NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 35
Thank goodness the kid is smart. In less than a week of teaching her, she mastered everything perfectly.
“Eh, ehehhe.”
Of course, that meant I had to take care of all the household chores.
The kid’s concentration is off the charts; when she focuses, she completely zones out everything around her.
As a result, the master ended up taking care of the disciple.
“Are you enjoying yourself?”
“Ah. Um, s-sorry. Must’ve been rough for you, right?”
“Not really?”
There was plenty of food in the forest, and a good amount of money left from what Soojung gave me when we left the Eastern Trading Company.
At least, looking after one kid was not that hard.
“While I was at it, I built a new hut.”
“Wow, waaah!”
I built a decent wooden hut next to the rundown haunted house where Lena was staying.
It may have been just a decent survival hut, but compared to the dilapidated haunted house, it felt like a castle.
“W-wait. You made something like this during that time?”
“Your concentration is impressive. You didn’t even notice the noise I made outside.”
“Hehe. I got… complimented…”
With her cheeks flushed, Lena beamed, and I led her to the hut.
“Waah…!!”
While exploring the hut with two rooms, a living room, a kitchen, and even a bathroom, her eyes sparkled at the sight of the small room.
“B-bed!!”
“That’s your room.”
“My room…?!”
It’s amazing how she finds so much joy in something so simple.
Lena looked back and forth between the modest room with just a bed and a desk and me, before she suddenly flopped onto the bed.
What’s she doing?
“What are you doing?”
“Um, it’s the pose of… surrender.”
What pose?
“I-I’ll do everything you say…!”
How can she be this submissive?
I looked down at Lena, panting like a puppy exposing its belly. I reached out and kindly said,
“Just study hard.”
That’s exactly what I wanted.
Lena hadn’t eaten or washed properly for almost a week; she had only focused on her reading.
That meant the already dirty girl had gotten even dirtier.
So when I told her to wash up, she wanted to go outside.
I told her she could just use the bathroom, but she made a fuss about not wanting to use such a clean bathroom, being as dirty as she was.
Winter was almost over, but the weather was still cold.
What’s she planning to do if she catches a cold without knowing how to properly use magic?
I dragged the whining Lena toward the village.
There was definitely a public bath in the village.
“Th-there! Um, I can wash in the river…”
“But you said you’d do anything I ask, right?”
“Even so, uh, um. Ah! No, I’ve never been to a… uh, bathhouse…”
Well, considering Lena lived day by day, she probably never had the chance to go to a bathhouse.
But this is an experience for her.
She just needs to try everything.
“Hiiing…”
“But you said you’d do anything, right?”
“Well, uh…”
Maybe it was because of what she said?
Lena quietly sealed her lips. Once we arrived at the village, the merchants I had met over the past few days greeted me with smiles.
“Hey! Lee Hyun! You’re out today too?”
“Uncle Lee Hyun!! What fun thing are you going to show us today?”
“Oh come on, Lee Hyun! Try this out!”
Such hospitable people.
Unlike typical country folks, they didn’t shy away from outsiders.
As I responded to their greetings and jokes while heading toward the bathhouse, I felt a sharp look from Lena at my side; she was sparkling with excitement.
“…What?”
“S-so amazing! I’ve been coming to this village for two years, but I’ve never greeted anyone properly…”
“Well… I’m just friendly and like drinking, so I enjoy talking to people.”
“Gaaah… It’s dazzling…”
While Lena frowned and felt out of place, we arrived at the public bath in the center of the village.
Just then, a middle-aged woman about to enter the bathhouse caught my eye.
She was the owner of the vegetable store, and we had chatted a bit last time, so we were friendly.
“Lucia, sis!”
“Oh my?! Who’s this?! Isn’t this little Lee Hyun? Hohoho~! Here to bathe? I’m also closing my shop today to take my kids to the bath~!”
“Uncle Lee Hyun~!”
Laurian, Lucia’s daughter, rushed up to me with a bright smile.
I lifted the cute six-year-old girl and spun her around, then once I set her down, I nudged a now shy Lena forward, who had quickly hidden behind me.
“Gasp!”
“Ah! The silent sister!”
At Laurian’s shout, Lucia tilted her head.
“The silent sister?”
“Yeah! She’s always walking with her head down, avoiding people, so the kids call her that!”
What on earth has this girl been doing?
Seemingly overwhelmed by Laurian’s shockingly cheerful vibe, Lena seemed to shrink in on herself.
“I have a feeling this is the first time she’s come to a public bath—could you keep an eye on her for me?”
“Oh my? Really? Then I’ll make sure she knows everything! But who is she? Your sister?”
“She’s my disciple.”
“Ah! H-hi…!”
Just barely managing to greet us in a small, trembling voice, Lena fled back behind me.
As I pushed her forward again, Lucia grabbed her.
“Gasp! S-s-master! Master!*”
“Then disciple, I guess I’m in charge of you… How long will you be here?”
“About two hours, I’d say?”
“Okay! Then let’s meet when the village bell rings twice!”
With a hearty laugh, Lucia held Lena in one hand and Laurian in the other, and they went inside. A moment later, I heard a screaming like a banshee from inside…
But hey, it should be fine.
“I need to wash too.”
.
.
.
After soaking in the hot spring and washing, about an hour had passed.
In the remaining hour, I played chess with the grandpa who was there alone.
“Check!!”
“Hoho~! What a move?! But you wouldn’t know this!”
“Oh-ho! You’d use a knight there?! If you use a knight, I’ll use a bishop!”
“N-no, wait… almost got you… huh? You’re out?”
As I turned my head, Lena appeared.
She looked completely different from before.
Her once tangled silver hair was now shimmering in the sunlight thanks to a proper wash and drying, and her snow-white skin was spotless.
Her slightly thin body looked quite slender now.
Compared to the way she looked when she entered, it was like the difference between heaven and earth, but Lena hung her head low.
“What? You look a bit better after washing.”
“Ugh… It hurts…”
“How much dead skin came off?!”
“Big sis! I helped scrub her too!!”
“Eeeek! Shush! Shush!”
At Lucia’s and Laurian’s shout, Lena went pale and tried to hush them.
But what do middle-aged women and young kids know about a girl’s delicate heart?
In the end, they told Lena exactly how much dead skin came off of her, and they looked at her, squeaky clean, as if she were a piece of art.
“We might have to charge her double for this bath!”
“Hahaha. You did good. Would you like a juice? Laurian, you’re having milk, right?”
“Yes!”
“Then, let’s enjoy it~?”
I bought milk and juice from the store outside the bathhouse and handed it to Lucia and Laurian before offering the remaining bottle to a very embarrassed Lena.
“Eh…?”
“Drink up. You know you’re supposed to have a bottle of milk after a bath.”
If only there were banana milk, but alas, that didn’t exist here.
Lena, who took the milk with both hands, hesitated before taking a gulp.
I guess she was quite thirsty from bathing.
Her eyes sparkled as she downed the whole bottle at once, leaving white foam on her pink lips as she bowed repeatedly towards the disappearing Lucia and her daughter.
“Th-thank you…!”
“Bye~! Sister~ See you next time~”
“Hohoho~! Let’s bathe together again sometime!~”
After watching them leave, Lena dropped into a bench, looking completely drained.
While observing her, I bought a juice for the old man with whom I had been playing chess and sat on the bench.
“You look much better after a shower.”
“Heh. Yes… yes.”
Lena took another sip of her milk and began gazing at me dreamily.
Does she have something to say?
“Um, Master…”
“What is it?”
“Um. H-how do you easily become friends with people…?”
How do I easily become friends?
I just become friends, that’s all. Is there a method?
Seeing Lena look at me with envy, I placed the milk bottle beside me.
“Maybe it’s because I don’t care what others think?”
“Eh?”
“Having strength means I believe I can control any situation. That’s why I’m confident in approaching people, and that’s why I’m not hesitant in making friends.”
“O-ooh… that’s so cool.”
“You’re just overthinking things.”
I ruffled Lena’s hair, which felt soft because she had washed it.
“Not being able to easily make friends isn’t a bad thing. If you don’t like that part of yourself, you can change it, and to change, you need to grow stronger.”
“…D-do you think I can? C-can I really… become like that?”
“You can.”
I looked directly into Lena’s eyes.
For a moment, when she made eye contact with me, she tried to shyly turn her head away, but I held her face to keep our eyes locked.
Her blue eyes trembled slightly.
“I absolutely will.”
I will make that happen.