343 334 What would happen if I had a long vacation? (1/2)

The Golden Week holiday period ends tomorrow.

I haven't been involved in any combat during the vacations, except for muscle training.

You have to regain your senses, but you can't train today because you have an appointment to keep today.

Then I'm off to Himikku. As I said before, I'll eat dinner outside.

”Mm!　Have fun!

Suella can call me if you need anything else.

”Yes, I know.

”.........

Memoria, you don't have to get up if you're sleepy.

No, have a good day.

”Oh.

I've got Himikku in his kappogi, Suela in her regular clothes, and a half-asleep Memoria in her pajamas who woke up just a few minutes ago to see me crawling out the front door.

I walked down the hallway and turned left when I would normally turn left, but I turned right and went out of the office.

You'd like to think that you've gotten used to the sensation of losing your magic power, but you still can't get used to the sensation of your body becoming heavier and less powerful than you expected.

You start walking with such a heavy body.

You don't use the car and walk towards the station, as you plan to have a drink today.

Thanks to the early hour, the flow of people is sparse.

So you take it easy and walk towards your destination, looking at the city of Tokyo.

The destination is about four stops away from the office.

It was in a residential area a little far from the city center.

Please excuse me.

”Yes, Tanaka-san!　Nice to see you.

It's been a while, Itsuko-san.

An old-fashioned samurai residence, if you will.

The gate is old and has a sign that says Hasebe Dojo on it.

This is the dojo I used to attend.

I was a student of Hasebe Dojo a long time ago and after I became a company employee, I was not able to go in to see him often, but when I did, the wife of the instructor of this dojo, Itsuko-san, greeted me with a smile.

She greets me with a smile, ”You're here, Tanaka-kun.

Long time no see, Master.

And from the back of the room comes Takeshi, the instructor.

In spite of his age of 70 this year, he remains tall and muscular, and his behavior is as seamless as ever.

He usually holds kendo classes for children twice a week, and the other three days he holds kendo classes for adults like me.

I was relieved to see that he was still the same and had made an appointment with him beforehand.

Well, get out of here.

”Yes.

The teacher invites me into the house and lets me go into the living room.

The teacher and I sat down facing each other, and Itsuko served tea and then left.

I haven't seen you in a while, but I'm glad to see you're well. It's always been a time to let off some steam when you came in.

”Ha ha ha. Thank you for being with me every time.

What? It's my job now to show the young people the way. A daredevil young man like you is rather agreeable.

First, it is pointed out to me in a roundabout way that I am pale when I come every time, and I bow my head with a laugh.

Shihan laughs as if he sees something amusing in those words.

After all, he was right, most of the time when I was coming to the dojo, I was there to release the oppressed and depressed feelings of work.

It's very embarrassing for me to have been accepted and understood that.

So when I didn't hear from you in a while, it was time to ask you for a favor.

”I'm very sorry for not showing my face, and I'm very sorry for coming out of the blue.

”No, I'm not a stranger to you. I'm going to ask you a favor, and that's a good thing.

And here's the thing.

There's nothing odd about coming to this dojo, but this is the first time I've come here just to ask for a favor.

But I didn't expect you to ask me to introduce you to a brewery.

”Ha ha ha, sorry

And even though I came to the kendo hall, I feel really sorry for talking about alcohol that has nothing to do with swords.

Shihan has been running this dojo for a long time and has a lot of experience. I remembered that among his friends was a sake brewery.

No, my boss is having a birthday party and there will be a lot of these heavy drinkers.

And the reason I came to ask this is because Instructor Kio's birthday is coming up next month.

When I learned of this just the other day, I thought to myself, ”Huh?　In the beginning, I couldn't afford to attend the banquet, not that I was famous enough to attend it.

To celebrate my promotion and expand my friendships, the instructor invited me to this year's party.

And that's where the problem comes in.

We are told that a birthday present should be alcohol, but the problem is the amount of alcohol.

Normally, even a bottle of sake per person is a lot.

If you are a heavy drinker, that's more than you can handle, but you're dealing with demons.

There's no way a bottle of wine would be enough for them.

A barrel is only enough for one person.

Maybe a keg is enough for one person.

Will you be attending such a banquet?

You put your hand to your chin and begin to think, mildly surprised that you need such a large amount of alcohol.

In your mind, you probably have a wedding venue in mind, but you want to say it's not that spectacular, but you can't.

And that's the instructor you've been working with every day.

Even if you're going to get drunk, I want you to have a good drink anyway.

That's why you've been searching through your friends and acquaintances and found your teacher.

Hmm, I have one recommendation.

”Really?!

Yeah, it's one of my favorite drinks of all time. I'm sure the boss will love it.

And just as I expected, the teacher replied with a ready answer.

However,

But with a grin on his face, Master Teacher smiled like a naughty boy and quickly stood up.

I'll wait until you have a shot with me.

”Ha, ha.

Suddenly, it was a stand-off.

I followed the back of Shihan as he started to walk to the dojo.

Then I remembered that I had never beaten my master before.

He used to be from the dojo of the showmanship school and his main occupation was swordsmanship, but I somehow remember hearing that he was married to his wife and moved from his hometown to Tokyo as his son-in-law.

Shingen-ryu is a swordsmanship that is famous for its ability to cut everything in two without a sword.

Many people who practice such swordsmanship are a bit extreme in their approach to cutting everything in two with one sword.

Nevertheless, your teacher is a gentle man.

I never thought he would offer you a match.

You change into the uniform provided by Itsuko.

I don't know how long it's been since I've worn kendo gear.

It seemed like a year or so before I stood up, fully clad in my protective gear.

.........