## Chapter 98 – (5)
“How is it?”
“Huh? Oh… I slept so deeply…”
In truth, Ethan’s body didn’t even need a massage.
Just lying on the bed amidst the warm daylight and floral scents was enough for Ethan’s body to start recovering quickly.
All I did was gently press his slightly tense muscles with my internal energy-infused hands to relieve the tension.
That alone was enough for Ethan to fall asleep with a peaceful expression, and he woke up feeling refreshed.
Ethan slowly rotated his arms a few times and exclaimed in surprise.
“I think it’s really gotten better!”
It must have gotten better.
Though I don’t know if it’s entirely because of me.
I deliberately nodded grandly and said,
“Yeah, it’s a special massage I only give to close friends. Got it?”
“Yes!”
Ethan answered, his lips twitching, happy that he had received a massage only given to close friends.
The other knights of the Order, except for Dana, were always busy teasing him, so this treatment seemed even more pleasing.
I wouldn’t be surprised if he was itching to brag about it, judging by that expression. I bet he’ll spread the rumors himself.
“…Alright, let’s go out and do some afternoon training.”
“Yes!”
Looking out the window, the sky was already dyed orange.
The Order might be returning soon, so it was good to go outside and show them that we were training in front of the dormitory.
It wouldn’t be good if the Order came back and found out that Ethan and I had only done a bit of training in the morning and then lazed around sleeping during lunchtime.
I needed to emphasize that I had been training him diligently from morning till night.
“Haa!”
And as if to help my thoughts, Ethan quickly swung his sword as soon as he went outside.
It couldn’t be helped that he still showed many shortcomings.
However, the clumsy appearance from yesterday was nowhere to be found.
Perhaps because I had shown him how to wield the sword, he now displayed a semblance of swordsmanship.
Not bad for the first day of training.
That’s why I told him to stop swinging the sword.
It wasn’t the stage to be swinging a sword yet.
“Let’s build up your basic stamina first.”
I made Ethan do just three exercises.
Squats, sit-ups, and push-ups.
Of course, there were other exercises that would help Ethan, but I decided to start by teaching him the three most representative bodyweight exercises for building strength.
Ethan, unfamiliar with the exercises, couldn’t get the correct posture at first, but after a few corrections, he began to exercise with perfect form.
“Hoo… Why am I so out of breath…?”
Ethan, who had achieved the perfect form, was panting as he exercised, seemingly flustered.
These three exercises were originally like that.
As bodyweight exercises that boasted a relatively high intensity, they quickly depleted stamina and caused a reaction in the muscles if performed with the correct form, even without prolonged exercise.
Ethan’s physical condition would make him feel it even more easily.
Ethan seemed to feel this and was flustered.
“Do as many as you can, and do four sets like that.”
“Yes!”
Showing him swordsmanship and teaching him one of the modern exercise methods.
That alone would be enough to make Ethan grow.
Because he’s the protagonist, after all.
Clang, clang.
“Huh?”
I turned my head towards the sound.
The sound of iron clashing and colliding, along with thumping footsteps.
The steady sound naturally drew my attention.
Then, a group of knights in black armor slowly walked in from the entrance, as if a black fog was rolling in.
It was the return of the Black Knights.
Commander Dana gave me a faint smile instead of a greeting, and I bowed my head lightly towards her instead of speaking.
The knights who followed also waved or greeted me.
The unusual thing was that everyone except Commander Dana was covered in dirt on their armor and panting as if exhausted.
What happened?
“Hmm? What’s that movement?”
Commander Dana asked, looking at Ethan doing squats on the dirt ground.
“It’s stamina training.”
“Does sitting down and standing up like that count as training? Without even a weight…”
That was a good point.
I was actually planning to make a barbell for Ethan once he had built up enough basic stamina.
If that happened, Ethan would be the first person in this world to measure the three major exercises.
Commander Dana watched the exercise and, becoming curious, followed the movement herself.
She spread her legs a little wider than shoulder-width, pushed her hips back, lowered herself deeply, and then slowly stood up.
It was a good posture.
And after repeating the squats a few times, she nodded.
“It’s not stimulating enough for me, but it’s not bad.”
“…I’ll make a barbell… no, a weight.”
“Hmm, please do.”
She then refused Commander Dana’s offer to support me with the Order’s funds.
I had plenty of money anyway.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the entire Order’s funds combined were similar to the money I had.
In the distance, knights were murmuring and following the squatting motion as Ethan and Commander Dana had done.
At first, they followed along because it looked fun, but later, some knights realized that it was quite effective and started doing it seriously.
I slowly looked at the open space in front of the dormitory.
Should I just turn this place into a small outdoor gym?
It wouldn’t be bad for me if the Black Knights’ strength increased.
Surely the entire Black Knights wouldn’t become gym rats, would they?
Thinking such thoughts, I approached Ethan, who was already exhausted and collapsed on the ground.
“K, Knight.”
“That’s enough. Rest.”
He staggered and tried to force himself to get up when I approached, so I waved my hand.
The first day is always like this.
I told Ethan, whose legs were trembling, to sit down.
The important thing was consistency.
If he overdid it on the first day and couldn’t exercise the next day, that would be a problem in itself.
Looking at the condition of his legs, I should think about exercises focused on upper body muscles for tomorrow.
And then, a woman approached us.
It was Cecile.
“Haa…”
She placed her hand on my shoulder with a deep sigh.
Even though I was quite tall, Cecile was also tall like a model, so it was possible.
“What’s wrong?”
I was already curious about everyone’s dirty armor, except for Commander Dana, and their expressions that seemed like they were about to collapse.
Then Cecile, as if I had asked the right question, began to pour out the story.
Listening quietly to Cecile, I repeated the word that came out of her mouth once more.
“…Dungeon?”
“Yeah, a dungeon. A really big one at that.”
At the word “dungeon,” Cecile sighed and scratched her red hair.
It was her way of suppressing her anger.
“I thought this year would be easy…”
Leaving Cecile, who had a pout on her face, behind, I slowly recalled the contents of the original story.
In fact, dungeons were one of the most important places in the original story as well.
It was where the protagonist grew, and later, monsters escaped from the dungeon, putting the Commander in danger.
It was a very important place story-wise.
I wondered from what point it existed, but to think it was there from the very beginning.
“…Is the攻略 difficult?”
“It’s not just difficult. It’s hard to even fight unless you’re at Commander Dana’s level.”
She then recounted a heroic tale of ten knights clinging to defeat a single golem made of dirt.
I wondered what the dirt all over their bodies was, but it seemed to be traces of the golem.
But they eventually defeated it.
A golem, huh.
I couldn’t quite imagine how strong it would be.
“T, such a dangerous dungeon…”
Ethan glanced at Commander Dana with a worried expression.
He was worried about the strongest person among them.
“Anyway, Commander Dana is planning to report this to the higher-ups. We won’t be able to攻略 the dungeon unless they send reinforcements.”
Saying that, Cecile sighed deeply.
“…I hope they send proper reinforcements this time. Last time, they only sent some old knight…”
Unlike Cecile’s worries, the reinforcements would be perfect.
I knew that because I had read the original story.
However, the problem wasn’t their skills, but their personality.
“Hee, my body’s stiff, I need to rest.”
Cecile, who had a somewhat refreshed expression after pouring out her story, began to move as she saw the surrounding knights heading to their rooms one by one.
In front of Cecile, who was stretching by rotating her shoulders, Ethan said to me.
“Aren’t you going to give Cecile Knight a massage?”
“Massage? Out of the blue? This guy?”
Then Ethan’s finger pointed at me.
Cecile’s expression contorted as if she was dumbfounded.
“You give massages too?”
“…Well, a little?”
“Hey, how do you know? Did you get one?”
“Huh? Yes… You said you only give them to close friends…”
“Wow, hey! Then why don’t you give me one?”
Cecile, who looked betrayed, appealed to me.
I, who didn’t know that Ethan would move as I wanted him to, was also flustered and answered.
“…Well, should I give you one then?”
“Great! My body was tired anyway!”
At my suggestion, Cecile said it was perfect timing and appealed to me with her stiff shoulders.
I told Ethan that training was over for today and to rest well, then entered my room with Cecile.
Cecile, unaware of what might happen, exclaimed in admiration as she looked at my completely changed room.
