Chapter 135 When it Rains, it Pours (9)

I let out the air I had been holding back. While most of the cold was gone, it was still early winter. Even if there were still cold gusts of air, I was not wearing a shirt. My teacher from my past life had taught me so, and while he had said that one needed to look closely to muscle movements and stop the cloth from sticking..

He had removed shirts of handsome disciples and would watch with satisfied eyes at women who asked him to take them in despite the expensive class fees. My guess was probably correct, as my teacher’s dojo had been too drabby to bring in female disciples without any measures. Everyone had been happy, as men were happy to see women, and my pay as a basics teacher increased!

However, I could not endure this cold that came after exercise. Having one’s clothes wet from sweat was irritating when bathing was a luxury. Sweating itself was annoying, as a reason for not exercising in winter was to wear the same clothes for a few days. While I had removed my shirt for these reasons, it was still freezing cold!

“I wish a dwarf was here.”

Howling had good facilities despite being an evil organization and even had a shower system. The royal palace had baths, and the academy, with its expensive fees, also had showers. However, only dwarves could make such facilities, and even if there were a few humans who could do so, they would not come to this rural village.

So, an individual had to wash in a lake, a brook, or a river. However, one would freeze to death.

“I should run.”

Running reduced time despite the wind becoming colder, and I had raced back home while feeling my sweat turn cold. I found a guest waiting for me since my daughter was too adorable.

She did not want to speak to me after I forbade chicken, but she was waiting for me with a hot wet towel that was still steaming!

The key point was that she just threw it at me and went away, and I felt like the dozens of men who will fall in love with her would suffer!

The towel was warm, and I felt my heart also become warmer at thinking that my daughter had heated this towel when she was not a morning person.

“I had been a bit worried.”

She is now thirteen and was about to be a teenager who would go through teen angst! I thought since my daughter was more mature than her peers, that period would come early. But she was growing up so well!

“I should give a gift to such a daughter..”

I could not ask her what she wanted the most since she would probably ask for fried chicken. While I could make her some after getting fit and maintaining it for a while, I could not now. I needed to completely avoid all allures since I knew that even if I made some with the intention for it to be for only my daughter, I would eat too.

“Wait for a little more.”

Since summer was farming season, I would burn calories and get fit faster! I would make as much chicken as she wanted then.

#10 Other Stories: A daughter’s story

It was a day a few years ago when it had not been long after I acknowledged Daddy as Daddy and still feared the night. I had been unable to sleep and had gone to Daddy’s room while hugging a pillow. He had welcomed me with a smile and told me many tales until I fell asleep next to him.

I remembered this story from back then.

“The god of summer and the god of winter had a bet a long time ago.”

“A bet?”

“Yes, they bet to prove who was the better out of the two, and the goal was to make a wanderer remove his coat.”

I had thought that gods were strange since the wanderer would have been so surprised.

“The winter god tried with confidence, as he thought making the coat fly away with cold winds would be enough.”

“That seems really cold.”

“Yes, but the wanderer did not remove his coat. It’s cold here in the northern parts, so you’ll understand that the wanderer shrunk into his coat and walked on.”

It was natural, as winter here had been colder than anywhere else just because we were up north. How cold would have been the winter god’s winds?

“The winter god gave up, and now it was the summer god’s turn. The summer god only showered warm sunshine. What do you think the wanderer would have thought?”

“The weather’s crazy!”

“That..is also right.”

Daddy’s voice shook like he was surprised, and I was also surprised that he would not think it a natural answer. I was now worried about how much damage nearby farmers would have suffered due to the gods.

“Anyway, the wanderer opened his coat and took it off under the warmth.”

“It must have been hot.”

It had been hot in the summer even here, so the summer god might have suffered under the blazing sun that made him want to remove all of his clothing. How much would the farmers have suffered when sensitive plants were attacked by sudden cold winds and then hot sunshine? They would have been unable to sleep, thinking that it may happen again.

“Anyway, did you understand the important part of this story?”

“In your words, only the innocent wanderer suffered between gods!”

“Well, it’s also true..”

Daddy stroked my hair a few times and spoke after clearing his thought.

“The lesson in this story is that sometimes problems can be solved through wisdom rather than attack. It means sometimes being kind to those with who you’re not friendly may be the right thing to do.”

“All right!”

I had not forgotten Daddy’s words, and since everything he says is correct, doing what he had told me would lead me to victory!

“I’m doing well!”

I instinctively felt that my victory had come nearer as I watched Daddy wash with a pleased face. In winter, Daddy had told me that one needed to see human relationships on a large scale since a small mistake can bring two people closer or tear them apart!

I remained silent near Daddy recently, and showing a sweet side like this was one of the training we had done during winter. While Daddy had warned me that men could be smitten when I did something like this, but this was for fried chicken.

“Now, for the next step..”

I confirmed the plans I had prepared since going upfront in a war with Daddy was not something I could win at. I needed to prepare baby steps so Daddy would lose on his own and bring me chicken because I was too adorable. Until then, I needed to keep silent and act coldly.

“I need to wake up Misha and Coco.”

It was nearly breakfast time, as we would be busy from morning planting precious vegetables. However, it was difficult to wake up at this hour, and my eyes watered from a yawn. Still, all this was for chicken, and I will succeed even if I was not a morning person.

#11 Other Stories: Someone’s stories

The four strange men wearing black robes were looking down at the village from the middle of a mountain.

“There are too few people living in that country.”

“The environment is very harsh.”

“Is the one we’re looking for here?”

“It may be easier to hide in a place like this.”

One of them took out something from his breast, and it was a disc that looked like a small cosmetic mirror case. He stared at it and shook his head.

“Not in this village.”

“Do we need to go further north?”

“While the size is small and few people live there, the villages are too far apart to make searching for a person easy.”

“Don’t you think splitting up is a better idea?”

“I think so.”

“No, we only have one tool, and the master’s orders were all of us to go there and bring the subject back in case something happens. Don’t you all remember?”

The two who had spoken clucked their tongues at the words.

“Yeah, we know.”

The one who had stopped them sighed at their disappointed faces, as they all were ambitious as they were talented. The teamwork might have been better with relatively mundane subordinates, but secret was key in this mission. Everything ended when the enemy discovered what they were looking for, so that was why the master had chosen the best and the most loyal. He knew what the master was thinking. However..

“I just want to go on crashing things.”

“How about holding people hostage?”

“Oh, that’s a good idea.”

They all believed in their skills too much, and touring countries with them made the man want to give up. He stopped himself from sighing and spoke to the others.

“It can’t be helped. Individual movements are forbidden, and we can only check this country as quickly as possible. Thankfully, it seems like it won’t take long to check all of this place. We do need to follow master’s orders as fast as we can.”

“That’s true.”

“All for the master.”

“We only follow his path.”

Thankfully, they were all certainly loyal and did agree when the man emphasized the master’s orders.

‘I don’t know how far this will rest.’

They needed to find their target, and the black-robed men moved up north to search.