The Male Slave of House Sianella - Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Rehabilitation (2)

A month had passed since my master, Sione Sianella, truly began exercising.

When I first saw her, I thought she was something else, but now I'm surprised in a different way.

Sione hadn't missed a single day of exercise.

During the day, she did simple cardio and full-body exercises in her room at set times, and on the way to and from the archery range early in the morning, she took the long way around jogging.

I also asked the kitchen to reduce her usual portions and prepare foods that would help with weight loss.

Of course, I didn't eliminate meat dishes. With how hard she was working, she deserved at least that small reward.

Thanks to these efforts, the current Sione was markedly different from a month ago.

Gone was the pig who would stuff cookies into her mouth by the handful whenever she was awake before the diet.

Now I could see her sitting in her chair, leisurely munching on a single apple during breaks.

It was amazing how someone could change so much in just a month.

I felt rather proud thinking that I'd brought about this transformation.

Knock knock.

I knocked on Sione's door before slowly entering.

To my surprise, Sione, whom I'd expected to be sleeping, was sitting on her bed looking at me.

"You're here."

"Yes, why are you awake so early today?"

"Perhaps because I moved less yesterday, my body feels energetic. That might be why."

The Sione speaking now was no longer that ill-tempered round stone I'd first met.

If I had to describe her, she was like a stone block that a sculptor had just started properly shaping into human form.

Either way, she was steadily becoming more human.

Those who rarely saw her might not easily notice, but having pushed her every day, I could clearly see how she was changing bit by bit.

Moreover, lately she seemed to have noticed these changes herself—instead of just endlessly complaining, she'd started doing things without even being told.

This kid, I'm really proud.

I let a faint smile touch the corner of my mouth.

"Then we should increase your exercise intensity so you can sleep longer."

"...Stop talking nonsense. I think today's level is good—just enough to wake up feeling refreshed like this."

"We'll do that once you lose a bit more weight. Since you previously trained with the sword, your body seems to burn fat quickly, so it won't take long."

"If only you'd said this a month ago..."

"Pardon?"

"Never mind. I've already prepared to go out, so let's leave."

I followed Sione out of the room again.

We did light stretches.

Once, when Sione twisted her ankle during jogging, I thought I would die from exhaustion - having to practically drag her heavy form back.

After that, we never skipped warming up with stretches to prevent such incidents.

"The weather's gotten quite warm. It's not cold at this hour anymore—just pleasantly cool."

"It probably won't feel cool once we warm up properly."

"True enough."

We started jogging.

Going straight to the archery range would make the distance too short. So we went toward the garden first, then turned back toward the range.

"Huff... huff..."

Sione's steady breathing began to grow rough.

"Would you like to rest a bit?"

"Huff... I'm fine...! Hah... keep going!"

"Alright. Let's just slow the pace a bit."

Sione seemed to find speaking difficult and just nodded.

How long did we run, matching her pace?

Before we knew it, we'd arrived at the archery range.

The cool dawn breeze soothed her ragged breathing and streaming sweat.

It took a little time before her breathing eased and she started feeling better.

Looking to the side, I could see joy written across Sione's face.

"My body definitely feels lighter. Finally, today I managed to run all the way here without stopping."

"It was all possible thanks to your efforts, Lady Sione."

"Those words are appreciated. And..."

She hesitated for a moment, as if unsure what to say.

"Thank you for going through all this trouble, following along with me."

Wow, is this really the same person who threatened me not to bother her when we first met?

Her clearly changed attitude felt better and better the more I saw it.

"Don't worry about it. As I always say, I'm just doing what a personal servant should."

"Mm."

The atmosphere had turned awkwardly sentimental.

It felt uncomfortable to just stand there.

Sione seemed to feel the same, hurriedly turning toward the archery range.

"Ahem, let's head in quickly. We don't have much time for archery."

"Yes, understood."

Now familiar with the routine, we entered the range and each picked up a bow and arrow.

Sione took position in front of the target, and I claimed the spot beside her.

Somehow it had become our custom to start each day by checking each other's archery skills.

Sione glared at the target.

I too turned my gaze to the target she was focusing on.

Her target had recently changed from a wooden circular target to a scarecrow.

Her accuracy with the circular target had been excellent, and despite reduced archery practice time due to morning exercise...

Her daily improvement was quite impressive.

"Hmm..."

Sione drew her bowstring.

Perfect pinch draw and dead release form.

Her gaze and arrowhead aimed at the target about 50 meters away.

She was probably aiming for either the head or chest.

Following where her gaze and arrowhead pointed,

I could tell her ultimate goal, beyond just hitting the target, was to pierce between the eyes.

Twang!!!

The bowstring returned to position with a sharp sound.

As unnecessary tension left her arms, the bow tilted forward and her right arm drew back.

Her sharp gaze tracked the arrow's elegant arc.

Thud!!

The arrow struck.

"Ah..."

A disappointed exclamation escaped Sione's lips.

The arrow had missed between the eyes, landing lower and hitting the neck instead.

The result clearly didn't satisfy her.

"I aimed for the head again today but it slipped. It's more disappointing because it felt so good."

"No need to be disheartened. Didn't the scarecrow offer its neck instead of its head? If that had been an enemy soldier instead of a scarecrow, they would have lost their life instantly."

"The problem is that I need to aim for a soldier's head just to maybe hit their neck if I'm lucky."

"Time will solve that. It's already remarkable that you're making such complaints after only a month of archery."

"Well, I suppose it is quite impressive when I think about it."

"...You're insufferable."

"Hehe, I know."

While Sione giggled at her own joke, I set aside two arrows and shouldered the quiver containing three more.

She'd taken her shot, now it was my turn.

I grip the bow.

Not grasping it, but using the thumb pad above the life line to push out.

Then I immediately nock an arrow and draw.

Mediterranean draw, split finger—the arrow cut through the air smoothly with a sliding release.

The moment the arrow left, I shot the remaining arrow in my hand the same way.

Thud! Thunk!

The arrows struck the scarecrow's philtrum and near the right eye.

"Now the other points."

I drew an arrow from the quiver.

Nocking, drawing, and releasing in one motion.

Three movements sent three arrows into a single scarecrow.

In order: between the eyes, chest, and abdomen.

Each shot would be fatal in a real situation.

These were skills learned fighting Gate Murderers and humanoid monsters who prowled the Gates.

"...Your skill is unbelievable no matter how many times I see it. Are you really a man?"

"Of course. Should I unbutton my shirt to prove it?"

Flush!

My bold joke turned Sione's cheeks bright red with embarrassment.

I suppressed a laugh and bowed my head.

"I'm joking."

"...What a wicked sense of humor."

After that brief moment of play, we returned to practice.

Sione and I each shot at different scarecrows.

Twang!!

After releasing her arrow, Sione spoke up.

"I have a question."

I nodded readily.

"Is it really possible to take down an Expert knight with just an arrow?"

Sione looked down at the arrowhead in her hand.

"The arrowhead is small. It seems like the mana engraved in this small piece of iron would break rather than pierce a knight's defenses."

"After what happened to you a month ago, you're still asking that?"

"...I-I don't know, be quiet! Besides, I was just a Sword User, not an Expert...!"

Sione's face turned red.

When she's embarrassed, everything from her manner of speech to her face gives it away.

It makes teasing her quite fun, but.

I answered her question.

"Just pack the arrowhead and fletching with denser aura than the knight's, and shoot from beyond their sword's reach. What's difficult about that?"

"But this—"

"You only need enough speed that the knight's sword can't strike the arrow down, only deflect it. Eventually, among the deflected arrows they couldn't properly block, one will hit and leave the knight in tatters."

This was from experience.

I'd once taken down a Murderer who was an Expert level Hunter this way.

"..."

"Just keep working until you're stronger than the knights. What determines victory isn't the type of weapon, but the level of the wielder."

I released my arrow.

It embedded itself in the scarecrow's heart.

"If a sword can cut down an arrow, an arrow can pierce the sword's owner."

"Well... you certainly have a way with words."

Sione seemed to be mulling over my words, nodding her head and falling into thought for a while.

Then she slowly raised her bow again and began shooting quietly.

Her movements had become more decisive.

How much time passed like that?

Around when the cold wind began to fade, replaced by the breeze between late spring and early summer.

I started sensing something unsettling.

Though subtly hidden, something was definitely off.

"This doesn't feel right."

I immediately circulated mana to heighten my senses.

The vague oddness began taking shape.

And as it became clearer, my expression darkened.

"Oh great."

I could sense what seemed to be human presence outside the shooting range.

At this hour? Coming all the way to the range to watch us?

We'd never encountered anyone else practicing here at this time before.

This was when everyone should be deep in sleep, not an energetic time for sword or bow training.

The soldiers who'd been driven hard in training yesterday should normally be sleeping so deeply that even the world ending wouldn't wake them.

I quickly drew an arrow and moved to Sione's side.

"Hm? Why the sudden—"

As her voice echoed through the now-quiet range.

Heavy footsteps could be heard from the entrance.

And as the sound drew closer, what appeared to be a sword hilt at the waist came into view.

"...Do you have any visitors expected at this hour?"

"Visitors? You know well there shouldn't be any."

"Among those who might hold a grudge against you, can you think of anyone?"

"...Not really."

"Are you sure?"

Sione gave a small nod.

"Stay close to me just in case."

I drew my bowstring and aimed at where the unknown figure would appear.

Just in case.

Honestly, given Sione's poor reputation—though it had improved somewhat lately—it wouldn't be strange if there were one or two people who held ill will toward her.

After all the effort I've put into making this brat human.

Even setting aside my return to Earth.

If something went wrong and she died, it would haunt me forever.

"I'll protect you."

For now, I had to guard her.

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