Chapter 128 – Fulfillment
My body, which had been drained and dried out, was now back to normal.
My exhausted body and mind have completely recovered with a sense of accomplishment having mastered Magical Breathing.
『At length, you have gotten accustomed to it. In Vier, you have almost mastered the combination of Magical Breathing and Breakthrough.』
“Ah. I’m surprised myself.”
『Now that you have come this far, all that remains is … the ‘Special Technique’…』
“Ah. Also, you’ll come to me in Vier tonight, right?”
『Of course.』
In the past few days, I’ve been able to do Vier training, which was mentally impossible during the draining period, as before.
In it, I was trying to work on not only the Magical Breathing that I had just learned, but also my special technique.
No, that wasn’t all. There’s also…
“Ah… and Tre’ainar.”
『Hmm?』
“Apart from the special technique… I have something I want you to teach me.”
『What?』
“So, from tonight, I’ll need you to accompany me a bit more.”
Anyway, I became even greedier after having gone through hell and gained power.
I couldn’t sleep at night during the draining period, so I always wanted the morning to come early, but now I think the mornings came too early.
“Ara, Earth. How do you do? You’re back to your old self, aren’t you?”
In the morning, Kron greeted me with a gentle smile as I showed up at the church dining hall as usual.
Then, Elder Sis Tsukshi and Karui, also beckoned me with a relieved expression.
“Earth, are you okay? Your sis was really worried, you know!”
“Inya, I was really scared that big brother got weird, but now I’m relieved!”
After the draining period, I gradually started to move according to the original time schedule.
No more roadwork in pitch-black hours, almost in the middle of the night, like I did during the draining period.
And today I was able to show up at the same time as the sisters of the church.
“Oh, no problem now. Thanks for your concern.”
“Earth…”
“So, Elder Sis Tsukshi. Mr. Machio… I can beat him, right?”
Far from worrying about it now, things were not the same as before.
Elder Sis Tsukshi seemed surprised at my confidence.
And…..
“Yo.”
“Eh!? …… Good…… Morning”
I gave her a light greeting as she glanced at me while trying not to drop her gaze.
Sadiz bowed her head, bewildered as her shoulders were shaking.
It’s clear that she still didn’t understand what I meant by “settle it” yet.
But that’s fine now.
So there’s no need to force things to turn sour now.
Simply, just that.
Even if we can’t interact like we used to, there’s no need to put up a wall.
“Big brother! She is still sleeping in bed, but play with Amae when she wakes up.”
“Will do.”
I was frustrated and impatient, but I was able to do one thing I couldn’t before, and I went through hell.
That fact may have given me some leeway in my heart.
And then……
“It seems thou has made quite the accomplishment.”
“Ja… no…”
This draining period. Jamdi’el, who didn’t exchange a word, appeared in the dining hall and smiled in a somewhat good mood as she silently looked on.
“Ah… I’ve worried you too, ‘High Priestess’.”
“Hmm. That sounds quite condescending. But…… somewhat, more than before… what did thou do?”
“Well, look forward to it at the upcoming tournament.”
“Hoh~…”
I confidently responded to Jamdi’el’s smile.
However, I don’t mention that I just learned Magic Breathing and wasn’t conceited about surpassing Jamdi’el at this point.
However, knowing the power of my opponent, I was still able to face her in this way.
And Jamdi’el didn’t seem offended by my attitude, but rather had a happy expression.
“Very well, Show me! I’ve left thou to thy own devices, as thou wished, and I want to see the end of thy path.”
“Oh. I’ll show you. You, too. And also…”
To the people of this country, to my master, to Sadiz.
And, incidentally, them as well…
“Hey, Earth!”
“Ora, we’re here! You’re going to start working together with us again today!”
“Today is a school holiday, so we’re a little early, but…”
“Fuah~… sleepy…”
It seemed the Wizarding school was closed today, and the Mortriage crew came early in the morning.
They raised their voices and called out to me in front of the church.
“Right! I’m coming! Then I’m going for a little run. I’ll just grab some fruit, okay?”
“Yes, go for it!”
I took only one apple from the dining hall table, took a bite and went outside.
“Hey, guys.”
A crisp morning. Refreshing air.
After all, road work was best at a time like this.
“Hey, Earth. Are you all right now?”
“What’s going on?”
“Ora, no matter what you think, you were obviously acting strange for a while now.”
“Well, I see.”
“Yes. You were so worn out and withered… but, are you okay now? You didn’t get sick or anything, did you?”
“I’m fine”
“Then why were you doing that?”
It seemed that these guys were worried too.
Well, of course they were.
I was accompanying them in training in that state.
“Well…”
“Wait! wai, wai, waaaaiitt!”
“Oh?”
At that moment, the clatter and the rumbling of someone panicking echoed through the church.
Apparently, she was still sleepy, but woke up to the voices of the Mortriage crew and rushed down in a hurry.
“I’m going!”
It was Amae. At first, I went on road work with Amae on my shoulder.
However, during the drainage period, she was too scared of me to follow.
“What? Aren’t you still sleepy?”
“I’mーgoーing!”
Now that I’m back to normal, it looks like she’ll be coming along again.
“I see. Then, let’s go.”
“Un! Un, shoulders!”
“Okay okay”
I bent a little so that Amae could easily get on, and she jumped up and down with joy.
“Big sister! Big sister!”
“Yes, yes, water bottle, right?”
“Un!”
When Amae called to Elder Sis Tsukshi as she climbed on my shoulder, and as if she knew it, Elder Sis Tsukshi handed Amae a water bottle large enough to hang on her shoulder.
I praised her for giving me a water bottle at the end of my draining the other day, so she said, “I’m all set,” as if she were in charge of the water bottle.
That will increase my load, but I won’t say anything about that.
“Go! Fight on! Fight on! Fight on!”
“Here we go, boys!”
“”””Oh!!!””””
It was like we were a team.
The five of us, along with a young girl who looked like a chaperone, ran through the city in the morning, heading for the ocean.
“You’re all back to normal now, Earth!”
“Ah? What are you saying, I’m always myself!”
“Haha? You looked sick and messed up!”
“Apparently, yes. But for that time, I was able to sharpen up a lot of things and nurture what was within me.”
“What did you nurture?”
“Fighting spirit.”
“Fighting spirit? What does that mean?”
In road work with these guys, I’m in a handicap with Amae on my shoulders and weights on both hands and feet.
At first, these guys got tired before I did.
But after a while, they were able to keep up with me for some time.
Well, from here on, the dashes and shadows made them talk less and less, but even so, I could see that they were steadily improving.
“Fu~”
The roadwork from the city to the sea was the warm-up of warm-ups.
It was time to start torturing my body.
From here on out, we won’t be able to chat as nonchalantly as usual.
So, before that…
“Well, about that José bastard.”
“”””Eehh!!??””””
For them, he was the existence that gave them some sort of motivation in their life and their student life.
And, because of his presence, these guys also decided to become stronger.
So, the man named José might be both a wall and a goal for these guys, so to speak.
“Sure, you’re getting stronger. But still, it’s impossible to say that you can surpass José right away.”
“Ugh!? But, Earth, that… I know it’s not easy, but…”
“Yes. You may not be able to do it right away. But in the days to come, and over time, that will change… but…… before that…… the tournament will come.”
“Well, that’s…”
“So I want to ask you guys something.”
It was confirmation to these guys, too.
“I’ll be participating in the upcoming tournament. And I’m going to win. In other words, if that José comes out, I will fight José at some point. And I’ll beat him up.”
It’s a certainty that José will also be in the tournament.
And it’s also a challenge for me to win.
In other words, I’m going to knock out José, who they’re chasing with gritted teeth, in public.
“Ah…”
“Well, that’s…”
“Ugh…”
“…………”
Is that a good thing or a bad thing for these guys?
“If you witness it… then what will happen to you? Will you feel refreshed? Or will you lose motivation? You’re gritting your teeth, so one day you’ll want to beat the guy with your own hands, right?”
The Mortriage crew seemed bewildered by my question.
“But do you mind if I beat him up first?”
Wouldn’t they lose their goals if I messed up José, who they were desperately trying to overcome?
Even though we’ve only known each other for a short time, they’re the ones who have been running behind me.
I wanted to make sure, because I felt that our relationship wasn’t so shallow that I could say “I don’t care about that”.
Then, surprisingly…
“We’re not working hard just to get back at José…”
It was Budeo who answered my question.
He was always first to whine and get worn out … but for some reason he participates in training every day.
“I want to change myself… that’s why… so, yeah… it’s hard, but I want to be stronger. So…… even if Earth blows José away, I won’t stop there… no, it might slack off a little, but… I’ll keep going…… it’ll be tough, but… yes, I’m going to try a little more! Little Amae will support me…. I want to show the sisters of the church my cool side.”
Budeo’s own answer, though not completely assertive.
However, rather than being told “I will do my best even if José is defeated”, this felt more like Budeo’s true heart.
Then, Mortriage also chuckled…
“If José was knocked down in front of me and that made me lose motivation… it’d be like we were still stuck at the back of the school building.”
“Generally, even you, though you were in that sickly state, were working very hard… we can’t just end up accomplishing nothing.”
“Yes. I want to beat José, too. But most of all… I want to change myself…”
These guys have been training for a while now. And it seems that they have sensed something from my training during the draining period.
So there is no problem with defeating José.
I received the answer.
So…..
“Amae”
“Un?”
“Lend me the water bottle.”
“Un!”
I received the water bottle from Amae and gave it to Mortriage.
“Here you go.”
“Eh?”
“Take turns drinking.”
“Eh, ah, erm… ng… right, Oratski.”
“S, sure… nng… Mobner.”
“Th, thank you. Puha~… Yes.”
“Ngokyu, ngokyu. …… Pu-~ …… I drank it, too.”
“Oh, then I’ll be the last one… Pu-hah~!”
I passed the water bottle to Mortriage, Oratski, Mobner, and Budeo and drank it, and finally it was back in my hand.
And I also put my mouth on the water bottle I received and drank it.
“Earth? What the hell…”
“I’ve met the guy, went through a lot of things along the way, and I’m kind of pissed off at this José bastard.”
“Eh?”
“I don’t feel like bullying the weak, but I’m not so soft-hearted that I’ll just sit back and let it go peacefully when it’s okay to openly punch someone I’m really pissed off at. So I’ll hit him. But I’ll also put your feelings in my fist.”
Yes, since I’m going to beat José, I have to at least send their feelings through.
“We sweated together like this and we sipped the same water.”
I turned over the empty water bottle after drinking it as I was talking.
“Earth… you…… have you changed a little in the last few weeks?”
“Kuhahahaha, well, I guess I’m a little stronger, right?”
Hearing my words, the four smiled mirthfully at the same time, and…
“”””Hmm? Or rather, we’re going to perform dashes and shadows on the sandy beach from now on, and you drank up the water, what do we do?””””
“……… eh?”
………… Ah!?
“Aaaah”
“”””What the heck are you doing?””””
I thought that went well myself, but it was a fail damn it.
On top of that……
“Mmmmm! Amae didn’t drink any!”
“Eh?”
“Dummy! Gusu, Amae is the only one left out… gusu.”
Amae cried and angrily pulled my hair in protest.
Apparently, she was upset that she was the only one who didn’t get to drink, that she was left out.
“Hey, Earth, what have you done!”
“Sheesh, that posed look, I never…”
“Hahaha, really!!”
“Earth! You shouldn’t make Amae cry!”
“Eeeii, shut it! Humans can live without drinking water for a few weeks if they feel like it!”
“”””You looked like you were on the verge of dying!?””””
But I wonder what it is. I feel bad for Amae, but we were laughing.
“Anyway, no water today! Follow me expecting to die! Dash!”
“Damn, I’m already spent! Come on, guys!”
“Definitely, I’ll do it!”
“Uh, what’s going to happen…”
“I, I’ll, be troubled if it gets that difficult~”
However, it was a fulfilling and enjoyable time that I couldn’t taste during the draining period.
However, the more fulfilling and enjoyable the time, the faster the time seems to go by.
At first, when I came to this country, I felt that the three months before the tournament would be long.
However, before I knew it, the tournament was just around the corner―――――
Author’s Note
Thank you for your help. Yesterday, a nice 1 review…… Reviews will be called spirits from now on.
Yesterday, I received a wonderful 1 spirit. I’m burning up again. Thank you.
Recently, in writing this chapter, I went through a lot of movies and manga about boxing, and as a result, I’ve been burning up, and now I’m even more fired up.