The Old Veteran's Anti-Attribute: Saving the World with Gags? - The Arrival of the Holy-Attribute Girl and the Manifestation of the Black Blade

The morning sun was just beginning to pierce through the town of Kamado Bashi when work had already started in the kitchen of the rusty Kama Pavilion. Calderon stirred a large pot as he prepared the morning stew. White steam rose up, and the complex aroma of spices drifted throughout the entire kitchen. His movements were the same as yesterday. The same work repeated every day. His left hand supported the pot's handle while his right hand moved the spoon. Faint burn scars were visible, but he paid them no mind. The events of last night felt more distant in the morning light than usual. That black haze. After that, the night had passed without incident, and morning came. Nothing unusual. The burn scar was just an ordinary scar. (Well, it might have just been my imagination.) Calderon thought this to himself as he checked the salt level. Just right. After a while, the front door was knocked on. A customer. An arrival before breakfast was rare. Calderon removed the pot from the fire and stood up, favoring his lower back. When he opened the door, a young girl stood there. She appeared to be in her late teens. About 162 centimeters tall with delicate features. Most striking was her hair—nearly pure white, straight and extending to her waist. When illuminated by light, it shimmered like silk. Her eyes were a transparent water blue, large and gentle in expression. Her clothing was modest. A training robe with white and pale blue as the base colors. A small cross pendant glowed at her neck—the mark of a holy attribute user. "Um, excuse me..." The girl bowed apologetically. Her voice was small and hesitant. "I'm sorry for arriving so early. Um... My name is Selina. I'm training as a holy attribute user..." Selina spoke slowly, choosing her words carefully. Anxiety was evident in her eyes. "My travel funds have run out. Normally I would earn money through the Traveler's Guild, but since I'm still in training..." Selina clasped her hands together and looked at Calderon. Her posture was perfectly polite and respectful. "I would help with laundry, cleaning, anything. Would you please let me stay?" Calderon stared at Selina silently. A holy attribute user in training. In other words, someone being trained at the Six Divine Temples. For such a person to travel without any backing, there must be quite a reason. But he didn't pry. "...Well, it's fine. Your room is at the far end of the second floor. Breakfast is in the dining hall downstairs." Calderon answered flatly. His voice carried no emotional inflection. It was merely a statement of fact. Selina's face brightened instantly. "Thank you so much. Really, thank you!" She bowed repeatedly and entered the inn. Her movements were slightly awkward and stiff. She was probably a bit nervous about her first stay. --- Mid-morning. As Calderon finished clearing the breakfast dishes, Selina had already begun working. She was hanging laundry in the backyard of the inn. Everything from large linen cloths to Calderon's undergarments passed through her hands and were hung to dry. Her movements were careful, spreading each piece of fabric meticulously. Her seriousness came through in every gesture. "You're working hard," Calderon murmured while drawing water from the well. Selina heard him and looked up. "Oh, Calderon sir. I want to be helpful. Even with small things like this." Selina smiled a bit shyly. Her expression was brimming with sincerity. She truly wanted to be useful. "By the way, if you're a holy attribute user, can you use purification magic?" Calderon asked. Selina nodded somewhat uncertainly. "Yes, though I'm still in training... I can at least purify laundry." "Try it." Selina clasped her hands together and began a short incantation. Ancient holy attribute magic words. Calderon had heard them before. "Fiare Lux..." A pale light emanated from Selina's palms. It gently enveloped the laundry, and faint dust particles floated up and disappeared. Simple as far as magic went, but certainly effective. "Hmm, not bad at all," Calderon began to say. At that moment, Selina's gaze shifted to Calderon's left hand. She looked away from the laundry and stared at his arm. Specifically, at the burn scar etched on the back of his left hand. It must have been from over ten years ago. Faint, but definitely still visible. "Um... that burn scar looks painful," Selina said with a genuinely concerned expression. "If you'd like, purification magic might ease it a bit." Selina reached out her hand toward Calderon's left hand out of kindness. There was no hesitation in her movement. Only pure desire to help the other person. "No, I don't need—" Just as Calderon was about to refuse, the pale holy attribute light emanating from Selina's palm touched his burn scar. In that instant. A black blade of light shot out from Calderon's left hand with sharp, tremendous speed. In a moment, it cleanly split an old wooden bucket sitting in the backyard in two. The sound of wood exploding. Fragments scattered through the air. "Kyaaaaaaah!?" Selina shrieked and stumbled backward. Her face had gone pale, her eyes wide with shock and terror. Her left hand trembled finely. But Calderon simply stared at his own left hand without surprise. The black blade had already vanished from his left hand. Without a trace. Only the ordinary burn scar remained. "...So there really is something," Calderon murmured in a low voice. His tone carried a certain calmness. Rather than surprise, it was confirmation. Quiet recognition that a premonition had become reality. Selina was still trembling. With a pale face, she repeated apologies over and over. "I-I'm sorry! I did something strange...!" Her voice was high and strained with remorse. But Calderon answered flatly. "Don't worry about it. It's not your fault." Calderon began cleaning up the split bucket. He gathered the fragments and put them together. His movements were mechanical. "This... there's something in my left hand. I've felt a strange presence since yesterday." Selina looked up and stared at Calderon. Terror still dwelt in her eyes. "But that black blade...!" Selina's voice trembled. "Could it be... an anti-attribute...?" Calderon raised an eyebrow. "Anti-attribute? What's that?" Selina tilted her head. Her confused expression reflected genuine uncertainty. "I don't know the details either, but... I've heard there's a power that opposes the holy attribute..." Calderon's thoughts raced. Anti-attribute. It was a concept he'd rarely heard even among old adventurers. A power that opposed the six attributes that dominated the world. But its details were almost unknown. "Well, never mind," Calderon said. He continued cleaning up the bucket. "Let's eat for now. You must have skipped breakfast." Selina was still trembling from what had happened. Her pure white hair swayed slightly in the breeze. Her eyes were filled with bewilderment at having touched something vast and incomprehensible. Calderon and Selina. Their relationship had changed greatly in that single instant. What had happened was still unknown to anyone. But something had definitely begun to move. And at that moment, a new voice was heard from the inn's entrance. "Yo! Is anyone here!?" It was an energetic, lighthearted voice of a young woman. The owner of that voice had already opened the inn's front door and was entering with heavy footsteps. Selina looked up. "Huh...?"

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Episode 2

Name: The Old Veteran's Anti-Attribute: Saving the World with Gags?
Author: Novelia

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