My Refrigerator Turned Into A Dungeon
Chapter 292

Aikido 3

“Ruu! Shizu! Let’s go!”

“Guess we’ve got no choice…”

“Wait up, Machi-chan!”

“““Here we gooo!”””

The three of them launched into a synchronized body slam.

And they all went for a chest push—hey, stop that! That attack works on me! Ugh… y-you’ve exploited my weak point perfectly... What a terrifying assault.

But as we were horsing around like that, a loud bang came from down the hall.

Turning to look, I saw an elderly man with slicked-back white hair, leaning against the wall behind him with a look of utter shock. He was wearing a dojo uniform, and his wide, astonished eyes looked just like Yuzuki-chan’s. So, this must be Yuzuki-chan’s grandfather.

“Y-Yuzuki! Step away from that monster this instant!”

The old man, trembling so much he seemed to collapse as he crawled into the dojo, blurted out something outrageous.

(Wait… does he mean… me??)

Judging by appearances, Yuzuki-chan’s grandfather was just an ordinary person.

There was no trace of the aura unique to dungeon ability users. Yet he could see my power at a glance? Hmm, impressive. As expected of an aikido master. This man might be quite the expert.

“G-Grandpa, don’t be rude! These people protected the school I go to!”

“What!?”

Yuzuki-chan, recovering from her momentary freeze, quickly spoke up in my defense. I knelt in seiza to meet the old man’s gaze and formally introduced myself.

“Pardon our intrusion. My name is Egetsu, and I teach dungeon combat techniques.”

“My name is Nina, pleased to meet you.”

“I’m Serai! Nice to meetcha!”

“A-and I’m Kateshina.”

The three of them followed my lead, kneeling and introducing themselves as well. It felt like we’d set a nice, proper tone. Yes, Nina’s knack for reading the room and winning people over never fails.

“I… I’m Yuzuki’s grandfather. Pleased to meet you…”

Though a bit flustered, Master Hinagata managed to return our greetings.

“……”

And then there was this guy.

While we were all exchanging polite introductions, Shark was looking out into the garden, his lips pursed in a sulky frown. You… seriously?

She must’ve been frustrated by her complete defeat earlier, but her ego is too strong. Hmm… all right, I know what to do.

“Shark, a word.”

“…What?”

“You should study aikido under Master Hinagata.”

“Whaaa!? Why me?!”

‘(Twitch)’

At my suggestion, Shark raised her voice, while Master Hinagata and Yuzuki-chan leaned in curiously to hear more.

“Let’s go back to the beginning. Shark, you told me you wanted to get stronger, right?”

“…Y-yeah.”

“And that’s because you couldn’t even touch Yuzuki-kun, who’s your age and has a similar build, correct?”

“T-that’s right…”

Hearing this, Yuzuki-chan opened her mouth in surprise. Apparently, she hadn’t known about that.

“So why couldn’t you win? What’s the reason?”

“I-it’s because my martial arts and aikido just… don’t mesh well…”

“Hmm, you still think that? But from my perspective, that’s not it.”

“Then what is it!?”

“You and Yuzuki-kun are almost equal in terms of abilities. So the decisive difference is likely… your teachers.”

“Wha?!”

“Yes. You learned martial arts from your older brothers, who, while skilled, didn’t train for years in their field. But Yuzuki-kun is different. She learned from a top-tier instructor, the master of this dojo. Her foundation is flawless.”

“……”

“What you learned from your brothers wasn’t wrong, but it’s missing a lot. In interpreting it on your own, you may have unintentionally misapplied some aspects.”

“That’s not true!”

“Can you say that for sure? Then why haven’t you beaten a single sparring partner I’ve set up for you?”

“Ugh…”

Indeed, Shark had never managed to win against the combat frog, Uten, in sparring.

“You have great fighting instincts, but your fundamentals are severely lacking. I’d teach you myself if I could, but I’m an intuitive fighter with a patchwork, self-taught style.”

“But… I’m still your student, aren’t I?”

“You are. But as your teacher, I’m telling you—what you need right now isn’t my guidance. It’s Master Hinagata’s instruction.”

“Then what about Machi and the others?”

Hmm… To be honest, Ruu and the other two are already progressing well under my guidance. Likely because we share a mental wavelength that allows them to grasp my often-vague teaching style.

“They’re at an age where they can make their own decisions. Whether or not they study aikido is up to them.”

“……”

Hearing my logical reasoning, Shark hung her head silently. She probably understood, even if she didn’t want to accept it. Fine, in that case…

“Well then, I was planning to give you this later, but let’s do it now. Yuzuki-kun, could you come over here too?”

“Huh? O-okay…”

I had the two of them stand side by side and handed them each a [Martial Arts] skill orb.

“This is a reward for standing tall and protecting everyone at school. I’m giving these skill orbs to both of you. They’ll grant you the [Martial Arts] skill, which will surely be useful in your martial training.”

““What?!””

“You both did a great job.”

Yes. By acknowledging their efforts like this, I’ll subtly nudge Shark into learning aikido. Since Shark can’t channel magic, studying aikido will help her grasp the concept of ki, making it a valuable experience.

“……”

Ah…

Master Hinagata, having waited this whole time without much involvement, now seemed restless and eager to contribute. All right, old man, your turn. Time to shine in front of your granddaughter!