It wasn't until my entire body was being crushed that I realized I probably didn't understand the true meaning of my situation. Of course, I knew I was in a very, very dangerous situation... but the difference between knowing something intellectually and experiencing it with my own body was like heaven and earth. To be honest...
I'm a little afraid. Now that I've realized the world can suddenly shrink and crush me without any warning, I find myself flinching even while walking normally. It was a horrifying experience.
At the same time, it was a beneficial experience that was worth going through. Because thanks to it, I was able to clearly set the path I must take.
"It's perfectly fine."
In the dark of night, I was in the barn, having cast an Illumination spell, looking over my clothes. Of course, fabric doesn't get damaged just because it's under pressure. Just like how a person would be crushed if run over by an eight-ton truck, but their clothes would be fine.
However, the stitching is a different story. Since these clothes were made for janitors, there were signs of the thick fabrics being forcefully sewn together, and these connecting parts were in a state where they would burst with even a little pressure. But my clothes were fine.
What this meant was clear. 'So it only targets me.' It seemed the pressure of the Deep Sea was structured to ignore clothes and crush only my body.
If it ignores clothes, it would naturally ignore armor too. My plan to make a diving suit and endure it was ruined. It was the easiest way...
Smacking my lips, I firmly tied the last knot binding the wood and scrap metal. My handiwork isn't the best, so the balance wasn't perfect, but well, for a beginner's set, this should be fine. I lifted and set down the rather plausible-looking dumbbell, feeling its weight.
It was a little difficult, but not impossible to lift.
"One, two, three, four..."
I hummed a tune as I lifted and lowered the dumbbell. The reason for exercising under the moonlight? Since I can't get help from armor, the goal was to build up my body to withstand the pressure of the Deep Sea.
Just hearing it, it couldn't sound more foolish. Even if you took the greatest bodybuilder in Earth's history and dropped him in the deep sea, he would be crushed without any difference from anyone else. In the end, the human body is made of meat and bone, and its density has a limit.
That is not something that can be solved through training. -On Earth, that is. This place is different. Knights learn something called body‑reinforcement techniques.
Just as the name implies, they gain muscles strong enough to break swords, emitting a power not permitted to the human body. Of course, the reason a knight acquires body‑reinforcement techniques is to learn the sword with that power.
If you learn body‑reinforcement techniques without any talent for the sword, you'll just be cut down by another knight who has learned them. You simply become a strong punching bag. I have no intention of fighting a knight, so it doesn't matter to me.
Now, just one thing remains. I need to obtain the body‑reinforcement techniques training manual, which costs tens of thousands of gold a copy and isn't even in the library. And that problem was solved today at lunch.
To be precise, it was because it was solved that I was able to choose this method.
"Jern, could you perhaps learn this?"
"...?"
Today at lunch. Dragging my still-aching body back to the orphanage, I accepted the book the director handed me and was silently astonished. The book was not just any body‑reinforcement techniques manual, but the knight’s Body-Reinforcement manual.
Even though the princess sponsors the entire orphanage, I knew how much money went into feeding dozens of children, so I couldn't help but ask the director, who lived frugally every day.
"Did you steal this from somewhere?"
"Wh-what are you saying! I received it."
"No, from whom?"
"... Come over here for a moment."
The director called me to the vacant lot out back and, as if sharing a secret, quietly explained the situation.
"You know that, um... the knight visited the other day?"
"Yes. You said he came when I wasn't here, gave a little speech to the knight trainees, and left."
A lot of professionals come to the orphanage to do volunteer work. I don't really know why they come. Seeing them say things everyone already knows with a sullen face and offering half-hearted words of encouragement, it seems they're given something like points, because it's clearly not of their own free will.
Or maybe it's a punishment. Still, the orphanage kids go crazy for them. Because every time they come, they're sure to bring high-end snacks you can't buy with pocket money.
I don't really care, though.
"Well, that... knight was giving his usual unenthusiastic words of encouragement, when Linmel started swinging a wooden sword in the back."
"And?"
"He watched Linmel intently... and suddenly, his eyes went wide, and he couldn't take his eyes off her for a long time. For thirty whole minutes. If Linmel hadn't gotten bored and left, he might have watched even longer..."
I had a rough idea of where this story was going. The director, with a serious expression, held up the body‑reinforcement techniques book.
"Then he gave me this book and said, [Give this to that child. If she catches my eye when I next visit, I shall provide support.]"
"Support? What kind of support?"
"I think it means he'll provide full support so she can become a knight. The other teachers were so motivated, they've been teaching Linmel diligently."
"Ah, I saw Linmel wake up early this morning and grab a sword. Was that why?"
"Yes, I coaxed her with food to wake up a little earlier. We can't let a chance like this pass by, can we? It's still hard to believe that Linmel, that small, young child, was born with the talent of a knight..."
The director seemed quite surprised by the fact that a 10-year-old girl, not one of the other bigger kids at the orphanage, had been chosen by a knight. I wasn't that surprised. I had seen it several times.
Linmel has talent. She knows the mysteries of the sword. Unlike mages, those misshapen beings who are simply chosen, she is a true genius.
It's not strange for a knight to take an interest in her. In fact, for her to start showing promise at age 10 could even be considered late. As I was nodding to myself, thinking I should get on her good side early, an obvious question came to mind.
"No, but why are you giving this to me? You should give it to Linmel."
"I did. I did give it to her."
The director's expression turned gloomy.
"Hmm, let me guess. She said it was too boring and she didn't want to do it, right?"
"It would have been better if that were the case..."
I tilted my head, watching the director let out an empty sigh.
"Huh? If not that, then what?"
"Well, Linmel... doesn't know how to read well."
"?"
"It's not that she can't read at all, but she said she couldn't because there were too many difficult words and sentences..." ...
No way.
She's 10, how does that make sense? Thinking she might be a blockhead, I took the body‑reinforcement techniques book and flipped through it, only to realize it wasn't that strange. It was riddled with words difficult for an elementary school level, like femur and gastrocnemius tear.
It's understandable she wouldn't know this.
"When we try to teach her, she says she doesn't want to study on top of learning the sword, so what can we do? Since Linmel follows you well, I was wondering if you could teach her... Are you perhaps busy?"
"... No." After a moment of thought, I collected myself and gave the director, with her sparkling eyes, a good-natured smile.
"Don't you worry. I will learn it well and teach her."
"Jern...!"
And so, receiving the director's touched gaze was what happened today at lunch. Having obtained the body‑reinforcement techniques, deciding to use it to overcome the water pressure is what's happening now. In the middle of the night.
"Should this be enough?"
After pumping up my muscles as much as possible, I looked at my reflection in the well. A human made of toothpicks. A body so slender it was thin.
Is this the price for skipping most of my gym classes? I guess it won't matter once I learn some body‑reinforcement techniques. I sighed and was about to imitate a pose written in the book when I froze.
"... What is this?"
The pose in the manual was utterly bizarre. The joints were bent in impossible directions, and the main instruction was to do strength training in that state.
The logic was that even the most minute muscles in the human body must be developed to avoid injury when learning the body‑reinforcement techniques described later, but— The pose was so acrobatic I wondered if it was even possible. After a moment of thought, I shrugged and put my hands between my legs. I should just do as it says.
Surely I won't get hurt, right? -Crack!
The next morning.
"Hey, are you hurt somewhere?"
"Yes."
My senior looked me over with a dumbfounded face. I suppose he'd wonder what's going on, seeing me limping over, using a broom as a crutch. Normally I would say I'm fine, but this was beyond the point where a lie like that would work.
"But I'm okay."
This wasn't a lie, either. My leg... it hurt, but the rest of my body felt surprisingly energetic. The foundation of the body‑reinforcement techniques was a process of first awakening all the muscles in the body.
Even now, it feels strange to walk. Only now did I realize I had so many fine muscles in my body. It's not a bad thing.
In fact, using parts of my body I didn't even know existed made me feel much lighter. It was well worth giving up my leg.
"Hey..."
Instead of his usual nagging, my senior covered his eyes and looked up at the sky.
What the.
"Uh... is it that tough?"
"Huh?"
"It's a bit much to say this after only cleaning together for two weeks, but if it's really hard, just tell me. That person, the director, I'll take responsibility and..."
Sensing a crisis, I frantically waved my hands.
"No! No, no, no, the director didn't hit me, I fell on my own. It's true."
"... Oh, really?"
"Yep! I'm fine. So please, don't do anything like that."
I nearly turned the director, my lifesaver, into a criminal. Looking at my bewildered senior, I decided I needed to be more careful in the future. My body is young, so it reacts too well to things.
"I'll work hard cleaning today, too. Don't worry!"
"What are you talking about, how can I make a kid with an injured leg clean?"
"I'm fine!"
"I'm not fine with it. Follow me."
With a strict expression full of a sense of duty, my senior stuck me in a building in a corner of the academy, in a room that looked like a sickbay, and gave me a stern warning.
"This is the staff infirmary. Get some rest today. There's medicine and bandages, so tell me if there's a problem with your leg. I'll be cleaning in front of the building, so don't even think about running away to clean!"
Contrary to his tone, the content was incredibly kind, but, "But..."
"Tsk, taking care of a 'junior' is also the job of a 'senior'. Got it?"
He really likes that. My senior, having crushed even my final resistance, proudly wiped his nose with his finger and carefully closed the door before leaving. I was left alone in the room.
Since my senior said he'd be cleaning in front of this building, escape is impossible.
"Sigh..."
I have so many classes to eavesdrop on today. I decided to just study on my own, thinking of it as punishment for freely using the director's name. Fortunately, there were plenty of usable bandages.
Their weight was just right, perfect for practice. I held a handful and dropped them one by one. A countermeasure for when I'm flung into the air by the currents.
Use the wind to fall slowly.
"This is difficult..."
However, perhaps because of my lack of proficiency, I couldn't easily intervene. The bandages dropped from my hand and rolled on the floor like normal. It seemed like I could touch them much more easily using the currents, but that would be meaningless.
I was in the middle of training the magic of the physical-realm. I narrowed my eyes and began to concentrate. On the 12th drop, I caught it. -Vwung.
Just before hitting the floor, the bandage stopped in place, then bounced back into my hand. It was as if it had become a rubber ball. My first success.
"Oh...!"
As I was happily replaying the sensation from a moment ago, I heard a small sound.
"...?"
I turned my head and saw a person. ...
Wait, why? What?
I didn't hear the door open? A girl about my age with short-cut silver hair, large eyes, and wearing high-end children's clothes that were worlds apart from mine, was looking at me with an expression that was half bewilderment and half surprise. Of course, the most bewildered one was me.
Our eyes met, and a tense silence flowed for about 10 seconds.
"Uh, excuse me..."
Who are you? Before I could get the words out, she beat me to it. The young kid covered her mouth, pointed a finger at me, and shouted.
"You, did you just... use magic? A janitor??"
Seeing her expression of disbelief, I calmly assessed the situation.
Hmm.
My life is ruined.