On the day he handed the magic meter to Noah, he seemed to be quite excited.
　To the untrained eye, he maintained his calm and collected image of a butler, and didn't show any signs of it at all, but inwardly he seemed to be very excited, and in his spare time, he took out a notepad different from the one he used for work, and alternately stared at the magic meter.


　I guess that's what you call a mage.
　It seems that the magic meter was a revolutionary invention, and he even said, "It's wonderful," or "It will greatly improve my spell creation.


　It was a sudden change in his employment, but he seems to have become a reasonably satisfactory master as a squire. From time to time, he would ask, "Isn't there anything else interesting you can do? I wish he would stop treating people like surprise boxes, but anyway.


　With Noah's arrival, my daily workload has been greatly reduced.
　I've been able to clean my room, which I used to do by myself.
　I have to arrange for proper meals and laundry.
　He even prepares my clothes.
　She's a hard worker, she's perfect at her job, and once she walks, the female servants in the house will scream in yellow.
　She's superhuman. He was so perfect as a butler that even if you told me he wasn't actually human, I would have believed it.


　In addition to that, he is also trained in sword fighting as part of his acquisition of physical ...... skills.
　He is currently facing Noah with a wooden sword in the rented yard of Crabbe's mansion.
　The kata is in the Kingdom style of fine sword fighting, which is common in the Kingdom. It is a style of fighting that uses thrusts in a similar way to Western swordsmanship in the men's world.


　The body is turned sideways into a half stance, and the right hand holding the weapon is held out in front of the body. The tip of the sword is aimed at the opponent and does not move, but concentrates on the action of the opponent.
　Then begins the sword fight or thrusting match.


Shoo!

Shoo!" "......


　In contrast to his own awkward movements, Noah's sword work is sharp. And the tip of the blade extends beyond the predicted reach.
　It was such an absurd technique that you would believe it even if you were told that the weapon he was holding was actually a completely different one, a magical sword that could be extended and retracted at will.


　He tried to pay for his pain, but even that didn't hit him.
　He twisted his waist and tried to turn sideways, but was met with a response.
　He tried to pull back his legs and jump out immediately after, but his movement was not good enough and he was forced to open the distance.


Here!

"Huh!


　If it was just shouting, you would get a good score, but of course an eight-year-old boy is no match for him.
　Soon, Noah put the tip of his wooden sword to his throat.


　This is the tenth time this has happened.
　This is the tenth time he's done this, and the fact that he's going easy on Noah shows just how strong he is.


　...... As you can see from Noah's movements, the physical abilities of the people in this world are incredible.
　If you're looking for the best of the best, you're going to have to go with the best.


　If I had been that man, I might have said, "That's what I call a fantasy world.
　He sits there, his breath coming in short gasps.
　He sits there, breathless, and all he says is honest praise.


Noah is so strong.

Noah is so strong." "He can't be behind Lord Arx. If I do, Crabbe will tell me I need to re-train.

Uncle, is he good with a sword?

Let's just say he's not just good with a sword, he's good with everything.

What?


　He was a successful mage and a skilled swordsman. He's a successful mage, a skilled swordsman, and he's in charge of an army. It's all a scam. Uncle Crabbe seems to be a really strong character.


　Noah reaches out his hand to pull him up.
　He grabs it and stands up.


"Mr. Arx. If I may be so bold, may I ask you a question?

"Yes?　What?

"Master Arx, you seem to be forcing yourself to do the movements you are thinking about. Your thoughts are spinning out of control and your body is not keeping up.

I see. ......

I think you've been trying to do some crazy things from time to time, but I don't think that's a good idea.

Yeah. ......

In order to become stronger, it is essential to master the basic movements. The movements are not bad, so let's train steadily first.


　I nodded in response to his offer to work on the basics.
　Apparently, Noah's words indicate that he is not completely devoid of talent.


　But--


(It's not like I was trying to do anything crazy earlier. ......)


　That's what I think, but that's how it seemed to Noah.
　But that's understandable. In fact, I'm trying to perform the movements of the man I remember in my head with my little body. The movements would inevitably be half-intelligible, and it would look as if he was trying to do something unusual.


(I guess I'll have to wait until I'm big enough to do it.


　In my life as a man, I have been practicing sword fighting since I was a child, but as my body grew, I became able to perform various movements.
　So I guess I'm not ready yet.


　............ After training with Noah, I returned home to the Raytheft family compound.
　As I walked down the hallway, I suddenly saw Lisha.


　As usual, her silver hair was tied up in a ponytail with a blue ribbon, and she was wearing a skirt. Despite being the heiress of a noble family, she was not dressed in comfortable clothes but in a pretty outfit, which was probably her mother Celine's taste.


　I call out to her, swaying the edge of her skirt as she walks demurely toward me.


Good morning, Lisha.

"............, good morning, brother.


　I'm not sure if it's a good idea, but it's a good idea.


　Immediately, Lisha looks at the back of the corridor and around the corner - and breathes a sigh of relief.


'I'm sorry, brother.

No, no, no. What's wrong?

Well, Father and Mother told me to stay away from you. ......

Oh, yeah?


　You know, the usual. The usual. Parents' overzealous restriction of contact.
　In the past, it was just a warning, but if you break that rule again, they'll tell you what to do. I don't think there's anything wrong with this kind of unexpected encounter, but those are my parents. I can't guarantee it.


Are you always talking bad about me?

Yes. That ...... brother is a disgrace to the House of Raytheft, and that incompetence is contagious if you go near him.

"......, I see.


　I don't think so. Apparently, they want to believe in the existence of an imaginary "incompetence germ".
　This is the ultimate in hate. I don't care, because I already don't feel sad or anything, but I want to tell them not to involve Lisha in it.


　Anyway, I'm just happy that I'm being nice to Lisha.
　However, I suspect that she will be especially strict only when I am involved.
　I can see that from her fear of me.


"Lisha, you can be cold to me from now on. "Lisha, you can be cold to me from now on, though I'd like you to be normal when we're alone, if possible.

But... ......

It's okay.

............


　Lisha was silent for a few moments, then nodded her head and sank into a sad sob.
　But it can't be helped. If we don't do this outwardly, Lisha could get into a lot of trouble.
　There's nothing we can do about this situation now.
　The only thing we can do is to be quiet and save our strength.


(I did say I would look back at ............, though.)


　Perhaps father Joshua has high hopes for Lisha.
　Although his birth (Arx) was not good, he still has education.
　He will try to raise Risha into a mage worthy of being his heir and show her to the world.


　If he were to let it be known that he was getting more powerful, then there was a chance that he would turn on Lisha. She would be pressured and might take it out on her.
　Of course, this is only if your own ability is greater than Lisha's, but it would be better not to create a situation where you are compared too much.


　I was thinking that I should be careful about that in the future, when I suddenly remembered something.


Happy birthday, Lisha. Wasn't it about four days ago?

"Yes. Thank you very much.

So, I'll start with .......


　Then you take a card case out of your pocket.
　He couldn't go to see Lisha himself, but he always carried it with him, hoping that they would meet by chance, or that Lisha would come to see him under the watchful eyes of his parents.


"This is my birthday present.

"Brother, what's this?


　Lisha scrutinized the card case she received.


"It's called playing cards.


　I explain to Risha about the ...... cards.
　Of course, this was made using the man's knowledge. For Lisha's birthday, I thought I'd give her a gift, so I came up with a card toy, which is not common in this world.


　Naturally, she couldn't draw very well, so the cards were full of symbols.


　Unlike myself, she is the heiress of the family, so she frequently participates in social activities with other families.
　She may have made some friends through this relationship, and it is likely that she will have no trouble finding people to play with this.


I've included a sheet of paper with instructions on how to play, so please read it. Let's play together later.

"Yes!　See you later!


　Lisha was so happy with her gift that she smiled brightly.