I woke up the next morning. I didn’t get a good night’s sleep. It wasn’t that I didn’t get to sleep all night but I was just slightly sleep deprived. 

After tending to the animals and Ash, I went back to sleep again. 

10:00

I squirmed out of the bed. I didn’t have the desire to do anything and so I just casually looked at my guild card and saw that I had more than 100 guild points. Since my guild points already got over 100, I decided to have a training session with Kai-sensei for a change of pace. 

11:00

After having an appropriate meal, I went out to Resta. 

12:00

Right now, I was face to face with Dan from the adventurers’ guild. Ash was leisurely pinning a bone with his forefoot and nibbling on it. My eyes had been stuck on the list but I just couldn’t find the right answer yet. 

Swordsmanship, martial arts, shield skill. Which one is better?

In the end, I decided to go for martial arts. It was quite appealing since I could still use it in battle even when I didn’t have my sword with me. I immediately asked to have a training session with Kai-sensei. 

Kai-sensei made a gesture that told me to watch him closely and then he went over to the wooden target. He crouched down and then he unleashed a backward somersault kick, pulverizing the wooden target. 

…….. No matter how I look at it, it looks like Guile’s skill. Even the names are similar. 

Kai-sensei told me to give it a go and so, I started practicing. I was worried if I could do a backward somersault but I was able to do it. Perhaps it was due to the fact that my status had risen or maybe due to the fact that my physical ability had improved. 

At first I was worried I’d end up falling to the floor and breaking my neck, like that ‘hadouken’ character who became the victim of Zangief’s spinning piledriver. But it seemed, it was just my groundless fear. 

I crouched down, amassing power and then I did a backward somersault kick! 

THUMP!

『Individual Name: Keigo Okuda has acquired Moonsault Kick level 1.』

Kai-sensei clapped and congratulated me. I also replied ‘thank you’ to him. I bowed then I left the dojo.

15:00

I bought replacements for the ankle snares at the adventurers’ guild. Then I went to buy some food and alcohol at Sarasa’s store before I continued on to go to Margo’s store. 

16:00

Margo was in his store, looking like he had a lot of spare time as he rested his chin on his hand on the table. The store looked empty, void of any visitor. Margo glanced at the food and the alcohol I had bought and then he flipped his store sign to ‘closed’. 

Is your store going to be alright?

Seeing a slightly worried expression on my face, Margo put his thumb up, giving me a “it’s fine” gesture. The two of us sat down with a thud in a less crowded space in the blacksmith workshop and started drinking. 

Apparently, Margo hadn’t bought the ankle snare traps and the food I had asked him to yet so when I told him I had already bought them myself, he handed my money back. Coincidentally, Sarasa stopped by Margo’s store in order to take his lunch box back with her and so, the three of us decided to drink together. 

I told Margo about the new martial arts skill I had just learned while Sarasa was playing with Ash. It was like, things that seemed inconsequential before became very important now. It was like I was basking in the sun. 

We decided to round it off at what we considered as a good time and called it a day. On that night, I slept soundly. It was as if the cold I had felt in my heart yesterday was just a mirage.