Chapter 35 - Half a Year
Near the royal palace, at the athletic training grounds, the noble daughters were once again working up a sweat, desperate to earn permission to go to the hot spring on the eleventh floor.
Even though most of them were still far from meeting the physical requirements, over the past few months, several had already shed their excess weight—and a few had even started to blossom into real beauties before even soaking in the springs.
“Fwaaah... I finally finished ten laps! I’m dead tired... I feel like I’m gonna die... But wasn’t the requirement thirty laps? That’s way too much...”
“Still, I’ve slimmed down a lot. Maybe this isn’t such a bad thing after all.”
Even the girls who had been on the verge of despair at how distant the goal seemed couldn’t help but smile at that.
“You ladies are looking a lot more toned lately. Exercise really is good for you.”
“Thirty laps around here, huh... Honestly, it kinda feels like Her Majesty Yuzha just doesn’t want the hassle of dragging along a bunch of dead weight.”
“If they can manage at least twenty laps, with enough breaks and some extra help, it should be doable though.”
“Hey ladies, is Her Majesty Yuzha at the palace right now?”
Huh?
Who was that?
That voice—deep, resonant, commanding—they felt like they’d heard it somewhere before.
That was the impression that crossed the noble girls’ minds.
They should have recognized the voice right away, but apparently their brains weren’t ready to accept what they were seeing.
For a while, they just stood there, vaguely thinking “Who are these dashing lady knights?” and stared in silence.
“Hm? What’s wrong? Is Her Majesty Yuzha around or not?”
“...Huh? AAAAAAH?! No way—Captain Touji?!”
At last, the mental circuits connected: the striking lady knights standing before them were none other than the First Unit.
Wait, what? If you soaked in all the hot springs up to the eleventh floor... you turned into this?!
“You really didn’t recognize us? Have we changed that much?”
“...To be fair, Captain, you’ve changed so much it can’t be helped.”
“It’s like a carpet that used to look like a slab of pitch-black mud... and then got scrubbed spotless.”
With that, the First Unit burst into laughter.
Once wild like a pack of rabid dogs, they now exuded the grace and strength of noble warhounds—honestly, they looked cool.
So this was the power of the eleventh-floor hot springs... Incredible. No wonder everyone was dying to get in.
“So? Where’s Her Majesty Yuzha?”
“Oh! Yes! She returned just the other day—she should be at the palace right now!”
One of the noble daughters straightened her back and answered brightly—not in the fearful tone of a new recruit responding to a terrifying drill sergeant, as she had in the past.
No, she spoke with the nervous excitement of a young girl giving directions to a celebrity heartthrob.
“I have returned, Your Majesty.”
“Pfft...”
The moment she laid eyes on the First Unit returning from the Hot Spring Dungeon, Her Majesty Yuzha’s face froze into an awkward grimace.
Her mouth hung half-open, her gaze drifted to the side.
It was the kind of expression someone made when faced with something laughable—while desperately clinging to the unspoken rule: do not laugh.
“...Your Majesty?”
“R-Right... good work, I appre—pfft... guh... kuh...!”
Her Majesty Yuzha tried to offer some words of appreciation, but the dam of laughter was on the verge of bursting. She couldn’t get a coherent sentence out.
“Phew... Please, just let it out, Your Majesty. You’re not going to get anything done like this.”
“Pff—BAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!
“No way!! Hey! Are you serious!? You all turned out this cute?!
I mean, sure, I expected some change, but this? This level of transformation?! You look like the Second Unit now—just with sharper eyes!!
No good, I’m dying, I can’t breathe!!!”
And with that, Her Majesty laughed—fully, without restraint.
She doubled over from the throne, practically falling to the side, her body convulsing as she clutched her stomach. Her laughter twisted her expression and left her gasping for air.
It might have taken a solid two minutes before she could speak again like a proper person.
“…Your Majesty, are you ready to continue?”
“Haaah... haah... haaaa—yes, I’m good now. I can talk. I can finally talk...”
“Then, Your Majesty... I have a humble request. Might we be allowed to stay in the Kingdom of Sepans for a few months?”
“Oh? And your reason?”
Queen Yuzha looked at her with a face that said, I think I know where this is going, but still asked.
“Yes. Our goal is to train in the tenth floor’s special spring—where the strengthening effects are enhanced.
“We’d like to live in the dungeon for a few months and hone ourselves until we’re ready to take on the deeper levels of those massive foreign dungeons.”
As expected, that answer came as no surprise. Her Majesty nodded slightly, as if to say, thought so.
Meanwhile, the members of the Second Unit wore expressions that screamed don’t say it—don’t finish that thought!
Because if they could survive on crops from the ninth floor without ever going back to the surface... then staying long-term in the dungeon for intense training might actually happen. A nightmare becoming real.
“In fact,“ said Queen Yuzha, “I’ve already begun negotiations to use the cloth and thread you brought back to craft weapons and equipment for all our lady knights—for use in future dungeon expeditions.
That work will take about half a year to complete.”
“...So in other words, during that half-year, we’re free to train here as much as we’d like?”
Captain Touji responded with a smile, barely able to contain her joy.
Meanwhile, the Second Unit was screaming in their hearts: Feel free to train all you want—just don’t drag us into it!!
Their captain, standing beside Her Majesty, wore a face that said she had already accepted her fate.
“Indeed. Members of the Second Unit should train as well, so you’re ready for the continued expansion of the Hot Spring Dungeon.”
And with that final, fateful line, the entire Second Unit turned pale. Their faces twisted, jaws clenched as if holding back a scream.
Memories of hellish bootcamp days came flooding back—vivid, cruel, unforgettable.
Even the First Unit, standing proudly with their new looks, wore grim expressions as if thinking, Oh no... this is going to be rough. What kind of nightmarish training awaited them now?
Yet in the midst of all that tension, only Captain Touji looked absolutely thrilled, her face full of joy and anticipation.
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