Battle Race in the Fantasy World

Battle Race in the Fantasy World – 56

EP.56 Is This the Main Story…?

“…So, it’s a very tricky situation. That’s why my face looks like this.”

“I see. I wondered why Brother Kyle’s usual smile was missing.”

Today, the Saintess was following Kyle’s guidance in her project to build a strong body.

Having just mastered the proper squat posture, she was taking a short break and listening to Kyle’s story.

“Still, the group project sounds like it could be fun.”

“…That is a huge misconception, Saintess.”

“Why? Forming a group with various people, sharing opinions, dividing tasks, and producing a great result to get good grades sounds wonderful, doesn’t it?”

Of course, that possibility isn’t entirely out of the question. If one were to be very optimistic.

What the Saintess was describing was the hopeful version of group projects.

If things really went that way, group projects would indeed be the best gift.

But in reality, the world has far more despair than hope.

You need to share opinions, but there’s no one to share them with, and no one is willing to divide the tasks.

So, the result is that one person does all the work, and everyone gets the same grade.

This is the despairing and realistic version of group projects.

“Saintess.”

“Yes?”

“…Never mind.”

Kyle couldn’t bring himself to shatter her hopeful view with harsh reality.

Since the Saintess would never attend the academy as a student, he decided to let her keep her hopeful perspective.

That was why he stopped himself from speaking further.

“Alright, it’s time to stop resting and get back to exercising.”

“Already? It doesn’t feel like it’s been 10 minutes yet!”

“Resting precisely and exercising precisely is the only way to improve. Resting even a minute less and moving a minute more is the best shortcut for future progress.”

“Ugh!!”

Eventually, the Saintess was forced to stand up and get back into the squat position.

“Repeat as before. The number of repetitions is important but focus on maintaining the correct posture.”

“Yes, yes!”

“Don’t just stand up because it’s hard. When you bend and straighten, feel your muscles stretching and contracting, and move in a way that fully absorbs the overload.”

Normally a very kind person, Kyle became extremely strict when it came to exercise.

He left no room for slack. Not a single concession. He made sure to achieve the target.

Thinking this, the Saintess continued to increase her squat count, grunting all the while.

“Eeeek!!”

“Don’t collapse! You can do it!”

“Hiiiii!!”

With a strange scream, the Saintess barely managed to stand up.

Time passed in endurance, and though it was close, she eventually reached the set goal.

“Don’t sit down immediately. Maintain your breathing, slowly. Don’t relax your body.”

“Haa, haa….”

“You can sit down slowly now.”

“My, my legs… they’re so weak… I don’t think I can sit properly… Could you help me a little?”

“What? Saintess? Oh, oh, oh!!”

Kyle quickly moved to catch the saintess just before she fell on her bottom.

While having the most flesh on the buttocks might be good for cushioning the impact,

sitting down wrong could still injure the tailbone and cause significant discomfort.

“Oh, oh….”

Somehow, the saintess ended up snugly in Kyle’s arms.

Feeling very embarrassed about this, her face turned a deep shade of red.

“Phew…. Saintess, I told you not to relax too much.”

“Ah! Yes, yes! I’m sorry, Brother Kyle!!”

In the midst of this, Kyle lightly scolded her while checking to make sure she wasn’t hurt.

Now that she was finally getting the basics down, getting injured would ruin everything.

Even if her body healed with divine power, the memory of the injury could create an aversion to exercise.

“Are you okay? Is there any discomfort anywhere?”

“No, none at all! I’m fine, Brother Kyle!!”

“Good. Let’s call it a day for now. I have a lecture to attend.”

“Yes! Thank you for your hard work, Brother Kyle!”

“The hard work is always done by you, Saintess. I’m very grateful for your dedication and effort. You never slack off and always give your best. It’s very admirable.”

“Really!?”

The Saintess beamed with joy at Kyle’s praise, raising her arms in delight.

Feeling acknowledged for her efforts and receiving Kyle’s compliment seemed to lift her spirits.

Smiling at her reaction, Kyle asked something he had been curious about.

“How are the members of the church doing?”

“According to the letter we received yesterday, they’ve started, but everyone is finding it very difficult.”

Of course, they would. The current priests of the church weren’t used to proper exercise.

During the time when the empire was at war and the world was in extreme turmoil,

the priests ran around to quell the chaos, reaching even the most remote and rugged places on their sturdy legs to comfort people.

It’s no exaggeration to say that the priests of that time were stronger than most soldiers today.

But with the arrival of peace, those aspects nearly disappeared.

Now, all that remained was kneeling and offering prayers of gratitude and peace to the gods.

With the world being calm, the church had also become accustomed to the tranquil waves.

“Of course, it’s hard. It’s only natural. Is it easy for swordsmen to wield their swords? Is it easy for wizards to stay up all night researching? Hard training always comes with results. I hope the priests understand that.”

“They will, just as you said, Brother Kyle. All the members of the church are devout. Even though it’s tough and painful now, they will accept it as a path of penance to the gods, enduring hardships on behalf of everyone, and overcome it with even more sincere faith. I have no doubt about it!”

Ah, what an admirable stance from the Saintess!

The intense will to not neglect either exercise or faith!

If the people of Jonathan saw this, they would say, ‘despite her appearance, she is incredibly intense, or that the church has strong individuals.’

They might even say that this is the ideal image of a woman in the empire.

‘With someone like her as the Saintess, the members of the church will become very robust soon. Yes, this is how a proper religious group should be. If all they do is talk without action, how are they different from a cult?’

Thinking this, Kyle was about to praise the Saintess once more.

“…”

Kyle turned his head and began to carefully observe beyond the door.

“Brother Kyle?”

“…Saintess, are you expecting any visitors today?”

“Visitors? No, I haven’t heard of anyone coming. No one from the church either.”

“It’s certain that there are people around the chapel protecting you, right?”

“Yes. There are holy knights from the church and people sent by the Imperial Special Forces. Why do you ask all of a sudden…?”

Without a word, Kyle pulled the Saintess closer to him.

He positioned her behind him so he could protect her if anything happened.

From beyond the door, he sensed a very strong presence.

It was similar to, or slightly stronger than, Priscilla, whom he had sparred with a few days ago.

That alone was enough to make him tense, but the fact that the presence had entered the chapel without making a sound was even more alarming.

There were supposed to be guards around, yet he hadn’t heard a single clash.

A multitude of thoughts raced through Kyle’s mind.

Should he launch a preemptive strike to prevent the intruder from getting close to the Saintess?

Or should he turn around and evacuate the Saintess from this place?

If the Saintess were to get hurt, it would be a disaster, so the latter option seemed better.

However…

‘Leaving the place. Evacuating. …Running away? Me? Why?’

As soon as that thought crossed his mind, all those plans vanished.

What remained was the burning Jonathan will to crush the strong presence beyond the door.

“…Ah!”

Suddenly, a woman’s sharp scream was heard from beyond the door.

The intense murderous intent that had been pricking his skin disappeared, replaced by something familiar.

‘This presence… wait a minute. Could it be?’

It seemed Kyle wasn’t the only one who noticed the sudden change in the atmosphere.

The Saintess, hiding behind him, also let out a surprised ‘Oh?’ and spoke.

“Princess Yurika?”

At the same time, Kyle grabbed the handle and opened the door.

There stood the 5th Princess, Yurika, in a very awkward posture.

“…What are you doing here, 5th Princess?”

At Kyle’s question, Yurika cleared her throat with a ‘Hem!’ sound.

She had intended to play a prank by exuding murderous intent, knowing Kyle and the Saintess were together.

She had used her true power, which was completely different from the aura she usually scattered around.

It was the kind of pressure that even the top ten warriors of the empire would instinctively avoid.

Some mediocre knights would simply collapse and tremble in place.

But from beyond the door, there was a presence that directly confronted Yurika’s aura.

No, it was even slightly pushing back against her aura.

‘Impressive’ didn’t even begin to describe it.

This was the true image of a man she had always desired.

‘Haa… Seriously… I want this man so badly.’

Feeling something between her legs, she realized she had slightly wet herself.

She was so excited and thrilled that her body reacted on its own.

“…Kyle Jonathan.”

With that, Yurika completely forgot about the Saintess’s presence.

“Marry me.”

“What?”

She hugged Kyle tightly and continued.

“I’ll be your woman, so you be my man.”

“What are you suddenly talking about?!”

“Let’s have a baby. Together.”

In this unexpected turn of events, Kyle had to shout, “What are you talking about!!”

And then…

“Uh…?”

The Saintess, watching Yurika, couldn’t understand why she suddenly felt a bit displeased.

She just blinked her eyes, still unaware of the reason.