Chapter 20. Story Teller

"Grandma Linda, thanks for the clothes! You saved me from big trouble. However, I can't accept them for free and cause you any additional trouble. You've already done so much for a stranger like me. Please tell me their price, and I'll return the money to you very soon."

After hanging his old clothes on the rope in the garden, Ash directly walked into the kitchen to express his gratitude to Linda, who was serving James his food.

"Haha! I knew you'd say that, but I didn't get them from a store. They belonged to my late son. When I saw you heading to work in the same clothes today, and since you didn't bring any luggage with you, I figured you might have lost yours while traveling. So, after some thought, I decided to bring these clothes out of storage. Anyway, they were just gathering dust there, so it's better to use them than to let them go to waste," Linda replied with a sweet smile as she gently adjusted Ash's messy hair, which he couldn't set because he didn't have anything to comb them and he isn't shameless enough that ask every little thing from Linda, who already had done a lot for him.

"But if I accept them for free, I'll feel guilty all night. Please try to understand, you wouldn't want to see me feeling listless tomorrow, right?" Ash said hesitantly, though he didn't mind wearing dead guy clothes that looked completely new, which even an idiot could tell they hadn't been worn by anyone before not even once. And clothes that hadn't seen the light of day in years couldn't smell so fresh. These were clearly not old, as Linda claimed.

"Sigh, you're such a troublemaker. Fine, according to the time I bought them from the shop, give me 20 coins, and these clothes are officially yours. Happy now?" Finally, in front of stubborn Ash, Linda has to give in, she shakes her head and speaks helplessly. Sometimes she felt Ash was a little too honest and good-natured for his own good.

Ash nodded in satisfaction, seeing Linda relent. "Hehe, you can't fool me. I may not know the current clothing price, but it surely can't be that low, not even years ago, especially during wartime when resources are scarce. Currently, I only have 40 coins. Once I earn more, I'll give you the remaining amount at once. Oh, and thanks for taking care of me so much." With that, he handed his newly earned salary to Linda and gave her a heartfelt hug. Other than his mother in his previous life, Linda might be the second person who cared about him this much. Although he didn't know the reason why she was so good to him, he wasn't in a hurry to dig deeper into the matter. After all, he was literally half-immortal and couldn't die as long as he didn't want to, so it was only a matter of time before all the cards were laid out in front of him.

"There's no need for thanks. As your landlady, it's my duty to make my tenants happy. After all, handsome, kind, and hardworking young men like you are hard to come by these days. Now, enough chit-chat and sit down for dinner. You must be tired after a long day, right? Eat well and sleep well; it's good for your growth at a young age." As Linda spoke, she filled Ash's plate with various vegetable dishes, soup, salad, and a large glass of fruit juice.

"By the way, Brother Ash, what did you do today? Did you encounter any goblins?" James, who was getting bored to death by Linda and Ash's caring, dramatic, and hard-to-understand conversation, quickly asked, fearing they might start another nonsensical topic.

"Hahaha, it's still too early to fight goblins. First, I need to save enough money to buy all the battle gear, then I'll try to train a bit and familiarize myself with my equipment before I go looking for trouble with goblins. As for what I did today, nothing exciting. However, I am working on a quest. If I manage to find that damn thief, I'll probably have something interesting to tell you. But if you want to hear stories, I know plenty of them," Ash said playfully, with a wink.

James' eyes lit up at the prospect of a story. "Really? I want to hear a story about a hero who fights hundreds of goblins all alone and saves the princess from their clutches!" His father, a war hero, and his grandmother often spoke highly of his heroic deeds, making James yearn for similar tales of courageous heroes rescuing damsels in distress.

"Hahaha, those hero and princess stories are outdated, meant for girls. A brave warrior like you and me needs more manly and hardcore stories to sharpen our minds. So later, you can fight goblins not just with your sword, but with your wit as well," Ash said, voice holding a touch of mystery. Seeing James captivated and he successfully set the atmosphere, he continued, 

"The story I'm about to tell you is about a boy who lived. He was a brave, fearless warrior who never shyed away from evil. A true friend, smart... well not smart, but courageous enough to jump in any trouble. A real super cool and powerful magician, with a wave of his simple wooden stick, could travel anywhere, conjure fire out of thin air, create wonders never seen before, summon flying brooms, and countless other feats. So, James, are you ready to explore the mysteries of the wizarding world, or still yearn for predictable goblin-slaying and princess-saving tales?" Ash grinned ear to ear, seeing James' eyes sparkling with excitement, almost drooling in anticipation of the magical tale. He didn't mind spreading his previous life's most successful stories in this world in the backward setting, if someone willing to give him enough benefits he could also write a few books, anyway, in this world there is no issue of copy-righting.

"Of course, I want to hear it! Who cares about goblins and princesses? Nothing is more fascinating than delving into the world of wizardry. Learning about magic is my greatest dream. Once, I saw a creepy old granny with a prominent nose use magic. She muttered strange words and poof! A man harassing her vanished and reappeared trapped inside a tiny crystal bottle, alive and well, even talking, though clearly upset. I didn't hear what he said, but ever since then, I've dreamt of learning such cool magic. Imagine capturing goblins in bottles! How awesome would that be?" James grew increasingly animated, even abandoning his dinner and using his spoon as a makeshift magic wand to cast imaginary spells.

Linda, however, froze upon hearing the crystal bottle trick. Her smile faltered for a moment before returning, forced and strained. She glanced at Ash, whose expression remained unchanged, and stared at James's performance with a smile as if hearing about a two-meter man trapped in a tiny bottle was not a big deal. This raised her eyebrows. Yet, considering Ash's casual storytelling about magic, she concluded he might have witnessed magic before or possessed some familiarity with it. Otherwise, his nonchalant delivery would have raised alarms as magic was a taboo subject for most ordinary humans, they fear and are jealous of the mystery and unknowns of magic, after all, most humans don't have the talent to learn magic.

He seems even more wonderful than I expected, Linda thought, breathing a sigh of relief and smiling genuinely as she patted her chest.