Chapter 45: Frey 2 (Part 2)
TL: Scaramochi
***
[Frey's POV]
"Oh Frey, you're looking good, aren't you?"
"It looks good on you."
"Bwahhh!"
"......"
"Shut up, I don't like this outfit either."
As I'm putting the food on the table, the three of them finally wake up and start teasing me.
Damn you, I've been working since before the sun came up, and you're just sleeping like a fool. They're so good-natured.
""Itadakimasu""
We all join hands and start eating our food.
Then, Athena said this in an interested manner.
"You have improved your skills...... it's delicious, Frey."
"Is it a...... miracle that you can cook properly?"
"You're a bit of an elves, aren't you? I could do this in a heartbeat if I wanted to."
"I'm sure Meimei did most of the work, right?"
"......."
They know.
"But Frey was pretty good at it, too."
"I guess all that practice was worth it."
"Stop it, you're making me sick, don't force me to go up there. I'm not sure what you guys are going to do today. You're not going to be lying in the living room all day, are you?"
"I have an idea about that. Athena and Mirialia are going to train separately."
"Well, I'm looking forward to that."
"Ugh~ I thought I could finally sleep all day!"
Separately? I want to work out, too, but these guys aren't doing it for me.
I couldn't agree and tried to protest, but Dale beat me to it.
"Well, Frey, you go along with Meimei. As I said yesterday, this is for your own good too. Do it right."
"......ding!"
Are you really going to be strong doing this? I feel like I'm being cajoled.
***
After breakfast, the three of them went away.
I followed Meimei and asked her what she was going to do next.
"So, what are you going to do next?"
"We're going to town to buy more food. We have more people, so we need to buy a lot of food. I'm going to run, but I'll make sure to follow brother."
Saying this, Meimei, carrying an empty basket on her back, runs down the stairs at a tremendous speed. Hey, hey, don't run so fast.
I rushed down the stairs too, but it was harder than I thought it would be. It felt more like falling than going down the stairs. I finally caught up with Meimei, skipping about 10 steps at a time, and my eyes widened when I noticed something.
(I was so surprised to see that she was taking the stairs step by step.)
Unlike me, who was "falling" down the stairs while skipping, Meimei was "going down" while taking one step at a time. I couldn't believe it, how could she go down the stairs at such a fast pace?
Her sense of balance that she doesn't trip when descending at this speed, her leg strength to step down one step at a time, and her torso to support her body are all extraordinary.
What in the world is going on with her lower body?
In no time at all, she descended the long flight of stairs, but Meimei wasn't even a little out of breath.
Damn, she's a monster in terms of physical strength. I almost fell down many times, and I'm still out of breath from moving in a way I'm not accustomed to.
"Haa, haa...... Hey, do you always go down like this?"
"Yes, I do. In martial arts, it's the lower body that counts. I'm a little late today because of Frey's presence."
"Haa......!!!"
Are you kidding me, you were skimping on that one?
"Come on, let's go, let's go!"
I follow Meimei, who is in a hurry, and buy more foodstuffs.
This girl...... must be well-liked by the townspeople.
When I went back to the dojo after buying more foodstuffs, my eyes widened when I saw the way they left.
Meimei is crouched down, her hands behind her back, and she's walking up the stairs in a weird outfit. She was carrying a basket with a large amount of food on her back.
"Hey, what's that......?"
"This is a lower-body workout called the rabbit jump."
"You're not going to climb all these stairs with that rabbit jump, are you?"
"That's right. Yes, this is part of the training. Oh, I think it will be hard for Frey at first, so you can come as usual."
Saying that, Meimei started to climb the stairs, jumping up and down. She did so at a very fast pace, and her basket wasn't swaying at all. How strong is her lower body?
(Screw you ...... I can't take it! Let's do it!)
I was so excited that I started jumping the rabbit, too.
At first I was able to climb at a good pace, but around the halfway point, fatigue suddenly set in and it became harder and harder.
Damn...... my legs were getting numb. Once I stopped and looked up, I saw that I still had a long way to go. The hopelessness of it all was taking its toll on me mentally.
Should I quit now......? What's the point in doing this?
I was about to give up for a moment, but I gritted my teeth and stopped. It's not in my nature to give up once I've started.
"Oraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
I resumed and climbed up, shouting to get myself back on track, and finally made it there.
"Haa...... haa...... I did it, damn it!"
Unable to stand, I fall to the ground. My legs are shaking and cramping, but I can't feel my feet at all.
Meimei hands me a glass of water.
"I was so surprised, Frey. No one has ever done the rabbit jump and made it up these stairs for the first time. There were not many people who could even make it to the top. Frey is tough in body, mind and spirit."
"Hehe...... I can afford it."
I took the water that was handed to me and drank it all at once. It's cold and extremely tasty. I don't remember water tasting this good. It's like coming back to life.
"You can rest right there. I will take care of the lunch preparations."
"What are you talking about, I'm totally fine...?
The moment I tried to stand up, my knees collapsed.
It's no good ...... my legs won't move. I couldn't even stand up. I've never seen anything like this before, you son of a b*tch.
At lunch time, Dale and the other three who had gone out somewhere came back. Athena had a difficult look on her face, and Mirialia was exhausted. They said it was a separate menu, and these guys were doing training too.
I'll never lose to you guys.
***
"Hey Meimei, are you seriously going to do this?"
"Yes, that's right. We're going to go to the waterfall and train our bodies and minds."
After lunch, Meimei took me into the mountains and upstream to find a small waterfall.
It was a small waterfall, but it was roaring. Getting hit by a waterfall of this force? Are you kidding me?
"Well, let's get started!"
Meimei enters the river with a splash and stands upright under the waterfall. Eyelids closed, hands clasped together, spirit sharpened.
Are you going to sit still and be silent while being hit by a waterfall with that force? What's the point of doing that?
I was scared, but I slapped my cheek to get myself in the right frame of mind and went into the river to stand next to Meimei, who was also being hit by the waterfall.
What the hell is this?
It's like being hit in the head and shoulders with a blunt instrument. And it's so cold. Can you really unify your mind like this?
I was tempted to jump out right away, but it would be too pathetic to do so after just starting out. So I held back and kept on getting hit, but my body was getting cold and my consciousness was fading away.
As a dragonkin, I am extremely strong in the heat, but weak against the cold. In the end, I didn't last long enough to get out of the waterfall.
"Ah~ I'm warm!"
I cast fire magic on a nearby dead tree to make a small bonfire. As I waited while warming myself with the fire, Meimei finally came out of the waterfall after being hit for three times as long as I had been.
"A bonfire, thank you very much. I heard that even Frey is not good at waterfall work. But I think you did pretty well for a first timer."
"Haha! No need to flatter me. I didn't last much longer than you."
"Haha, Frey hates to lose, doesn't she? Shall we go back after drying our clothes?"
We warm ourselves by the fire until our clothes are dry, then return to the dojo.
Then we went to the training hall where we first met the old man and had our next training session.
"So, what's next?"
"It's kata training."
"Kata? What's that? I've never heard of it."
As I tilt my head at the unfamiliar words, Meimei explains kata to me while practicing.
"Kata is the foundation of martial arts. It is the movements and actions you take when attacking and defending, and it is drilled into your body."
"What's the point of doing that? I think you would learn more by actually fighting."
"There are many martial artists who think like Frey. Ryu also complained that he didn't want to train kata all the time. But I don't think so. If you train kata well and let your body remember them, your body will move even unconsciously when you practice. Besides, kata is technique. By learning various kata and connecting them together, you can sublimate them into techniques. The master doesn't teach you the techniques themselves, but he does teach you various kata."
"Oh, so that's how it is."
To me, it looks like he's doing a weird dance. Perhaps there is a meaning to this.
"It's better to get used to it than to see it. Frey, I want you to get behind me and imitate me."
"I understand."
I did as I was told, getting behind Meimei and imitating her as if she were a mirror.
She moves slowly, so it looks like she's doing it, but can I really be strong doing this?
After doing it for a long time, becoming skeptical, Meimei relaxes her shoulders and turns around.
"So much for kata training, I guess. Well, now that Frey is here, we'll do kumite at the end."
"Oh! That's the way to do it! "
I'm glad to hear that we can finally do some practical training. I've been waiting for something like this.
I immediately began kumite with Meimei. I could tell from fighting her again that she was really strong. All of my attacks are being handled. My blows aren't working.
I can't move anymore.
I was having so much fun that I got carried away.
We both fall to the floor. The normal training is also very interesting, but the practical training is more tiring both physically and mentally. And I've never had to fight someone for such a long time before.
Now, I'm going to prepare dinner.
"Oh, oh."
Then we went off to eat with Athena and the old man, and took a bath.
There seemed to be a natural hot spring near this dojo, so we took turns to bathe, starting with the women. It felt so good, and it loosened up my body, which had been so stiff from working out.
After the bath, I went to bed, and sleepiness came over me.
"I'm tired of the stone...... but I don't know if I can get strong doing such a simple training. I'm starting to understand a little bit how the guys who left here feel....... ......"
I fell asleep like a mud.
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