Battle Race in the Fantasy World

Battle Race in the Fantasy World – 37

EP.37 I’m So Glad! This Is Such a Relief!

“Is this how it’s done…?”

Hilde muttered to herself while adopting a rather strange posture.

In her mind, she was making a tremendous effort.

However, the reflection in the mirror showed only a saintess with a grotesquely twisted body.

“Kyaa!”

Eventually, her body couldn’t endure any longer and declared a strike.

As a result, Hilde collapsed right where she was and let out a sigh.

It’s too difficult. She was sure she had remembered everything correctly and had even written it down.

But when it came to actually doing it with her body, she just couldn’t follow through.

‘I wanted to manage it somehow before going to the academy to show it to Brother Kyle.’

She had said she wanted to repay his kindness, and he had suggested this exercise.

She had expressed her wishes, but even those were out of concern for her, a saintess.

She was so grateful that she wanted to show him she could do it.

But alone, even getting into the right posture was too much. Her mind was willing, but her body was not.

– Knock-knock. –

“Lady Saintess, it’s about time to depart.”

“Ah, yes! I’ll be out in a moment!”

Hilde stood up and checked her attire.

Her religious habit was slightly wrinkled, but fortunately, it wasn’t too noticeable.

Indeed, the saintess had set out to exercise while wearing these voluminous clothes.

If Kyle had seen this scene, he would have exclaimed, “Your basic stance is all wrong!”

The clothes were so flowy that she could easily trip over her own feet.

The sleeves were so wide that they could hide dumbbells.

The saintess didn’t even know that one should wear comfortable clothing for physical activity.

“May your mercy today, as always, grant all those in your sight a peaceful day.”

After finishing her short prayer in a devout tone, the saintess finally set off for the academy, harboring an inexplicable sense of anticipation deep within her heart.

*

After parting with Elga, Kyle hurried to the meeting place.

If he had a bit more time, he would have taken a run around the area for some light cardio.

But the tight schedule made him give up on that idea, much to his regret.

‘Tisha… Ah. There she is.’

Beyond the bench, he spotted a woman with violet hair.

Seeing her slightly bowed head, he wondered if she was engrossed in a book of spells again.

Feeling playful, Kyle quietly approached her from behind.

Peeking over, he saw she was indeed intently looking at something.

Though he couldn’t make out the content, it was probably something all too typical for Tisha.

“What’s this? Are you looking at another book about spells?”

“EEK!!”

Startled, Tisha flapped her arms and then abruptly stood up from her seat.

She was so unexpectedly startled that Kyle was taken aback as well.

“Ka, Kyle?! You, you startled me!! You could have at least made some sound!”

“Ah… sorry about that. I saw you reading so intently that I couldn’t resist the urge to tease… I’m really sorry, Tisha.”

Tisha didn’t say much more after Kyle’s sincere apology.

Then, with a sudden gulp, she quickly hid the book she was holding.

It seems it wasn’t related to spells, but something else entirely.

‘The aggro-drawing champion with no tact would have asked what book it was.’

But Kyle is different. When someone is that earnest about hiding something, it’s better to pretend not to notice.

Sometimes people want to be asked, but clearly, this isn’t one of those times.

Besides, something far more important than the book was unfolding before his eyes.

“Tisha. Your outfit…?”

During the recent welcome party for new students or the Heritage Festival.

The clothes Tisha wore then were incredibly beautiful and suited her well.

Thanks to that, Kyle knew that Tisha’s dress code was above average.

But looking at the outfit she had put together today, those previous ones seemed like cheap imitations.

And her makeup was applied so perfectly that a man couldn’t help but be impressed.

“Ah, um… did I, did I try too hard?”

Tisha tucked her hair behind her ear, her face blushing.

Honestly, she had wondered dozens of times while getting ready, ‘Is this okay?’

But she couldn’t help but prepare like this. Isn’t that the honest truth!

It’s not a day with a party, nor is there a festival.

It’s just a completely ordinary, uneventful weekday.

And yet, just yesterday, Kyle had asked if they could meet today.

How could she prepare casually for such an occasion? How could she not give it her all?

“So… why did you want to see me?”

“Ah, well. That is…”

Internally, she must have screamed in frustration at least a hundred times.

Perhaps Tisha thought there might be something very special happening today.

That must be why she put in so much effort, but the place Kyle intended to go was ‘the library.’

Dressed up so beautifully, and the destination is the library.

No matter how positively one tries to think, it’s a situation that only brings sighs.

If he had known this would happen, should he have mentioned earlier that they were just going to the library?

Shaking his head at his own lack of foresight, Kyle finally spoke up.

“Well. There’s a place I need to go for a bit.”

“Is that so? Then! Let’s, let’s hurry!”

Initially, Tisha wore a very happy smile.

However, as Kyle’s steps led not outside the academy but towards the library, her expression turned puzzled.

Eventually, upon entering the library, she let out a sigh, “…Ah.”

“…?”

“…??”

Students busy searching for books or reading inside the library looked up in confusion.

A female student dressed as if she was heading to a party or festival had walked in.

It seemed so out of place that it was quite astonishing.

‘I’m so embarrassed! I feel like I’m going to die of embarrassment!! Huaaaah!!’

Tisha felt like collapsing right there and screaming.

She had thought they were going to a café or a restaurant, not the library!

For a moment, resentment towards Kyle surged, but it quickly dissipated.

‘It’s my misunderstanding. I got carried away on my own… Who am I to blame… Sigh. What should I do? Kyle must be feeling even more uncomfortable than me right now. It was just supposed to be a quick meet-up, and here I am, all dressed up… What if he never invites me again? What should I do!!’

As these thoughts raced through her mind, she almost wanted to cry.

Why did she get so excited? Why did she foolishly misunderstand?

If she had thought a little deeper, she wouldn’t have made such a silly mistake!

The stairs to the library, which were once so enjoyable to climb, now felt incredibly difficult.

She wanted to throw herself on a bed and scream, ‘Fool, fool, fool!!’

She even thought about just turning around and running away.

“Tisha.”

She bowed her head, trying to hide her crestfallen face.

But when Kyle called her again, Tisha unwittingly lifted her face.

“Yes, yes. Kyle.”

“This way.”

Only then did Tisha realize that they were on the 5th floor, a place she frequently visited.

But it was strange. It made sense for her to be there, but why had Kyle come to the 5th floor?

He was open-minded about spells, but he had no reason to look at the books.

Kyle kept moving deeper and deeper inside.

The library was so large that it wasn’t an exaggeration to say one could get lost among the bookshelves.

‘How far are we going? …Wait, hold on. Is this my first time in this section of the 5th floor? Was there such a place here? …No, more importantly, how does Kyle know his way around here so well?’

She wondered if Kyle had also been to the 5th floor a few times, but she had to shake her head at the thought.

‘I’ve always been on the 5th floor whenever I had time, but I’ve never seen Kyle here.’

As she pondered what was going on, Kyle suddenly disappeared into somewhere again.

“Kyle?”

Worried she might lose him, Tisha hurried her steps as well.

Navigating through the maze-like array of bookshelves, she finally arrived at the destination.

“Take these.”

Kyle was offering a few old books.

“What are these…?”

“What are you waiting for? Take them.”

Urged once more, Tisha reflexively accepted the books Kyle was holding out.

At first glance, they were very old, covered in a fine layer of dust.

She was wearing a very expensive dress. She had put a lot of effort into her makeup.

The thought of dust settling on her was about to become slightly irritating when…

“Oh, oh? Ohh?”

As she reflexively flipped through the books and skimmed the content, Tisha let out a gasp.

And soon, Tisha’s sighs turned into exclamations of astonishment.

“Hua?! Eeeeeeh!?! All the ones I couldn’t find are all here!! Huah?!”

All the gloominess from before had vanished.

All that remained were her eyes, blazing with a scholarly passion due to the tremendous discovery.

“Kyle!”

“Yes, Tisha.”

“How, how did you find these?! How did you manage to find such things!!”

“You know that my brother and sister both attended the academy, right?”

Of course, the only one who successfully graduated was his brother, Lear.

“My brother and sister, having nothing much to do, had explored all three libraries here. During their explorations, they found this secret space on the 5th floor, the floor dedicated to spells, which was unknown to many. So, I followed their directions and came here once, and there were many interesting books, you see? Plus, I know a little bit about spells myself.”

“Is that so?”

“That’s why, Tisha, I thought these books might be of help to you, so I picked out a few. I hope they can be of some assistance. I did search quite diligently for them.”

Some assistance? A little help? No, this is tremendous help. It could even be called a miracle.

These books are filled with advice that could break through the parts where she had been stuck.

It’s a book that could lift her up from the despair in front of a massive wall!

“Thank you, really, thank you so much, Kyle!”

Tisha leapt up and clung to Kyle’s neck.

If it had been someone else, they might have commented on the soft and ample feeling against their chest.

Or they might have staggered or grunted about the weight being heavy.

But Kyle was utterly calm, thinking only that his core strength was more than enough to handle this.

Judging by the force she came at him with, Tisha’s weight must be… hmm, well, that’s not important.

“Thank you so much, Kyle. Really… I don’t know how I can ever repay you…”

“Just work even harder, keep pushing forward. Fulfill your dreams. That’s all the thanks I need.”

Hearing his response, Tisha hugged Kyle even tighter.

It’s truly fortunate. That she came out looking so beautiful today.

And it’s truly fortunate. That this person, is my friend.