Doggone Academy - Chapter 18

Chapter 18. Training (2)

His legs faltered after twenty steps, so he clung to a tree to rest for a while. He did the same thing several times.

“Let me help you.”

When he thought he wouldn’t make it for dinner, the maid ended up helping him.

He had to admit it: even though he didn’t use a sword, it had a great effect on developing his muscle strength. He even believed it would increase his stamina.

He was just worried that she had said he hadn’t even started. The more he thought about it, the more those words frightened him.

Even after dinner time, his food was still on the table. When he finished his meal, he went to his room.

Freshly bathed, he sat in the armchair in his room. He planned to examine the meteoric iron if he had extra time but gave up because his arms were shaking.

Someone knocked on the door as he massaged his tense muscles.

“Excuse me.”

The maid entered the room carrying a tray with three steaming bottles of potion.

The strong herbal smell irritated his nose.

The maid placed the potions on the table.

“These potions help with physical fatigue, muscle pain and regenerate muscles.”

“……”

Never in his wildest dreams would he have thought of this. He was grateful just to have a place to sleep.

He picked up a bottle and sniffed it. He remembered the smell of some herbs.

It was a mixture of gaul grass with verossi flowers. He wondered where she had gotten something so valuable. There were more ingredients, but he couldn’t make them out.

Since these were ingredients he knew, he put the potion to his mouth with confidence.

“Phew.”

He nearly spat out the liquid. If he had drunk the liquid without knowing what it was, he would have thought that someone was trying to poison him.

“Is this made from herbs?”

It tasted like rotten pork with dirt in it.

The maid looked at him apologetically.

“…You must drink it every day from now on.”

***

The next day, they were back in the forest as soon as the sun came up.

The potions worked decently well, and he felt almost no fatigue and muscle aches. But he had no time to marvel at the miraculous effects of the potions, for he had to start hard work in the morning.

“Roll it.”

“Huh?”

“To that vacant lot.”

He let out a sigh.

It wasn’t even comfortable to push them because the pieces were at the height of his thighs.

“Can I use tools…?”

“No.”

They were too heavy to push them with his feet or for him to bend at waist height to push them with his hands. He had no choice but to bend down, grab the bottom of the piece of wood and lift it up to turn it.

At least the path to the vacant lot sloped slightly downward. He began to roll them one by one in that direction.

His method improved after rolling some for a while. But this time, the strain on his back, abdomen and thighs was much worse than yesterday.

When it was time to eat, he had moved about fifteen pieces. He didn’t waste any food, and afterwards, he immediately resumed his training.

Time flew until evening. He only had to move one more piece of wood. He looked at the last piece with his hands on his hips.

This time it was not the maid who came, but Sylverine. He did not notice when she had arrived.

On the last piece of wood was Sylverine, who sat on top of it, cross-legged.. She was wearing a beige dress and a straw hat. She looked very elegant as she held a book in one hand.

She wore a puzzled expression as he stood before her. She asked him,

“What is it?”

“That’s the last one.”

Sylverine looked at the piece of wood she was sitting on.

“This one you can leave here. I must have somewhere to sit while I wait.”

Then she stood up.

“Come on, I’m hungry.”

She walked away, humming a melody. He wondered why Sylverine seemed happier than him, who had finished the hard work for the day.

They walked out of the woods towards the lake. Then, they walked along the beach towards the mansion. Sylverine walked at a regular pace.

Meanwhile, he walked at half his normal speed because his legs were overloaded. It was difficult to walk next to him. The distance between the two of them grew larger and larger.

He didn’t understand why she waited for him if they were going to come back this way.

“Master…”

Sylverine said without looking back.

“What?”

“Let’s go… together.”

“No.”

“……”

Despite his hard training today, Sylverine didn’t seem to care about him.

The maid had helped him yesterday.

She stretched her arms out to her sides as if to keep her balance as she walked. The wind lightly fluttered the hem of her dress. When suddenly her step was off course, she complained aloud.

“Geez.”

She walked in a straight line again. She didn’t look like the dreaded magic teacher, but like a naive little girl playing in front of him.

He followed in her footsteps.