Chapter 39: Daily Life 1
"Is Sheele the first one up?"
Kobayashi walked out of his room.
After Najenda had told them to use their own methods, Leone and the others had used rock-paper-scissors to decide the order.
And the first-place winner was Sheele.
He walked into the main hall.
Kobayashi couldn't help but freeze, stunned.
Sheele sat serenely in a chair. She wore a soft, shimmering purple silk cheongsam with a slit that went up to the root of her thigh, accentuating her beautiful, full, and delicate figure.
The pure white over-the-knee socks offered more room for imagination between the slits of her dress. As she shifted her posture from time to to time, the sway of the cheongsam offered glimpses of how perfectly her legs were outlined in white.
Beneath her elegant black glasses was a stunningly beautiful face and a pair of slightly dazed-looking eyes. She possessed an enchanting glamour that could steal one's soul, yet it was adorned with a hint of cuteness.
Alright, alright, he admitted that was a bit much description.
But don't misunderstand. It wasn't that he had any ideas about Sheele; it was just that the cheongsam really did it for him. That was all.
"Good morning, Sheele."
"Morning, Kobayashi."
After greeting each other, he sat down across from her, waiting for her to speak.
However, Sheele said nothing.
She was more focused on the book in her hands.
Kobayashi blinked and asked, "Sheele, is there nothing you want to say?"
"Say what?" Sheele gave him an airheaded glance.
"About the order from yesterday. Weren't you the first one? So I came to find you."
"Oh, is that so."
It seemed Sheele just remembered that this was happening.
And then, that was it.
She lowered her head again, immersed in a book with the exceptionally subtle title, "How an Airhead Should Interact with People."
Seeing that she wasn't speaking, Kobayashi prepared to leave quietly so as not to disturb her, but Sheele suddenly asked a question.
"Do you like books, Kobayashi?"
"I do."
"What genre?"
"History."
"Your reason?"
"Because all knowledge is connected, and the hub that connects it all is history."
"An interesting answer."
She asked, he answered.
History is the inheritance, accumulation, and expansion of culture; it is the trajectory of human civilization. Knowledge is accumulated along the timeline of history.
History is the backbone of knowledge.
Every world has its own history. After thoroughly familiarizing oneself with its history, strengthening other fields and the speed of learning will accelerate. This was especially important for Kobayashi, who could travel between worlds.
Just as he was preparing to say all this, and add a particularly pretentious finisher—"War has only written four pages in the books of history, yet it has torn out nearly half the world"—Sheele stopped asking questions and once again immersed herself in that subtly-titled book.
Hey, girl! Don't you know it's a bad habit not to let someone finish their cool speech?! It feels really bad to have it stuck in my throat!
...Although he really wanted to retort, he forcibly held it in.
Sheele was focused on the book in her hand. It seemed she wasn't interested in studying literature, but rather in studying how to cure her airheadedness.
No, I have no idea what she's thinking.
Kobayashi rubbed his forehead and prepared to leave.
Suddenly, Sheele handed him another book. The title was "A Thousand Years of the Empire." It seemed to be a record of how the first Emperor established the Empire and how the Teigu came to be.
Does she want me to stay and read with her?
After thinking for a moment, he stayed.
The two didn't talk much more. The soft sound of turning pages filled the quiet and peaceful morning.
Before long, the others arrived in the main hall. They weren't surprised to see Sheele and Kobayashi. And when they learned that there had been no progress, their expressions were ones of complete expectation. In their eyes, Sheele's turn was probably a freebie.
Then, it was time for breakfast.
After the meal, Leone asked, "Who's up after Sheele?"
"Me!"
Bulat flashed a manly, "aniki" smile.
Woah—
Leone looked at Kobayashi with an expression that said, "You're on your own," which made him shiver all over and subconsciously clench his buttcheeks.
At the training grounds.
"Speaking of getting closer, there's nothing like a fierce clash of body against body!"
Bulat's smile became even more enthusiastic and unrestrained. He took off his shirt, revealing his muscular upper body, and invited Kobayashi, "Come on, let's have a hearty, satisfying brawl!"
As I thought! My ominous premonition came true!
Kobayashi pleaded with Leone beside him, "I don't want to clash with him. Can we switch with someone else?"
Unfortunately, Leone, who had been wanting to see him make a fool of himself, how could she possibly agree?
"No! Those are the established rules!"
She gloatingly pushed Kobayashi into the training ground.
Seeing Kobayashi's disgust, Bulat defended himself. "Hey, hey, hey, don't be so resistant. We're both men, what's there to be afraid of?"
"It's because we're both men that I'm afraid!" Kobayashi couldn't help but roar.
However, he still reluctantly took off his shirt. Bulat's orientation was a bit special, but it was undeniable that he was very strong. His title, "The 100-Man Slayer," was no joke. Moreover, he was a former soldier, and Kobayashi was very interested in the Empire's martial arts. He naturally wouldn't refuse the chance to be taught.
Let me secretly learn a thing or two.
...And then, he was thoroughly taught a lesson.
Although Kobayashi had rich experience fighting monsters, he was a little inexperienced when it came to fighting humans.
At the start, Kobayashi placed his hands over his chest and abdomen, his feet spread far apart as he tensed up in a crouch. It was a standard Cat Stance, good for throwing a sucker punch.
"Oh?"
Seeing his stance, Bulat's eyes lit up. It seemed he also recognized that there was something to it. But he didn't do anything, simply spreading his feet and guarding his chest.
The two circled each other, looking for an opening.
As time passed, Kobayashi felt Bulat's aura growing stronger. Knowing that hesitation would lead to defeat, he decisively attacked.
He rushed forward and threw two quick kicks, one after the other, straight at Bulat's chest and abdomen. Unfortunately, both were blocked.
Bulat praised him, "Not bad! A high kick will shift your center of gravity. To balance speed and defense, attacking the torso is the best approach."
Then, he returned the favor.
Kobayashi crossed his arms in front of his chest, blocking two powerful kicks. Bulat seemed to be getting into it. The two kicks were standard and very powerful, making Kobayashi's blocking arms ache slightly.
Is he correcting my kicking posture and how to apply force?
Not one to admit defeat, Kobayashi also returned the attack. However, at the instant his two kicks ended, he suddenly changed his move, spinning into a back kick aimed straight at his chin.
But Bulat didn't fall for it at all.
He had taken a step back when Kobayashi turned, and after the back kick missed, he took a step forward and delivered a back kick of his own, hitting Kobayashi squarely on the chin.
The heavy blow made Kobayashi's head spin.
"No, no. Although that back kick was very unexpected, the foot supporting your body completely gave you away," Bulat said, telling him what was wrong in the manner of a martial arts teacher.
Kobayashi, however, did not show a look of unwillingness. On the contrary, an excited smile appeared on his face.
Getting stronger is addictive.
To him, failure accumulated experience and was a stepping stone to success. So he had to absorb the nutrients of the strong to nourish himself and become even stronger.
Just like how he squeezed Wiz dry, he was going to squeeze Bulat dry too!
For the rest of the morning, the two of them went back and forth, both with the same "aniki" smile on their faces, making Leone exclaim that it was burning her eyes.
(End of Chapter)
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Yo, it's Hollowborn here—trying something new!
If we hit 45 Power Stones in the next 24 hours,
I'll release 1 bonus chapter!
And going forward…
Every 100 Power Stones = 1 extra chapter