Kays Translations

Chapter 6: As an Adventurer

The man already at the well had a vertical scar over his left eye and the air of a seasoned veteran.

His sharp gaze and single eye made him intimidating.

Even so, Tauro spoke plainly.

“I know I smell, but you smell pretty bad too.”

“What did you say? Kid, you haven’t bathed in ages! Even those clothes of yours—if you can call that sack clothing—have changed color from all the filth.”

The man pinched his nose to emphasize that Tauro smelled worse.

“Fine. I’ll heat some water, so take a proper bath.”

Bathing in hot water was a luxury. Even inns charged money merely to fill a tub with one bucket of it.

The one-eyed man brought out a large washbasin and filled it with water from the well.

Then he held a hand over the water.

“[Heat Ball].”

At his murmur, a red sphere plunged into the basin and heated the water.

“Magic?!”

Neither Taro Sato in his previous life nor Tauro Satou in this one had ever seen magic in person.

Naturally, Tauro stared in fascination.

“Get in already!”

The man gave him a light smack on the head.

It had been a very long time since Tauro had taken a proper bath.

In fact, it had been eight years—since his previous life.

Tauro had washed himself in a stream outside town a week earlier, but this was his first true bath in this life.

The memories of Taro Sato and Tauro combined, and a wave of emotion washed over him.

The one-eyed man lifted Tauro and lowered him into the makeshift tub.

Merely soaking in warm water up to his waist felt heavenly.

The man scooped up more hot water and poured it over Tauro.

He took out a bar of soap and scrubbed Tauro’s hair, but it wouldn’t lather at all.

The soap was poor quality to begin with, but Tauro’s hair was also extraordinarily dirty.

The one-eyed man repeatedly rinsed his hair and scrubbed it with soap. After several attempts, something resembling lather finally appeared.

He washed Tauro’s body in the same way.

So much grime flaked off that the task was anything but easy.

“Time to get serious… Move your hands too, kid!”

He resumed scrubbing Tauro with soap as though he were polishing him.

The water in the basin turned pitch-black.

In return, every trace of the past two years’ grime was finally washed from Tauro. He was still painfully thin, but compared with the filthy, ragged child he had been moments before, he looked like a different person.

Then that voice echoed in his mind.

“Skill condition <Removing Years of Grime> for [Garbled Text] confirmed. Magic [Purification] acquired.”

“Huh?”

“What’s wrong?”

“I just heard the Voice of the World. I think I learned [Purification].”

“Ah. So this bath fulfilled your condition for learning purification magic.”

“Are the conditions different for each person?”

“Yes. Even with the same skill, the conditions for acquiring abilities differ from person to person. Talent seems to matter too. If you want to learn fire magic, you might keep trying to light fires and experiment with every possibility you can think of. That’s how abilities are learned… Still, [Purification]? To think such a condition would earn you rare magic…”

The man looked exasperated. Then, noticing that Tauro was still naked, he handed him the children’s clothes that had been prepared.

Tauro accepted them and thanked him.

“Thank you, Mr. One-Eye.”

It was important to express proper gratitude.

“Enough of that. I’m going to wash myself now, so move aside, kid.”

The man shunted Tauro out of the way and began washing himself.

Later, while Tauro was searching for another quest, Nei approached him.

“Tauro, the manager of the Adventurers’ Guild’s Saisi branch wants to speak with you.”

The branch manager? Why would someone like that want to meet me…?

Tauro followed Nei.

“Excuse us.”

Nei knocked on the door of the branch manager’s office and called out.

A reply came from inside. When they entered, Tauro froze.

“Mr. One-Eye?!”

It was the very man who had bathed him.

“Tauro! This is Leo, the branch manager,” Nei corrected him.

“Thank you again for what you did earlier.”

Tauro offered his thanks once more.

“Enough. Sit down over there.”

Branch Manager Leo gestured toward a sofa.

Tauro obediently sat, while Nei remained standing beside him.

“Nei told me about you. You have neither money nor a place to live, apparently.”

“…Yes.”

“Then I have a proposal. There’s an unused room here in the guild, and it has a bed. You may use it for the time being.”

“What?”

“In exchange, you’ll clean the guild and help Nei and the other guild employees. We’ll pay you wages, of course.”

“Are you sure?!”

The offer was exactly what Tauro needed.

“Nei wouldn’t stop pestering me, so what else could I do? Listen, kid. You may have become an adventurer by borrowing money from Mauve, but you’re still a member of this guild.”

“Yes, sir.”

“If you run away without repaying him, it’ll stain your record and damage the Adventurers’ Guild’s reputation as well. Conduct yourself responsibly as an adventurer.”

“Yes, sir!”

“One more thing, kid—no, Tauro. Your head is injured. Go to the infirmary later and have them cast healing magic on it. That’s all.”

Leo waved his hand as though telling him to leave at once.

Tauro thanked him again before leaving the room.

“Thank you, Branch Manager.”

Nei, who remained behind, expressed her gratitude.

“…Mauve and you were right. The light hasn’t gone out of the boy’s eyes. He has potential. That [Garbled Text] skill is a handicap, but he should at least be able to make a living.”

Tauro never learned that he had received Branch Manager Leo’s seal of approval.

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