Not a barbarian warrior.

For a warrior to learn magic was like putting a pearl necklace on a pig’s neck, but Lorena thought this was the most attractive offer she could make to Eugene.

‘Si-Since he asked to learn about magic in exchange for collecting the mandrake… Eugene must surely have a tremendous interest in magic…!’

If other magicians had seen this scene, they would surely have asked Lorena if she was crazy.

It was already crazy enough to try to make a black-haired barbarian a housekeeper, but to offer to teach precious magical knowledge in exchange for mere housework? Wasn’t this like a master taking on a disciple?

‘I-I can trust Eugene… He’s good at housework, and he took such good care of me when I was sick because of the mandrake…’

Lorena didn’t care at all. She trusted Eugene enough. Her mind was full of thoughts about how to persuade Eugene.

“Eu-Eugene, you’re staying at an inn now, right…? If you become my housekeeper, I’ll provide room and board for free… Ah, of-of course, you’ll have to cook yourself… In-Including for me…”

“…”

“Don’t you want to learn magic…? Th-This kind of opportunity is rare… It would be a waste to let the evening primrose rot…”

“…”

As Eugene remained silent, Lorena became anxious.

‘B-But I’m offering to teach magic without charging money… Where else could you find better terms than this…’

While she was racking her brains, Eugene was thinking about something else.

After receiving an inexplicable mental shock at being asked to become a housekeeper, he recalled the incident at the tavern.

‘Is this how she felt when I suddenly said I’d take her time as payment…?’

Eugene felt he could now understand her feelings. After settling his tumultuous emotions, he looked at Lorena.

Although the request to become a housekeeper was absurd, it was still a great benefit for Eugene.

As she said, he could save on lodging costs, and with the evening primrose, it wouldn’t be bad to try learning magic. Although he wasn’t entirely keen on working as her personal maid for a while, it was bearable.

Thus, having made up his mind, Eugene finally opened his mouth.

“Alright. I’ll be your housekeeper. I don’t know how much talent I’ll have for magic, but it would be good to try learning, if only to not waste the evening primrose.”

At those words, Lorena smiled brightly and rummaged through her bosom, then held something out to Eugene.

“Here… Ta-Take this…”

On the paper she handed out along with ink, it was written that Lorena would teach Eugene magic in exchange for Eugene diligently working as her housekeeper.

“…When did you prepare something like this?”

She laughed sheepishly, as if embarrassed, and said:

“In-In case you change your mind midway… I prepared it just in case… Ju-Just put your fingerprint here…”

Eugene carefully examined the contract, wondering if there might be any hidden clauses. But there were no particular issues. Seeing this, Lorena realized something and hurriedly said:

“Ah… I’ll read it for you… It says here…”

“No need. I can read.”

“Ah…! You can read and write…?”

When Eugene nodded, Lorena looked surprised. Eugene felt like a monkey in a zoo every time this happened, but he tried to ignore it and pressed his fingerprint on the paper.

As the ink dried, Lorena quickly took the contract and muttered in a very small voice. It was so quiet that Eugene couldn’t hear.

“He-hehe… N-Now it can’t be undone. Eugene is my housekeeper for the time being…”

“…?”

Eugene, who had been tilting his head, now that the housekeeper issue was settled, had to bring up another topic. It was the moment he had been so looking forward to.

“Now I’d like to receive the reward for the mandrake. Lorena, will you answer my question?”

“Ah, you said you had something to ask about magic, right? You’ll learn everything eventually anyway…”

“No. There’s something I want to know right now.”

“Wh-What is it…?”

“Well, you see…”

Eugene had thought about how to phrase this when the moment came.

For sure, he couldn’t honestly say, ‘I’m a 21st-century civilized person from Earth, and this world is actually just a computer game, and this body is a character I created in the game, but due to an unknown accident, I was possessed by it three years ago.’

If he did, he’d be treated as a crazy barbarian suffering from a mental illness. Therefore, the question he could ask was something like this:

“Is there a way to leave this world through magic and move to another dimension?”

“Um… Well, it’s not impossible…?”

“…!”

Hearing an unexpected answer, Eugene asked with wide eyes:

“It’s possible?”

“Hmm… If you excavate an ancient artifact containing space-time magic, restore it, and then have a very exceptional magician recite a spell, it would be possible.”

“Hmm… Is it difficult?”

“It’s a very, very difficult task…”

“I can’t quite grasp how difficult it is.”

“Um… It’s about as difficult as Eugene awakening his aura, becoming the continent’s greatest knight, and then obtaining the legendary sword Balmung…?”

“Huh…”

Eugene let out a hollow laugh at the ridiculous difficulty. It seemed he would have to put aside the plan of returning to Earth using magic for now.

Still, he didn’t despair or get frustrated. After all, it meant that there wasn’t absolutely no way. Rather, he found a tiny hope in her answer.

“Was… Was this what you were curious about…?”

“Yeah. That’s all.”

Lorena just tilted her head at Eugene, who was smiling bitterly. She couldn’t believe he wanted to ask just this question.

“Um… It feels a bit inadequate to use this as payment for the request… Is there nothing else you’re curious about?”

“Hmm.”

Eugene, just in case, also asked about possession and reincarnation. Lorena shook her head with a pale face.

“Su-Such evil magic that controls souls is something only ev-evil god worshippers would research… A-Are you perhaps wo-worshipping demons…”

“No. Absolutely not.”

“Wh-Why are you asking about such things…?”

“Um… Just academic curiosity, I guess.”

“I-I’ve felt this before, but Eugene seems a bit special…”

“…In what way?”

“J-Just that kind of feeling.”

Lorena evaded the answer by mumbling. Eugene now had nothing more to ask, so he decided to completely end the mandrake request with this. Then, she said:

“Th-Then now… Don’t we both have things to do…?”

“…?”

She quietly pointed her finger to the distance. The pot abandoned in the kitchen was stained black.

“Um… I’m hungry… I couldn’t eat properly yesterday either…”

“…”

At this moment, a small growling sound came from her stomach. She grabbed her stomach with an embarrassed face.

“Th-Then I’ll be in your care… Mr. Housekeeper…”

“…Alright.”

Eugene stood up with a resigned expression and started moving. Washing dishes, cooking, laundry, cleaning, and all sorts of tasks were quickly handled.

While he was busy moving about, Lorena took the evening primrose and mandrake and went into her room.

Not long after, unable to bear her hunger, she secretly came out of the room and put Eugene’s pie in her mouth.

Lorena, whose complexion instantly turned pale, collapsed on the floor.
It wasn’t particularly surprising.

Eugene had agreed to learn magic in exchange for becoming a housekeeper, but he couldn’t do so immediately.

Lorena said there were things she needed to prepare before teaching magic and asked him to wait a few days.

So, Eugene decided to visit the swordsmanship guild during his free time. He headed towards the ‘Brotherhood of the Sword’ that a blacksmith shop owner had told him about.

Not knowing what attire to wear, Eugene put on his armor and packed his weapons as if he was going to hunt monsters.

A tall building stood surrounding three sides of a wide open space a little away from the square. The open space seemed to be used as a training ground, with people swinging swords all around.

Some were sparring in pairs, while others were repeatedly swinging their swords in the air, sweating profusely.

Everyone was passionately honing their swords, letting out rough breaths. Watching this scene, Eugene’s heart naturally pounded with excitement.

‘I should have visited earlier. It would be worth the silver coins here.’

Eugene approached a person who was taking a break, putting down their sword beside the open space, and spoke to them.

“Is this the swordsmanship guild called the Brotherhood of the Sword?”

“…That’s right. What brings you here?”

The young swordsman looked at Eugene with wary eyes. As he quietly picked up the sword he had put down and stood up, tension naturally filled the air between them.

Eugene quickly stated his business to avoid any trouble.

“I heard I could meet Sir Bernard if I came here. Where is the sir?”

“What…!”

Startled by Eugene’s words, the swordsman shouted loudly as if for his companions in the open space to hear:

“He says he wants to meet Sir Bernard-! First, you’ll have to cross swords with me before meeting him-!”

Eugene naturally frowned at the booming voice. The volume was tremendous enough to make his ears ring. The swordsman wiped the sweat flowing on his face and said:

“Draw your sword! I need to check how skilled you are!”

“Very well.”

Thinking it was an entrance test, Eugene drew his sword without hesitation. Then the people around gathered, forming a wide circle around them.

Just as they were about to start the duel, one of the trainees who had gathered around approached Eugene, holding out a sword and saying:

“Surely you don’t intend to fight with a sharp-edged real sword?”

“Ah… I hadn’t thought of that.”

As Eugene accepted the blunt training sword and put away his own sword, the people around murmured and chattered even more.

“As expected… The barbarian warriors from the north are reckless. To even duel with real swords…”

“Whether it’s courage, arrogance, or stupidity, we’ll soon find out.”

“Look at that stance of holding the sword. What a terrifying aura. I can’t even imagine how many life-and-death situations he’s been through.”

Eugene focused entirely on his opponent, ignoring the noise around him.

The two people, pointing their swords at each other and slowly moving while measuring the distance, suddenly rushed at each other without a word at the same moment.

The match was over in an instant.

The opponent aimed for Eugene’s head, bringing the sword down straight from above. Eugene nimbly raised his sword to deflect the attack, then turned his wrist to swing the sword in the opposite direction.

Eugene’s sword settled on the opponent’s nape. It was a perfect counterattack. Even though it was a blunt practice sword, the opponent’s face turned pale.

Eugene lowered his sword and approached his opponent. When he held out his hand, the opponent, who had been dumbfounded for a moment, grasped it. Thus, they ended warmly with a handshake.

“Hmm.. I admit defeat… Your skill is impressive.”

“It was a good match. Now, about where Sir Bernard is…”

At that moment, someone rushed in from the middle and shouted:

“Wait a moment-! It’s not over yet! Before meeting Sir Bernard, you must cross swords with me!”

“Very well. Indeed, it would be a bit unsatisfying to gauge one’s skill with just one duel.”

Eugene gladly crossed swords with the next person.

This opponent, who was more skilled than the previous one, was defeated by Eugene after a slightly longer exchange of attacks.

“Your last attack was very sharp. It was a good experience. Now, to meet Sir Bernard…”

Eugene tried to end warmly with a handshake as before. However, things don’t always go as planned in this world.

“Not yet-! If you want to meet Sir Bernard, you must defeat me…!”

“…”

The duels disguised as skill tests continued. Even after defeating one opponent and then the next, challengers kept popping up from somewhere and shouting:

“If you thought this was the end, you’re mistaken!”

“This time I’ll be your opponent! Everyone, stand back!”

“…”

As the endless challenges continued like this, Eugene’s expression gradually began to sour.