"....Anyway, is breakfast ready?"

"No, it's still early, so the palace cook hasn't started yet. Should I wake her up so breakfast can be prepared early?"

"No, let her sleep. Since she hasn't deviated from her original schedule, let her continue her work as usual."

"...As you wish, young master. Anyway, breakfast will be ready in an hour and a half."

"Good, that's a perfect time for some exercise before breakfast. You can go."

Baya stood there hesitating whether to speak or remain silent, but finally she spoke.

"It's better for the young master to spend the rest of his day at home."

"Why is that?"

"Because I feel the weather will be stormy today, so this day isn't suitable for training."

"Hmm? How do you know the weather will be stormy? It looks like a beautiful clear day," Maimoun asked skeptically.

"Just a feeling."

"Alright, thank you for the warning."

"Excuse me," the maid nodded respectfully and then left the room.

Maimoun stood still for a short while, watching the door, then moved to find suitable clothing for intense physical exertion. Despite hearing Bayya's words, he didn't take them seriously at all.

'This is ridiculous. How can a woman expect to predict the weather just based on a feeling that suddenly comes to her? At least it seems she respects me more now than before. Despite our initial meeting being bad, as long as she doesn't cause more trouble for Stella, I'll leave her be.'

Maimoun thought as he searched through a pile of clothes. He discovered the truth that the number of clothes of the young shopping-obsessed girl would never match the number of Fayte clothes he had bought.

"How can a boy have this many clothes?" Maimoun couldn't help but ask in amazement.

.

..

...

the sound of a hollow iron collision.

After a not-so-short time searching through the pile of clothes, Maimoun finally found the clothes he deemed suitable for exercise. Excited about the workout, he hurried out of the room. Due to his eagerness on one hand and his bad luck on the other, as soon as he left his room, he collided with something and fell to the ground.

"My head... this is very painful."

"Y-Young master!"

Although Maimoun wasn't sure what he had collided with, clutching his forehead and squinting from the pain, he knew it was something metallic, evident from the sound it made.

"I'm starting to get annoyed."

Maimoun angrily opened his eyes to see a large iron shield standing in front of the room's door. He then turned his gaze towards the two maids who were dragging the shield.

"What are you two doing, dragging this shield around so early in the morning?"

Maimoun's mood was sour, making his tone of reproach clear, which caused the two frightened maids to tremble in fear.

"We apologize, young master. We thought it best to move these shields from in front of your room early, before you woke up. We didn't realize you were already awake."

"And who instructed you to move the shields from their place? ... Don't you dare say it was me who said that?"

Maimoun's anger didn't subside as he interrogated the trembling maids.

Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

"W-We..."

"Speak up now; I don't have all day for you."

"H-How can I answer you with something you don't want to hear, young master?" One of the maids, feeling unjustly treated by Maimoun's unreasonable behavior, couldn't help but respond defiantly.

"Me?"

"Yes, young master. Yesterday, you ordered us to move these shields elsewhere because you detest them. Didn't you say that anything resembling statues is an ill omen?"

"...Right, I did say that."

Maimoun felt embarrassed because he had been yelling at the maids who were only following his orders. This act was simply unjust, as they were innocent.

"Good job. You can continue your work, and don't be bothered by my shouting. It's not your fault that you're diligently doing your job."

"ah!.... Y..yes, young master. Thank you for understanding," the maids said, leaving with a look of disbelief.

Maimoun quickly got up and proceeded on his way, truly feeling embarrassed by the situation that had just unfolded. He decided to leave... no He decided to escape from this place and swiftly exited through the palace's inner gate without further incident, as well as the outer gate.

"Watch out, young master."

However, as soon as his foot officially touched outside the palace, someone lunged at him, causing him to fall to the ground.

"What now?!"

Maimoun fell to the ground, his face covered in dirt, feeling miserable from these unfortunate events that kept happening to him. From the voice, he knew the person who jumped on him was none other than the guard, Roudel.

"What are you doing, Roudel? Have you gone mad?"

"N-No, young master, but..."

"But what?" Maimoun's day had just begun, yet he already felt his patience running thin.

"Just don't you dare say that I was the one who instructed you to attack me as soon as you saw me."

Maimoun's anger was now very intense. Since yesterday, he had been provoked by various matters, and nothing seemed to be going well for him.

"I-It was actually Lord Sumay who told me that."

"my Father told you to do this to me!!?" Maimoun exclaimed, spitting out another mouthful of dirt.

"What!! No, of course not. He ordered me to protect you."

"And what are you protecting me from when I've barely set foot outside the palace?"

"All I can say is that there was a bird flying in the sky... and as soon as it flew directly above you..."

Roudel scratched his head, feeling embarrassed and unsure about what to say.

"Just say it, Roudel!" Maimoun shouted in frustration.

"It... relieved itself."

"W-What!!..."

Maimoun was left speechless, looking up at the sky to see a brightly colored bird with a black head circling as if searching for something. As soon as the bird's eyes met Maimoun's, it veered off its circular path and flew back towards the forest. Maimoun felt astonished by such a bird but didn't dwell on it. Instead, he refocused his attention on Roudel.

"Couldn't you have, Roudel, at least moved the bird droppings away from me by throwing something at them instead of knocking me down and making me taste the dirt?"

"...I'm sorry, young master. I didn't think of that."

Roudel felt saddened to see the futility of his actions and his inability to see such a simple and practical solution, which made him hate more how his brain worked. He was the kind of person who acted first and planned last, making his actions more reactive than calculated.

Maimoun sighed, noticing the sadness on Roudel's face. He didn't want to make this young man feel useless and reassured him, saying:

"No worries, there's no need to apologize. You did your job, and even though it wasn't done perfectly, it wasn't without benefit. Thanks to God and your efforts, I wasn't hit by the bird droppings. Your quick reaction to protect me was sufficient."

Maimoun patted Roudel on the shoulder and smiled, satisfied with his work. According to his previous memory, this person was a talented, loyal, and kind young man who unfortunately faced bullying from Fayte.

'I mustn't let someone like this slip away from me,' Maimoun thought. He had a plan in mind for this young man to return to a place that suited his talent, but the time for that hadn't come yet. It was time for his training.

Roudel was pleased with his young master's unexpected reaction and the positive words about his work. Even Rayn, who watched from behind was surprised by such kind words coming from someone skilled in mocking his poor friend.

Roudel cherished these words that were said to him, restoring some stability to his self-confidence that had been unbalanced.

"Keep up the good work, and your efforts won't be in vain."

Then Maimoun placed his hand over his nose to block out the unpleasant smell that was spreading in the air before continuing.

"And let's find a solution for this foul smell. Don't let such odors linger at the palace entrance."

"Yes, sir," Roudel replied loudly, clearly in a good mood.

"Good, I'll leave you to your work."

.

..

...

"95..96..97..98..99..100 and one more for good measure."

[Congratulations on completing the self-task and gaining 300 experience.]

[Your level has increased: 4 ==> 5]

"Hehehe, that was too easy. With my new stats and this type of exercise, it was a breeze for me and will only get easier over time. Now, let's see where my new stats are at."

Maimoun was doing abdominal exercises, lying on the ground with his face towards the sky. When he tried to get up after finishing the exercise and before checking his new stats, he placed his hands on the ground behind his head and transferred his strength to them and his abdomen to push off the ground or rather to lift himself off the ground.

"Now it's time for some acrobatics."

He always wanted to perform this move that movie heroes did if it weren't for his sick body, but now with this body, there was nothing stopping him from doing this move.

"... Don't tell me it's him again!?"

As his body lifted into the air, Maimoun noticed something that made him feel uneasy.