NOVEL NEXT Chapter 6 - Episode 6: Not Just Food, Clothing, and Shelter.
Episode 6: Not Just Food, Clothing, and Shelter.
I also helped with the calculations that Boss is doing, and I got food, clothing, and shelter.
Eating together with Boss… I feel like he’s testing the food with me as a taster. Boss eats about an hour after I do.
The clothes I received are much better compared to the rags I had before, and I got a room nearby too.
But— “You useless brat!! It’s because you don’t behave properly that we’re looked down upon, damn it!!”
Such explosive anger accompanied by violence happens once a day right in front of me.
Food, clothing, shelter… I feel a bit uneasy about the food, but it’s definitely improved. After all, this is the mafia world. Even if you have the three basics, with Boss around, who is like a powder keg, there’s always a risk to life.
While receiving fruits handed over to me is important— safety is desperately needed.
“Oh, right, you were earning with water, weren’t you?”
“Yes.”
“How much were you getting per day?”
“Two copper coins.”
It’s sad to say. Despite being somewhat deceived by the large bottles provided by the innkeepers, I’m normally earning about a hundred copper coins a day with my water magic. Yet, it’s not even enough for one meal. It’s probably worth a few hundred yen in Japanese currency. Moreover, most of it is taken away by making excuses.
“Huh? The report says you were getting thirty copper coins a day?”
“I guess a lot is being deducted before it reaches Boss.”
Boss looks displeased. He’ll probably get angry if I mention the amount.
Did Pakis want to show that he still doesn’t have much power? No, I didn’t think he had that kind of intelligence.
“I see… Sorry for my sons’ behavior.”
“No need to apologize.”
Boss looks a bit apologetic. Was it not authorized?
“How should we sell the water from now on?”
“Let me see…”
Just like before, it’s fastest for me to go sell it. Continuity without doing anything else would be convenient and less troublesome. Although I’d be happy to have opportunities for information gathering elsewhere, being with Boss all the time is stressful. He’s usually nice to me, but witnessing violence still scares me.
“Sell water behind the gambling den and let someone else go sell it. There are plenty of people with excess power, and it’s a waste for you to not use yours here.”
“Yes.”
It seems I’ve become a somewhat useful presence.
That’s fine too. I’ve always disliked this environment, but for now, I understand that being around Boss is the safest.
Boss often observes me closely.
What’s interesting, he observes me very closely. It’s probably because I, Frim, behave unlike a child. Maybe little kids say poo-poo and laugh, but I don’t seem capable of such imitation.
Boss basically doesn’t leave his room. He sleeps and wakes up here. But there are exceptions.
When there’s some kind of accident or he goes around the gambling den for appearances and when he goes to the bathroom.
Even if something were to happen here, it would stink, so when that happens, I or a guard would accompany him. I walk in front of him and give a warning that Boss is passing through. It feels like being a lord.
Then I noticed something. Could this be a chance to sell myself?
It’s raining right now.
“Boss! Can I go clean up?”
“Hm? Yeah, do as you please.”
To go to the bathroom, you have to pass through a small staircase between the buildings, and on rainy days, it’s slippery there. After making sure no one is watching—
“
More came out than I expected. I ended up rolling backwards, but I managed to do it well.
Something consumed inside me doesn't seem to have decreased as much as I thought, and there's still some left. Instead, my buttocks hurt from rolling.
"”
Magic isn’t just about speaking the words; something inside me decreases, and I have to manipulate some mysterious thing.
This time, I was able to shoot it out forcefully, so I start washing the stone floor. The floor seemed dirtier than I thought, and its color changed. Then when I kicked it to check, it didn’t slip. Next! Next!!