Chapter 28: Skill 4

The final point of EXP.

I had no idea how long it had taken to raise it by one.

I’d been swinging the sword in complete concentration, and I stopped the moment the screen at the edge of my vision updated.

“At last, a skill other than my special skill has appeared for me…”

Feeling an immense sense of accomplishment, I checked my Status.

✤

Name: Erik

Age: 10

Level: 2

Strength: 11

Magic: 11

Stamina: 11

Agility: 11

Dexterity: 11

Skills

[Swordsmanship: 1]

Special Skill

[Fixed EXP]

Blessings

——

✤

[Swordsmanship] had unmistakably been added to the list of skills.

People said talent was essential for acquiring a skill.

The skill you received during the ceremony generally showed what kind of talent you could develop.

Magic skills were considered especially important.

Yet I’d gone from having nothing but a special skill to acquiring [Swordsmanship].

“All right!”

My voice came out far louder than I’d intended.

I’d been holding it in, but I couldn’t contain my feelings any longer.

Overjoyed, I hugged the wooden sword and even jumped around in celebration.

“Ah… W-What is it?”

“Well, Mom asked me to come and tell you it was time for dinner, but you looked like you were having so much fun dancing that I decided to watch.”

I felt someone’s gaze.

Creaking like a stiff mechanism, I slowly turned my head toward the inn.

Anna stood there with a broad grin.

“Let’s negotiate. I’ll keep your secret, Anna, so please pretend you didn’t see any of that.”

“Hmm, what should I do? You always act so calm, Erik. I think Mom and the others would be very surprised if I told them what I just saw.”

She grinned as she teased me.

I’d intended never to say it aloud, but if she was going to take that attitude, I had no choice but to fight back.

“Teddy-bear panties.”

“…!”

Those two words froze Anna’s expression.

“H-How do you know about those, Erik…?”

“As you know, I help with the inn’s laundry every morning. Once, your panties accidentally became mixed in with the sheets.”

“Mom! What were you doing?!”

When she learned how I’d discovered her secret, Anna shouted toward the inn.

Then she looked back at me and held out her hand.

“All right. Let’s both forget about this. I only came to call you, and that’s all. Agreed?”

“Yes. Thank you.”

Each now carrying the other’s secret, Anna and I shook hands.

“I’m not sure whether I should ask, but why do you still wear panties like that?”

“…I want to wear cute underwear. Is it strange for a fifteen-year-old to wear something like that?”

“Well, if it doesn’t bother you, I suppose it doesn’t matter. I used it against you just now, but it wouldn’t have been much of a secret if you’d been completely open about it.”

“Honestly, I do feel a little embarrassed because I think I should wear something more appropriate for my age. But I still want to wear them!”

Anna declared that with great conviction.

“I suppose people care about things like that. As long as clothes and underwear are wearable, I’m the sort of person who doesn’t care what they look like.”

“Really? You never dress strangely, so I thought you paid attention to your appearance.”

“I’ve never had enough financial freedom to worry about fashion. Still, I think I’ve begun paying a little more attention since coming to the royal capital. There are many more people here than in the village, and I meet people around the city through requests, so I now reserve badly worn clothes for cleaning and similar work.”

We continued talking as we entered the dining hall.

Once we sat down, Amanda brought our dinner.

“It took you quite a while after going to call him. Did something happen?”

“Ah, no. We were only chatting.”

“That’s right! Erik is so good at cleaning that I asked him how he became so skilled.”

“Oh? Anna, who hates cleaning, asked about that…”

Amanda stared intently at her, and Anna looked unsettled.

“Well, it’s fine. I’m sure you only asked out of curiosity.”

At Amanda’s words, Anna looked visibly relieved.

After that, I ate dinner and took a bath.

“What should I do from tomorrow onward…?”

Once I’d finished bathing, I returned to my room.

I sat in a chair, felt the night breeze, and considered my plans from tomorrow onward.

I’d continue leveling up, of course, but I wondered whether there were other things I could do as well.

Acquiring [Appraisal] would contribute enormously to my future activities.

“But judging by today, I can’t train it continuously the way I did [Swordsmanship].”

It had increased by one after several minutes.

That sounded fast, but I’d needed to use magic and concentrate intensely.

Once magic power was depleted, it didn’t recover immediately.

A shortage of magic left the body sluggish, and using all of it caused a person to faint.

For that reason, I concluded that training [Appraisal] for long periods would be difficult.

“For now, I’ll take a request inside the city in the morning as usual, then use the afternoon for training.”

After thinking for several minutes, I decided on tomorrow’s schedule.

There might be a better way to train [Appraisal].

With that thought, I decided to set leveling aside for tomorrow and devote the time to training.

Once I’d settled my plans, I lay down in bed and fell asleep.