Chapter 118: Lenient

This…

The training set provided by the academy was quite comfortable. It had a slim fabric that felt like it didn’t even exist.

And yes… It also looked like it didn’t exist, as the fabric was quite closely attached to my skin.

Still, I wasn’t one to get embarrassed over such petty things.

Entering the hall again, I saw Diana already waiting for me.

Looking closely at her, I could see that she was uncomfortable in the clothes.

Well… They were a little too perfect for her size.

Her body…

Leaving the minor details aside, I walked towards her.

Diana, sensing me approach, turned to look at me and gave a faint smile.

“Maybe we should bring our own set instead of using the gear in the facility.”

“Uh… Yeah.”

Diana smiled awkwardly as she knew what I was referring to.

“If you are too uncomfortable, we can head back to get new ones for you.”

I made the suggestion seeing how the clothes could hamper her opponent’s focus during practice.

At least an average opponent’s.

Honestly, I didn’t have any issue with whatever she wore, but I still had to act like the gentleman that I was!

“It’s okay! Normally they would be a little uncomfortable, but… right now they aren’t.”

Diana looked in my eyes with the same smile on her face.

“Alright, let’s begin then.”

I took a notepad that I had brought with me and began to make different columns in it.

As I had promised to teach her, I would go all out.

“Firstly, run ten laps of the entire hall. No, do twenty. That would give a fair measure.”

I spoke without taking my eyes off the notepad in my hand.

“Okay!”

Diana began to do a light warm-up before the run.

“And yes, don’t use mana.”

I informed her.

Diana’s face froze midway.

“Twenty laps without M-Mana?”

“Yeah. That’s the goal of this training.”

Diana didn’t move her gaze from me for a while.

Finding it odd, I looked up.

“Any issues?”

“No. Twenty laps it is.”

She muttered to herself.

Why was she getting nervous over such a short distance?

Arthur used to make me run for miles without using any mana.

If I looked at it from that angle, I was being pretty lenient with her.

Diana had now warmed up and was ready at one of the corners on the right.

I took out a watch to measure her timing, and seeing everything was set—

“Start.”

Diana sprinted around the hall.

Hm?

Her speed was quite decent, but I could see her slowing down after the first lap.

“Regulate your breathing in proper intervals.”

Diana just nodded her head.

“Close your mouth. Breathe through your nose.”

I had to repeatedly correct many things that, according to me, should have been the basics of running short distances.

I think it wasn’t that Diana didn’t know all these things, but running without using mana was draining her brain of the required oxygen, and hence she was making such silly mistakes.

“Fifteen more to go.”

I tried to motivate Diana, but surprisingly her face became paler at my statement.

“Try to take long strides. Be efficient.”

By the eighth round, Diana was panting like a—

Cough…

She seemed quite tired.

“Keep going.”

Giving another round of motivation, I looked at the watch.

Though her speed was decent in the beginning, her stamina was shit.

Even a turtle was better than her.

Maybe that was a bit of an understatement.

I could say a snail was better than the princess. Like… how could someone be so slow?

Remembering my days when I was under Arthur’s training regime… thinking about that, I guess I was a far greater genius than what I originally believed.

Maybe only people like Noah could challenge me in physical endurance… that is, among individuals of my generation.

I wasn’t arrogant enough to think myself superior to the other undying monsters in this world.

Arthur himself was far stronger than me even without using his mana.

Well, considering his rank, it should have been an obvious outcome, but I knew Arthur had been the same strong guy even in his initial stages.

But I wasn’t disheartened by the fact. I knew that someday I would easily surpass him, or at least that was what I was hoping for.

But once I healed Arthur’s damaged core, I knew for sure that a beast like him would grow at a much faster pace than me.

His core was the only thing that was limiting his growth at present.

Once that obstacle was removed…

Still, it didn’t matter much.

Why should I be jealous of my employee? The more he grows, the better for me.

“Five more.”

Diana had now completed fifteen rounds, and her speed… it was pathetic.

The thing I was seeing was even worse than how average people walk.

Diana was swinging her arms like a fool, her legs barely managing to scrape the distance.

There wasn’t even an ounce of her royal elegance left… all I could see was a peasant—

No.

A malnourished peasant.

“That’s enough.”

There was no point in making her run if she could barely walk.

The moment she heard my order, Diana’s body crashed onto the floor. Lying on her back, she began to breathe heavily.

“Close your mouth.”

I had to remind her again.

I stood near her, waiting for the girl to normalize her breathing before she could process my instructions.

As I glanced at her body… these clothes were the stupidest things I had ever seen.

How could the headmaster hire such a shit designer?

Even I could make better gear than this… whatever it was called.

Diana, sensing my gaze on her body, looked at me, only to shift her eyes to the ceiling again.

What was that?

Thinking that my actions might seem wrong, I shifted my gaze to the notepad again.

There were still a lot of tests to be done before I could get an overview of her body.

Only after understanding her physical capabilities could I formulate a proper plan for her training.

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