After this routine continued for a while, about half a month later, one night...
Although the physical enhancements from his stats hadn't disappeared, without the System supporting all those System-based spells, abilities that now consisted of nothing but knowledge naturally couldn't be used as expected.
He could only relearn them little by little.
Healing magic was different.
He'd already studied it extensively before coming here and had thoroughly understood it, so he could still use it without much trouble.
The other magic and skills would also come back with enough time.
But even though his connection to the previous world's System hadn't been especially deep, he'd still received considerable enhancements from it.
As a result, he'd been suffering from constant headaches these past days.
If someone like Ariel, who had been much more deeply connected to the System, came here instead, the symptoms would probably be far worse.
Compared to that, his condition was still acceptable.
After all, the benefits far outweighed this level of pain.
Still, the headaches became especially severe late at night, when everything was quiet.
"Overall, I still came out ahead. There's no point dwelling on it too much. As for the headaches... I guess I'll just have to wait for my soul to heal itself."
Late at night, inside his room, Ash rested his forehead against the desk, muttering to himself in frustration.
He hadn't done much research on souls.
Whether it was Forbidden Magic or Abyss Magic, they specialized in attacking souls.
Healing them was something he'd never learned, and he lacked the corresponding knowledge, so all he could do was try distracting himself.
"Ah, right. Looks like I'm almost out of money again. I'll have to go get some more tomorrow. Sigh, what a hassle... Why does money disappear so quickly..."
As he muttered through his headache... Roxy, who had gotten up in the middle of the night for a drink, happened to pass by.
Curious, she glanced through his still-open bedroom door.
She clearly saw him sitting there with his forehead pressed against the desk, looking troubled.
'This family's finances really are in trouble? So what he said before about living on borrowed money was true? Come to think of it... I've never seen this kid sleep before. He must be under so much pressure that he's always suffering from insomnia. What should I do? Have I become another burden on him by moving in? B-But! This was an employment arrangement to begin with... I have to eat too!'
Seeing her student in distress, Roxy fell into painful indecision herself, unable to decide what she should do.
Remembering what Ash had once said made her feel that, as a teacher, taking the job purely to earn money really lacked the proper spirit of an educator.
A teacher's ethics were important.
But money was important too.
Unable to give up either one, she ended up outside his room, hugging her own head in deep frustration.
On one side was a teacher's professional ethics.
On the other was the reality of making a living.
She wanted neither to abandon either nor could she, leaving Roxy completely at a loss.
Just then...
Ash noticed her presence and glanced toward the tiny girl crouching outside his door with both hands on her head.
Completely unaware of what Roxy was thinking, he couldn't understand why she wasn't asleep in the middle of the night and was instead squatting outside his room.
Thinking about life?
Or wanting to have a heart-to-heart?
After wondering for a while, he stood up, crouched down in front of her, and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"?"
The girl looked up blankly.
Seeing his serious expression, she unconsciously looked troubled, but still parted her lips.
"If... um, I mean..."
"No need to be polite. If something's wrong, just tell me. I'll do my best to help."
"Huh?"
Ash's gentle words only left the girl even more bewildered.
She tilted her head dramatically.
This wasn't how she'd imagined things would go at all.
"No need to be shy. Just say it."
"N-No, that's not... I mean..."
The sudden reversal completely threw her off, leaving her unable to find the words.
Ash gave her a bright smile and placed his other hand on her shoulder as well.
"I may look like a shut-in, but unless it's something extremely difficult, I can probably handle it. So you don't have to be polite."
"I-I'm fine..."
"Really? Don't be embarrassed."
"Really..."
"Then whenever you do want to tell me, just let me know."
Though still puzzled, Ash didn't press the matter.
He simply patted her head, stood back up, and smiled as he held out a hand toward the girl still sitting on the floor.
'Wasn't that supposed to be my line? I'm the teacher, aren't I? Why do I feel like I'm the student who's fallen on hard times?'
Even though she was extremely unwilling to admit it, caught up in the strange atmosphere, Roxy still reached out and let him pull her to her feet.
Filled with an indescribable sense of frustration, she lowered her head dejectedly, wished him good night, and quickly returned to her room.
Once inside, looking at the guest room that was gradually becoming familiar, Roxy simply crouched on the floor.
Looking completely defeated, she drew circles on the ground with one finger while muttering to herself.
"Why does my student seem more like a teacher than I do... That shouldn't happen, should it? Even if it's my first time being a teacher, I'm still the older one! Is it because I don't look dignified enough?"
But in the quiet room, even Ash couldn't appear to comfort her.
Oddly enough, that made her feel a little better.
That night, she quietly made up her mind to help her very first student.
At the very least...
She couldn't let him starve to death because of poverty.
———
The next morning, under Roxy's hesitant gaze, Ash finished breakfast and headed outside the city to get more money.
Recently, however, he'd already cleaned out all the nearby bandits and highwaymen.
Public security had become surprisingly good.
As a result, he had no choice but to travel farther away to get money.
He took a leisurely walk while acquiring funds.
When he returned around noon... he unexpectedly found Roxy in the courtyard.
Displaying a remarkable lack of self-awareness, she had taken up gardening.
Standing on a chair, stretching onto her tiptoes, and struggling with a pair of pruning shears, she was trimming the courtyard hedges.
The little girl's earnest effort was undeniably cute enough to make anyone smile.
But Ash couldn't help asking in confusion,
"Roxy... what are you doing?"
"Ah? W-Wait... Huh? W-Waaah!"
His sudden voice startled her.
She immediately lost her balance on the chair, wobbling as though walking on stilts, looking ready to fall at any moment.
Ash could only sigh speechlessly.
She wasn't even doing anything she needed to hide, so why react so dramatically?
Even so, he quickly stepped forward.
Just as the girl on the chair was about to fall, he reached both hands under her arms, steadied her, and then effortlessly lifted her up like a doll.
"When there aren't any adults around, don't climb up so high. It'd be dangerous if you fell."
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