Chapter 42: Learning from Peter

Peter put down the firewood and walked over to me, but this guy stinks! I can’t say it out loud, but he really stinks. Way worse than I expected. Of course he doesn’t bathe, and he probably doesn’t even wash his body. What I thought was dirt and dust on him might actually be layers of body grime. I have no choice but to endure it. I stopped breathing through my nose and switched to mouth breathing. But sometimes air still escaped through my nose, and I felt like I was going to pass out.

The fact that I’m already getting used to it scares me.

Stevie was standing far away from us.

---

"Alright, young master. I’ll show you. Gather magic power in your fingertip and chant 『Light』... See? The light appeared, right?"

Just as Peter said, a small light flickered on. It was bright even in the middle of the day, but it quickly vanished.

"It disappeared already?"

"Well, my magic power doesn’t last long."

"I see. But Jones-sensei has taught me the exact same thing many times, and I still couldn’t do it."

"Huh? Didn’t the teacher hold your hand and guide you?"

"No, Sensei has never once touched my hand."

"Then let me borrow your hand."

Peter reached out his hand. *Eh!? I have to touch this hand!?* If he grabs me... if he touches me...? He stinks, but what about diseases? What if I catch some unknown illness? What if I get an allergic reaction on my skin? *Eeeeeeeek!!*

While I was hesitating, Peter quickly grabbed my hand. The moment he did, it felt slimy. Does this guy not even have a proper skin layer? *Eeeh!?* Is he some kind of frog demon or something?

『Light』

I chanted. His breath was incredibly foul! It was like a toad just belched a cloud of rotten stench right at me! Still, something flowed through my body, and a small light appeared at the tip of Peter’s finger.

"Did you get it?" Peter asked.

But his hand felt so disgusting that I couldn’t concentrate properly.

"Go on, try saying it yourself."

Following his instruction, I chanted.

『Light』

My hand glowed for a brief moment. *Whoa!! It lit up!* But at that moment, I felt something flow from Peter into me. *Uwaaaah*, it wasn’t some nasty pathogen, right? It was magic power... right?

"Now try doing it by yourself."

Peter finally let go of my hand. I stared at it intently, checking if the spot he touched had changed color. It felt slimy, like it was covered in grease.

『Light』

My hand glowed for a moment! I was so happy I turned to show Stevie, but she was still standing far away...

---

"I know one more spell. Want to try it?" Peter asked.

Asking for confirmation probably meant he wanted another large copper coin.

"Yeah, please. I’ll give you another large copper coin."

I took out another coin with the hand he hadn’t touched and gave it to him. *I hope the coin doesn’t corrode from his touch...*

"Alright, give me your hand."

Reluctantly, I held out my hand. He grabbed it tightly (I swear I almost heard a *squish* sound).

『Fire』

A small flame popped into existence at his fingertip.

"Now it’s your turn, young master."

I chanted as instructed.

『Fire』

A flame popped up at my fingertip... then immediately went out.

"You did it. Now try it alone."

He released my hand, and I chanted by myself.

『Fire』

*Oooooohhh!! I did it!!*

---

"That’s all the magic I know," Peter said. "You’ll have to ask Sensei for more once he gets back."

A question suddenly occurred to me.

"When learning magic, does the teacher usually hold your hand and teach you like that?"

"Yeah, that seems to be the fastest way."

"But Sensei has never once touched me while teaching..."

"Huh~~ I wonder why?"

*Why indeed?* It’s strange. Hmm... Why? Could it be... that if he taught me by hand and I learned magic too quickly, he’d lose his job as my teacher? No way... right?

---

Deciding to head back, I walked toward Stevie, but she stepped backward to keep her distance.

"What’s wrong, Stevie?"

"Robby-sama, you stink!"

"Huh?"

"You stink! I can smell you even from here!"

"Eh, seriously?"

We were at least 10 meters apart, and there was almost no wind.

"Do I really smell that bad?"

"Yeah, it’s so bad I can’t get close. Stay away."

"Ehhhhh! Isn’t your nose just too sensitive?"

"Maybe... But it gets worse the closer you get. I’m sure everyone would think so."

She was probably right.

"Then I’ll wash my body and clothes."

"Let’s do that. There’s a well over there."

Since Jones-sensei lives here, of course there’s a well. I lowered the bucket and drew water. Using Appraisal:

『Water - Safe for drinking』

The bucket itself was filthy, though.

I rinsed the bucket thoroughly and drew fresh water. Even though only my hand had been touched, I washed it obsessively. While humming a little tune and washing my hands thoroughly, Stevie gave me a strange look.

I dried my hands in the wind and held them out to Stevie. She sniffed carefully and said,

"Still stinks. Use this."

She handed me a bar of soap. *If you had it, why didn’t you give it to me from the beginning!?*

As if she heard my inner complaint, Stevie said,

"Because if you use it from the start, the soap gets dirty!"

*Stevie... that’s literally what soap is for.*

---

Even after washing my hands,

"Robby-sama, you still stink, so please don’t come near me~"

Stevie, despite being my escort, had the nerve to say she didn’t want to get close to me.

*Is that really okay for your job? What happened to your original duty of protecting me? How can you protect me if you won’t come near me? Your job isn’t just to go on walks with me, eat sweets, and have meals, right?*

I wanted to say all that, but I held it in. *Stevie, I don’t think your job is supposed to be "JK escort service."*

---

"Um~ excuse me..."

A voice called out from behind me, making me flinch. I hadn’t noticed him at all!

"Uwah! It’s you?"

While I was arguing with Stevie, Peter had come closer. Even so, he was still keeping about 5 meters of distance. Was he at least being considerate? *If you’re considerate enough to do that, then go wash your body!*

"If the smell bothers you..."

*So he’s actually aware of how bad he smells?*

"There’s a girl named Nancy at the diner on that corner who can use 『Purify』. You should go see her."

"『Purify』?"

"Yeah. The daughter at that shop can use it."

*You should’ve told me that sooner!*

"That’s helpful. Thanks for the information. Here, have another large copper coin."

"Eh!? Are you sure? It wasn’t anything special."

"Yeah, it’s fine. I said I’d give it to you, so take it."

Peter looked happy, though it was hard to tell from his expression. Not wanting to hand it to him directly, I tossed the coin. It reminded me of my mother scolding me long ago for throwing money.

---

Following Peter’s directions, we went to the shop.

It was called a shop, but there was no proper signboard — just a small, dirty plank with the word "Diner" scrawled on it in messy handwriting. The sign was so dirty I thought the letters were stains at first. The shop itself looked filthy too. I’d have to go inside and ask. If she could really use 『Purify』, maybe the inside was cleaner than the outside. I was about to enter with some small hope when—

"I’m not going! Robby-sama can go in by yourself!"

Stevie protested.

"What are you saying? What if someone attacks me while I’m inside?"

When I said that firmly, she replied with a carefree face,

"It’ll be fine! There’s only the girl and her parents inside. There are no dangerous people."

*Hmm?* Does Stevie somehow know what’s inside the shop?

Even if she knew the situation inside, that didn’t mean she didn’t have to follow me.

"Anyway, stop complaining and come with me!"

I grabbed Stevie’s hand and tried to pull her inside.

"Eeeeeek!! The smell is gonna rub off on meeee!!"

Her scream — or rather, her weird shriek — drew the attention of everyone passing by on the street.

---

"Excuse me, could you two please stop making a scene in front of the shop?"

"Huh?"

When I turned around, a young girl was standing there.

Appraisal showed:

『Nancy Wilson, 12 years old, Daughter of the diner owner, Purify 1, Fire 1』

This girl looked much smaller and younger than me, yet she was 12? Her chest was completely flat, just like Stevie’s. She had big, round eyes and was very skinny. Her brown hair was messy with almost no sign of care. She looked underdeveloped in every way.

Anyway, the person we were looking for had appeared.

"If you’re not coming in, please go make noise somewhere else. You’re disturbing business. Customers can’t enter!"

She scoldelld us. Though when I looked around, there didn’t seem to be any customers. The only people watching our little comedy act were the passersby.

Since we couldn’t ask for a favor for free, and it *was* a diner, we might as well eat lunch here.