Chapter 226: Tuition (4)
The next day.
Minpin opened his eyes.
"...Is this a dream?
But it couldn't be.
He woke up face-down on the cold floor, and his jaw was swollen shut.
There was nothing but a blanket covering him.
Suddenly, an ominous intuition flashed through his mind.
"Oh, no, honey, baby girl!"
Minpin kicked the floor and ran down the stairs to the second floor.
But.
"Are you up?"
"Daddy, good morning!"
Minpin was greeted by his wife and daughter, both in good spirits.
"...?"
Minpin looked dazed.
The fire was warm in the fireplace, and sweet potatoes, potatoes, and corn were cooking.
The kitchen was bubbling and smelling like chicken stew.
Flower petals floated in the teacups, and outside the window, white laundry was drying in the sun and wind.
"?"
Minpin was dumbfounded by the way everything looked.
His wife and daughter's attitude toward him was no different than usual.
The house was no different from yesterday.
"Why were you sleeping on the floor? You're so heavy, I couldn't even move you. What's wrong with your sleeping habits?"
"Uh, uh, me on the floor?"
"Yeah. You were sleeping soundly on the floor. I woke you up a few times, but you didn't wake up, so I just put a blanket over you. Is your neck stiff?"
She slaps Minpin on the back.
"Uh, no. Did everything go well last night? Did a burglar get in?"
"What? A burglar? How can I hear something like that when you're here? Some big guy with a big liver...."
"Oh, no. I had a bad dream."
"Ew, that's because you sleep in a weird position! By the way, get the sweet potatoes and corn out of the fireplace – they should be ready. Oh, and leave the potatoes, I put them in a little late!"
His wife didn't know what to say.
Minpin sat down at the table and ate his wife's breakfast in disbelief.
Then, as usual, he left the house on time and headed for the guild office.
The streets were just as normal and routine as ever.
Neighbors greeting me as I left the fence, subordinates bowing to me on my way to work.
"...Was this a dream?"
But no.
My jaw was definitely knocked out and the hole in the wooden wall was still there.
So some crazy person broke into the house, punched Minpin in the jaw, and left.
He didn't even rob anything!
"What the hell was he doing?"
Minpin shook his head in disbelief.
He vowed to be extra careful with the door tonight.
* * *
That night.
Lying in bed, Minpin closed his eyes only when he saw that his wife was safely asleep.
Bushluck.
If only it hadn't been for another small noise from the window.
"Whoa, no way!"
Minpin looked to the window.
The madman from yesterday was standing there again.
The intruder had picked the lock and stepped over the threshold without a sound.
He was even crumpling a piece of paper in his hand, deliberately making noise to show off his ghostly presence.
Rushing- Rushing-
The scene is so eerie that it sends chills down your spine.
"... won't let me this time."
Minpin had hidden his favorite sword under his bedside table, just in case.
Sigh.
It's a good thing my wife is the type of person who won't notice if I go to bed with her once she's asleep.
For this great sword unleashes terrifying lethal force just by being pulled out of its sheath.
"Die!"
Minpin charged at the intruder, swinging his greatsword.
But.
No.
The unthinkable happened.
The Graduator's aura, spinning at high speed and cutting through everything in its path, intercepted the greatsword.
And with the intruder's bare hands!
Kwagigigig! Pow! Pow! Pow!
Gradualtor's sword and aura were blocked. It was even crumbling into pieces by the second.
'This is no way...!'
Minpin was horrified at what was happening in front of him.
But even his astonishment was not enough.
Puck!
Another fist to the jaw cut off his consciousness.
* * *
"You've been a bad sleeper lately, haven't you?"
His wife asks him nonchalantly when he wakes up in the morning.
"...."
Minpin woke up this morning still on the floor, unable to answer.
What can I say, he's been knocked out repeatedly by nightly intruders.
It's a heartbreaking story that he can't tell not only to his wife, but also to his friends, colleagues, and subordinates.
'I can't do this. I'll have to call the Imperial Guard tonight.
For the first time in his life, he leans on the power of the authorities.
Minpin prepared to leave for work, making an important decision.
* * *
The night passed, and the next morning.
"Mr. Minpin. Is your report accurate?"
An investigator from the Imperial Guard asked, rubbing his sleepy eyes.
Minpin had no answer.
The intruder did not come last night.
The Imperial Guard investigators looked up at Minpin's massive body and said.
"Common sense dictates that no burglar could rob Mr. Minpin's house."
"Besides, to be able to capture a Graduator-class aura with just bare hands, what kind of vain... would someone with such skill be doing as a thief in the first place?"
"You said you haven't held a grudge against anyone recently. Hmm, after all, it's stalking driven by passion?"
"Whatever. We're not exactly idle either, so we're not going to be able to stand guard all night."
"Well, it's a bit of a stretch to call it a substitute, but I'll be sure to patrol this area a bit more in the future, so goodbye."
In the end, Minpin had to bow his head a few times to dismiss the investigators of the Imperial Guard.
* * *
And bizarrely, that night.
Bushluck-.
An intruder came to visit.
"Aaahhhh, you bastard, what do you think you're doing!"
Minpin, wearing two helmets, ran out swinging the sword in both hands, and the result was the same as usual.
Puck-puck!
The two helmets shattered, and so did the two swords.
Minpin was stunned by another punch to the jaw.
* * *
The next day, too.
And the day after that.
And the day after that.
The midnight visits continued.
When morning dawned and it was clear that nothing had been stolen from his house this time, Minpin sat down on the couch in the guild office with a sinking feeling.
He had already sent his wife and daughter to live with relatives, just in case,
From that day forward, Minpin became a man afraid of the night.
How could he not be scared when some madman kept climbing through his window, hitting him once and then disappearing?
It was a very effective and violent natural sleeping pill.
"I've been suffering from stressful insomnia lately, is... some new fad insomnia treatment?
Of course not.
But I can't mention this to the guild leader, so I just groan.
"If I told the Imperial Guard, I'd be laughed at. Ha, that clever bastard. You only come after me when I'm alone, so what's this...."
Who in the world would believe that a man over six feet tall was constantly stalking and assaulting me?
For the first time in his life, Minpin could only feel frustrated.
Just then.
"Guildmaster. Your request has arrived."
The adjutant waved a stack of papers in front of him.
There were fewer this time. Only one sheet.
Minpin narrowed his eyes.
"It's the off-season and we still get requests?"
"Uh, yeah. They've been sending me statements for days. It's the same person every time."
Then.
Minpin realized something was wrong.
Each time, the new statement was in bad shape.
It must have been written on new paper, and it was badly wrinkled.
"What's wrong? Isn't this a new order? Why is it crumpled?"
"I don't know, he always comes in and leaves with a crumpled one. He's a student at the academy I told you about."
"... Academy? Who is that?"
"You know who it is, a young man from the Colosseo. The one the guild leader sent back with a glass of milk."
"Ah~"
I suddenly remember. I remembered the outrageous client who came and chased me away.
"Whatever. I have no intention of joining in the fun of the rich and famous...."
This time, Minpin didn't think much of it and just crumpled it up.
Bushluck.
At that moment.
Minpin stiffened as if struck by lightning.
He'd heard that crumpling sound before.
"...!?"
Minpin quickly moved his hands, unfolded the request form he had just crumpled, and crumpled it again.
Bushluck.
This paper is made of a special material, so its crinkling sound is slightly different from other papers.
It was definitely the unpleasant noise of a nighttime intruder.
So why was the request form, which he always crumpled up and threw in the trash in his office, back here?
Minpin looked back at the adjutant and stammered.
"Are you, are you... cleaning my room these days?"
"What? Yes, I do, all the time."
"And the trash can in your room, do you empty it?"
"I haven't emptied it, because it's always empty."
The adjutant's words shocked Minpin.
He'd thrown the request form in the guild office trash a few days ago.
"Then...."
Some lunatic sends a request and then picks it up from the trash and puts it back again and again.
And it's been raiding in the night, fumbling with it!
"What the hell, what kind of crazy person does this...!"
Minpin's face turned blue as he opened the request fully.
<Request Form
Name: Vikir
Affiliation: Colosseo Academy
Request: Hire a guide
Purpose: Defeating monsters
The paper is crumpled and barely recognizable.
Minpin is staring at it with a blank expression.
"...When?"
An unfamiliar voice came from behind the adjutant.
Behind the adjutant who was expressing his disapproval that he was not allowed to come in here, Minpin had a blank expression on his face.
'This is a warning.'
A first-year student at Colosseo Academy. Vikir.
"Do you feel like taking on a request now?"
He was speaking in the same voice as the intruder from last night.
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