Day 4 at the Academy – P.E. Rematch
The first class of the day was arithmetic. Since the deck of cards still wasn’t finished, we continued with addition from last time. Both Len and Hachi had naturally high ability and once they learned something, they didn’t forget it. They could count up to 10 properly now, and while they still used their fingers sometimes, they could handle single-digit addition just fine. I also taught them subtraction using tomato illustrations, and they both picked it up without a problem.
The two of them were really proud of being able to do math, but that wasn’t the highlight of today for me. I still hadn’t forgotten the sorry sight of myself last time—collapsed from a single run, and looking like a newborn fawn during the final lap.
Yes. Today, I would take my revenge—not on P.E., but on combat training. Today I had a secret weapon: physical enhancement magic. Wahahaha! Running? Nothing to fear now!
That’s why I showed up ready in pants today. They looked like a skirt, but they were actually culottes. Thank you, Mrs. Lilium, for the lovely clothes. To be honest, shorts would’ve been fine, but apparently in this world—or at least this village—girls are expected to wear skirts.
Of course, female adventurers wear pants, but I look like a five-year-old girl. Normally, that’s too young to register as an adventurer.
Still, when I asked for something easy to move around in, she made me several culotte skirts and cotton or linen shirts. Mrs. Milina the shoemaker also made me a pair of cute dress shoes and a pair of sporty, easy-to-run-in shoes. Both even had little ribbons on them—they were adorable and practical. Amazing.
Fully motivated, I joined everyone in warm-up stretches. When the teacher came in, just like last time, we began running with a call of “Let’s run!” The three sheep sisters weren’t phased at all and just walked from the start.
“Vio, don’t overdo it today, okay?”
“Vio, it’s okay to go slow, y’know~”
Smiling at the two who called out to me, I focused on channeling mana into my legs as I continued stretching.
Yesterday I wrapped my legs in mana like Mazinger Z’s leg armor, but today I did it thin and even—like coating my veins and muscles with a fine layer. Yeah, I think I can pull this off.
That said, there’s still a big gap between my physical abilities and those of beastkin, so I kept my pace reasonable. Yep, my legs feel lighter than last time, and pushing off the ground is easier too. The lead group caught up to me on the second lap, but compared to last time—where they passed me halfway through the first—that’s a huge improvement!
After keeping the same pace through lap two, I took a break. I was sweating just enough and didn’t feel dead tired yet. Good sign. I sat on the bench and hydrated while looking down at my legs.
Even with the enhancement spell, there was no visual change. I didn’t look all muscly or anything. If I released the spell now, I’d probably feel a heavy thunk in my legs, but… what would happen if I cast a healing spell on myself in this state?
They say overusing healing magic can hinder muscle growth, but now that I’ve thought of it—I have to try it.
The teachers were finishing their third lap, and the sheep sisters had just entered their second. Since they’d said everyone should do at least two laps, now’s probably the best time.
Now, the Vice-guildmaster said that during Heal, he chants something like “By holy power, I wish for this person’s recovery.” That’s the caster’s way of expressing their intention to heal the other person, right?
So the chant is flexible, but the phrase “I wish” kind of sounds like you're asking someone else to do the healing.
In my case, I just want to heal my tired legs—I’m not asking anyone. If anything, I’m telling my own mana: “Give me this kind of effect.”
So what I need now isn’t healing for injury, but a relaxing effect for tired muscles.
When I think of recovery after exercise, I think of stretching, a bath, or a massage. Stretching via magic is hard to imagine, but that massage machine that squeezes your legs like little air bags—that’s easy to picture. Like those “hot reflex” things that make you feel like you’re in a footbath.
Hot = fire magic… but that’s too hot. So, how about warm water, like a footbath?
And to apply pressure—not gravity (that’s either crushing or floating), but air pressure. Like balloons of air arranged from bottom to top.
Actually, warm water balloons might be better. Okay, let’s go with that.
I imagined several yo-yo-sized water balloons around my legs and began concentrating mana.
Squelch squelch
Squelch squelch
Let’s say three balloons per leg: two to sandwich the back of my calves, and a larger one in front. Let’s try one leg first.
Squelch squelch
Squelch squelch
Alright, some pretty decent water balloons came out. Well, they were more like water spheres than balloons—no vinyl skin. I placed them around my leg… perfect footbath temperature.
Pressing them against my leg—ooh! So warm and pleasant. Let’s move them upward from the bottom—squeeze, squeeze. Oh! Oh! Oh! This… feels… amazing!!
Once I reached the knee, I returned them to the ankle and repeated. The warmth and rhythmic motion were irresistible! Alright, time to do the other leg!
“Vio, what’s that?”
“Is it moving by itself~? Magic?”
“‼⁉‼”
I’d been so wrapped up in how good it felt, I hadn’t noticed everyone had finished running.
Not just the sheep sisters, but even Len, Hachi, and the teacher were peering at me. Startled, I lost focus and the water balloons went splash.
“Alright, alright—unless the caster’s willing to explain, don’t ask about someone else’s magic. That’s the rule. Also, we’re still in class. Now, pick your weapons!”
Clapping his hands, Mr. Edel kindly redirected the students’ attention.
He must’ve noticed I was flustered.
He’s a tsundere but a really kind tiger teacher. What a cool guy.
Everyone ran to the lending weapons rack and picked out their favorites.
Come to think of it, I haven’t found my preferred weapon yet. I’d considered hidden weapons for the future, but that’s still a long way off.
“Excuse me, teacher. I’ve never fought with weapons before—what would you recommend for a beginner like me?”
If you don’t know, ask a pro, right? The teacher hummed and tilted his head left and right.
Must be tough finding something suitable for a tiny human like me.
“Well, long swords, greatswords, hammers, and axes are out. First, let’s see if you can even hold one. Come on, try them all.”
Process of elimination, huh. Yeah, if I tried using any of those, I’d get crushed.
So I followed the teacher to the storage area. There were various metal and wooden weapons.
I guess we practice with the wooden ones.
The metal ones must be for adventurers—none of the students were using them.
He handed me a small dagger, but it was still way too big for my hands.
At home, my herb-gathering knife had a customized grip, so it was easy to use.
Then I tried a wooden bow—but it was too large, and I couldn’t even pull it.
The spear was too long—it swung me around instead.
Even a standard longsword dragged on the ground when I sheathed it, and I probably wouldn’t be able to draw it anyway.
“Yeah, well… I guess you should wait until you grow a bit more to choose a weapon.
For now, focus on unarmed technique. Ask Alke—he’s good at that. Or just focus on magic first. From what I saw earlier, you’re probably pretty skilled with it.
For this class, just work on building stamina through running.”
I agreed completely.
Sorry for making you go through all that, teacher—but I’m happy you took the time to help.
What do you think about this chapter?
