In the blink of an eye, more than ten trainee knights had collapsed, sprawled out in utter disarray. Silently, I cheered them on.

"You fought well, even in defeat."

Thumbs up!

But, as expected, with every additional lap, a few more knights dropped out.

By the thirtieth lap, fewer than ten knights remained. I had already lost count of how many times the system had restored my stamina.

Thanks to this cheat-like buff, I felt perfectly fine and wasn’t even tired!

Still, I pretended to struggle like the others. My "struggling" was limited to letting out a few faint groans, though.

"Oof, ouch."

"Serves you right."

"Hm?"

I turned my head at the sudden remark and saw the green-haired boy from earlier.

He was swallowing something—a potion.

Ah.

I immediately recognized what it was.

"Did you just drink a stamina potion?"

In the Holy Palace, the priests specialized in brewing a variety of potions—stamina recovery, detoxification, healing wounds, and so on.

The green-haired boy simply smirked without a word and pushed ahead. I watched his retreating back in disbelief.

"This won’t do."

I had originally planned to drop out at a reasonable point to avoid drawing attention. Being the top runner might look unnatural, after all.

But watching this boy’s antics, I couldn’t stand the thought of letting someone like him take first place.

Besides, running continuously was boosting my stamina stats, which made this a great opportunity.

It felt like farming monsters with endless heals for extra experience points.

And, well, I also wanted to teach these jerks a lesson for mocking me as a Primrose orphan and messing with my schedule.

With renewed determination, I kept running, ditching the pretense of struggling. Maintaining a steady pace was much more comfortable than faking exhaustion.

By the fortieth lap, only the green-haired boy and I remained.

The trainees who had dropped out earlier watched us in stunned silence, as though they were witnessing something unbelievable.

"…What the hell? How is this even possible?"

"That tiny girl has outlasted all of us and is keeping up with Edgar?"

"…It must be because it’s been 150 years since a genius like her appeared."

Their gazes toward me, which once brimmed with disdain, now resembled reverence for a legendary knight of old.

These were the same people who had sabotaged my schedule to break my spirit, yet their morale seemed to have taken the bigger hit.

"Looks like Edgar’s about to collapse," someone muttered.

All eyes turned toward the green-haired boy—Edgar—whose supply of potions seemed to have run out. He was hunched over, stumbling like a zombie, his ragged breaths echoing through the training ground.

As I passed him effortlessly, I asked casually, "Are you planning to drop dead like this?"

"Shut up… mind your own business…"

"Oh, is that so? Well, I guess a Canary can’t lose to a Primrose, can they?"

"Y-you…!"

I left him fuming behind me with a bright smile. From somewhere far behind, I heard him mumbling bitterly.

"Why… why the hell is she still running so well…?"

But his voice quickly faded into wheezes.

"Huff… huff… I c-can’t… I’m done…"

Thud!

Edgar collapsed right then and there.

Without breaking stride, I turned my head slightly to glance back. Edgar lay sprawled on the ground, looking utterly defeated, his eyes filled with disbelief and indignation as he stared up at me.

"How… how is this even possible…?"

How could I still be running, perfectly fine, when he, who had gulped down so many potions, couldn’t keep going?

Still jogging in place, I gave him a carefree shrug.

"Well, I’m the chosen Holy Knight of this generation—appearing after 150 years, after all."

"Y-you…!"

It looked like his eyes were about to roll back.

Jogging lightly, I approached him. This was the perfect time to deliver a clear message to everyone here.

I wouldn’t tolerate being messed with again—not with my schedule, not with their petty power plays.

"If you mess with my schedule one more time, you’re going to regret it."

"I-it wasn’t just me…!"

Before he could finish, Edgar passed out. For a moment, I thought he might have actually died, but it turned out he had simply fallen asleep.

With no challengers left standing, I finally stopped running.

It was a perfect victory.

Though there wasn’t an official audience, the defeated trainees, who had been watching more intently than any spectator, were ready to applaud.

"Wow…"

"The new girl—on her first day—took first place."

"What is she, a monster?"

"…And she’s perfectly fine after forty-two laps."

The training ground was filled with silent applause and admiration.

As for me, I couldn’t help but feel extremely satisfied with how my first day of training had turned out.

***

"Ah, my body..."

After training—or rather, punishment—I finally returned to the dormitory. That’s when I began to feel the aches and pains all over my body.

It was as if every muscle was screaming in agony.

The system had restored my stamina, but it didn’t heal the physical toll my body had endured.

At that moment, I remembered the stash of potions Lady Rearwin had thoughtfully given me. Forcing myself to sit up, I reached for them.

"Wow. I didn’t think I’d ever need these."

I quickly grabbed a few potions labeled "Instant Relief for Muscle Pain" and gulped them down.

At least I’d managed to come in first place. The other trainees, on the other hand, were in for days of grueling night training as punishment.

For now, I decided to rest.

As the potions took effect, the pain in my body gradually subsided. However, drowsiness crept in, and I lazily changed into more comfortable clothes before collapsing onto the bed.

Opening the system window, I saw that my stamina had increased significantly.

"Hehe, this feels great… I can’t wait to start swordsmanship training!"

The thought of sword training excited me. What would it be like? I couldn’t help but look forward to it.

Despite my enthusiasm, my body was already succumbing to sleep. Just before I completely drifted off, the system window popped up again.

<‘Dragon Slayer Sylvester’ advises you not to overexert yourself.>

"I’m fine! This much is nothing!"

In fact, I felt incredible. It was as if I was finally starting to grow stronger.

The soreness and fatigue would be gone by tomorrow after a good night’s rest, especially with the help of the potions.

Anticipating the training ahead, I fell into a deeply satisfying sleep.

***

"Meteor! Sir Meteor!"

Late the next morning, after finishing early dawn training followed by morning drills, someone called out to Meteor.

He turned to see Lucas, a knight two years younger than him, rushing toward him with his curly brown hair bouncing.

"What’s the matter?" Meteor asked.

"I think something terrible has happened! Crescent has collapsed and hasn’t woken up!" Lucas exclaimed.

"What?"

Meteor furrowed his brow.

He had suspected that the girl might not be able to handle Holy Knight training, but collapsing on the first day?

However, Lucas’s next words surprised him even more.

He recounted what had happened during Crescent’s first training session: how Edgar had provoked her with insults, leading to an argument. Their supervising knight, witnessing the situation, had ordered all trainees to run fifty laps around the training ground as punishment.

But to everyone’s astonishment, Crescent had run forty-two laps and finished first.

Meteor could hardly believe what he was hearing.

"Are you serious?" he asked.

"Yes! I thought you’d want to know since she still hasn’t woken up," Lucas said, looking up at him with bright, admiring eyes.

Who wouldn’t look up to Meteor? He was perfect in every way—his appearance, his noble family, his divine power, and his mastery of swordsmanship. Not long ago, he had even survived a high-tier Magi dungeon and returned alive.

"He’s amazing!" Lucas thought.

But Meteor remained lost in thought, still processing what Lucas had told him.

The first training ground was a place he had run countless laps himself when he first became a Holy Knight. For an ordinary knight, twenty laps would have been a struggle. Forty-two laps? That was unheard of.

He recalled his mother’s parting words of advice.

"Metty, please keep an eye on our Centi. There will be many days when you won’t train together, so make sure someone checks on her for any trouble. You know better than anyone how mischievous young knights can be."

That was why he had reluctantly asked Lucas to report on Crescent’s activities. Since their training schedules often overlapped, Lucas was in a good position to keep an eye on her.

"Thank you, Lucas," Meteor said, patting the younger knight’s shoulder. Without another word, he headed straight for Crescent’s room.

Honestly, he had intended to keep his distance from her unless something serious happened. Yet here he was, going to see her much sooner than expected.