'Ugh...'
Today again, without fail, I wake up early.
'Wow...'
What I see through the window is not dawn but the dead of night.
'Today again, it's fucking dark as usual.'
Just a few days ago, I suspected something was wrong with my body, but now that I know the cause, I brush it off without a second thought.
'I never thought the Adaptability I received from the Administrator would be the cause...'
Clearly, the targets of adaptation were only ability/attribute/environment... but for some reason, sleep seems to have been designated as one of those targets.
'...Surely, it's not really treating sleep as an attribute attack, right?'
By the way, this thought came from a conversation with the god.
'Sigh... sleeping only 5 hours a day, but since my body and mind are fine, it doesn't really matter...'
Fortunately, there's nothing wrong with my body, but it feels like I've been robbed of the pleasure of sleeping soundly, so it's not very enjoyable.
'If I had this ability back on Earth, I might have been in college by now...'
I made a silly joke as I got out of bed, washed my face lightly, and then, as usual, gathered my things to train before leaving the room.
'Starting today, I'll wear these.'
Training every day while wearing armor was surprisingly noisy, so while looking for another method, I made what I'm wearing now.
'I never thought I'd be putting these on again myself.'
After being in a coma for 6 years due to an accident and waking up, I was literally just skin and bones, but thanks to the hospital's meticulous care and rehabilitation, I was able to return to daily life faster than expected. However, not satisfied with just daily living, I asked my father for a way to quickly build muscle, and this was the answer.
'Who would have thought I'd end up making weight bands myself...'
They were crude, with iron ingots shaped into long rods fixed between layers of cloth, but since only I would use them, I didn't bother with the design.
'10kg on each limb and 30kg on the torso makes a total of 75kg.'
Some might say it's too heavy, but since receiving my Falna, I've become something like a superhuman, so this isn't particularly strenuous.
'At this speed, it's just like when I was an ordinary person, so I can gradually increase the weight.'
After finishing preparations, I headed to the usual back alley.
'Inhale... exhale...'
I took a deep breath and assumed my stance.
.
.
.
Freya has been experiencing sleep deprivation lately.
'...Does this child not have sleep?'
It's because she often wakes up early or stays up all night to watch a certain child who wakes up earlier and earlier each day.
'But lately, it seems like he wakes up at a set time...'
And today, she stayed up all night again to watch the child who piques her interest.
'...Huh? He's not wearing armor today?'
Perhaps due to fatigue, she only now noticed that his attire was different from usual.
'His movements are slower than usual... Did he put weights in the bands on his limbs? Like that peculiar-looking dagger he carries on his belt, he makes a lot of interesting things.'
The child, who had assumed his stance without her noticing, began lightly jumping in place with a steady rhythm as usual, then showed various kicking techniques, and even used grappling or ground techniques in the air.
'Truly, the more I watch, the more interesting he is. On the other hand, he's also full of mysteries.'
Freya looked over the paper with information about Bell Cranel and that child, obtained through her children, and let out a small sigh.
'There's information that he worked as a day laborer before joining the Miach Familia, but there's no record before coming to Orario, and his origin is unknown... The only known facts are that his name is Kai, he's a Lv1 adventurer, and that he made the bath bombs.'
Since it was her own request, they wouldn't have done a sloppy job, so it's likely that there really is no information.
'What kind of life have you lived? What life could make your soul that color yet still shine so brightly?'
At first, it was simple curiosity that made her start watching, but lately, an indescribable, subtle emotion has begun to mix with that curiosity.
'When the time comes, meeting him once might be...!'
Just as she smiled with a seductive expression,
'Shudder!'
A sound of someone flinching was heard, and the atmosphere collapsed in an instant.
'...Ottar.'
'...I apologize, Lady Freya.'
Interrupted during a good moment, she felt angry without realizing it, but at the same time, she could sense that a bit of her charm power had leaked out.
'...No, it's fine. I'm starting to feel sleepy anyway.'
She usually restrained herself, but lately, with two children piquing her interest, it's become harder to hold back.
'It's such a pity that both children joined different Familias...'
.
.
.
'Phew...'
To be honest, the training I do feels too simple to be called training.
'It's just repeating set movements, so I don't really feel like I'm improving...'
Because it's just repeating predetermined movements, like Taekwondo forms, with nothing special.
'That aside, these weight bands are definitely helpful. I finally feel like I'm exercising.'
How to put it... it feels like moving with heavy dumbbells in both hands.
'...Time already.'
Perhaps because I used all my muscles for the first time in a while, the sun had already risen beyond Orario's walls.
'What should I make today...'
Feeling the warmth of the rising sun, I pondered what to make for breakfast when I realized I had already arrived in front of home.
'Meat in the morning might be a bit heavy, right?'
It might be fine for Naza, an adventurer, but for Miach, who has a body like an ordinary person, oily food in the morning might be tough, so I thought of another dish.
'I have the sausages and bacon I bought yesterday, so I should make pot-au-feu, which is easy to prepare.'
Just as a good soup dish came to mind, I immediately fetched the ingredients from the storage.
'I even got a large pot suitable for making soup, so there's no reason not to.'
First, I put a little oil in the pot, added the bacon, and slowly raised the temperature.
'I'll set it to medium heat first and cut the vegetables I brought into suitable sizes.'
I cut onions, potatoes, carrots, cabbage, mushrooms, and turnips into bite-sized pieces.
'Sizzle!'
'The bacon is starting to cook just in time.'
When the bacon in the pot starts to fry in the oil, I stir-fry it until the fat renders out.
'This should do.'
Once enough meat fat has formed at the bottom of the pot, I add the cut vegetables and sausages, then pour in enough water to submerge the ingredients.
'Now, add the pre-made chicken stock and bay leaves, then boil until done.'
The chicken stock I added now was made from a chicken I coincidentally found while shopping for ingredients at the market.
'Who would have thought there were ordinary chickens in this world... I've been living at a loss until now.'
I had a silly thought: if I had known there were chickens, wouldn't I have been living off fried chicken long ago? I covered the pot with the lid and turned up the heat to maximum.
'After boiling like this for about 10 minutes, lower the heat to medium and simmer for a long time, and the pot-au-feu will be complete.'
After finishing all the preparations, I was about to head to the god's room when
'...What is this, déjà vu?'
I could see Miach and Naza watching from beyond the kitchen.
'What are you two doing there?'
As I approached and asked, both smiled slightly and spoke to me.
'How could we not wake up with such a delicious smell wafting strongly from early morning...?'
'Haha, from now on, close the kitchen door when you cook.'
At their words, I stepped out of the kitchen and saw that the entire shop was filled with the smell of pot-au-feu.
'...I'm sorry.'
Since it was clearly my mistake, I apologized immediately, but the two didn't seem to mind.
'Well, we can just ventilate, so it's fine... when will that be done?'
'Seeing you cook, it looks like a stew. How much longer?'
Rather, the atmosphere was one of anticipation for the pot-au-feu to be ready.
'...You'll have to wait at least 30 minutes, so let's ventilate the shop first.'
'What a shame...'
'Right, we have plenty of time, so let's ventilate first.'
While waiting for the pot-au-feu to be ready, we ventilated the shop, adjusted the heat in between, tasted the seasoning, and made good use of the remaining time before having breakfast together.
'If the Familia goes under, you should open a restaurant.'
'God, saying such jinxing things carelessly will lead to trouble.'
'If you open a shop, give me and Miach free meals...'
'Even you, senior... I said not to say things like that?'
'Of course it's a joke...'
'Haha, it's a joke, so don't take it seriously.'
'...When you two say it like that, it doesn't sound like a joke.'
We enjoyed the meal comfortably, making silly jokes.
'...Oh, right, senior, do you have a moment?'
While washing dishes after the meal, I remembered a training method I had only thought about but never tried, so I called Naza.
'...Huh?'
'Can you get me some poison? Any kind is fine.'
'I can get it... but what for?'
The training method involved injecting poison into my body to build resistance using my Adaptability skill.
'Oh, it's nothing much. I want to inject it into myself.'
'...What?'
There was something I overlooked.
'To build resistance whenever I have time... senior?'
First, I had never told Naza about my ability.
'Ah, no, let me explain first...'
Second was
"Hey... are you crazy?"
At Naza's murderous expression, I froze, unable to do anything.