Chapter 5: Aozaki Residence

"Just wear these clothes."

Upon returning to the residence, Roy retrieved a set of shirt and pants from a side room and handed them to Kasumigaoka Utaha. Noticing her shivering from the cold, he also gave her a down jacket.

"There aren't any clothes for someone your age in this house. Tomorrow, I'll take you shopping for a few outfits. For today, just make do with these."

Kasumigaoka accepted the clothes and went to the adjacent room to change out of her dusty high school uniform. She also removed her torn stockings and changed into the simple, classic business attire Roy had given her.

Though a bit old-fashioned, the clothes fit her fairly well. The chest area, however, was a little loose, as if someone else had worn it before and stretched it out.

"What should I do now?"

After changing, she returned to the living room and asked Roy.

"Cleaning and laundry, things like that."

Roy was sitting comfortably at a kotatsu in the center of the living room, looking quite cozy. Spread out in front of him were several sheets of paper, which he was browsing through while answering her.

"This yard is a bit too large for me to handle alone. It's always such a hassle to clean up, which is why I was planning to get a servant from the refugee shelter. You'll take charge of keeping things tidy here. That shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"I understand."

Nodding, Kasumigaoka followed Roy's instructions, found the cleaning tools, and headed outside to start sweeping the yard.

"… You can skip the lawn. Just clean the open spaces."

Pausing for a moment, Kasumigaoka made her way to the open area facing the gate and began sweeping up the fallen leaves and debris from the stone pavement.

"… You don't have to gather the leaves into a dustpan. Just sweep them onto the lawn."

Kasumigaoka's breath hitched slightly. Embarrassed, she brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear and did as Roy instructed, sweeping the leaves off the path and onto the grass instead.

If you looked closely, her broom-handling technique was rather clumsy.

Before long, her breathing became noticeably heavier.

'I guess I'll let her figure it out on her own.'

Roy turned his attention back to the papers in front of him.

"Guard duty or the task of removing curses from the farmland… Guard duty sounds more dangerous since it involves going outside the city, while removing curses would be physically exhausting…"

After thinking for a moment, Roy signed his name on the guard duty mission.

Not long after, Kasumigaoka finished sweeping the yard and moved on to cleaning the entrance hall and living room. Once she had dealt with the dust, she fetched a bucket of water and, like an ox plowing a field, began scrubbing the hallway floors.

The sky outside was gradually tinted with hues of dusk, casting an eerie glow over the already grimy atmosphere.

Sitting on the tatami mats, Kasumigaoka gasped for air, large droplets of sweat rolling down her forehead, streaming past her cheeks, and disappearing into her collarbone. At some point, her shirt had become soaked, faintly revealing the outline of her black bra underneath.

She looked around the house, and a wave of exhaustion washed over her.

After two or three hours of effort, she had only managed to roughly clean the front yard and the living room.

The bedrooms, kitchen, and storage areas hadn't been touched yet.

'Surely, I'm not expected to finish all of this today?'

She glanced nervously toward the kotatsu in the living room but saw no one there. Instead, the sounds of clanging pots and pans came from the direction of the kitchen, accompanied by a faint but enticing aroma filling the air.

Grumble.

Kasumigaoka instinctively covered her stomach in embarrassment, but her hunger was undeniable, and she couldn't help but swallow at the delicious smell.

Having been unexpectedly transported to this world, escorted by the guards back to the city, and not having eaten in ages, she had worked herself to exhaustion doing unfamiliar tasks. Now, she was both tired and starving.

"Let's eat."

Roy emerged from the kitchen carrying a tray of dishes, motioning her over to join him.

Not bothering with needless politeness, Kasumigaoka sat down at the dining table and was momentarily stunned by the sight of the meal.

"Chinese food?"

"Authentic," Roy replied with a smile. "It's a personal preference."

Kasumigaoka took in the dishes on the table: braised pork chops, stir-fried eggs with tomatoes, sautéed three treasures, and seaweed egg drop soup. It wasn't a large spread, but the aroma was intoxicating.

———

A little while later, the young woman lay sprawled out in her chair, ungracefully holding her belly, which was now noticeably rounder.

She could confidently confirm—the food was indeed authentic.

"Feeling tired?"

Seeing her slumped in the chair, Roy didn't press her to do more. He simply collected the plates and headed back to the kitchen.

"I'm just not used to it," Kasumigaoka muttered defensively.

"Hmm, this house is large, so don't push yourself too hard. It's just the two of us living here. It's okay to lower the standards a bit," Roy called out from the kitchen, his voice warm and understanding.

"I'm only a low-tier Magus, after all. At this level, I'm only allowed one servant per month. For now, just get used to the place. Next month, I'll find someone to help you out."

Having an extra pair of hands would certainly make things easier.

Though she didn't respond, Kasumigaoka felt a sense of relief wash over her.

But at that moment, another thought crossed her mind.

"A low-tier Magus… how low are we talking?"

"The lowest, actually," Roy said casually, not at all bothered by it.

"There are seven ranks in total: Grand, Color, Ritual, Canon, Open, Firstborn, and Lastborn. I'm ranked at the bottom—Lastborn."

He sounded completely unfazed.

Clearly, this wasn't a touchy subject for him, nor did he view his rank as some forbidden topic.

"Is this rank based on strength? Are the tiers of magic ranked similarly?"

Kasumigaoka quickly realized she might be delving too deep, and hurriedly added, "If it's something you can't talk about, forget I asked."

"In the past, it was considered sensitive information. Nowadays, it's not a big deal," Roy replied, still in his usual relaxed tone.

"Maguses used to be more like researchers, and the ranks were determined by their accomplishments in magical studies—like students, graduates, or doctoral candidates in academic fields. Everything was kept highly secretive. If a regular person found out about magic, there were organizations dedicated to silencing them, even killing them if necessary. But after the Great Calamity ten years ago, half of the secrecy protocols were abandoned, and Maguses were pushed—albeit reluctantly—into the public eye. Strength became part of the ranking system."

When Roy said half of the secrecy was abandoned, it meant that not everything had been revealed.

To most citizens, magic still remained in the realm of urban legends.

After all, in the Type-Moon universe, the more people knew about magic, the weaker it became. Magic's power was limited by its mystique; the fewer people who knew about it, the more potent it remained in the hands of those who wielded it.

In ancient times, when the human population was small, magic was almost universally known. That was because magic operates on the manipulation of concepts—if humanity entirely forgot about magic, the very concept of magic would cease to exist.

To ensure its survival, a certain number of people needed to be aware of magic, passing on the concept to future generations.

Nowadays, with the global population having shrunk to under a billion, it was no longer necessary to enforce strict secrecy.

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