Chapter 105: The Right Way

『Hold the dumb-bell between the big toe and long toe of your foot and lift.』

“…… ha?”

Do I train my arms? Do I train my legs? My menu, as I was wondering what I would do, was my toes.

Why? I was motivated to do the normal bench press?!

『Today, you have done Max Measurements, Magical Parkour, Magical Jumping Ropes, and even sparring. Bench presses and squats would be counterproductive at this point. Today, I shall teach you a few things as you train.』

I certainly moved my entire body quite a bit today.

I understood Tre’ainar’s suggestion that doing muscle training in this situation would only be tiring.

But why the toes?

『Child, yours is a fighting style that uses your feet like earlier. However, the characteristics of the foot which is also your weapon… tis not simply ‘foot speed’ that disrupts the opponent’s reaction with sharp steps and feints, tis ‘the strength and speed of the turn’.』

I’m not sure I get it. Foot speed? Turn? What’s the difference?

『Foot speed is basically linear speed. But how many linear dashes do you use in actual battle? Perhaps for slow opponents like Aka or Machio, but it would be difficult to jump into the pocket with a simple straight dash against speedier opponents like Bro or Toulowe, would it not?』

「That is… I guess so…」

Certainly, when I tried to toss my opponent at speed in a fight, I had the image of taking steps rather than running.

『Therefore, the big toe is paramount. Grab the ground with your big toe, store it up and jump in one go… for stop-and-go and left and right weight transfer, the toes… especially your big toe is important. In other words, if you train them, each movement will become even faster. And tis not only about the feet, but also the punches.』

「Eh? …… No, I understand that toes are important in steps and footwork, but… also for punching?」

『Tis so. As I mentioned, if the toes are well trained, they can smoothly shift your weight back and forth and from side to side, so you can maintain a good balance and release a hard hit from any posture, and when you step in by kicking the ground hard, the force is firmly planted on the big toe, is it not?』

「…… Certainly…」

『You have already done so to some extent without being told. But from now on, put more effort into your big toes, train them, and be conscious of them.』

I see… so I should put a dumbbell between my toes and train…

“Hey, what has he been doing in front of the mirror?”

“Can’t he hold the dumbbells?”

“He’s thinking about it, but doesn’t know how to use it, right?”

Oops. So much for the conversation in my mind, it’s about time I got started.

「With my toes… I wonder if I can?」

『This should be a daily routine. When there are no dumbbells, you can substitute an empty wine bottle instead. Always have the image of ‘grasping hard’ with your toes.』

Dumbbells in front of the mirror.

I stretch out my arms and stand on one leg, straighten my spine in front of the mirror and lift the dumbbell at my feet between my big toe and long toe.

“Nu, Uo, Gu, Nu, Yu, toes, eh, t, tearing … Gu!”

『Do not simply carry it. Hold it and raise your knee at a right angle.』

“Fugu, nu, gu, nu …”

My toes were about to come off! The thought crosses my mind that I might dislocate it if I’m a little bit careless.

And from the perspective of others, this looks like a pretty weird workout.

“Oh come on, doesn’t he know how to use dumbbells?”

“That’s sort of amazing though.”

“Shouldn’t somebody teach him if that’s the case?”

“But he was saying something about doing it in his own way… or, that’s amazing despite how it looks…”

I could hear giggles and ridicule from around me.

“Hey, Amae… is it true, did he have a good match against Mr. Machio~…. ?”

“Un”

“Really~?”

“Un. It was a little… cool…”

“… Ugh … my wish … please … please …”

And although there was no sign of flirtation at first glance, Elder Sis Tsukshi seemed to wish for my victory instead of Mr. Machio. She had a mysterious attitude of “I’d rather you didn’t win because I like you, Mr. Machio”, so I’m worried about the situation.

Certainly it’s embarrassing to think that you’re using it wrong, but…. I’ll find out what happens if I win….

『Good start. Tis not the wrong way to use it, but a different way to use it.』

「Eh, i, is that any different?」

『Tis very different. In the first place, there is nothing wrong in doing things the right way. But if you only do it the right way, will you ever get to the top?』

「Th, that’s…」

『The answer is no. Only a handful of people can stand on top. Tis also limited to those who have talent superior to others, such as Machio. Therefore, the untalented person can merely approach the top but not exceed the top by only doing things the right way.』

While listening to words of Tre’ainar beside me that I shouldn’t worry about the eyes around me, I chuckled, thinking, “It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it.”

Well, in short, it’s not enough to do the same thing as others, so I kept on going.

『For this reason… not within other people…. look at yourself…. for you desire to change of yourself… so it appears.』

“Nu…”

When I heard Tre’ainar’s words with a slight grin, I turned back a little.

“Ku, this is tough.”

“Uooooh, w, will we get stronger with this?”

“Ca, can’t even hold it!”

“I wish it was lighter.”

The boys of the magic school.

They said they wanted to train with me, but I didn’t have time for them and I was too busy with myself.

So I declined.

The next thing I knew, those guys were behind me, doing the same thing I did.

“………… Hey.”

“”””…… Hmm?””””

At first I wanted to ignore it, and then I thought they could do whatever they wanted, but… no good…… I’d feel bothered.

“The thing is… I’m just doing it the way that suits me… it doesn’t mean you’ll be any stronger if you do the same thing, right?”

So even if it makes sense for me, it may not make sense for them.

“Why don’t you ask the High Priestess or another instructor? This is a dojo, and even if you’re a student of the magic school, they’ll teach you properly, right?”

They want to train with me.

That’s what they said, but I told them to ask the dojo guys for guidance rather than do training that may or may not make sense to them.

But these guys…

“Certainly… that may be right… I agree, too. But…… it’s just a gut feeling.”

“Ah?”

“…… you know, to us… that Mr. Machio, and… even that Yosei, you may be a man who knows a world we all don’t know.”

Mortriage’s words… were correct in a sense.

For those who have spent all their time in a secluded nation, I’m from the outside world, and I’m different.

“That’s why… if we’re chasing your back, we might be able to see a different view of the world… if we see that world… maybe even more… we could change… that’s what I thought.”

For the time being…… I think I’m being praised. But I didn’t think they’d be rewarded just by chasing me…

『Hmm…… I see… if so…… you might as well ‘take advantage’ of it…』

At that time, Tre’ainar muttered beside me as I was wondering what to do….

『Oi, child. I believe this is also training… why not try it?』

「What?」

『Why not try training with these ones for a bit?』

…… Why?