Early in the morning, at the training ground attached to Astra's mansion.
I stood on one finger, doing push-ups while counting numbers in my head.
One million and twenty-one, one million and twenty-two.
Of course, I didn't actually do one million and twenty-two push-ups.
For some reason, there's an unspoken rule that if you're doing push-ups, you have to start counting from there.
After completing a not insignificant number, I stood up and drank a glass of water.
Recently, getting up early every morning to train like this has become a routine.
While I had a rough idea from the academy's training, doing exercises on my own made me realize just how extraordinary my physical abilities were.
I can do push-ups on one finger as easily as morning exercises.
I haven't properly measured it, but I could probably do 500 push-ups without breaking a sweat.
This kind of strength coming from such a slender arm.
If the guys at the gym saw me, they'd probably faint, thinking it's impossible.
To them, this would be pure fantasy.
Anyway, there was one aspect that was quite troublesome.
I wanted to get stronger, but with no experience of living in such a body, I had no idea how to train on my own.
I tried push-ups, sit-ups, squats, and a 10km run, even at the risk of losing my hair, but that level of exercise didn't really strain my body.
I couldn't spend the whole day doing meaningless gratitude punches...
I should have asked Miss Eve for some good methods when we met.
As I was thinking this, my phone suddenly rang from far away.
Since there weren't many registered numbers, I checked the call and, as expected, it was the person who made up most of my call log.
"Good morning, Scarlett. Did I call too early?"
"It's fine, Mei. I was in the middle of exercising, but I got up early recently."
I answered with a smile, hearing Mei's question from the other end of the phone.
Fortunately, Mei, who had been addicted to magic, quickly recovered her health thanks to prompt action.
Although we hadn't seen each other for a while due to the academy's suspension, we had been in frequent contact.
Still, she usually contacted me in the evening, so I wondered why she was calling so early today.
As if reading my mind, Mei immediately got to the point.
"Hey, Scarlett. Are you free today? Senior Leonor wants to meet up and have a meal together."
It was a good opportunity.
I thought it would be nice to meet the cooking club members and get some advice on training.
"Sure, I'm free anytime. Where are we meeting?"
"It seems Senior wants us to come to her house."
*
I agreed to meet Mei and go to Leonor's house together. When I arrived at the agreed place, I saw her familiar face waiting from a distance, as if she had arrived early.
I ran up to Mei, who was neatly dressed in casual clothes and adjusting her glasses, and she greeted me with a smile.
"It's been a while. How have you been?"
"I've been fine, of course. But I'm really glad to see you looking well. I was worried about you."
"You told me you were fine many times over the phone, but you worry a lot. Honestly, I was more worried about you. When I came to, I found out something big had happened, and I was afraid you might have been seriously injured again like last time."
I scratched my head and laughed awkwardly at her pointed words.
It was understandable, given that she had seen me lose an arm right in front of her.
Mei chuckled at my reaction and said as she started walking.
"Let's go to Senior's house first. We can talk there."
I nodded and followed her obediently.
"Here?"
"Yeah, according to the address Senior sent, this is it."
Following Mei's words, I looked up at the house in front of me.
It looked like a traditional Eastern-style house where a gentle lady might live.
But the fact that a blonde, tanned woman lived there was quite ironic, and I couldn't help but laugh.
Honestly, in the past, I would have been a bit nervous entering such a fancy house, but now that I was living in Sylvia's mansion, I felt no hesitation in ringing the doorbell.
After a moment, the door opened with a quick step.
"Welcome! Come in quickly, everyone."
I involuntarily held my breath at the sight of Leonor on the other side of the door.
She was wearing a tank top and dolphin shorts, which only emphasized her powerful physique.
While it was understandable to be comfortable at home, seeing Leonor in such attire left me at a loss.
Even Mei, a woman, seemed to share this sentiment, as she turned her head and cleared her throat.
"What are you waiting for? The food will get cold, so hurry up."
"S-Sorry, we'll come in."
Leonor gestured for us to enter, and we hurriedly followed her inside, where the breathtaking scene made me gasp in admiration.
"Wow... wow..."
While Leonor's outfit was quite shocking, the sight before me was even more heart-stirring.
Mei, too, looked amazed as she said,
"Did you make all of this, Senior?"
"Hehe, I put in some effort since you were coming. How is it?"
It's amazing...
I was filled with admiration and gave Leonor a thumbs up.
The table was filled with various dishes, and I couldn't even guess how many hours she had spent preparing them.
The meals at Sylvia's mansion were also delicious, but they were so fancy that they felt a bit overwhelming.
However, the dishes Leonor had prepared felt like home-cooked meals.
Seeing dishes like braised ribs, which require a lot of time and effort, made me salivate, and I asked Leonor,
"Senior, thank you, but didn't you spend too much time? I feel bad that you went to so much trouble for us..."
"Aha, if you're going to be so polite, at least wipe the drool from your mouth first. I did it because I wanted to, so don't worry too much. Besides... there's something I want to talk to you about."
Leonor hesitated slightly before continuing.
"Anyway, it seems the cooking club will be disbanded after the academy's suspension ends."
"What? That's...!"
Mei exclaimed in shock at her words.
I was also surprised but soon realized it was a possibility, so I nodded with a regretful expression.
Given what happened, it wasn't strange for the club to be disbanded...
Leonor said with a troubled look,
"Originally, the club was formed because Mr. James, the chef, allowed us to use the kitchen... but now that he's gone. Plus, even if a new chef comes, they plan to restrict access to the kitchen for security reasons, limiting it to a minimum number of people. Even if the club continues, we won't be able to enjoy cooking in the kitchen like before..."
I often had nightmares about that day, so I understood her feelings.
James must have been even more affected, having spent so much time with him.
After a moment of silence, Mei murmured with a sad expression,
"Then... is the cooking club over? It was fun to gather and cook together, even though I didn't see it much..."
"Really disappointing."
Even though I was mainly the one who ate, I had planned to treat them to a special stir-fried garlic sprouts someday, but now...
Mei and I both looked regretful, and Leonor, who had a troubled expression, said to us,
"I had something to say. You need to listen to the whole thing."
Leonor continued, looking a bit embarrassed,
"Actually, I really like you two, even though we haven't known each other for long. Thinking back, the time I spent with you in the cooking club was the most enjoyable recently. So... I have a favor to ask..."
Leonor blushed slightly as she asked us,
"If you're okay with it, can we still meet up and have meals together, even if it's not for the cooking club? I worked hard on the food today to ask you this... what do you think?"
Despite her tough appearance, her request was so cute.
While I was thinking this, Mei nodded enthusiastically and exclaimed,
"I... I'm fine with it! I completely agree! I'm not good with people, but I wanted to be friends with you, Senior..."
Mei looked at me with a longing expression.
It's fine, you don't have to beg.
Since I felt indebted to both of them, I had no reason to refuse if they wanted to.
Thinking this, I said to Leonor,
"I'm fine with it too. I want to remain good friends with you, Senior."
"Ah... thank goodness..."
Leonor sighed in relief and smiled, her eyes slightly red.
She looked so happy that I chuckled and said,
"Senior, are you crying?"
"Who's crying! I'm not crying, so don't get cocky and eat your food quickly!"
"Of course, of course, I will."
"I'm not crying!"
"Ahahaha"
Laughter filled the air during the meal.
It was a time to forget worries and anxieties.
*
After the meal, as Leonor insisted that guests should rest, we ignored her and helped with the dishes. I asked Leonor and Mei how I could get stronger.
Mei looked hurt and murmured,
"Scarlett, that's a very painful question for someone weaker than you..."
"No, I'm really curious about what kind of training I should do to get stronger..."