Chapter 10: Regenration (2)

My master, Shione Sianella, has already been properly exercising for a month now.

When I first saw her, I thought, “This kid is no joke,” but now I’m surprised in a different way.

Shione has been consistently working out every single day.

During the daytime, she does simple cardio or full-body workouts in her room at the scheduled times, and on her way to and from the shooting range in the early morning, she jogs a bit.

She has also asked the kitchen to prepare food that can help her lose weight by reducing her usual portions. Of course, she didn’t cut out the meat dishes. Since she’s working so hard, it’s only fair to have at least a small reward.

Thanks to her efforts, Shione has changed significantly from a month ago.

The pig that used to stuff its face with a handful of cookies while awake has disappeared.

Now, we can see her sitting in a chair, munching on just one apple and taking a break.

It’s truly amazing how much a person can change in just a month. I feel a sense of pride thinking that I played a part in this transformation.

—

Knock, knock.

I knocked on Shione’s door and slowly entered the room.

To my surprise, Shione, whom I thought was sleeping, was sitting on the edge of her bed looking at me.

“Have you just arrived?”

“Yes, how come you’re awake so early today?”

“I think it’s because I moved around a bit less yesterday; my body feels more energized. That’s what I believe, at least.”

Shione, speaking like this, is no longer the grumpy, round stone I met for the first time.

If I had to express it, she resembles a stone that a sculptor has just begun to shape properly.

Anyway, she is steadily becoming a person.

Those who haven’t seen her much may not notice it easily, but after rolling with her every day, I can clearly see how she’s changing bit by bit.

Moreover, these days, perhaps because she’s aware of her progress, she goes from shouting in frustration to taking the initiative to do things I didn’t even ask her to do.

Kid, I’m so proud of you.

A faint smile crept onto my lips.

“Then we should increase the intensity of the workouts so you can sleep better and longer from now on.”

“…Don’t talk nonsense. I think it’s better to wake up feeling as refreshed as I do today.”

“Once you lose a bit more weight, we can do that. Since your body was originally trained with a sword, the fat is burning off quickly, so it won’t take long.”

“I wish you had told me that a month ago…”

“Yes?”

“It’s done. I’m all set to go, so let’s head out.”

—

I followed Shione as we left the room again.

We did some light stretching.

When Shione twisted her ankle while jogging before, I thought she was going to die from exhaustion.

I never expected that I would be helping her along like that, pulling her up.

Since then, we’ve made sure to stretch beforehand to avoid such incidents.

“The weather has gotten quite warm. It’s not cold at all now; it feels just right.”

“If you warm up a bit, it probably won’t feel cool at all.”

“That’s true.”

We started jogging.

Running straight toward the shooting range felt a bit short, so we headed toward the garden before turning back to the shooting range.

Huff, huff…

Shione’s breathing, which had been steady, began to grow ragged.

“Would you like to take a little break?”

“Huff… I’m fine..! Haah… let’s keep going!”

“Understood. But let’s slow down a bit.”

Shione nodded, finding it hard to respond.

Before long, we arrived at the shooting range.

I cooled down my ragged breath and beads of sweat with the refreshing morning breeze.

It took a bit of time to catch my breath and feel energized.

Turning my head to the side, I caught a glimpse of Shione’s joyful expression.

“I can definitely feel that my body has become lighter. I finally managed to run all the way here without resting.”

“That’s all thanks to your hard work, Shione.”

“I appreciate it, even if it’s just words. And…”

She hesitated for a moment, as if deciding what to say.

“I’m grateful that you’re going through the trouble of following me.”

Is this really the same person who warned me not to bother her from the very first meeting?

Her attitude has clearly changed, and it doesn’t feel bad at all.

“Don’t worry about it. As I always say, it’s only natural for me to do my duties as a devoted servant.”

“Mm.”

An awkward atmosphere settled in.

It felt uncomfortable to stay like this.

Perhaps Shione felt the same, as she quickened her steps and hurried toward the shooting range.

“Let’s hurry inside. We don’t have much time to shoot,” she said, clearing her throat.

“Yes, understood.”

Shione and I entered the shooting range, now familiar with the process, and picked up our bows and arrows.

Shione stood in front of the target, and I took the spot next to her.

Somehow, it has become customary for us to check each other’s archery skills at the start of the day.

Shione focused on the target.

Her target had recently been changed from a wooden circular target to a scarecrow.

Despite her accuracy with the circular target, the reduced practice time due to our morning workouts has not hindered her progress at all.

It’s quite impressive to see her skills improving day by day.

“Hmm…”

Shione drew the bowstring back.

With a perfect pinch grip and a dead release, she aimed at the target, approximately 50 meters away.

She was aiming for either the head or the chest.

As I slowly followed the path of her gaze and the arrowhead, I realized that her ultimate goal was to pierce between the eyes.

Thwack!!

The bowstring snapped back into position with a loud sound.

Her keen gaze followed the graceful curve of the arrow as it flew.

Thud!!

The arrow struck.

“Ugh…”

A sigh of disappointment escaped Shione’s lips.

The arrow had missed the intended target of her brow and instead lodged itself lower, in the neck area.

“It felt really good this time, which makes it even more disappointing.”

“There’s no need to be so down. If it were an enemy soldier, they would’ve lost their life anyway.”

“Aiming for the head and only hitting the neck is a problem too.”

“Ultimately, time will resolve it. You’re making impressive progress for someone who’s only been shooting for a month.”

“I do think it’s impressive now that I think about it.”

“…That’s annoying.”

“Hehe, I know.”

Shione giggled, and I grabbed more arrows, ready for my turn.