Another morning, huh? Time to get up.

Stuffing my lungs with a deep breath, I forced myself upright on the bed. Breathing in and out for a few times to become fully awake, I stood up on the ground before reaching to the bed stand and picking up a jar of water.

My brows knitted together when I found the jar to be lighter than I expected. Frowning, I walked out of the cottage and towards the lake to fill it up before half-emptying it in one go.

Ahh, that hits the spot.

Putting the jar on the windowsill, I set my sights straight at the forest to the back of the cottage.

Five rounds without stopping. Let’s go!

I started running like my life depended on it in an attempt to run five laps in the forest nearby.

Faster! Go faster! Jump over that tree root. Keep running, don’t stop.

After one lap, I was gasping for hair like a fish out of water. My breath went through my parched throat roughly, while my sides and chest hurt constantly. Paired with the sweat which made me want to scratch my body all over, a mild irritation stirred within me.

Just four… more. Keep running, me!

Near the end of the second lap, my right leg began hurting. Gritting my teeth through the pain, I kept running.

However, within a few steps, crushing sounds filled the forest as my leg gave out, toppling and crushing the leaves covering my route.

Gritting my teeth, I forced myself to sit up straight before using a nearby tree to take support from and standing up again.

However, as soon as my foot landed, I felt like the bones in my right leg were about to crack apart as I landed face first in the leaves once more.

Using my hands to move myself so my chest faced the sky, I breathed in deeply.

Aaargh! Damn it!

My hand clenched into a fist, falling lightly on the leaves to my side, producing a muffled noise.

At this rate, I would never beat him. No, no, calm down. Take a deep breath. Yeah, like that, good. There’s still time, a good amount. Just keep working hard. You need to work hard. There’s no other way.

A bitter smile appeared on my face as I looked up at the sky through the canopy of the trees all around. Heaving a sigh, I closed my eye.

A mild wind blew through the forest every once in a while, bringing it back to life. Leaves cheered on like an excited audience, rustling with excitement, as well as a slight trepidation.

My eye opened a crack, moving within the eye-socket as I looked around while waiting for the pain in my leg to subside.

Within a few minutes that felt like a few hours, the pain in my leg subsided by a few degrees, allowing me to stay on my feet long enough that I walked towards the cottage.

I think I stretched the muscle a little too much. I need to be careful.

I looked down at my feet as I nodded.

Looking at the cottage in the distance, a sense of fatigue flooded my heart. Walking towards the lakeside, I sat down, not feeling enough energy to walk back to the cottage on the other side.

While sitting, I stretched my arms, performing several exercises to loosen the joints. After feeling good enough to get up again, I stood up before getting ready to do push-ups.

While using my hands to push against the ground, I counted the times I completed the exercise.

O-One! Twooo! Threeee! Fooour! Fiiive! Siii — oof!

While finishing the sixth pushup, my hands gave into the fatigue. My chest hit the ground, pushing the air out of my lungs.

“What’re you doing?” A youthful voice hummed through my ear.

Who?

My pupils constricted as I pushed myself up in a hurry.

While standing, something hard hit my head, making me groan in agony.

“Hey! Watch what you’re doing! *Cough! Cough!*” the same voice from earlier chided before coughing awkwardly. Next, the voice turned gentle as if the owner never got angered as it continued, “I mean, please look around carefully before making any hurried actions in case you injure others around you. Owww!”

Getting up while rubbing the back of my head, I saw a young girl about seven or eight in age with a head full of long arctic hair. Her glistening azure eyes gave me a gaze that carried confusion mixed in with a mild annoyance.

“Uhh… Amelia?”

“Yes?” the little girl replied while rubbing her chin with one hand, carrying a basket in another.

Being a bit nervous, I asked, “How’s your fever? Feeling any better? And sorry for earlier.”

“Oh, it’s okay, I’m fine. I woke up a little while after mommy left. Thank you for your concern. And yes, I am feeling a lot better with no longer having a fever. As for what happened earlier, it’s okay. It was partially my fault for startling you, as well as standing too close.”

I blinked several times while hearing the girl before me speak. While listening, I couldn’t help but have a weird expression while thinking, This formal-ish wording and polite nature… Is she a professional lady?

Paying no heed to the expression I was making, she continued, “Myself aside, how are you doing, brother Zack? And, I too am sorry for what happened a few days back. I shouldn’t have reacted as… timidly as I did.”

After a while of being rendered wordless, I replied, “It’s okay. I don’t mind it. You probably got scared when you saw me move a little in that state.”

Amelia grabbed the hem of her skirt before tilting her body forward at a slight angle, giving me a curtsy as she said, “Thanks, brother Zack. I appreciate your understanding of my unsightly actions.”

I hesitated for a moment before asking, “Umm… can you please drop the formalities? We’re all friends, so it’s okay.”

Amelia looked at me with an appreciative gaze as she heaved a sigh.

“Phew, I was waiting for you to say that for a while now. It’s tiring to do mannerisms and stuff, you know that?”

While saying that, she bumped her fist against my shoulder as a show of what I assumed to be gratitude.

I blinked again as I couldn’t help but think, So this is what a lady is like.

While I was thinking useless things along the same line of thoughts, she asked, “Remember I asked you what you’re doing? When’re you going to answer that?”

My brows jumped as I replied, “I was practising, so I can defeat Samuel and win the bet against him.”

Amelia gave me a meaningful look. After a silent while said, “If that’s what you call a training session…”

While leaving her words floating, she shook her head.

My brow creased as I asked, “Then what should I do? Any ideas or some advice?”

Amelia rubbed her chin before replying with a smile I couldn’t quite understand, “Say it with a little more respect. You’re asking someone else for a favour, no?”

I looked at her for a while, her vague smile making me feel vexed inwardly.

After a while, I heaved a sigh as I said, “Madam, please can you help me?”

Amelia shook her head as she said, “Could’ve been better. But okay. I’ll help.”