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nIn the end, Yurdum-san ran out of stamina.

nApparently, techniques that use Ki consume more stamina than just strengthening one’s body.

nAt first, there were no problems, but near the end of our spar, Yurdum-san’s movement got worse every time he attacked.

nBefore long, Yurdum-san was on his knees and he announced his surrender. After that he laid on his back and looked up at the night sky.

nDespite losing, I can tell from the smile on his face that he’s happy to have been able to use all of his strength.

n“Yurdum-san.” Ryouma

nWith Yurdum-san breathing heavily on the ground, I opened my Item Box and provided him a clean towel and a drink.

n“There’s an anti-cold barrier here, but you’ll still catch a cold if you don’t wipe yourself.” Ryouma

n“…Thanks.” Yurdum

nHe took a few seconds to process what I was saying, but he took my towel to wipe himself and emptied the glass I offered him.

nHe probably just spaced out because he’s so tired.

n“Puha! That’s some good stuff!” Yurdum

n“I’m glad you like it.” Ryouma

nI took out a glass for myself and filled it with the same drink.

nTraining with Yurdum-san was good training for me too… The fragrance of the citrus fruit juice was pleasantly refreshing.

nOne more!

nI poured Yurdum-san another glass, and after hydrating himself sufficiently, he gradually recovered himself.

n“You okay now?” Ryouma

n“More or less.” Yurdum

nUpon saying that, his expression suddenly became serious as he bowed his head.

n“Thank you so much for today. I can’t express it in words all that well, but thanks to you I was able to gain an important experience.” Yurdum

nFrom the way he spoke and acted, I could feel his respect as a martial artist who’s acknowledged another.

n“Likewise. It was a good experience for me too. Especially that technique that used Ki. It was my first time seeing one.” Ryouma

n“Really? If you gained something too, then nothing could be better.” Yurdum

n“If you’d like we could train together regularly. I’d love to learn more about Ki Techniques.” Ryouma

n“I’d love to! I have a lot of things I wanted to study too, for example—” Yurdum

nIn the blink of an eye, Yurdum-san was back to that light-hearted personality of his, but his passion for martial arts burned as fierce as ever.

nFor a while, we spoke about the things we wanted to learn about.

nYurdum-san even wanted to become my disciple just to learn, but he figured I probably wasn’t the sort of person to have disciples, so it would be great if we could exchange knowledge.

nApparently, this wasn’t something that commonly happened.

nBecause…

n“Boss, to martial artists their technique is their livelihood. That’s why they normally won’t teach someone who isn’t their disciple.” Yurdum

nThe Adventurers Guild would teach anyone skills, but that’s in order to raise the survival rate of adventurers and the success rate of jobs, and even then they only teach the basics.

nInstructors and senior adventurers might teach a bit more than the basics to hopeful students or students that they like, but they almost never share secret techniques or anything of the like.

nActually, that was true in Earth too once upon a time. There were many schools that even prohibited taking their techniques outside or competing with other schools to keep everything to themselves. Some schools even require a blood certificate before beginning training.

nAlso, expecting that other people might see their training, they prepare perfunctory forms that’s different from the forms they teach their disciples, separate the teachings, and only by combining everything can the complete technique be learned. The lengths the people in the past went just to prevent any leak in information was so profound that there would be no end to it if I tried to enumerate them all.

nBut that just goes to show just how seriously the people back then took the passing of their techniques and keeping them a secret.

n…When looked at from that perspective, being able to get an introduction to most martial art schools with a few clicks, and even get a thorough explanation on their various forms and techniques, is basically cheating. There are even videos too.

nI understand where Yurdum-san is coming from.

nBut in the end, my thoughts incline more toward that of a modern man.

n“Ah, but I was just informing you that. As far as I’m concerned, nothing could be better than to learn from each other, and it’s not like there aren’t any schools that share their techniques openly.” Yurdum

n“Alright then! …Oh.” Ryouma

n“Something the matter?” Yurdum

nOops… I forgot about the original purpose of bringing him here…

n“Yurdum-san. I completely forgot about it, but actually, today, I needed you to come here for a reason other than training too.” Ryouma

n“What is it?” Yurdum

n“Yes. There’s something I’d like to ask.” Ryouma

n“Ask? As long as it’s something that I can answer.” Yurdum

n“Great. Then if you don’t mind my asking, Yurdum-san, have you been leaking information somewhere? To someone?” Ryouma

n“*Cough!?” Yurdum

nYurdum-san choked on his juice when I asked him that question.

n“How do you know that?” Yurdum

n“As you might be aware, the worsening public order in Gimuru is a scheme done by some people. To be more precise, it’s the work of the subordinates of nobles hostile to the duke. So we’ve spread out a net to catch the people executing these schemes.” Ryouma

n“And I just happen to be caught in that net?” Yurdum

n“Right, but to be honest, we’re more interested in your partner than you, oh, and by partner, I mean the person you leaked the information to.” Ryouma

nYurdum-san quickly relaxed when he heard that.

nI don’t know if it’s because he’s guilty or regretful, but he made an expression that looked like he was bracing himself.

n“Umm, you look like you’re bracing yourself for something, but I think you’re misunderstanding the situation.” Ryouma

n“Huh?” Yurdum

n“To be honest, there was a proposal to arrest you immediately, but there was something bothering me personally, so I requested that an opportunity for us to talk directly be made. So our spar was actually a pretext for us to talk, unfortunately I lost myself in the moment… Sorry.” Ryouma

nThat apology was directed to a small owl.

nIt was standing at the roof and was looking down at me and Yurdum-san. It was the familiar of the maid, Lilian-san.

nI also only found out that Lilian-san was a monster tamer yesterday.

n“It’s true that I’m leaking information, though. Why go through all this trouble?” Yurdum

n“Ah, yes. We’ve confirmed that you’re leaking information, and I trust the source of this confirmation, so I’m not doubting its veracity. But we don’t know where the information is being sent, so it doesn’t mean that you’re necessarily an enemy.” Ryouma

n“That may be true, but from the moment I started leaking information, I would normally be branded as an enemy.” Yurdum

n“Yes, that’s true.” Ryouma

nThat’s why it was so hard to persuade everyone yesterday.

nWe had to take precautions, Lilian-san’s familiar is one, and the slime security system that we worked on the whole morning is another. I came fully equipped too despite my normal outfit, well, almost fully equipped. There’s also a trick behind this courtyard, and I can escape anytime with my Dimension Magic. Once activated, Hyuzu-san’s group and my security company’s instructors will immediately enter the fray.

n“Only when all of these precautions were made did they finally give me the permission to talk to you personally. Everyone was reluctant until the end, though.” Ryouma

n“…I know it’s strange coming from me, but honestly, that’s normal. Why would you go so far?” Yurdum

nHonestly, that’s a hard question for me to answer.

n“I haven’t interacted with you that long, but you never really struck me as an enemy. So, in other words, because my ‘intuition’ said so. Recently, I’ve been advised by some people that I think too much, and that I should trust my intuition more often.” Ryouma

nBut to be honest, I’m not confident at all.

nIt’s true that I didn’t think he was an enemy, but when I think about I can’t help but wonder if I’m not just looking for excuses because I want to believe he’s not an enemy.

n“Anyway! I don’t know why either, but I trust my guts! So I created this situation so we can talk.” Ryouma

n“That’s such an absurd reasoning, Boss…” Yurdum

n“Everyone said so too, they even looked at me with gazes filled with various emotions. I’m sorry to worry them so much, but I’m not giving way this time.” Ryouma

nDon’t look down on my mental strength that’s been tempered in my past life!

nSometimes you need to be shameless too in order to survive at a black company!

n“That’s why I wanted to hear you out as soon as possible. Although I said not to worry about them, everyone’s too worried right now. Being fidgety for so long, it wouldn’t be strange if they just ran out without waiting for a signal. So hurry up and spill the beans, Yurdum-san!” Ryouma

nNo seriously, I’ve made everyone wait for so long, so please hurry up and talk!

n“Alright, alright, I got it, so you don’t need to pressure me like that!” Yurdum

nYurdum-san sighed and asked where he should start.

n“As I’ve said, if you could start with your employer or where you’re sending your information to, that would be great.” Ryouma

n“Ah, in that case, that’s simple. The person I’m leaking the information to is—” Yurdum

nFor a moment, when he said the name, or rather, the job of his employer, I doubted my ears.

n“Sorry, can you repeat that? Where was the information being leaked to again?” Ryouma

n“Elias De Rifall, His Majesty, the king of this country.” Yurdum

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