And so began a new life of training for me, Rio, Iris, and Maifa.

　It's been a very tough and hard fight.
　It's hard to describe everything about that life, but here's an example.



　It happened one day.
　Rio and I were alone, deep in the forest, with no one else around.

"Rio, is ...... okay?

"Yeah, bro. ....... I'm fine, just go to .......

Okay. Rio, let's go.

　Boom.
　My blow went right into Rio.

"Agh! ......!　...... Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.

"Rio, are you sore?　Take it easy.

Yeah, yeah. It hurts a little, but I'm okay. ...... Come on, come on, come on.

...... Okay.

　I'm going to give him more.
　Two shots, three shots, four shots. .......

Huh. ...... Huh. ...... Huh. ......

Rio, you want to get some rest?

No. ...... I'm fine. ...... My brother's being nice to me. ......

There's no point in being too nice, though.

Heh. ...... Well, I can be harder, if you want. ......

I keep telling you, don't overdo it. I'll give you another shot.

Yeah.

　Boom!

　My punch, wrapped thickly in cloth, slammed into Rio's stomach.
　Rio's abdominal muscles tightened, his teeth clenched, and he withstood my punch.

　Training to strengthen one's strength is a tough thing to do.

　But as a hero, you can't always fight unscathed, and whether or not you can hold your ground against strong opponents depends on your strength, so training is a necessity.

"Ugh. ......!　I'm not sure what to do, but I'm sure you can do it.

Okay, Rio, you've got good guts.

　I'm sure you'll be happy to know that I'm not the only one who has a problem with this.

　It's a little painful to have to bully such a cute kid, but I have to keep my mind on it.

I think I'm starting to feel better and better. ......

Oh, come on, you're a dominatrix.

He only does it with his brother.

Oh, my God. That's so cute.

Heh heh.

　As we spent more time together, Rio became more and more like a devil.
　I wonder if my children are too much like angels and devils at the same time?



　Also, there was this.
　It was when Iris and I were training alone.

I'm sure you'll agree that it's a great idea to have a good time.

What's wrong, Iris? Are you dead?

"No, because ...... I can't ...... ...... do this. ......

Have you lost it yet?　If you can't take this much, what are you going to do after this? You're the one who said you want it hard, right?

I'm sure you're not the only one. ...... Yes, I am, but ...... yours is so much better. ......

You're not done yet. The real work is yet to come.

"Oh, no. ......

　My words made Iris' face pale.
　He slumps down on the ground in his gym uniform.

　Interval training - a method of training in which exercise and short rest, or strong and weak exercise, are repeated in small increments - is said to be particularly effective in developing endurance.

　What Iris was doing now was a kind of interval running, alternating between a fifteen-second dash and a one-minute walk.
　This is a very strenuous exercise, and after a while, even the bravest of heroes will find it hard.

　Incidentally, since Iris is an honor student, she tries her best at the beginning, but I've come to understand that she is the type of person who gives up rather quickly when the going gets tough.
　There is no such thing as a perfect child.

　There is one more thing that I noticed.
　When Iris gets tired, she seems to become a very spoiled child.

Um, sir, .......

"Yes, Iris?

Maybe I could work harder if you promised me a reward. ......

Okay. I'll buy you sweets next time I'm in town.

Yeah, that's great, but, you know, ...... I don't know.

Iris, if you have something to say, say it. If there's anything I can do, I'll do it.

I'd like you to hold me on your chest when you've done all the ...... work. ...... I'd like you to cuddle me. ...... I'd like you to stroke my head a lot. And I want you to stroke my head a lot. ......

　He turned red and depressed, and said in a muffled voice: "Iris.

　I'm not sure what to say.
　My heart was gripped tightly.



"Okay, okay!　When we're done training, I'll give Iris a big hug and lots of stroking!　I promise!

Are you sure?　I'll do it!　I'll do it! I'll do it!

　I'll do it!" Iris stood up with a twinkle in her eyes and showed her motivation again.

　After this, I hugged her and stroked her like crazy.



　Also, or this.



　After running away from me all over the village, Maifa was breathing hard behind a house.

　Sometimes she scurries around as if frightened, and is relieved when she sees that no one is around.

I never thought that ...... your brother would be such a devil. I'm not sure I can do that. ...... I'm not going to be able to do that. ...... I'm going to die if they base their standards on a physical fitness idiot like Rio. ......

　Mayfa was running away from my training day after day.

　The first day, Mayfa was motivated, but the second day, Mayfa gave up in an instant, incomparable to Iris.

　If you catch her and keep an eye on her, she'll train reluctantly, but if you let her out of your sight for a moment, she'll run away immediately.

　So, when you're busy training Rio or Iris, you can always find yourself playing chase with Maifa...

"Phew ...... phew ......, I think I'm finally recovering a little .......

　Maifa said and put her hand on her chest.
　She seems to have calmed down a bit.

　When I saw this, I called out to her from above her head.

"Okay, we're ready to continue.

Oh, my God!

　That's it!
　Maifa jumped up.

　She looks up at the roof of the house she was leaning against.

　I raised one hand to her from the roof of the house.

"Hey, Maifa. We've taken quite a detour today, haven't we?

...... Ah, ah ...... why ......

"Well, if you chase Meifa around every day. You'd think she'd have a pattern of behavior.

　I jumped from the roof and went down to the ground.

　I jumped off the roof and landed on the ground. Meifa, who had fallen on her buttocks in fear of me, backed away desperately.

No, no, no. ......

"Don't worry, don't worry. You're not going to die.

That's a lie. ...... He's going to kill us. ......

You're stronger than you think, Meifa. Now let's go back to the school.

...... No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

　I picked up Meifa, who was trying to escape on all fours, covered her mouth with my hand and brought her back to the school building.

　I met a neighbor's wife on the way, and when I smiled and said hello, she said, "Hello, teacher. You look like you're having a tough day.
　It's a daily occurrence, so everyone is used to it.

　By the way, by this time, there were almost no villagers who thought that Meifa and her friends were cursed children.

　The sight of abandoned children in rags may have contributed to the eeriness of the story.

"Mmmmmmmm, mmmmmmmmmm ......!

"Come on, Maifa, we're disturbing the neighbors, let's keep it down.

"Mmmmmmmmmm, ......!

　I took Maifa back to the school building like that and I trained her like crazy.

　By the time the day's training was over, Meifa was limp and shivering, but she didn't run away from home, so I guess she was motivated at heart.



　So the eleven months, which seemed long and short, passed by in a flash.

　Of course, what I did during this time was not only the training of basic abilities, skills, and magic in the village.

　Once or twice a month, I went to the heroes' guild to fight off the demon lord, and gained a lot of experience in actual battle.

　And as for my three students who were trained by me...

　They've grown to the point where I can't really understand what's going on.

　It's only been a year since I started teaching them.
　Are you sure about this?
　Isn't it bad?

　It's like that.

　And then, when the battle for the new heroes in the royal capital was approaching.
　Me, Rio, Iris, and Maifa took a carriage and headed for the capital.

　The three pupils were enjoying the journey to the capital, their eyes sparkling with the first scenery they saw from the carriage.