With Nia's diet issues resolved, the girl started showing more perkiness during practice. At least, more than the absolute minimum she showed before…
"I-I can walk to the station on my own this time, I think…" Nia wobbled after the workout. She didn't force Yuel to carry her this time around, but her stability didn't inspire much confidence.
"Hey, watch out-" BAM! It was too late.
"Uuuu…!" Nia wobbled straight into a streetlight. "Gufu... I'm officially dead now."
Yuel sighed. "I see your muscles are taking their sweet time to develop. Are you sure you're eating enough now?"
"Yep, pretty sure," Nia reported. "I bring a sandwich to school now, and I even eat dinner every day. Like, I dunno how mom did it, but suddenly there's food! It's almost unreal!"
Yuel smiled wryly. "This thing you call 'unreal' is actually standard for most families."
"Maybe. But for me, the change is crazy! It's like day and night," Nia said. "Does your mom have mafia connections or something? Is that how she's smuggling all that food? Scary."
"Yeah, right." Yuel rolled his eyes. "My mom isn't even the one supplying the food."
"Oh, really? I thought she had some big part in that or something."
"From what I understand, she referred your mom to some services that support families with monetary needs."
"Heh, expect the mom of a Support player to know about support services." Nia chuckled. "Anyways, yeah, things are now fine in terms of food. Though I still wouldn't mind a pizza every once in a while."
"Sure, I can order you another pizza," Yuel said. "That is, after I see you take your training to the next level."
Nia squinted her eyes in suspicion. "What next level?"
"Until now, I've been letting you skip club practice on the days you exercise. But that's not the way it should be. You're supposed to be able to do both."
"........" Nia stared at him with a blank face for a while. "Ok, I'm going home. Bye."
"Hold it right there, young lady!" Yuel grabbed the wobbly troublemaker before she slipped away. "You can't keep running away from this. There isn't much time until the regionals, so you don't have the luxury to miss any training days. You have to both practice Classmancers and exercise."
"This is child abuse. I'm calling the police."
"Didn't you say you want to defeat Apprentece?"
"Uuu..." Nia groaned. "I want to, but…"
Seriously, combining that already exhausting club practice with exercise? On the same day? Impossible. Too hard. No way.
"For reference, Lars, Kai, and I - we all do it."
"You're a bunch of tryhards." Nia twisted her lips. Then again, they ARE kinda the best players on the team...
"... ok, I'll give it a try." Nia sighed in resignation. "But, I'd better get that pizza reward, tho."
"Sure, no problem."
"Yay..." And so, Nia subjected herself to even further torture. Most likely, even real professionals didn't train as hard as she did! Scary.
As expected, the first day was the hardest. Yuel dragged Nia to exercise one hour after club practice was over. There wasn't nearly enough time to rest in between. It was Sparta!
"Uuu..." Nia wobbled as she pushed herself to complete the routine. Her brain was fried from the intense Classmancers training, but she nonetheless urged her legs forward.
"You're too close to the road." Yuel pulled the troublemaker away before she wobbled into the highway.
"Gufu…" Nia responded vaguely to the fact that she nearly died. Her brain was too foggy and her body too exhausted. She barely processed what was going on around her.
Seriously, this girl always finds new ways to cause trouble. Yuel sighed. But, at least she's putting in the effort. I guess I can reward her for it.
Despite the occasional complaints, Nia successfully finished the exercise. "I'm ded." She collapsed on the ground. "Carry me."
"This again?" Yuel spat a sigh. "Okay, fine..." Looks like while Nia is training her stamina, I'll be training my muscles. Fun...
"Ugh...!" Yuel somehow managed to carry the oversized baby all the way to the bus station. As always, his muscles protested this unhealthy exercise, but what choice did he have?
In the end, Yuel finished the escort mission successfully. He delivered Nia home, where he rewarded her with pizza for her hard work.
This almost feels like training an animal. Yuel sighed. Well, as long as it works.
The pizza did wonders for the troublemaker's motivation. In the next session, she already complained far less and showed more stability. Nonetheless…
"Carry me pls." Some things didn't change. Oh well.
Slowly but surely, Nia was getting used to the routine, and the effects of the training were bearing fruit. Nia was now sleeping less and less in the afternoon. It was no longer a mandatory daily ritual, though she still caught a nap here and there.
We still haven't solved the entire issue, but I'll take it. Yuel conceded. This is already far better than before.
As the days went by, it was now time for Stratus' third scrimmage...