It is now the end of October. Allen was in the garden that surrounded the lord's mansion. The garden was beautifully landscaped by the gardener. There is a tree growing in front of him. Overhead, there is a large crop of red fruit.

　Allen remembers the day he became a servant of House Granvelle.
　He and his lord, the Baron de Granvelle, traveled five days to the city of Granvelle to reach the lord's mansion.

　I stayed in the village where Rodin and Teresia were born and raised, two days from the village of Krena, but I never met Allen's grandparents. I hope to meet them eventually.

　When he arrived at the lord's house, Baron Granville was greeted by his servants. There were about thirty servants.

　The steward's instructions were to learn the job from the servant-general Rikker. Rikker is a young man with freckles and brown hair, about 18 years old. But he reminded me that his approach to work should not be emulated. Apparently, Rickel seems to be quite lazy.

　Servant Rikker doesn't do much work, but he seems to take good care of his men. He teaches me everything. He tells me things I haven't heard.

　He'll tell you everything, so I asked him about the servant. What's the difference between a servant and a maid?

　According to Rickel, they're quite different.

　The servants have a hierarchy according to their position. A steward is naturally high in the hierarchy of servants, and a servant is not. Making a note in his grimoire, he wrote down the hierarchy of the servants from top to bottom. This is the hierarchy of the 30 or so servants in Granvell's house.

The butler and housekeeper
Squires, maidservants, and head chef
Gyoja (horse groom), cook, gardener
Servants and maidservants

　Senior servants, from the butler to the housekeeper, attendants, maidservants, and even the head chef. I was told that they are high up and should be listened to carefully.
　The steward is in charge of the male servants. The housekeeper is in charge of the female servants.

　The lowly servants range from the groom, the cook, the gardener, the maidservant and the maidservant.

　It was said that a maid is not a servant. A maid is a maid. He is like a maid.

　After the hierarchy of servants, he told me about the noble family. A family?　And wondering, because Allen was reincarnated in this world from another world. The scope of family in this world, especially for the nobility, is different from Allen's common sense.

　A nobleman's family even includes his servants.

　Hearing that much, I could tell that Rodin was so happy that he cried. Allen could now call himself House Granvelle. You are now a member of House Granvelle.

　Not even a commoner can be a squire easily. Nor is it easy to be a dwarf, I'm told. From serf to serf, he became a servant. It was the baron Granville's greatest reward for saving the village and helping it grow.


(Yes, I should be grateful for that.)

　As I remind myself of the servant status Rikker taught me.

Hey, Allen!　Stand up! You're my servant!　You can't reach it!

　Baron Granville's daughter, Cecile, is cradling her head. Somehow I have Cecile on my shoulders near a tree in the garden. It's called a shoulder carriage. Her thighs are on my shoulders.

　Cecil brought me to the garden. He told me to come to the garden, staring into his squinting, lusty crimson eyes. I thought I'd get beaten up. He told me to ride his shoulders because he wanted to get this fruit.

　They're late fall berries. I've never eaten them, but they look so big and delicious. No adult could reach them. I'm trying to carry them on my shoulders, but they never reach me.

"Young lady Cecil, I can't reach it. I think you'd better put your foot on my shoulder.

That's right. If you drop me, I'll be d*mned!　I'm going to tell your father!

(I want to forget everything and drop it)

　When Cecil found out that Allen and he were the same age, he got involved in something. He asked the butler why he was so often involved.

　According to the butler, Sebas, at Cecil's request, Allen became Cecil's servant. The butler told me to do my best. The look in his eyes was one of compassion. All I could do was sigh.

　In a slow motion, from the shoulder-carriage position, place the soles of your feet on your shoulders. Stand up slowly, keeping your balance. Allen holds his ankles to keep Cecil from falling.



What do you think, Miss Cecil?

And you're out of reach. I can't reach you!

(Give it up)

"Well, how about that, then, I'll lift it up by the ankles?

"Hmm?　Yes, slowly up.

　Take your ankles and lift them slowly. I can see something loose, or maybe it was pumpkin pants, but I don't feel anything. You don't feel anything for an eight-year-old girl, not that she was 35 years old in a past life.

What do you think?

　There's the sound of ripping off a branch or something.

And I've got one!　Bring it down slowly.

　Bring it down slowly with a crawl. A bright red nut is held in your hand.

　With a smile, Cecil proudly holds the fruit. Maybe you've always wanted to have them one day.

　You wipe the fruit with your sleeve. Then she takes a bite and begins to eat them. I watch her eat the fruit, thinking that the young lady is tomboyish. She's chewing them with a crunching sound.

　The smile on her face changes quickly.

Pow!　Well, not good!　It's sour!

　Apparently it was quite sour. The nuts that he had worked so hard to get were smashed on the ground. If you look closely, you'll see that there are numerous rotten nuts on the ground. The gardener never seems to get them either. They must be inedible.

Well, as they say, berries that don't reach the ground are sour.

"I don't know about that!　You know you can't eat that!　Allen

"Knowing ....... No, I didn't know.

(Watch out, I almost said, I don't know.)

Yeah, well, okay. I need a palate cleanser. I need some poppies. You need to go to the kitchen and get some from the kitchen. If there aren't any, I'll go to the market.

(Guess that wasn't the case)

　Then immediately and head to the kitchen. Sure enough, the head chef tells me that it's not there. It's a done deal. I'll talk to the butler and get the silver. We won't pay for the popos with our own money.

　You'll head to the marketplace through the back gate used by the servants in the lord's hall. You're basically told not to use the front gate.

(But that's a good thing. It looks like you can get to town.)

　A servant is a chore. I do everything, take care of things around here. Rikker told me how often he'd be asked to do errands.

　The lord's house is deep in the city of Granville. When you come out of the mansion, you'll first find the houses of knights and barons, and the noblemen's quarters where the most powerful people in town live. The market is just beyond the nobleman's quarters. It will take you nearly two hours to walk one way.

　Unlike the village of Krena, there's a wide variety of fruits on display.

I'll take one of these poppies, please.

Yes, a silver one.

　I thought I'd buy several, but I only need one. The lady doesn't seem to spend a fortune on her own.

Fruit and a silver coin? But is the price the same in Krsna and Granville?

　Going home with just one basket of popo nuts.

There was a lot of fruit. I wonder if there's an orchard near here. But it's going to be cold from now on. Do fruits grow in winter in other worlds?

　I've been in another world for eight years. Suddenly the question arises. I realized that I was still caught up in the common sense of the real world. Come to think of it, in this world, the same fruits were sold in stores in summer and winter.

　It's already November and we can get the same fruits as in summer. I remember that in December in the village of Krsna, I could get popo nuts and mormo nuts. I wondered if there was an orchard nearby that produced fruit even in winter.


　Zugogogogog!


　I heard a roar from the heavens. In an instant, it's as if we've entered the shade. Something big is flying in the sky. Even without looking, its size and presence make me think it's a dragon. I look up at the sky.



"Eh, it's an airship!

　You can't help but shout. In the sky, there is a rugby ball or ham-like oval ship flying dozens or even a hundred meters in the sky. It is slowly descending, as if its landing were on the side of the city.

　The sheer size of the ship makes my heart skip a beat for some reason.

(So there is an airship in the world. Could it be that these fruits come from the tropics too?

　That's when Allen felt the vastness of the world from his giant airship. He remembered his father pointing out Albaheron to him when he was one year old.

　In the city of Granvelle, which was much larger than the village, Allen's life as a servant would begin.