Sir Hero, It’s Time to Train!

His body had truly felt lethargic.

So much so that it seemed as if he could flutter away like a feather.

‘Oh? This feels familiar.’

He suddenly became alert as if recalling an experience from not long ago.

‘Ah, no. I really can’t die!’

Christian shook off the drowsy and cozy feeling as if nestled in his mother’s embrace, quickly opened his eyes, and sat up.

His body felt unpleasantly clammy from cold sweat, but that discomfort only served to make him realize with relief that he was very much alive.

“Sigh. I thought I was going to die.”

“Here, at least wipe off that sweat.”

“Huh? Oh, thank you.”

He gratefully accepted the soft towel handed to him from the side and wiped the sweat off his face.

“Ugh, so sticky. How did I sweat so much?”

“It wasn’t just sweat.”

“Not just sweat?”

“Here, have some water first.”

“Oh, thank you.”

He took the cup handed to him kindly and gulped it down in one go.

Whoever it was, they had prepared cold water too; they were quite considerate. He thought he should praise them.

And when he turned his head to give the praise, he saw someone familiar.

“Oh, wait, mom?”

“Oh my! Since when did my son start speaking like that?”

‘Why is mother here?’

Rather than correcting any misunderstanding, it was more important to grasp the current situation.

Seeing Neria sitting on the bed with a gentle smile, she didn’t seem to be in a bad mood, but there was something… how to describe it?

Although her eyes and mouth were smiling, behind the slender eyes, there were countless emotions too complex to express.

‘Why is she like that?’ He wondered briefly, and then a familiar face approached Neria’s side.

“Huh? Aira?”

Aira, like Neria, had a slightly different look in her eyes when looking at him.

However, unlike the mother, some of those emotions were conveyed to him. Unfortunately, they weren’t feelings of a positive nature.

“Are you feeling okay?”

“Feeling okay? Ah!”

Recalling the events of the night before, Christian shuddered slightly and hurriedly checked his body.

“I feel refreshed.”

“Well, of course, you’d feel refreshed after sleeping so deeply. It’s well past lunch now.”

“Oh, that….”

He must have really had a good sleep. He wondered if his mother was upset because he hadn’t had lunch with her.

But that didn’t seem to be the case. She seemed more concerned than offended.

‘Did I really sleep well? Can sleeping well really change how my body feels like this?’

Taking a moment to check, he realized how strangely different his body felt, almost as if it wasn’t his.

‘Before, I felt a disconnect when moving, but now my body and mind are in sync.’

He wriggled his fingers and toes, moving tiny muscles to assess his entire body in an instant.

But the gap between his previous body and his current body, which he used to feel, was no longer there.

‘Perfect. I’m not joking—this body now… it’s better than my prime.’

When he first received sword training from his master, he was admired and envied for his perfect physique that had overcome mana distortion.

Although the physical body’s completion might have decreased for the moment, it was something that could always be reconstructed.

‘The muscle density, elasticity… it’s perfect. Durability can be tempered through training.’

The muscles, which he struggled to develop over days of relentless effort, had completely transformed.

From the top of his head to the tips of his toes. Every invisible part within as well.

‘It’s completely changed.’

Was this the result of removing the impurities from the mana accumulated over 15 years and extracting only the pure mana from the nine Ether Weapons?

‘If this is it…’

Unlike mana, the physical body had its limitations that could not be overcome by effort alone—boundaries named ‘talent.’

Even if exercised with a perfect training method, achieving a body like “Hero Christian”, cutting muscles and increasing their density, was nearly impossible.

Yet, the problem was neatly solved overnight. Or more than solved—it became even more perfect.

“Ha, haha.”

“Are you laughing?”

“……”

Christian laughed unconsciously but quickly shut his mouth upon noticing Neria’s cynical gaze.

“Is this situation amusing to you?”

“Well, mom. The thing is, I just don’t understand what’s going on.”

“Yes, I suppose you would struggle with that. So, could you tell your mother what exactly you don’t understand?”

“Uh, well, you see…”

Where should he begin?

Why are you here?

This would definitely elicit the response, “Because you wouldn’t wake up, so I came to wake you up?!”

He foresaw this part well enough. Perhaps 30% of why she was mad was due to this very reason.

Then, why are you with Aira?

Oh, that would also lead to, “Because you wouldn’t wake up, I came with Aira!”

Then again, there’d be nothing more to say.

Judging by the situation, that seemed likely.

He missed training due to oversleeping, so Aira, who was very annoyed, probably came to find him and was caught by Neria.

If that was the case…

“I’m sorry.”

Rather than argue with an angry woman, it was better to begin with an apology. That was the only rule of the world Christian had learned through living with his master for 13 years.

“Do you even know what you’re apologizing for?”

“I did everything wrong. I won’t do it again.”

“You’re apologizing without even knowing what you did wrong? Our Chris, you’ve grown up now, haven’t you, Aira?”

“W- What? Uh, yes. I suppose he’s grown. Though I’m not entirely sure.”

Aira flinched at Neria’s words and subtly nodded her head.

Contemplating whether to agree with that statement or not.

Meanwhile, she sent a peculiar glance toward Christian.

In an instant, Christian found himself under double scrutiny, enduring twice the discomfort.

‘I shall refrain from uttering nonsense like, “It’s so wonderful to have two mothers,” ever again.’

As Christian reflected on his past mistakes internally, Neria, perhaps having calmed down, gently patted his shoulder with concern.

“More importantly, Chris. Have you been very sick?”

“W- What? Sick?”

“If not, then…”

Neria and Aira’s eyes simultaneously fixated on Christian.

“…… Why do your eyes keep looking downward?”

“Ah, well, it’s just that…”

“I didn’t see anything.”

Neria sighed deeply, and Aira slightly turned her head to avoid eye contact.

‘What’s wrong with those two?’

Wait a minute. Isn’t something odd?

‘Why are my clothes in perfect condition? And the blanket too?’

The impurities were remnants of mana, and while extracting them, various wastes were also expelled from the body.

At first, so much was expelled that it was vomited, and the amount expelled through sweat glands was enormous too.

It was strange that not a trace of residue could be seen from the intestines or veins.

‘Huh? Did Latima’s Chalice have a function to clean clothes or blankets too?’

Pondering this, Christian looked at Neria and Aira. Aira met his eyes and quickly looked down, startled.

“… I didn’t see anything.”

“What on earth didn’t you see…?”

Aira, startled again, realized her gaze had shifted below his waist.

… No way.

It couldn’t be.

Surely not…

But contrary to Christian’s wishes, Neria sighed heavily and spoke.

“Aira and Milly helped a lot. Without those two, truly, we wouldn’t have been able to move or clean you. Ha.”

Then, turning her gaze towards the bathroom prepared in the room, the door opened as if on cue. Someone came out carrying a bundle of laundry and smiled brightly at Christian.

“Oh my, young master has woken up.”

“……”

Those are my clothes…

Those are my blankets…

Clean sheets, pillows, towels, and undergarments filled her arms.

Wasn’t she the maid named Milly? Her strength was no joke. She could have been taught swordsmanship rather than housekeeping.

Then something as humiliating as today might not have happened.

As if dismissing Christian’s desire to escape, Aira spoke, trying to sound nonchalant.

“… I forgot everything.”

“……”

Doesn’t seem like you forgot. How exactly did you help?

‘Well, mom is okay.’

Yes, she’s okay… right? Anyway, she’s my mother.

Wait, technically, isn’t Aira also a mother and master?

Well, that’s true.

Ha ha, oh dear.

It’s not as if entrusting my body to my master is a first-time occurrence, so why agonize over it now?

Frankly, when Christian was half-dead and unconscious, she had picked him up, undressed him, and bathed him.

Moreover, she dressed him in clean clothes, laid him gently in bed, and sang a lullaby to ensure he slept well.

Thus, Christian smiled gently.

‘It’s nothing.’

So…

‘I should just die.’

Having barely survived, he just wanted to die right then and there.