Chapter 134 Wen’s Special Training
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
After being literally squeezed by Diana in the shower room, I returned to my office and started working on some administrative tasks that had been delayed. As a result of being squeezed, my mind was completely cleared of any distractions, and the paperwork was getting sorted surprisingly smoothly. Before I knew it, I had already finished and found myself with nothing to do. I considered going to the laboratory, but I didn’t have much energy to move my body at the moment.
Besides, the tasks in the alchemy field were not something I could do with my current exhausted mind. I leaned back in my chair and gazed absentmindedly at the ceiling when I felt a gust of wind on my skin. Since the windows and doors were closed, there was no way the wind could blow in from outside. In that case, there was only one possible cause.
”Wen?”
The moment my voice echoed in the office, the wind swirled in front of the desk, and Wen appeared. It had been a long time since I last saw her, ever since the day the trio showed up. She had completely disappeared. Now, her magical power had recovered, and she had transformed from a young girl into a teenage girl.
’Neil, are you done with work?’
”Yeah, I’m finished.”
I hesitated for a moment, unsure of what to do. But recently, I hadn’t been able to give Wen much attention, so maybe it was a good idea to spend some time with her.
”By the way, Wen, you seem to be speaking more fluently.”
’Fluent… ly?’
”It means you’ve become better at speaking.”
’I practiced. I tried speaking in various ways.’
Saying that, Wen floated in mid-air and closed her eyes tightly, showing signs of concentration. I watched her for a while, wondering what she was trying to show me, when suddenly her body fell to the ground with a loud noise.
”Wen!?”
Surprised by the sudden turn of events, I quickly stood up from my chair and rushed to Wen’s side, but then I noticed something strange. In the first place, Wen, who had no substance other than her appearance, shouldn’t have made any sound when she fell to the ground. With a sense of dread, I tried to lift Wen’s body from the ground.
”Can you… fully materialize now?”
Until now, Wen could only become visible to the human eye but couldn’t be touched or pass through objects. However, being able to be touched meant that she had been training during the time she hadn’t shown herself recently. The result of her attempt to demonstrate her progress was materializing and being pulled down by gravity, causing her to fall to the ground.
’Ugh… uuuh.’
”Are you okay?”
’Uuuh.’
Seeing Wen only uttering groans, I worried if she had been hurt badly. But then, I heard Wen’s voice in my head.
’I still can’t move my body properly, and this is not the right way to speak.’
I see. It wasn’t that she was groaning because of any specific injuries, but rather she simply hadn’t figured out how to use her vocal cords properly.
’Human body, it’s hard to move, please teach me how to move it.’
Even if she asked me to explain how to move my body, I wouldn’t know what to say. It’s simply beyond my understanding. But leaving her to figure it out on her own here would be cruel. If Wen could behave like a normal person, it would decrease the chances of her being exposed as a spirit, and she could walk outside with confidence.
In fact, I hadn’t told Niya-san and the newly acquired slave servants about Wen. The altar in the room where I moved after the trio appeared was still there, and I continued offering harvested crops there. Well, I couldn’t keep openly offering them forever, so this might be a good opportunity.
Regardless, it wouldn’t be enough to simply ask them not to disclose Wen’s true nature and believe in people’s goodwill forever. Now that Wen had achieved complete materialization, it would be better to teach her how to mimic humans. Therefore, I decided to reference the rehabilitation scenes of people with mobility impairments that I had seen on TV during my previous lfie and start by teaching her how to stand up.
”Alright, when you stand up, you need to lean your upper body forward like this and balance yourself.”
I started the training by practicing standing up from a seated position on a chair. After demonstrating it in front of Wen several times, I lifted Wen and made her sit on the chair while standing in front of her.
”If you feel like you’re about to fall, I’ll catch you, so go ahead and give it your all.”
’Understood.’
Although she said that, it seemed that she still needed some courage to stand up. For a while, she only repeated the motion of leaning her upper body forward and straightening up, but then she made up her mind and jumped up, standing up in one go.
’Hm!’
”Oof!?”
Because she leaned forward at the same time, Wen’s body shot out like a cannonball, not upwards but diagonally forward, and her head directly hit my chest. I managed to prevent myself from falling backward and somehow helped Wen sit back on the chair, although I stumbled in the process.
”Phew… Phew…”
’Are you okay?’
”Y-Yeah, next time, let’s try not leaning the body forward, but leaning it after falling. And please try to be a bit gentler with the force.”
I had reached the limit of my legs and lower back today, and if I took even one more blow, I felt like I wouldn’t be able to move. So I asked Wen to be more gentle.
’Um… ugh, ummm!’
She groaned as she desperately tried to stand up, but it seemed that she couldn’t find the right amount of force. She only managed to lift her waist momentarily but couldn’t quite stand up. Actually, I initially thought of starting with practicing maintaining the standing position, but it might be better to focus on that first. If she couldn’t maintain the standing position and only fell after standing up, the training should be modified from standing up to maintaining the standing position…
”O-Ohhh…!”
’Neil, are you alright?’
”I’m… I’m fine. Wen, please focus on standing up. Otherwise, my back is going to give out.”
To maintain the standing position, I needed something to support Wen, but unfortunately, there was nothing at the right height to serve as her support. So, reluctantly, I ended up supporting her body myself. However, every time Wen’s posture faltered, her entire weight pressed down on me as she had her hands on my shoulders. My legs and lower back, already fatigued from training with Momoka and enduring Diana’s “service” sessions, felt as weak as newborn fawns. While muscle soreness could be healed with restorative magic, fatigue couldn’t be easily alleviated. In fact, using healing magic would deplete energy and only increase the feeling of exhaustion, so it was better to avoid it. Thus, I continued the training of standing while battling the limits of my legs and lower back.
In the midst of this grueling training, a knock came on the door of the office. I assumed it was either Diana or Lewya, but to my surprise, I heard a voice from neither of them.
”Master Neil, it’s Narsht.”
”Oh, Narsht-san?”
It was rare for Narsht-san to visit the office. I briefly pondered what to do in this situation, but since Narsht-san knew about Wen, it shouldn’t be a problem if he saw us.
”Please come in.”
”Excuse me. I actually wanted to discuss something with Master Neil—”
Before he could finish his sentence, Narsht-san caught sight of us and fell silent.
”Um, what exactly are you doing?”
”I’m training Wen to stand up.”
”Training her to stand up?”
Narsht-san seemed a bit puzzled, not fully understanding the situation. Well, from an outside perspective, it must have looked like we were in the middle of a wrestling match, so I couldn’t blame him.
”Anyway, did you have something you wanted to discuss with me?”
”Oh, um, yes. I actually have a consultation regarding the crops we harvest at the settlement.”
”A consultation about crops?”
”Yes, if you have some time, would you mind coming to the dining hall? I can explain verbally, but I think it would be easier to understand if you taste the actual produce.”
A consultation about the crops harvested at the settlement. I wonder what it’s about exactly. Since it seems tasting the crops would help in understanding, I should follow Narsht-san’s suggestion.
”Understood. I’ll head to the dining hall now, so please go ahead.”
”Thank you very much. I’ll prepare, then. Excuse me.”
After watching Narsht-san bow and leave the office, I turned my attention to Wen, who was still in the midst of training.
”Wen, in that case, let’s take a break for now.”
To be honest, I didn’t think my legs and lower back could handle any more. Plus, I also wanted to take a break.
”You want to try some food, right? I’m curious to see how a spirit like you would react to food. Alright, let’s go to the dining hall together.”
’Yeah!’
While it was a delightful response, it also left me questioning why Wen was still holding onto my shoulder, refusing to let go.
”Wen? I can’t let go if you’re still holding on. You need to release your grip.”
’I want to stand. I want to getting used to it. So, we’ll walk to the dining hall.’
”Huh?”
It seemed like today was the day for testing the endurance of my legs and lower back. With Wen being so eager for the training, I couldn’t say I wanted to rest due to fatigue. Thus, I ended up supporting Wen as we made our way to the dining hall. By the time we arrived, I resembled a broken figure with dislocated hip joints, surpassing the image of a newborn fawn.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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