After finishing my experiments, I decided to call it a day.
Tomorrow would be my last day of school.
"It's been a month… huh," I muttered quietly, staring at the ceiling.
It really had been a long month for me.
Too much struggle, just to barely survive.
Still, things were better now. At the very least, I could eat twice a day.
In the morning, after my exercise and magic practice, I only ate fruits. I wanted to eat meat again, but I hadn't seen any horned rabbits these days.
Can we even eat wolf meat in this world?
For now, I pushed that thought aside. I decided to eat my fill and take a proper rest.
At dawn, during my early run, I took my bag and deliberately filled it with stones. The weight pressed down on my shoulders as I adjusted the straps.
This way, I could train my muscles more efficiently.
The bag didn't feel overly heavy, around ten kilo,s but it was enough. Muscle strain would accumulate gradually when running like this.
After running, I did my usual routine: fifty push-ups, curl-ups, and sit-ups.
I was slowly working my way toward Saitama's workout routine… minus the baldness and overwhelming power.
I chuckled weakly to myself.
I found myself curious about what kind of quests awaited me at D-rank. For D-ranks, most adventurers formed parties. The strength gap between humans and monsters was simply too large.
Of course, that only applied when humans and monsters were of the same rank.
Naturally, adventurers ranked B and above could easily kill D- and C-rank monsters alone.
Battered and exhausted, I ended up lying flat on the ground near the riverbank, arms spread out as I stared at the sky.
All that training in anime and manga made things look so easy.
You just needed a few time skips, then..
"BAM!"
Suddenly, you'd become all-powerful, arriving with a cool entrance to save the day.
Meanwhile, here I was… out of breath from existing.
"Sigh…" I let out a weak sigh.
(I miss my cozy, lazy life.)
Working but only in moderation. After work, I'd lazily lie on the bed, sleep, eat, and then play on the computer. What a life that was.
While I was lost in thought, someone spoke.
"Sylvan."
I turned my head toward the voice.
"Oh, Sebastian," I said, pushing myself up slightly. "How have you been?"
"Well, everything's been fine," he replied. "I followed your advice. I didn't pursue Miss Erica directly. Instead, I helped the orphanage almost every day."
Sebastian went on to summarize what had happened.
He helped the orphanage with food, books, and donations. When he had time, he played with the children there. Before long, the kids started calling him big brother.
In such a short time, Sebastian grew attached to them. It wasn't forced; he genuinely wanted to help.
Miss Erica knew that they were talking. For now, she seemed somewhat skeptical of what Sebastian was doing, but the good thing was that she now spoke with him.
"That's good to hear," I said. "So what seems to be the problem?"
"Well…" Sebastian laughed awkwardly and scratched the back of his head. "How should I proceed now?"
I let out a sigh.
"Alright. I'll help you this time," I said helplessly. "But at least next time, make your own move."
Standing up, I raised a finger and said, "The next step is easy. Just continue what you've been doing. Don't tell her yet that you want to marry her or that you want a relationship."
I smiled faintly as I continued. "Relationships build naturally over time, even without you saying anything. Just keep helping her and the orphanage. Get closer naturally. Eventually, you'll see whether you really have a chance or not."
"She'll tell you everything through her body language."
"Body language?" Sebastian tilted his head, confused by the unfamiliar term.
"Yeah," I said, placing my hands on my hips. "It means you can sometimes understand what someone feels about you even without them saying it. Just by the way they act around you."
(Who would've thought? A virgin like me giving relationship advice.)
Though I'd had relationships before, I'd never gone past second base.
Afraid of commitment, maybe.
"Oh, thank you, Sylvan," Sebastian said sincerely. "That really helps. By the way, I have to go. My father asked me to do something in the forest. I just came by to ask you this."
"Of course you did," I muttered. "You people always appear, drop emotional bombs, then leave."
He gave a small bow and left politely.
"Oh well," I muttered. "Time for my bath… then mana circulation."
The bath was as cold as ever. The water sent a sharp chill through my body, making me gasp at first before slowly getting used to it.
During my mana circulation, the progress seemed steady. I could feel improvement, even if it was slow. Still, I hadn't experienced another mana expansion like the one that happened when Sebastian helped me.
My mana felt stronger, more stable, but there were no explosive breakthroughs.
For now, I was relying on what I'd learned and what I'd experimented with on my own.
I didn't know if this was the correct method or not, but if it worked, then it worked.
Soon enough, it was time for my last day of school.
When I entered the classroom, I froze.
A feast awaited me.
There was meat on the table, grilled, in soup, cooked in all sorts of ways. Everything looked appetizing, well-seasoned, and fragrant.
Oh heavens… what did I do to deserve this?
I felt like crying.
Whose birthday was it today?
I need to befriend that kid. If I do, I can join every birthday feast and eat like a king.
I let out my evil laugh before I could stop myself.
Miss Erica stared at me.
"…Are you okay?"
"Ahem," I coughed. "Sorry. Hunger-induced madness."
Miss Erica smiled warmly. "I received gold for the methods you taught me. Since you didn't want it, I decided to give you a graduation party instead."
"Oh, Miss Erica," I said sincerely, placing a hand on my chest. "You're truly an angel descended."
Then I noticed him.
Wait… I forgot his name.
Why does my mind keep calling him Gandalf?
"Good day, my lord," I said, bowing the way I'd copied from the librarian.
Lord Eldritch looked surprised.
"So, you've become a mage," he said. "You've grown a lot since we last met."
"That's nothing, my lord," I replied honestly. "Compared to you, my improvement is insignificant."
Now that I could sense mana, I knew better. This old man was not someone to mess with.
His aura radiated mana. Trying to sense it felt like staring at a mountain; no matter how much you climbed, you'd never reach the peak.
"I came to see how you were doing," he said, stroking his beard. "It seems you've exceeded my expectations."
He paused before continuing. "I have something to tell you, but I need you to come to my castle. Don't worry, there's no rush. You may come anytime."
"Thank you," I said. "I'll keep that in mind and visit soon."
I accepted the offer without hesitation. There might be opportunities there. Though I hated involving myself with nobility, if it was him, it was fine.
He had helped me a lot by buying items he surely knew were useless.
Without that initial help, I would have starved.
Thinking about the journey, based on the map in my memory, I would need to cross a village owned by the baron. A few kilometers beyond that stood his castle.
The village was a farming area, supplying fruits, vegetables, and wheat to this town. Excess produce was sent to the capital as tax and exports.
At first glance, one might think the town should be closer to the barony, but the positioning was strategic.
This town served as the first line of defense against monster attacks from the forest. The baron's castle stood as the final line.
"Good," Baron Eldritch said. "I'll be waiting."
He took his leave. As a baron, he had many affairs to attend to.
As for me?
Haaa…
I ate to my heart's content.
I feasted like there was no tomorrow. Properly seasoned meat, salt, pepper, and aromatic herbs.
I almost forgot what salt tasted like.
Now, I felt like all my suffering in this world hadn't been in vain.
Salt was expensive. The market was limited.
That was common in this era: if an item was scarce, prices skyrocketed.
Salt wasn't hard to find, but merchants deliberately sold small batches to control the market.
Hmm… I should get myself some salt.
I knew how to make it, but the problem was the sea. It was far away, and I'd need to cross the forest to get there.
Then there was the issue of monster attacks.
I'd leave that problem for another day.
"Congratulations on completing your studies," Erica said suddenly.
"It's thanks to your help," I replied honestly. "If not for your patience, I wouldn't have made it this far."
"No," she said, shaking her head gently. "It was all your hard work."
"Well… in any case, you helped me a lot too, so.."
(Oh crap. I don't know what to say here.)
I decided to leave it at that.
"If you're planning to continue your studies," she added, "I can recommend you to the capital."
"Thank you," I said. "But I'll have to refuse. I want to go adventuring for now. Still, I'll keep it in mind."
If things went south, I could always go to the capital, study, and maybe become a teacher.
That sounded like a stable life.
After the feast…
It was time for training again.