Battle Race in the Fantasy World

Battle Race in the Fantasy World – 51

EP.51 God Whispered, “Do Some Exercise”

“I hope you enjoyed today’s outing.”

“Of course, I did. It was the most enjoyable weekend I’ve had in a while.”

Kyle had spent his precious Saturday, one of only two weekend days.

He hadn’t even managed to exercise properly, which would normally have made him anxious.

But he had an unexpected sparring session at the church.

It wasn’t a surprise attack; they faced each other openly and revealed their identities before the match.

The pounding heart, the hot pulse, the rushing blood, the ragged breaths.

They fought with all their might, and he even managed to gain a slight advantage.

Training is good, but the true heaven is in testing the results of that training.

The spirit of Jonathan erased any worries about not having exercised today.

‘It’s not just empty words. Just thinking about that sparring session makes my heart swell.’

Even now, recalling the sparring made his whole body tingle.

His muscles were clamoring to fight again.

His sharpened mind wouldn’t lose its edge in front of any strong opponent.

He wondered why the people of Jonathan were so obsessed with gaining strength.

Whenever the topic of battle came up, their eyes sparkled like those of three-year-olds.

Yet, they didn’t go around causing trouble like thugs.

He couldn’t understand his hometown people, which is why he had considered escaping.

‘To think I understand now. I have truly become one of Jonathan’s people. …Well, I was always one of them, but still.’

This made him want to spar with Yurika again.

If Priscilla was like a flashing lightning bolt, Yurika was like a landslide.

If they fought properly, it would be as enjoyable as today, if not more.

“We’ve arrived, Brother Kyle.”

At the Saintess’s words, Kyle looked out the window.

They had left in the morning, and now, returning to the academy, the sun was setting.

Fortunately, he could still have dinner and do a bit of light exercise.

“Thank you so much for fulfilling my request.”

“No, I should be the one thanking you, Saintess. You made such a choice for the priests of the church. And thanks to His Eminence and the Commander as well.”

“Yes! I’ll make sure to convey your gratitude to both of them. Don’t worry! When will you visit the church again?”

“I’ll come anytime you invite me.”

Of course, he had to go. Absolutely, he had to go. There was so much to check!

Right now, the priests’ level was so dismal that he had only taught Priscilla the very basics.

First, they needed to build a minimum level of strength and core stability to do anything properly.

They would gradually equip the building they planned to turn into a gym with the necessary equipment.

He would visit later to assess the situation and provide Priscilla with advice accordingly.

“Then I’ll be off first, Brother Kyle.”

“It seems you have to attend evening prayers. Saintess! You haven’t forgotten, right? What to do after prayers?”

“I know! I won’t skip it, so don’t worry!”

Fortunately, the Saintess’s diligence was accurately depicted in the novel.

This meant she wasn’t the type to slack off and avoid exercise like some others.

“Oh!”

As she was heading to the chapel, the Saintess suddenly turned around and approached Kyle.

Kyle tilted his head in curiosity, wondering why she was acting this way.

“Brother Kyle!”

The Saintess came forward and grabbed both of Kyle’s hands.

Bathed in the slowly setting sun, she smiled brightly.

“You were truly amazing today!”

“Ah… Yes, thank you, Saintess.”

“I’ll pray hard so you can continue to be amazing in the future!”

As he stared blankly at the Saintess, Kyle thought,

‘Why did the author keep such a wonderful Saintess as a supporting character? Are you an anti-Saintess? Damn it! The author must have been an anti-Saintess!’

“I’ll see you again, Brother Kyle. Have a peaceful rest of your weekend!”

With that, she ran off towards the chapel.

Kyle watched her retreating figure with a satisfied smile.

“…Ah, Saintess! Saintess!!”

He called out urgently to her.

“Yes?!”

“The other side! The other side!!”

“What?!”

“The chapel is on the other side! Not that way, the other side!!”

Come to think of it, the Saintess wasn’t just bad at exercising, she was also terrible with directions.

He wondered if she could find her way to the chapel.

Although it wasn’t far, people with poor directional sense could still get lost.

Even in daylight, she would get lost, and now with the darkness setting in, he was even more worried.

He considered whether he should just accompany her to the chapel, but his determination to quickly return and complete his workout routine won out.

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“Uh… where am I?”

Unfortunately, Kyle’s worries were not unfounded.

As he had predicted, the Saintess was now looking around in confusion in an unfamiliar place.

She was already terrible with directions, and now it was completely dark.

What should have been a 10-minute walk would take her an hour at this rate.

‘This is strange. The chapel should have been this way, right?’

Realizing she needed help, she decided to ask someone nearby.

Fortunately, she spotted a few students walking in the distance.

“Excuse me!…”

“Saintess.”

Just as she was about to call out to them, a voice suddenly came from behind.

Startled, the Saintess turned around and the first thing she saw were a pair of red eyes.

At that moment, the streetlights magically lit up, illuminating the area.

Thanks to the light, she could also see the flaming red hair of the person standing before her.

‘This sister is…’

There were many redheads at the academy.

But it was rare to find someone with hair that blazed like fire, as this girl did.

Moreover, the combination of red eyes was even rarer, belonging only to the direct line of one particular family.

“The Grand Duchy of Littorio…”

“Yes. I am Elga Bless de Littorio from the Grand Duchy. We met earlier this morning.”

Elga then took a moment to observe the Saintess’s appearance.

“It seems you just returned from the church.”

“Huh? Oh, yes. I just got back, Sister.”

“That’s good. Saintess, could you spare a moment of your time?”

The Saintess looked slightly troubled.

Refusing someone’s request didn’t align with her nature.

However, it was getting late, and she might miss the evening prayer if she delayed any longer.

“…”

Elga wasn’t so oblivious as to miss the Saintess’s internal conflict.

Quickly choosing the best negotiation card, Elga spoke again.

“It seems you’re heading to the chapel. I can accompany you, and we can talk on the way.”

“Oh! That would be wonderful, thank you!”

For the Saintess, it was a perfect offer—she would receive guidance to the chapel and fulfill Elga’s request at the same time.

If Kyle were beside her, he would have praised Elga, saying, “That’s an excellent negotiation stance.”

“It seems Kyle went back first.”

No beating around the bush. Time was short.

So, she got straight to the point and asked directly.

“I didn’t expect you to suddenly invite Kyle to the church, Saintess.”

“Brother Kyle is a good person!”

“…Yes, he is a good person.”

Unlike me, he is truly a good person. That’s why I want him more.

I want him by my side. And if possible, I want him to be good only for me.

“And he’s also very impressive! Really! He was so amazing!”

“Impressive…?”

“Yes! He went swoosh! And then bam!”

She seemed to want to express something grand, but it wasn’t coming out right.

Thanks to this, Elga had to use her imagination to figure out what the Saintess was trying to convey.

“It sounds like you had a great time with Kyle at the church.”

I, I waited anxiously for Kyle, for you to return.

You wouldn’t know. You couldn’t even imagine. That I would be like this.

But you know what? I didn’t know I would be like this either. Waiting anxiously for someone.

“Yes. I was with Commander Priscilla and His Eminence the Cardinal as well.”

“With the Cardinal… you say.”

At Elga’s question, the Saintess began to chatter about what had happened at the church.

Kyle had thought of ways to improve the priests’ health, and with the Cardinal’s permission, they would start soon.

And soon, they would also create a special place for the priests.

“…”

Elga’s mind raced as she listened to the Saintess.

Some might think Kyle was just being considerate of the priests, and the Cardinal gladly accepted it.

‘Would someone as high-ranking as the Cardinal accept an outsider’s suggestion so quickly? It’s too much to see it as mere goodwill. There must be something else.’

Elga was a direct descendant of Littorio, a daughter of the Grand Duchy.

She was adept at reading the hidden political intentions behind actions.

‘…Is that it? Trying to win Kyle’s favor. But why?’

She could narrow down the reasons to a few possibilities.

Among them, Elga found another plausible answer.

‘Are they subtly suggesting to Kyle? If he hasn’t settled down yet, to come to the church?’

Kyle was the youngest and the second son of the Jonathan barony.

Direct descendants who are pushed out of the line of succession either stay quietly at the main house or leave the family. If there are no disputes within the family, they usually stay, but they can leave if they wish. And Kyle had insisted on going to the academy, something rarely done in Jonathan. Given this, the story seemed plausible. Some of the priests and some of the Holy Knights were nobles who had been pushed out of the line of succession.

“…So?”

So, Kyle, are you planning to accept their proposal?

“Uh… Brother Kyle seemed very happy.”

At the Saintess’s answer, Elga bit her lip unconsciously. She had felt uneasy ever since she heard about the sudden invitation to the church. She never imagined the church would go this far.

‘Saintess, you… did you invite Kyle with this intention?!’

Just as Elga was about to retort in a low, sinking voice,

“Oh! And we talked about you, Lady Elga.”

“…What?”

The voice that came out of Elga’s mouth was a cute, surprised exclamation.

“Brother Kyle praised you a lot, Lady Elga. In front of His Eminence the Cardinal!”

“…”

It took only a few seconds for Elga’s face to turn as red as her hair.