The next day, Arthur woke up early. He had developed a habit of waking up early in the morning to eat breakfast and play games. But because Arthur had never considered waking up early, his biological clock was messed up. Although his mind was awake, his body felt lethargic and his eyes wanted to avoid opening.
(I'll need a long time to get this body used to waking up early…)
Arthur stood up from his bed and went to the bathroom. After washing his face, he went around looking for Ruby. He wanted to have a cup of coffee but doubted he would find it in this world.
He went around the palace to familiarize himself with the place. After roaming around for a bit, he walked out of the palace into the garden. There, he saw Ruby watering the flowers with a smile on her face.
(So she can smile as well, huh…)
Ruby noticed someone walking into the garden. Her smile immediately disappeared, and she looked at the person who had entered the garden. She was surprised to see the prince so early in the morning.
"I wish you a good morning, your highness, I didn't know you would wake up so soon. I will immediately go and prepare breakfast."
"I won't be eating breakfast so soon. But can you bring some tea ?"
Ruby had a startled expression for a split second, but immediately gave a slight bow and went to prepare tea.
After Ruby left, Arthur found a bench in the garden. He sat there and admired the flowers. Unlike back on earth, the air of this world was not polluted. Instead, the air was clean and refreshing.
(The air here is wonderful. Finally, I don't have to smell burnt petrol every time I wake up in the morning. The flowers in the garden are beautiful as well.)
Although it was called a garden, the place was huge. The castle in itself was already huge, but the surrounding area was bigger than 10 football fields combined!
Some time later, Ruby returned with a tray. She served the tea to Arthur and stood aside. Arthur slowly drank tea, admiring the beauty of the place. As Arthur was quietly sipping his tea, he thought about his future actions.
(Someone is behind my life right now, and I don't know who it is. I can't use magic, so protecting myself against a strong mage will be very difficult. I need to get stronger…but how?)
Arthur sat on the bench, feeling helpless about his situation. He tried to think about how he could become stronger, but he didn't have any success.
(First, I must at least make myself physically fit. My body is too weak right now. Forget a mage, a common person could easily kill me. I should start from basic exercises.)
Arthur finished his tea and stood up from the bench. He walked away from the bench and started doing stretches and warming up his body. Seeing his strange movements, Ruby asked.
"What are you doing, your highness ?"
"I am doing exercises."
"I have never heard about such weird exercises."
"I…actually found it in a book. I thought it would be beneficial if I did some exercises. My body is pretty weak right now, you know…"
"Oh…then please don't mind me and continue your highness."
After that, Arthur continued his exercise for 20 minutes. Because his body wasn't used to such physical activities, he felt tired pretty quickly. He had chosen pretty easy exercises, but he lost his breath soon.
He felt sweaty all over his body, so he asked Ruby to prepare the bath. After bathing and changing his clothes, he ate breakfast. The breakfast was also very fancy and had a variety of food. Of course, no one except him was in the dining hall. Arthur felt a bit sad, but then he walked back to his room and continued reading the book.
…
"Ruby, how has Arthur been feeling ?"
Elize asked while drinking tea, sated on a chair in her room. She was wearing a majestic red dress and had an elegant aura surrounding her.
"Your majesty, his highness has recovered and is feeling fine."
Ruby replied with a bow
"Good. So are there any other problems with him ?"
"No your majesty, however I have noticed that his highness has been acting a bit strange since he recovered from the poisoning."
"Oh? How so?"
"Well, there are various things. His highness has been speaking with a polite tone to everyone. He hasn't scolded a single servant. He also hasn't acted arrogant in the least. Even when he asked me to prepare a bath, he went in by himself. This morning as well, he woke up early in the morning and asked me to prepare tea for him. Then, he did some exercises, saying that his body needed to be strengthened as his body is too weak. There are many things unusual about this, your highness."
Elize heard this with a surprised but happy face. After Ruby finished reporting, she said in a happy tone.
"That's wonderful! It looks like he finally decided to improve. I was afraid he was going to be dependent on me his whole life. Maybe the poison brought some sense into his head."
"Anyone would feel threatened after facing near death, your majesty. His highness must have realized that he needs to be strong to protect himself properly."
"Make sure that no one harms him."
"Yes, your majesty."
Ruby replied, then disappeared from the room. Elize kept drinking her tea with a happy expression. She was in a good mood and started humming a tune.
…
Back in his bedroom, Arthur tried to figure out ways he could get stronger. He thought if he should make a gun, but quickly trashed the idea because he didn't know how it was made, nor did he have the equipment to make the gun.
(Even if I was able to make a gun, would it even work on a mage ?)
As he was thinking worriedly, he suddenly heard a feminine voice in his head.
"Are you frustrated boy ?"
"Huh…"