The Hero Does Not Stop Training
"Let's head out."
Karen stared at the hero, who had finished preparing for departure, and the dwarves, her expression hardening. And who could blame her? The hero was riding some horse she'd never seen before, and the other dwarves were mounted as well. There was a horse prepared for her, of course, but the problem was that she, a mage from the Magic Tower, had never had the chance to learn how to ride.
"No... carriage?"
Karen asked the hero with a troubled look, but the response came from the dwarves.
"You crazy bitch? Huh? You wrecked it, and now you're looking for a carriage?"
"Yeah, ugly girl's got a thick skull too?"
The dwarves' insults grated on her, but since they weren't entirely wrong, Karen had nothing to say. Arguing with dwarves would get her nowhere anyway. With no choice, she turned to Jena, the territory's acting lord who had come out to see them off personally.
"A carriage..."
"I have nothing to lend you."
Jena, who had just been gazing at the hero with longing, pleading eyes, now responded to Karen in a curt, icy tone.
"I know you don't like me, but this is imperial business. As the territory's lord, cooperation is only natural..."
"Even if I wanted to cooperate, they say a carriage wouldn't survive the trip to the Dwarf City?"
Jena cut her off, and Karen started to feel a flicker of irritation at the woman's attitude. If she'd known a carriage couldn't handle it, she should have said so from the start. Telling her now just made Jena seem petty.
As Karen locked eyes with Jena, the hero's voice rang out.
"Karen, got a problem?"
"...I've never ridden a horse."
Karen's cheeks flushed slightly as she admitted it to the hero. For her, this was the first time she'd ever confessed to someone that she couldn't do something. She learned everything quickly and brimmed with confidence because of it.
"Oh, really?"
Karen flinched at the sight of the hero smiling down at her from his mount. She'd been trying to shake off yesterday's memories, but seeing him there, grinning atop the horse, brought the pain rushing back.
'Pain... gets easier with time?'
In truth, Karen couldn't forget the image of the hero snapping his own finger right in front of her. The things she'd used as test subjects without a second thought must have felt horrific agony too, but she'd never empathized with their pain. She'd never truly felt proper pain herself—not once since birth. The worst she'd known was a headache from reading too long or a paper cut from a new book.
But experiencing real pain for the first time had turned her world upside down. No, it was more like her guts twisting inside out. The agony started in her abdomen and spread through her body, making it hard to even breathe. Her brilliant mind ground to a halt, and her mouth—meant for swallowing food—spewed bile instead.
'How the hell does that get easier?'
She could endure it once or twice, but it only worsened. At first, ignorance let her take it, but once she understood the torment, her stomach knotted up before the blow even landed. Only after the pain etched itself into her body did Karen grasp the meaning behind the writhing of her test subjects.
And her first reaction to that realization? Revulsion. The insects and monsters in her lab, severed and twitching—they'd all thrashed to survive, while she'd sliced into their flesh with a blank expression. What had they felt? Just thinking about it gave her chills.
And it wasn't just the lab. The first thing she'd done upon meeting the hero was try to cut off his arm.
"So..."
That realization let Karen finally understand why the hero had treated her that way. During their spar, she'd felt real fear of him. He was smiling, sure, but his eyes weren't. The moment she met those empty eyes, she'd truly thought he might kill her. That was why she'd run away crying.
"Hoo... We'll be traveling together from now on."
Karen sighed, covering her face with both hands. Vomiting in front of him and fleeing in terror were embarrassing, but the fear gnawing at her was worse.
"Mm..."
Recalling his vacant eyes, she let out a short groan. Come to think of it, her pants had felt damp down there for a while.
Karen stood casually, glanced around, and slowly began removing her pants. It was her room, so no one was watching, but she moved with unusual caution. Pants off, underwear down—she confirmed the crotch was soaked.
'Pissed... myself?'
Her face paled at the sight of her wet underwear. Had she been so scared of the hero that she'd wet herself? Then it flushed red. But refusing to accept she'd peed, she slowly brought her nose to the damp fabric.
'Huh?'
No urine smell, against her expectations. Curiosity piqued, she touched the wet spot with her finger and found a slick, sticky fluid—not piss.
'What... is this?'
Karen Cross. This was the moment she first encountered her own arousal.
"What're you thinking so hard about, Karen?"
Karen jolted at the hero's voice, turning to him. Her mind denied it, but the lingering pain and fear crept into her thoughts.
'Answer him. Or he'll hit you again.'
"Ah, nothing."
She answered reflexively, and the hero nodded.
"Yeah? No thoughts at all?"
"Y-Yes."
She replied to his blank stare with a straight face. She wasn't in her right mind—didn't even know what she was saying.
"So, you can't ride?"
"...Yes."
She nodded again. He didn't seem angry, and not knowing how to ride wasn't a crime. Sure, she'd wrecked the carriage, but that was long gone from her mind.
'Maybe he'll let me ride behind him?'
She eyed him, thinking that if he wasn't ditching her, it was the only option. Unpleasant to cling to such a scary guy, but she'd nod if he suggested it.
"Got it. You wrecked the carriage but can't ride. Perfect."
"Huh?"
"Great timing, Karen. You need training anyway—might as well do it now."
Her brilliant brain couldn't parse his words. He was speaking Imperial, but it made no sense.
"Run, Karen."
"What?"
"Run alongside the horses."
"...D-Do you think that's possible? How can a person keep up with horses?"
"Exactly! Believe it's possible and run, Karen. Nothing's impossible."
"Th-Then let me use magic."
She shouted, flustered. Flying magic might match their speed, but it required intense focus. Even for genius Karen, human flight lasted only hours at best.
"No dice. Magic won't build stamina. Just run."
"...That's ridiculous. I'm a mage."
"Mages need base stamina too. Stamina is national power!"
Karen glared at him, indignant. He was impossible to reason with, but seeing him clench his fist killed her courage to refuse.
"Think of it as training and keep up as best you can."
The hero spurred his horse ahead as if done talking. The dwarves smirked at her before following.
"I underestimated you. You've got a knack for handling bitches."
She heard someone say that to the hero as they rode off. And what drove Karen mad was Jena staring at her with envy.
'They're all insane. No normal people here.'
Karen thought, on the verge of tears. Truth was, she was no different.