Chapter 20

The chirping of a small bird could be heard.

Bathed in the refreshing morning sunlight that streamed through the curtains, I woke up.

"Hmm?"

I immediately noticed that half of my body was enveloped in a soft sensation. Turning my gaze, I saw Lilia lying naked next to me.

Her long lashes framed her eyelids, which slowly opened.

"Good morning. Last night was quite intense, wasn't it, d-e-a-r ❤"

I grabbed her face with one hand and tried to crush it.

"Kyaa!? No, my head!? My head is going to split!? Give, give, give!"

Since she immediately surrendered, I reluctantly let her go. Lilia screamed with tears in her eyes.

"What are you doing!?"

"That's my line. Why are you in my bed, and naked at that?"

"Could it be that you've forgotten about last night!? You loved me so much---ah, no, it's a lie! Please, stop the iron claw on a maiden's face!"

"Then put some clothes on."

Of course, nothing happened between us.

She got so drunk at the victory party that she fell asleep in the shop, and Rina brought her back to our base here. She was supposed to be put to bed in her own room.

"Ugh... I didn't expect you to use the iron claw so calmly on a maiden who had decided to use her charms..."

"I used to do it to my stupid, short-tempered sister back home. Compared to that, the iron claw is quite gentle."

"My sister is too pitiful!"

No matter how you look at it, it's wrong for her to crawl into someone's bed naked and try to kiss them while they're sleeping.

"By the way, Aler, are you really 15 years old!? A normal, healthy 15-year-old boy should be very interested in the female body and attack like a beast when he sees a naked body!"

"If you're going to use your charms on me, at least come back after growing your chest by at least 10 centimeters."

"That's cruel!?"

Leaving the shouting Lilia behind, I left the room.

The Dragon Fang base has several rooms for lodging, and I'm currently staying in one of them.

It saves on accommodation fees, so I'm grateful for that.

After washing my face, I headed to the training room.

A spacious room with no one inside.

It's a magnificent training room, as befits a former top guild, but since the guild has few members, it's almost always empty.

"Well, morning training."

I did a handstand using only my right arm and then did push-ups from that position.

"One, two, three, four... ..."

"Nine hundred ninety-six, nine hundred ninety-seven, nine hundred ninety-eight, nine hundred ninety-nine... one thousand. ...Phew."

After completing a thousand push-ups with each arm, I took a breath. Just then, a red-haired girl entered the training room.

"Rina, morning training too?"

"Y-Yeah..."

When I called out to her, she averted her eyes and responded in a unusually high-pitched voice.

Hmm? She's still quite distant.

Is she still holding a grudge over losing to me?

We're from the same hometown.

I'd like to get along with her if possible.

"Rina"

"W-What?"

"Could you hit me with your sword, still in its sheath?"

"What kind of fetish do you have!?"

...Fetish?

What is she talking about?

"Probably you're the best person for this."

"W-We, I'm not the kind of person who enjoys doing such things!"

"...? Just help me out. I need your strength."

"S-So you're this obsessed with me...! After what you said yesterday, could it be that you...?"

Rina's face turned bright red.

"N-No, it's not that I don't want to... but... we should start with something more normal... it's too special right from the start..."

"What are you talking about?"

"You're the one saying strange things! You pervert, trying to feel pleasure from being hit by me!?"

Hmm.

It seems there's a major misunderstanding.

"Your 'Steel Swordsman' can learn the 'Tough' skill, right? I'm trying to replicate that."

"The 'Tough' skill...?"

"Tough—meaning 'tough to hit.' To become tougher, I think the specific method is to 'continue receiving attacks without any protection.'"

To be more efficient, it's best to get help from someone with high attack power. That's why Rina, the 'Steel Swordsman,' is the best person for this.

Of course, I don't want to die, so I asked her to hit me with the sword still in its sheath.

"If that's the case, you should have said so earlier! I misunderstood and thought you were a masochist!"

"I apologize. So, will you help me?"

"...Alright. But I don't think you can learn the 'Tough' skill with such a normal method. If it were possible, someone would have done it already."

Rina snorted and declared it "impossible."

"Indeed, it would be difficult just by receiving attacks normally."

"Right."

"That's why I need to receive a lot of attacks, not just normally, but a lot."

Rina nodded, understanding the gravity of the situation.