I asked about the guards training

---

“Indeed, indeed. It seems that you believed in the one answer, and have been training based on it. I suppose you have decided on who your enemy will be…and defeating it is your goal. But I don’t think you were thinking about survival, or about protecting anyone?”
“…I see… You might be right.”

It was true that I had probably started training with the intention of being able to defeat others.
Perhaps my fight with Deam had made my mind go in that direction without really realizing it.
And so I was grateful to Phillip for pointing it out.

Mr. Ekenhart had likely seen it as well.
He was really sharp when it came to things related to combat… Not so much other things… But Sebastian and the others made up for it.

“The strength to defeat an opponent. The strength to protect others. They seem like the same thing, but they are not. When defeat means death, then escape is also an option. And so avoiding danger and enhancing your ability to escape could make you strong.”
“Indeed. Though, I don’t know about only training to run away.”
“It is just an example. There are many ways of being strong. You could even hit enemies with magic from a distance where they cannot retaliate.”
“Yes, that would be one way… Does such magic exist?”
“Well, I don’t know anyone who can do that.”
“…Now that I think about it, Sebastian had said something…”
“What did he say?”
“About how Mr. Ekenhart’s guards train differently. Compared to me and Tilura. He said that I should ask you about that.”
“Ah, I see…”
“Mr. Phillip suddenly looks disheartened!”

Phillip had been talking quite normally up until now, but his expression suddenly darkened.
Even Tilura noticed this, and raised her voice in surprise.
…Was the training so bad that he didn’t want to remember it?

“That was… Well, His Grace is very strange…”
“He is?”
“Yes. As a duke, he is usually quite busy with his daily duties… And yet, he would follow us closely during the early part of our training.”
“When he had free time?”
“I don’t know. It beats me how he was able to do it… In any case, he teaches us very thoroughly at first.”

I could imagine it, since it had been like that when he first started teaching me and Tilura.
But I suppose it was possible, since he could spend his time more flexibly in this mansion.
Besides, Tilura was his daughter.
And since Leo was with me, she was also able to help with the training, and then Mr. Ekenhart returned to the main house.

Phillip had likely been trained in that house…
The duke had many responsibilities, on top of running businesses… I didn’t want to think about how busy he was.
Though, I had heard that his businesses were doing well.

“At first, the training was similar to what you are doing. A lot of running and strengthening our bodies…”
“Yes, the basics then.”

If you did not have the strength to move while carrying heavy swords and spears, then you would not be able to fight.

“We had to run distances that it would take a horse several hours to cross, but not take twice as long. Or train while carrying boulders…”
“…”

Tilura and I were stunned.
A few hours by horse… If that was two hours, then you would have to run that distance in less than four hours.
That could be dozens of kilometers…you would have to run at top speed the whole time. It would be worse than a marathon.
And then the muscle training with rocks… I could see how weight training was effective, but carrying a boulder that was over ten kilograms…
Tilura and I realized how easy we had it.

“By the way, when you were finished with all of that, there was even more training waiting for you. And once we were used to the basic training, we got to the real guard training.”
“…And what was that like?”
“I don’t like to think back on it.”

If that was what the basic training was like, what did they do after that?
Phillip’s reluctance to talk about it just made me even more curious.
But he had a far away look in his eyes now.
…Perhaps it was better to not make him remember?

Next Chapter

My Beloved Dog is the Strongest in Another World