The Retired Supporting Character Wants to Live Quietly

Chapter 87 - Bustling Group Training (4)

After stretching, we did a light jog to get our bodies warmed up.

But even though it was just a light jog, Knightley and Hindrasta had already taken off at full speed, far ahead of us.

At first, Hindrasta started sprinting ahead without much thought, but Knightley couldn’t resist chasing after her as if it were a competition.

Then, as if Hindrasta’s competitive spirit was ignited, they started racing each other, back and forth, like mad.

What kind of dragon races against a mere human?

It seems that being stuck in this forced polymorph state has made her unconsciously adapt to human tendencies.

They were running so fast that they’d already lapped the entire training field once and were catching up to us again.

"That’s enough. That should do it."

"Huff... huff..."

Knightley stopped and bent over, hands on her knees, panting, while Hindrasta sneered and mocked her.

"A wyvern trying to keep up with a dragon is bound to tear its wings."

"How can you run so fast with all that extra weight?"

"Because of this, right here."

When Knightley looked at Hindrasta’s chest, Hindrasta chuckled and patted her thighs.

"This is all muscle. How could I not run fast? With that plump body that only males would like, you’ll never be able to keep up. Impossible."

"That’s not even funny. You call that muscle? It’s all just fat, like a pig."

"What?! Come here, come here you!"

Hindrasta roughly grabbed Knightley’s hand and placed it on her thigh.

"Feel that! You think this is fat? Huh?!"

"Hmm..."

Knightley carefully squeezed Hindrasta’s thigh and groin area before nodding.

"It’s impressive."

Knightley, just like Ismera, never argues against facts and quickly acknowledges the truth.

"Hey, what’s so impressive about it?"

When I reached out, Hindrasta readily offered her leg.

Touching it, I found the skin was soft, smooth, and silky, but beneath that, there were firm muscles.

But why are her muscles so developed?

"Not bad, huh?"

Hindrasta shifted her thigh slightly to the side, moving my hand closer to her groin.

"What the—?!"

Feeling that area, I was shocked.

It’s like a rock, just solid muscle.

Wow, this is really amazing. Her muscles are incredible.

There wasn’t a single inappropriate thought in my mind—just pure admiration.

"Excuse me. How long are you going to keep groping a female student’s thigh?"

As I kept marveling at Hindrasta’s leg, Knightley cut in with a dissatisfied tone.

"Weren’t you the one refusing the group training because of how it might look? And now, what do you think you’re doing?"

"It’s not that. Here, you try touching it. It’s no joke. It’s like touching an ogre’s leg."

"Ew! No way! Gross!"

When I tried to guide her hand towards Hindrasta’s groin, Knightley recoiled in horror and pulled away.

"Gross?! What’s gross about it?! Wait, are you spreading rumors that I wet myself?!"

"What are you talking about? When did you wet yourself?"

When Hindrasta started shouting, Knightley didn’t miss the opportunity to press her further.

From a step behind, Merilda silently watched the scene unfold with a smile.

Ugh, my head. I’m getting a headache on the very first day of training.

# # # # #

We trained all morning.

The competition is in about a month. There’s so much to teach.

Just following the academy’s regular curriculum won’t be enough to secure first place in the competition.

That’s like trying to win a fight with just a textbook, without any private training—it’s foolish.

If the competition were only between academy students, that might work, but there will surely be applicants from reputable mercenary groups and other places.

To compete with seasoned professionals who have plenty of real-world experience, we’ll need to pass on additional knowledge and skills beyond the standard curriculum.

"I’m hungry. Give me food."

Drenched in sweat, Hindrasta flopped down and whined.

It’s summer now, and the weather is quite hot, so even though it’s not yet noon, it’s already sweltering.

That’s why Professor Ismera and I agreed to teach combat training from early morning until midday, and then do theory indoors in the afternoon.

In the late afternoon, when the sun is down, we’ll do physical conditioning, take a short break, and then have a night session for supplemental training. It’s a perfect plan.

"Good work, everyone!"

When we returned to the house, Olysia came out with several towels in hand, welcoming us.

"Good work, Lady Knightley!"

"Mmh."

Knightley gave a light nod.

"Great job, Miss Merilda!"

"Thank you as always, Olysia."

Merilda smiled warmly.

"Well done, Miss Sophie!"

Sophie took the towel without a word.

"You, come here."

I tugged Hindrasta’s ear as she walked by.

"What the heck!"

"Answer when someone talks to you. Don’t ignore people."

"Ouch!"

When I let go of her ear, Hindrasta glared at me with teary eyes, rubbing her ear.

With a nudge of my chin, I gestured toward Olysia, and Hindrasta, with a resigned look, mumbled briefly.

"Thanks."

Sigh... She’s a dragon, so I get it, but if she’s going to live like this for the next thousand years, she needs to start acting like a human.

I’m the only one on this continent who can teach Hindrasta proper manners, so it looks like I’ll have to teach her one step at a time.

"Sophie, you should use a fork and spoon."

At the table, Merilda gently grabbed Hindrasta’s hand as she tried to grab something with her bare hand.

"It might be okay with just us, but if you do that outside, people will think you’re a savage."

"She is a savage. Merilda, don’t you know about the Leblanc Mercenaries?"

Knightley, sitting across the table, spoke while eating her soup.

Right now, Knightley is elegantly scooping her soup from the inside out.

It’s a move that no commoner could ever mimic, scraping from the inside.

When Knightley mentioned it, Merilda slowly shook her head.

"I’ve heard the name, but I don’t know exactly what kind of place it is."

"Leblanc is a place for people who enjoy killing others."

Knightley set down her spoon and gracefully wiped her mouth with a napkin as she spoke.

"But just because someone likes killing doesn’t mean they’re all uneducated."

Merilda countered with a pointed question, and Knightley gave a dry laugh.

"Are you trying to argue that killing with a pen or the law is the same? I’m telling you, these people actually enjoy beating and slashing others to death with tools."

"But among the nobles, there are those who enjoy such things as a hobby. The desire to slaughter people doesn’t seem to have much to do with one’s status or education."

"Th-that’s true...?"

Knightley stammered, flustered by Merilda’s unflinching statement.

"You’re right, but a noble with such sadistic tendencies wouldn’t join a mercenary group, would they? You can guess the kind of person who’d join a lowly mercenary band just to kill people, right?"

"Is there evidence that every member of the Leblanc Mercenaries shares that motive?"

"Their track record speaks for itself."

The Leblanc Mercenaries started as a violent gang of about a dozen thugs in the Leblanc region.

They built their reputation by doing the dirty work for the local nobles and growing in size.

During the Four-Year War, they took on the dirtiest and hardest tasks that the army couldn’t handle, spreading their infamy to where they are today.

I use the term "infamy" because of the nature of the mercenaries themselves.

They are ignorant, brutal, savage, and ruthless, with nothing to lose—complete trash with no fear of death.

This is a medieval fantasy world.

It’s filled with bottom-dwellers who make the dregs of modern life seem like nothing—people living in a basement so deep you can’t see the bottom.

So Knightley’s words aren’t exaggerated at all.

For that reason, there are no female mercenaries in the Leblanc Mercenaries, but Hindrasta proved her skills by snapping the neck of a senior mercenary to gain entry.

She really is a crazy dragon.

"So there’s a high chance that mercenary group will participate this time too?"

Merilda, who had been quietly listening, spoke up.

"Since they meet the criteria set by the Imperial Security Office, they’ll probably send out some young mercenaries under the age limit, right?"

"Hmm... That makes sense."

Knightley nodded, stroking her chin, before turning her gaze to Hindrasta.

"Hey. What do you think?"

Hindrasta looked at Knightley, her mouth full of food.

"What do you think? Do you think your mercenary group will enter?"

"How should I know?"

"Now that I think about it, didn’t you and two other mercenaries come during the special student selection? I think they might enter this time too."

"That time, I was there to guard some rich girl who came to take the entrance exam."

"Oh, really? It was because of a request? Then why didn’t you go back and instead stayed here?"

"I’m trapped. Can’t escape."

"What?"

"I can’t leave this place... It’s like an antlion pit..."

Her voice began to tremble, and Hindrasta started crying again.

Knightley and Merilda exchanged puzzled looks.

"My money is all outside... I couldn’t even grab a single coin... All my treasures in my nest... It’s all over now... I’m completely broke... I’m a beggar who has to borrow someone else’s underwear because I can’t even afford to buy a single pair... Waaaaah!"

Hindrasta kicked her chair and ran outside.

"What was that...?"

Olysia, who had been bringing out drinks from the kitchen, stared at the slowly closing door with a confused expression.

"I’ll go check on her."

Merilda went outside, and Knightley looked at me and asked,

"Professor, what’s up with her? What was she talking about? Nests and treasures?"

"Who knows. I don’t either."

It’s a secret that special student Sophie is actually the dragon Hindrasta who terrorized the human coalition during the war.

It’s something that mustn’t be revealed, and even if it were, no one would believe it. It’s like when people hear that I used to run around with Linus—they just dismiss it as nonsense.

But it seems like Hindrasta really is broke.

She’s racked up a huge tab at the dessert cafe under my name, and I thought she was just trying to mess with me.

I’ll have to take her out to buy clothes and somehow track down that money, wherever it is.

Just then, Merilda returned with a sniffling Hindrasta, and there was someone else with them.

It was Professor Ismera, looking pale and weary.