The day after my first battle against horn rabbits.
I woke up early in the morning as usual, finished doing my laundry in the inn's backyard, and moved straight into my workout.
Being more conscious of my form than yesterday, I decided on a set number of repetitions and went through various exercises one set at a time.
As a result, the gains were even better than the day before.
◇
You have trained your strength.
Gained 1 EXP.
45/100 until stat increase.
◇
It had gone up by 24.
At this rate, I would be able to raise my strength by 1 in another two or three days.
"Gaining 1 point just by putting in five days of hard work is pretty insane, though..."
Then again, I had only tested this with strength so far.
"If only I could raise my magic power at a similar pace... No, but would that even be necessary now that Philia's here for magic?"
Ryan-san was going to introduce me to someone who could teach me magic.
Back when I was on my own, I had been thrilled at the prospect.
Now, however, I had Philia with me, and she was a mage.
If I learned how to use magic, wouldn't I be stepping on her toes?
As I turned the thought over in my mind, Amanda-san walked out into the backyard.
"At it again today, I see. You're truly admirable for keeping this up every single day, Erik."
"Well, in the end, training is for my own benefit."
"Even so, there aren't many kids who can actually follow through, you know? Most would rather gamble by heading straight out on adventures than endure grueling training."
"Though if you end up dying, it defeats the whole purpose."
The Adventurer's Guild had tweaked its systems time and time again to keep rookies from getting killed.
Even so, some novices still pushed their luck and died.
Not that taking risks was entirely wrong in itself, of course.
"There's a future where that could've been me, too. If this inn hadn't been recommended to me on my way to the royal capital, I wouldn't be enjoying such wonderful days right now."
"Hehe, you sure know how to flatter an old lady."
"It's just the truth. Hearing that lodging costs 1 silver coin might make it sound expensive, but for that price, you get a private bath and toilet, a lock on your door, and plenty of space. On top of that, we get delicious meals every single day."
There were plenty of other inns throughout the royal capital.
Looking strictly at the price, there were certainly cheaper options.
None of them, however, offered facilities this well-equipped.
If anything, even among the pricier establishments, very few could match this place.
This was information I had gathered firsthand while running all over the royal capital on requests.
"Honestly, being able to stay here for just 1 silver coin is what's bizarre."
"Well, that's because we aren't the ones paying for all the facility upgrades. The building itself hasn't changed since way back when, but all the kids who left the nest have chipped in to do all sorts of work for us and the younger generations to follow."
Hearing Amanda-san explain it like that, I quietly resolved to give back the same way someday.
Later at breakfast, there were slightly more side dishes on the table than usual.
"I told Ted earlier about how you praised the place. He was so happy he ended up serving you extra."
"H-Hey, keep your mouth shut about that!" Ted-san yelled, poking his head out from the kitchen in response to Amanda-san's teasing.
Once I finished eating breakfast, I renewed my stay at the inn for the first time in a while.
"Oh, ten days again this time?"
"Requests have been going smoothly, and more than anything, I'd hate to lose my room."
With that, I handed Amanda-san 10 silver coins.
After leaving the inn, I made my way over to the Adventurer's Guild.
"Erik-kun, there's someone I'd like you to meet."
"Ah, could it be the person who's going to teach me magic?"
"Yes. We finally managed to get in touch with her and had her come down to the guild."
Apparently, the person meant to be my master had been away from the royal capital.
Because of that, they hadn't been able to summon her right away, which had been giving the guild a headache.
Yesterday, however, she had finally shown her face, allowing them to arrange a meeting for today.
"Hmm, so you're the adventurer being recommended as my apprentice?"
Guided into the room, I stepped inside to find Ryan-san and one other person waiting.
Silver hair and blue eyes.
She was a woman of striking, impeccably proportioned beauty.
Yet, despite simply sitting there, she gave off an overwhelming aura of pressure.
"N-Nice to meet you. I'm Erik, an adventurer."
"Whoa, this kid is incredible! He withstood my [Intimidation] and introduced himself properly!"
"Please don't bully Erik."
"Whaaat?!"
As the woman marveled in delight, Reina-san stepped in with a sharp warning.
The woman let out a visibly flustered squawk, caught completely off guard.
"I-I'm not bullying him! I was just testing how much mental fortitude he had!"
"Even so, doing that without a word of warning is no different from bullying a ten-year-old like Erik-kun."
"Ugh... I-I'm so sorry, Erik-kun! For suddenly testing you like that!"
Thoroughly reprimanded by Reina-san, the woman panicked and bowed in frantic apology, totally shattering her initial commanding impression.
I had no idea what was going on, but I accepted the apology for now.
"T-That makes things okay, right? Erik-kun accepted my apology, so please don't hate me, Reina-chan, okay?"
"...Erik-kun accepted your apology, so that's the end of the matter."
"Y-You don't hate me?"
"I don't."
Hearing Reina-san's reassurance, the woman broke into a relieved, happy smile.