Chapter 29

                                    

                                          
I arrived in home just in time to not be scolded. Good thing too I don't think I could take another assignment of chitose being my babysitter. 
"I'm back!" 
"Welcome back." 
"How was your day in the village." 
"It was good, I went to the garden that's across from the tea house. The flowers are beginning to bud, it won't be long till they blossom I look forward to it." 
He nodded. 
"Hey I was wondering have you encountered any demons on your rounds lately?" 
That seemed to catch him off guard. 
"No, why would you ask?" 
"Nothing, don't worry about it. I got to get dinner ready." 
I head to the kitchen before he could ask me anything. 
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I got up extra early to descend the mountain before making breakfast. I'm slowly getting better at avoiding traps but.... I hit five trip wires so far. I got hit with stones eight times. On the bright side I managed to avoid the logs this time, so that's a plus. After taking a bath I get my stuff and run to the village. I use the journey as an opportunity to build my stamina and see if I can get there faster each time. So far it's working out well. I've upped my speed and stamina. When I get back home I do 500 sword swings. I know Urokodaki  assigned me less work, because I have work and since I told him I wanted to take things slower. But I still feel like I'm not doing as much as I should. 
I'm also hoping I could work on some hand to hand combat since it's good to have a form of self defense other than a sword, since they can be rather conspicuous. It would be troublesome to get arrested. I arrived at Ran's shop letting myself in. 
"Good morning." 
"Good morning y/n. How was your walk through the garden with your friend." 
He had a teasing tone as he said the word "friend." 
"I haven't seen him around before, is he new?" 
I roll my eyes at the implication but answer him. 
"Sort of new...he said he's staying around here for a bit." 
"I see, well that aside I have some news to tell you." 
I cocked my head to the side questioningly. 
"My wife and I are heading to visit some family in Osaka. We'll be gone for about a month or two and we'll be closed." 
"Ah, so I'm guessing that they'll be no work during that time?" 
"Yes that will indeed be the case." 
"When are you two thinking of leaving?" 
"Tomorrow. I'm sorry it's such short notice, but it can't be helped. I'm truly sorry for not being able to let you know sooner." 
I shook my head. 
"It's fine, don't worry thanks for letting me know." 
"Alright we better start getting work done, there's still a lot to do." 
"Right!" 
I run off to the back where Ran's wife normally worked on the kimonos. 
It was early afternoon when Ran and his wife dismissed for the day, since they still needed to pack. I headed for the tea house in favor of getting a snack before heading home. I suppose on the bright side I'll have more time to train while they're gone. As I'm leaving the tea house I see a flash of gold and red hair heading into the garden. I followed after finding him sitting on the bench that we were sitting the day before.