It took a while for Tris to bring out all the freshly washed clothes.
Rin left the bathtub and helped hang them up on the prepared hangers.
After the clothes were hung, Tris finally dried them quickly by making all the remaining water evaporate.
(NOTE: There is an illustration available, but because it's NSFW, I'll be sharing it exclusively on Patreon.)
Once the laundry was finished, Tris leaned back against the bathtub and let the water cover his body from the neck down.
In the comfort of the warm water, Tris thought about his own development plan for the near future.
'Regarding physical strength and spiritual energy, I can steadily increase them for many years to come, so there's no need to worry. Or more precisely, rushing won't help at all.
As for knowledge of magics, especially clues about constructing a Domain, self-study cannot be fast and may even take years. The shortcut is to succeed later in entering the academy and its library, from there quickly gathering more knowledge. Another shortcut is through dreams, but that relies entirely on luck and cannot be controlled, so it doesn't need to be considered.
For combat techniques, aside from continuing to practice and improve proficiency in the skills I already know, perhaps I can also take the chance to learn new techniques from others if the opportunity arises. That might help combine and refine the skills I already have.
Finally, the only thing I can do immediately is to continue creating more puppets to increase the number of methods I can use, while also training both control and mental focus.'
After mentally reviewing each direction of development, Tris slightly nodded.
Sitting next to him, Rin curiously asked:
"Master, what are you thinking about?"
Tris: "Thinking about tonight's dinner. Both morning and noon were too busy, so I only ate hastily. That's why only this dinner will be a proper meal."
'Especially at noon, since my whole body was aching, I barely managed to swallow down some bread to fight off hunger.'
Tris rubbed his stomach where he had been punched, silently cursing the vicious man in the red cloak.
Rin: "Master, you left Rin a lot of money this morning. This is the leftover after lunch."
She took it out of the spatial ring she was wearing.
Tris: "Just keep it. It's always better to have some cash on hand in case of need."
Hearing that, Rin nodded and put it back.
Then she remembered the story she had overheard at noon and told it to Tris.
After finishing, Rin curiously asked:
"Did you also go hunting Magical Beasts with everyone this morning?"
Tris: "Oh, there's such a rumor? It seems the parties involved deliberately hid the truth to avoid causing fear and unrest. After all, if the truth were known, it could greatly affect the economic trade of this area."
Rin: "Was it something very serious, master?"
Tris: "A group of cultists worshipping a heretical god was killed this morning. Of course, even though their lair was destroyed, some might have escaped since they weren't present at the time."
Rin: "Are cultists and heretical gods really that dangerous?"
Tris: "Gods are extremely powerful, so if they want to cause harm, many people could die. Cultists who worship heretical gods usually have very dangerous ideologies too.
For example, today I saw them sacrifice a living child to the god by cutting out its heart."
Hearing the description of the cultists' actions, Rin's face filled with fear.
Rin: "Then if cultists are still in town, wouldn't that be extremely dangerous?"
Tris: "If only one or two small fry remain, it's not too big a problem. Just think of them as a few crazy murderers wandering around."
Rin: "Eh? That's not a big problem, master? Σ(っ °Д °;)っ"
She was stunned, unsure if her master's standards were somehow wrong.
Tris: "Compared to the previous threat, it's very small. If the whole group were still here, the entire town might suddenly be struck by a strange plague one day, and all die."
Rin: "But even so, having a murderer nearby is still very dangerous, isn't it? Shouldn't we do something?"
Tris: "Well, this is something the church, the territory's manager, and the guild must worry about and resolve. Personally, we just need to stay cautious and ensure our own safety."
Rin: "Rin will be careful," she said, still visibly worried.
Tris: "And since they deliberately don't want this information revealed, you shouldn't spread it around either. Otherwise, you might invite unnecessary trouble."
Tris warned her again.
Rin: "Yes, master."
She obediently nodded. After all, she couldn't help with anything right now, and dragging more trouble to her master was unacceptable.
Tris: "Did today's training still have any difficulties?"
Rin: "Rin still can't succeed every time; half the attempts fail. Especially when switching to the left hand."
Tris: "That progress isn't bad. Now you just need more practice to increase proficiency."
Rin: "Rin often feels pain in the wrist or shoulder when doing it wrong. Should I be concerned?"
Tris: "That's quite normal, and in fact, the pain after each failure is very useful. Because the body instinctively avoids pain, it will naturally push you to improve your movements and adjust your technique more properly."
Understanding she was still on the right track, Rin happily asked about the next exercise.
Rin: "Master said tonight we'll stop this exercise and switch to leg training. What is that exercise?"
Tris: "Practicing a low kick. It's not only an attack method, but also helps prepare for later training in 'Flash Steps'. The details include ..."
It took nearly ten minutes for Tris to list all the points to note.
Rin: "It seems even harder than the previous exercise."
She compared and commented.
Tris: "It sounds like a lot, but when you actually practice, it's not that hard to understand. Especially since you already have experience from the previous exercise.
And of course, when starting practice, I'll demonstrate by helping you control the movement of spiritual energy as always. Just follow and imitate gradually."
Rin happily nodded. So far, her master's teaching has always been very direct and easy to grasp.
If her master said it wasn't too difficult, Rin believed she could learn the new technique successfully.
Each time she learned something new, she felt much stronger than before. The clear sense of progress day by day truly made anyone easily captivated and motivated to keep striving.
Tris: "Alright, we've soaked long enough, time to get out. It's almost dinner time now."
Rin: "Dinner!"
She exclaimed joyfully, her eyes shining. For Rin, the joy of progress still couldn't surpass the satisfaction of being full.
After all, to train hard, one mustn't do it on an empty stomach.