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The following day, class began in earnest.
According to our schedule, the first class was meant to train basic physical fitness.
We changed into athletic clothes in class and gathered on the playground, it was then that we became self-conscious for the first time.
The playground is shared with the Adventurer’s School, so you can see their students on the other side of the square.
Cortina came out and started warm-ups with a whistle in her mouth.

Letina and I started doing calisthenics alongside each other.

“Whoa, Nicole you’re so limber.”
“Yeah, I want to stand on the front lines.”
“The vanguard? You don’t want to be a mage?
“Right. I want to be a Magic Swordsman.”
“That’s a lofty goal, isn’t it.”

A Magic Swordsman has to be proficient with both magic and swordsmanship. Otherwise, both skills will be half-baked. I experienced in the past what happens when parties become unbalanced because of inferior skills.

“Yup, but I’ll do my best.”
“I won’t fall behind either.”
“Hey now, you there. Don’t hurt yourselves while you’re busy talking.”

Cortina seems more gleeful than when she was at home despite sounding heartless.
That reminds me, she really enjoyed herself playing with the kids at the orphanage. Meanwhile, I just got played by the kids.

“Well then, next, do three laps around…”
“Whaaa!?”
“Teach, you’re a monster!”

The students started raising complaints one after the other, but it was pointless. Three laps around the large playground would be well over a kilometer.
For younglings, it’s a tad extreme for an exercise.

“It’s fine, this is to measure your physical fitness. Besides, this class is about physical fitness, isn’t it? No pain no gain.”
“Demooon!”
“Deviiil”
“Sorry but I’m a cat lol! Now, get going!”
“”Ugggh!””

The students started running while screaming. Me and Letina started running along with them.
But anyway, I was training my body almost every day in the village. Like I’d lose out to some flimsy mage children.

Yeah, there was a time I actually believed that.

“Zehiuu, hahiiuu”
“Hold on, it hasn’t even been half a lap…. Are you ok Nicole?”
“Im, fu, faiiin”
“But no matter how I look at it, you don’t look fine…”

I was following the other students closely for the first hundred meters, but by the two hundred meter mark I had stalled out.
This was a clear indication that my stamina was insufficient. By the way, the other students left me in their dust a long time ago.

During the battle against the kidnappers, I held out longer. Apparently, exercise that consumes stamina constantly is my natural enemy.
During that time, I managed to fight while repeatedly holding my breath and movement when possible, but in a marathon I’m forced to keep burning my energy.
That being said, since I have scant physical strength I can’t keep moving for a long time.
Even so…. Isn’t this a bit too fast?

“With this you’re aiming to be a Magic Swordsman…”
“I, I’m, fa, fine. It’s still… my body, can keep… oof”
“Wa, Wait! Teacher… over here! Nicole gives! Immediately! We need a medic asap!?”

I just barely managed to gulp a sparkly liquid threatening to rise from the pit of my stomach back down.
As you’d expect, it was a matter of my dignity as a human being.
However, the exertion robbed me of my last remaining bits of stamina, making me lose all hope of accomplishing this impossible task.

“Ah, this…”
“Whoa whoa, wait, Nicole!”

Letina did her best to support me, but we were still little kids so we fell onto the ground in a tangled mess and I lost consciousness.

When I next came to, I was lying in the infirmary.
Looking around me, I saw a shelf with a great deal of potions and could smell the faint odor of alcohol used as disinfectant.
Sitting in front of a desk installed by the window was a woman in a white robe.

“Oh, you’re up?”
“…mmph, Thank you. I’m sorry for the trouble.”
“While I appreciate the polite thanks… honestly, I never would’ve imagined a student collapsing in the first class of the day.”
“I’m very sorry.”

Most likely she’s a health instructor. She came up to me and took my wrist to check my pulse.
Judging by the nametag on her white robe, her name’s Tricia. She’s easy on the eyes but for some reason doesn’t stick out.
Maybe if she did something with her hair?

“Hmm… It’s a bit fast. Is it always like that?”
“Yes. It’s a bit fast normally.”
“Is that so. You should probably keep working out.”

My pulse is a bit faster than most kids my age, and currently, my body temperature is a bit high.
Dr. Tricia’s cool hands feel nice to the touch.

“But honestly, that Cortina, I swear. Pushing a student to the point of collapse, how unreasonable can you get.”
“This is my body’s fault for being so frail. It’s impossible to instantly grasp everyone’s physical limits.”
“You know some complicated words. Well, I guess it’s fine this time.”

True she shouldn’t be able to grasp the other student’s limits instantly, but given we’ve been living together, it’s strange for her to overlook my condition.
Such a thing never happened last time.

“Hm… Why’s that?”
“Well, thanks to her I got to look at your cute sleeping face.”
“Mmmm….”

As a former man, I have some reservations about being called cute by a beauty in the prime of her youth.
But well, I guess I’m pretty used to it after hearing Lyell and Maria tell me so often.

Next, she opened my gym clothes to examine my chest with her stethoscope.
The cold metal felt pleasant on my overheated body.

“Your breathing seems normal at least.”
“Yep. Never had any problems there.”
“Do you normally have fainting spells like this by chance?”
“All the time.”

Since I was an infant who couldn’t get out of bed, I’d work on manipulating magic until I passed out.
Of course, I never succeeded, but I’d still fall asleep each night with mental fatigue, so in that sense, fainting is nothing new to me.

“Somehow, isn’t that an impossible way to live?”
“I have a goal in mind.”

I’ll become a Magic Swordsman. I won’t become an assassin, I’ll gain my fame as a hero.
To become a hero without the qualities of one, that was the sort of thing I was going for.
While chatting with the doctor like this, the door to the infirmary was suddenly opened.

“Oh, You’re up? I was so worried!”
“Are you awake Nicole?”

The ones intruding with noisy footsteps and questions were Cortina and Letina.
Seeing me sitting up in the middle of an examination made the two of them let out a sigh of relief.

“Forgive me, you’re always keeping up on your condition, so I thought it was fine, then suddenly you collapsed!”
“Cortina made a misjudgment?”
“Yeah. I never expected you to get worn out so suddenly like that.”

Hearing Cortina’s explanation made me realize my weakness.

“That’s no excuse. However, this fragility is a bit unusual. I suppose we’d better do a thorough examination at least once just to make sure.”
“I’ve been thinking there was something wrong for the longest time.”

When I fought the kobold, fatigue kicked in suddenly and caused me to slip.
Then again during the kidnapping incident, I started to get tired quickly right after Michelle showed up.
Looking at it objectively, things don’t really add up.

I’d always attributed my weakness due to my stunted growth, but could there be some underlying condition inside my body causing me to be like this.