Repaying Kindness with Enmity

"Ruben, do you have a...?"

Mayuna bit her lip and squeezed her long legs tightly together. After downing two large bottles of potion, she felt a little better, but a new problem had arisen. Making such a request of someone she had only just met—and a man at that—was far too embarrassing.

"It's perfectly normal to need to relieve yourself after drinking potions. It's over there."

Ruben pointed at a small door beside them. Mayuna hurried inside, then quickly came back out.

"You're making fun of me!"

Mayuna's cheeks puffed up with anger. Other than a work of art, there was nothing in that room. How was she supposed to use it?

"It's right there."

"You mean you usually do it facing that White Stone thing?"

"I... You people from another world, honestly. It's called porcelain."

Ruben was at a loss for words. He had suddenly remembered that this world had no toilets, and White Stone was the formal name for porcelain here. He could only personally lead Mayuna into the restroom and explain in detail how to use it.

"You're not lying to me? I can really do it on top of this...?"

Mayuna stared hesitantly at the toilet, white as jade. Porcelain existed in this world, but it was extremely rare, and the method of making it had already been lost. Present-day mages could not produce it, so every surviving piece was treated as a precious antique. Being told to use one for this... was a tremendous challenge to her worldview.

"Do you need me to demonstrate?"

Ruben said irritably. The technology tree in this world was seriously messed up. There were no sewers; people simply found a secluded spot, set up a basic Purification Array, and then... their waste vanished the moment it touched the array. Ruben felt that whoever had invented that spell deserved the other world's Nobel Prize for such a monumental contribution.

"N-No, that won't be necessary."

"Remember to press this after you're done, understand?"

Naturally, Ruben knew Mayuna would not know how to flush. As he left, he deliberately pointed to the button on the toilet.

"Get out already!"

Three minutes later

"W-What is this? Water came out of it!"

Mayuna's startled voice came from the restroom, followed by the sound of something breaking.

"W-What are you doing?"

By the time Ruben realized something was wrong and rushed into the restroom, it was already too late. The toilet tank had been smashed, water was flooding the floor, and Mayuna was rummaging through everything in search of something.

"Where did you hide the spirit?"

Mayuna showed no awareness whatsoever that she had done anything wrong. Instead, she grabbed Ruben by the collar and demanded an answer.

"A spirit?"

"What else could make water appear in your home besides water magic or an Elemental Spirit? Let it go!"

Mayuna was furious. At first, she had thought Ruben was a good person, but he had actually imprisoned an Elemental Spirit. Thanks to their aptitude for magic, even seventy- or eighty-year-old people could create pure water with their own mana, so households in this world generally did not store water. Seeing water suddenly gush out inside the home of Ruben, who had no mana, naturally made Mayuna think of an Elemental Spirit.

Elemental Spirits were the manifestations of all kinds of magical elements in the air. They usually hid themselves well, because their vast stores of mana made them valuable for research and cultivation. Once one appeared, countless mages would fight over it.

"Damn primitive. Listen, this is called a water tank, understand? It stores water, then releases water. Got it?"

Ruben had truly had enough. That was why he had chosen to live far from the city. Trying to explain scientific principles to these primitives only earned him blank stares.

"Really?"

"If you don't believe me, keep looking for your spirit."

"All right, I was wrong. I'll compensate you for whatever I broke."

Mayuna searched for a long time but found nothing, so she could only obediently apologize. Thinking about it carefully, even magic apprentices could sense an Elemental Spirit's mana. It was basically impossible to hide one.

"Take your medicine."

Ruben might have spoken disdainfully of primitives, but his body was honest. He placed the tablets he had made on the table, poured Mayuna a glass of water, and went to cook.

"Ptooey, ptooey! It's so bitter!"

The instant Mayuna put the tablet in her mouth, an unbearable flavor assaulted her tongue. She hurriedly picked up the glass and took a drink, then looked resentfully at Ruben, wondering if he was taking revenge on her. Just then, she saw Ruben walk over to a counter and turn on something. Flames immediately rose from beneath it.

"Fire came out from inside... a fire spirit..."

Seeing the counter light itself, Mayuna walked over to Ruben, eager to try something.

"If you dare dismantle my gas stove, get the hell out right now!"

Ruben reacted before she could and snarled at her.

"I won't take it apart, all right? Why are you so angry...?"

Mayuna pouted and sat down on the sofa. Other than her teacher, no one had ever scolded her while she was growing up. Yet being scolded by Ruben felt just like being scolded by her teacher. She missed that feeling.

"That smells so good!"

Before long, the aroma of food lured Mayuna back toward the stove. Fragrance filled the frying pan as cooked noodles were dyed through by red sauce. Ruben scattered small chunks of magical beast meat into the pan and mixed everything thoroughly, then topped the plate with a fried magical beast egg. Mayuna's empty stomach made her gulp hard.

"Spaghetti."

Ruben answered simply. Mayuna returned to her seat expectantly and waited obediently to be fed.

"You're giving me this?"

Reality was cruel. Mayuna's white eyebrows nearly twisted together as she looked at the plain rice porridge before her, then at the spaghetti in front of Ruben. Her heart was filled with dissatisfaction.

"Your stomach is injured."

"Damn it. Damn it, damn it."

Of course, Mayuna knew she was in poor condition. She had even coughed up blood, so she could not force herself now. Still, she swore that she would eat this dish she had never even seen before someday.

"I'm full, so..."

After drinking the last bit of soup from her bowl, Mayuna wiped her mouth, walked over to Ruben, and raised a finger. "Gravity Magic [Mountain]." With the potions, tablets, and food replenishing her, Mayuna had recovered somewhat. Using a few low-level spells was no longer a problem, considering she possessed the foundation of an Archmage.