It's nighttime, and the four of us are having dinner at the guild.
I ruined my grandma's welcome by killing Sandro, but she forgave me because I brought him back to life.
I also explained why I did it and my fear that he might do something bad to her. Understanding my concern, she hugged me and forgave me.
That was the only thing worrying me, but now that it's resolved, I can say with certainty that today…
"It was a great day!" I say, smiling.
And my wounds were healed with some healing potions. Magical medicine is really awesome.
"People are staring at you; you're already known as the most powerful adventurer in the guild, even in the country!" Sara says.
"And it's my second day here."
"What if we explore tomorrow?" my grandma says.
"Explore?"
"I want to see the place."
"Speaking of seeing, Sara, how many guilds are there?"
"There's one guild per Kingdom," Sara says.
"So, four guilds. I want to visit them; maybe I'll meet powerful people."
I can't forget my mission.
I have three main goals:
Learn powerful and useful spells.
Find powerful companions. (Temporary goal, until I become stronger.)
Learn more about demons—their strengths, weaknesses, history, etc.
I need to be prepared for anything.
"I'm sorry."
That voice…
I see Sandro apologizing to some girls.
"Sandro's still apologizing to women. Did he really sexually harass that many?"
"I think, from now on, Sandro will be a better person," Sara says.
… I don't want to talk about him. Just remembering what I did to him makes me sick… Why did I have to kill him? I reacted without thinking twice.
… I need to change the subject.
"Where can I bathe? It's been two days since I last bathed."
I-I think it's been more days, but I won't say that.
"There are baths in the village; I can take you if you want," Sara says.
My grandma approaches Sara.
"Excuse me, don't you have a bathroom in your house?"
"A bathroom in my house? No, I don't have one."
"You don't have a bathroom?"
"No."
My grandma leans toward me and whispers.
"We're really in a strange world."
"I know."
But we have to get used to it.
•
•
After eating, we head to the baths. I'm surprised they don't have bathrooms, but considering the lack of technology, it's obvious.
We're in front of a shop with a big sign. I wonder what it says.
"Here they are, the village baths."
My grandma tries to understand the sign. Ugh, don't bother, grandma; there's no point trying to make sense of this country's writing.
"I really don't understand their writing."
"It says: 'Mixed baths,'" Sara says.
… What?! No separate baths?! Arghhh! Everyone here is a pervert!
"M-m-m-mixed?!"
"It means men and women can bathe together," Alex says.
"I know that! Aren't there other baths?"
"No," Sara says.
"Come on, Dani, it's not a big deal."
My grandma pats my head.
"Let's go; don't be shy, just pretend no one's there."
"I'd rather go another day without bathing."
"No, you're going in and bathing. You stink. If my presence bothers you, you can bathe first, and I'll go after."
"Sara, isn't there a river around here? I refuse to bathe with other people!"
"There's one nearby; you can bathe there," Sara says.
I'd rather bathe in a river, even if the water's cold.
"I'm going. See you."
Alex jumps onto my back, wrapping her legs around my stomach and her arms around my chest.
"I want to go with you!"
"If it's okay, I'll go too," Sara says.
"I'm your grandma; I'm going too."
… No!! I know that cliché, and I don't want to live it! Unnecessary ecchi! I don't want it! Especially not with my grandma there!
"I want to bathe alone, all by myself!"
"You're going to let your grandma bathe with strangers?" my grandma says, her words piercing my heart like an arrow.
"Such a good grandson," Sara says.
"The best grandson," Alex says.
Ugh, stop hurting my fragile heart! It still hasn't recovered from Sonia's betrayal.
I sigh… I really wanted to bathe alone, but I can't let my grandma bathe with strangers either.
Hmm… Though I could go into the bath and threaten everyone there to leave… No, Daniel, don't let power turn you evil! You already killed Sandro; don't become a villain!
I-I need to control my emotions better.
"Alright… Alright. Let's go."
"Yes!" Alex says excitedly.
"Grandma, I'll carry you in my arms. Alex… you're fine like that. Muslar asio!"
I pick up my grandma in my arms, and both of them settle onto me. Wow, wow. They feel really light. Awesome.
"Divine horse, come to me!"
A circle appears, and the unicorn shows up.
"Now what do you want?" the unicorn says.
"Take Sara to a place; she'll tell you where it is, please. I'd appreciate it."
"Alright."
Sara climbs onto the unicorn.
"A-a-a-unicorn?!" my grandma says, excited and surprised.
"It's another spell I learned, grandma."
"A-awesome!"
"Arches Nexus!"
I fly off, and my grandma digs her nails into my chest.
"Arghhh!!" my grandma screams, hugging me tightly.
"Awesome!!" Alex shouts excitedly.
Sorry for scaring you, grandma; I didn't gauge the speed well.
"Where's the river?"
Alex points to a spot.
"It's nearby; don't you see it?"
I focus and see the river. It's in the middle of a forest… How convenient.
"I see it."
I head toward the river.
"Dani, can I learn to fly too?"
Wow, wow. She got over her anger fast.
"It's a fairy spell; you don't have that type of magic, but there might be a flight spell that uses angel magic. After all, angels fly too."
"I see."
We reach the river, and I land on the ground.
"It looks clean."
Alex gets off my back, and I set my grandma down.
"Now we wait for Sara."
I just hope it's not too cold.
•
•
A few minutes later, Sara arrives with some towels. Oh, right, I forgot clothes and towels… Well, I'll wear the same clothes.
"You forgot these."
Sara gets off the unicorn.
"See you," the unicorn says.
I quickly approach him, as I want to know more about him.
"Wait, I have a question."
"Go ahead."
"Can you fight too, or are you only summoned for transportation?"
"I'm a great warrior; I can use earth and light magic. I'm not just for transport, kid."
"That could be useful, thanks."
"See you later."
The unicorn disappears. He seems nice.
"Wow, wow… Alright… You guys can bathe first; I'll be over there looking at spells and studying."
I point to some trees.
"You don't want to bathe with us?" Sara says.
"No!"
I try not to gag. Arghhh! I don't want to bathe with a young version of my grandma! It's so weird!
"I can't bathe with my grandma!"
"You're so sensitive," Sara says.
"It's common sense!"
I quickly leave and sit under a tree.
Ugh… The common sense in this world makes no sense.
"I need to build a bathroom in the house; it's not a good idea to bathe in a river every day."
I pull out my phone and open the spell app. I need to study.
During my fight with Sandro, I realized I still have a lot to learn. I need to memorize all the spells. Come on, no more interruptions! Study, Daniel!
Alright… First, I'll count the spells.
"2 summoning spells."
I open the fairy spells.
"13 fairy spells."
I open the light spells.
"20 light spells."
I open the darkness spells.
"20 darkness spells."
I open the water spells.
"32 water spells."
I open the fire spells.
"27 fire spells."
I open the earth spells.
"36 earth spells."
I open the wind spells.
"Only 4 wind spells?"
I think about the total number of spells I have. I have so many spells, and I got them in such a short time… Wow, wow.
"I have 154 spells; I did pretty well in 2 days. I hope this streak continues."
Hmm… But I don't want to stay here too long; it's uncomfortable studying in this place. I think I'll bathe first and study later.
Ugh, but I don't want them to see me bathing. I'd better wait.
"So boring…"
La… la la… Oh, right, I still need to research the other Kingdoms. Are they far?
I close the spell app and open the map app. Huh? Wow, wow. The river's name surprises me; it's kind of weird.
"Ghost River? What a strange name."
"Yeah, I don't like the name either."
"Huh?"
Who spoke?
I turn and see a girl floating. She has short green hair and green eyes. She's transparent, almost invisible. She's wearing a black dress that's also nearly invisible. Wow. What race is she? The humans in this world are so weird.
I'd say she's a ghost, but I have my doubts. Is she really a ghost? She looks like one, but I thought they'd be scarier. Plus, why can I see her? Ghosts are supposed to be completely invisible. Are they visible in this world? Cool.
"You heard a voice and don't know where it's coming from, right? Boooo."
Is she trying to scare me?
She gets too close to me.
"You're scared, aren't you?"
It's uncomfortable. Does she really think I can't see her? I think she's just messing with me.
"Can you stop doing that? It's kind of annoying."
"Huh?"
"You know flight spells too? How are you floating?"
"W-what?!"
She backs away, surprised. Huh? Did she really think I couldn't see her?
Am I the only one who can see her?
"You can see me?!"
"Yeah. Why?"
"But I'm a ghost!"
"Ghost? That's why the river's called that. How original."
"But it's impossible; no one can see ghosts!"
Wow, wow… It's true… That's weird… From personal experience, I already knew ghosts existed, so I'm not surprised to see one… Well, after seeing fairies and chicken men, nothing in this world surprises me anymore.
"Don't look at me; I don't know either… Want me to revive you?"
She seems like a good girl, so I can do that for her.
"You can?!"
"Sure. I don't sense you're bad."
She doesn't seem evil, so I'll do it.
Plus, bringing her back to life will make me feel a bit better. I killed Sandro out of anger, so I want to do something good for someone to feel human again and not like a murderous monster.
"Yes, please!" she says without hesitation.
I extend my right hand.
"Resucitación espiris!"
A circle appears, and the same girl appears, but she's no longer floating or transparent. Wow, wow. Why did Sandro appear naked, but this girl didn't? Now that I think about it, my grandma appeared with clothes too… Why?
"I'm alive?"
She touches my face with both hands, her eyes filling with tears.
"I-I can touch you… I'm alive!"
"You're welcome. Enjoy your life."
I go back to my phone. Ugh, studying is boring in this quiet environment, but I'd better get to it. No more excuses, Daniel, study!
"Hey!"
I turn to look at her.
"What's up? I don't have food, but I can give you money to buy some."
"As thanks, I'll be your slave!"
"Huh? No, thanks. I'm not into slavery; it disgusts me."
"Please!"
… Right, she was a ghost… She probably doesn't have a home.
"You don't have anywhere to go, do you?"
She lowers her head.
"No. I died many years ago, so I don't have anyone or anywhere to go."
"I understand… You can stay at my house if you want, but you won't be my slave. Just temporarily, until you get a job and save some money."
"Thank you! Thank you so much!"
She starts touching her breasts. They're kind of big… Shit. Don't look, Daniel!
"I missed them!"
I get nervous, so I go back to studying.
Why are people in this world so perverted?