Boss’ Attention
"Looks like you haven't been going to the brothel lately."
Saying this, Rikka placed a meal and cheap wine in front of Margine with a thud.
"I don't have any money."
"If you're going to the brothel every day without working properly, no amount of money will ever be enough."
"You are right."
Margine replied sadly.
"What's wrong with you!? If you are going to be that sad, then work harder so you can go to the brothel again."
"Hey, Rikka, a young girl shouldn't tell a man to go to the brothel."
The proprietress knew the reason Margine had been going to the brothel almost every day because the shrewd madam of the brothel was her long-time acquaintance. However, since she had promised to keep it a secret, she hadn't told Rikka the situation.
"Lady Boss, I won't be able to come here for a while starting tomorrow."
"Are you going somewhere?"
"I'm going to the fishing port town to get some fish."
"Is it that time already? No wonder it's been quite hot these days."
"I guess time flies faster as you get older."
*smack*
Margine, having said something unnecessary, got smacked by the proprietress.
"So, are you going there to get poisonous fish again?"
"Yeah, they taste best around this time."
"You could die from eating that kind of poisonous fish."
"Don't worry, I will be fine. If you want, I can bring some as souvenirs."
"No thanks. What if I die?"
"I'm telling you, it's okay. Only the internal organs have poison. The flesh is safe to eat."
"They say a lot of people die from eating that fish, though."
"That's what happens when you let amateurs handle the fish. I can use Dismantling spell, so I won't make such mistakes."
"Still, be really careful."
"Okay."
"Hey Margine, can you postpone your trip for a day or two?"
Boss came out of the kitchen
"Well, it's not like I've made any promises."
"Then, come with me to shop for ingredients tomorrow."
"You mean hunting, right? You should buy meat from the butcher every once in a while."
"You fool! I won’t be able to sell the food at the current price if I do that."
"Just raise the price a little."
"Then I'll raise the price of your free meal too."
"Free is still free, even if you double it."
"Shut up! Meet me at the gate tomorrow before dawn. Don't oversleep. If you oversleep...."
Boss cracked his knuckles as he said that.
"Okay, okay, stop threatening me. You already have a scary face."
*smack*
Having said something unnecessary again, Margin rubbed his bumpy head and reluctantly agreed to go hunting with Boss.
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The next day before dawn, Margine and Boss met at the gate and then headed into the nearby forest to hunt.
"Boss, what are the targets?"
"Boars and Okans."
Boar was a boar-like monster, while Okan was a deer-like monster.
"Putting aside Boar, I don't think you can take down Okan with a hatchet. You need a bow or something."
Boss's weapon was a big machete. Since Boar was a monster that attacked humans by charging at them, you could counterattack it with a machete. However, Okan was a cautious and fast monster. You needed to set traps or attack from a distance quietly.
"You can use magic, can't you?"
"You told me not to use offensive magic, remember?"
"I only told you not to use it in front of people."
"Oh, right, Boss isn't human."
*smack*
Margine said something unnecessary again.
"Ouch! So, how many Okans do I have to hunt?"
"Hunt just enough so Rikka doesn't get suspicious. It’s about time to make a new batch of jerky, too."
Okan meat was tender and had no peculiar smell. It was delicious even when turned into jerky and was treated as high-quality meat in the downtown area. Boar had a wild flavor, but their fat at this time of year was sweet, making it good for both grilling and stewing.
"I understand. Let's meet at the square around noon."
"Got it."
Margine parted ways with Boss and went to hunt Okan. He searched for signs of living creatures, found an Okan, and shot its head with magic. He repeated this several times
"Five should be enough."
Margine used Dismantling spell to separate the hunted Okan into materials and meat by parts. He applied aging magic to the belly portion to make it ready to eat, and then skewered the meat to prepare lunch. He also skewered the mushrooms he had collected while hunting and used the salt he had brought as seasoning. After gathering some dry tree branches, he made a campfire, arranged the skewers around it, and started grilling. Then, as the meat began to cook, Boss came shouldering a huge Boar, seemingly drawn by the delicious smell. He looked just like a bandit.
“You are here already. You didn’t slack off, did you?”
“Look, I’m in the middle preparing our lunch. I’ve already separated the Okan meat by parts and kept their furs and antlers too. Of course, I didn’t throw away the offal."
"I see. Then take care of this one too."
Boss threw a huge Boar onto the ground with a thud. Margin then used Distmantling spell to take it apart and then stored it inside his subspace.
"Dismantling spell is still impressive as ever."
"How about buying it, Boss? I'll give you a special discount. You can get it for only 3,000,000 G."
"You fool! Why would I pay 3,000,000 G when it's free if I just bring you with me?"
"Don't think I'll stay in this country forever."
When Margine replied so, Boss's face turned serious.
“I'm sorry about Tabatha.”
“Yeah....”
Boss wasn't simply using Margine for his own benefit. After Tabatha died , Margine seemed to have lost his spirit, so he wanted to take him out to do something as a change of pace.
"It's been three years since you came to the royal capital. Time sure flies."
"Yeah...."
~Three Years Ago~
Margine woke up in a forest near the royal capital.
"Ugh.... W-What's going on...? I was fighting the Demon King and then...."
Margine tried to recall what had happened with his hazy consciousness.
"Demon King, what happened to the Demon King...?"
Just as he was about to ask his companions about the Demon King, his memories slowly returned to him.
"That's right, they did that to me...."
Margine was a member of the Hero Party that set out to defeat the Demon King. But when he was unable to stand due to exhaustion after using almost all of his magic power in the battle against the Demon King, his companions suddenly cast a petrification spell on him. Later, he would learn that it happened thousands of years ago.
Not knowing where he was, Margine searched for human settlements and arrived at the royal capital. However, he was told that neither his identification nor the currency he had on him were valid, preventing him from entering the city. That was when Tabatha came to his rescue.
"Oh, are you a foreigner?"
"That seems to be the case. I can't even use the money I have here."
"Hmm, you have an unusual hair color. Tell me a little about the country you came from. Gatekeeper, I'll pay for his entry tax."
"Tabitha, are you sure? I've never seen his ID before...."
"It’s fine. He doesn’t look like someone who’d cause trouble. Or are you unhappy with me being his guarantor?"
"O-Of course not! Ah, please shake my hand."
"Hehehe. My hand is worth more than the entry tax, though."
"T-Thank you very much!"
Tabatha smiled sweetly at the gatekeeper and then shook his hand. The entry tax seemed no to be longer necessary.
Who is this woman? She's quite beautiful and alluring.
"What's your name?"
"My name is Margine. Thank you for helping a stranger like me."
"Don't worry about it. You have nowhere to go, do you? Just come with me."
Following Tabatha, he arrived at what looked like a red light district not far from the gate.
"Tabatha, is this by any chance...."
"Yes, it's the red-light district. Is this perhaps your first time coming to this kind of place?"
"Umm, I don't have any money...."
"Hahaha. I know. I was the one who paid your entry tax, after all."
"That's right."
The brothel Margine was guided to seemed to be the largest and most luxurious in the district. Tabatha was the most popular courtesan there, like an Oiran from old Japan. You couldn't receive her service even if you had a lot of money.
"Tabatha, even if it’s you, don’t just bring in some random guy."
Tabasa just gave a noncommittal reply to the old woman who seemed to be the owner of the establishment, and took Margine to her private room.
“You don’t have to be so nervous. I’m not going to eat you or anything."
Tabatha chuckled as she poured tea for Margine.
“So, tell me about your story.”
Margin told Tabatha that he was a member of the group that was trying to defeat the Demon King, and that he had been betrayed by his comrades, turned into stone, and then woken up in the forest near the royal capital.
"That’s an interesting story. Defeating the Demon King sounds like something out of a fairy tale."
Tabatha seemed to think it was a made up story. Because according to her, the Demon King was said to have existed in the mythological era, about 2,000 to 4,000 years ago. Hearing this, Margine immediately checked his status.
What the hell is this!? My magic power value is showing as an error on the status screen.
The average human was born with magic power of around 10. This increased from there until they were 25 or 26 years old. The average magic power of a normal adult was around 120. If their magical power drops below 20%, they would feel weak and became unable to stand. If it dropped below 10%, they would faint. If it droped to 0%, they would die.
Those who were called wizards had magic powers over 1000, while those who were called sages have magic powers over 3000. When Margine was summoned, he gained the cheat ability of all magic aptitude and magic power of nearly 4000. In addition, his body would stop aging after a certain point until the Demon King was defeated, meaning his magic power would continue to grow.
I see. My magic power continued to grow even when I was petrified.
Margine’s magic power had increased so much that an E appeared after 999,999, indicating an error. His age was also 999E, meaning it must have been at least a thousand years since he was petrified. Then, a cretain a question suddenly popped into his head as he stared at his status window.
"Tabatha, is there no Demon King in this world anymore?"
"If there was, we wouldn't be able to do business peacefully."
Tabatha answered with a smile.
Because I was petrified before the Demon King died, maybe I still don't age and my magic power will continue to grow. Or maybe....
"Margine? Hey, Margine?"
"Huh? Oh, sorry. I was lost in thought."
"Can you really use magic?"
"Yes, I can. I mean, can't you use magic too, Tabatha?"
"Maybe, if I bought a spell book, but I don't need it to work here."
"Spellbook?"
"That's right. If you buy, for example, a spellbook for creating water, and have the magic circle inside transcribed to you, then you can create water with magic. Don't you know that too, Margine?
"Where I came from, everyone could at least create some water with magic. Spellbooks do exist, though."
In the country that summoned Margine, spellbooks were bought by people who couldn't cast offensive spells on their own. Mostly by people with jobs like soldier, knight, or Hunter. There was no spellbook for simply creating water or anything like that.
"Whoa, you came from such an amazing place. Please show me your magic!"
"Shall I make you some water? Or maybe carbonated water?"
"You mean the fizzy kind, right? Can you make that with magic?"
"Of course,"
Margin replied, pouring out a glass of chilled carbonated water.
"This is...."
"It's safe to drink, so please enjoy it."
Tabatha watched in amazement as the chilled carbonated water made a fizzing sound and then called the old madam to show it. The old madam warned Margine not to show his magic in public and gave him a lecture on the country's common sense and writing system. Later, she also helped Margine converting his precious gems to cash, obtaining a residence permit, business license, and even signing a contract with a real estate agent.