Chapter 24: It’s Perfectly Reasonable for a Knight to Build Tank, Isn’t It?

When Kobayashi first arrived in the world of Konosuba, he would exercise every morning to ensure his survival in this otherworldly environment. Although his routine consisted of basic movements like running and stretching, it still allowed him to make some progress. However, after teaming up with Kazuma Sato and Aqua, his early morning workouts were pushed to the back of his mind. He could use being busy as an excuse, but the truth was that he was simply slacking off. How could he ever grow stronger with such laziness?

He resolved to start exercising the next morning.
The 21st, he slacked off.
The 22nd, he slacked off.
The 23rd, he slacked off.
The 24th... Kobayashi, oh Kobayashi! How could you fall so far? Where is that strength you promised to achieve? You cannot continue to live in such a daze!
The 25th, he slacked off.
The 26th, he slacked off.
...

It really was not his fault! Every morning, the soft, silver-and-blue embrace of his bed held him captive, leaving him unable to move. A life of comfort is a hero's graveyard; the ancients were right indeed. That’s right! It was absolutely not his fault! With that thought, he buried his head back into the covers.

Unfortunately, Wiz—who was behind him—did not give him the chance to be lazy. Seeing him wake up, she said, "Master Kobayashi, it is time for your morning exercise."

"Uh..." Kobayashi paused. To strengthen his resolve to wake up early, he had specifically asked Wiz the previous night to wake him up, insisting she not let him be sluggish no matter how much he begged. Was this a case of shooting himself in the foot?

Kobayashi lifted his head and took one last wistful look at the soft, water-blue comfort of his bed. There was no helping it. Keeping one's word was his personal way of the ninja. He struggled out of bed, allowed Wiz to help him dress, and then headed out of the room.

Upon arriving at the courtyard, he found someone already there. It was none other than the party's crusader. She was not wearing her knight's armor, but rather a light, form-fitting white suit that resembled a training outfit. It had likely been modified for comfort, particularly around the chest area, which was quite prominent. No wonder she was so sturdy; it turned out that having a thick, forward-facing breastplate provided her with quite a bit of extra defense.

He walked over to greet her. "Good morning, Darkness."

"Good morning, Kobayashi. It’s rare to see you up so early. Is there something you're planning to do?" Darkness looked quite surprised to see him.

"I used to wake up this early every day before I started living with you all," Kobayashi explained casually. Seeing the light beads of sweat on her forehead, he added, "Just like you, I'm doing my morning exercises. It was a daily requirement for me, but it got sidelined after we started living together. I’m resuming my morning training starting today."

"I see," Darkness nodded, then invited him, "Would you like to join me?"

"I would be delighted," Kobayashi happily agreed.

Darkness was a crusader focused on defense, so she had high requirements for her physical condition; her training methods were likely much more efficient than his own. One only had to look at her nearly defined abdominal muscles to tell.

"Hisss... hah... hisss... hah..."

"Wait, why are you panting?"

"Because you've been staring at me. You must be coveting my body, definitely imagining how you might toy with me in your mind... How wonderful!"

"It's great that you're so energetic this early, but you've completely misunderstood!" Kobayashi felt helpless against the foolish masochistic knight. He rubbed his brow and explained, "I was just looking at your nearly defined abdominal muscles."

"Ab-abdominal muscles... ugh." Darkness hurriedly covered her stomach with both hands and crouched down, which only served to highlight the perfect curve of her hips. Her sudden movement struck Kobayashi as odd. "Darkness, what’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

"Don't, don't look... don't look at my stomach." She puffed out her cheeks, looking at him with teary eyes, clearly sensitive about his previous comment.

He suddenly remembered: Darkness was actually quite self-conscious about her abs. Because she exercised too much, they had become quite pronounced, and people often told her she lacked femininity. Kobayashi, however, had a different opinion.

"Why hide them? Isn't that something to be proud of?"

"Eh? What did you say?"

"Not everyone has abdominal muscles; even I don't." He lifted his shirt to reveal his own stomach, which was smooth and flat, much to his chagrin. He gave a thumbs-up and encouraged her, "So, you don't need to worry. Many people would envy you—myself included."

"Envy..." Darkness was silent for a moment before asking, "Doesn't Kobayashi think it’s unfeminine for a girl to have abs?"

"Why would I?"

"To even ask why..."

"Whether or not someone is feminine has nothing to do with whether they have abs. At the very least, Darkness, you are very feminine in my eyes." ...Provided she wasn't being a fool.

"Is, is that so... I’m feminine too... Hehehe, hehehe..." She seemed very happy to be complimented by him. Darkness was a sheltered young lady and lacked common sense, but her basic upbringing was fine, and when she carried herself with the air of nobility, she was quite feminine indeed.

"Darkness, teach me how to exercise. I want to have abs too."

"O-okay, if you insist."

From then on, she took charge of his training. Because his knowledge in this area was shallow, Kobayashi had simply assumed that getting abs meant doing sit-ups and crunches. However, Darkness explained that those were for later; what he needed to do first was burn fat and lower his body fat percentage. Under the current circumstances, the fastest way to burn fat was—

"Let's jump rope!"

"Jump rope?"

"Jumping rope is great for weight loss and also builds stamina. It’s perfect for the current you."

"Oh, I see." Darkness was a professional; he just had to follow her lead.

"Then—" The two of them put some distance between each other and began to jump. It went well at first, but as they continued, Kobayashi's body began to hunch over involuntarily, and before long, he couldn't keep up.

"Stop, stop for a second. I can't do it."

"What? You're out of stamina after only ten minutes?"

"No, it's just..." Kobayashi was quite embarrassed. He couldn't exactly say that watching her bouncing chest made his own "sword" want to be drawn, could he? Although she wasn't quite like Wiz, who could create a breathtaking, perfect arc in mid-air, Darkness was no slouch. Her bouncing movements constantly drew his gaze, making it impossible for him to concentrate. The temptation was just too great!

Kobayashi turned away, not wanting her to see his embarrassment. "Sorry, I need to cool down for a moment."

"Oh, then I'll continue training." Darkness started jumping again. He thought that if he didn't look, he would calm down quickly, but even with his eyes closed, his mind was filled with the image of that powerful, rhythmic bouncing, making it harder and harder to restrain himself.

Suddenly, a low moan came from behind him. "Ah!"

"What’s wrong?!"

"It's nothing, I accidentally tripped."

Had she been jumping too fast? It was common with jump ropes to get tangled. For some reason, his calves began to ache. A little while later.

"Ah!!"

"What is it now?!"

"Nothing, it just got wrapped up a bit tightly."

"Wrapped up tightly?" Oh, the rope must have gotten tangled; untangling it was always a hassle.

A moment later.

"Ah!!!"

"What's wrong this time?!"

"Mmph, mmph, mmph!!!"

Darkness's muffled moans made Kobayashi feel that something was wrong. He turned around to see that Darkness's mouth had been bound by the jump rope. Not only that, but the thin rope was also cinched around her voluptuous body, creating a striking contrast that had an immense impact on his eyes.

"How on earth did you manage to get yourself into this state?!"

"Mmph, mmph..." Hearing him, Darkness became even more agitated, but her frantic struggling only made the rope wrap tighter, further highlighting the fullness of her chest and her rounded, firm hips.

Could she still be called an "impenetrable" knight? Wasn't she full of openings?

...Wait, no. Please, pull in those protruding hips of yours; they are far too eye-catching!