I could hear the chirping of birds.
　I woke up in the fresh morning sunshine coming through the curtains.

''Hmm?''

　I immediately notice that my body is half wrapped in something soft.
　When I turn my gaze, I see a naked Lilia sleeping next to me.

　Its eyelids, framed by long eyelashes, slowly open.

''....Good morning. Last night was very intense, ah, na, ta❤.

　I grab her face with one hand and try to crush it as hard as I can.

'Geez!　Hey, your head!　My head is going to crack open!　Give, give, give, give!

　He instantly declared a giveaway, so I had no choice but to let him go.
　Lilia screams with tears in her eyes.

''What are you doing?!''
That's my line. What are you doing in bed? And you're naked.
'Don't tell me you've forgotten about last night!　He loved me so much!　So please don't put an iron claw in the maiden's face!
Then get dressed.

　Of course, there is no evidence that anything happened between me and this guy.
　She was drunk and fell asleep at the restaurant, so Laina carried her back here to the headquarters.
　As it is, this guy should have been put to sleep on the bed in his room.

''Ugh.......I didn't expect her to do the Iron Claw without a care in the world against a damsel who had made up her mind and decided to color up.......''
'I used to do that to my parents' stupid, dickhead sister. I'd rather be the cute one, Ironclaw.
Your poor sister is too sad!

　No, no matter what you think, it's worse to sneak into someone's bed naked without permission or try to kiss me while I'm sleeping.

'I mean, Are you really fifteen years old, Arel-san?　It's supposed to be normal and healthy for a normal and healthy 15 year old boy to be curious about female bodies and to attack them like a beast when he sees them naked!
If you're going to color me, you're going to have to grow at least ten more inches on your chest before you can come back.
Horrible!

　I let go of the screaming Lilia and leave the room.
　Here at Dragonfang's headquarters, there are several rooms where you can sleep in, and I'm currently renting one of them.
　I'm grateful for that, since I can save on the cost of lodging.

　After washing my face briefly, I walked into the training room.
　It's a large space with no one in it.
　It's a fine training room, as expected of a former top guild, but since there aren't many members in the guild, it's almost always booked out.

''Well, it's morning training.

　Stand upside down with one right arm and do push-ups from that position.

'One, two, three, four........'





Nine hundred and ninety-six, nine hundred and ninety-seven, nine hundred and ninety-eight, nine hundred and ninety-nine....thousand. ....wind.

　After completing a thousand push-ups on both sides, I take a breath.
　Just then, a girl with red hair came into the training room.

"Is Laina practicing in the morning too?
Yeah, that's right.

　When I called out to her, she looked away and responded with a voice that was heavily upturned.
　Hmm?　As usual, you're a bit of an afterthought, aren't you?
　I wonder if the fact that you lost to me is still a problem for you.

　I'm a fellow countryman.
　I'm sure we'll all be able to get along if we can.

Laina!
What is it?
'Would you mind hitting me with the sword in its sheath for a moment?
What kind of s*x do you have in mind?

　...proclivities?
　What are you talking about?

'And Laina is probably the best person for the job.
'Wow, I'm not the kind of person who enjoys doing that!
"...?　I don't need you to say that, I need you to help me. I need Laina's help.
'Well, you're that attached to me.........　After what you said yesterday, you didn't think that you were referring to me...

　For some reason, Laina's face turns bright red.


"...What are you talking about earlier?
You're the one who's crazy, aren't you?　Wow, you pervert who's trying to get pleasure from me beating you up!

　Hmm.
　At any rate, there seems to be some kind of grand misunderstanding.

Your swordsman can learn the skill of sturdiness, right?　I'm trying to replicate that.
Robust?
Sturdy - that's what I call 'resilient'. And what I think you have to do to get hit hard is to take a lot of hits without any protection.

　Furthermore, considering the efficiency, it's better to have someone with as much offensive power as possible to help.
　That's why the 《Rigid Swordsman》 Laina is the right person for the job.
　However, as expected, if you get cut with a serious cut, you will die, so I'm asking you to hit me while I'm in my scabbard.

You're going to have to be able to say that quickly!　I must have made a strange mistake!　I thought you were a masochist...
I apologize for that. So, can you help me out?
Okay, fine. But I don't think you'll be able to learn the Sturdy skill in the usual way. If it were really possible, someone somewhere would have done it by now.

　Snorting lightly, Lyna dismisses it as 'impossible'.

'Indeed, it would be hard enough to keep up with a normal attack,'
I know.
So I'll have to keep on taking it... not just normally, but I'll have to take it.