"You said borrowed. That means you'll have to pay it back eventually, right?"
"Normally, yes."
Though that's assuming the creditors are still alive.
Ash nodded helplessly, unable to explain the truth.
Roxy immediately continued, "Exactly! That's why cutting expenses is necessary! You still don't understand how to live."
"What does 'understand how to live' even mean?"
"Life isn't just about having people wait on you. Sometimes, living means doing things yourself."
Roxy patiently explained, looking as though she were imparting the wisdom of life itself.
By comparison, Ash looked completely unwilling.
"What's with that expression?"
"So much trouble..."
"It's fine. I'll teach you!", Roxy proudly patted her chest, full of confidence.
"You really have no idea what happened to everyone who said that to me before."
"I'm different. I'll work hard to change you! Besides magic, teaching life philosophy and the right attitude is also a master's responsibility."
"Young people these days really don't know their place."
"I'm the master here!", Roxy complained.
Ash merely wore an expression that said what a hassle and kept shaking his head.
"Masters these days really don't know their place."
Filled with a teacher's sense of responsibility, Roxy was determined to save her very first disciple and help Ash develop a proper set of values.
So, acting as his master, she decisively dismissed every maid in his household.
Normally, a private tutor obviously wouldn't have that kind of authority.
But she wasn't the rigid type. She simply revealed a little of the "truth," telling everyone that Ash had been living on borrowed money and might not even be able to pay next month's wages.
The moment they heard that, they practically grabbed their buckets and ran without a second thought.
After learning what had happened, Ash honestly wasn't sure whether he should thank Roxy for staying despite the situation and even watching over the house so the maids didn't steal anything valuable... or complain that she'd spread such a strange rumor and driven away all the servants.
Though, considering she'd learned his money was borrowed, maybe it wasn't really a rumor after all.
Roxy paid no attention to Ash's reluctance and resistance. She simply dragged him along and started demonstrating how to cook, do laundry, and handle household chores.
After all, she'd run away from home at fourteen and traveled alone as an adventurer ever since, so she had plenty of experience in those areas...
Though her cooking was admittedly rather average.
Still, anything an ordinary maid could do, she could do as well.
By the end of the day, after cleaning the house, airing the bedding, and washing clothes, it had been a surprisingly productive day.
"Phew~ That's it! Ash, look. After washing clothes, you should shake them like this~ That way they won't wrinkle."
Holding a wet piece of clothing, Roxy gave it a shake, wiped the sweat from her forehead, and said proudly without turning around.
"I see."
"And when you're doing laundry, it's best to separate dark and light clothes into different basins. Otherwise they'll accidentally bleed together."
"Learned something new again."
"See~ I didn't spend all those years adventuring for nothing~"
"As expected of Roxy. You're amazing."
"It's just common sense~ It's not that impressive. And didn't I tell you to call me Mast—"
She had been smiling happily from all the praise.
But the moment she turned around, the smile instantly disappeared, and her expression became dark.
Only then did she realize Ash hadn't been looking at her at all.
His eyes had been fixed on the magic book in his hands the entire time.
Unable to hold back, Roxy raised her voice.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm listening to your instruction."
"Even though you've been reading the whole time?", The corners of Roxy's mouth twitched. She felt like she had every right to get angry now.
Realizing he'd been caught, Ash finally came back to his senses. He closed the book, looked down at the girl in front of him, and carefully chose his words.
"Isn't doing two things at once perfectly normal? Besides, I'm a student. My top priority should be studying hard."
"Studying hard is good, but if all you know is how to fight, what are you going to do in the future?"
"Isn't knowing how to fight enough? As for everything else... I think it's fine if someone else takes care of it."
His matter-of-fact answer left Roxy speechless for a moment.
"You're a healer. You're not even particularly good at magic, and yet your head is full of nothing but fighting?"
"Because every healer dreams of becoming a warrior."
"A warrior... Come to think of it, you're always carrying a sword and a knife. And you're learning swordsmanship from that Sword King lady... Haa!"
Thinking about it made her let out a long sigh.
"There's nothing wrong with learning a lot of different things, but you probably don't realize that if you really want to focus on combat, it's usually better to specialize in either magic or swordsmanship. That'll make you stronger. A person's time and energy are limited, after all. I know it would be a waste not to learn from your Sword King friend, but choosing what to focus on is important too."
"Roxy..."
Ash looked at her in surprise.
She became slightly wary.
"What is it?"
"You unexpectedly feel like a real teacher."
"Thanks, but... I am your teacher!"
Forcing a smile, Roxy snatched the book out of his hands and lightly tapped him on the head with it.
"Of course, I appreciate how hardworking you are. But if you're reading while walking around like this, it's hard to properly absorb what you're learning, isn't it?"
"How about this? I'll pay you five silver coins extra. Since you're free when you're free anyway, why don't you do the housework for me too?"
Smiling, Ash offered what he thought was a pretty good proposal.
The moment Roxy heard it, her voice rose again in outrage.
"What are you talking about? I'm your teacher, not your maid!"
"Five silver coins isn't exactly a small amount."
"Don't think you can do whatever you want just because you have money. Money can't solve everything."
"Didn't you just say money was important earlier?"
"It is! But I'm not the kind of person who's blinded by money!"
Roxy declared seriously, determination in her eyes.
Ash couldn't help probing further.
"So you do think it's a good offer... Then how about one gold coin?"
"I see. You're only happy if you make me angry, aren't you? So it's okay for me to get mad now, right?"
Roxy kept nodding, and although her tone still sounded oddly cheerful, she spoke faster and faster, clearly on the verge of exploding.
Unexpectedly, Ash lowered his head.
"No. I didn't mean to insult you. If you felt humiliated, I apologize."
"W-well... it's good that you know you were wrong..."
She truly found the gold coin tempting, but her dignity as his master wouldn't allow her to accept.
Seeing him sincerely apologize, Roxy awkwardly scratched her cheek and unconsciously looked away.
"In that case... shall we continue?"
"Continue... sure. Continue what?"
"Of course, continue what we were just... uh..."
She'd had so many things she wanted to say that being interrupted made her completely forget where she'd started.
Immediately, she puffed up in annoyance, raised her head, and muttered, "It's all your fault. Now I've forgotten what I wanted to say!"
"My fault?"
"Reflect on yourself properly!"
"Mhm. I'm reflecting."
He calmly nodded with a smile, then pointed at the clothes behind her.
"Oh, by the way, when you were talking about laundry earlier, you were saying dark and light clothes should be washed separately."
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