“Uwaaaaaaahhhh!!!”
“You need to run faster, Master!”
“I-I can’t run anymore!”
“If you can’t run, then I’ll give you some extra motivation!”
“Help meeeee!!!”
Subaru ran across the grassland because he knew that the moment he stopped, several white gold needles capable of instantly destroying his body would pierce through his limbs.
Whoosh!
Another white needle came from a tricky angle.
Its speed was not exactly fast.
Perhaps Shaula herself was controlling the force, keeping it at just the right level.
Otherwise, Subaru would have turned into a hedgehog within minutes.
“Aaah… Ah!
Is this hell?”
Subaru took back what he had said before.
Compared to being turned into a hedgehog the moment he slipped up, maybe being roasted by flames was not that big of a deal after all.
He lay on the ground, gasping for breath.
The places pierced by the needles had been wrapped in simple bandages made from thick vines and leaves.
“Tch.
I was just about to say I’d started seeing you differently, and then you’re still this much of a small fry.”
Reid sat beside Subaru with an expression that clearly said, ‘Why are you so trash?’
“A-At least I improved a little, right?”
Subaru was covered in sweat.
Even speaking took effort, and he was practically panting as he said it.
“Yeah, a little.
Sure.
But from my perspective, your speed is still as slow as a snail.
If it were me, I would’ve already broken through myself in this amount of time.
As expected of me.”
Reid somehow turned the topic into praising and bragging about himself.
Still, he was not exactly wrong.
A man who had only held a sword for three months and had already become this absurdly strong truly had a terrifying level of talent.
“But Master’s resistance to getting beaten up has improved!
A few days ago, just taking one Hell’s Snipe made you roll all over the ground in pain while shouting, ‘Time out!
Time out!
I surrender!’ Right?”
As Shaula spoke, she imitated Subaru’s miserable state from back then.
“Aah, enough, enough!
Stop talking about it!
I’m trying really, really hard here, so don’t keep focusing on the embarrassing parts!”
Subaru covered both ears with his hands, trying to escape from those words.
“Oh?
Well, that’s true.
Your small fry skill is still nothing special, but your ability to take a beating has gotten better and better.
Haha, were you born to be a punching bag, brat?”
Reid continued laughing.
“I don’t really plan to deny that part…”
Subaru had no choice.
If you’re done, hurry up and make lunch.
I’m hungry.”
Reid said it extremely rudely.
“Eh?
As part of the trial’s stage examinator, shouldn’t you be able to survive without eating?”
“I told you to cook.
Why do you have so much to say?
Don’t talk back to me.
Hurry up and go.
Small fry should act like small fry.”
“I’m getting used to your way of talking frighteningly fast.”
Subaru said that helplessly, then stood up.
The wounds on his body still throbbed faintly, but they were proof of his training today.
As the saying went—
“The best medal for a man is the scars on his body!”
“That line’s not bad.
I like it.
But the only ones who have scars behind are weaklings and small fry like you.
Save the showboating until after you bring lunch!”
Reid kicked Subaru from behind without mercy.
“Uwah!”
Subaru fell toward the stairs.
Fortunately, after going through training for so long, his body’s coordination had improved by quite a lot.
In the first instant, he supported himself against the steps with his hands, completed a forward flip in midair, and landed steadily on the stairs.
“Just now… I actually did that?”
After landing safely, Subaru was stunned.
Had his body always been this light?
“What are you getting all emotional about?
You’re shocked over something that isn’t even half baked yet?
Hurry up already.”
Reid urged Subaru from the top of the staircase.
He could not leave the second floor.
Just as Subaru had said, in the end, Reid was only stage equipment.
He was the young Reid produced by the second trial.
“Yes, yes.
Stop rushing me.
It’ll be ready soon.”
Only now did Subaru truly understand the deep philosophical truth of the saying, ‘To capture a man’s heart, first capture his stomach.’
This was Subaru’s current daily life inside the tower.
He woke up early in the morning, dodged Shaula’s passionate hugs and various clingy movements, exchanged banter with her, then headed to the second floor to receive special training from Reid.
That continued until noon.
During that time, Shaula would patrol the sea of sand and hunt while she was at it, bringing back the flesh and blood of various mabeasts.
Occasionally, she would also bring back some useful things, such as the luggage of traveling merchants who had been eaten by mabeasts.
That had become an extremely important source of resources.
Subaru was responsible for making three meals a day using the mabeast meat Shaula brought back.
To be honest, he was no longer all that resistant to eating mabeasts.
“This must be what people call getting used to something.
Seriously, habit is terrifying.” Get faster updates on g.com.
Once a person got used to something, doing it again became smooth and natural.
Or rather, they stopped feeling disgusted by it.
In the afternoon, Subaru would normally recover from his injuries.
His body was his foundation.
If he exhausted himself too much, then the loss would outweigh the gain.
Though having to trouble the lesser spirits in the Green Room every day made Subaru feel a little embarrassed.
After spending so many days together, Subaru felt that he had become quite familiar with both Shaula and Reid.
After all, inside the entire tower, those two were the only people he could talk to and interact with.
And the thing that truly made Subaru feel like he had changed was probably his mindset.
He felt that clearing the tower did not need to be so urgent anymore.
Taking it slowly did not seem bad either.
Was the Isekai life outside really guaranteed to be better than this place?
(TL:well…hard to say~)
Subaru did not know.
If everyone outside was like Reid, then honestly, that would be pretty terrifying.
“All right, today’s lunch is stewed meat.”
Subaru had to admit that his cooking skills were improving rapidly.
He asked Shaula to dig an earthen pit in the kitchen room.
At the bottom of the pit, he placed several heated stones, then spread out some large tree leaves.
After that, he put in the mabeast meat along with some unknown seasonings.
Finally, he sealed the pit completely and used the remaining heat from the stones to slow stew the meat until cooked.
Even though Reid often called Subaru a small fry, Subaru no longer cared.
Because that guy Reid…
“He’s clearly enjoying the food a lot.”
Watching Reid finish his proud creation in just a few bites, Subaru could not help feeling a sense of satisfaction.
“What are you standing around for?
Hurry up and go rest.
If you collapse too quickly during tomorrow’s training, I’ll have to throw you down from the staircase.
Don’t stand around and annoy me.”
After finishing his meal, Reid wiped his mouth and urged him away.
“Does this count as you caring about me?”
“Who would care about a small fry like you?
Hurry up and get lost.
You’re not some curvy, beautiful girl in her prime.”
“Yes, yes.
Then this humble subordinate will take his leave.”
Subaru shrugged, then turned around and left with Shaula, who had also finished eating and was rubbing her stomach.
“Ahh, being able to eat food personally cooked by Master every day… Is this heaven?
Has Shaula finally found the legendary paradise?”
Subaru covered his face and practically dragged away Shaula, who had an expression of pure bliss.
“Stop acting like an idiot, you fool.
Walk properly by yourself!”
“But being dragged along by Master feels satisfying too!”
“That is not a valid reason to bully an exhausted man who is already handling all the housework!”
And so, today too, ended relatively peacefully.