“I’ll be first!” was what Gormus had to say as he eagerly performed his warm-up exercises.
“I’m going to do all I can to catch up to you, Gormus!” Next to him, Fie was doing the same exercises.
Gormus poked Fie square in the forehead.
“Are you a fool? You don’t have any stamina at all, to the point where it’s a bit sad. You know this from the test. Run at your own pace!”
After all, Gormus had become very aware of Fie’s lack of stamina after witnessing her muscle cramp during the test. It was true that Gormus had attacked her savagely, and that she had, in turn, performed a series of reckless actions. Honestly speaking, however, Fie’s stamina was indeed problematic for a squire. Her ill-conditioned body and her disproportionately large courage (for her small frame) made for a particularly bad combination.
“Ugh...” Fie could not help but acknowledge Gormus’ words. After all, he was right, and so Fie gave up on following in Gormus’ stride. However, Fie had still wanted to do her best for Yore, and her inner fire still raged on — so she promptly forgot her resolution to restrain herself.
The one piece of advice that both Yore and Crow had given to her: “Don’t overdo it.”
It was perhaps worth mentioning that Fie had the least amount of stamina amongst all the squires. This was to be expected, however. In comparison to the youths who had aspired to be knights from a young age and trained in the ways of the sword, in addition to martial arts; Fie, who had lived as a princess, and had up until recently been taking classes in social manners, could not hope to compare with any of her fellow squires at this point in time.
The squire’s running regimen was meant to build up their physical stamina and tolerance — it was an exacting activity even for those who were used to such exertions.
Leading the pack was Gormus. Following up close behind was, unexpectedly, Remie. In addition to him not hating running, Remie also seemed to be particularly good at covering long distances. He stayed close to Gormus, clinging to his shadow and easily matching his pace.
Gormus, on the other hand, was not very good at long-distance running at all. This was to be expected, however, given the size of his body, as considerable input was required to move his bulk.
Gormus thought to himself:
(If memory serves... this guy hangs around with Heath. He has the face of a sheep, without a care in the world. His running speed is really something else. But I won’t lose!)
Gritting his teeth, Gormus kept up the lead.
Slad, Gees, and the other squires stayed in the middle of the bunch, with Slad looking like he wasn’t exactly having a great time. Gees, however, had his usual stoic expression on.
Coming in dead last was Fie.
Panting and claiming that she would catch up between breaths, Fie kept going as far as her legs would carry her. At around the halfway point, Fie’s face had turned an unpleasant shade of blue — however, nary a single complaint rose from her lips.
“Hey Heath, are you all right?”
Even the one colloquially known as the “demon coach” to the other squires continuously asked after Fie, a tinge of worry evident in his voice.
To begin with, Heslow only ever yelled at squires who could evidently do more, but were slacking off out of laziness. Perhaps it was a phase, but lazy squires were a common sight in the Royal Knights. However, the student squire before his eyes had long reached his limit — and yet still insisted on moving.
“Heath, if you feel unwell, you may stop.”
“I’m... fine... I’m... sorry... can’t... breathe... Can’t... talk much...”
In other words, Fie had pushed herself to the point where even speaking was becoming impossible. However, she displayed no signs of wanting to stop.
Heslow didn’t know if he should stop this particular squire or not. While it was true that Heslow was enthusiastic and passionate as an instructor, he was young and did not have much experience himself.
Eventually, all the squires but Fie started to approach their goal.
“Hey... is he okay?”
Gormus glanced at Fie, who was currently continuing to run even though her body was swaying from side to side. Gormus was the first squire to reach the goal in the north dormitory. Remie, who had been following Gormus all this time, was next — Gormus had shaken him off in the final moments of the course.
“It’s a little worrying...” Remie, who crossed the line shortly after Gormus, made a worried observation.
As the other squires all made it to their goal, only Fie remained, struggling along.
“Don’t push yourself.”
“I... I can do it...” Fie had a definitive answer to Heslow’s voice. Drenched in sweat, she continued to run.
However, Fie had used up all her strength in her muscles and body — her legs could no longer move. But she felt a clearly observed gap between herself and the other squires, so she thought she should at least see through the training that was provided to her.
“If... I am taking up your time... please go ahead with the rest, instructor... I... will finish up on my own...” Fie gasped, between painful breaths.
“Heath... Do your best...” Witnessing his friend’s struggle, Remie clasped his hands, as if in prayer.
“Ahaha, told you so. That tiny runt can’t possibly become a knight.”
“Yeah that’s right! That’s what happens to peasants who try to become knights!”
The youths from last night, seeing Fie’s troubles, wasted no time in ridiculing her efforts.
“Shut up, you punks. If you don’t shut up I’ll friggin’ kill you.”
“I won’t let you get away with insulting Heath.”
“You can count me in on that.”
“Me too...”
It wasn’t just Gormus — the combined stares of Slad, Remie, and Gees promptly silenced the dissenting youths.
Although Fie was beginning to lose consciousness, her legs continued to move. She had to catch up with everyone else. The first people who needed and valued her existence since her birth. To become a useful knight to Captain Yore.