The Start of Serious Training

That afternoon—the day marking the true start of my training—I finished lunch earlier than usual and headed back out to the courtyard to make up for the session I'd skipped that morning. Unlike at dawn, there were a few eyes on me now, but I ignored ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠them and took up my usual spot in the yard as always.

Huh?

'From 10 reps to 100 all of a sudden... and now jump in place and side steps too? Isn't the difficulty spiking way too hard?'

But that wasn't the important part.

'...Oh, wait... the reward is five times higher! Five times! And agility's added too... I have to do this!'

I hurriedly hit accept.

Mmm...

Impulsively accepting the new daily quest felt good, but...

'Push-ups, sit-ups, squats... 100 each, plus a 10km ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠run...'

It was definitely no small feat.

'Good thing my schedule's clear today...'

Soon, I dropped into push-up position. Lowering my body, supporting my weight on my palms and toes, I focused my mind.

'Push-ups first... one by one in order.'

I bent my arms, lowering my body as close to the ground as possible, then straightened them to push back up.

"One, two, three, five... nine, ten... ten, one..."

Until now, I'd stopped at 10, but today I decided to count as far as I could go.

"Seventeen, ten... ten, eight... ten, nine, twenty...!"

At 20, my arms gave out, and my body collapsed with a thud, pulled down by gravity.

"Haa... ha, huu..."

Panting heavily, I quickly calculated.

'20 per set is my limit for push-ups... so five sets of 20 should do it.'

After a short rest, I started my second set. Like that, I finished five sets of push-ups, then tackled the rest the same way, filling each quota one after another.

For the final run, though, I pushed through the whole 10km without stopping midway.

The moment the chime rang out, I collapsed to the ground, gasping for air.

"Haa, haha... haa... ha, haa..."

All in all, wrapping up the daily quest had taken just over two hours.

'Definitely... no joke...'

But the rewards made it worthwhile. I opened my status window to check my stats.

'At this rate... I'll level up my stats again soon.'

Not a bad feeling at all.

...

..

.

The next morning... no, factoring in training time, I woke up two hours earlier than usual, before dawn, and headed to the courtyard.

"Alright, let's get started."

When I began, the sky was still dark, but by the time I finished, dawn's light was gradually brightening, bathing the courtyard in a soft golden glow under the rising sun.

The new daily quest was starting to feel a tiny bit familiar. I rinsed off my sweat-soaked body lightly at the well and returned to the room.

A few kids were already up and getting ready for the morning. Right on cue, Marie rubbed her sleepy eyes and approached me as I entered.

"Sleep well?"

"...Yeah, Teresa... you went training again today, huh?"

"Yep."

"...You're way more diligent than you look, Teresa... Take a break today. Your body's not fully recovered yet..."

"Haha... I'm all good now."

Way more diligent than I look...? Come to think of it, didn't she say something like that before? Do I really come off as lazy? That's kinda shocking...

"I see... Still, don't push yourself."

"Got it. Thanks for worrying."

I could tell she was genuinely concerned, so without thinking, my hand went to her head. I gave her hair a light stroke, and she leaned into me, entrusting her body to my touch.

"Marie?"

"...You smell like sweat..."

"I washed up, but I haven't changed clothes yet... Wait, then just pull away?"

"No... I like this. Actually, thinking about it again, I don't mind Teresa's sweat smell."

It changes just like that upon second thought? Somehow... since yesterday, Marie's been extra clingy with me. She's even shortening my name ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠now...

"Marie?"

"..."

She just fell right back asleep like that.

'Eh... it'll be fine.'

We still had about five minutes, so I held her and laid her down on the bed. While she slept, I changed clothes, finished my morning prep, and then woke her up.

She whined about why I'd let her fall asleep, but...

'Eh, not my problem.'

Still, while she changed and fixed her hair, I quietly helped by gathering her things, making sure she could finish getting ready.

We barely made it and hurried to the chapel for morning prayer.

When we arrived, not only the kids but also—unlike usual—a bunch of the monastery's nuns and priests were gathered in front of the chapel. They were placing hands on the heads of the children under their care, quietly praying, while the kids lined up waiting their turn.

"What's that about?"

"...Hmm, looks like they're checking something."

"Checking? What?"

"No idea..."

As we whispered, one of the priests overseeing the kids approached and shushed us.

"Shh. Be quiet."

His solemn, stern expression gave off a very strict vibe.

"Ahem... You two are late, I see? Why?"

"...Sorry. I overslept. This one's just helping me."

Marie apologized, and I bowed my head too.

"Come to think of it... you're Marie, aren't you."

"...Yes."

"Oversleeping, you? That's a first. Fine, whatever."

The priest seemed to know her; his expression softened a bit once he recognized her name. It felt like a top student pulling a minor stunt and the teacher just letting it slide like it was nothing.

I cautiously asked him,

"Um, what are they doing?"

"Nothing much. Just checking if any of you are 'tainted by evil'... If you're not, no need to worry."

"Tainted by evil?"

"Enough chatter. Go line up."

"Ah... yes, sir."

No choice—we joined the line with the other kids.

A moment later... I glanced back to confirm the priest had gone elsewhere, then whispered quietly to Marie.

"What's 'tainted by evil' mean?"

"Demons, or people contracted with them... or anything like that."

"Huh?"

"Like... hmm. Demon cultists or devil worshippers, say."

"...Ah... con, contract with demons... weak ones?"

My breath caught, goosebumps rising all over my body.

"...Hmm, but that's weird. They've never done this kind of check before."

"Never?"

"Yeah. Did something happen yesterday?"

A seriously ominous feeling washed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠over me.

"Does that tell you right away if you've contracted with a demon?"

"Pretty much. Usually."

"Usually?"

"Well... exceptions always exist."

I looked around. The kids didn't seem bothered, casually taking their turns for the prayers. But the nuns and priests had this solemn air, meticulously checking each one.

'Out of everywhere... the monastery hunting for demon cultists? Why bother?'

Gulp. A quick glance back revealed nuns and priests behind us too, watching the kids with fiery intensity.