First, I called back the others who had apparently been kicked out for being in the way.
When I explained the situation to the three of them, they each reacted differently.
"Are you sane?"
Alios, like many others often did, questioned my mental health.
"Trying to train in that condition instead of healing is just plain crazy!"
"What can I do if this is the only way?"
"I'll find another way."
Alios vehemently opposed it, saying she would do anything to heal me, but—
"Ceres, what is your will?"
Hames quietly asked for my thoughts first.
"What matters is your heart. Do you want to do something like training in that body?"
"Yes."
Not only was I told this was the only option, but frankly, I was intrigued.
The idea that finishing the training would not just heal my body but make me much stronger couldn't fail to pique my interest.
Since I came to a fantasy world, I too wanted to use mana and join the ranks of superhumans like them.
No matter how much the women here take the male roles, there's a limit.
I didn't want to live every day being frail, swayed by women, and needing protection.
"I want to get a little stronger too."
"Is that so? If that's the case, then I will support you."
As Hames supported me, Alios glared fiercely at her.
"It was the same with Countess Hurion last time. Are you planning to push Ceres unreasonably like that again?!"
"I believe I already said. What's important is Ceres's will. Not yours."
"I'm stopping him because I'm worried about Ceres!"
Alios is particularly belligerent today.
After challenging Viol, she now glares at Hames as if ready to kill her.
I appreciate her concern for me, but this isn't what I wanted.
I was about to intervene, but Viol stepped forward first.
"If you don't know, then shut up, idiot."
"Who are you calling an idiot?!"
"I'm calling you one. I don't want to burden Ceres with difficult things either. But the problem is that she was the one who proposed this method."
Viol reluctantly gestured towards Sibylius.
"As far as I know, there is no mage more skilled than her. She must have said there's no other way because there truly isn't one."
Alios said nothing.
Being from this Empire herself, she probably had no choice but to admit it.
If the great mage who had lived for centuries said there was no other way, then that was the truth.
"Don't worry."
I reassured Alios, who was silently looking only at me.
"You know very well how outstanding my healing ability is. As long as I have this power, I won't die."
"How can you be so sure? And even if you don't die, won't it be painful?!"
Alios, her face tearful, looked at me, still unable to get out of bed.
"You can barely move on this bed, what kind of training could you possibly do...?"
I raised my arm towards the crying woman.
Forcing my trembling arm to move, I took her hand.
"It's been quite some time since we got to know each other."
"Ceres?"
"I didn't want it to happen, but we've become close."
At first, I equated this Alios with the Alios from the original novel.
So I treated her with hostility, but spending time together made me realize.
The origin might be the same, but she's a different person.
That she could change depending on what I do, on my actions.
"I don't love you, but I think of you as a friend. I hope we can continue to be like that."
"Does that mean you want us to remain only friends forever?"
"No, that's not what I mean. I mean I hope things don't change into the worst possible form you fear."
"What do you mean?"
Alios, naturally unable to understand my words, looked confused.
I shook my head at her.
"You don't need to know now. You wouldn't understand even if I told you. But there's one thing I want you to understand right now."
"What is it?"
"That I want you, who I consider my friend, to trust me."
Hearing my words, Alios's expression crumpled.
For a moment, she opened her mouth as if to shout, then bit her lip hard.
She said nothing more and offered no further opposition.
"So, what kind of training should I do?"
Leaving Alios be for a moment, I asked Sibylius for the specific method.
"Should I put your mana into my body?"
"It's simple. Just like you pushed yourself earlier, you need to continuously overload your body."
"So, just exercise. Simpler than I thought."
"No. It's not simple at all."
Sibylius said grimly.
"Your body is constantly repeating a cycle of damage and healing. You feel a bit better now, but that's only because you're not doing anything."
She warned that intense movements would cause immense pain.
"Let me state this beforehand, I cannot block all the pain."
"I know."
It was something I had to endure anyway.
"Should I get up and do something right now?"
"You really are reckless. Hasn't it sunk in yet that you ended up in this state by using a strange method to heal your body?"
Sibylius clicked her tongue at me, then turned her gaze towards Viol.
"There are some things I need. Could you prepare them?"
"Anything for Ceres."
Viol replied without a moment's hesitation.
She continued with an admirably resolute attitude.
"But if you fail to heal him, you die by my hand."
"Wow, how terrifying. Forget that nonsense and just prepare some exercise equipment and bring it over."
"What about people to assist him?"
"Those two will suffice."
Seeing her point to the other two, Viol frowned.
"You need those two as well?"
"He needs to heal his body through strenuous training. Who could be more helpful than a Sword Master and a High Priest? They'll certainly be more helpful than you, at least."
"...I'll contact the Gravius Duchy and the Temple to borrow them for a while."
Viol headed back to the Imperial Palace for the time being.
A short while later.
Not only the requested exercise equipment but also numerous medical supplies, daily necessities, and more arrived at Sibylius's residence.
"Hmm, let's try using this first."
Sibylius looked over the delivered items and picked up crutches instead of the exercise equipment she had requested.
"Before exercising, let's start by practicing walking on your own using these."
"You think I can't even manage that?"
Grumbling, I tried to walk using the crutches, but it wasn't easy.
Even holding a crutch in each hand, I couldn't go far before staggering.
"Ceres!!"
Alios rushed over and caught me just as I was about to fall.
"Didn't you originally have weak arm strength, making even assistive devices hard to use? You're worse off now than before. Trying to exercise in this state is impossible!"
She poured out words as if her earlier silence had been an illusion.
"Sibylius, you're a great mage, aren't you? Is this really the only way?"
"Unfortunately, this is the only method that comes to mind right now. So, we must do it."
"...You say that so coldly."
"What's the problem? I agreed to heal him in exchange for a hefty price, and he himself consented to the treatment. So, I simply taught him the optimal method currently available."
"The problem is that it's painful!"
"That's something he agreed to endure, so it's not my concern."
"You wicked half-demon...."
As Sibylius spoke coldly with her arms crossed, Alios, perhaps finding it grating, seemed about to lunge at her, but I grabbed her.
"Sibylius is right. What you're doing now only makes things more difficult for me."
"But!"
"If you really want to help me, stay by my side and help me avoid making wrong movements."
When I asked firmly, Alios reluctantly listened to me.
"Not like that. Continue the movement more smoothly. You're distributing your strength unnecessarily too much!"
She stuck close by my side, pointing out and correcting every single walking motion.
"It might be useless, but I'll lend you my holy power."
Hames, though it wasn't strictly necessary, used her holy power on me whenever she had a spare moment.
Just walking took several days.
When I finally moved on to actual exercises, the difficulty increased significantly.
"...Damn it."
Even lifting a small dumbbell with my arms took ages.
I trembled as if trying to lift a sack of rice.
"No, don't lift it like that. Apply force more naturally, but not too much."
As I struggled even with minor exercises, Alios stayed beside me, offering advice that was both helpful and somewhat cryptic.
"Was today alright?"
Even amidst such arduous training, Viol visited every single day.
Just like when I was confined in isolation before, she even brought food.
"Don't you have Emperor duties?"
"I finished them all before coming, so don't worry about it and just eat."
After exercising, I ate the food Viol brought.
After living like this for a while, Sibylius spoke.
"The results are good. In a few more months, you should be completely healed."
"Months?"
"Is there a problem? It's not like you have anywhere to go right now."
That's true.
I have plenty of time, so a few months don't matter.
...I let my guard down and thought just that, momentarily forgetting the nature of this world.
Was it about a month later?
Much improved, I was waiting for Viol, who usually brought a packed lunch, but the atmosphere today was bad.
"Crazy bastards!"
Viol entered swearing, surprising everyone.
She always seemed cheerful during this time when she came to see me.
"What happened?"
When I pressed her about what was wrong, it turned out to be unexpectedly related to me.
"You know the neighboring country, right? That small nation called Arsen. They asked to borrow you for a while."
"Me?"
"An epidemic broke out, causing chaos, and it seems they heard rumors about you. They sent an envoy conveying their desperate wish for you to visit."
Arsen?
Epidemic?
That sounds vaguely familiar.
"Don't worry. As if I'd be crazy enough to send you to a place like that..."
"Airan!"
"...Who?"
Viol was puzzled by the name I blurted out unconsciously, but I couldn't explain.
I really must have been sick.
To think I'd forgotten one of the major events from the original novel!
Did the timing get moved up because my reputation grew faster than originally?
In the place called the Arsen Kingdom, a terrible epidemic that even the priests couldn't handle was spreading.
And them asking Ceres for help—that was also in the original novel.
'As if I'd be crazy enough to send you to a place like that?'
Viol (He in the original) refusing without even listening to Ceres's (her in the original) opinion was also an event that happened in the original work.
The real problem arises after that.
When Ceres (she) couldn't come, a woman (she) named Airan appeared in the crisis-stricken Arsen Kingdom.
Airan (she), lacking divine power like Ceres but possessing astonishing holy power instead, treated and eradicated the epidemic.
Thanks to this, she came to be called the Saintess by the people of the Arsen Kingdom instead of Ceres (her)...
'That woman (she) is fake! I am the real Saintess!'
Whatever grudge she held against Ceres, she was the very person who framed Ceres (her) as a fake Saintess!
Using all the achievements, connections, and influence she built while treating the epidemic in the Arsen Kingdom.
And coupled with various circumstances, like Hames (he) being mad with jealousy, and people who held negative feelings towards Ceres for not providing treatment...
She was the villain who finally succeeded in branding Ceres (her) as a fake Saintess.
This woman.
No, is he a man now?
Since Airan (likely male now) will frame Ceres, meaning me, I had already been thinking of ways to stop him.
The idea I came up with was to snatch the fame he would build for myself.
To preemptively block him from doing anything.
Originally, I planned to go to the Arsen Kingdom and provide treatment when the time was right, but...
"...In this body?"
Although I've improved a lot, how can I possibly travel to another country in this body that still can't move properly!