Episode 04: Body Remodeling

「Off I go. Wait for me in expectation.」

I say my goodbyes to the people who came to see me off.
Around 20 people had come to send off Lucie and me.
Winter is coming in three months. If proper food is not procured, the already small stockpile of the Elf Village will dry up. The Fate of the Village hangs on the Supply Base Raid.

「If you do not return, I will say that you murdered the soldiers and ran away. By doing so, the support supplies would be received as usual. As for the three elves that the soldiers wanted, there will be an appropriate selection.
In the first place, do you really need to go with two people? You are probably going to die in vain anyways. Wouldn’t you rather spend the rest of your remaining life in this village? It would be preferable for the village itself to arrest the criminal.」

Village Chief Nije speaks while observing us.
We were not looked upon with kindness and hope. The reason is because I who murdered five soldiers is feared. Please stop me, should my power have been going to my head as feared.

「I do not intend to die, it is perfect with two people. Were you not watching when I instantly killed five people all by myself while wearing a collar?」
「But, aren’t there THREE HUNDRED people in the Supply Base?」
「That is not the purpose of this battle. I will escape as soon as the food is taken」
「a.s.suming you actually sneak in, how will you intend to carry everything？　How would one person carry the quant.i.ty we need by himself？」
「There is a very convenient magic for that. If I use it, I can take as much as one would like with one person. Just yesterday, I actually used it, the corpses of those guys are being carried by me. During the Raid on the Base, I intend to discard them. Time can be stalled for this way.」

These words are not a lie. However, it is not usable for the present me.
The me from a past could called by my unique magic, There is only one guy who could use such a convenient magic.

「Is it really possible to do that？」

The Village Chief is skeptical.
Although, I wonder if I should do a demonstration here, the unique magic is bad on energy efficiency, so there is a bit of a restriction. I can not waste it.

「It is true. Thus, after sneaking in, because I can just steal the food one after another with that magic, it will not be dangerous. 」
「……When did you get such a magic」
「Amazing！　Syril who looked as he were always unmotivated, was actually doing special intensive training in magic that was secret to everyone.」

My chest started to hurt in response to receiving the look of respect from Lucie and the hanging face of Nije.

「Oh Well」
「But, it looks like the problem is where the food is stored in the base. At that base, if there are a lot of soldiers, it may be hard to find in such a wide place.」

Lucie seems to have a slightly uneasy face.

「It is okay, everything will be alright. Because I was able to to get it out of the Human Captain with a small force of the hand, all of the necessary information has been a.s.sembled properly.」

With just both of his eyes crushed, I tortured the Captain who was kept alive expressively to elicit information from. Because there were many opportunities to this kind of torture and opportunities to receive it, I was relatively well experienced.
Of course, it is not experience of my own. It is experience that has been received from the voice.

Since that fellow embezzled taxes and sold illegally, I thought that the information would be spit out easily, he was strangely obstinate, my trouble increased from his efforts to survive through lies and deception making his words doubtful. When one is not accustomed to torture, and the nature isn’t rooted out, they would have been taken in by the false information.

Swordsmanship is first cla.s.s, Physical Ability reinforcement technique is of high skill as well, will power is also high, quick wits are in order too, a very capable person.
Therefore it was necessary to drive it in until it became crippled and broken, it was a pity to end up have to kill without reusing.

「To that extent……Syril, what exactly changed you there？」
「Syril has not changed. In the old days he was very diligent, only the old Syril that could do anything came back.」

To the the words of the two people, I returned a vague smile without saying anything.
Both of them are correct, and both of them are wrong.
And then, we left the village of elves.

While being rocked in a horse-drawn carriage, I was working on strengthening the body’s ability.
My body, the processing power of the brain is also poor, above all low physical ability.
Even though there are good eyes, it has become a useless treasure.

Now magic and close quarters combat both have significant restrictions, even in the best situation not even 30% percent of all one’s energy can be outputted.
The internal magic power 《Odo》 is pa.s.sed through the body. It enhances the electrical signals in the body, controlling it, spreading it throughout the body. Muscles in the whole body responds to the electrical signals that I made, the body bounces from convulsions.
An unbearable pain occurs, muscles continue to tear. And then the magic is stopped.

While blowing out a rough breath, the start of a new technique equation, by promoting the self recovery ability, the usual time of 24～48 hours for muscle restoration is done instantly.
In addition, a large amount of dried meat in the soldiers’ carriage are coveted and consumed for the replenishment of protein.

「Hey Syril, what did you do a while ago？　Your whole body suddenly went [bikun bikun], after that a feeling of comfort appeared on your face, and then a serving of meat was eaten repeatedly, honestly it’s sickening.」

Lucie, the one who became the coachman and is handling the horse, came to visit me who was in the carrier with a suspicious look.

「Intentionally, by implementing the destruction and reconstruction of muscle, through using the generation of forced super recovery, muscular strength can be reinforced in a short period of time.」
「I’m sorry, I don’t understand it at all.」
「I am only doing muscular training using magic. When you move your body a lot, the next day, would your body not likely become sore every time it moves Lucie？」
「Is it not just merely muscle pain？」
「So, muscle pain. That pain, it is caused when the muscle is torn. And so when recovering from moderately damaged muscle over time, the muscle that broke becomes stronger than before it was restored.」

The key part of what was said is moderation.
If too much load is applied, and if the muscle is damaged more than necessary, it will have an opposite effect.
In addition, it would be bad to take on a load when not fully recovered.

Therefore, even though it is difficult to restructure the body with intensive short term period training, if in the case of the method using my magic, muscle is built by an efficiency of several hundred times the normal, and it even chooses which muscle to strengthen, so as to not have wasted muscle in a location that would disrupt movement if it grows too big.

「bikun bikun, shaking your body and becoming stronger, so unfair.」 [TLN: In case you haven’t noticed, I am leaving the onomatopoeia alone. Occasionally I might put them in brackets, but usually I will leave it since it gets in the way of my notes and if the author ever uses them. That is why I use these ‘「」’ from the original text now instead of the parenthesis I was using in the beginning. I edited it out already, so you wont notice.]
「You are right. However, since it was equivalently painstaking to master this magic, the labor breaks even.」

To control the electrical signals inside of the body, very delicate magic manipulation is required.
I came up with this method, study of around 30 years was necessary before it could be used practically. Normal human muscles tend to be quicker with training.

「But, if it is just that you can’t build up any stamina.」
「If stamina is part of the cardiopulmonary function, that can also be trained in 24 hours It should be like this」

I spread it to the mana of the surrounding wind, the effective range of the magic is always moving to expand around Lucie.

「What is this, it is hard to breathe.」

Lucie’s face distorts with a painful expression.
After confirming it, I undid the ranged magic.

「I have purposely done that with a reason. Do you not have to run to train your stamina? After all that, the Oxygen…..the air creates a situation where it is not enough, and the reason is that it will train the ability to incorporate air. Therefore, by creating an environment where taking in air is strenuous the heart and lungs will be strengthened.」

The so-called High alt.i.tude training….the training is performed at an alt.i.tude of 2000～3000 meters where the oxygen is thin. It is useful for strengthening stamina.

「Sorcery raises the capability of other things as well, I am constantly invoking magic that would increase dynamic vision」
「Wow, was the Syril from the past only pretend to be lazy and really was training？　That is why, you who always seemed sluggish was actually working hard.」
「……That is right.」

I do not dare to deny the misunderstandings of Lucie, which has made her evaluation of me go higher.

「However, Syril is very good with magic. Since it is possible to fight just using that, is it even necessary to train the body so much?」
「It is. It is the physical strength and ability that says the last word. After all, the one who can run to the end survives on the battlefield. Magic is just a tool. It can be kept alive only after there is a body able to use it well」
「That is possible however, Syril has never been on a battlefield.」

Lucie thinks of what I said to be a joke, and mutters in a tone making fun of me.
I made a reply with a bitter smile.
The Battlefield, I have experienced it hundreds of times.

「Syril, I have a request.」
「What is it？」
「Teach magic to me.」
「That is not possible. The configuration is too complex, fine tuning is necessary for the control, it is too dangerous for an amateur to dabble with.」

A normal magician, only trace a prearranged spell formula, even then control will be fairly difficult. Therefore, they can use it with a certain degree of training.
However, these spell formulas are very delicate. Even I, a Magician with Ultra First Cla.s.s Talent, took decades to master it for the first time with all of the effort focusing on it.

「So, then I won’t be able to use magic on myself？」
「I will be fine, but why」
「Because I want to be strong too. I want to fight with Syril.」

Earnest feelings were put behind Lucie’s voice, it is not just a whim, the words transmitted carried resolution.

「Are you okay with that？　The fighting can be left to the men, and the women will be safe by guarding the home. Because I wanted a charge to watch the horse during the attack on the supply base, Lucie is not going to fight.」
「I hate being just the woman who has to wait. If I wait at the home and Syril dies, I would regret it for the rest of my life. I want to fight in order to survive with two people.」

Lucie truly is a strong child.
Yesterday, though I was about to be slain by a soldier, things are already starting to look positive.

「I understand, Let’s train Lucie. Though, you will have stay back and take care of the horse this time.」
「Is it useless for use to go together？」
「It is no good. This raid, it wont be easy if I am to be made to hold the baggage. I cannot afford to protect Lucie while following me.」
「I understand.」
「I do not insist on attacking.」
「Yes, I want to fight together to help Syril. I do not want to annoy you with selfishness like a child. But, I want to become strong right away, because I want to be able to fight together.」

I smiled. I am glad I am able to protect Lucie.

「Then, I will immediately use magic. Can you please say in advance when the pain makes you feel like dying？」
「……I have made the preparations.」
「Let’s change drivers since it will be dangerous.」

I switch with Lucie as the driver. I sit down next to Lucie while keeping the reins of the horse.

「It is necessary to have direct skin contact, will that be alright？　Since the center of the body is more effective, it would be preferable to place the hand on the heart」
「Okay. Because it is Syril」

I, with Lucie’s permission, placed my hand into the clothes, just above the heart, gently putting the hand on the left breast. The soul which is the basis of magic is believed to dwell in the heart. For this reason, it was an essential magic activation process to use on her body. ……To tell the truth, the back is also fine。[TLN: ……..]

Lucie’s chest sinks softly into the hand. Surprisingly large. C cup likely. [TLN: C cup in j.a.pan is different than in America.] Lucie looks smaller underneath her clothes. I had certainly thought that is was about B.
The moment my hand touched, Lucie’s body winced and trembled.
Pure tension not from the influence of magic. It may not have been accustomed to being touched by a man.

An electrical signal made from magic with a prearranged arrangement sinks in to a.n.a.lyze the structure of Lucie’s body.
Transmission speed, reaction speed, state of the muscles all in the present. Everything flows.
Based on it, I made changes to the original spell formula for myself.

「Here I go. Lucie」
「Bring it, Syril」

And then I activated the magic.
Rather than supply the electrical signals from the outside, while interfering with Lucie’s brain to contract the muscles at Lucie’s will, I strengthened the signal which she made herself by giving magic.
If the same thing were to be done from the outside, Lucie’s skin would be burned to ashes to get the same signal.

「Syril, What, is this, So Strange」

While her whole body quivers, a blushing crimson faced Lucie lets out a voice. After the rest period, I gradually increase its strength. Lucie’s body jumps.
It is somewhat erotic. When a man does it one can only feel disgusted, but is it so different when it is a beautiful girl.
For approximately 5 minutes, I continue at regular intervals.

「Yes, it is over.」
「n, ……」

Lucie lets out a breath while in an absent-minded state.

「Try to move your body.」
「I’ll try to, it hurts~tsu」

Lucie screams as she tries to move her muscles.
Seemingly suffering from whole body muscle pain properly. The condition muscle damage is ideal.

「Well, the next step is healing」

With those words, the muscles were forcibly restored by strengthening the self-healing power of Lucie.
Lucie’s expression had a wry smile with a peculiar sensation.

「Does your body still ache？」
「No, I am entirely okay」
「Then, I am glad. This will be done 3 times a day, for every day. By doing so, it will become closer to the most optimal body. However I will say this for the time being, absolutely do not try and do it yourself. okay?」
「I understand. Even if I wanted to, I wouldn’t be able to」

When done on its own, it is dangerous, even if it goes well, useless muscles will be gained, when Lucie’s abs are cracked I cry.

「At the same time, eat meat」

I pa.s.sed the dried meat to Lucie.

「Why？　I am not hungry？」
「To restore the muscle, I use the nutrients contained in meat。 If you do not eat meat, there would be not much use for this magic」
「It is okay, precious food, you use it」
「It is okay. It is what you need in order to become stronger. If you become stronger, the success rate of the operation will go up, and the possibility of delivering food to the village will rise.」
「Okay。 I’ll eat it.」

Lucie softens the hard dry meat with saliva as she eats it little by little.
It is so cute, just like a small animal.

「After when you are free, look at that while staying here。 Only use your eyes without moving the neck」

I pointed to the black sphere that is floating in the sky.
It is a sphere made with magic in order to enhance dynamic vision.

「Ugh, it is quite difficult」

Lucie growls.
The black sphere while maintaining a constant distance, flies at a moderate speed drawing a figure eight.
Lucie’s eyes are not following it.

「If it is difficult, stare at it strongly, and then a curse will make it forcibly chase it by itself, because it is over at the black sphere。 The curse will be released when I say 『Tsukamae Ta』[TLN: Captured], you should continue until the eyes start to hurt.」
「Oh, easy, but my eyes are very much tired」
「It is training。 However, dynamic vision will be considerably trained if done every day。 If you want to be strong, it is one of the most important things」
「Is that which was devised is why Syril is so strong？　All of the others , running around in the forest, practice swinging a sword, even if done normally would become stronger」
「Because there is no time。 To become strong in the obvious way, we need a long amount of time. I have to do it in another way as compromise. Therefore, all of the things will be done with magic, the reason is due to the fact that you want to do it within the remaining time」

The life of people is short. I know it all too well.
For example, even if the next exists, I am only in this era once. Such a foul technique is required in order to live this version of me without regret.
Sportsman said three hours of training is necessary to only maintain muscular strength. I do not have that sort of time.

「The thing that you like to do……what is the thing that Syril wants to do？」
「That is right, I want to flirt with the cute Lucie. Return to our house, eat delicious things together, and laugh together.」
「Mou, saying such jokes。 It is possible to do that anytime.」

Lucie puffs her cheeks while chasing the black sphere with her eyes.

「It is not a joke. I am serious now, I think that is my goal to be able to live happily with Lucie.
Therefore, ensure the food for everyone of the village to last beyond winter, Repelling the soldiers from the empire that comes to attack the village, and from the next year for the village to be self sufficient。 Besides, even without me, I want everyone in the village to be able to drive away the large crowds of soldiers at anytime, I want to give this standard of living to whole other villages.」

This is a challenge I will rise to meet.
When I subdivide it in order to realize it, it seems there is going to need a lot more things.
This, the lowest condition if to live with Lucie and the two of us laughing together.
Therefore, no matter how much time it is insignificant.

「That is commonplace so far. If the village was not ruled over by humans, by now, living normally, would you have married？」

In the Elf village, it is possible to get married at the age of 14.
The both of us are 14 years old. Certainly it would not be so strange.

However, it would not be allowed in the village as it is now. I killed a soldier for Lucie, and then I picked a fight with the empire. Like that I, will not be able to live an ordinary life with Lucie.

「Lucie I wish for you to accept my proposal。 Even though I say that now, if all of the problems get settled I will propose. Please think about the answer.」
「Wait a minute, Syril, to suddenly say such a thing」
「Even though it was said so suddenly, how much time would you think would be enough？」

I feel awkward, it is frustrating, while looking at Lucie whose expression changes like a spinning object, please say something, I broke the conversation by changing the concentration to controlling the horse。