Leave a comment

“Oh dear, I’m terribly sorry. I never would have guessed you were an adventurer…”
“Don’t worry about it. It’s because my master’s appearance is a bit confusing.”
“If you have complaints, take it up with the one who made me look like this, and do something about these kids!”
“Wow, such white hair! You look like a grandma, even though you’re a kid!”
“Hey, let’s play house over there! I’ll let you be the princess!”
“You’re so weak! Fine, I’ll make you my minion!”

With the children who came with Mytia, my master was quickly overwhelmed and turned into a mess. Even against kids her own physical age, she was completely outmatched in strength. She was utterly lacking in stamina.

“Alright, that’s enough. My master is weak, so go easy on her.”
“Haa… Haa…! Lucky for you, I almost sent you flying with my golden right…”
“It’s better to stop, Master, you might break your arm.”
“I’m not that frail!!”

As I pulled my master out from the children, she was already exhausted, breathing heavily on my shoulder. Also, if she gets actually angry, she might unleash spells instead of punches. It’s safer to defuse the situation early.

“Oh? Master, what’s with the book on your back?”
“Oh, besides the quest, I transcribed one for you. You can read it later.”

Tied to my master’s back was a thin book with “Stories of the Gods” written on the cover. There were no illustrations, but judging by the title, it seemed like a children’s book. But why for me?

“As an Outlander, you probably don’t know much about this world. It wouldn’t hurt to absorb some knowledge, whatever it may be.”
“Wow, thank you so much! Then I’ll do it as I read it aloud for everyone…”
““““Yaaaay!!””””
“Do that later! I already said there’s still a quest left!!”

That’s right, I got too excited about receiving my first gift from my master. It’s probably around noon now, so if we eat lunch first and then head over, we’ll probably start working around 1:00 PM. Thinking all that made me feel hungry now and my stomach started to rumble.

“…Sigh, it won’t do if you collapse during work. Let’s have lunch.”
“Oh, in that case, why don’t we eat together? If something simple is okay, lunch is already prepared.”

While still holding back the children swarming around my master, Ms. Mytia suggested so. Come to think of it, a delicious smell was wafting from the orphanage. They probably cooked while I was weeding.

“Ms. Mytia, is that okay?”
“Yes, after pulling out all those weeds and tilling the soil, it’s only fair to offer something in return or I’ll incur divine punishment.”
“In that case, may we… Master? It’ll save on lunch expenses.”
“Well, saving money is appreciated, but you sure became quite close with them in such a short time.”
“Everyone is nice once you get to know them, including you, Master!”
“Is that so? Then start by replacing your eyeballs.”

――――――――…………
――――……
――…

“But Master, that was quick. Transcribing two books would have taken much more time, wouldn’t it?”
“Yeah, it would have taken until dusk if I did it properly. I used magecraft.”

The meal served at the orphanage consisted of boiled potatoes, bread, and a pale soup. The soup had lumps of boiled flour and scraps of vegetables floating in it, hardly appetizing. Their financial situation didn’t seem good. Even Momo was showing hesitation as she carried the spoon to her mouth.

“Wow, is there a spell that can write letters by itself?”
“Well, it’s similar. If the ink is liquid, it can be manipulated through magic power.”

As an experiment, I passed magic through the spoon, arranging the scooped soup into letters in the air. Doing the same thing with ink and sticking it to a book would complete the copy. It wouldn’t take more than an hour for both books combined.

“Whoa, you can use magic!”
“Wow, teach me too!”
“Hey now, no causing a ruckus during mealtime. Sorry about that, both of you.”
“Hahaha, at least learn to distinguish between magecraft and magic before asking for lessons, you brats.”
“Master, please refrain from saying childish things. Your mental age is much the same.”
“Say what?”

While dealing with the sometimes bothersome children, the meal progressed. That said, this body could hardly handle much food. A piece of bread dipped in soup and a half of a small potato was plenty for me.

“Eh? Master, is that really enough for you!?”
“Um, you don’t have to be so reserved, please eat without worry…”
“No, I ate to my satisfaction, actually.”

I didn’t expect criticism from others besides Momo. But looking around, the children were devouring much more than me. Could it be that I’m the abnormal one here?

“Master, if you don’t eat properly, you won’t grow taller, you know?”
“That’s none of your business! I can’t fit any more in my stomach, so it can’t be helped!”
“Oh my, you two seem to get along very well~”

I wonder if this woman is visually impaired, describing our current exchange to be ‘getting along.’

“What are your plans for later? Your master seems to be in a hurry…”
“Yes, we still have a quest in the afternoon! Um, it’s the cleaning of a mansion on the west street, I believe.”
“Ah, could it be Mr. Randley’s mansion? He seemed quite obsessed with magicology.”
““Magicology?””

My line overlapped with Momo’s, but what caught my attention more was the term just now. From the name, it seems related to magecraft and magic, but I don’t recall ever hearing it before.

“Ah, Ms. Momo, you’re an Outlander, right? You’ll know what I mean when you arrive at the mansion.”
“I see, I’m looking forward to it, right, Master!”
“It annoys me very much that our opinions are in agreement, but it’s indeed intriguing.”
“Wait, wait, are you guys going to a haunted mansion!?”
“…A haunted mansion?”

A child who had been listening to our conversation eagerly stopped eating and his eyes sparkled with excitement.

At that moment, the woman named Mytia covered her mouth with ‘oops’ written on her face, and turned away.

“Hey hey hey, take us with you, take us, take us~!!”
“I heard the ghosts have been showing up there since the old man died!”