Chapter 59

“But hasn’t Sofia been doing nothing lately?”

Elin’s question during tea time.

I certainly haven’t been doing anything.

Just yesterday, I left my room, wandered around the castle, and then went back to my room to sleep.

Of course, since Kyle returns in 2 days, I won’t be able to stay like this anymore.

“Yes.”

“Hmm…. Well, you probably don’t have much to do. Is your schedule empty today too?”

“Yes.”

My schedule is empty today too.

Since Kyle left, my schedule has always been empty.

I’ve been doing almost the same thing all day.

Ah, occasionally I thought about submitting my resignation letter and what I would do after.

I thought about what to give my mother as a gift when I return to my hometown.

For my father, magic stimulants would be enough.

But what if they moved without telling me?

I’d be really disappointed if they moved without me knowing.

No matter how little we’ve been in contact, they wouldn’t move without telling me.

“Then would you like to exercise with me today?”

“Exercise?”

“Yes.”

Exercise….

I did need to do it.

But honestly, I didn’t really want to.

Exercise is hard.

“You said you would exercise last time. Since you have nothing to do, let’s exercise together! I’ll help you well.”

“….”

Elin spoke to me with an extremely bright smile.

Just looking at her, you might mistake her for a pure heroine from an animation.

Of course, to me, she’s not a heroine but just a friend.

“You don’t have anything to do today anyway. So let’s exercise together?”

“Ugh….”

I didn’t particularly want to, but Elin’s expression was so bright that I couldn’t refuse.

So eventually….

“…Hey.”

“…. Sorry.”

“Now, shall we start by going around once?”

“….”

“You’re really bad.”

We ended up moving to the training ground.

Wearing clothes that could absorb sweat.

And with Louise included.

“Louise, aren’t we close enough to share even a piece of bread?”

“Tsk….”

It was too late even if Louise disliked it.

The moment I didn’t refuse immediately, Elin got excited, said it was good, and brought us along.

“Alright! Let’s begin!”

So the exercise began.

As Elin said, we first started going around the indoor training ground once.

I wonder what kind of people knights are to exercise in such a hot indoor place.

If we did it outside, it wouldn’t feel hot because it would be cold.

“Ha…. Ha. Haah….”

“Huff….. Huff….. Huff….”

“….”

Louise and I were running while breathing heavily.

And beside us, Elin was running.

“…”

Without making any sound and with a perfect posture.

To us normally, Elin was kind of like…

She gave the feeling of a younger sister.

She was actually younger than us, and unlike the two of us, perhaps because of her young age, she often showed a bright demeanor.

Her actual personality was also very bright.

So we might have looked down on her a bit.

Elin the knight.

“Hack…. Hack….”

“Sofia…. I’m really going to get revenge on you….. Heck….”

The suggestion to run one lap had somehow turned into 5 laps.

Even though it was an indoor training ground, it was definitely not small in size.

“Heck…. Heck…. Elin, can’t we rest for a moment…?”

“Already?”

Elin, who hadn’t shed a single drop of sweat despite running five laps continuously.

Her breathing was no different from when she drank tea during tea time.

“Hack…. Hack…. 5 minutes…. no, 3 minutes is enough….”

“Uh….”

Was our stamina below imagination?

Elin had an incredulous expression.

Yes, I understood.

I didn’t know I would be this weak in stamina.

No? I think I did quite well considering!

I, who hadn’t done any proper exercise for years, had run five laps!

“Then let’s rest for 5 minutes for now.”

“Hack!! Finally!”

Louise said that and lay down on the floor.

I was also terribly tired, so I sat down on the floor and started resting.

“Are you perhaps tired…?”

“…”

Elin’s question right now was really pure in intent.

She was genuinely curious if we were tired.

She was genuinely curious if we were this exhausted.

Louise and I both couldn’t easily answer.

After all, we had been acting like older sisters to Elin.

Although the age difference wasn’t that big, we had a bit of pride as older sisters.

We often said things like “Elin is still young~” to her.

We said a lot of things like “Because you’re still young, it’s good to date early,” or “What? It’s fine to do it later,” and so on.

“N-No?!”

“We’re fine?!”

That’s why we forcibly said we were fine.

And that choice was a perfectly wrong one.

“Ha…. ck….”

“S…. save me……. Sofi…”

An hour later, we had collapsed on the floor in exhaustion.

Not just running, she brought some strange exercise equipment and made us exercise, and even when we said it was hard, she kept making us do it….

As a result, we became unable to move.

“Uh…. I pushed you two too hard because you were following so well.”

“Hack…. Eeeeck….”

“Save me….”

We couldn’t speak properly at Elin’s words.

We could only look at the ceiling and lament.

That was all we could do.

Anyway, that’s how day 1 of exercise with Elin ended.

If I had known this would happen, I should have exercised when Kyle suggested it before.

If I had exercised then, I probably wouldn’t be dying from exhaustion like this now?

Yes, I think so.

Elin moved us both to the bath and helped us relieve our fatigue.

And then I returned to my room.

“Wow…. I really feel like I’m going to die….”

It was incomparable to when I exercised a bit with Kyle before.

How hard do knights train?

And how good is Kyle’s stamina, who took lessons from Elin?

It was really amazing.

Even when I worked as an adventurer, it wasn’t to that extent.

It’s really crazy for a person to exercise for an hour without shedding a single drop of sweat….

“Haah….”

After exercising hard and washing refreshingly, lying on the bed felt extremely good.

By the way, I wonder if it’s because I was so focused on exercising today.

Unlike usual, there wasn’t that uncomfortable feeling.

I had been uncomfortable throughout the vacation period that I somehow got since Kyle left.

I don’t know the exact reason, but I always felt uncomfortable and anxious.

The feeling that it was a non-daily life was too strong.

But today, maybe because there wasn’t even time to feel that?

It was a better day than the past few days.

I thought about exercising every day until that feeling disappeared, but I immediately gave up on the idea.

No matter what, that wasn’t right.

I could literally die from exhaustion….

“Let’s just sleep.”

If I just wait for tomorrow, Kyle will return.

Tomorrow, it seemed I should prepare for Kyle’s return after completing the succession ceremony.

I was in charge of that.

“I should tell them to prepare foods that Kyle likes.”

I didn’t think he had good meals in the snow field.

I had also eaten in the wild while working as an adventurer.

He probably ate just terribly tasteless meat.

The most delicious food would surely have been berries.

“First, warm soup… meat stew with some spice flavor, what else should I prepare that he would like.”

Steak was always prepared, so there was no reason to order it separately.

It seemed enough to prepare foods Kyle likes and alcohol to celebrate Kyle’s success.

And I was going to gather people to celebrate his return.

I didn’t plan to make it as big as the coming-of-age ceremony.

Just a small party with close people.

“Adela, Louise, Elin, and me.”

I’m not sure about the head of the family.

I would have known if I had talked to him.

Anyway, these 4 people decided to have a party for Kyle.

He would like it.

I decided what to do tomorrow properly for the first time in a while and covered myself with the blanket.

“Where should I go with Miss Sofia.”

I was contemplating where to go on a date with Miss Sofia in the snow field where a harsh wind was blowing.

I definitely promised Miss Sofia.

That we would go on a date when I return.

I excluded dangerous places like last time for now.

If something like that happens again after going to such a dangerous place….

“Let’s not think about it.”

Anyway, it would be fine if I just didn’t take her to such a place.

To a place where Miss Sofia and I can enjoy together.

I thought of a place that was safe and enjoyable for Miss Sofia, regardless of whether it was indoors or outdoors.

“This time, the river…. no, that’s dangerous too.”

Falling into a river would be a really dangerous thing.

The river was more dangerous than the mountain.

I needed to go to a place where there was no possibility of getting hurt at all.

“Haah….”

But doing that made it difficult to choose again.

Where is there a place with a good atmosphere, good scenery, good safety, and suitable as a date location?

I do know a few good places, but they are snow-covered mountains, rivers, and snow fields.

I couldn’t forgive myself for taking someone who had already been injured on a snow-covered mountain back to a mountain.

Although I was the one who took her.

And the river….

If you fall in once, it’s not just at the level of injury like the mountain, but at the level of death.

“Haah….”

The only remaining place was a snow field with a good view.

“…?”

As I was looking at the night sky, such a thought suddenly came to mind.

Do we have to view the scenery during the day?

The place where I was born, raised, and living was the north.

Although the timing might not be good, when night falls, something very beautiful appears in the sky.

“Aurora….”

Yes, the aurora could be viewed from the castle too.

Why on earth had I forgotten about this?

Had I forgotten common sense while thinking only of Miss Sofia?

“Ha.”

Is there really only one person in my head?

I felt like my brain was getting slower.