EP.167 That Painful Name, Summer Break
Room cleaning was done, and Ian and Nell, who were going to Jonathan together, were also ready.
And Tisha, who suddenly expressed her desire to join...
"I'm ready too! We can go now, Kyle!"
She's raising her hand high, shouting that we can depart now.
Usually, Tisha doesn't show her emotions this openly.
Strangely, today she's letting her excitement burst out.
'This won't be as pleasant as you think, Tisha...'
It's not like I don't know why she suddenly decided to join.
She probably has something in mind to improve her relationship with me.
Not bad. I've always thought Tisha was a good person too.
Honestly, I wanted to approach her first, but I was worried about how the other girls would react.
It was awkward to reach out, concerned they might lower their guard too much towards Tisha.
So it's actually fortunate that Tisha took the initiative like this.
But that's not the issue. The problem is visiting Jonathan.
Why are Ian and Nell heading to Jonathan now? To play during break? No.
Then is it because they have nowhere else to stay? Are we helping underprivileged students? Not that either.
'Tisha's going to end up doing hell's training whether she likes it or not.'
Note that this isn't regular health training, but Hell's training.
It might even be worse than hell.
"Hmm."
I glance over at Tisha's luggage.
More than half of what she packed is books, probably planning to study at Jonathan.
But unfortunately, she won't have time to look at those books once we get there.
'Or will she? Maybe she plans to read while doing squats and planks?'
One thing's for sure - an incomparable training schedule awaits.
Once at Jonathan, she'll realize that what we did at the Academy was child's play.
I'm tempted to tell her the truth now and convince her to stay at the Academy.
But after thinking about it a bit more, Kyle decided against it.
From Tisha's perspective, it might seem like I'm trying to push her away.
Above all, she chose to come along instead of staying comfortable at the Academy to study.
Trying to stop her would only hurt her more.
'Right. Working out together will be better. Our relationship will grow stronger too.'
I can also take the opportunity to introduce Tisha to my family.
Come to think of it, Father has only met the Princess and the Saint, and Mother has only met the Princess.
It would be good for them to meet those who might become their future daughters-in-law.
Hmm, is thinking about daughters-in-law going too far? Am I getting ahead of myself?
No, future daughters-in-law is right. If anything, the four of them would probably protest if I said otherwise.
"Young Master."
Old Man Neil returned to the Academy right on time.
I was just wondering if we should leave first since he was taking so long to arrive.
"Welcome back, Sir. Judging by your expression, you seem satisfied."
"Ho ho ho! Indeed. It was already pleasant to find my old formidable enemy still alive, but his spirit hasn't diminished at all - if anything, it's grown even stronger. We had quite an invigorating sparring match."
"Take it easy. You need to consider your age."
By the way, that comment about considering age wasn't directed at Old Man Neil.
It was about Priscilla's grandfather, who's about the same age as Old Man Neil.
I heard he was bedridden with illness until recently.
Suddenly sparring? I hope he didn't get seriously injured somewhere.
I've heard that even minor bone injuries can be fatal for elderly people.
This isn't Jonathan where people can subdue adults from other regions with one hand even in their old age.
"Don't worry, Young Master. That man also knew when to stop. If anything, he seemed quite disappointed about having to hold back."
"That's good. I wonder if he might end up visiting Jonathan at this rate."
Though it would be difficult. Would he really come all the way to Jonathan?
Old Man Neil just shrugged his shoulders, seemingly unsure himself.
"Well, now that Sir Neil is here, let's really get going."
"How are we traveling? Walking? Or running?"
Someone might think Jonathan is just around the corner.
In reality, it's so far that even riding horses non-stop from the Empire's central region where the Academy is located would take well over a week.
"Neither."
"Pardon? Why not?"
"I understand the desire for cardio, but it's break time, isn't it? If we spend too much time traveling, we'll have less time to spend at home."
Old Man Neil let out a thoughtful "hmm" before finally nodding at Kyle's words.
As he said, traveling that way would take up quite a lot of time.
I heard the break period is two months, which isn't exactly short.
'Besides, it's not just the Young Master and this old body - there are several guests going to Jonathan. I suppose we should follow the Young Master's suggestion this time.'
Having reached his conclusion, Old Man Neil asked what the plan was.
Kyle proposed traveling to the North through a teleportation magic circle, then walking from there.
It was a quite reasonable and fast plan, plus it still included some cardio time.
"Very well. We'll do as you say, Young Master."
With Old Man Neil's agreement, their return schedule was all set.
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**
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"Hahaha! Welcome back, Kyle! So, how was life at the Academy?!"
They teleported to the Northern Margrave's territory using the transportation magic circle.
Somehow having heard the news, the Margrave himself had come out to greet them.
"It's been a while, Margrave."
"Oh! Neil, you're here too? Didn't you return with the Baron?"
"The Baron returned ahead of us. I had someone else I needed to meet."
"Is that so?! How unusual! You actually having someone to meet!!"
While Jonathan had almost no interaction with the Empire, they maintained quite friendly relations with the Margrave's territory.
Not only were they geographically close, but the two regions had been neighbors since before the war.
The only difference was that the Margrave's territory had joined the Empire early on, while Jonathan hadn't.
Moreover, the Margrave himself was known for his generous personality and strong sense of loyalty.
He was also extremely dedicated to physical training.
These traits naturally led to a close relationship with Jonathan.
'Finally, there's the mysterious steel produced in this Margrave's territory.'
The steel produced in the Margrave's territory was strangely several times heavier than steel from other regions.
However, it wasn't particularly more durable nor did it possess any special properties.
It was simply, inexplicably heavier than normal steel.
By volume, it weighed anywhere from three to twenty times more than regular steel.
The locals called it 'dense steel.' Though they might as well have called it 'troublesome steel.'
No one would buy it, and they had troublesome deposits just sitting there.
Jonathan started making all sorts of equipment with this dense steel, claiming the extreme weight was actually beneficial.
'Thanks to that, Jonathan got equipment that could provide overwhelming resistance training, while the Margrave's territory could sell their otherwise useless material in exchange for monster byproducts.'
They had become indispensable to each other. That's why they still maintained good relations.
It's no wonder the Margrave's territory's most successful business was manufacturing and improving exercise equipment.
"Your Excellency, Margrave."
"Hmm? Ah, Tisha is here too. This is unexpected. I thought you'd stay at the Academy to focus on your studies."
Despite not having known Tisha for long, the Margrave's assessment of her character was quite accurate.
No wonder the Baron of Jonathan held him in such high regard.
"That was the plan. But I wanted to visit Jonathan once."
"Jonathan? Visit?"
"Yes."
"Are you feeling unwell somewhere? Or perhaps... in need of physical training?"
"Eh? Um... neither actually...?"
The Margrave kept tilting his head in confusion.
His expression clearly said 'If it's neither, then why are you going to Jonathan?'
'Ah. As expected, he knows Jonathan very well.'
Kyle glanced at Tisha discreetly.
By now, she should have a rough idea of what lay ahead on the path she'd chosen.
Indeed, Tisha had realized it as soon as she heard the Margrave's words.
'I see. Kyle did say everyone in his hometown was as dedicated to training as he was... no, even more so. Come to think of it, Ian and Nell are definitely in for intense training.'
The same future awaited her if she went to Jonathan.
An endless stream of training, a constant flood of exercises.
There would be no breaks until the moment they left Jonathan.
To be honest, she was worried. It would be strange not to be.
But she had no intention of backing down now.
'Let's do this! It's not like I'm bad at exercise! I've already received direct training from Kyle at the Academy! This is actually an opportunity - a chance to show myself to his family!'
Tisha internally psyched herself up with a "Yeah!"
Old Man Neil smiled, having somehow read the change in her expression.
"Young Master, I believe the Baron will be quite pleased."
"Suddenly?"
"These people are already burning with enthusiasm. The Baron will surely applaud you for having such companions."
People burning with enthusiasm... Kyle looked at the three.
First, Ian was uncharacteristically excited.
Something about wanting to see those who pursue strength, apparently.
Nell was similarly excited about the prospect of everyone being able to become stronger.
Tisha seemed to have something different on her mind than pursuing strength.
Though he couldn't tell exactly what it was, her response was clearly positive.
"I hope they'll go easy on them."
"Ah... that might be difficult, Young Master. You know that, don't you?"
I do know. That's exactly the problem.
The Baron Jonathan. His father. One of his flaws.
He loves those who make an effort, but that love manifests in strange ways.
For example, he puts those who make an effort through absolutely insane, grueling training.
'Father, you say it's showing respect to those who make an effort, but... normal people don't shout "I can do it!" when pushed that hard - they scream "We're going to die!!"'