Catherine and Lily returned to their territory around the end of summer.
Before leaving, they told me they would send a letter, asking me to reply.
They also hinted that I should come visit if I got cut off from Eristirol.
In many ways, they were both quite ambitious.
“By the way, Young Master, what is this…?”
“I figured we’d do some exercise together for a change. Sophia, you haven’t been exercising lately, right? We should work out together to build up your stamina.”
Kyle suddenly brought me to the training ground, which caught me off guard. Since he’s grown older, we haven’t had time to exercise together.
“So what kind of exercise are we doing?”
There are plenty of types of exercises: sports, bodyweight training, yoga, pilates, and so on.
But what exactly is he planning to do? Since it’s to build stamina, maybe some cardio?
“Let’s start with some stretching.”
“Y-yes…”
A servant receiving training from their master. It seemed a bit off, but since Kyle suggested it first, I had no choice but to follow.
Anyway, I began stretching under Kyle’s guidance. At first, it was standard stretches, but they kept getting increasingly difficult.
“Uhhhhh….”
Like right now, where we’re both turned with our arms crossed, stretching our backs….
“Young Master… this is….”
-Crack… Snap….
“Ouuuuch….”
Though challenging, it was definitely effective. There were so many cracking sounds while stretching.
But the problem was that I felt like I was exhausting all my energy just from the stretches.
Had my stamina weakened this much…?
Wow, I really have gotten weak….
“Sophia, turn around.”
“Y-yes….”
And following Kyle’s instructions, I turned my body away from him. Then, out of the blue, Kyle picked me up!
“Uh… Young Master?”
Why is he suddenly lifting me? Wouldn’t it make more sense to lift weights instead of me?
“Why are you suddenly picking me up?”
“Hmm…”
“Young Master…?” Kyle was silently holding me up.
This feels kinda like a couple workout, doesn’t it?
Isn’t couple workouts supposed to be like this?
“Uh… how long are we supposed to stay like this?”
Two minutes? Three minutes?
Anyway, I just stayed still in Kyle’s hold. He wasn’t trying to hurt me, just holding me, so there was no reason to resist.
“Young Master, can you put me down now?”
I was slightly scared since my feet weren’t touching the ground. I hoped he’d let me down soon.
“…I just wanted to try carrying you. I’m sorry.”
“…?”
Kyle finally lowered me back down.
What did he mean, he wanted to try carrying me?
Do I look heavy?
Did I gain weight or something?
“Um… did I maybe gain weight? Is that why you carried me?”
“No. I just wanted to try it once. Let’s keep exercising.”
“Y-yes…” I didn’t quite understand, but I figured we should continue working out.
The exercises we did with Kyle were pretty ordinary.
Just basic bodyweight exercises: push-ups, sit-ups, squats, burpees, plank, and so on.
So basic that it was almost boring.
“Huuh… Hah… Young Master, how long do we have to keep doing this….”
I had to maintain the squat position.
I remembered a time I trained Kyle. Was this how he felt back then?
It was excruciating.
Like seriously tough!
“Young… Master…. Hah….”
“…Let’s do one more set.”
One more set?! Here? More?
My legs were already trembling.
If I had to do more, I’d surely crumble to the floor.
No way.
“Y-Young Master… could we take just one break…?”
“No. Your stamina has really dropped recently.”
“Ugh… Young Master….”
“You can hold on for another 15 seconds.”
“Uuh….”
This was brutal beyond belief.
If I had known I’d be getting revenge for making Kyle exercise back then, I wouldn’t have let that happen….
“Pfuh… Hah… Ugh…”
“From now on, I think we should have workout sessions like this during the weekdays, Sophia.”
“Young Master… how about we do it every two weeks…?”
“Three times a week.”
“That seems impossible….”
“Then let’s just go on a date together.”
“Pardon?”
“A date, I said. A date.”
Suddenly, out of nowhere, a date?
Does Kyle really need to go on a date with me?
Seriously, why?
“I just want to spend time with a nice lady.”
“Uhhh….”
If he wants to spend time with a nice girl, why am I in the running? Shouldn’t Elin be a better choice?
“There must be other nice ladies around.”
“But Sophia is the only one I’m close to.”
Well, he’s not wrong.
I’m not as close to Elin or Louise.
So, if you’re talking about a close female friend, that’s me.
“Well, I don’t mind.”
If it meant reducing this exhausting workout today, I’d agree to anything.
That’s how tiring it was.
After all, I’ve gone out with Kyle multiple times to explore the town outside the castle, so it shouldn’t be a problem.
“Then let’s start our date from next week.”
“Y-yes….”
But right now, I felt like I was going to die from exhaustion.
I couldn’t even remember the last time I exercised properly since my twenties.
It had to be at least 2 to 3 years.
“Young Master, before anything, can I please have some water…? I’m dying here….”
“Ah, here. Let me feed you.”
“Uh… thank you…?”
Kyle held a water bottle to my lips, and I just drank it as I sat there.
I was so exhausted that it felt more comfortable to just accept it while sitting.
So this is what being a baby bird feels like, always being fed by their parent.
Super convenient.
“Gulp… Gulp… Gulp… Pfuh… Ah… thank you….”
“…Time’s really flown by. I need to go teach a class. You’re heading to the bathroom, right?”
“Yes. I’ve sweat way too much.”
“Then shall we walk to the bathroom together? We kind of share a path, after all.”
That was true.
After passing the bathroom, there’s the classroom where Louise and Kyle have their classes.
I stood up and walked down the hallway with Kyle before we parted at the bathroom.
Though we had talked about exercising together, it felt like I had been working out solo.
“Ah… this is brutally exhausting….”
It was tough to take off my clothes in the bathroom.
I was sure I’d have muscle soreness tomorrow.
For real.
“Ugh…!!”
As I tried to take off my sweat-soaked shirt, it was incredibly damp.
If it was this soaked, Kyle had to have smelled it.
How embarrassing….
No matter how much I was a guy in my past life, it’s still a bit awkward.
After all, even guys would feel weird if their sweat smell was surrounding others.
No choice though.
“Well, it’s Kyle’s fault for putting me through this.”
It didn’t seem like it was my fault.
I never suggested working out; Kyle just sprang it on me.
“By the way, a date….”
I had never gone on a date until this age.
Somehow, my first date partner ended up being Kyle.
From what he said about wanting to spend time with a nice girl, he probably just wanted some company.
“Kyle, have you never actually been on a date?”
What we did until now wasn’t really a date, was it?
It was just a servant exploring with the master.
So asking me out would mean it’s not really a date, right?
In the end, it’s just the servant—me—going along.
“Um….”
He could just ask someone to hang out, but why was he making it complicated with ‘date’?
“Well, Kyle’s getting older, so he probably wanted to make it special.”
But he can’t just ask any random girl out on a date.
That would absolutely be like a pick-up line.
Knowing the circumstances, it wasn’t a problem for me, but if he said this to other young ladies, they would be overjoyed.
“Ah.”
He probably wanted to practice dating with me before asking out other girls.
Makes sense why he brought up ‘date’ specifically.
Yep, that’s me.
Amazing deductive skills.
“This is what top students at the academy can do.”
Anyway, I’m going on my first date.
It felt sad to be doing it at 24, but I was also excited.
After all, it’s a date.
Though with Kyle, my heart wasn’t exactly racing with excitement, it still seemed like fun.
“I can’t borrow clothes… Because there’s no one my size….”
Seriously frustrating.
I can’t recall a time living here when this was ever helpful.
Maybe because I wear suits daily, but it’s uncomfortable every day, and I always have to order my underwear separately.
They say they don’t have sizes in stores.
“Ugh….”
What can I do?
I had no choice but to order from other regions.
And it had to be through letters!
Thanks to that, it took ages for my underwear to arrive!
If by chance, the size was slightly small, I’d just have to wear them.
Sending back returns took forever.
That’s why the underwear I’m wearing now is actually about a size too small.
“Before I go out with Kyle, I should probably buy some clothes.”
Going shopping with Louise or Elin might actually be nice.
After all, those two ladies in the castle were the closest friends I had.
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