Battle Race in the Fantasy World

EP.6 The Youngest of the Jonathan Family

“Wow…!”

Tisha, upon arriving at the Imperial Academy, was so astonished she didn’t know what to do.

She had thought a few large buildings would be the extent of it.

But in reality, they were using an entire region as the grounds for the academy.

This vast and vibrant area was all part of a single academy.

“My jaw’s dropping, Tisha.”

“But it’s so incredible! So, this is why everyone talks about the academy, the academy!”

Though Tisha tried to speak casually, she couldn’t manage it in the end.

It shouldn’t get too familiar. That’s why she didn’t accept it.

Instead, she agreed to the second negotiation proposal of calling each other by their names at least.

“Do you see, Kyle? That building over there! It’s not just any noble castle, it’s a library. A library!”

“Yes. And that’s just one of the three libraries.”

“How many books do you think are in there?! I’ve heard they have all sorts of literature. There must be plenty of books about sorcery too?!”

We don’t know for sure if they really exist.

But Ian, standing beside her, didn’t coldly say ‘I don’t know.’

“They probably do. They say all of the Empire’s books end up here at the academy.”

“I have to go to the library right after the semester starts. I’ll stay up day and night if I have to, until I find them all…!”

Can it be that easy to say you’ll stay up for a whole week?

That’s not something someone who hasn’t experienced it would say.

I wonder if I could ask him to stay up with me too?

“Hey. That’s…”

“This is Kyle. Kyle. How many times do I have to say, not ‘hey,’ but call me by my name?”

“Sorry. So, Kyle. What place is that over there?”

Somehow, Ian found himself apologizing quite naturally, although if there was one small issue, it was that his voice still lacked any hint of apology.

It wasn’t so much his inner feelings as it was just his demeanor being rather aloof.

Knowing that well, Kyle decided to just look around at the map or something.

“Let’s see. Um. Over there is where academy students train their bodies, duel with swords, or even engage in magic contests.”

“…Dueling with swords?”

“Yes. They can use wooden swords or real ones… Ian? Where are you going?”

“I want to go down and see once. How good of a place it is.”

With that, he abruptly changed direction towards the training grounds.

“Kyle? Where did that guy go?”

“He wants to see the training grounds.”

“Is it because he’s a swordsman? Let’s go check it out too. I want to see how spacious it is.”

Eventually, led by Tisha’s hand, they ended up following Ian.

Upon descending to the training grounds, they found it to be much larger than expected. Additionally, it wasn’t just an outdoor training ground.

“Huh? Kyle! It seems there’s an indoor training ground too.”

An indoor training ground? Upon Tisha’s words, Kyle entered the building with Ian.

Since the semester hadn’t started yet, it was quite deserted.

After looking around inside, Kyle quickly came to one conclusion.

‘It’s obviously a gym.’

Yes, a gym. Considering Lord Jonathan, it would be a fitness training room.

Half of the indoor training ground was for training, and the other half was a gym.

Among various equipment, familiar barbells and dumbbells beckoned.

Thanks to that, the words ‘strength training’ almost slipped out involuntarily.

Could I be having a nightmare? But it’s too vivid to be a dream.

“It looks like they do strength training here.”

Tisha, not sure if she knew Kyle’s thoughts, began to look around.

Eventually, she cautiously picked up one of the dumbbells from where they were placed.

“Ugh?!”

Without even trying to lift it properly, Tisha immediately put the dumbbell back down.

Then she pouted with an expression of annoyance.

“Can people actually lift this?”

“…Is it heavy?”

“Yes. It’s incredibly heavy.”

The words “Is that so?” shot up to the tip of Kyle’s tongue.

Thankfully, he managed to hold them back before they slipped out.

Taking a moment to inspect the barbell, Kyle decided to try lifting it.

…Without a doubt, it was a weight that could be lifted with just the thumb and index finger, without any exaggeration.

It was too light, if he worked out with this, he’d immediately get scolded by his brother.

You need to lift an appropriate weight, such lightweight wouldn’t do any good.

“How is it, Kyle?”

“…It’s manageable.”

“Really? Hmm. Maybe being cooped up in the room doing nothing but sorcery has made me weak. Should I start exercising?”

‘I can live quite happily without exercising!’

“I heard that having a healthy body leads to a healthy mind, or something like that?”

“Something like that? How about you, Kyle? Want to exercise together?”

“…I’ve already done plenty in my family.”

Upon hearing this, Tisha couldn’t help but gasp in awe.

She recalled that Kyle was the son of the Baron Jonathan, the only obstacle to the Empire’s perfect conquest business.

The war race that easily overcame ten imperial soldiers armed only with a single stone in hand.

They were the ancestors of the current Baron Jonathan.

“Kyle used to exercise a lot, right?”

“Yes. I exercised to the point of exhaustion.”

“Then, can you help me a little? I’ve never trained my body under the excuse of being busy with sorcery every time. So, um… I have pretty poor stamina. Nowadays, even climbing a hill feels heavy.”

Tisha scratched her head as if embarrassed. But in reality, there was nothing to be embarrassed about.

It was fate for research professionals to have a sedentary lifestyle.

Why did wizards have a reputation for poor physical fitness? Because they had no choice.

They had to do research or cast spells during exercise time.

Moreover, exercise was never easy or enjoyable.

Unless everyone was as obsessed with physical training as Lord Jonathan.

If you were an ordinary person, exercise should be difficult and bothersome.

In fact, Tisha’s request was not at all difficult.

I guarantee that I’m in the top 0.1 percent when it comes to physical training.

However, if there was one thing that bothered her…

“Um. How about asking Ian for help?”

“…Why?”

Why? Because that man is your future boyfriend.

There was no need to deviate from the original course.

Who knows what changes might occur.

Even though she only knew a little about the plot, she didn’t want to change anything.

Besides, there were many attractive characters among the supporting cast.

Anyway, instead of getting tangled up with troubled protagonists in Kyle’s thoughts, it was more comfortable to enjoy a happy academy life with supporting characters.

“Ian may seem cold and speak strangely, but his skills are solid. Moreover, if he’s a swordsman, he must have had very intense physical training.”

“So, is Ian stronger than Kyle?”

“Well, naturally…”

Kyle already knew what answer to give to connect her with Ian.

‘Because I’m weaker, ask Ian for help. You two should stick together a bit!’

But the blood of the Jonathan family flowed in Kyle as well. And it flowed very strongly! He would never accept the notion of weakness, along with that curse!!

“Of course, I’m stronger…”

That’s not it. He didn’t intend to give such an answer.

“Is that so? Then Kyle can help me!”

“M-Me?”

“Yes. Since Kyle is stronger than Ian! He can help me better!”

Father. This curse seems more serious than I thought. Remembering his father’s teasing, suggesting to try it once.

He had to face the protagonist’s expectant gaze with eyes full of anticipation.

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***

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In the end, I promised Tisha to train her.

The only fortunate thing was that Ian was so absorbed in the outdoor training ground that he wasn’t there.

Thanks to that, when faced with the question, ‘Which one of you is stronger?’, I could confidently answer myself.

If Ian had been there…

‘It’s a matter of life and death.’

Kyle knew that Ian also had a considerable pride in his own strength.

In episode 13, he had a duel with a student who had been looking down on him.

Ignoring the assistant’s advice to keep it moderate, he crushed his opponent.

Before such a guy, if he had said, “Actually, I’m stronger than him!” he would have drawn his sword and challenged him immediately.

‘…But, even if we really fought, I don’t think I would lose?’

Anyway, thanks to Tisha, I felt like I had come this far and felt like touching the equipment again.

I had felt somewhat comfortable thinking there wouldn’t be much to see for a while. But was it just an illusion to feel like even yesterday’s meals were piled up on him?

“What should we explore next?”

Whether she knew Kyle’s inner thoughts or not, Tisha was very excited to go to the next location.

Ian seemed to be enjoying himself in the vast training ground.

The feeling of being judged when two men and women acted like that without realizing their speed was off.

“Kyle Jonathan?”

Turning my head, I saw two unfamiliar men approaching.

“Kyle Jonathan. The one recommended for admission by the Lord Byun-kyung. That’s you, right?”

“Uh… Yes, that’s me.”

“The headmaster would like to see the student briefly. Please follow us.”

“The headmaster of the academy?”

“Yes.”

“Why me all of a sudden?”

To my question, the two men replied.

“You can ask that directly when you get there.”

It was a moment of confusion, but I quickly regained my senses.

If it was the headmaster, he were the highest authority within the academy.

If he saw anything amiss, I would be expelled just like my sister.

‘Absolutely not. Once expelled from the academy, there’s no going back.’

I couldn’t return to the hell I had barely escaped.

Even if I had to go back someday, it wasn’t now.

At least during this time, I wanted to relax, eat, and play without worry.

“Let’s go right away. Tisha? Please stay with Ian for a bit.”

“Uh… Sure. Got it. Hurry back, Kyle.”

As I left, Tisha’s expression became somewhat deflated.

But for me, who was captivated by the headmaster’s summons, failed to notice her change.