Chapter 242: Escort Knight Training
The town of Avana, developed as a naval port, had a small training field near the barracks.
To ensure Berenice and Clementine never misunderstood squats again, I had them change into gym clothes and began a proper training session.
「This is how you do a squat. Got it?」
Being stared at like this made me feel awkward.
I had changed into exercise gear to demonstrate the squat, but now I realized how embarrassing it was.
I might owe Clementine an apology for making her do squats as a punishment.
Berenice, who had been watching intently, chimed in.
「So, squats are a proper stretching exercise, huh?」
「Of course! You knew that and were just pretending otherwise.」
「Oh no, I had no idea.」 Berenice replied, but she was half-smiling.
She had definitely been messing with us.
Meanwhile, Clementine was looking pale.
「I thought squats were some kind of indecent strip dance.」
「Feels like you’ve got some serious misconceptions about me, Clementine. Though I guess I was wrong to make it a punishment. But this is actually an effective exercise.」
For the record, the gym clothes I had them wear were white T-shirts and navy-blue shorts, just like the ones worn by elementary school students in my hometown. A while back, we made them for fun, trying to recreate the attire from my homeland. While we couldn’t replicate the elastic fabric of the shorts, we used strings to tie them up instead.
Since both Berenice and Clementine usually trained in armor, their under-armor clothing looked unbearably hot in the tropical climate of this island. So, I lent them the gym clothes, but since they were originally made for the slave girls, they were way too small for even the petite Berenice.
As for Clementine, her body was too large for the gym clothes, and every time she squatted, the hem of the shirt rode up, revealing way more than I was comfortable with.
「Wait a second… Why aren’t you wearing any underwear, Clementine?!」
Clementine turned to me innocently,
「Yes, what is it?」
Beside her, Berenice was grinning. She must have told Clementine some nonsense about not wearing underwear as part of proper protocol.
How could Clementine be so calm about this? Did she not realize how exposed she was?
I thought about telling her to put on some underwear, but that would just embarrass her and cause another scene. If we kept getting sidetracked like this, training would never start. I just had to avoid looking and focus on the training.
「Cough, never mind. Anyway, we’re not just doing squats today. Have you heard of radio calisthenics?」
When I asked, both of them replied:
「It’s the exercise routine you recommend for soldier training, right, King-sama?」
「We’ve seen it, but since we’re not soldiers, we don’t do those kinds of exercises.」
In the Silesie Kingdom, knights prioritized practical training like horseback riding, spear-throwing, archery, wrestling, and even dance. But basic physical training, like calisthenics, was often seen as something for foot soldiers, and thus it was undervalued by the knights. As part of the military academy’s curriculum, I introduced Japan’s radio calisthenics (even though we didn’t actually have radios yet).
「Well, you should start doing them.」
Radio calisthenics may seem like something only kids do during summer break, but it’s nothing to scoff at.
It’s a program refined over many years, a culmination of wisdom.
Instead of flailing around without purpose, this routine stretches and energizes the body efficiently. Exercises like squats or push-ups—these aren’t just random movements. They’ve survived through the ages because they’re effective methods for building strength.
「The basics are important. You two need to start with proper warm-ups. I’ll teach you from scratch, so take it seriously.」
「Yes!」 「Understood.」
I supervised their exercises, guiding them through each move. Both of them were more cooperative than before. Though, every time Clementine’s short gym clothes fluttered up, revealing more than necessary, I had to focus hard on not getting distracted.
「Hah… How’s that? Calisthenics can really tire you out if you do it properly, right?」
「I’m totally fine.」 「I’m starting to feel warmed up.」
The stamina of knights, who can fight in full plate armor, is incredible. Something like this won’t wear them out. If I wanted to exhaust them, it’d take all day.
「King-sama, where are the training lances for jousting?」
「We don’t have any of those.」
This training ground is used by the demons too, but none of them practice jousting anymore. On the harsh Abyss Continent, where monstrous beasts roam, knights never developed the art of personal combat like in other places.
「Hmm, I was hoping to show my skill with the lance before you, King-sama!」
「King-sama, Clementine has won multiple jousting tournaments with the royal guard!」
Well, with her monstrous strength, I’m sure she was a force to be reckoned with in jousting. But brute strength alone isn’t enough to defeat an enemy.
Clementine should know that by now. They’ve come this far relying only on what they’re good at. Special training is about overcoming your weaknesses.
「I told you, today is firearms training.」
「But muskets aren’t a big deal at all.」
She muttered something outrageous.
「Oh? You think you don’t need guns, Berenice?」
「Regular soldiers do, but I’m a knight. Just watch me.」
Berenice pulled out her longbow and gave a demonstration. The speed at which she shot her arrows was incredible, almost instant. Four arrows thudded into the target in quick succession.
「You’ve got the skill to back up your words.」
「This is just the beginning.」
She ran while shooting, unleashing arrow after arrow. Nearly a hundred arrows flew, with most hitting the target.
She really is as good as she claims. This isn’t just a knight’s flashy display—her skills would be deadly in real combat.
「Your accuracy is impressive. I’ll admit that much.」
「I’m not bragging, but I can hit the target even from horseback. As for muskets, they take too long to reload, can’t hit anything, and are just plain unreliable.」
She’s getting cocky because she’s good at what she does.
Berenice isn’t completely wrong, though.
There are stories where master archers and musketeers ended up killing each other in duels. In some ways, the bow has advantages over the musket.
But if we don’t bring her down a notch, she’ll fall behind in the coming advancements.
「Alright then, next, we’ll have Sherry give a demonstration with the musket.」
The slave girls originally served as part of a slave musketeer unit, so they’re all well-versed in handling firearms.
「Alright, let me show you what I can do.」
The sound of a gunshot echoed through the air. Sherry shot clean through Berenice’s arrow on the target, shattering it from a hundred meters away.
「Did you see that, Berenice?」
「But muskets take forever to reload.」
She’s still being stubborn. We already talked about the reloading issue.
Sherry, looking exasperated, responded.
「Compared to a musket’s straight-flying bullet, arrows can easily veer off course if there’s a strong wind. Bullets are also easier to manufacture than arrows. You can even load stones if needed. In a group battle, muskets would definitely have the advantage.」
「But archers can be just as effective as musketeers.」
「Sigh… Berenice-san, as someone who leads in the army, you should consider the cost of training archers. How many years did it take you to master that bow of yours?」
「Urgh…」
There’s no way Berenice could win an argument with Sherry. Berenice, who’s a year older than the slave girls, likely spent years honing her archery skills.
In contrast, the slave girls became firearm experts in a much shorter time. A musket can shoot forward just by pulling the trigger, making even undertrained soldiers combat-ready.
That’s why guns replaced bows—they’re more practical on the battlefield.
After her recent failures, Clementine had become more compliant. She picked up a musket and started shooting at the target.
She clearly knew how to use it, but she couldn’t hit anything.
This is what happens when you avoid practicing with a weapon, even if you know how it works.
「Why can these girls hit the target so easily, but I can’t?」
Clementine muttered in frustration, reloading and firing again. Even I’m surprised by Sherry’s accuracy, so expecting Clementine to mimic her immediately is asking too much.
「Clementine, try shooting at a closer target for now. With training, you’ll improve.」
「…I’ll do my best.」
To be honest, I can’t hit a distant target with a musket either—it’s a terribly inaccurate weapon. I could do it with a magic rifle, combining rifling and wind magic for precise, powerful shots.
That’s why I didn’t do the demonstration myself and had Sherry do it instead. Sherry, with a calm expression as if this was nothing special, explained to the two.
「Each gun has its own quirks. You have to understand those quirks and adjust for them. Wind direction, wind speed, temperature, and humidity also affect your aim, but with enough experience, you can make minor adjustments. I can adjust after just one shot.」
That’s something only Sherry can do.
Lyle-sensei and Sherry both seem to run precise simulations in their heads before firing, which is why their accuracy is so high.
「Berenice, why don’t you give the musket a try?」
「I…」
「Ha, so you’re confident with a bow, but not with a gun?」
「This is easy!」
Though Berenice kept a cool face, as soon as it became about combat skills, her pride as a knight wouldn’t let her back down. Provoked, she took aim with the musket and fired.
「Ah…」
But she missed the target.
「Damn it!」
She hastily reloaded and fired again, but still missed. At this distance, a hundred meters, the musket was at the very edge of its effective range. Missing was only natural.
「This can’t be…」
Berenice, who could normally handle anything with ease, was visibly shocked. Seeing the slave girls, who weren’t even specialized soldiers, hit the target so easily while she, a knight, could not, clearly crushed her spirit.
Sherry offered some comforting words.
「Of course you missed. Even I had to train to get this good. I’m sure someone as skilled as you, Berenice-nee-sama, will be hitting the target soon enough.」
「I always thought muskets were just weapons for soldiers to shoot blindly in groups. But now I see, you really need training.」
Technically, Berenice was right. The musket was a weapon designed for laying down collective fire, a simple iron tube without rifling, and hitting long-distance targets accurately was almost a miracle.
But seeing her pride take a hit, I decided to keep quiet about that. It was true that training could improve accuracy, and for someone as skilled as Berenice, she might eventually reach Sherry’s level.
「See, Berenice? Even a small girl can fight on equal footing with a knight using a gun. This is the era of firearms. If you want to serve as my guard, you need to handle firearms like Sherry does.」
I decided to exaggerate a bit. It’s important to humble her in moments like these.
Berenice, looking frustrated, admitted,
「As King-sama says, I underestimated things. I’ll train with firearms from now on.」
「That’s the spirit.」
Clementine, ever diligent, had been quietly firing her musket, focused and determined.
「I’ll keep training to be of service to you, King-sama!」
「Yeah, keep it up, Clementine.」
After the musket training, we also practiced cannon handling. In this area, I and the slave girls were more experienced, so Berenice and the others took on the role of students.
It had been a while since I’d done this kind of training, and I found that teaching also helped me learn a lot. Military drills weren’t so bad once in a while.
With war looming, it was time to get serious.
「Thanks for your hard work, master.」
Colette and Viola came over, handing out pink juice.
「This is refreshing.」
「It’s guava juice. We squeezed the fruit, added sugar and water, and chilled it.」
The subtle sweetness and tanginess were just what I needed to recover. As we drank, Berenice spoke playfully.
「King-sama, should we also work on our cooking?」
「You’re knights, so I won’t ask that much. But if you want to help, I’ll gladly take it.」
Dinner that night was all about freshly harvested potatoes. Since peeling them required a lot of hands, I had the two knights help as well…
「Clementine, leave the rest to Berenice. Just go set the table.」
「My apologies.」
I had to stop her before she turned the potatoes into garbage. Maybe we could salvage them for stew. Clearly, she had never held a knife before, probably because she was a noblewoman.
The potatoes on this island were originally brought by Abysspania as emergency rations for their soldiers, but I appreciate them far more than any fancy feast. Honestly, having potatoes as a staple food isn’t so bad.
The table was lined with a variety of potato dishes. My favorite was the buttered potatoes—nothing beats that. Using fresh new potatoes made it a real luxury. The smell of the melted butter was incredibly appetizing.
「This is it. Fluffy and delicious!」
It reminded me of the street stalls at summer festivals back home. I never thought I’d be reminiscing about those days in the middle of this otherworld.
Buttered potatoes were a simple delight, and everyone seemed to enjoy them.
「These are delicious, King-sama.」
「Told you. That’s the real German-style potatoes.」
German potatoes were made with onions, bacon, and potatoes. The salt and pepper gave it a nice kick, but when I called it ‘real German potatoes’, I was only met with puzzled looks.
「What’s ‘German’?」
「Oh, it refers to Germania, but don’t worry about it. It’s just the name of the dish.」
I remembered my trip to Germania, where I found all the ingredients for German potatoes except for the potatoes themselves. Ever since then, I’d been wanting to make it.
As I watched Berenice enjoying her food, I leaned over to whisper to Roll, who was poking at her buttered potato with a fork.
「Hey, Roll, do dwarves have any weaknesses?」
Berenice and Roll were both black fairy dwarves. Maybe I could find a way to keep Berenice in check.
「Well… there is one.」
「So, there is one.」
Her answer wasn’t as straightforward as I had hoped.
「Um, my dad always told me not to share it with outsiders…」
「Come on, you can tell me, right?」
Her reluctance only made me more curious.
「Well… since you’re my master, I guess it’s okay. But you have to promise not to tell anyone else.」
Roll leaned in and whispered in my ear.
「So that’s it… the inside of a dwarf’s ears is their weak spot?」
「Yep, just rub it hard.」 she confirmed.
Like elves, the black fairy dwarves have long ears. Since ears are highly sensitive sensory organs for fairies, rubbing the inner part of their ears firmly seemed to be their Achilles’ heel.
「Let me try it out.」
「Eek! Aaahhh!」
I tested it on Roll’s ears, and she immediately shrieked and collapsed on the spot.
「Wow, that really works. Thanks, Roll.」
「Ugh… but remember, don’t tell anyone else…」
Even someone as energetic as Roll was completely weakened by it. This was a useful piece of information.
Next time Berenice acts up, I’ll use this as punishment.