Chapter 32 - Rivalry intensifies

Isabella's POV

I can't believe a commoner beat me. That smug winning smile she has made me mad. I must beat her next time!

But my body is hurting all over. I can't win by relying only on my body. What should I do?

Eh, wait. I can just ask Grandpa for help. I'm so stupid, why didn't I remember my advantages?

Now that I have the idea, I can't wait any longer. Let's immediately consult grandpa.

After calling the twins to accompany me, I immediately searched for my grandpa's whereabouts. Katherine seems to be still recovering from the fatigue as her steps aren't as steady as usual. Well, even when I was focusing my all on the race before, I could still hear the explosion and the thunder zap from behind.

Well, Katherine indeed has a reckless side on her. So it should be a good lesson for her. And Kimberly is still as slippery as usual. Which is scary and reliable at the same time.

Anyway, time to think of some countermeasures to win against that commoner.

###

“So you want to get some advice from me for training your body? Don’t you think you found the wrong person for that?"

"But grandpa, the reason I didn't lose badly from that commoner is because of the mana circulation technique that you taught me before”

"Indeed it was me who taught you how to do the thunder circulation technique. But

I also only learned the technique for a few days now. It would be better for you to ask young Milo for that. He has years of experience for that after all”

"It seems that I can't evade that evil man after all”

"Hahaha. Yes, he might be a little rude and likes to tease you a bit too much, but he does not have any evil intentions towards you. That is why I agree to let him train you because I know he will be strict training you and won't hurt you maliciously”

"I know that grandpa. You've said it so many times I fear my ears would fall off. And I know he has a good intention towards me but he is such a bully most of the times”

“Well, all grandpa can help you is to give suggestions on supplements that you could use to help you strengthen your body"

“There's such a miracle drug like that?"

"No, not drugs. Indeed there's drugs to help you gain tiers fast for a knight. But those who consume drugs usually could not reach a higher tier because of unstable foundation or so I heard. What I suggest for you to consume are mid-tier beast meat and natural treasures. Those won't give you too much problem later like strengthening drug does”

"I see. But isn't a mid-tier beast meat really expensive? Even me and my siblings rarely enjoy that delicacy. Not to mention natural treasures”

“That's why grandpa will go out and hunt them for you. It's been a while since the last time grandpa went out, I can't help but feel excited about it. After all, young Milo did give me a lot of new insight and ideas. Grandpa wants to test some of them out while hunting for something that could help you.”

"Grandpa, you are the best"

“Hahaha, aren't I? Well, I still need people to help me carry all my stuff. Maybe I will ask young Milo for help. Indeed he is a visionary, making an army to help him with his chores. Should I make my own army like him? Hmm, I wonder”

“Grandpa, I feel that you are not the best at managing an army. You have told me about it plenty of times before"

“You are right, I guess I'll just borrow young Milo's then. Well, shall we go visit him together?”

"Why do I have to meet him too?"

“Don't you want to get some advice so you can train faster? He is the expert so you better talk to him. Grandpa also want to talk about hunting mid-tier monster with him"

I am unwilling but I have to admit that Emilio is the best trainer available for me. I couldn't help but pout my cheeks and agreed with grandpa’s proposal. Can't help it. It is either this or being beaten by that cheeky commoner.

###

Celestine POV

I managed to win against that arrogant princess from the royalty. That felt great. She has been making things difficult for me since we first met. I later heard about her misfortunate past which I can still relate to but that is not an excuse to be mean to others.

I have never retaliated before because of her status as the princess but I managed to one up her in the race. That feeling was… cathartic. All my resentment has turned into joy as I saw her down in all four being out of breath with a tearful expression…

Oh no, am I turning into an evil girl? No, I can't be like that meanie Emilio. He loves to tease people and he had a blast teasing that princess’ personal guard. Well, that is what she deserves for being overconfident but I can't help pity her being toyed like that by Emilio.

It's not like he is wrong with his training method, it's just that…

Ah. Stop it, stop it. Why did I have to think about him of all people? That's right, the princess. Knowing her, she definitely won't give up here. She will relentlessly chase after me so that she can defeat me.

And as she is from the royalty, she will have all the advantages of being a royal. She will have the best resource available in the kingdom to help her grow. Sigh, and here I am, still freeloading at the orphanage for my meal. But why is the food here so delicious? I can't live without the food here ever again.

Like the food before, hot pot, both my body and mind could feel the satiety fulfillment. It was just divine. And today's menu is meat pie. Inside a thin layer of dough is tons of meat that has been mixed with berry sauce and preserved vegetables. The delicious meat combined with the acidity from the sauce and preserved veggie make the meat easy to swallow. I can't stop eating it.

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Remembering the thing I used to eat, hard bread, thin soup, and rarely bit pieces of meat from time to time, this kind of meal is the highest grade luxury for me. Oh and there's also fruits and berries that I gather myself while following the adults when they are gathering herbs. My dad's teaching on how to stay safe in the wilds really helped a lot at that time.

And before long, I'm done with my meal. Ah this comfortable feeling of being full, I won't be able to go back to being frugal now. Yes, Emilio must take responsibility for this. He made me like this. No, that sounds wrong somehow.

Well, I indeed took a few more slices of meat pie and drank a few glasses of milk but he said that I can eat until I am satisfied so I just do what he says. I should say that there's an abundant amount of food here. There are still some of it left even when all the orphans and staff have finished eating. This isn't good, won't all that food get wasted? I need to remind Emilio to be more careful in his food spending.

Yes, I am just reminding him that, it's not like I am trying to ask for his advice on how to grow stronger faster… No, Celestine, you have to ask Emilio on how to become stronger or the princess will humiliate you. Yes, the princess will definitely have better support than me. I have heard of miracle drugs that could make people get stronger instantly. I must use everything that I have to win.

And the infamous demonic genius is my key to reach that victory. Well, he is not in any way evil anyway so I don't feel any reluctance in asking for his help.

Let's immediately ask him about it… and also about the excess food in the canteen.

Back to Emilio POV.

Well, the meat pie is not bad. It is an abomination of meat, veggies, and fruit filling but the taste combination is not that bad… Yes, not that bad. Oh how I long for a dish with deep and strong taste. I missed the umami. I missed MSG. Heck I even missed tomato sauce. The berry sauce was made to ‘imitate’ tomato sauce sweet sour accent but well, it does not have a good… depth? It's not as tasty as tomato sauce back on earth.

I really need to find more spices to fulfill my longing for taste from home, Earth taste, that is.

This world, or at least this kingdom, doesn't have a good food culture. With the monsters rampant outside the city wall, nobody considers gathering food from the wilds here. And after generations of only sustaining from wheat, fruits, and meats, most other kinds of spice and herbs become forgotten and lost in history.

That's why I ordered Robin to research edible fruits, roots, roots, bark, and any other parts of plants that exist that are edible, have herbal effects, or even slightly poisonous. I am desperate. There is no garlic, no ginger, and no chilies. Even if I want to use mushrooms, I don't have the time to research which one is edible or which one is poisonous. Nobody in this world knows that mushrooms could be consumed.

And there are also no beans. Only wheat farms and fruit orchards exist in this kingdom. If not I can make many things from fermented beans which is one of the plant based flavor kings known on Earth.

I don't hope to get tomatoes or other spices, especially pepper. If I have to guess, I live in the northern hemisphere of this world. Which is similar to areas in Europe or Canada. Those kinds of plants were found in the tropics back on Earth so the chance to find those are almost impossible. But it isn't yet zero as there is magic to accelerate plant growth. There is a hope for such plants to evolve even here.

So yeah, with the help of the guild, I hope Robin could find at least chillies and edible fungus. Those two can enrich my food repertoire a lot.

Anyway, Isabella has requested me to tell her more about the secret to become strong fast. Even Celestine, who won today's match, asked the same. I didn't expect her to come asking this fast, but that isn't surprising either. It seems that those two hate each other a lot that they don't want to lose to the other party.

Well, it's good that they are motivated. I can prepare many things for their training.

Well, I can't be careless with their foundation which is their physical ability. It needs to be strong, agile, and flexible. They will be running for some time anyway. Next would be basic unarmed combat and finally armed combat. That's basically it for physical training.

And as I see that the two VIPs' main focus is on the magic path, there will be many meditation, basic training sessions, and magic combat training to be had. It'll be fun.

Unfortunately, I can't have a training camp with them where I can train them 24/7 for a month or two. They are someone with high social status after all and staying with a man for a long time is not good for their reputation. And before you think of anything impure, it will be all pure training days like how I train my army. Or like how a new recruit gets into boot camp back on Earth. It was pure to ‘help’ them in their training as I said it while showing an evil smile.

There's no time for impure thoughts. My junior is in this condition after all and if I really do hold impure thoughts to those two, I will have to answer to two scary entities which is no different than doing suicide. Moreover, one of those two entities is my teacher now. Can't have my backing stop protecting me, right?

Well, let's meet with the two to talk about their training schedule. Let's make sure they know what they are getting into.

Some moments later.

I managed to call the two to talk about their training schedule. Katherine and Kimberly also join the princess which I didn't mind as the stronger they are the safer Isabella will be.

It's just that the two girls couldn't hide their displeasure when they saw each other.

“Why is she here?"

“That's my line, why are you here?"

“Girls, if you still want to get my special training, shut up and listen or you can just leave, I don't care"

The two rivals look at each other menacingly for a while. If this is an anime, there would be electric sparks jumping in between their eyes. Oh, wait, there are actually electric sparks jumping around. Of course it comes from Isabella as she fortifies her body with electricity.

Celestine didn't answer her provocation but still condescendingly looked at Isabella like saying that she has already lost once to her. There is a significant increase in the power that Isabella releases but it calms down soon after and she obediently stays silent waiting for my explanation.

Seeing that her provocation didn't yield results, Celestine also obediently stays silent to wait for my explanation.

Oh, Isabella yields? Has she suddenly matured? Or perhaps she has confidence in her backings? Sometimes I forget that they are still 15. But kids do mature faster in this world. Maybe we are also influenced by mana just like the plants and monsters around. In addition to the threat from monsters and other humans, the food situation isn't the best either. Before my hunter guild started that is.

Anyway, the best way to deal with contempt is to ignore them if you can't defeat them. Of course the best way would be to defeat them if you can but revenge is a dish better served cold. As the weak people said it.

Anyway, let's continue on, shall we?

“Okay. So I assume both of you want to be trained by me so you can become stronger fast, correct? I know that one of you had asked faster than the other and you might feel that I am unfair to also include the other party together but if I have to be frank, girls, that is not my problem so I don't care”

"All I care about is to make as many people as possible get stronger which is easier to do than when I have to train just a single person”

"How can it be like that, you ask? Well, it's simple actually. If you are alone, then your training menu would be monotone and it will be hard for you to keep up motivation. But if you are together with other people, there will be another form of training available. A fun and perfectly safe, kumite… ah, no, friendly spar!”

Hearing the word ‘spar’ I can see the expression of both Celestine and Isabella become even sterner. Good, operation cat and dog could be commenced.

“If I can, I actually wanted to have you guys stay here for a month for your early drills"

“But the princess’ chastity would be questioned"

"That is indeed the problem, thanks Kimberly. Anyway staying here is bad for you girls’ reputation, and going out of upper town area would also be bad so just come here every day. I'll train you into a decent fighter”

And thus, the training arc for the two girls (plus two entourage) begun.