Tap, tap!
Light footsteps approached.
With a click, the door opened, and an orange-haired head poked out.
Nami blinked at him.
“Don’t tell me you lost track of time?”
“Come in.”
She stepped aside.
Rook looked into the house.
At that moment, the pretty blue-haired girl walked over with her arms crossed, quietly sizing him up from head to toe.
A trace of surprise appeared in her eyes.
“You must be—”
Before she could finish, Rook shrugged his shoulder and casually lifted the spotted deer he had been carrying, holding the one-meter-long carcass out in front of her.
Nojiko froze.
But the gift was already right in front of her, and Nami tugged lightly at the strap of her overalls.
With no other choice, Nojiko reached out and accepted it.
Seeing this, amusement flickered in Rook’s eyes.
“Nice to meet you.
I’m Rook.
You must be Nami’s older sister, Nojiko, right?
“You really are just like Nami said—beautiful and kindhearted.
“Just a small gift. Hope you don’t mind.”
No one could easily strike someone who greeted them with a smile.
Nojiko bared her teeth slightly while gripping one of the deer’s legs.
But since she had already accepted the gift, it would be awkward to remain overly formal.
So she could only pinch her nose and go along with it.
“Nojiko.
Just as you said, Nami’s beautiful and kindhearted older sister.
“Come inside already!”
Nami blinked at Rook as though asking,
When did I ever say that?
Rook rolled his eyes at her and entered the house.
It wasn’t very large, but everything had been kept neat and tidy, giving the place a warm, homely atmosphere.
Rook handed the backpack on his shoulder to Nami.
She naturally took it from him and cheerfully pointed toward the bathroom.
“Go wash your hands. We’re about to eat.”
Nojiko watched the familiar interaction between the two of them with quiet surprise.
Nami normally kept people at a distance, yet around Rook she behaved as though they’d known each other for years.
Still thinking about it, Nojiko carried the deer into the kitchen.
Before long, the three of them were seated around the dining table.
A plentiful dinner had been laid out before them.
Rook didn’t stand on ceremony and immediately began eating heartily.
Nami watched him with a grin.
“Nojiko’s cooking is pretty good, right?”
Rook swallowed his food and nodded.
“It really is. Better than anything the two of us make.”
It wasn’t some incredible delicacy that would make a person’s clothes explode off their body.
It was simply ordinary home cooking—good-looking, fragrant, and delicious.
But it carried the unmistakable taste of home.
That was something Rook had not experienced in a very, very long time.
Nojiko raised her head and glanced at him, a smile entering her eyes.
“If you like it, eat more. I made plenty.”
“Then I won’t hold back.”
Hearing him, Nojiko couldn’t help laughing softly.
Hold back?
Ever since he walked through the door, she hadn’t seen him being reserved even once.
After dinner, Nojiko went to the kitchen to clean up.
Rook and Nami sat together on the living-room sofa, drinking orange wine.
Leaning back into the cushions, Rook relaxed his body.
“Did they give you any trouble when you went over there today?”
Nami immediately understood what he meant.
She smiled and shook her head.
“I’ll probably stay here for about a month to draw nautical charts.
“During that time, you need to be careful.”
“Alright.
Don’t worry.
Until I’m confident enough, I won’t make a move.
“You should be careful too.”
“We haven’t had a proper rest in days. I already asked Nojiko to prepare a room for you.”
As she spoke, Nami pointed toward one of the rooms.
Inside was a bed covered with pink sheets.
“You know where the bathroom is.
Once you’ve washed up, go rest if you’re tired.
“There’s a set of men’s clothes in there.
I asked Nojiko to go out and buy them for you this afternoon.
“There are another two sets in your room, so you can switch between them.”
Nami blinked at him.
“Seriously, though.
You didn’t even bring a change of clothes.
“If we hadn’t been swimming in the sea so often and washing them along the way, you would’ve started stinking ages ago.”
Rook’s face turned speechless.
So she had been waiting for the chance to get him back.
She really held grudges.
“Then thank you very much.”
Nami waved her hand with a brilliant smile.
“No need to thank me.
“Didn’t we already agree?
I’ll cover your food, clothes, lodging, and travel expenses.
“And I’ll be in charge of the money.”
Rook nearly laughed in irritation.
So this was what she had been waiting for.
Just then, he noticed an intense gaze.
Turning his head, he saw Nojiko staring at the two of them with an extremely complicated expression.
Nami followed his gaze.
She blinked before waving cheerfully at her sister.
“Finished cleaning up?
Then come drink with me.
“We haven’t properly shared a drink in ages.
“We’ll sleep after that.”
Then she waved Rook away.
“Go wash up already. We need to talk about some girls-only secrets.”
…
Inside the bathroom.
After finishing his shower, Rook looked at the men’s clothes placed on a stool nearby.
A brownish-gray short-sleeved shirt.
A pair of coffee-brown shorts that reached his knees.
And a pair of dark brown sandals.
He quickly changed into them.
Looking at his refreshed appearance in the mirror, he glanced toward the dirty clothes beside him.
He threw them into a basin, filled it with water, and quickly scrubbed them clean with soap.
When Rook entered the living room carrying the wrung-out clothes, both sisters froze for a moment.
Dressed like this, he somehow gave off the impression of a handsome boy-next-door.
Slightly tipsy, Nojiko rubbed her chin and turned toward Nami with a giggle.
“Not bad, right? The clothes I picked really suit him.”
Nami rubbed her forehead and curled her lips.
“Could you have picked something this fitting without the measurements I gave you?
“Besides, good-looking people look good no matter what they wear.”
Nojiko was speechless.
She stood up and pointed toward a wooden door on the side.
“If you’re going to hang those clothes up, go through there. There’s a drying rack outside.”
Rook stepped outside and hung up his clothes.
Feeling the refreshing night breeze against his skin, he stretched lazily.
Then, with a thought, the translucent system panel appeared.
Attributes:
Body: 11.1 → 11.7
Strength: 9.1 → 9.8
Agility: 8.1 → 9.1
Spirit: 10.1 → 10.9
Rook looked at the total increase in his attributes over the past ten or so days.
Now that he could eat his fill every day and no longer had miscellaneous matters constantly interrupting him, he could train with complete concentration under his Learning State.
Each of his basic attributes could increase by roughly 0.05 every day.
He could clearly feel himself becoming stronger day after day.
Rook had also discovered something else.
When his Body and Spirit attributes far exceeded his other two physical attributes, repeated high-volume training caused the human body to behave somewhat like the principle of a wooden barrel.
The weaker attributes would receive some kind of additional growth bonus.
Because of this, his Strength and Agility had begun increasing at a much faster rate.
After examining his attributes for a moment, Rook turned his attention toward his four skills. The source of this chapter is g.com.
[Swordsmanship — Skilled: 19 → 119/500]
[Hand-to-Hand Combat — Proficient: 9 → 80/200]
[Self-Recovery — Untrained: 6/10 → Beginner: 7/100]
[Underwater Combat — Beginner: 1 → 7/100]
Among the four skills, Swordsmanship had improved the most.
That was mainly because today’s fighting against wild beasts deep in the mountains had given him a considerable amount of Swordsmanship proficiency.
After glancing through the other skills, Rook focused on Self-Recovery.
Six days ago, the skill had already advanced into the Beginner stage.
However, unlike some of his other skills, its advancement had not given Rook any unfamiliar knowledge.
Instead, it had simply improved the efficiency of his body’s natural recovery.
As long as the nutrients and energy stored within his body were sufficient to support the skill’s consumption, his physical condition would recover faster.
At its current level, however, Self-Recovery only affected his physical body.
It did not accelerate mental recovery.
Even so, the skill had already produced a considerable positive effect on Rook’s training efficiency.
Its future potential was enormous.
Whether he could someday pull off the kind of absurd recovery where he could simply “sit back up” after suffering devastating injuries, Self-Recovery would undoubtedly be one of the most fundamental abilities required to make that possible.
Looking at the skill now, contemplation appeared in Rook’s eyes.
“Increasing its proficiency requires my body to reach extreme exhaustion or sustain damage.
“Then what if I make use of the ocean’s pressure acting on my body from every direction?”
There was hardly any need to question it.
Rook already had an answer in his heart.
In the days ahead, he would have more than enough time and opportunities to test his theory.
Footsteps approached.
Nami appeared and leaned against the doorframe.
She looked at him helplessly.
“Is there something outside that’s so fascinating?
“You left the door open and let all the mosquitoes in.”
Rook glanced back at her.
Seeing the redness on her cheeks, he turned around and patted her head.
“You’re drunk. Go wash up and get some sleep.”
Nami slapped his hand away and rolled her eyes.
“I never get drunk!
“I’ve been training my alcohol tolerance since I was little.
“Bellemere always said that girls need to know how to protect themselves when they’re outside, so being able to handle alcohol is something you have to practice.”
Then she looked at him.
“What about you?
“I don’t think your alcohol tolerance is anything impressive.
“From now on, kindhearted me will help you train it.”
“You’ve got that completely backward.
“I don’t need you training me.
“Once my physical condition gets stronger, my alcohol tolerance will naturally improve with it.”
“Alright, enough talking. Go rest.”
Rook placed a hand on her head and pushed her back toward her room.
Then he shut the door and entered the room Nojiko had prepared for him.
He lay down on the bed.
The blankets carried the warm, clean scent of fabric that had been dried beneath the sun.
The bed was comfortable without being overly soft.
It wasn’t long before Rook drifted into sleep.
Meanwhile, Nami and Nojiko lay beneath the covers in the same room, speaking quietly with each other.
Every so often, cheerful laughter drifted from inside.
The next morning.
The sky had only just begun to brighten.
Rook woke naturally, got out of bed, and headed into the forest outside.
There, he began performing basic exercises focused on strengthening his body.
Before long, Nami arrived with Nojiko.
Looking at Rook training intently in the clearing, Nami said,
“I’m going to start my training first.
“Just wait for a bit.
Later, you can ask him if he’s willing to teach you too.
“Though with my influence, I doubt Rook would refuse.”
After saying that, Nami walked to the side and began performing a series of difficult physical exercises.
Nojiko quietly remained nearby.
A gentle smile rested on her face as she watched the two of them train.
Time slowly passed.
The sky gradually brightened.
The pale glow of dawn appeared along the eastern horizon.
Sweat covered Rook’s bare upper body.
He finally stopped and stood upright before looking toward Nojiko.
“Sorry to keep you waiting.”