Chapter Ninety-seven: Debt’s Price (Harald’s POV)
Harald left the orphanage around the first bell.
The early morning chill still felt like the dead of winter, and he wrapped his meager coat tightly around himself.
Karen had said work would start from the second bell when the gates opened, but Director Jutta had told him that until he learned the job properly, he should show his sincerity by starting work earlier. Harald agreed with that. Tim had been grumbling about how Karen had specifically said they could begin with the second bell, but when Harald tried to go to the alchemy workshop alone, he followed with sleepy eyes.
“I wonder what our job will be today, huh, Harald?”
“…”
Harald ignored Tim who was trying to talk to him. Nothing good ever came from associating with him. The other day, Harald was not only poisoned but also had his low magic capacity exposed, and recently he’d nearly lost his job due to being held jointly responsible with Tim.
Although he had barely managed to keep his job, from now on, Harald would have to stop Tim whenever he tried to do anything. But if Tim would do something with magical power, Harald neither had the means to understand it nor the power to stop it.
Just thinking about it made frustration well up in him, making the tip of his nose sting, so Harald stopped thinking about it. He couldn’t show a pathetic face to Karen.
When they arrived at the alchemy workshop, instead of using the front entrance, Harald and Tim went around to the garden and rang the bell at the back door.
“Cooooming! Good morning. Thanks for starting so early!”
Karen, who was already awake, welcomed them and gave her first instructions.
“Well then, could you first take a bath and change your clothes?”
“Ugh… It’s so cold though.”
Tim complained again. The dark emotions inside Harald began to stir.
“I just took a bath, so there’s still hot water left. You can use it, but make sure to wash your whole body properly.”
“Huh? We can use hot water?”
“I mean, how else are you supposed to get clean without it? Please use it properly, okay?”
Saying that Karen puffed out her lips with a slight frown. She seemed to think she was making a scary face. Though it appeared to be a threat, Harald knew she was just trying to let them use the hot water. Tim didn’t know how to be grateful for this privileged environment.
Because he had a C-rank or higher magic capacity, he could live anywhere he wanted if he put his mind to it.
“This is an alchemy workshop, and we never know what might affect the potions. There’s also a high possibility that nobles will visit in the future. I’ll be in trouble if you’re not clean. You can use the soap too.”
“We can use soap as well?”
“Yes, of course! But I guess I need to say it explicitly. You absolutely must use it! I can’t stand having dirt brought into the house!”
For Karen, making Harald and Tim take a bath seemed to be a necessity rather than an act of kindness.
Harald nodded and pulled Tim toward the bathroom so as not to trouble Karen any further.
“So we could’ve used this hot water all along. You told me not to use it before, so I drained it during cleaning. What a waste.”
“The point is that we should use it only after getting permission.”
Harald and Tim removed their clothes and poured the hot water over their cold bodies.
“Ah, it’s so warm!”
Tim sighed in contentment. Harald too felt like he might cry if he let his guard down. At the orphanage, they were never allowed to use hot water to wash their bodies.
After rinsing their bodies with water, they carefully used the soap Karen had prepared to wash away the dirt. Harald had seen soft soap sold in stores, but this soap seemed to be even more expensive. Either way, they should be careful when using something that was normally out of their reach.
Despite that—
“Oh! When I rub it on my body repeatedly, it really foams up!”
“Hey! Do you have any idea how expensive this is?!”
“Karen’s always been a clean freak. She’d rather we use too much soap and get properly clean than skimp on it and stay dirty.”
The worst part was that Tim knew more about Karen than Harald did. And although Tim could make ridiculous misunderstandings or misconceptions, Harald knew well that he didn’t lie.
“…I won’t forgive you if you’re lying.”
Understanding that Tim didn’t lie yet still saying this, Harald grudgingly used the soap to remove the dirt stuck to his body. More than anything, he couldn’t stand the idea of being dirtier than Tim.
After washing, towels and clothes were ready for them. These were the uniforms Karen had prepared for the alchemy workshop. She had them ready because Harald and Tim’s everyday clothes were too dirty to wear in the shop, so for Karen, this too wasn’t an act of kindness.
“She’s thought of everything!”
“These are things we should have prepared for ourselves.”
Harald found Tim’s carefree attitude infuriating. It felt like the debt was piling up, and Harald couldn’t help but feel terrified.
He had to make Karen think he was a useful helper. He had to make her want to keep him around despite all the trouble.
With renewed determination, Harald left the bathroom, and Karen, who was in the living room taking off her apron, said:
“Breakfast is ready!”
“Is there some for us too?”
“You came so early in the morning, so you probably haven’t had breakfast, right? That’s why I made it. Let’s eat together.”
“Hooray!”
Harald felt dizzy from the increasing debt and staggered, but unable to resist his hunger, he wobbled toward the dining table where Karen was waiting.
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