Battle Race in the Fantasy World

Battle Race in the Fantasy World – 42

EP.42 I’m So Glad! This Is Such a Relief!

“So, the massage?”

‘Fine, I’ll do it. Damn it, you persistent bastard. Is this guy really the male lead? Unbelievable.’

Kyle knew better than anyone that Ian was not someone who would give up easily.

So, he gestured for Ian to sit down somewhere.

‘What should I do? Should I just do it moderately like with the others?’

That would probably be the wisest approach.

No matter how much of a protagonist he was, or how skilled in swordsmanship Ian might be,

his body wasn’t invincible. Maybe in the distant future, but not now.

However, Kyle’s pride as a man made him hesitate.

Imagining Ian saying, ‘What’s so painful about this?’ if he did it too lightly…

‘I’m already feeling annoyed.’

Ian was not the type to keep his mouth shut.

He would definitely say something like, ‘Is this supposed to be a massage?’ and flip out.

If Kyle held back to avoid hurting him, and Ian didn’t appreciate it, that would be infuriating.

Just imagining it made Kyle’s chest swell with frustration.

After much deliberation, Kyle finally made up his mind.

He would gradually increase the intensity until Ian said ‘stop.’

Ian was still human, and he would have to yield to pain eventually.

He might endure longer than most, but everyone had their limits.

“I’m starting. I’ll go easy at first….”

“No need. Do it properly from the start.”

Sure, sure. But you might really regret it, buddy.

Whatever you’re imagining, it’s worse than that.

Does this guy not know I can break swords with my bare hands?

If he knew that, he wouldn’t be asking for a real massage.

“Ian.”

“What?”

“For whatever happens next, I’m not responsible.”

“…?”

“I’m not responsible, so you’ll have to deal with it yourself.”

It might be funny to have such a conversation over a massage,

but if the masseur is ‘Jonathan,’ the story changes entirely.

He might even need to sign a waiver or a release form.

“I understand.”

With Ian’s permission granted, Kyle grabbed Ian’s shoulders.

These shoulders were definitely different from those of the other noble students.

This guy had worked out. He must have lifted some weights.

“…”

Ian’s expression didn’t change at all.

In fact, he looked as if he was questioning if this was all there was to it.

‘I don’t know anymore.’

Doing it lightly was harder than doing it strongly.

He had always been careful, very careful, not to dislocate the shoulders of other students.

But this crazy guy didn’t appreciate his effort and just wanted it done hard.

Annoyed, Kyle gradually increased the pressure.

“…?”

For a moment, a look of surprise flashed across Ian’s face and then disappeared.

It had been bearable until now, but something felt off.

‘Strong.’

And incredibly painful. That’s what Ian thought.

“How is it? Want more?”

At that moment, Kyle’s voice reached his ears.

The annoyance and irritation were evident.

Not wanting to lose, Ian blurted out something he didn’t mean.

“Is that all? It’s weak.”

– Crack! –

Immediately, a sound of something breaking came from Ian’s shoulder.

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***

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“It’s okay. It’s not your fault, Kyle. You did nothing wrong!”

Even after finishing lunch, Tisha kept following him, repeatedly assuring him that it was okay.

She seemed worried that he might be feeling guilty or concerned about what had happened earlier.

She kept telling him it wasn’t his fault to ease his mind.

‘Guilt? What guilt? I feel great.’

In fact, he felt proud for contributing to the peace of the academy.

Now, there would be no one getting harassed by Ian, the master provocateur, for a while.

Both of his shoulders were said to be fractured.

Honestly, Kyle had expected his shoulder bones to be shattered, but it seemed Ian’s luck as a protagonist had saved him.

Still, for a while, Ian wouldn’t be able to wield a sword, let alone lift a fork.

Naturally, even if someone picked a fight with him, all Ian could do was glare.

“Don’t worry, Tisha. I’m fine. I told you earlier, whatever happens, it’s Ian’s responsibility. He’s not completely without pride, so he’ll probably come up with a good excuse. Like, for example, saying he fell down the stairs and injured both shoulders.”

It might be puzzling how one could fall down the stairs and only fracture their shoulders, but that’s Ian’s problem to deal with, not Kyle’s.

“Are you really okay?”

“Why are you worrying about me? If anything, you should be worrying about Ian, shouldn’t you?”

“Why should I worry about that guy! He kept asking for it until it happened!”

Kyle found the situation quite amusing.

The person who fractured someone’s shoulders while giving a massage was being worried over,

while the one who would have both arms out of commission for a while was just getting what he deserved.

This is why people need to manage their image and public opinion regularly.

After reassuring the still-worried Tisha, Kyle sent her off to the library.

They had lunch together, and now it was time for her to get back to her own tasks.

If her magical abilities grew and even wizards acknowledged her in the end,

it would be nothing but beneficial for him.

Now, he thought he might do a bit of exercise before his afternoon lecture…

‘…But what is this?’

It was incredibly annoying. So annoying that it was driving him crazy.

Whoever it was, they thought they were following him discreetly, but it was far too obvious.

It wasn’t Elga, and it wasn’t Leto.

It definitely wasn’t Ian. That guy was light-years away from being capable of stealth.

Tisha had gone to the library, so she wouldn’t be out until the next lecture.

He had no idea who could be showing off such poor tailing skills.

Finally, unable to bear it any longer, Kyle stopped and turned around.

The person following him hurriedly tried to hide.

“Hey. Why don’t you come out now? I’m starting to get annoyed.”

“…”

“I said, come out. You’ve been caught.”

Who could it be? The most likely candidate was someone from the academy.

For whatever reason, he had made an academy student’s shoulders less than comfortable.

Even if he didn’t get dragged to the headmaster’s office, he might at least get a verbal warning.

“Um…”

But the person who peeked out from behind was…

“…Nell?”

It was the freshman from earlier, the one who claimed to serve Ian and aspired to become a knight.

The one whose gender was still uncertain to Kyle.

“What is it? Why are you following me?”

“Ah, well!”

Nell’s eyes darted around, clearly conflicted about something.

Then, as if making a decision, Nell suddenly ran up to Kyle.

“Please!”

“…Huh?”

“I want to become stronger too! So please guide me!”

“All of a sudden?”

“Yes!”

“What about Ian, the one you said you’d serve…?”

At Kyle’s words, Nell stared at him intently.

Kyle sighed as he immediately understood from that look.

“Oh… Oh, right.”

He was the one who had just shattered Ian’s shoulders, rendering him incapable of doing anything.

No wonder this student, Nell, was now coming to him with such a request.

“Don’t worry! Ian teaches me swordsmanship! But I’ve heard that swordsmanship alone isn’t enough! If your body isn’t strong, you’ll be wielded by the sword instead of wielding it!”

“Ah… There is such a saying… I guess? Maybe?”

“The moment I saw you, I realized! There’s no reason why a mentor has to be just one person! I want to learn swordsmanship from Ian and physical training from you! So please!!”

Nell looked ready to kneel and shout, ‘I bow to my master!’

Why is there not a single normal person in this world? Kyle muttered to himself.

Yet, he was already meticulously assessing Nell’s physique standing in front of him.

‘Too delicate for a guy? But it doesn’t seem like he hasn’t worked out at all.’

Living up to the name of Jonathan, Kyle had reached a level where he could gauge someone’s fitness at a glance.

Squats, bench presses, overall combat strength—he could assess it all.

By those standards, Nell had at least the basics down.

Of course, it was just the ‘basics.’ It wasn’t particularly impressive.

“You said you wanted to become a knight, right, Nell?”

“Yes!”

“Then you’ve got the wrong person. I don’t know how to handle a sword.”

“What? Ah! It’s okay! Ian will teach me swordsmanship….”

“That’s exactly the problem. You said Ian would teach you swordsmanship, right? Then, while learning from Ian, you’ll naturally learn the proper posture and identify the areas you need to strengthen. But I don’t know the physical training needed for swordsmanship, so that’s a problem. I might teach you something wrong.”

Of course, if you looked closely, Kyle’s words were just an excuse with no real persuasive power.

Improving overall physical ability would naturally help in mastering the sword.

Would you ignore lower body exercises just because you’re focusing on the upper body? No. You need to work on everything comprehensively.

You need to build up gradually while maintaining balance to truly make it your own.

So why was Kyle making such a nonsensical excuse to avoid this?

‘It’s a hassle. I’m already doing personal training for Tisha and the Saintess, which I didn’t even want to do.’

He barely had time for his own workouts, so where would he find time to take care of others?

At least Tisha and the Saintess were important figures in their own right, so he made an effort for them.

In contrast, the student standing in front of him now had no connection to him.

Moreover, this Nell person had introduced themselves as “someone who serves Ian!”

How could someone have such poor judgment to ask Ian for guidance?

From Kyle’s perspective, Nell was naturally someone he wanted to keep at a distance.

“Please!”

But Nell’s low blow of kneeling on the street was incredibly effective.

It drew a lot of attention from all around.

“What’s going on?”

“Isn’t that Kyle Jonathan?”

“Yeah, it is. Looks like someone else got on his bad side.”

“Poor thing. Looks like he’s about to send someone packing again.”

As expected from someone who claimed to serve the master provocateur, Ian.

Nell had succeeded in drawing attention perfectly.

As a result, Kyle found himself in an awkward, no, unfair situation.

‘What’s this about getting on my bad side! And who did I send packing! When did I ever send anyone packing!’

Even the guy who challenged him to a duel was still attending the academy just fine.

The seniors who got physical therapy were even saying their shoulders felt better after a few days.

So, who exactly did he send packing! This was really unfair….

‘Oh, I just sent Ian packing a little while ago.’

Kyle sighed and helped Nell up from the ground.

Then, with a “whatever” attitude, he whispered in Nell’s ear.

“For free?”

“…What?”

“You need to pay a fair price if you want me to teach you anything, don’t you think?”

By the way, the cost of a professional trainer’s PT is quite high in Jonathan.

Nell looked flustered and confused at Kyle’s words.