A drop of sweat slid down my cheek and dripped onto the floor.
In a handstand, doing one-armed push-ups, I exhaled deeply and drove force into my right fingertips.
“99…… 100……!”
I lowered both hands, then switched to the left.
A hundred reps the same way made one set.
That finished my morning routine.
“Lord Ouga. Shall I add another weight?”
“Today, leave it where it is.”
“Understood.”
Alice gently lowered the roughly ten-kilogram weight she’d been holding.
Currently, I had fifty kilos strapped to each leg — a hundred kilos total.
The reason I can train at this level is, no doubt, thanks to the body the world has granted me.
It’s my pet theory that the world makes its best effort to maintain balance.
Commoners can’t use magic to begin with, so there’s no compensation. But I’m of noble blood.
In this world, the fact that a noble cannot use magic is a considerable disadvantage.
As compensation, I was granted a robust, almost inhuman physique.
It’s only a guess, but I don’t think I’m wildly off the mark.
Almost every great mage in history has been bad at exercise, or has died young.
Mashiro’s catastrophic athletic ability is probably also due to holding multiple magical affinities.
”…… Is there something on my face?”
“No, I was just thinking — it’s strange that you, Alice, really don’t have noble blood in you.”
“Both my parents, to my knowledge, were of commoner stock……had they lived, I might have been able to ask them. My apologies.”
“No need to apologize. Sorry for bringing it up so many times. Every rule has exceptions.”
Alice was, distinctly, a brain-muscle gorilla from the moment she was born.
For now, let’s leave the conclusion there.
”…… All right. That’s enough.”
—— While I was thinking, I hit the target rep count.
Alice, who’d been counting along, removed the weights.
With lightened feet, I lowered myself slowly to the ground, stood up — and saw her ready with a towel in hand.
“Allow me to wipe you down.”
I could do it myself, but that’d rob her of her maid’s work.
And besides — having a beautiful woman wipe my own sweat from me…… isn’t that a delicious-sounding privilege.
If she’s offering, I’ll indulge.
This too is something only nobility can enjoy.
“How is the condition?”
“No problem. You’ve gotten better.”
“Thanks to you, Lord Ouga.”
When she was still unaccustomed to her duties, Alice was a clumsy chunk of muscle who couldn’t modulate force.
If it weren’t for this body, I couldn’t have endured it.
The experience of one’s sweat being scoured grindingly off the body — I may be the only person in the world who has ever lived it.
A ticklish puff of breath occasionally brushed my skin as her work moved from top to bottom.
I’m currently bare from the waist up, and I don’t feel embarrassed — either because I’ve trained, or because Alice’s gaze doesn’t carry anything lascivious.
“Now then, allow me to check you over for today.”
So saying, Alice began deliberately to feel along my body.
This is Alice’s muscle check.
Is my balance off? Am I overloading any one area?
Alice is a pro who, as a Holy Knight, trained countless knights herself. Her battlefield experience is vast.
A specialist’s work is best left to the specialist. So I trust her and leave it to her.
”…… No problems found. Excellent progress.”
Stepping back at the end to take in the whole picture, Alice gave her assessment: no abnormalities.
“I see. Good work.”
“Not at all. I’m honored to be of service, Lord Ouga.”
“I’ll go wash off. …… Has the item arrived?”
“Yes. All without issue.”
Good. This time, I’ll see it through.
I’d been agonizing for several days now over a certain fact.
The Karen engagement was one of them, but a larger problem was bearing down on me.
A depressing event grim enough to dispel even the satisfaction of letting sweat run off me……
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
“Morning, Mashiro. I’m overjoyed to be with you — the Mashiro as bright as the sun — today as well.”
”…… Morning.”
Ever since the day my engagement to Karen was settled, Mashiro — who’d been my comfort — had changed.
She used to scatter smiles around so cheerfully, and now she’s been all prickly coldness lately.
I tried various ways to lift her mood — presenting accessories, spending entire days off with her — but the effect’s been thin.
Speaking to her in prince mode — which she’d said before that she wanted me to do — was part of that as well.
“Truth be told, I’ve ordered something just for Mashiro. Would you accept it?”
”…… Is Ouga the kind of person who thinks Boku is a girl who’d be happy just because you give her expensive things?”
“O-of course that’s not what I think! It’s something I put my feelings into properly.”
”…… Hmm. With Ouga, who doesn’t understand a girl’s heart……”
Barbed words I instinctively pressed a hand to my chest at.
Gh……! My low experience in romance is becoming an obstacle on the path to a harem……!
Of course I understand Mashiro isn’t a girl you can reel in with shiny things, and I do faintly realize this isn’t the right answer.
But — I’ve already said it.
There’s no way I can back out now and call it a lie!
The point is — even an expensive item, if it has feelings put into it, is fine.
I’ll embellish with every word I can muster and push through!
Resolve set, I opened the box Alice had handed me and showed her its contents.
“Ouga……!? Th-this——”
“This is my everyday feeling toward you, Mashiro. Please accept it.”
So saying, Mashiro reached, hesitantly, into the box — and took out the ring sitting inside.
This ring is also a magical implement, with a mana-stone — exactly as the name suggests, a stone imbued with mana — embedded in it.
Mana-stones are rare in their existence, and the magical implements crafted from them barely circulate at all. I’d managed to get hold of one at a convenient moment.
The price was, accordingly, high — but Mashiro definitely matters more than money.
You wouldn’t find another wonderful girl like her even if you searched. Friends can’t be bought with money.
“R-really? Are you sure? I’m…… a commoner, you know?”
“Commoner? That has nothing to do with it. It’s because it’s Mashiro that I’m doing all this.”
There’s no need for us, of all people, to mind that.
With this magical implement (ring), Mashiro’s abilities will grow even more.
I’m happy. Mashiro’s happy. Isn’t this a brilliant choice that satisfies both sides?
“It’s so beautiful……”
“It’s the same blue as Mashiro’s eyes — I knew the moment I saw it, this was the only thing to give you.”
I’m deeply grateful to Mashiro.
How much more enjoyable my everyday life has become because of the time I’ve spent with her.
Compared to when I was labeled [Reject] and shut myself away, it’s night and day.
I’d put those feelings of thanks into it — but have they reached her properly——!?
“M-Mashiro!? Why are you crying!?”
”……Hic…… b-because, Ouga…… you’ve been seriously thinking about our future…… I’m so happy……”
“Of course I have. I’m a man who takes responsibility for his actions.”
“You’re right…… Ouga has always been that way. About Miss Lebetsenka, too — I understood it in my head, but…… when it actually became reality, I got jealous……”
Hm? Why is Karen coming into the conversation here.
I can’t read where the conversation is heading at all, but I can read the air, so I won’t cut in.
“This…… I’ll cherish it my whole life. I’ll hold it safely…… when the day — the wedding — comes, you put it on my finger, okay?”
“No, I want you to put it on right now, actually……”
“Eh, ehhh!?”
“That’s quite the leap……”
Mashiro hopped backward in startlement.
I mean — it has no effect if you don’t wear it……
“N-no way! Th-that’s…… I’m a student, b-becoming a married woman……!?”
With the distance now between us, I couldn’t make out what she was saying.
I could only tell she was flailing — blushing red, covering her face with her hands.
”…… Alice. What’s the correct thing to say to her right now?”
“It would be wise to leave her be for a while.”
“I see. Well, I’ve got time. I’ll wait until she calms down.”
”…… On this single point, I find myself growing concerned for Lord Ouga’s future.”
What is Alice even saying.
Like this, I solved the problem just fine, didn’t I.
Honestly, I still don’t understand why Mashiro was in a bad mood, but——
“Ouga! Why are you laughing!”
Ha ha, of course I’m laughing. Because the Mashiro I know is back.
Well — that closes the case on Mashiro.
Today’s going to be a wonderful day.
◇ Switching my conversion software from IME to ATOK was the cause of all the typos last time, sorry. As always, thanks for the reports……! ◇