Chapter 3 : The Beginning of My Freeloader Life
From now on, the story will proceed from Ren’s POV.
I’ve decided to live in Malik-san house but to be honest, I don’t want to trouble Malik-san more than this.
But because there’s a lot of things I don’t understand, I have to keep troubling him..
Well, let’s start by learning how to do housework! Especially how to cook and clean!
“Umm.. Since I will be freeloading in your place, please let me do all the housework! I’ve been living alone all this time so I’m pretty confident with my housekeeping ability!”
By the way, I really like doing housework.
When I was little my father left us, leaving me and my mother alone. So to support my mother, I’ve been doing housework since I was little. All my friends who were living alone said that housework is a pain to do but maybe because I’ve been doing it for so long, I become accustomed to it and able to actually enjoy it.
By the time I went to university, my mother already remarried and went to live with her new husband. Their new house were a little far from my place so I rarely visited her.
It might take a while for her to notice that I’m already gone.
“Is that so? Well it’d be hard to live if you don’t even know how to brew tea so I guess I will teach you then.”
“Thank you very much!”
First, the kitchen!
To my surprise, the people in Alsar use magic for their everyday life. They need to imbue their magic power into the magic stone to light up the fire in the stove or to get the water flowing from the tap.
Malik-san said every living being have magic power, so even an other worlder like me should have magic power too.
I don’t know how much magic power do I have, I hope just a little bit of magic power will be enough.
“First, touch the magic stone on top of the faucet. Imagine your magic power flowing into the stone, producing the amount of water you want. Since this is your first time, just take it easy.”
“Alright. Ah, somehow my heart is beating so fast!”
I imagine a drop of water flowing steadily as I touch the faucet but suddenly! A tremendous amount of water suddenly burst through the tap!
“Eeeeeh?! W-why?!”
“I knew it. I’ve heard that other worlder has huge amount of magic power, a lot more than average people. Well now that you’ve experienced it first hand, you can learn how to manage your magic power so it won’t overflow now.”
It’s good that I have enough magic power to use the daily appliances but when I imagine I let my magic power loose by mistake when I try to lit the stove….
I have to be more careful.
Malik-san guides me to the bathroom. To my surprise, the bathroom in Alsar is a lot similar to j.a.pan, where they have the place to wash their bodies before delving into the bathtub. Inside the bathtub, there’s another magic stone to keep the water warm.
I wanted Malik-san to teach me how to use the toilet but since it was already dark, Malik-san said it’d be better to have dinner first.
“Tonight’s meal is bread and the soup that I made this morning. Eat a lot! I will take you to the market and the guild tomorrow.”
“Okay! Thank you for guiding me! Itadakimasu!”
“Huh? That ‘itadakimasu’, what’s that supposed to mean?”, Malik-san asked curiously.
“I guess people don’t stay ‘itadakimasu’ here huh. ‘Itadakimasu’ is a mean for us to appreciate both the food and the people preparing the food. We say it when we’re about to eat and when we already finished eating, we say ‘gochisousama’ which have similar meaning to ‘itadakimasu’. I guess since Alsar people have different custom, the words doesn’t translated.”
“I see. It has nice meaning, I like it! From now on, I’m also going to say ‘itadakimasu’ and ‘gochisousama’!”
Malik-san says as he slaps both of his hands together like I did. Looking at this handsome westerner slaps his hand together in j.a.panese manner somehow.. He looks kinda cute.
“This soup and bread is really delicious!”
The soup is filled with lots of vegetables and the taste is good, not too salty or too bland. The bread tastes great, especially when I dip it into the soup. The soup soaked through the bread making it full of flavor and soft.
Even though it’s just a simple meal, the food goes perfectly well together.
My stomach gets bloated because I eat so much, even though I only eat about ⅓ of Malik-san portion. Probably because the difference in our physique is too great, that’s why compared to Malik-san I eat so little.
After both of us finishes our meal, I carry the used tableware to the sink to clean.
“Ah right! I haven’t teach you how to use [Clean] magic! It’s a beginner magic spell, even young child can do it. Just imagine the thing you want to clean become clean and beautiful and chant ‘clean’! You can even use the magic on yourself so you don’t need to take a bath.”
“I see. Magic is so convenient huh. I never use magic spell before, I wonder if I able to use.. Well here goes nothing! [Clean]!“
Suddenly the dirty dishes turns sparkly clean! It was clean before but now it actually sparkles! I guess because I went overboard with my magic power again.
Magic is really amazing! I’m so relieved that I have magic power. If I didn’t have magic power, my life in Alsar would’ve turn miserable..
Well because the plates is all clean now, I put the respective tabbleware in the shelf.
“Ren, aren’t you tired? Let’s get into the tub and then sleep. Sorry, I don’t have clothing in your size. Let’s use [Clean] magic to clean your clothes and you can wear it again after bath.”
“I understand. Is it alright if I’m the one taking the bath first?”
“Ah sure”
Thank you Malik-san, for letting me take the bath first. I go to the bathroom and take the pajamas that I’ve been wearing all day off. I wash myself first before I go soak in the tub.
I use the fluffy sponge to scrub my body. I have some bruises on my feet because I was walking barefooted but it’s only small scratches, nothing much.
I wait until the bubble arises before I finally delve into the tub.
A lot of things happened to me today, I start to think about it as I let myself immersed into the warm water.
I got transported to Alsar, I met Malik-san. He guided me to his house and taught me magic.. I’m experiencing such fantasy life today.
“Ahh, the bath is so comfortable. Now that I think about it, I wonder what happened in Earth right now? Did people already notice I’m missing? I wonder whether I can return to Earth or not..”
There’s so much to think of..
Since Malik-san said I’m not the only other worlder in Alsar, I should ask him tomorrow. But I won’t expect too much, if he doesn’t have the answer it’s fine.
My body is so warm and comfortable now, I get up and step out of the bath. The water splashes a little when I move. There’s towel in the dressing room, thank you Malik-san!
“[Clean].”
My pajamas was filthy because of the dirt but as I cast the [Clean] magic, it immediately turn clean. I also use the [Clean] magic on my underwear.
“Even if I use the [Clean] magic and my underwear is clean now, somehow I still feel uncomfortable. I will ask Malik-san to lend me money so I can buy new underwear for me tomorrow.”
After taking a bath, I go back to the living room and I see Malik-san relaxing in the sofa.
“Thank you for letting me take the bath first. I feel so much refreshed now.”
“I see, I’m glad. Ah right, you were walking barefooted right? Let me see your feet.”
“Ah, yes. I’m fine though, just small scratches.”
“It’s okay, let me see. [Heal]! There, now your feet is all good.”
“Wow..thank you very much!”
The scratches on my feet immediately healed, my feet is all smooth and nice now. I see, there’s even magic to heal an injury huh.
“I’m not that good at healing magic but it should suffice for small scratches like this. Well then, I’m going to hit the bath. Feel free to use the room over there.”
“Goodnight, Malik-san.”
As Malik-san leaves me to the bathroom, I walk toward the door Malik-san pointed for me before. I guess I’m more tired than I thought, I’m so sleepy now.
I open the door and see a simple room with bed and dresser inside. The bed is big enough for two people but, if I compare it to the average size of people in Alsar I guess this bed is supposed to be enough for one people?
“Ah so sleepy. The bed is so fluffy and soft, it feels so nice. Tomorrow Malik-san will take me to the guild and the market. Is it the same guild that Malik-san said to me when we first met? I wonder whether the guild will look like the one in MMO game. Ah well I will know it tomorrow.”
I crawl into the bed and drifts to sleep.