On the way home from the classes Father and Sevs rode the first few minutes in exhausted silence. They had waited outside for a little bit talking to Markus and Susan as people trickled out. However, it was not quite enough to completely dry them. So eventually, Father made the executive decision. They got into the car damp and rolled the windows down for fresh air.

Sevs was in the back seat, behind the empty passenger seat, enjoying the feeling of air flowing across his face. The wind pushed his hair from his eyes and quickly dried the remaining sweat from his face. After almost half an hour to recover and the fresh air, Sevs still felt hot and a little uncomfortable. His heart rate had come down, but he still felt the excitement of pitting himself against another. Pretty soon, his cheeks would hurt from smiling too much.

In the mirror, Sevs could also see Father had a grin on his face. It really was more of a subtle smirk, honestly. While he was content to ride in silence, he hadn't seen Father like this or really let loose as he had earlier before. "Are we coming back, Father?"

"I think we will, Sevs."

"It was fun, wasn't it?"

"It really was. There is something to it that I hadn't expected. Reminded me of my youth. I didn't think this sort of competitiveness was still in me like that. I believed that business satisfied more competitive or aggressive parts of my personality. Apparently, I was wrong. Also, Markus talked so much trash that I had to take my turn. It was quite funny to see him be unable to get up." Father looked back, and in the rearview mirror, he saw Sevs fast asleep in the back seat.

***

Sevs woke up a bit early that morning. Not quite remembering how he got there. Father must have carried him in from the car. Sevs must have been very sleepy as Father usually wakes him up if he falls asleep in the car. Checking the clock, Sevs realized there was plenty of time before they would go to breakfast. Checking on his stats and skills, not much had changed, not that he had expected it to, honestly. Just one session wasn't going to get him an unarmed combat skill. But when he checked his quest, there was an update.

After a successful first start, Susan got quite a few customers. Continue to help her grow her business. You have gained EXP.

That was a bit of a surprise as Sevs didn't think he had really done anything yet to help the business. Maybe just showing up had helped, but if that were the case, then the quest should have just been to go to the class. No, there must have been something else.

Even then, Sevs considered how he should continue with the quest. It was optional, but he was looking forward to learning new skills, so it didn't make sense to abandon it for no reason. But what could he, a little kid, do to help the business?

Well thinking of himself as a little kid was probably not fair. He has more skill and experience than almost anyone. Just because he currently physically had the brain of a kid did not mean he had to act like one. Considering what he knew about advertising, which was not a lot, Sevs figured the most essential thing might simply be getting the word out. To do that, they would need branding. Right now, that was hard since he didn't even know the business's name. All it was to him was Markus's friends. Now just Susan's BJJ classes.

He needed to get his hands on a seclude and a few other things. Also, he should see what kind of online presence they had. Maybe there would be some low-hanging fruit, and he could improve the search optimizations for the website by adding a few key terms and other things. Even something as simple as improving the use of social media might help. When they got to work, he would approach Markus about it.

Still having a while to himself, Sevs got up. He wandered out to the living room and sat on the couch. As he picked up the book he was working on, he noticed how quiet the house was. It just seemed so empty. Even though life had improved immeasurably since the time right after Mother passed, the house still didn't feel like home. It was just some place where he and Father went to sleep.

Father was a bit late to rise this morning. When he did come out and found Sevs already ready, he sighed in relief. "Good, you are ready to go. I was worried we would be late."

They rushed to the car, leaving for breakfast not too long after they normally would. The quick ride to their diner passed in a blur, but once they got there and their usual waitress poured Father some coffee, things picked up.

Realizing that Father was now more awake and willing to have a conversation, Sevs spoke up. "You know I had a lot of fun at the gym last night. When can we go back?"

Father put his cup back down. "Hmm, I think they have a kids' class every other weekday. It's a Friday, right? So after the weekend?"

"What about the open gym times? There might be others there. Susan has to have someone to work with, right?"

"I suppose I need to check when it is open."

"But can we go to the next open session?”

"We can definitely go to the next kids' session. I found it fun too. However, I am not sure about the open session. I just don't want you to roll with people much bigger than you yet; that sounds like a good way to get injured."

"I promise I will talk to Susan before I roll with any adults."

Father considered for a little bit. While Sevs was waiting for Father to respond, he smiled as he noticed a new notification pop up.