Chapter 39: Daily Routine 1

"Is Sheele first?"

Kobayashi stepped out of his room. After Najenda told them to rely on their own merits, Leone and the others had decided the order through rock-paper-scissors. As it turned out, Sheele was first.

Walking into the main hall, Kobayashi couldn't help but pause, stunned.

Sheele was sitting quietly in a chair, wearing a soft, lustrous purple silk cheongsam with a slit running all the way up to her thigh, accentuating the girl's full and exquisite figure. Her pure white over-the-knee socks, visible between the folds of the dress, left plenty to the imagination. As she shifted her posture from time to time, the swaying of the cheongsam offered glimpses of how perfectly her legs were outlined by the white fabric. Beneath her delicate black-rimmed glasses lay a stunning face with slightly dazed, adorable eyes—a mix of bewitching allure and a touch of cuteness.

Alright, alright, he admitted he was over-describing. But don't misunderstand; he didn't have any ulterior motives toward Sheele. It was just that the cheongsam really struck a chord with him, that was all.

"Good morning, Sheele."

"Morning, Kobayashi."

After exchanging greetings, he sat down opposite her and waited for her to speak. However, Sheele said nothing. She was more focused on the book in her hands.

Kobayashi blinked and asked, "Sheele, is there nothing you'd like to say?"

"Say about what?" Sheele looked at him with a dazed, innocent expression.

"About yesterday's ranking. You were first, so I came to see you first."

"Oh, is that so?"

Sheele seemed to recall that event. And that was it. She lowered her head once more, immersing herself in a book with the remarkably subtle title: *How a Natural Airhead Should Interact with Others*.

Seeing that she wouldn't speak, Kobayashi prepared to slip away quietly so as not to disturb her, but Sheele suddenly posed a question.

"Kobayashi, do you like books?"

"I do."

"What kind of books?"

"History."

"The reason?"

"Because all knowledge is interconnected, and the pivot that links it all is history."

"An interesting answer."

She asked, he answered. History is the inheritance, accumulation, and expansion of culture; it is the trajectory of human civilization. Knowledge is accumulated along this thread of history. History is the backbone of knowledge. Every world has its own history, and once you are thoroughly familiar with that history, strengthening other fields becomes much faster. Especially for Kobayashi, who could travel between worlds, history was of utmost importance.

Just as he was about to voice these thoughts and add a pretentious closing remark—"War only occupies four pages in the history books, yet it has torn apart nearly half the world"—to finish with a flourish, Sheele stopped asking questions and dove back into her book with the subtle title.

Hey, girl! Don't you know it's a bad habit to cut someone off before they finish their monologue?! It’s really uncomfortable to have the words stuck in your throat!

...Though he wanted to retort, he forcibly held it back.

Sheele was staring intently at her book. It seemed she wasn't interested in studying literature, but rather in figuring out how to cure her own airheadedness. This was impossible; he couldn't understand her train of thought at all.

Kobayashi rubbed his forehead, preparing to leave. Suddenly, Sheele handed him another book. The title was *The Empire: A Thousand Years Ago*, which seemed to be a record of how the first Emperor established the Empire and how the Teigu came to be.

Was she asking him to stay and read with her? After a moment's thought, he stayed.

The two didn't exchange any more words. The soft sound of turning pages filled the quiet, peaceful morning. Before long, the others arrived in the hall. They weren't surprised to see Sheele and Kobayashi together, and upon learning that there had been no progress, they wore expressions of "as expected"—presumably, in their eyes, Sheele was a lost cause.

Breakfast followed. After eating, Leone asked, "Who's after Sheele?"

"It's me!" Bulat flashed a manly, muscular smile.

*Wahhh—*

Leone looked at Kobayashi with an expression that said, "May luck be with you," which made him shiver and instinctively clench his buttocks.

At the training ground:

"When it comes to getting closer, nothing beats an intense physical collision!" Bulat's smile became even more enthusiastic. He took off his shirt, exposing his toned upper body, and invited Kobayashi: "Come, let's have a hearty, bare-knuckle brawl!"

Just as he thought! The ominous premonition had come true!

Kobayashi asked Leone to switch partners: "I don't want to collide with him. Can't we switch?"

Unfortunately, Leone, who had been waiting to see him make a fool of himself, would never agree. "No way! These are the rules we set!" She pushed Kobayashi into the training ground, gloating.

Seeing Kobayashi's reluctance, Bulat defended himself: "Hey, hey, don't be so resistant. We're both men, what's there to be afraid of?"

"It's precisely because we're both men that I'm afraid!" Kobayashi couldn't help but roar. Nevertheless, he reluctantly took off his shirt.

Bulat's orientation was a bit unique, but there was no denying that he was incredibly strong. The title "Hundred-Man Slayer" was no exaggeration. Moreover, he was a former soldier; Kobayashi was very interested in Imperial martial arts and certainly wouldn't refuse the chance to be taught.

*Let me just steal a few tricks,* he thought.

...And then, he was thoroughly schooled.

Although Kobayashi had rich experience fighting monsters, he was slightly lacking in experience when it came to fighting humans. At the start, Kobayashi kept his hands near his chest and abdomen, his feet spread wide, crouching and tense—a standard "cat stance" (*neko-ashi dachi*), useful for landing surprise strikes.

"Oh?" Seeing the stance, Bulat's eyes lit up; he seemed to have noticed that Kobayashi's posture was no simple matter.

But he didn't do anything, simply spreading his feet and guarding his chest with his hands. The two circled each other, looking for openings. As time passed, Kobayashi felt Bulat's presence growing stronger. Knowing that hesitation would lead to defeat, he decisively burst into action.

He lunged forward and kicked twice, the intervals short, aiming straight for Bulat's chest and abdomen. Unfortunately, both were blocked.

Bulat praised him: "Not bad! High kicks shift your center of gravity, so to balance speed and defense, attacking the chest and abdomen is the best way to strike."

Then, he returned the favor. Kobayashi kept his arms tucked to his chest, blocking two heavy, powerful kicks. Bulat seemed to be getting into it, delivering two more kicks—standard and forceful—that made Kobayashi's forearms ache.

*Is he correcting my kicking posture and power application?*

Refusing to admit defeat, Kobayashi countered. However, the moment the two kicks finished, he suddenly changed his move, pivoting for a back-spinning kick aimed straight at Bulat's chin.

But Bulat didn't fall for it. He stepped back as Kobayashi twisted his body, and once the spinning kick missed, he stepped forward and landed his own back-spinning kick on Kobayashi's chin.

Kobayashi, suffering a heavy blow, felt his brain go numb.

"No, no. Even though that spinning kick was unexpected, the leg supporting your body completely exposed you," Bulat told him where he went wrong, acting like a martial arts instructor.

Kobayashi didn't look frustrated; on the contrary, an excited smile appeared on his face. Getting stronger was addictive. To him, failure accumulated experience and served as the cornerstone of success. Therefore, he had to absorb the nutrients of the strong to nourish himself and become even more powerful.

Just like he "drained" Wiz, he was going to drain Bulat as well!

For the rest of the morning, the two went back and forth, both wearing the same manly, muscular smiles, which made Leone exclaim that it was an eyesore.