The Life I Refuse to Waste

"Come in."

CREAK

The door slowly opened, and Hera stepped inside carrying a tray of food with both hands. She walked a few steps into the room, glanced toward the bed and then the table, before finally looking at Zeldryn, who was still sitting in his chair.

"Would you like me to put this on the table or the bed, Lord?"

Zeldryn glanced at the tray in her hands.

"Just put it on the table."

Hera gave a small nod, then walked past the side of the bed and approached the table where Zeldryn was sitting. She slowly set the tray down.

CLACK

But just as she was about to pull her hands away, Hera's gaze accidentally stopped on Zeldryn.

"..."

The black clothes he was wearing were sticking slightly to his body, while sweat still covered his neck and part of his face.

"My apologies, Lord."

Zeldryn looked over at her.

"Would you like to bathe today?"

"..."

Zeldryn fell silent.

'Wait... right.'

Only after Hera mentioned it did he realize there was one habit he hadn't thought about at all since arriving in this world.

'I haven't taken a bath once since I got here.'

'I haven't even changed my clothes much either, except for that night when I passed out and somehow woke up wearing sleepwear.'

Zeldryn looked down at his clothes. Black, neat, and in his opinion, way too luxurious for something he simply wore while walking around the mansion.

'But that's weird too.'

'Why don't I feel like I smell at all?'

His brows furrowed slightly.

'Is it because this body has been used to it since childhood?'

In his previous life, taking a shower twice a day was something he barely even had to think about. Once in the morning, then again in the afternoon or at night.

But ever since arriving in this world...

Strangely enough, the habit hadn't even crossed his mind.

"..."

Zeldryn thought back to what Hera had just said.

'But she asked if I wanted to bathe today...'

'So bathing every day really isn't normal here.'

It wasn't that strange. This world was obviously far removed from the modern life he used to know.

But Zeldryn still had no idea what the usual standard was here, so instead of continuing to guess, he looked directly at Hera.

"Before I lost my memories, how often did I usually bathe?"

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"Usually once every two or three days, Lord."

"..."

Zeldryn's body lifted slightly from the chair.

'Once every two or three days...'

He really hadn't expected that.

"If even a noble bathes that often, what about ordinary people?"

Hera went quiet for a moment, then lowered her gaze slightly.

"F-For servants, hunters, farmers, or ordinary people... if they're lucky, maybe once a week, Lord."

Zeldryn waited for her to continue.

"But there are also people who only bathe once every two to four weeks."

"..."

Zeldryn slowly nodded.

'Damn.'

A few things he had once read on the internet about life in times like this immediately came back to him.

Apparently, at least some of it really wasn't that far off.

'Tch... why do protagonists in novels and comics never bathe or change their clothes anyway?'

'Don't they smell?'

"..."

Zeldryn fell silent for a moment.

'But now that I think about it...'

'I forgot about bathing too.'

'If Hera hadn't reminded me, I probably still wouldn't have noticed.'

The corner of his lips moved slightly before he looked back at Hera.

"I'll bathe this afternoon. But don't disturb me until then. I still have something to do."

Hera immediately nodded.

"Understood, Lord. Then I'll excuse myself."

Zeldryn nodded, and Hera turned around, walked toward the door, then left the room.

CLICK

The door closed again.

"..."

Zeldryn let out a slow breath.

'Hufft... I need to make some progress.'

'At the very least, I need to figure out how to fuse two pieces of mana into one.'

His gaze returned to the air in front of the table.

A single golden mana particle slowly came under his control. This time, he didn't immediately start experimenting. He simply moved it left, right, slightly upward, then back down while continuing to search for another approach.

One minute passed.

Two minutes.

Three minutes.

"..."

Still nothing.

Zeldryn started to frown.

'If I just keep imagining them fusing without actually understanding what happens during the process, I probably won't get anywhere.'

The particle was still moving slowly in front of him when that now-familiar sensation suddenly returned.

His Mana Hole was starting to feel dry again.

'Tch... again?'

Zeldryn stopped moving the particle, closed his eyes, then opened the gate of his Mana Hole.

Slowly, the golden mana around him began to get pulled inside one particle at a time.

"..."

Even while absorbing mana, his mind kept working.

'What exactly is melting?'

'Melting, huh...'

He tried digging through whatever he could remember.

Metal.

Fire.

Solids.

Liquids.

But the more he thought about it, the more different images appeared, and he had no idea which one would actually help.

A few minutes later, his Mana Hole slowly began to feel full again.

Zeldryn immediately closed the gate and opened his eyes.

'Let's try again.'

His hand had barely started to move when suddenly...

GROARR

"..."

Zeldryn immediately went quiet, then slowly looked down at his stomach.

'Ah...'

'Looks like I should eat first.'

He clicked his tongue softly.

'Thinking while hungry really is difficult, shit.'

His gaze shifted toward the tray Hera had brought earlier.

There was chicken, a few vegetables, bread, and a glass of water.

Zeldryn pulled the tray closer and started eating eagerly.

"..."

He had already eaten a few pieces of chicken when his hand moved toward the glass to take a drink.

Then his gaze suddenly stopped on the water inside.

His hand stopped as well.

'Hmm...'

Zeldryn stared at the surface of the water while continuing to chew.

'If this water is actually made up of tiny separate parts, how can all of them stay joined together like this?'

He kept staring at the glass.

'If two separate bits of water move closer to each other, they'll immediately become one bigger piece.'

"..."

Zeldryn put down the chicken in his hand, then picked up the glass.

He poured a small amount of water onto the table.

A small puddle formed.

Then he poured a little more several fingers away from the first one.

Now there were two separate patches of water.

"..."

Zeldryn put the glass down, then slowly pushed one of the puddles toward the other with the tip of his finger.

Little by little...

Until they finally touched.

The instant they came into contact, the two small puddles merged into one.

"..."

Zeldryn went silent.

His gaze remained fixed on the water on the table for several seconds.

Then...

Something suddenly connected in his mind.

'Wait...'

He leaned forward slightly.

'They can merge immediately because they're both liquid.'

His thoughts instantly returned to the four pieces of mana he had failed to fuse earlier.

All this time, he had been imagining those pieces as things with a fixed form.

'And melting...'

Zeldryn's eyes slowly widened.

'If you want to melt something solid, then first you have to turn it into a liquid.'

"..."

'Once it's liquid, you combine it.'

'Then make it solid again.'

The corner of Zeldryn's lips slowly rose, and his smile grew wider and wider.

'Shit... I think I finally found the answer.'

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