Chapter 6
I heard a loud knocking on my door as Ania woke me up.
"Wake up. It's time for you to make breakfast. I want something soft. Make it for me."
I don't think I've ever woken up this early in the morning before. I've done all nighters that ended this late, but I've never actually slept and woke up at a time like this.
As I started to rise, I felt a dull pain in my abdomen.
"Urgh!"
My muscles are killing me. I guess this is what the soreness that people talk about after working out is.
After a moment of pain, I rose out of bed. The cold air hit me as I stepped out from the covers. The s.h.i.+ver of a fall morning hit me in a way I never expected.
I need to use the toilet. What did Ania say? The door on the left?
I stepped into the hall and walked to the left. There are two doors… Which one do I pick?
After a moment's deliberation, I opened the first door.
This is not the toilet.
This is probably Ania's bedroom.
Is that her underwear lying on the bed there?
This is dangerous.
I closed the door as quickly and quietly as possible. I'll act like this never happened.
As I closed the door…
"What are you doing?"
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
"NOTHING! I-I was… doing nothing, Anisama! Haha! Yes I was just looking for the toilet!"
I am going to die.
"Hmph. Well... it's the door right next to this one. That door right there is my room. Don't enter it." Ania said as she pushed me aside and entered her room.
G.o.d, I know we didn't really get along, but I wanted to thank you from the bottom of my heart.
I opened the door next to Ania's room and saw a small toilet. The toilet resembles a modern one from Earth which surprised me. There is no bathtub or shower, so I won't be bathing here.
After relieving myself and was.h.i.+ng my hands, I heard a noise.
"Slurp… Slurp…"
Oh G.o.d that is the worst noise to hear in a restroom.
Where is that noise coming from? It's not the sink…
"Slurp… Slurp…" The noise continued.
I investigated the room and searched my surroundings to find where the noise is coming from. After checking a few places, I realized that it's coming from the toilet. Something is in the toilet and making that noise. Something is inside the toilet making a disgusting noise after I just finished using it.
I left the room as soon as possible and found Ania.
"Anisama, I heard a weird noise coming from the toilet. Do you know what's going on?"
"Hm? Oh, that's just my sewer slime. They're harmless and keep the place sanitary."
"Sewer… slime?" I feel like an idiot for not knowing something that Ania seems to think is basic, but this isn't exactly something I'm comfortable with leaving alone.
"Oh you must not know about them since you're poor. A sewer slime is something you put in your toilet. It survives off of what humans… leave behind. It's a two way relations.h.i.+p.
I hate this world so much. This is so disgusting yet practical. Whoever thought of doing this is probably messed up in the head.
"Hey, you need to make me breakfast. The clock is ticking!"
Oh that's right, I need to make her breakfast. Her breakfast needs to be soft as well.
I went over to her pantry and saw what felt like a treasure h.o.a.rd of ingredients. Jars of all different kinds are on each and every shelf. Some foods that wouldn't spoil for a while were sitting on other shelves. I saw some meat hung up on racks. This woman is probably far wealthier than I thought she was originally. I wonder what her story is?
I was getting ready to gather the ingredients before I realized something important.
I don't know how the foods of this world taste.
The soup I had yesterday had already been made prior to my arrival so I don't know what went into making it. What should I do?
"Anisama, what is it that you would like for breakfast?"
"Something sweet."
Well at least that narrows it down a little bit. I wonder what sweet things she has?
As I investigated the pantry, I saw something familiar.
"Apples? Wow. I can't believe they have these here too."
"What was that? Are you asking me something else?"
"No ma'am! I'm just talking to myself!"
"Well you should talk less and cook more!"
Despite being frustrated with this old woman, I grabbed a few apples and oats. I decided to make apple oatmeal today.
I've never been much of a cook in the first place. I mostly would get food from stores or make it in a microwave. Despite my inexperience, I have to try.
I grabbed a pan and put it on the stovetop. I filled the pan with oats and water and got ready to light it.
"Hm? How does this work?"
There doesn't seem to be a switch to turn on the heat or anything like that.
"You have to touch the little symbol on the side. It uses your mana to light a fire. Don't worry, it doesn't take much."
Woah woah woah, mana powered stove tops? That's awesome! Can I use it? Do I have magic? There's only one way to find out.
I put my thumb on the small symbol on the side of the stovetop and immediately felt something drain out of my hand. As I felt this draining sensation, I saw a fire light underneath the stove top. Not only did I find out that I really do have mana in some capacity, but I also learned what it feels like to use it as well as one of the practical applications of magic in this world. If I can use magic, then that stands to reason that everyone in the world has magic. Do animals have magic? Where does magic come from? Every new thing I learn results in more questions.
Putting my questions aside for later, I began to chop the apples up into small bits while the oats were being boiled into oatmeal. I waited until the oats were almost done and then added the apple bits and stirred them in together. After another minute of cooking I took the pan off the stovetop. The fire seemed to turn itself off naturally once I did this and I had to prevent myself from saying "Woah that's awesome!" when I saw it.
I divided up the portions into two bowls and set one in front of Ania.
"Here you go, Anisama. Apple oatmeal."
"Mmm. At least you can do basic things. Let's see what it tastes like. Come, sit and pray."
I sat down and put my hands together.
"We thank the creators for the bounty we received today. I thank the creators for giving me the patience to work with people. I thank the creators for giving this boy at least some semblance of intelligence to know how to cook something basic. Amen."
"Amen" I followed. I'll just ignore her comments about me.
As I took the oatmeal into my mouth, I had to compliment my own cooking. The taste is basic, but it's also palatable. If I had to rate it, I'd give it a B-. I wonder what Ania thinks-
"Boy, you really need to learn how to cook. You will need to use a cookbook. The next time you get paid you must buy a cookbook."
Alright so she didn't like it. Good to know.
We ate quietly after that. After a while, we finished our food. I took Ania's plate as well as my own to the sink and washed them. Once I had finished with this, I left for my second day of work.