Chapter 5: A Harsh Lesson in Leggings

For a while, I kept making excuses and putting it off, but now I feel the need to start moving.

Honestly, before enrolling, I tended to dismiss it, but after actually entering, I realized the level of students at Griffin Academy is no joke. Of course, it’s a place that gathers people like that, but it far exceeds my expectations.

Even just looking at Anne and Celian, they possess strength beyond their years. I’ve also heard that there’s a monster-like student in the second class of Swordsmanship.

To win the scholarship, I’ll have to surpass all of them. It’s not like I’m confident in the written exams, so I need to aim for the top ranks in the practical exams to have a shot at the scholarship.

So, let’s start training again from today!

The place I headed to was the academy’s comprehensive training facility.

Looking around, most of the people seemed to be students from the Swordsmanship Department, but there were also some from other departments who came out for simple physical training.

Since it’s a facility for all academy students, there are exercise machines that can be adjusted from light dumbbells to hundreds of kilograms.

As someone from the countryside, there were some machines I had never seen before and had no idea how to use.

Additionally, there are spaces for sparring and a running track for jogging.

Today, I planned to start with the physical fitness test that I had been putting off for so long.

After becoming a woman, I needed to accurately assess how much my physical abilities had changed.

Understanding your own condition is the most basic of basics. Before knowing your enemy, you need to know yourself.

The first thing to check is cardiovascular endurance, the foundation of everything.

You know how they say “physical strength is national strength,” right? Or not? Never mind!

There seems to be a swimming pool in one part of the facility, but of course, I don’t have the money to buy a swimsuit.

So, I went to the corner of the running track to do some jogging instead.

In fact, the workout clothes I’m wearing right now are ones I personally modified from my assassin days.

Among the assassin gear I used to wear, there was a black, highly elastic outfit that we used to call “tights.”

It wasn’t exactly visually appealing, but its elasticity and ventilation made it one of the most practical outfits for active work.

Since the clothes were stretchy, I was able to make some modifications so I could wear them even with my much smaller body now.

Of course, I didn’t have the luxury to pay for professional alterations, so I did it myself. I might unexpectedly be a sweet guy!

After putting on the modified clothes and checking in the mirror, it felt a little embarrassing from a man’s perspective.

The curves of a woman’s body were fully revealed, making it seem somewhat risqué.

But I heard somewhere, and confirmed during my last outing, that women wear things called leggings, which are similar to what I’m wearing now, to exercise.

So, if I just endure my personal embarrassment, there shouldn’t be any real issue.

With that in mind, I grabbed one of the few T-shirts I liked lying around and paired it with leggings for my workout.

Before starting to run, I did some light stretching to loosen up.

I rotated my wrists and ankles, jumped in place, and stretched my legs while bending over to touch the ground with my fingertips.

Sure enough, I’m more flexible than when I was a man. Not only can I touch the ground with my fingertips, but even with my palms it was much easier than before.

I’ll have to keep this in mind when swinging my sword.

After completing the simple stretches, I started jogging. Initially, it was just a light pace, like a warm-up lap around the running track.

After one lap around the indoor facility, I picked up the pace.

I started to sweat a little, but it wasn’t too strenuous yet. If I had shown signs of exhaustion at this point, my former male self would have been devastated.

After another lap, I began running in earnest.

Pushing my speed to just below a full sprint, though I can’t tell the exact speed, it didn’t feel significantly slower than when I was a man. My bouncing chest felt a bit uncomfortable as I increased my pace, but it wasn’t a big enough issue to hinder my running.

One lap, two laps, three laps, four laps, five laps… ten laps…

I could feel myself starting to get out of breath. Now for the final stretch. I sprinted with all my might.

There is no time to take in oxygen. I do not consider the distribution of stamina afterward.

Ignoring the cries of my body in pain, I pushed myself to complete a full lap in a sprint.

After confirming that I returned to the starting point, I gradually slowed down to a fast walk.

Though I wanted to just collapse and breathe, it was important to finish the exercise properly.

I also made sure to glance back now and then to avoid bumping into people running behind me as I moved out of the track.

When did so many people come onto the track?

I was too focused on my running to notice, but compared to when I started, there were now quite a few students running.

Running is the most basic of exercises, but it can get boring, so many tend to skip it.

However, it seemed that the academy students, who are known as elites, didn’t neglect it.

Well, what others do doesn’t concern me… I wasn’t curious enough about others’ workouts to care, so I let it go and sat down on a bench outside the track for a break.

At this point, I didn’t care about sitting neatly or anything like that.

It’s not like someone would suspect I’m a man just because my posture wasn’t lady-like, right?

Plus, I was wearing pants, not a skirt. I justified it to myself and spread my legs comfortably as I caught my breath.

I also took a sip of water from the bottle I had brought.

Some spilled, but it didn’t matter since I was already drenched in sweat. In fact, the cold water felt refreshing.

Sweat from heat feels gross, but the sweat from a good run satisfies you.

The sting from the sweat trickling into my eyes reminded me to bring a sports towel next time.

Just as I stood up from the bench with that thought in mind—

“Elysia~”

From a distance, Anne spotted me and ran toward me. Despite her small frame, her red hair made her stand out.

I guess someone like Anne wouldn’t skip training. She was probably here for a workout too. As I raised my hand to greet her—

*Slap!*

“You’re crazy, you know that?”

Anne slapped my sweat-drenched arm.

Wait…! Hold on a second!

My already heightened senses made it really painful, especially with the sweat. It hurts so much I could cry.

“Yikes!”

Maybe my pained cry got through to her, as Anne finally stopped hitting me.

Ugh… I didn’t shed a single tear during torture training as an assassin, but now I feel like my past is being completely denied.

“Hurry up and follow me!”

Without even acknowledging my distress, Anne grabbed my hand and fiercely glared around before dragging me to the locker room.

I understand why we came to the locker room but…

Why am I kneeling in front of Anne?

“Um… Anne…?”

I cautiously looked up to check her expression, and she looked furious. Honestly, she was terrifying.

“You! What! Were! You! Thinking! Wearing! That!”

Clothes? What’s wrong with the clothes I’m wearing?

“Is it that you don’t like the puppy design…?”

I’m shocked. This is one of my favorite t-shirts… A white shirt with a cute puppy design.

Look at it! Just look at it closely! Isn’t this puppy sticking its tongue out and smiling innocently adorable?

“It’s not the design! Why are you exercising in a shirt like that? No, it’s not just the shirt—why the pants?!”

Ah, thankfully it’s not about the puppy design. I knew it. My sense of style wasn’t wrong. I might just be a fashionista!

“These are leggings though?”

Just in case something was wrong, I took another look at the leggings I was wearing.

Even though they were modified from my assassin outfit, I had confirmed during a previous outing that they weren’t much different from the leggings sold in stores.

There shouldn’t be a problem, right?

“The leggings themselves aren’t the issue… haaa…”

Anne let out a deep sigh, holding her forehead as if at a loss for words.

“Well, I knew Elysia was a bit clueless, but I didn’t expect it to be this bad… Just don’t wear that again when you exercise. Actually, I’m confiscating it.”

And with that, Anne lunged at me, trying to forcibly take off my leggings.

“Wait, wait! They’ll tear! I’m telling you, they’ll tear!”

As if she didn’t care whether they tore or not, Anne used all her strength to rip the leggings off of me.

“I knew you were a bit dense, Elysia, but I didn’t realize it was this bad… This won’t do. From now on, you’re exercising with me, no exceptions!”

Anne placed her hands on her hips, making it more of a declaration than a request.

“CHE!!”

“Yes!”

Gym clothes… I wonder if I can afford them with the money I have right now? I really need to save…

Here is another interesting novel suggestion for you. Please give it a read.

The Game Character Who Became a Saint Wants to Cover Up Their Dark History