“Even stranger rumors about you are spreading around town. That the lord’s youngest son, the greatest prodigy, the hope of the territory… is a degenerate who only likes to fight, someone who smiles from ear to ear even when he’s missing an arm or his body is covered in wounds.” Brendu comments while laughing.
“People think you’re insane because you’ve been fighting the Brissy group by yourself several times a day… and they’re a little scared about whether you’re actually human. They can’t believe you can heal that quickly or remain standing after being on the verge of death.” Lully’s red hair flutters as she shakes her head from side to side.
I’ve been training with these lunatics for five days now, even several times a day. That group is crazier than I thought. They’ve put all their short-term plans aside just to try to beat me, and every day they’re getting further away from achieving it.
Neither side loses anything from this situation. The group is gaining a lot of experience fighting against me. Facing Diamond-rank people or Grade 5 monsters isn’t something common, and at the same time, they’re gaining levels in their abilities.
If I were in their position, I would’ve also chosen to suspend my plans to focus on something that could improve my performance in record time and take advantage of an opportunity that rarely presents itself.
The Owl group also came to complain, so I had to do several training sessions every day. My cube and body started getting more stressed than expected, but it’s nothing dangerous—or at least that’s what my sixth sense tells me.
I think it’s like pushing your body to the limit at the gym. It hurts at first and your muscles are put under a lot of stress, then they grow and you undergo an evolution. I hope my cube and body are going down the same path.
Neither group is weak. Both are growing at a dizzying speed, but with every passing day, they move another step further away from being able to defeat me. I’m growing too, and having twice as many training partners has only benefited me.
“Maybe I should find somewhere farther away or build my own training ground where no gossipers can reach.” I complain while watching Brendu laugh. When I look at Lully, I can only wonder how long she plans to stay. She keeps postponing her return to her territory… better not to overthink things.
First, it was some of the territory’s security officers. Apparently, word spread among them, and I even heard that sometimes they bet dinner or a few glasses of beer. Then word reached the locals who clear dungeons and also train in the same place.
Eventually, the rumors began spreading in strange ways until they reached the townspeople. The rumors aren’t exactly wrong if I think about it… it’s just a little strange that people think that way about me and are starting to look at me differently.
I know they won’t spread strange rumors to the neighboring territories or passing visitors. It’s happened before. Several rumors we thought would spread like wildfire ended up staying within the town.
The people have understood that if rumors spread, it’s like selling part of our secrets and giving an advantage to a potential enemy. The comments stay more local and are treated as gossip.
“It didn’t help that you two came to watch me today either.” I look at the two girls, who are already ignoring me to talk about women’s stuff.
“We were worried about you. We just wanted to go and make sure you were okay.” Lully points at me, shifting the blame back onto me.
“Sir Cokue was also worried and offered to be our escort. We couldn’t waste the opportunity to check on your health and performance.” Brendu makes going to see me sound like the most natural thing in the world.
Obviously, people gathered at a distance. Everyone wants to catch at least a glimpse of two of the greatest beauties on the continent. The curious gazes quickly shifted toward me, and I could feel everyone’s eyes glued to my body while I trained with the Owl group.
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“I could feel how badly you wanted to join in from a distance.” I roll my eyes as I answer Brendu.
The princess has a strong competitive streak sometimes, especially when I’m involved. She would be a good opponent right now. I could start training with her too. That would add different variables to the equation and help me improve.
Although triple training might be a little intense, I’ll somehow manage it if I organize myself properly.
I haven’t asked Cokue for help because he’s still getting used to his new body and Jurisdiction. I want to have a battle with him when he’s in peak condition.
I haven’t asked Edupe either because that beast would beat the hell out of me. He might even refuse if he doesn’t find it interesting or appealing. Maybe I’ve finally reached a level where I could serve as decent light training for him. I’ll think about it some more.
I don’t have many days left with the Brissy group or the Owl group either. Neither of them can keep postponing their responsibilities just for training. I have to improve as much as possible with them before taking the next step.
“You must’ve imagined it. I didn’t want to join.” Brendu quickly responds while continuing to play with Lully’s hair.
“Really? I was just about to ask if you wanted to train with me… what a shame.” I pretend to be offended.
“I said I didn’t want to join that circus you had going on, but I’m not going to refuse to train with you if it’s just the two of us.” Brendu doesn’t even flinch at my attempt to act hurt. She remains firm as a tree.
“How about starting tomorrow?” I give the princess the most challenging look I can manage.
“I don’t want any excuses about how you only lost because you weren’t using all your abilities.” Brendu returns my gaze confidently. She always looks so sure of herself.
I don’t know how much Brendu has improved. I know she’s been training with the elders who serve as her guardians and with my grandmother. The princess hasn’t relaxed for even a moment. She’s always either helping the territory or training.
Right now, she has some papers in her hands. She’s already finished braiding Lully’s hair; the latter pouts when Brendu hands her a smaller stack of documents. At some point, Lully also started working for us for free. I’m not going to complain.
“By the way, I borrowed something from my father for your training.” She takes out an object resembling a very small purple box, no more than fifteen centimeters on each side. “Time passes twice as slowly inside the space produced by this object. It can be adjusted to flow even slower, but the cost gets rather high.”
My mouth falls open at the sight of that miraculous object. It means I can train for twice as long inside that space. I’m not asking for anything more. If Brendu considers the price high, I’d rather not ask how much it costs because I know I won’t like the answer.
“The only bad thing is that you can only use it with me.” Brendu places the object beside her. “It has several enchantments that prevent it from being used by people who don’t belong to the family or aren’t specially authorized. You wouldn’t be able to use it while I’m not nearby.” She hasn’t taken her eyes off the papers even once.
“Great. Please thank my father-in-law for me.” I can’t complain about something so precious. I know it isn’t the best item they have, but it must still be extremely valuable. It’s a portable training space where time flows more slowly than outside.
“My dad didn’t send you anything to thank him for.” Lully responds without taking her eyes off the pages in front of her either.
Brendu lets out a giggle at Lully’s comment while I roll my eyes. The redhead’s jokes have been getting more aggressive and elaborate lately. I think she finally feels comfortable enough to act like her real self.
That attitude reminds me a lot of her mother. Both of them are good at leaving me speechless for a few moments.
“I’ll tell him. He’s happy for you. He’s always asking when you plan to advance to the next rank or whether you’re waiting until your body is on the verge of exploding before doing it.” This time, Brendu actually lifts her gaze slightly from the pages.
“I don’t intend to advance anytime soon. I’ve met some of the requirements, but I’m still missing others, and yes, I’m going to wait until my cube is close to bursting before advancing.” I want to build the strongest foundation possible without causing myself any problems in the future.
“I’ll let him know. He’ll laugh when I tell him.” Brendu quickly lowers her gaze again, while Lully simply hums a song as she reads.
The two of them have grown closer, and their friendship will only grow stronger the more time they spend together. It’ll be the same thing that happened with Brendu and the girls at the beginning. They became an unstoppable force that never stopped tormenting me.
“See you later.” I say goodbye and leave them to their business. I’d better go do something I’m better at.
I use my spatial ability to appear in the air and continue teleporting repeatedly. I also want to improve my spatial ability. Lise interrupted my movement ability for an instant during our training, so it’s time to strengthen it and train it alongside my swordsmanship.