

Isolte smiled, then walked off with Hilde's arm in hers.

Grot stood where he was, watching the two girls leave side by side, the smile on his face slowly fading.

He had no idea how many times he had been rejected by now.

To be honest, he was almost out of patience. And frankly, he was not all that interested in a woman like Isolte, who knew nothing but sword practice all day long and reeked of sweat from head to toe. Under normal circumstances, he would probably have given up long ago. However, getting close to Isolte was a task his family had given him.

The Kruel family was not some high-ranking noble house.

But the current Water God, Leda, held a transcendent status in the Asura Kingdom, so Grot's family wanted to use him to build a connection.

That was precisely why Grot had stayed at this dojo all this time.

Lately, Isolte had constantly been using that person named Hilde as an excuse to refuse his invitations.

Grot could not understand it.

How had this country child who had only just arrived at the dojo suddenly become so close with Isolte?

She was with Isolte all day long.

She was far too much of a nuisance.