episode_0008

“Haa… ”

Catlena sighs as she walks through the backyard of the castle, feeling the ground sink.

However, no matter how much I regretted it, nothing would change now.

Moreover, she knew very well that if she tried to force herself to get out, there was a risk that the situation would get worse without any countermeasures.

‘I never thought I’d get to spend time with my older sister… It’s something that’s never happened before in my life.’

The schedule was simply to visit some nearby places.

Just being with someone whose face was so scary was a burden in itself.

‘Since there hasn’t been any talk about succession to the throne yet, I don’t think my sister will be hostile towards me.. I just need to be obedient and help my sister with her volunteer work.’

Of course, if through this she could become even a little closer to her older sister, that would be a great achievement in its own right, but honestly, the fear and burden Katlena felt toward her older sister was too great to even think about such a thing.

‘And… since Zeros is going with us, it might be a little better.’

Although he is still young and weak, he is a boy who provides emotional support to Katlena.

Katlena smiled, taking some comfort in the fact that she was going with the boy.

‘Come to think of it. This is probably the first time for Zero to see our sister..’

Honestly, considering our connection in our previous lives, I didn’t want to meet him if possible, but I couldn’t keep doing that forever.

Above all, unlike before, since it was Katlena herself who first got her hands on Zeros, she was able to feel somewhat reassured about that.

*

“Haaah!”

Zeros swinging his wooden sword with a shout

His breathing had already become ragged, and his overworked muscles were screaming for rest.

The training has been going on for three hours already.

His entire body was soaked in fatigue and sweat, but even so, Zeros did not stop moving.

It wasn’t just because I had strong will, it wasn’t for the same pure reasons.

The reason he’s doing this is…

“It’s only been two hours. Are you tired already?”

“Ah… No!”

“Is that all you can hear?”

“No!!!

“You are the direct servant who serves the princess right next to her. In other words, you are the last shield protecting the princess! Should the last line of defense be this weak?”

“No way!”

“Wake up and start again. Speak loudly! Speak with great force!”

“Haat!”

The tone and voice that makes you force yourself to recall memories you really don’t want to remember.

Zeros was rolled into this world and was being stimulated by trauma from his days as a private.

and,

The person who was urging him from the side while holding a sword like that… no,

At Siren’s words, Zeros had no choice but to swing his sword in pain that felt like his arm was going to fall off.

Although Zeros was now a direct subordinate of Katlena, he was inevitably subject to the supervision of Serif, his original superior and the one in charge of all servants within the castle, when it came to combat training.

And this was now causing Zeros more trouble than he could have imagined.

Her training, which was already no joke, became even more intense after she became the princess’s direct servant.

‘Damn… It’s a little awkward, but learning writing and manners from Katlena is definitely heaven.’

A serif that literally squeezes every last bit of strength out of your opponent.

And there’s one more thing that’s even scarier.

The fact is that during the training process under her, injuries due to overwork were almost never reported.

‘In other words, it means that he knows very well how far he has to push himself to avoid death. I’ve felt this way before, but he really is a terrible person.’

Of course, since it felt like a sort of bodyguard, it was perhaps natural that the fighting ability of the direct subordinates should be at least average.

However, even if it is understandable, it is obviously frustrating for the person who is suffering as a result.

And so, sighing at the fact that he had been properly caught by that poisonous woman, Zeros swung his sword again.

*

The training that continued on and on finally came to an end when Zeros’ body reached its limit.

Immediately afterwards, he sat down in his seat, completely exhausted.

“Gasp… gasp..gasp..”

“Good work. It certainly seems like you’ve built up your basic physical strength to some extent.”

“n..yes..go..thank you.”

Zeros, who ran around the training ground and swung his sword for a full four hours.

Even if you train regularly, it is difficult for even adult men to reach this level, making talking about basic physical strength pointless.

Moreover, it was almost impossible for a young boy to digest it under normal circumstances.

However, the reason Zeros was able to do this was because his body was not at the level of a normal human.

‘Haa..haa.. I feel this every time.. but still, the body with magic flowing through it does seem a little different.’

Although he was defeated by Elios in the original work, Zeros later grew into a wizard with considerable skill.

The energy that serves as the source of the magicians’ fighting power.

Magic is a unique power that exists in this world and can distort the laws of nature.

To use a metaphor, magic power is the power to change the options called natural physical laws set by a being called God according to one’s will.

Because of this, those with magical powers can exert powers that surpass those of ordinary humans and cause phenomena that cannot be explained physically.

A power that allows you to do things that are normally considered impossible, from simply increasing your physical strength and brute force to naturally enabling you to do things like split steel with a branch or break down a castle gate with your bare fists.

This power cannot be used by anyone who is not born with it, and the level of its strength is greatly influenced by one’s innate talent.

In that respect, it could be said that the magical talent possessed by the body of the character Zeros was quite outstanding.

The description in the original work is like that, and the fact that the magical power that is still flowing faintly even at such a young age is proof of that.

Thanks to that, Zeros was able to endure this murderous training intensity, and Serif also knew this fact, which is why he was pushing him to this extent.

‘Even though it’s just helping you endure hellish training now… later on, you’ll be able to do something greater, right? Magic and sorcery can help you overcome what are called personal limitations.’

In the original world, no matter how strong a person is, if they are hit directly by a bullet, they will die instantly.

In other words, although there are clear limits to an individual’s abilities, magical powers that exist in this world can sometimes overturn them.

This literally means that an individual can demonstrate military-level or higher capabilities with their bare body.

Even though the training was difficult at the moment, there was a reason why Zeros accepted it without complaint.

Magic, a powerful force that did not exist in reality.

Because I had a personal romantic idea about using it.

Of course, it is dangerous to be too confident in that power.

‘Even the original Zeros died by the hand of Elios. It is a world where you can become strong beyond common sense, but conversely, it is also a place where such strong people are swarming around. You have to be careful about your personal power while also being careful about your social skills.’

In that case, it would be more comfortable to take the Elios route as soon as possible… but unfortunately, even though he had become Katlena’s direct servant, Zeros had never even seen Elios’ face.

To begin with, Katlena and Elios rarely had any overlapping routes other than meal times, which were reserved for family members only.

‘Still, it’s already been a month… I think it’s about time we meet again, even if it’s just by chance…’

With that thought in mind, Zeros took a deep breath and slowly got up from his seat.