Chapter 5.2

(If I played my cards right, I could probably get Marie into bed.)

On my way back from the guild, I couldn’t hide the joy bubbling up inside me as I walked toward the inn, grinning from ear to ear. I had sold not only the fur of the lucky squirrel I packed into my “Item Box” but also the corpses of the monsters I encountered and defeated on my way back, along with rare medicinal herbs that I couldn’t deliver due to the lack of requests. As a result, I ended up earning more gold from the guild than I spent on poison smoke bombs.

Gold and power.

This was what I had gained from mastering the Magic Stone Hack.

(I gained more than I lost with my ex-girlfriend.)

From now on, by skillfully using these gains, I should be able to acquire fame and women.

(Yes, that’s right. So…)

I had also acquired the Melting skill. I had the Item Box. Although I hadn’t yet obtained the skills I had planned, at this rate, I would get them soon.

I was becoming capable of fulfilling the qualities required of a strong and cool man. An ideal second life.

(Ideals. It’s an ideal. I was born into a good situation. I came from a farming village, but I’m thankful to my parents for giving birth to a handsome son.)

In this world, I may still be a mere fifteen-year-old kid, but my body is a bit different.

The genes of my father and mother influenced me exceptionally well, and it seems that the experience points gained from defeating monsters in my childhood bizarrely affected my growth, resulting in my tall, blond-haired, blue-eyed physique with just the right amount of muscle.

(A face is important. A face. The height of CHA affects the success rate of negotiations.)

The members of the adventurer guild I currently belong to come from a trashy background, eating cold rice and seeking pleasure for the day like rowdy brutes.

Rather, what’s important is the elite class like Marie, who manipulate those many adventurers like limbs to achieve their goals.

To somehow trick those elites into gaining a better life, gathering information, or receiving preferential treatment, having a good-looking face is crucial.

(And it’s not just about the adventurer guild.)

Naturally, I’m not complacent about my innate abilities.

In my past life, I indulged in games and gluttony. Living slovenly caused my skin to suffer and my hair to deteriorate in middle age, leading to poor treatment from those around me. I keenly remembered that and was particular about my appearance in this life, making sure to eat vegetables and avoiding greasy foods. After every meal, I brush my teeth and use the “Clean” life magic on my teeth to maintain their whiteness.

By the way, life magic is a type of magic that anyone can use, regardless of their profession.

Even in a rural village without schools, it’s magic that can be learned during church services on Sundays. Today, I even used “Ignition” life magic when I lit the poison smoke bombs in the forest.

There’s also life magic that can create water, but water produced by magic isn’t suitable for drinking.

As a side note, it seems these kinds of magic are strongly influenced by one’s imagination, so the results vary from person to person, and not everyone can cast the same spell.

In that regard, my magic is special. It’s not the rough kind of cleaning like “Get dirty and disappear,” like other people might use.

When I wash my body or wash my face in the morning, I use beauty products and shampoos from my past life, and I finely imagine what I need for cleaning magic according to the situation.

Perhaps because of that, I can produce astonishing effects in a variety of situations, allowing me to use life magic beyond its usual scope.

(I used to do it for my ex-girlfriend, Cotton, and she was really pleased.)

Having been with Cotton for a long time, I inevitably think of her when considering these daily things.

I washed her hair every day, carefully treating her skin issues and acne daily, and even checked her teeth. Unlike others in the village, she didn’t have cavities, thanks to me.

I felt a bit sentimental.

Though I thought I had resolved to view myself as special due to being a reincarnator in a game world… I might still be haunted by the breakup.

My level has increased, and with the Melting skill, I no longer feel like I could lose to Blaze.

I could have won even with my previous equipment and skills, but there were uncertainties back then. However, there are none now. Blaze cannot win against me anymore.

Now I could possibly… reclaim Cotton? Can I shake off the pursuit of the guild? The lord’s pursuit?

Or perhaps… should I cut off my feelings upon seeing Cotton being treated as Blaze’s mistress?

(If it gets too unbearable… once I level up a bit more, killing Blaze wouldn’t be out of the question.)

In a world where bandits routinely raid farming villages, I’ve killed in self-defense several times.

I’m not resistant to the idea of killing Blaze now, and once my level increases a bit more, I can acquire the strongest skill in the “Hacker” skill tree, without even needing the Melting skill.

(What should I do… If I get too irritated, I might reflexively kill Blaze, but that would be unfair to Cotton.)

If Blaze dies, Cotton would lose her protector in the city, and with her lack of awareness about how much she depends on that, she might end up as a streetwalker.

A sigh escaped me naturally.

I had decided to part ways with her, I reminded myself as I suppressed my feelings deep within.

Why did I feel this way?

(And we, from the very beginning—)

Cotton and I weren’t a good match.

I didn’t know what Cotton thought, but she was a girl I couldn’t sync with.

There were countless times I wondered why such simple things felt so difficult or why she acted the way she did.

I’m sure she felt the same way. Yet we were lovers. We loved each other.

Breaking up was inevitable, but it could have had a better context.

(No, rather than inevitable… for Cotton to follow me in the future, it had to be this way.)

When she chose “Saint” during the job bestowal ritual, I had to give up on her. I had no choice but to.

Taking her along would mean facing battles of that difficulty. That wasn’t suitable for a “Saint.” It would lead to her death. I would have to accept her death right before my eyes.

(That’s why I told her to choose “Maid.” I said it, but…)

From the moment I reached the age to become an adventurer, I had planned to break up with Cotton.

I intended to spread my wings in the world, finding a partner who was better looking, smarter, stronger, and able to keep up with me, unlike Cotton.

(Even if she had chosen “Maid,” I could have probably continued dating her.)

The job “Maid” had that level of potential.

It was an excellent job, highly sought after even in free scenario modes, where even “Heroes” were seen as not capable.

(But I broke up with Cotton. It was because she didn’t have enough value… after all, Cotton was just my childhood friend from a farming village. I realized when I interacted with city girls that Cotton’s education and manners were on a rural level.)

This isn’t about the rural Japan of my past life or the countryside.

Japanese people, no matter how you look at it, possess a certain refinement.

Most Japanese have their intelligence guaranteed by mandatory education and possess a minimum level of dignity carried on through a long-standing culture.

But this is a fantasy world of swords and magic. An alternate reality.

The education in rural areas, unlike cities, resembles that of uncivilized barbarians.

Though our village, being close to the fortified city of Egses and having a church, maintained a certain quality, it still fell short of the level of education I, as a former Japanese person, desired.

(So if Cotton had chosen “Maid,” I could have made her learn skills like “Culture” and “Etiquette” to ensure she didn’t appear too unrefined.)

Yes, culture and etiquette.

I hate people who make noise while eating. I tried to correct Cotton’s habits for her, but when she returned home, she would revert to her parents’ guidance (not eating with a serious face), and no matter how many times I corrected her, her eating habits would return to how they were.

(That’s right. There were reasons to break up with Cotton.)

So I cannot reconcile with Cotton. I can’t.

(Aside from her eating habits, Cotton has other rural traits that are difficult to remove.)

Surprisingly, Blaze, being the son of the village chief, received some education and had decent table manners.

The fact that I didn’t feel the need to kill Blaze, despite how harshly he insulted me, is partly due to that.

(I don’t use the guild tavern for the same reason.)

In this fortified city of Egses, many third or fourth sons from surrounding villages who couldn’t inherit land come here.

They become adventurers to make a name for themselves.

It’s natural that in such an adventurer guild, few individuals possess proper table manners. There are those who eat with their bare hands like barbarians, those who break into song while eating, those who start dancing, fighting, or dueling in the middle of a meal.

(I don’t mind the noise from drinking, but I just want a calmer place to enjoy myself. That’s all.)

When I eat there, I can’t help but feel something close to disgust.

(And that’s one of the reasons I don’t recruit party members from the guild.)

It’s not like I’m part of the upper class either.

I’m not demanding perfect table manners or elegance.

I just want people to stop smacking their lips when they eat, passing around half-eaten meat, or licking their plates like dogs.

Cotton was bad, but the adventurers were even worse.

And thinking about Cotton again makes me feel deeply down.

(Am I fixated on Cotton just because I’m a man? Is it some kind of possessiveness?)

As I was considering finding a new, refined woman from the city’s middle class—my thoughts stopped when I noticed a woman in front of the inn.

A familiar face. A body I’ve held. Someone I knew.

“Hey, Elena. Long time no see.”

“Yeah. Ed, it’s been a month.”

It was one of my childhood friends, Elena, who had taken up with Blaze. She was standing in front of my regular inn, the woman with the job of “Sage.”