The Archbishop's Special Training Set (2)
After agonizing over the Archbishop's special training set (2), I finally decided to head to the training grounds and meet Grandpa Carlo. I resolved that if things got as chaotic as last time, I'd just make a run for it. But when I arrived, the place was oddly quiet. Not because it was empty—plenty of people were there—but every single one of them was trembling with fear. What the hell?
Somehow, I entered the training grounds without incident and spotted Grandpa Carlo tidying something up in one corner. We exchanged light greetings—how's your body holding up, thanks for the new doll, and so on—before I took a closer look at what he was organizing. Belts and bracelets lay scattered across the floor, each etched with intricate geometric patterns that gave off an air of mystery. They were clearly magical tools or artifacts; the same kind of markings appeared on my portable communication device and spatial pouch, even if the designs differed.
Curious about their purpose, I asked Grandpa Carlo.
"These? They're training tools I specially designed and commissioned at great expense, working alongside magesmiths and alchemists."
"Ooh..." Belts and bracelets for training... I could already guess what they did.
"If your body's up to it, how about we start training you with these from today onward, Saintess Candidate?"
Oh? That sounded good to me—
"Stop that crazy old man right now!!!!"
"Agh! You startled me! Why are you yelling all of a sudden?"
You almost gave the kid a heart attack, you lunatics!
"You insane old geezer! What are you suggesting to Lady Levia?!"
"Have you lost your mind?!"
"Listen to how these brats talk. It's been a while since I gave anyone etiquette lessons. They must be confident if they're picking a fight."
"Ugh... We won't back down!!"
"We protect the weak. We never retreat before an enemy. We eradicate evil!"
What was going on? From the knights' words, it seemed they were trying to stop Grandpa Carlo from training me. The tension between him and the Saint Front Knights was about to explode.
In the middle of that charged atmosphere—
Grumble
My stomach clock went off. Come to think of it, I hadn't eaten anything since passing out yesterday. I felt everyone's eyes snap toward me. It was embarrassing when they all stared like that. The sound hadn't even been that loud—how did they hear it?
"Can't we eat first? I'm hungry."
Whether we trained or fought, food came first. Koreans run on rice, after all. Even if there wasn't any rice here.
* * *
"Lady Levia. You absolutely mustn't do this."
After finishing the meal, Jacob approached me when I returned to the training grounds. He seemed to have a very negative view of Grandpa Carlo's special training tools. Grandpa Carlo had said he respected my choice and that I didn't have to do it if I didn't want to, then stepped back to wait for my answer. Jacob seized the moment to try persuading me.
"Why are you acting like this when we haven't even started?"
"These aren't training tools. They're torture devices."
"Torture devices?"
According to Jacob, the training method was simple: just wear the belts and bracelets while running, swinging a sword, or doing various strength exercises. The problem was that every single one was an artifact crafted by magesmiths and alchemists working together, inscribed with weight-increase magic, gravity magic, and even mana-blocking magic.
My heart raced at the explanation. If that was true, then Grandpa Carlo's special training tools were...!!!
"You understand now, don't you? That's why they're not training tools but torture devices..."
"Sounds fun! I want to try them right now!!!"
"...Pardon?"
It was like one of every guy's fantasies realized in a training tool! I could experience something like the gravity training room from that cartoon where collecting seven orbs grants a wish? There was no way I could resist that! Even someone who hated exercise would want to try it at least once if something like this existed...! As a guy—no, wait, I'm a girl now, so as a girl I shouldn't be able to resist either. Anyway, yes!
"I knew the Saintess Candidate would say that! Khahaha!"
"No no no, Lady Levia! Did you actually hear my explanation? Fun? Really?"
"It means I have to move my body while it's extremely heavy, right?"
"Yes."
"Then it's definitely fun."
"Pardon?"
"Stop complaining and go swing your sword over there. The old man and the Saintess Candidate are busy starting now."
Jacob looked displeased, but with my will firm and Grandpa Carlo's authority in play, he had no choice but to back off. Once he joined the other knights training farther away, Grandpa Carlo lowered his posture to match my eye level and began speaking in a whisper.
"Saintess Candidate, listen carefully to what this old man has to say. And it would be best if you didn't repeat it to others."
Was he about to share some secret before training began?
"Nearly every living being on this continent holds mana within their body. However—"
"However?"
"The Saintess Candidate's body, now that the seal has been released, contains no mana."
Huh...? I don't have mana? More importantly, what seal?
"Seal?"
"Most people don't know this, but receiving a blessing is a prerequisite for becoming a Saintess Candidate. Yet our Saintess Candidate became one despite lacking divine power."
"I found it strange, so the Cardinal explained that divine power had been sealed inside your body."
So it wasn't an awakening, but the release of a seal? The questions remained, but the story made sense. It fit better with the idea that power I'd originally possessed had been liberated rather than suddenly awakening in a crisis because I was a reincarnator.
"What do you mean I don't have mana?"
"This old man can read bodies quite well. How much mana someone holds, how far they can grow..."
Grandpa Carlo spoke like some hidden master. After examining my body, he concluded that once my divine power was released, no mana remained inside me.
"Instead of mana, divine power flows through the Saintess Candidate's body. Just like mine."
"You don't have mana either, Grandpa Carlo?"
"Similar, but fundamentally different. This old man became this way through external means, but you are different. It's as if..."
"As if...?"
He spoke without full certainty.
"You were born with divine power."
"That sounds like you're saying I'm not human."
"I don't know either. The Cardinal probably does... but he won't answer."
Benedict—no, Father. When you get back, we're having a family meeting. I need to know the truth about my birth.
"But why tell me this secret? Does it have something to do with training?"
Grandpa Carlo nodded.
"Humans grow stronger through training, and through training they learn to sense mana."
Warriors did so through repeated physical training, mages through meditation. Of course, exceptions existed—those overflowing with talent, for instance.
"This old man isn't a mage, so I don't know much about that side, but I understand the warrior's way."
Whether learning martial arts or handling weapons, repeated training to understand one's own body was the universal starting point for sensing mana. Once you could feel it, you could circulate it to make your body stronger. A stronger body could then hold more mana. Repeating this cycle made warriors powerful.
What about me, who had no mana? In principle, divine power didn't increase. So how was I supposed to get stronger?
"Do you want to become stronger, Saintess Candidate?"
It was an obvious question. Strong enough that no one could ever threaten my life again.
"Yeah. Strong enough that no one can touch me."
"Then the first thing you must do is understand your own body."
Archbishop Carlo picked up two bracelets and handed them to me.
"These training tools are excellent for learning the limits of the flesh. How much you can lift under increased weight magic. How much gravity you can endure."
"And when a person realizes those limits and surpasses them, they grow."
"In short, the goal of this training is both practice and a kind of experiment?"
"You see it clearly. As expected of our Saintess Candidate—you're sharp."
An experiment... It wasn't a bad form of training. The purpose was to repeatedly learn the limits of my body and surpass them, thereby understanding it in a short time... and in the process, confirm whether someone without mana could sense and hold it.
Grandpa Carlo added one more thing.
"Even if you never sense or hold mana, this training will still help greatly. A stronger body will improve the efficiency of your divine power."
That made sense. Multiplying ten by two gives twenty, but multiplying one hundred by two gives two hundred.
"This old man will adjust the intensity, but it will be quite grueling. I'll ask once more. Will you undergo this training?"
There was only one answer I could give to that question—the same one I'd already given twice before.
"Sounds fun."