vol. 4 Prologue: The Running King

—20th Day, 11th month, 1546th year, Continental Calendar — Royal Capital Parnam

The temperature had gotten just a little chilly on this clear day in a temperate

autumn.

Fall is said to be the season for eating, for reading, and for art; but for me, right

now, fall was the season for sports.

"Come on, three more laps! Lift those legs more! Focus on your leg biceps!" Owen

bellowed.

"Urgh..." I groaned.

I had been running laps around the castle guards' training grounds for more than

half an hour while my advisor and educator, Owen Jabana, shouted at me with his

throaty voice. For some people that might not seem like much, but for an indoorsy

guy like me, it was pretty tough. If I had been taking it at my own gentle pace, it

would have been easy, but as I stumbled along, I was subjected to Owen's

overbearing encouragement.

"Gahaha! Muscles will never betray your hard work!" he hollered. "They say a

healthy mind resides in a healthy body! Surely healthy politics reside in the body of

a healthy ruler, too! Now, test your limits! Torment your calf muscles!"

"I-I'm not into... tormenting myself..." I managed.

Ever since I had put Owen in charge of my education, he had taken to dragging

me out to the training grounds whenever there was time. Then I would be subjected

to a training menu of running, practice swings, mock battles with Owen, and more.

The goal was to train me up to the same level as a lance corporal, apparently.

With the running finished, I collapsed and lay with my back on the ground.

"A-Are you all right? Sire?" Aisha sounded concerned as she offered me a towel.

"I-I seriously think... I'm gonna die." When I said that as I accepted the towel and

wiped the sweat off, Owen laughed it off.

"I have a firm grasp of when it would become dangerous, so you'll be fine. I've

learned how to work off your excess energy these past few days. You should be good

to run another ten minutes."

"Have some mercy already... I've got duties to attend to after this," I muttered.

"You won't be moving then, so how about you rest your body while you do your

administrative work?"

"I'm asking you to give me a break because I'll get sleepy if I do that!" I snapped.

Admittedly, even if my main body fell asleep, the portions of my consciousness

that were partitioned into my living poltergeists would remain awake, so it would

only be a loss of one man's worth of work power; but this still really wore me out.

"Um, sire? If this is so hard on you, perhaps you shouldn't push yourself..." Aisha

said, concerned.

However...

"Physical training is important," Liscia said flatly. She had arrived at some point.

"We need Souma to stay healthy. Besides, Souma doesn't mind it as much as he lets

on."

"What? Is that true?" Aisha asked.

"Souma lived with his grandfather in his old world, right?" Liscia asked. "I'd say

the reason he doesn't give up, even with all his whining, is that Sir Owen reminds

him of his grandfather, don't you think?"

"...Well, that may be part of it," I admitted.

When I saw the cheerful old man, I couldn't help myself... you know. My grandpa

wasn't a muscle-bound macho man like Owen, but it was true that this reminded me

of old times.

"So, did you come here to see me about something, Liscia?" I asked.

"Oh, right," she said. "Hakuya was looking for you. He said something about an

important report."

"I see..." I said. "You heard her, Owen. You'll have to let me off now."

Owen shrugged his shoulders in resignation. "Very well, then we'll continue once

you've finished listening to that important report."

"You're planning to keep going, huh...?" I found the energetic old man's eagerness

a little exhausting.

When I went back to the governmental affairs office, Hakuya was waiting for me

with a composed look on his face.

"Is the report about the clandestine operation we discussed?" I asked.

Hakuya bowed politely. "Yes. The work is proceeding apace. It's going smoothly...

I suppose you could say."

"Hm? Is there something bothering you about it?" I asked. I felt like there was

something off about the way he'd said that.

Hakuya took on a pensive look. "I find it has been going a little too smoothly. I feel

as though there's a hand other than ours at work. If there is, it's possible to imagine

a situation where the result turns into something we didn't expect."

"I'd like to avoid any surprises, but... it's too late to stop now," I said.

"Indeed."

No matter how much my clever vassal and I schemed, the situation never went

quite as we envisioned. In the earlier war, unforeseen happenings had been

guaranteed to come up. That was why we always had to be prepared. So that, no

matter what result awaited us, we could react.

"We can't make changes to the plan," I said. "Move forward cautiously while

keeping a careful eye on the situation."

"Understood." Hakuya bowed.

I stretched my arms wide. "Well, then... guess I'll get back to the training grounds.

If I take too long, Owen won't let me hear the end of it."

"For all your complaining, you're still going back for more, I see." Hakuya rolled

his eyes.

I laughed wryly and said, "Well, I guess you could say I'm preparing for any

unforeseen happenings."