A World of Reversed Roles
...Simply put, this Journey member comes from another world.
To return to where she belongs, she will need the power of the Stellar Archive.
That's what I was told.
If it were up to me, I'd rather penetrate the dimension surface on my own, but...
Considering the fact that I am currently ███, that seems difficult.
Then I—
Huh? You're awake?
If you're up, stop dawdling and get up. For a young one, you sleep far too much.
Where am I...?
You're hardly in any position to be asking that.
We're at the training grounds.
As I looked around, the haze in my head cleared a little.
I remembered saying that Hilde would need training as well, for the sake of the [Journey]...
You never look entirely fine to begin with, but today you seem particularly unwell.
I shook my still-clouded head.
Plans could be canceled for a member feeling under the weather. Not for the Captain.
There's no need for me to comment on your decision. Very well.
Alright. Then today's training will be—
Running will do.
It is the simplest and most effective way to build stamina.
Thanks to the device attached to her back, Hilde moved with incredible agility in actual combat.
...To the untrained eye, she could easily be mistaken for a goddess of the battlefield.
In any case, quick footwork was essential in combat. But for Hilde, it was only a secondary factor.
You look troubled.
There's no need to overthink it. Training works best when you empty your mind and let it sink into your body.
...!
Maybe I had the wrong idea about Hilde after our somewhat extreme first meeting. Would she really follow the [Journey] to its end?
Despite her blunt manner, she seemed genuinely willing to see the [Journey] through.
Good. You're quick to understand.
Then let's go somewhere else.
Huh? Why?
There is a better place for [training] than this.
Follow me. It's not far.
And so, setting aside minor concerns, the training began...
With us being chased by an extremely furious monster!
This is not a good place to train at all!
What are you talking about? Practical training is the more effective form of training.
Incantations and rituals are far less efficient than situations where your life is on the line.
That one appears to be the mate of the monster I hunted last time.
I heard it has been threatening anyone it spots around this area ever since I completed that quest.
Perhaps it's trying to avenge its partner.
You still have the energy to argue, don't you?
In battle, slow feet mean falling behind, and falling behind means death.
You're not planning to ask your opponent for mercy in the middle of a fight, are you?
That way of thinking is too extreme!
I'm merely stating things as they are.
That said, you have improved noticeably compared to the start.
You're not entirely hopeless.
That's the first good thing I have heard all day...
I was about to respond when a thought suddenly crossed my mind.
What are you talking about?
Training exists to compensate for one's weaknesses.
What do you think you need most in order to overcome what lies ahead?
No, it's your stamina. Not vague nonsense like that.
I have no intention of playing instructor, but is the [Journey] something you can attempt in such a half-awake state?
That's...!
You were bedridden, so rehabilitation is necessary.
Stop complaining and focus on running.
You're calling a life-or-death escape rehabilitation?!
The moment I shouted that...
My legs gave out, and I tripped over a rock, collapsing to the ground.
Oof!
As the monster lunged toward me, Hilde's blade came crashing down with a sharp flash of steel.
*Sigh...*
Its hide is thicker than the one I hunted before.
Are you injured, Captain?
...That would be an illusion. Most likely from dizziness.
We'll stop here for today.
Go rest in the shade for a bit. I'll bring some water.
I don't even have the strength to make it to the shade...
Whether she heard me or not, Hilde's footsteps faded into the distance.
Maybe she's just really gung-ho about hands-on, practical training...
At the time, I brushed it off with that simple thought.