He was relaxed, unlike Elise, who sat on her horse with shackled hands. The Traveler was in a wheeled cage with a wooden floor and ceiling, and a metal fence around it. Originally made for transporting medium-sized monsters, the officers who arrested them had bought it from a town merchant. He had lain there without a care since they set out, under the disapproving looks of the Investigation Bureau officers. There were fifteen of them in total: four in the front, four in the back, and five spread around the cage and Elise. All were on horseback, except their captain, who drove the cage cart. An additional officer had already been sent ahead to inform the Capital of their arrival.
They had lent Elise a horse; she was still considered a noble, but she remained under tight control. Two officers stayed at her side at all times, her horse tied to theirs. She could jump down and make a run for it. It would be a good opportunity to test her current condition against the horses. Not that she would actually run—they were already halfway to the Capital—but there was no harm in thinking about it.
The past two weeks had passed quickly. Summer was nearing its end; the sun still burned during the day, but the nights were growing chilly. They took the fastest route, stopping only when necessary. The Northern Region's mountainous and forested roads were harsh, but they had finally reached the main road.
After that, it was mostly the green moors of the inner lands. The road was filled with merchants and adventurers headed in the opposite direction. Everyone looked at the cage the Traveler lay in. Thanks to him, no one paid attention to Elise. She did not expect anyone to recognize her, but there was always a possibility, like that Landa boy she had rescued in the Malargo Forest.
Even though they were arrested, the Investigation Bureau members treated them well. They treated Elise well, at least. They took her equipment but offered warm food and let her sleep around their campfire. But they never let the Traveler out of his cage. They didn't let them speak for more than a few sentences at a time. Their longest conversation occurred on the second day of their arrest.
It was a cold morning in the forest. Their group was already on the road by sunrise. Elise had not closed her eyes the whole night. She was still disturbed by their arrest. She knew the Traveler was also awake; she had never seen him asleep before, but didn't dare speak with him in case of a misunderstanding. He must have thought the same thing.
"Is something bothering you?" the Traveler asked as they continued on their way. He didn't even open his eyes to look at her. He still lay on his back, hands behind his head, legs crossed.
"I don't know if you noticed, but we have been arrested!" How could he be this carefree?
"Come on! It's not that bad. It's not like we are sentenced to death or something." He opened his eyes and looked at one of the officers at his side. "Right?"
The officer didn't meet his eyes but answered after a brief moment. "You are accused of insulting the Royal Family, so you will be taken to the Royal Court to receive punishment as they see fit."
"See!"
Elise's irritation was visible, but he didn't stop there. Of course, he had to drag it out.
"I thought your backstory was something like a family drama, so I let you keep it to yourself. But dumping the 'Heir of the Kingdom' right after the engagement... I was not expecting that." He laughed as hard as he could, drawing angry glances from their escort. Ever since they were caught, he had occasionally laughed about this topic.
"That is enough!" The captain of the Investigation Bureau hit the cage's fence with his fist. "I will not tolerate any more insults toward the Royal Family. Keep your mouth shut, or I will carry out your punishment myself before we arrive at the court."
"Okay, okay," he said, obviously trying to hold himself back. "That aside, let's use this free time to our advantage. How about a thousand reps a day for each exercise this time, with everything you have, of course."
"A thou– what!? How am I supposed to do that in this situation?" Was he out of his mind... again?
"You have mornings, noon breaks, and before sleep. You have plenty of time." His mind seemed already set. Elise knew there was no escape. She wanted to complain, but it was not the time for it.
"So, how will you spend your time to your advantage?" Elise asked, grinding her teeth.
"I will lie down and rest, of course." He lay on his back, resting his head on his hands. That was the last straw.
"YOU–"
"DIDN'T I SAY ENOUGH!?" Their captain raised his voice again.
After that, they didn't talk much during the two weeks they traveled, but she did what he said. At first, a thousand reps a day looked doable. She had no equipment on, only her gambeson and leather pants. The gravity was nothing compared to the other Realm.
The first hundred reps went fast, but as she neared two hundred, her whole body started to burn from the inside. She had never used Energy this frequently before, and the significantly lower Energy density in this Realm made it even harder.
She had always used bursts of Energy to boost her movements, trying to finish every battle as fast as possible. Now she realized none of her battles lasted longer than a hundred reps would take. Maybe that was the whole purpose of her training: to condition her body for the continuous usage of Energy.
At noon, she started burning after a hundred, and at night, she couldn't even reach a hundred. It was embarrassing, especially with all the Bureau officers around. She saw some of their disapproving glances; 'a Lady shouldn't be doing these kinds of things,' they communicated with those looks. But the most disturbing thing was that she felt inadequate.
She thought she had improved a lot, but apparently, it was not enough.
After the past two weeks of traveling and training, she reached six hundred reps at the end of the day, which was far below her goal and much harder than she had expected.
They still had a long way to go; she had ten days left. After all that humiliation, she was not going to give in. It was not about her self-esteem, and definitely not about the Traveler's approval. She needed to show everyone how strong she had become since she left. That was the whole point of going back home: to convince her father and shove it in her mother's face.
Going back home triggered all kinds of memories. She remembered the loving smile and kind eyes on her father's dignified face, and the disapproving looks from her beautiful mother's cold eyes. The relaxing training sessions with the house guards and their captain, her previous master, and the distant, gossiping housemaids laughing at her every move.
She shook her head, trying to focus on the road. It was empty; it had been a couple of hours since they last saw another group. Her eyes wandered to the Traveler in his cage, making her think about her training. Over the past two weeks, she had sometimes questioned the routine. Why was she doing these specific moves? Even though he could be annoying sometimes, there was no denying the results. The Traveler's methods were working. That was why she never questioned him and did what he said. But what exactly was the reasoning behind her extraordinary growth? She decided to ask this time.
They camped atop a hill next to the main road. The surrounding area was filled with grassy hills, ensuring they could spot anyone approaching from afar. When it was time for her training, she approached the cage and asked the Traveler.
"What exactly is the point of this training?" As she got close, the stationed guards tensed up, watching them closely. "Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining; it works really well for me. But I realized I never asked the reason for these specific moves. You said it was about destroying and reforging large muscle groups, but is there any other purpose?"
The Traveler sat up and scooted closer to the iron bars. He didn't seem disturbed by the guards next to them. "The main goal is to ready your body for the difficulties of 'Traveling'. I needed to find the fastest way that would suit you."
"You're a sword fighter, right? And an agile one at that. So, you need speed, mobility, and strength. The push-ups are for upper body strength, letting you swing your sword with more power. The squats are for your leg strength, letting you run and dodge as long and fast as possible. Also, a sword's strength comes from the legs too, not just from your arms and chest. Am I right, Luisey?" He turned toward one of the guards, who didn't answer.
"Lastly, the crunches are for the lower body, which acts as the core for all your body's rotational movements. Again, speed, mobility, and strength. These attributes are essential not only for a sword fighter, but for anyone going against physical hardships."
He finished his lecture with a wide smile. Once again, Elise was impressed by this mysterious man's knowledge. Did he know everything about the human body? Maybe she should ask for lessons about what he called 'anatomy'. But should she really do those a thousand times every day? The continuous Energy use burned her from the inside. If she stopped, her muscles would give up instantly.
The Traveler continued as if he heard her thoughts. "You already have some basic sword skills. I wanted you to focus on continuous muscle and Energy usage. Your body is still unrefined; you need to get used to hard work and temper your body with Energy."
He looked to his right, toward the distant hills. "And I think you will get to practice it sooner than you think."
Elise followed his gaze and looked to her left. There was nothing at first, but then a man on horseback showed up on top of the closest hill in that direction. He wore crude half-armor on his muscular body and a helm that covered his face. More people followed him.
They were on foot, wearing one or two pieces of worn-out armor over rags. Almost everything about them screamed bandits. She looked at the closest officer to warn him, but it was not necessary. The officer on watch was already alert.
"BANDITS!"