Chapter 375: Side Story 4: The Lion Queen (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 375: Side Story 4: The Lion Queen (2)
Creating your body didn't take as long as you might have thought.
According to a certain witch, who despite being rich and from a good family, somehow couldn't shake the air of new money:
"There's no need to imbue the hide with magic resistance, no function to freely clot and dissolve blood depending on the situation, and no need for a stomach that can handle toxic substances without issue, right? There's no reason it should take long to make one ordinary human body."
Despite her words, the body you received boasted extraordinary performance.
Your skin glowed, your muscles were supple, and all your senses—sight, hearing, and the rest—were sharp.
When you asked if an overly high-performance body wouldn't cause problems, the alchemist scoffed and replied.
"You only feel that way because the body remembered by your soul wasn't in its best state. If you had consistently managed and cared for your original body from birth, it would have been in this condition, you know?"
A person's appearance and physical condition are influenced as much by postnatal factors as they are by congenital ones.
No matter how healthy a body you're born with, if you eat nothing but instant food and never exercise, your health will quickly deteriorate—and the reverse is also true.
She explained that your current body was the result of keeping your innate congenital factors while optimizing all the postnatal ones to their peak condition.
Since this was the physical state you could have originally reached, she said, such a small discrepancy wouldn't put any particular strain on your soul.
To you, it was an incredibly amazing technique, but the alchemist herself reacted with indifference.
You were once again impressed by Franka's skill, and at the same time, you felt a sense of relief.
With this, you thought, I might just be able to keep up with Adelaide's training.
To state the conclusion first, you were gravely mistaken.
"Sir Knight! You can do it! Keep fighting!"
The lion, who had beaten down one transcendent warrior after another from the annals of history and grown stronger each time, was already a powerhouse among powerhouses, with no equal among pure warriors.
Compared to Adelaide, who could shatter boulders with her pure physical ability without a shred of mana enhancement, a body that was merely exceptional by normal human standards was almost embarrassing to present.
Driven by the single-minded thought that you couldn't lose to your pupil, you repeated an endless sprint until you finally reached a state of exhaustion and collapsed on the ground.
[The ‘Tin Knight’ waves a white flag, declaring he can’t go on!]
Seeing you sprawled out with your limbs spread wide as if to say, "Do what you will with me," Adelaide stopped beside you and laughed.
"You did well, Sir Knight. You worked hard!"
[The ‘Tin Knight’ says that it doesn't feel real hearing that from you, since you ran alongside him without breaking a single sweat!]
"Ahem. Well, that's because of all the training I've done! I haven't been slacking off, you know!"
At your lighthearted grumble, Adelaide puffed out her chest as if she were proud.
Finding the sight rather cute, you let out a dry laugh despite your breathlessness.
"But it's true that the speed at which you're training is definitely fast, Sir Knight. Your stamina will take time for your body to adapt, so that can't be helped, but I can see your ability to use your body improving by the day."
When it comes to exercise, knowing how to properly 'use' your body is just as important as physical ability.
Although your physical state had been reset, the experience you had accumulated hadn't vanished with it.
While you couldn't apply your past experience directly due to the difference between a doll's body and a living one, you only needed to make slight adjustments to the fundamental framework, so your growth rate was terrifying.
"You will become strong again, Sir Knight. And I believe that one day, you will soar even higher than you did in your doll's body!"
Her heartfelt cheers and encouragement filled you with motivation.
It was arduous in many ways, but it was also true that thinking of it as cultivating a character with new-game-plus perks made it quite enjoyable.
But that was for later.
You tried to somehow raise yourself, but upon realizing your body wouldn't budge, you let out a sigh.
If this had been a normal training session, you would have somehow climbed into the carriage and been carried away, but Dorothea had borrowed the carriage for a while, so it wasn't with you and Adelaide at the moment.
As you wondered what to do, Adelaide helped you up and then turned, offering you her back.
"Here, get on."
You wore a troubled expression.
As you mulled over how to refuse, you thought of a suitable excuse and said it.
[The ‘Tin Knight’ points out that he’s drenched in sweat right now, so that might not be a good idea!]
However, your excuse was easily refuted.
"Hm? Haha, it's fine. I don't mind things like that. Come on, hurry."
Unable to refuse her repeated offers, you eventually entrusted your body to Adelaide's back.
The picture was a bit odd due to the height difference between you and Adelaide, but her sense of balance and physical ability were so good that the stability itself wasn't bad.
Her hair carried a comforting scent, like sun-dried laundry.
"Hehe. This is the opposite of how things were in Tik-Tok!"
Whatever she found so amusing, Adelaide was grinning from ear to ear.
Throughout the training with you, she had always seemed excited.
You suddenly grew curious and asked.
[The ‘Tin Knight’ asks if she resents him!]
"Me, resent you, Sir Knight? Why?"
[The ‘Tin Knight’ says that, honestly, the training he put her through was indeed harsh!]
Swinging a real sword at a girl who didn't even know proper swordsmanship to improve her evasion, or making her run alone while her companions rode in the carriage.
The training you had put Adelaide through were things that some might not hesitate to call abuse.
So, even if Adelaide were to retaliate for it, you were prepared to accept it as a matter of course.
But Adelaide was purely helping you with your training, showing no sign of attempting revenge.
"The training? Well... if you ask whether it was harsh or not, it was definitely harsh."
Adelaide didn't deny it.
Perhaps in the early days of her journey, when she was too busy just following orders without knowing any better, but after experiencing all she had, she wasn't so naive as to claim that it was 'normal'.
"But I was the one who asked to become stronger. You were just responding to that, Sir Knight."
[The ‘Tin Knight’ says there might have been gentler ways!]
"If that had been the case, I wouldn't be here today."
Without a hint of hesitation, Adelaide declared it.
"If I hadn't developed my evasion skills so thoroughly, I would have suffered fatal wounds from the attacks of powerful enemies."
"If you hadn't intentionally delayed my acquisition of sword energy, I wouldn't have properly developed my fundamental swordsmanship and would have been outmatched by sheer class."
"And if I hadn't built up my body so thoroughly, I might have self-destructed, unable to withstand the backlash of the violet mana."
It was hard training. It was agonizing effort.
She didn't turn away from that or deny it.
However, she didn't consider it to have been wrong, either.
"It was because of you, Sir Knight, that I was able to return to my hometown with my head held high. It was because you led me that I was able to resolve my family's grievances. It was because you were my teacher that I obtained the position of head of the Lennart family."
"So," she continued.
"Please hold your head high. You are my benefactor, my teacher, and the person I like the most."
No matter who denied it.
Even if the knight himself didn't feel he had the right to be proud.
Adelaide herself would insist that her teacher's methods were 'right', she declared, puffing out her chest.
You gave a wry smile and spoke.
[The ‘Tin Knight’ comments that those words don't quite fit the image of him being carried on her back!]
[The ‘Tin Knight’ burns with motivation, saying he must work hard to quickly regain his dignity as a teacher!]
"I don't think this is so bad, though! I was always protected from behind you, so for a while, I'll protect you!"
That was quite a fatal temptation.
But you forced yourself to shake it off.
They say one of a teacher's joys is seeing their student surpass them, but you were still too full of fiery spirit to meekly accept being relegated to the sidelines.
You slid off Adelaide's back and onto the ground.
[The ‘Tin Knight’ declares his ambition to try again, stating that he has rested enough!]
[The ‘Tin Knight’ bluffs with manly bravado, asking if she has enough stamina to keep up!]
At your words, Adelaide laughed.
It was a smile as radiant as the sun.
"Yes! Wherever you go, Sir Knight, I'll keep running with you!"