Chapter 23: Physical Strength Improvement Program

"Lady Sonia. His Majesty the King is calling for you."

"Ah, really? Understood."

While munching on cookies and sprawled across my bed with a book in hand, I heard Kamina’s voice calling from outside.

The printing technology in this world is surprisingly advanced—mass production is possible thanks to movable type, and books are fairly affordable. The paper quality isn’t great, and color inks are limited, but even illustrated books exist to some extent. Lately, I’ve been devouring all sorts of them.

Personally, I’d love to read manga or light novels, but unfortunately, manga doesn’t exist here, and the novels tend to lean a bit too serious. Still, as someone who loves reading, having something—anything—to read is far better than nothing. So whenever I have free time, I dive into my books.

Heroic tales, romances… this world has plenty of those, too. I guess the essence of storytelling doesn’t really change from world to world.

"Lady Sonia! You’re eating sweets in bed again—crumbs everywhere! Such bad manners!"

"Come on, don’t sweat the small stuff, okay? ♥"

I gave her a playful wink.

Now that I think about it, I’ve been a lot more relaxed lately—maybe because the recent crises have finally passed—so I’ve spent more time lounging in bed, stuffing myself with sweets and sipping fruit juice.

And yet, despite all that, my figure hasn’t changed at all. Honestly, it’s kind of amazing.

If this were my previous life, living like this would’ve had me ballooning in no time.

It’s like… a regular pilot suddenly getting to pilot the latest Gund—uh, cutting-edge mobile suit. The body performance is just on a completely different level.

"Now hurry up and get dressed! His Majesty is waiting!"

"Yes, yes, I know."

Kamina’s tone was starting to edge toward anger, so I reluctantly got up, changed into a dress, and headed for the King’s office.

There are different levels of formality when meeting the King. The most formal audiences are held in the Audience Chamber, complete with the royal orchestra. For official but less ceremonial matters, the King’s office is used. For truly private affairs, he meets people in his personal quarters.

Since today’s summons was for a personal matter, I chose a simpler dress.

Before leaving, I glanced around my room.

The black cat, Berial, was nowhere to be seen.

Either he’d gone off somewhere to play—or was hiding again. Ever since I brought him to the palace, he’s come and gone as he pleases, so I have no idea what he does most of the time.

He really is like a cat—though, to be fair, he actually looks like one.

Apparently, Berial’s responsible for my personal security—dealing with any suspicious individuals and such—but I’ve left that entirely to him, so I have no way of knowing if that’s true or not.

Oh well.

With that, I made my way to the King’s office.

"It’s Sonia. Father, I’ve come as you summoned."

"Enter."

"Yes."

I slipped smoothly into the room.

My father, King Merkuma’s private office, was neatly organized, with all his documents carefully filed. Even to my modern sensibilities, it looked impressively functional.

Well, given how messy my room used to be in my previous life, maybe I’m not exactly the best representative of “modern humans.”

King Merkuma looks like a rugged middle-aged man, but he’s a capable politician and administrator—extremely efficient in his work. When he’s focused, he wears a small round pair of glasses perched on his nose, giving him an unexpectedly gentle air.

"Father, may I ask what this is about today?"

I bowed respectfully.

"Hmm. It’s about that special physical strength training program I mentioned before."

…Huh?

Isn’t that moving a little too fast?

It hasn’t even been a week since I heard about that whole “physical enhancement program” thing (see Episode 12)! Though, for readers, it’s probably been much longer since that chapter was uploaded, so maybe they’ve forgotten…

"Ah, um… so you were actually serious about that, and thinking it through… for my sake?"

"Of course! What parent wouldn’t worry about the health of their beloved daughter?"

I could probably find a few counterexamples if I looked at the broader world, but let’s not argue that point.

"So. I was thinking about who should serve as your instructor, when Postov came to me—begging to take on the role himself. So I’ve appointed him as your head instructor."

Postov—the captain of the palace guards who helped me during the escape at Gaikoko Fortress.

I’d heard he was retiring soon, so I guess he’s moving into a royal post now.

If it’s him, at least I won’t have to worry about any insane training regimens. That’s a relief.

"That’s a fine choice, Father."

"Indeed. However… Postov seems to hold you in a bit too much reverence, so I fear he might go too easy on you."

King Merkuma nodded sagely.

Wait, what? I want him to go easy on me! Regular training is plenty! I’d love to say that to his face.

"So, I’ve decided to assign an assistant instructor to support Postov. She’s been training under her father recently and has been improving remarkably."

Right on cue, Kamina entered the room, bowing politely.

Her lips were pressed into a firm line, her aura that of a demon instructor.

S-Scary…

"Then, Lady Sonia, I’ll be in your care."

"…P-Please go easy on me."

That was all I could manage to say.

"Lady Sonia, let’s begin."

"R-Right."

Still dressed in her maid uniform, Kamina stood before me—wielding two wooden swords, one in each hand.

Dual-wielding.

A long sword held upright in her right hand, and a slightly shorter one reversed in her left.

Father had once told me—repeatedly—that the Sugarcre royal family, Sonia’s lineage, descends from a line of warriors, and that even women are expected to practice martial arts as a royal duty.

Kamina had said she’d “go easy” on me, but facing her now, the sheer pressure radiating from her was overwhelming. Honestly… terrifying.

Lately, she’s been secretly training under her father, the Sword Saint Preverskin. Apparently, she’s inherited his secret techniques—some kind of hereditary combat art—and has even learned to use something like ki in battle. Thanks to that, her swordsmanship and fighting ability are on an entirely different level from ordinary soldiers.

"Haahhh—!"

For some reason, the wooden sword in Kamina’s hand was glowing.

Before I could even react, Kamina brought her sword down from a high stance, striking straight at me.

Technically, I’m a first-degree black belt in kendo from middle school.

I tried my best to block the direct strike.

Kamina, however, slightly pulled the sword back before bringing it down again. Her wooden sword struck mine and—like cutting through butter—it passed through effortlessly.

In my hands, what remained was a wooden stick split cleanly in two.

"That’s enough!"

Postov, acting as referee, raised a white flag.

Kamina was declared the winner.

The practice match was over in an instant. I hadn’t even managed to defend myself, and my wooden sword had been cut clean in half.

"Are you hurt, Lady Sonia?"

"T-Thank you. I’m fine."

Seeing the cleanly severed surface of the wooden sword sent a chill down my spine.

I was certain—melee combat is definitely not my forte.

After that, we practiced sword and spear swings, then moved on to archery.

"Wow! Your Highness, dead center!"
"Excellent work, Lady Sonia!"

During archery practice, I didn’t miss a single shot. Every arrow hit the target perfectly.

I suppose my two-degree black belt in kyūdō from high school still counts for something.

Yeah… long-range combat is clearly my specialty.

I’ll leave close-quarters fighting to Kamina and focus on shooting from the back lines.

Even in the SFC version of Tactics Ogre, archers were only strong when they were female characters.

I silently assigned roles for battle in my mind.

Finally, we wrapped up with some stretching exercises, marking the end of that day’s health improvement program.

I’m fairly flexible, so that part wasn’t too tiring.

Though, honestly… this program feels less like general “health improvement” and more like pure combat training. But when in Rome, do as the Romans do. I diligently went through the motions.

The next day, during the daytime, I resumed my studies under a private tutor.

Due to the recent chaos, lessons had been suspended, but originally, Sonia had a tutor assigned to her education. Now that things had settled down, it was time to return to a structured learning schedule.

In other words, my pampered free time was over.

"Now, Princess, please read this aloud."
"Alright… uh, let’s see… ‘Our ancestors, oppressed by the Ancient Magical Empire Ars Magna…’"

Under the guidance of my elderly tutor, I read aloud from the textbook without complaint.

The material recounted the traditional history of the western kingdoms: long ago, the Ancient Magical Empire Ars Magna ruled oppressively until the western nations rose in rebellion, waged a war of independence, and finally established their sovereignty. That’s the standard historical account taught here.

Later, the fallen empire became a domain ruled by demons—an evil world under the Demon King—while the western kingdoms stood as humanity’s final bastion.

Ah, that explains why everyone was so shocked when I brought out those gold coins from the era of the Ancient Magical Empire.

Still, I don’t remember this ever being mentioned in the games.

Is this a similar but alternate world? Or some hidden lore that was never revealed? I have no way of knowing.

After the reading, the tutor moved on to lectures about foreign nations, Sugarcre Kingdom’s agriculture and industry, and other essentials for governance.

Honestly, most of it was just long lists of regional specialties and who married whom. Boring.

Still, it was all new information, so I tried my best to memorize it as foundational knowledge of this world.

"Princess, you’ve changed! Have you turned over a new leaf?"

The visiting ministers, occasionally stopping by to check on me, seemed genuinely astonished to see me studying seriously.

I had suspected it all along: Princess Sonia had previously shown little interest in academics and was seriously lacking in education.

Her intelligence, it seemed, had always been… disappointing.

Well, I had noticed in the game that her dialogue had a surprisingly limited vocabulary. Maybe the writers were just being faithful to the setting. Probably.

Ah… such a pitiful child.

But I’ll change that image of Princess Sonia as a foolish girl!

A talented, beautiful, and intelligent princess.

And by her side, a loyal knight who will always protect her!

Wait… come to think of it, there are only disappointing men around me.

There isn’t a single pure, serious, handsome young knight type in the royal court.

…Oh well. I’ll appoint Kamina as my knight.

Would that look a little yuri to outsiders?

Ah, but she’s flat-chested—if I disguise her as a man, it might actually work.

Ah, whatever.

I smiled to myself as I listened to the tutor’s lecture.

The old man gave me a strange look, as if he were watching something incomprehensible.

Hey… quit staring at me like that.