Chapter 63

"......I never expected it to be this bad, even I didn't anticipate this."

Dilnan muttered with a look of exasperation and a hint of trouble.

As his words suggest, I am currently lying on the ground, struggling to breathe. *Pant* *Pant* My own breathing is so loud. My protruding belly is clearly moving up and down.

I never realized how poor my stamina was.

Incidentally, it only took about five minutes from when I started exercising (or so I thought) to end up in this state (sigh).

When I woke up from my nap, Dilnan was doing some paperwork at the dining table. He noticed I was awake and finished his work.

After that, I went to the bathroom and then went back out to the small square through the back door to resume training.

I reviewed the subspace magic I had tried in the morning, confirming that the space had properly stabilized. Then, I packed the backpack, snacks, Let's stuffed animal, a change of clothes, handkerchiefs, and a set of knives that I had bought earlier. Everything was going well up to that point. It was smooth sailing.

The problem started after that.

"First, I need to check your pure strength, so come at me from any direction you like."

At Dilnan's words, I approached him head-on. He easily overpowered me with just the reach of his arm, without even using much strength, and the match was over in an instant. It was exactly like those illustrations in manga.

Thinking I could try attacking from behind, I aimed for Dilnan's back, but he easily changed direction, spinning me around uselessly. It was like I was on a merry-go-round with Dilnan as the axis, and there was no way I could get behind him.

I thought about trying to confuse him, but as the previous results clearly showed, I couldn't perform such advanced movements. Instead, the more I moved side to side, the faster my stamina drained.

In the end, Dilnan, using his finger to lightly press me, flipped me over and rendered me immobile.

Incidentally, Dilnan didn't move from his original position at all.

This isn't just about how amazing Dilnan is. It's more about how incredibly weak I am, and the sound of the bell signaling the end of the match rang in my ears.

After this situation, Dilnan said:

"Well, what should we do?"

I'm sorry for the trouble...

"For now, no practical training. We'll focus on building your stamina."

After a while, as I managed to get up, Dilnan, who had been deep in thought, spoke.

"Stamina..."

"Since that's decided, let's play a game of tag like kids."

"Huh?"

Dilnan, what does that deep, meaningful smile mean... (shudder)

"Wait, wait, wait!" "Nyo! (sob)"

Why am I being chased by multiple people?

Because Dilnan incited the people who were on break.

How long has it been since I started being chased by the three enthusiastic off-duty squad members?

Dilnan, who had gathered the taggers by dangling the promise of extra lunch portions as bait, was now sitting in the shade, leisurely checking some documents. How unfair!

Moreover, he declared that I would lose one of the snacks I had just bought each time I was caught. What a disaster!

The game of tag was limited to a designated area. Of course, they were holding back significantly, and I was managing to escape by using obstacles and gaps to my advantage, but it was getting quite tough. My side was starting to hurt, and my mouth tasted like iron.

But I don't want to lose my snacks. Even though Dilnan bought them with his money, I chose them! They're my snacks!

"My... snacks..."

Thinking about the snacks that might be taken away made me want to cry. Eventually, sobs escaped, and I couldn't help but cry out loud.

Dilnan's eyes widened, and the three squad members, who were playing tag, stopped and looked extremely uncomfortable.

"No one is going to take your snacks, so stop crying already."

"Uuuuuu..."

Dilnan picked me up and comforted me, and I finally managed to stop crying.

In the end, the game of tag had to be called off. The three squad members were dismissed by Dilnan after he confirmed their names and units, and they returned to their breaks. Sorry, squad members.

"Let's think about your training a bit more. Today, we'll just go for a walk."

"A walk...?"

"Didn't you and Elies walk around yesterday? Today, we'll walk in a different way."

I nodded, still sobbing, in response to Dilnan's words.

Am I really going to be okay with this? It feels like dark clouds are already gathering over our destination...

While it was supposed to be about physical techniques, it turned out to be a stamina test.

When will I actually get to the physical techniques part?!