Battle Race in the Fantasy World – Chapter 147

EP.147 When Are You Going to Do It?

She looks too weak, doesn’t she? It seems like her arm would break if you just stroked it once, right?

Yes, that’s right. The Saintess is physically weak. She’s never really exercised properly.

My goodness, I’ve never seen someone about to faint after doing just one push-up!

But you know what! She’s filling in those lacking areas with effort!

Although the Saintess’s body is weak, her spirit is stronger than anyone’s.

And her effort is incredible. Someone who couldn’t do a single push-up is now doing them with perfect form! Can you believe it?!

Not skipping a single day, never considering it a bother, squeezing time out of her schedule!

This was Kyle’s message to his father.

And that message, as expected, hit home perfectly.

“Hooh…”

That cold expression from earlier is gone, replaced by a softly settled gaze.

Then, Baron Jonathan turns to Kyle and asks a question.

“…If she learned from you, it would have been three months at most.”

“That’s right.”

“And you’re saying she improved this much in such a short time.”

“That’s exactly what I’m telling you. She’s truly an amazing person. Although her body may be naturally weak, her determination is several times stronger than that of ordinary people. She’s a truly kind and wonderful person.”

At this, Baron Jonathan’s expression, which had been stiff until just now, completely softens.

A typical northerner who respects the strong and rejects the weak.

But he doesn’t reject others just because they’re unconditionally weak.

What’s important is ‘effort’. Not sitting down in the face of one’s weakness, but the effort to become stronger.

It doesn’t matter if it’s slow or sluggish. What’s important is moving forward. That is effort.

The people of Jonathan give the second-highest score to that effort, right after overwhelming strength.

They are people who love those who consistently make an effort, even if they’re not strong.

“Is what Kyle says true, Saintess?”

“Huh? Ah… yes, yes. Thanks to Brother Kyle, I’ve improved a lot compared to before.”

“Is that so. I see. The Saintess is truly a good person.”

Following Kyle’s words, this time the same words came out of Baron Jonathan’s mouth.

A good person. A nice person. It’s a phrase I’ve heard so many times, but strangely today it lingers more deeply.

Those words lodge firmly in a corner of her heart, tickling her emotions.

She can’t quite grasp why it makes her feel so good.

The Saintess barely managed to hold back the smile that kept trying to break through her lips.

“Th-Thank you, Baron!”

The cold gaze that had been directed at her suddenly turned warm.

Relieved at this change, the Saintess looked at Kyle standing beside her.

Yes. She knew it. Kyle was just trying to look after her.

She was so grateful that he stood up for her like that.

‘It’s warm.’

Kyle’s smile, as he looks at her with a slight grin, feels so warm.

A good person. Such a good person. That’s why she wants to be by his side.

“But you know.”

Baron Jonathan suddenly stands up.

Then he approaches the Saintess and grasps her arm.

The way he examines her here and there is like an inspector checking a sword.

“Your arms are too thin. Your thighs are too slim as well. It’s very good that you’re making an effort. But there are things that can’t be achieved by effort alone. Your body needs to be able to keep up. Unfortunately, your current physical condition, Saintess, is not very suitable for exercise.”

After that, Baron Jonathan circles around the Saintess, lecturing her.

If any other man had done this, nine out of ten holy knights would have rebuked him.

How dare he be so rude to the Saintess? Where does he think he’s putting his hands?

But right now, not a single one of the holy knights opened their mouth.

The overwhelming aura emanating from Baron Jonathan was the main reason they were intimidated.

Another reason was that the Baron wasn’t showing any emotions that would be disrespectful to the Saintess, but was only talking about exercise, effort, muscles, and bones.

“Do you understand? Effort is important, but your physical condition is crucial too. That’s why diet naturally becomes important as well. I hear that the people of the Church don’t eat much, but that won’t sustain your body. My son will guide you well, of course, but there’s nothing more regrettable and unfortunate than damaging your body while exercising.”

“Th-Thank you for the advice, Baron!”

The Saintess’s expression was literally dumbfounded.

She seems surprised that the Baron, who had been so quiet until now, suddenly became so talkative.

After that, Baron Jonathan went on about exercise methods, diet, and various other aspects.

Even the Jonathan children were wide-eyed, letting out exclamations of “Whoa!”

It got to the point where Kyle had to intervene, saying, “Father. That’s enough.”

“Ahem. Hmm.”

Perhaps he realized he had spoken too much.

After clearing his throat a few times, the Baron concluded with, ‘I wish you all the best in your progress.’

“Are you finished?”

Old Man Neil, who had been observing from the side, gently parts his lips.

Then, with a hearty laugh, he looks at the Saintess.

“The Baron spoke much more than usual. It seems he was deeply impressed by the effort you’ve shown, Saintess.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. Most people tend to succumb to their limitations and settle. Especially those like yourself, Saintess, who don’t necessarily need to make such strenuous efforts. That’s why the Baron is so pleased.”

“Neil.”

Baron Jonathan calls out to Old Man Neil in a low, subdued voice.

It’s clearly meant to tell him to stop saying unnecessary things that are making him blush.

To this, Old Man Neil responds with an “Oops” and steps back with a smile.

“Saintess.”

Priscilla carefully approaches the Saintess’s side and calls out to her.

It seems an Imperial knight had just come over and whispered something; something must be up.

“The Legion Commander wishes to express his gratitude to you, Saintess. It seems you should go to the command tent.”

“I’m fine, really. Instead of that, I’d rather go comfort the wounded…”

“They say you’ve already done that. Apparently, the wounded have been talking non-stop about you and the priests, and they’ve emphasized several times that they really want to thank you personally.”

The Saintess nods, thinking, ‘In that case… I should go visit them.’

Before heading to the command tent, she looks at the Baron and bows her head once more.

“It was truly wonderful to meet you. I hope we can meet again, Father.”

With those words, the Saintess and Priscilla depart first.

Baron Jonathan, who had been staring intently at the two women, opens his mouth.

“Kyle. Is it really not possible? Even if I use just one hand…”

“Please, Father. Why are you like this?”

Could it be that showing even a tiny bit of sincerity to the drug-addled ogre yesterday was a mistake?

Kyle is having trouble adjusting to this dignified person constantly pestering him.

They say it’s Jonathan’s curse to get excited about fighting strong opponents, but…

He thought his own father would at least be able to resist that much.

“Isn’t she the Commander of the Holy Knights?”

“So, Father, what you’re saying is, ‘She doesn’t move unless it’s absolutely necessary, and if we don’t fight now, we might not get another chance, so I want to challenge her right away.’ Isn’t that right?”

“Precisely.”

“Father.”

“Yes, Kyle?”

“Please control yourself.”

Baron Jonathan let out a sigh at Kyle’s cold words.

He was a being on a different level, one who could make even formidable strong opponents seem trivial.

But he was also a father who had a subtle weakness for his children.

After barely managing to dissuade Baron Jonathan, Kyle has the children cling to him.

Once the kids are attached, those thoughts should disappear in an instant.

‘More importantly… if I didn’t mishear, didn’t she definitely say “Father”?’

He didn’t expect the Saintess, who wasn’t even an Imperial Princess, to say such a thing.

When he first heard it, he involuntarily flinched, his body trembling.

Old Man Neil clearly reacted a bit too. As for his father… he’s not sure.

‘It can’t be, right? She just got a bit friendly and meant it like “Kyle’s father,” right?’

Haha! Yeah! That must be what she meant!

The “Father” the Saintess said must simply mean Kyle’s father…

‘As if that makes sense, you idiot.’

Unfortunately, he’s not the typical oblivious male lead from a romance fantasy novel.

Isn’t it obvious why she subtly called him “Father”?

Considering the subtle words and actions the Saintess has shown until now, there’s only one meaning.

‘She’s joining the fray. It’s not a three-way battle, but a four-way battle.’

His karmic debt has increased by one more.

His favorite character is joining the battle. Should he be happy about this or not?

Wouldn’t it be better if the Saintess remained just as the Saintess?

If she jumps into the grand battle, he feels like he’ll discover something a bit different from the Saintess he’s known so far.

It would be bad if she suddenly starts resembling the Imperial Princess and develops strange interests.

‘Come to think of it, didn’t they say they were friends?’

No doubt about it. Their ages are different, their personalities are different, everything is different, but…

Strangely, they’ve grown close and now they say they’re friends.

‘Imperial Princess. Please. Don’t instill weird things in our Saintess.’

Kyle’s sense of foreboding was increasing exponentially.

*

“You seemed to be enjoying yourself.”

“Pardon?”

The Saintess looks at Priscilla in response to her words.

She seems to have not quite understood what was said.

“I said you seemed to be enjoying yourself. That is, when you met Baron Jonathan.”

“Ah… yes. It was enjoyable. It was my first time meeting him, and he’s Brother Kyle’s father. I was a bit worried because he’s often described as some strange being in public, but he wasn’t like that at all. He was actually a very nice person. So I’m in a good mood. I’m one of the few who knows the truth about him.”

Priscilla suddenly smiles at the Saintess’s response.

“Why?”

“Ah. It’s nothing, Saintess.”

“Why? Why did you smile? Tell me.”

“It’s really nothing at all.”

As if that’s the only reason she’s in a good mood.

Is she pretending not to know, or is she unconsciously avoiding it?

Priscilla could only smile at the Saintess’s adorable response.