Physical Training
Physical Training
...Sigh.
Danya stood beside Ian.
She had inadvertently witnessed the entire confrontation between Sharon Pierce and Ian.
No.
Could that even be called a confrontation?
It was a one-sided humiliation, delivered by Sharon Pierce.
What had Ian done wrong to deserve such a reaction?
Rina Rosewell seemed to dislike him too, and now Sharon Pierce was the same.
Rina and Sharon. Even Danya, who had no friends, knew these famous academy students.
Being hated by people like them was hardly a good thing.
On top of that, many students were wary of Ian.
There wasn't a student who hadn't heard the bad rumors about him.
'I've already decided to trust Ian, though.'
Danya trusted him.
She trusted the Ian she'd seen with her own eyes, and she trusted his words when he said he believed in her.
From what Danya could see, Ian wasn't a pervert or a playboy... he was definitely different from those rumors. So much so that she suspected the other students were misunderstanding him.
If everything about him was a misunderstanding or a false accusation, how must Ian feel now?
If Danya herself had been in Ian's shoes.......
'I don't think I could keep attending the academy if that happened.'
She would certainly have returned straight to the holy land.
Or maybe... she would have joined some mercenary guild.
Sharon walked off into the distance.
Danya glanced up at Ian.
His face was as expressionless as ever.
Even after hearing such harsh words, his expression hadn't changed much.
'.......'
That silent expression.
A corner of her heart ached.
How much harassment had he endured over the years to wear such a blank face?
Beneath that calm exterior, how much must Ian be burning up inside?
It left her feeling sorry for no good reason.
Even though she was his ally, she felt like she hadn't protected him.
She was about to open her mouth to offer some comfort.
"Tch."
Crack. Crack. Ian tilted his head from side to side a couple of times, then looked at her.
The corners of his mouth pulled up into a smirk, more confident than ever.
It was exactly the smile Danya had seen a lot lately.
"A little provocation like this is what makes growth worth it. Don't you think, Danya?"
"Y-you... I'm worried about you, and you're..."
"Huh? What?"
Ian grinned.
Danya let out a sigh.
What was this? She felt like she'd lost out by worrying for nothing.
"You weren't actually worried about me, were you?"
"H-Hah? I did no such thing!"
Ian was being insufferably smug.
Danya pursed her lips in annoyance.
Seriously. She seriously felt like she'd lost out by worrying.
Come to think of it, Ian had become a lot bolder compared to before.
Even the conferment ceremony just moments ago was the same.
The Knight Department Dean, Yan Bommell.
Honestly, when Danya first saw him, all she wanted to do was run away on the spot.
The thick scent of blood.
He gave off the unmistakable stench of someone who had claimed countless lives.
His gaze wasn't the sort you could withstand with ordinary mental fortitude either.
But Ian was different.
He stared into those yellow eyes without any particular difficulty.
When the other party showed contempt for his Star Rank, Ian provoked him right back.
'That really was refreshing to watch.'
It felt like Ian had vindicated Danya's thoroughly trampled pride.
Honestly, for a moment, Ian looked different.
Ahem.
Anyway.
Having watched this whole sequence of events, a certain thought inevitably crept in.
'Just when did it start...?'
A question of when exactly Ian started to look so impressive.
At the same time, she was curious about what kind of confidence he possessed to antagonize Sharon Pierce.
"Aren't you worried? Sharon's acting like that."
"Huh?"
"Sharon Pierce always keeps her word. She's the most promising student in the Sword Department. There are even rumors her promotion to Aether is already confirmed for next semester. Are you really not worried about crossing swords with someone like that?"
Ian nodded without a second thought.
"Think about it, Danya. I have no reputation left to lose."
"...?"
"Even if I clash with Sharon, I've got nothing to lose by trading words. Plus, imagine me later crushing Sharon's arguments with results. In short, no risk, only profit."
"......."
Danya let out a small sigh.
Honestly, objectively speaking, taking on Sharon Pierce was impossible.
Based on the rumors that she met the Aether promotion criteria, her Star Rank was at least 4-Star.
Right now, Ian's overflowing self-esteem had caused his objectivity to slip a bit, leaving him unable to properly grasp the conflict with Sharon.
Ian breaking the pride of Sharon and Dean Yan Bommell? She wished it were true, but it was frankly impossible. Even though Danya thought highly of Ian, this exceeded that high regard by a wide margin.
If he ended up being beaten by those two at this rate, Ian's reputation would sink lower than a water flea's.
Then, there really wouldn't be anyone left willing to exchange a single word with him.
'Really, I can't help it.'
Danya shook her head from side to side.
She felt like an older sister watching her troublemaking younger brother.
In reality, she and Ian had even shared words about trusting each other.
By beastkin standards, they were sworn comrades.
If Ian were to lose his place in this academy, Danya herself would be the only person left by his side.
She was certain she'd be the only one who would stay loyal to the end.
In the end, it meant she had to take responsibility for Ian.
That's why she needed to take good care of him.
'That's probably why I get so concerned whenever I see Ian.'
Without her realizing it, Ian had taken a soft, squishy spot in a corner of Danya's heart.
Danya defined this feeling that way.
And so, she decided to muster a bit of courage and approach him.
"...I really can't help it."
"Huh?"
"The great Danya will specially teach you some physical training methods."
"Physical training methods?"
"Yeah. Follow me, nyah."
◆
The basement of a building in the academy.
Filled with all kinds of equipment, the space was thick with heated breath regardless of gender.
"Hah, hah."
"Just one more."
"Nyaaaa—"
"Good, Danya. One more. The last one!"
"Hiyaaaa—"
Danya was the one who had offered to teach him physical training, but now the situation had reversed, with Ian coaching her.
That was because, at least when it came to muscles, Ian was even more of a lunatic than Danya.
"Th-this... this isn't exercise, nyah! It's torture! I don't train like this!"
"Come on, this is nothing. Here, let's add another weight."
"Kyong!"
At the suggestion of adding more weight, Danya, who had been groaning like she was dying just moments ago, shot up from her spot.
Her perked-up tail was a bonus.
Then she rolled her eyes around once before speaking.
"I think I left the kettle on the stove at home, nyah."
"You've been outside for hours and only now..."
"Later!"
And with that, she fled at full speed.
Never had she been so swift and agile.
Ian sighed and rose from his seat.
'So much for her confidently saying she'd teach me physical training.'
Well, in the end, the result was practically the same, wasn't it?
Ian looked up to check the name of the place.
[ Physical Training Room ]
Actually, just by bringing him here, Danya had perfectly fulfilled her bold promise. Until a moment ago, Ian hadn't even known a place like this existed within the academy.
A Physical Training Room tucked away in a deep corner of the academy.
Apparently, not many people trained their bodies like this.
"Tch."
But Ian looked around with satisfaction.
It was full of workout equipment that, truthfully, didn't seem much different in effectiveness from what you'd find in the modern world.
Simple structures like dumbbells and barbells were practically indistinguishable.
Equipment requiring mechanical devices like cables was a little different from the modern world, but these ones actually felt more advanced.
There were machines where weight plates hovered alone in mid-air, or where linked handles were attached to them.
They appeared to be exercise devices applying magic engineering.
In short, gym-obsessed magic engineers apparently existed in this fantasy world too.
"This is perfect."
Satisfied, Ian grabbed a piece of equipment and started working out.
"Hoo-work—!"
Anyway, Pongpongi's physique was still sorely lacking.
Even the muscles he did have were mostly built up from carrying the Lunar Staff around after the possession.
He was handling such light weights.
"Hey. You think this is some kind of date spot?"
"Seriously, there's always some guys who can't even lift shit but still bring girls here."
Some thugs appeared to pick a fight.
When he ignored them, they deliberately set up camp around him.
"Isn't this bastard Ian Blackangus?"
"Oh yeah? What a joke. Look at him hittin' those weights. I could lift that with my dick. You call that exercising? Keuk, keuk."
They even started messing with his equipment.
Letting out a small sigh, Ian spoke.
"Hey. Save the chatter for after the workout. I'm losing my gains."
◆
Guiding his trembling legs, Ian exited the Physical Training Room.
He'd ignored the punks who tried to pick a fight.
They were probably waiting for him in some secluded corner.
"Not my problem."
He had no reason to go along with their absurd provocations.
Maybe because they were muscleheads themselves, he was lucky the 'gains loss' logic had worked on them.
He rounded the corner of the building with that thought in mind.
— Thud!
"Kyaah!"
He collided with someone.
A girl with heavy dark circles under her eyes.
She had ashy hair, though it was hard to tell if that was its real color or if something was smeared in it.
And the area around her lips was bright red.
For a moment, it reminded him of Rina Rosewell eating fruit in the forest, but this wasn't on that level.
Judging by the scent of strawberry jam, she must have been holding a piece of bread in her mouth.
'Where did the bread go? ...Ah. There it is.'
The bread lay plainly on the floor, bearing the marks of small teeth.
"Sorry."
He was about to bend down to pick it up with an apology.
"Wait!"
The girl thrust out her arm, pulled out a notebook, and crouched down right in front of the bread.
"...93 times out of 93."
"?"
"It falls jam-side down. A 100% probability, based on observations so far."
She scribbled that into her notebook, then hurriedly stuffed it into her pocket.
What was truly a sight to behold was her next action.
"Three-second rule: safe."
The girl picked up the bread off the floor.
Then, placing the bread back in her mouth, she walked away.
Faced with that madness, Ian could only mutter blankly.
"...It was way past 3 seconds."
Shaking his head at the sudden appearance of this eccentric, he was about to go on his way.
Something glittered in the spot where the girl had crouched down.
"...A stone fragment?"
A stone fragment of a rather unique shape and color lay fallen there.