Chapter 3

In the training ground, the hero, priests, and knights had split into three groups and started a mock battle.

Ayame was facing two priests, exchanging fireballs and ice shards.

She wasn’t chanting any incantations. Occasionally, she mumbled something, which might have been a spell, but there were no dramatic phrases. A bit disappointing.

The ground exploded even though nothing was visible; it must have been wind magic. She swung her staff like a tennis racket, sometimes deflecting fireballs and sometimes making the ice shards disappear. Her position didn’t change much, so it might have been more like table tennis, but she gracefully dodged concentrated attacks of thick fire columns and ice shards. Oh, how cool...

Kouhiro was facing a large knight with a shield and Zaza.

He deflected the arrows with his shield, crouched to avoid Zaza’s sword, and then swept the knight’s feet with his right foot. The knight, with surprising agility for his large build, jumped back. Kouhiro pursued him closely, striking the shield with his right hand, which wasn’t equipped with a crossbow gauntlet, and thrust his left hand in front of Zaza.

The sound of the gauntlet hitting the sword echoed. The three, who had jumped back to create distance, re-engaged after a moment.

Shouta and Rei were doing something incomprehensible.

The ground was being gouged out in all directions by what seemed to be iron balls. Could the iron balls be so heavy that their landing couldn’t be seen? Were they really iron balls? Maybe sponges? Or polystyrene? But they wouldn’t gouge the ground.

A chain transformed into an iron snake, aiming for Rei’s ankle. She dodged with a light side step. Shouta, who appeared as if waiting for her, swung his scythe, which was blocked by Rei’s sword. The two’s strikes, following the trajectory of the freely spinning iron balls, overlapped in circular motions. It was a dangerous yet elegant dance.

I jumped at the sound of a gong.

Realizing it was the signal to end, I exhaled the breath I had been holding.

I was captivated by the way everyone stopped abruptly.

Due to the law of inertia, stopping a momentum-driven movement requires even more skill.

I clapped enthusiastically, and everyone, blushing, approached me.

“Everyone, you practice martial arts...? Are you swordsmen or masters?”

Although I’ve already been out of place since I arrived, the thought that everyone except me is a martial artist makes me wonder if I was summoned not as a hero but as a caretaker for the hero. Maybe working in the kitchen is also part of my role.

“I played soccer, but I’m not into martial arts,” Rei said, and Shouta nodded, “Same here, and I’m not good at sports at all.”

“There’s no way I’d do something so sweaty,” Ayame said, undoing her hair. Her hair is beautiful. Mine too, now that I’ve rejuvenated and regained its luster and volume, but the base is different. It’s like a shampoo commercial.

“I have some experience, but I couldn’t move like that,” Kouhiro said.

“Experience! I remember, I’ve seen something like that in movies. What was it? Oh! Barikata!”

“That’s Hakata ramen! You mean Gun Kata!?”

Oh...

◇

Kouhiro, it turned out, was a kendo and karate practitioner. He looked like a playboy, but he was solidly athletic.

But like the others, his combat skills improved due to his enhanced physical abilities in this world.

“Maybe I got used to it a bit faster, but I think my experience from the original world doesn’t matter much at this level,” he said, and the others agreed.

So, here’s the thing?

I’m now in the training ground at night, alone.

I had been doing stretching exercises in my room every day. To be precise, since the third day, after I noticed my body had become as flexible as it used to be. The room given to me was larger than my original home, but the overly luxurious furniture and canopy bed, along with the vases and other items, made me nervous about breaking something, so I couldn’t stretch fully.

That’s why I came to the training ground today at noon.

If a complete novice can move their body so freely, then...

I did the stretching exercises I had done during the day again, carefully stretching and loosening my muscles to warm up my joints.

I placed my left heel against my right toes.

I imagined a thin thread extending from the top of my head to the sky. Following that thread, I slowly straightened my bent knee.

Keeping my center of gravity, I slid my left toes to the side and opened my left arm in sync.

My elbow and wrist were relaxed, like holding a soft blanket.

I lifted my left leg to waist height, drew a circle with my extended toes, and gently placed it on the ground.

The training ground was surrounded by a dense forest.

Focusing on a large, bright red star that stood out in the night sky, I slid my left foot to the side again and shifted my center of gravity.

The thread that suspended me didn’t loosen as it rotated me.

Keeping my focus, my body rotated, and then I returned my gaze.

Aiming for the star, I rotated, faster and faster.

A soft laugh escaped my lips.

I didn’t aim to become a ballerina.

I attended a casual ballet class that held an annual recital for family members, from the age of four to twenty, before I got married. Despite frequent moves due to my parents’ jobs, I continued to attend classes wherever we went.

It was just a hobby.

But I loved dancing.

I didn’t have pointe shoes, but I asked a maid to get me soft leather shoes that could serve as ballet slippers.

Gripping the ground firmly with my toes was enough.

The stars seemed to pour down.

I extended my left fingertips toward the green star I aimed for next and performed a grand jeté.

The momentum didn’t slow as I landed. I sharply repeated pirouettes and arabesques.

Jeté. Jeté. Entrechat. Jeté.

The stars followed me as I moved.

The wind embraced me without holding me back.

Gravity was now under my control.

My landing foot wobbled on the final grand jeté.

I could feel my body instinctively trying to regain balance.

I did a side cartwheel, using my left hand as a pivot. This isn’t ballet.

I wobbled because the center of gravity I was used to had changed. My body had changed. Once I get used to it, it won’t be a problem. My body was telling me that I used to dance with this body.

“Haha, hah, ahah... k, kukuku...”

I squatted and covered my mouth to suppress my laughter.

This is the second “What a surprise!” since I came to this world!!

“Who’s there!”

“Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii