「—And that is why the 『Hammer』 skill can be used both in combat and outside of itt」
「I see. So that is how it works」
Laudette-san explained the 『Hammer』 skill to me.
As expected of Laudette-san, the explanation character.
It seems to be a somewhat uncommon skill for an elf to have, but Laudette-san knew about it properly.
…However, the information she was explaining to me right now was actually something I had already heard from Yggdrasil-san.
Since this was supposed to be the first time I had recognized the skill, I could not exactly say, 『I already heard that』.
So, I ended up listening politely, nodding along as I absorbed Laudette-san’s explanation.
「I understand now. Thank you very much, Laudette-san」
「Not at alll. It is no problemm」
For now, I expressed my gratitude to Laudette-san for explaining it to me.
…I feel a bit bad, honestly. She went to the trouble of explaining everything, after all.
Of course, it is not Yggdrasil-san’s fault, but the end result is that I ended up taking away Laudette-san’s role as the explanation character.
And if you take that away from her, all she has left is her hostess character or her lazy character……
「Still, you have gained quite a lot, haven’t youu」
「Huh?」
「Skillss. Before you know it, you have accumulated quite a few skillss. And it sounds like you will be getting the 『Sword』 skill soon as welll」
「Ah, yeah. If I get the 『Sword』 skill too, then that would be 『Sword』, 『Hammer』, 『Bow』, 『Fire Magic』, 『Woodworking』, and 『Dungeon』」
Hmm…… So, my skills are Sword, Hammer, Bow, Fire Magic, Woodworking, and Dungeon……
And my current status values are….
Strength 14
Magic 9
Vitality 8
Dexterity 28
Agility 5
…Like this. I see.
…But how is this, really.
When I take another look at my skills and stats like this…… is this actually okay?
Am I not kind of all over the place? Am I not lacking direction? Did I completely mess up my character build?
At this point, I honestly cannot tell what kind of character I am even supposed to be aiming for……
「After 『Sword』, you might want 『Axe』 next, rightt」
「Axe……?」
「After all, when you think of a woodcutter, you think of an axe, don’t youu」
「…………」
No, I do not want an axe. I do not want to drift even further off course……
Besides, I am not trying to become a woodcutter in the first place……
◇
「I’m home」
After finishing my appraisal at the church, I returned home.
Once I got back, the first thing I did was head to the sink. To wash my hands and gargle.
It is a habit I carried over from my previous life. Whenever I come back from outside, I wash my hands and gargle.
…I do sometimes wonder whether it actually means anything.
I do it every time, but when I catch a cold, I catch one anyway.
And when that happens, I go to Jisrare-san’s clinic…… where she heals me instantly.
Thinking about it that way, does this habit really have any value?
Considering the time lost washing my hands and gargling, maybe it would be fine to stop……?
Sure, it does not take much time each time, but every little bit adds up…….
「Welcome back, Alec」
「Ah, Father. I’m home」
While I was on my way to the sink, still hesitating but planning to wash my hands anyway, Father called out to me.
「Where did you go today?」
「Yeah, I went to the church for an appraisal…oh, right. Father, there’s something I need to talk to you about」
「Something to talk about?」
「Actually…… ah, wait a moment」
I asked Father to wait and went ahead to wash my hands and gargle at the sink.
It must have some meaning. It has to. Not bringing germs from outside into the house has to be a good thing.
「Sorry to keep you waiting, Father」
「Hmm. So, what did you want to talk about?」
「Um, before that, is Mother around? I’d like her to hear this too」
「Miriam? She’s probably in the garden」
「I see. Then I’ll go get her. Please wait here, Father」
「Alright」
Okay then, let’s go bring Mother over. I’ll get her quickly and then we can talk. A family meeting.
What about Nana-san? Should I bring her too?
It is a family meeting, and Nana-san is basically family as well….
No…… maybe not. Yeah, let’s not.
The topic of this family meeting is the 『Hammer』 skill. If that’s the case, bringing Nana-san would not be a good idea.
If I did bring her, then in front of my parents, Nana-san and I would have to….
『So, at today’s appraisal, I found out I had the Hammer skill』
『What!? The Hammer skill!?』
….put on an act like that together.
There is no need to hold such an awkward little play for no reason.
◇
When I went out into the garden to look for Mother, I found her harvesting vegetables from the home garden.
Somehow, I got swept up in it and ended up helping her with the harvest. After gathering a few seasonal vegetables, I came back inside together with her.
「So, there’s something I want to talk to both of you about」
「What is it?」
「What could it be?」
「Actually, I just had an appraisal at the church――and I found out I had learned a new skill」
I told my parents the result straight away.
「……A new skill? ――Really!? That’s great, Alec! You finally learned one!」
「Eh? Um…… yeah」
Father’s excitement suddenly exploded. Is it really that big of a deal?
「I’m really happy too」
「Ah…… you are?」
「Of course. I’ve been watching you work hard up close this whole time」
「Yeah…… yeah?」
「At last…… at last you’ve obtained it――the 『Sword』 skill」
Ah…….
「When you first started using a sword, I was a bit worried whether you would be able to learn the skill, but now that you finally――」
「……Sorry, Father. It’s not the 『Sword』 skill」
「Huh?」
「The 『Sword』 skill seems like it’s still not there yet……」
「Oh, I see…… ah, right…… Sorry, I guess I misunderstood……」
Father looks really dejected…….
I guess that’s it. Maybe he was looking forward to his son wielding a sword just like him…….
It seems I got his hopes up for nothing…….
「Then what kind of skill did you obtain?」
「Ah, yeah. Actually――」
「Is it a magic skill? Did you learn a new magic skill?」
「Eh? No, that’s not it……」
「I see……」
Mother also looks a little disappointed…… or at least, it feels that way.
I guess that’s it too…….
Maybe she was hoping her son would become a mage like her…….
So that’s how it is…….
I did not realize my parents had expectations like that for me.
Or rather, that’s kind of heavy…… my parents’ expectations are heavy.
A Sword Saint father who wants his son to become a swordsman, and a Sage mother who wants her son to become a mage――can I really live up to both of their expectations?
……Honestly, I am not very confident.
Right now, I feel like I am neither a swordsman nor a mage, but someone running straight down the path of becoming a woodworker…….
Well, lately, even that path feels a bit like I am losing my way…….
next chapter: The Sword Saint and the Sage and the Son of the Sword Saint and the Sage 2
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