Chapter 1

"Wow, the prices here are so high!"

People who occasionally visit the magic bookshop at the entrance of the slum next to the pleasure district of the capital city say this and leave.

"If I sold at low prices, I'd be too busy to handle it."

The shop owner, Margin, grumbled while twiddling his thumbs.

Well, no sales today again. Maybe I'll go for a drink. Despite the continuous days of no sales, Margin closed the shop early and went out for a drink without a care.

"Here you are, drinking at this hour again? You should work harder."

The waitress, Rika, greeted Margin with a disapproving look. She is the signboard girl with a red ponytail that suits her well. The restaurant is named after her, Rika's Diner.

"I'm contributing to the sales, so don't complain."

"You only order cheap drinks, so you're not contributing to the sales. Order some food once in a while."

"I can't pay for bad food."

"Who dares to call the food made by our boss bad?"

The robust proprietress, Mille, Rika's mother, came out from the back.

"J-just kidding. Ah, the food made by the boss is so good."

"It's not just good, it's delicious."

The proprietress scolded Margin, who tried to bluff his way out. Following her was the boss, Dad, a former hunter with a scarred and muscular body.

"Boss, don't scold me like that. You know I can't afford to order food because I have no money."

"Tch, you're a pain. Here, don't just drink without eating anything."

"Father, don't be so lenient."

The boss, though tough-looking, is a good-natured person. When there are no other customers, he serves free meals even if you don't order any food.

"Hehe, the boss is scary-looking but kind."

"The scary face is just extra. Is this wine fine?"

"Yeah, this is fine."

The boss served him simmered offal and red wine, then went back to the kitchen after serving the food and drink.

"You, if you're going to eat for free, at least do the dishes."

"Sure, sure, I understand."

Margin replied to Rika and secretly cast a spell on the red wine. It's one of the living spells he created, a spell to make the alcohol taste better. There's also a spell to make the food taste better, but the boss's free meals are delicious even without it.

"You always twirl your fingers over the glass before drinking. Is that some kind of spell?"

Rika sat across from him, resting her elbow on the table, watching Margin's gesture.

"Y-yeah, I'm thanking the gods for the daily bread."

"Really? They do that in your hometown?"

Margin is not from this country. He came from somewhere and settled down. In this country, foreigners are allowed to live and do business if they pay a higher tax.

"Sure. Look, other customers are coming, go to work."

"I don't want to be told to work by you."

Rika turned her back on Margin and went to take the order of the newly arrived customer.

Margin finished the free simmered offal with red wine and headed to the kitchen.

"Boss, don't pile up so many dishes."

The washing area was cluttered with dishes from last night and today.

"You're going to wash them anyway. Here, do it quickly."

"Sure, sure."

Margin used the dishwashing spell to clean and put away the piled-up dishes.

"Still, it's impressive every time I see it."

"Right? I think 3 million G for this spell is cheap. Boss, how about getting one?"

"Idiot, you know the average spending per customer here. Can I afford 3 million G just to wash dishes?"

"It's a one-time investment, so it's cheap."

"Shut up. I'll buy it for 300 G."

The currency value in this country is almost the same as yen. So, the dishwashing spell book is sold for 3 million yen in Margin's shop.

"Done. Thanks for the free meal. It was delicious."

Margin quickly finished the dishes and waved to the boss as he left the kitchen.

"Thanks always."

The boss muttered. For a bar, washing dishes is quite a heavy task. Drawing water from the well and cleaning each dish takes a lot of time. With Margin's spell, it takes only about 5 minutes, and the dishes come out as good as new.

"Are you coming again tomorrow?"

The proprietress called out to Margin as he came out of the kitchen.

"Probably."

"Then I'll leave the dishes for you."

"Sure, sure."

The once empty shop was now overflowing with customers. It's a popular place, though the clientele isn't the best, because it's cheap.

"Disgusting. Margin, are you going to the pleasure district again? If you have money to buy women, you should eat a good meal."

Rika said this as she watched Margin leave the shop.

"He's in his prime, so it can't be helped."

"Really, he's such a no-good."

Rika, while kicking a customer who touched her, often looked at Margin, who headed to the pleasure district every day, with a disapproving face.

~This is the story of a former great sage who was not remembered in legend.~