The Fake Saintess and the Elf Warrior

Perhaps because of all that had happened these past two days, Tatya had completely forgotten about the mission reward. Naka lightly tapped her forehead with her knuckles, scolding her playfully.

"You silly child, how could you forget something so important?"

"Hehe..." Tatia stuck out her tongue shyly.

"The pay this time is quite generous, and even if the mission only lasts a few days, there won't be any financial pressure. So for the next week, you'll need to train every day as I instruct you. Is that acceptable?"

"Yes, Instructor Naka!"

Tatya gave Naka a proper military salute. Naka returned the salute in kind.

"Then, let's disband here today!"

"yes!"

After imitating the soldiers, the two looked at each other and smiled. Then, Tatia took the lunchbox and gold coins and left.

Watching Tatsia's figure disappear into the vast crowd, Naka didn't move an inch. At that opportune moment, Fain spoke up.

"This little girl completely sees you as a good person. Although you have indeed been very kind to her. That bag of gold coins from earlier... you said it was for Miss Tatsia, but didn't you actually slip your own share in as well?"

The quest sheet wasn't in Tatsia's possession, so she didn't realize that the amount of gold coins Naka gave her was exactly 100% of the quest reward. Naka didn't keep a single gold coin for herself, giving it all to Tatsia.

"Really? I think these are just necessary investments to gain her trust."

"What kind of expression will she have when she finds out that Your Majesty is the Demon King? She'll probably look desperate and then cry."

A person's self-esteem and confidence are most vulnerable when betrayed by what they trust most. Naka successfully gained Tatsia's trust, making her believe wholeheartedly that Naka was someone she could rely on. When Naka truly reveals her identity, no matter how high a level hero Tatsia becomes, she will immediately become vulnerable. If this is Naka's plan, then Fan can only admire her foresight.

However, Naka seemed to have other plans. She said calmly...

"...I won't let her know."

Was this statement addressed to Fan, or was it just Naka talking to herself? Even Naka herself couldn't say.

Day 1 of special training

The next morning, Taqia got up early, washed her face with the cool river water to drive away the remaining sleepiness, and waited for Naka's arrival with 100% energy.

But Naka didn't appear even by noon. Feeling puzzled, Tatsia was about to head to Naka's inn to investigate when she heard the sound of footsteps nearby. This surprised Tatsia even more.

Naka was about the same size as herself, so such loud footsteps must have come from someone very heavy. It couldn't be Naka. Was it a beast? A monster? Or some other human? Tatya immediately became alert, drew her sword, and prepared for battle.

As the footsteps drew closer, Takiya soon met the owner of the footsteps.

"...Sister Naka?"

"Oh? You're training on your own? That's quite self-disciplined."

The newcomer was none other than Naka, whom Taqia had been eagerly awaiting. However, Naka was carrying several iron bars, each about 1.5 meters long, on her shoulders. The ends of the bars were tied with ropes containing heavy objects, making them look quite heavy. This was why Naka's footsteps were louder.

Taqia quickly sheathed her sword and pointed at the things on Naka's shoulder that she had never seen before.

"Sister Naka, what's this for?"

"Do you even need to ask? Your current level is only Lv5, and your strength is barely passable. If you want to improve your combat ability, you should first work on your muscle strength. That's why I prepared these barbells."

Naka threw the barbell to the ground with a loud thud. Tatsia was startled. These things seemed heavier than she had imagined.

"Oh, and these too."

Then Naka pulled out several smaller objects from her bosom. Naka said these were dumbbells. Tatsia took them and tried to hold them, almost dropping them. Although not as heavy as barbells, these dumbbells were definitely not light.

"Naka-nee...where did you get all this stuff? And why do you seem to carry it so effortlessly..."

Just trying it out made Tatsia's arms ache. But Naka, who carried all the dumbbells and barbells on her body and walked quite a distance, didn't even break a sweat, acting as if nothing had happened. Tatsia was both impressed and amazed.

"You don't need to worry about that, I have a way of handling it."

"???"

This answer naturally left Tatya completely bewildered. Naka, regardless of whether she understood or not, casually picked up the smallest barbell and held it out to Tatya.

"This is the lightest one. Use this to do five sets of squats, ten reps per set."

"Deep, deep squats?"

"Just lift it up to the back of your neck, then do a deep squat."

"I...I'll give it a try!"

Tatsia reached out and took the lightest barbell. Although it wasn't a weight Tatsia couldn't handle, just gripping it required all her strength.

"Are you really going to put something this heavy on your neck and do fifty squats?"

"That's right. This will greatly help improve your overall strength and stamina. Start with this weight. Once you're comfortable, you can move on to heavier ones."

The barbells on the ground were all huge, each heavier than the one she was holding. Tatia felt a chill just looking at them.

"Hey, what are you waiting for? Get started already!"

Naka pulled out something that looked like a pointer and slapped it on her palm. She urged her on with an air of "I'll hit you if you don't hurry up." Taqia gritted her teeth, placed the barbell behind her neck, and squatted down.

"Whoa!" Less than a second after she squatted down, the weight of the barbell pulled her body backward, causing Tatsia to drop the barbell and land on her bottom.

"It's manageable when I'm standing, but I can't hold it at all when I squat down..."

"Beginners are all like that. Once you get the hang of it, you won't do it this way. Get up and keep going."

The usually gentle Naka suddenly became as strict as a devilish coach. But Tatsia knew it was for her own good. Undeterred, she picked up the barbell again...

Tatya spent half an hour doing one set of ten squats. Naka only gave her five minutes of rest in between. If she fell or lost her grip on the barbell, the reps didn't count. By the time she finished five sets of squats, three hours had passed.

Exhausted, Tatsia collapsed to the ground, panting heavily. Her whole body ached, and she didn't even have the strength to wipe the sweat from her face.

But Naka wasn't about to give up. She picked up two dumbbells and placed them beside Tatsia's head.

"Okay, take a ten-minute break. Then get up and do ten more sets of dumbbell raises."

"There...is there...?"

"Of course, we just trained all your muscles. Now we'll train your arm muscles. Don't forget you're a hero, you'll be wielding a sword, how can you not train your arms? After that, you'll run three laps around this mountain to improve your speed. And then there's..."

"Oh my God..."

.....

Afterwards, collapsed to the ground, Tatia no longer had the strength to complain. She herself had forgotten how she had managed to get through that day. She only remembered what happened that evening, during dinner after a day of special training.

Instead of the exhausted Tatsia, Naka took over the tasks of gathering firewood, starting a fire, and heating the food. Tatsia had been worried about Naka's experience and whether she could heat the food properly. However, Naka's speed in gathering firewood, the flammability of the wood, the smoothness of her movements when using the flint and steel, and her cooking skills were all impeccable. She was far more skilled than Tatsia, who had been doing the job for three years. Tatsia once again felt a deep sense of admiration for this seemingly omnipotent saint.

The meal was ready. Naka set out the bowls and chopsticks, then helped Tatya's father to his feet. The three of them sat together around the small wooden table in the cave.

But as soon as Takia reached out, an unbearable ache shot straight from her arm to her heart.

"it hurts..."

She had never experienced such high-intensity exercise before, and the sudden, strenuous activity caused a noticeable rejection reaction throughout her body. Forget getting food to her mouth, even picking up chopsticks was incredibly difficult. Taqia tried to separate the chopsticks with her fingers, but suddenly they gave way, and the chopsticks fell to the ground with a thud. The sound startled Naka, who looked at Taqia's trembling hands. Taqia was about to pick up the chopsticks when, as soon as she bent over, a sharp pain shot through her lower back and back. Her body stiffened in the chair; sitting upright was awkward, and bending over was equally uncomfortable.

"Yes, I'm sorry. I'm so useless, I can't even hold a chopstick..."

I was so ashamed to show myself like this. I especially didn't want Naka to see me.

Naka, seeing Tatsia's comical appearance, said nothing. She bent down, picked up Tatsia's chopsticks, and gently wiped the dust off them with her clothes. Then she picked up some vegetable leaves and held them out to Tatsia.

"Eat it."

"Na, Naka, what's wrong...?"

"It's not that you're useless. This is just a normal physiological reaction. If you can't pick up the food, let me do it for you. You must eat to replenish your nutrition. Otherwise, all your training will be in vain."

"Sister Naka..."

Although her childhood memories were blurred, in this situation, images from more than ten years ago vaguely appeared before Tatsia's eyes.

When she was three years old, she accidentally injured her hands, and both hands were bandaged. At that time, Tatya was no longer an innocent, forgetful baby. She stubbornly insisted that she could feed herself. However, she often dropped the spoon because of the pain. Tatya's mother didn't scold or criticize her. She simply picked up the spoon again and again, washed it, and handed it to Tatya. Until Tatya's stomach was growling and she still couldn't eat a single bite on her own, her mother took the spoon and sat beside her, feeding her spoonful by spoonful. Now she is a fourteen-year-old girl. But looking at Naka, who is also feeding her, Tatya can't help but see her mother's image before her eyes.

Years ago, Tatya shed tears of gratitude for her mother. Now, Tatya's gratitude towards Naka is no less. But she held back her tears. Everything she had done today, everything Naka had done, was to make Tatya stronger. She knew she had no reason to shed tears. Even if it seemed pathetic, she resolutely opened her mouth and ate the food Naka had picked for her.

Naka didn't touch her chopsticks once. She was simply waiting for Tatya. After Tatya slowly chewed and swallowed her bite, Naka would pick up some more, and Tatya would eat it... and so on. Their interaction seemed to remind Tatya's father of something. He watched them with a smile but said nothing.

Tatsia, Naka, and Tatsia's father sat around in the cave for a dinner that wasn't lavish and didn't involve anything particularly interesting, but it was still quite meaningful.

Growth, doubt

A month had passed in the blink of an eye. During this month, Naka had subjected Tatya to intense training every day. Tatya's progress was rapid. She was moved from the lightest barbell to a heavier one after only three days. And then, five days later, she was moved to an even heavier one... Under Naka's meticulous guidance, Tatya's abilities improved significantly. After the special training plan Naka had devised a month ago was completed, Naka used her ability detection device to check Tatya's level. Tatya was now a Level 9 Hero. Her strength, which was originally only 15 points, had now surpassed 40. Her defense, agility, and other abilities had also improved by nearly 20 points each. Overall, Tatya was now several times stronger than she was a month ago.

No matter how hard she trained, her level and ability stats increased very slowly, and Tatya personally felt the changes within herself. If it weren't for Naka, she didn't know how long she would have to wait to gain her current power on her own. Her gratitude towards Naka grew stronger every day. Whatever Naka asked her to train, she would agree without hesitation, fulfilling all of Naka's requests without complaint.

On this day, Naka made the following statement.

"Now, your basic skills have been honed to a certain level. We can pause that training for now. Your physical abilities are much stronger than before. But that's ultimately just building something in isolation. Starting today, you will begin combat training."

"Okay, Naka-nee! But... who should we fight?"

"Is that even a question?"

Naka patted her chest

"Of course, it's with me."

"And, and Sister Naka?"

In Tatia's eyes, Naka was an extraordinary person. She absolutely did not mean to belittle Naka. However, Tatia was now a Level 9 hero, with all her abilities hovering around 30 to 40. Naka's abilities, on the other hand, had not changed significantly in the past month. She remained a Level 4 saintess, with no double-digit values ​​in any of her abilities except for magic. Given this huge difference in physical strength, Tatia was very afraid that she might accidentally hurt Naka.

Naka naturally noticed Tatsia's concerns. She said with dissatisfaction...

"What? Am I not qualified?"

"No, no, no! I didn't mean that..."

"Have you forgotten how badly you lost the first time you fought me? Don't you want revenge?"

Naka spoke in a slightly provocative tone. But Tatia simply shook her head repeatedly, unwilling to accept the challenge.

Seeing that her provocation tactic had failed, Naka could only sigh helplessly and reveal her true intention in arranging this training session.

"You are indeed stronger, more agile, and more resilient than before. But those are just your theoretical abilities. When you're on a real mission, monsters won't arm wrestle with you or race you. The most important thing isn't your stats, but how to perfectly utilize them, or even exceed them. Your combat skills and strategic thinking haven't kept pace with your physical growth. That's why I wanted to teach you some of that, which is why I suggested we spar. Understand?"

"Is that so...?"

Looking back, Naka did indeed possess strange techniques that Tatsia couldn't quite grasp. She herself had been defeated three times in a row despite having a significant advantage in stats. Mastering those techniques would be far more beneficial than simply increasing her own stats. With that in mind, Tatsia had no choice but to agree.

To avoid hurting Naka, Tatya used a staff instead of a sword. Naka, however, remained unarmed. After Tatya repeatedly confirmed that Naka was alright, and Naka repeatedly replied that she was fine, the two began their duel.

.....

"Huff, huff, huff..."

Despite possessing a significant advantage in stats, no matter how Tatsia fought, she only encountered the same result as in their first battle. Her much faster attacks still couldn't reach Naka, and her much more powerful slashes all missed their mark, becoming meaningless. Soon, her greatly enhanced stamina reached its limit. Tatsia's steps grew heavier, and swinging her wooden club became increasingly difficult. But Naka remained as calm and composed as ever.

"What? You're already done for?"

"Sister Naka, you...you're too cunning, just waiting for me to attack..."

After two encounters, Tatsia had grasped some of the patterns. Naka never initiated attacks. She remained stationary, conserving her energy, waiting for Tatsia to attack before dodging with minimal movement. This meant that while Tatsia could run several meters and swing her weapon a few times, Naka would only take two steps back, bend over, and make a small jump – the energy expenditure was vastly different.

"Naka, your dodging skills are indeed very strong... but I can't learn that. Just dodging isn't enough to defeat monsters."

"Oh? You mean if I don't dodge, I'm no match for you?"

"No, it's not..."

Although she denied it verbally, Tatsia did somewhat believe that Naka was simply quick to react and dodge. If Naka didn't keep dodging, she was nothing special... Since that's what the other person thought, Naka simply picked up a stick and suggested...

"Alright. I'll take the initiative to attack you from now on. You can try to stay still as much as possible. Let's see if you can withstand my attacks."

"I see..."

"Well then, watch carefully."

Following her memory, Tatya imitated Naka, staring motionlessly at her opponent. Naka, holding a wooden stick in her right hand, calmly approached Tatya, seemingly oblivious to everything around her. Suddenly, she raised the stick and thrust it at Tatya. Tatya, prepared, immediately leaned to the left, dodging the attack.

But Naka immediately took another step forward after thrusting out the wooden stick, simultaneously hooking her outstretched right arm back and protruding her elbow. Her right elbow struck Tatsia's face.

"pain!"

Tatya couldn't help but shout. Just as she was about to call a halt, Naka launched another attack.

Taking advantage of the momentary lapse in reaction after being struck in the face, Naka landed a left straight punch on Tatya's abdomen. The impact caused Tatya to instinctively bend over, bringing her face forward as if deliberately inviting the blow. Naka followed up with a knee strike, knocking Tatya to the ground.

Tatia, who thought she would stop after demonstrating one move, was completely helpless against the following attack. When she came to her senses, Naka was straddling her waist, pressing a wooden stick against her throat.

"If this were a real battle, and I were your mortal enemy, you'd be dead by now, little elf sister."

"...I lost."

Because of her enhanced defense, Naka's punches and kicks didn't cause Tatsia any serious damage. But that final blow was different. If Naka had been holding a sword instead of a wooden stick, a single thrust to her throat would have been fatal. Realizing the vast difference in their fighting skills, Tatsia, though unwilling, had no choice but to surrender.