CHAPTER 6

How to Live as a Hero in the Magical World (6)

The rules Eldarin had laid down were as follows.

One. Anyone who does not work cannot stay in Eldergrove. Naturally, they have no right to eat, either.

Therefore, from 8:40 a.m. to 12:20 p.m., he would help with the fields and garden.

Two. Keep to mealtimes.

Meals would not be served twice. If you wanted to eat, you had to eat when the meal was served.

Breakfast began at 7:30 a.m. Lunch at 12:30 p.m. Dinner at 6:30 p.m.

Three. Tea time is both etiquette and culture. Participate in tea time after meals.

Evening tea, however, was optional.

After hearing all the rules, Kaian asked,

“What happens if I don’t eat?”

“Then you don’t get tea, either.”

In the end, it all boiled down to eating and working on time.

Which meant he’d have to sleep on time, too.

Compared to following the etiquette of a noble household or avoiding getting on his brothers’ nerves, these rules were much simpler and easier.

And I like tea time, too.

Eldarin took an old pocket watch out of her bag and handed it to Kaian.

“Take this. Starting tomorrow, you will need to move according to the schedule, so you should rest for the remainder of today.”

“Got it.”

“…You don’t have to speak so formally. I’m not human. There is no need for such empty formalities as children having to use honorifics with adults or masters and disciples having to maintain a certain degree of formality. However… refrain from shouting. It makes you look rather reckless.”

“Okay.”

Kaian immediately dropped the formal speech and spoke freely.

Eldarin gave him a faint smile before descending the stairs without making a sound, as though she were walking through thin air.

Kaian called out to her in bewilderment.

He couldn’t even get out of bed by himself yet, let alone walk. His condition was so poor that even while eating soup, his hands would tremble and force him to put the spoon down.

“Uh… Wait, you’re just leaving? What about me? A little help… help me down…!”

But he couldn’t bring himself to raise his voice any further.

She had just warned him not to shout, after all.

In the end, Kaian sighed and gave up.

“Guess I’ll have to crawl down.”

Of course, the distance between deciding to do something and actually doing it came with a price far more painful than he had imagined.

“Ugh. Ow. Hngh. Ngh…”

Kaian carefully crawled down the stairs, steeling himself for the days ahead.

Starting tomorrow, I’ll have to work in the fields with this body.

So even if his arms hurt so badly that he had to lick his soup up like a dog, he was determined to finish every last drop.

Kaian barely slept that night.

He was afraid that if he fell deeply asleep, he wouldn’t wake up in time for the mealtimes Eldarin had specified.

“Hmm… I’m getting worried.”

He had no idea how long it would take to reach the kitchen.

He didn’t even know which floor he was on.

Judging by the dim view outside the window, he seemed to be on the third or fourth floor.

Of course, since he had no idea how high each floor was, even that was only a rough guess.

There was only one thing he was certain of.

If I fall, I’m definitely going to meet my maker.

In the end, when the pocket watch showed six in the morning, Kaian got out of bed.

“Ugh… ahh… good grief. Hnnngh.”

He stopped and sat down on the stairs dozens of times, swallowing back tears.

He wiped away the drool that escaped from his mouth from exhaustion more than a dozen times.

He gnawed and gnawed at his sleeve until one side of his shirt was reduced to tatters.

At long last, Kaian reached the first floor.

Thank goodness. At least it was only three floors.

He glanced back.

The elegant wooden staircase, stained with his tears and drool, looked horrifyingly intimidating.

Can I really crawl back up that thing later?

But Kaian soon shook his head and banished the thought.

As he’d learned from his conversation with Eldarin yesterday, it was wiser to worry about later when later actually came.

“Now… I have to find the kitchen.”

Kaian flopped onto the floor and checked the watch.

The hour hand that had been pointing at six had moved to seven.

So it took me an entire hour just to get down three floors. Amazing.

Even so, Kaian felt much more relaxed and at ease than he had moments ago.

He was on level ground.

Kaian solemnly grasped the pocket watch hanging around his neck with one hand.

Then he began rolling across the floor.

Rumble, rumble, rumble.

It wasn’t exactly painless, but it was far easier than crawling down the stairs.

And it was…

Actually, a little fun.

Flat ground is the best…!

That was when it happened.

Tap.

Tap?

Kaian stopped rolling when he felt something catch against his arm.

He lifted his head slightly while remaining facedown, and immediately saw a pair of brown patent-leather shoes.

Huh? I’ve never seen Eldarin wear shoes like these…

A strange mixture of curiosity and unease prickled through his nerves.

Kaian swallowed hard and slowly raised his gaze.

Standing there was an unfamiliar woman dressed in a maid’s uniform the same color as her shoes.

“…”

“…”

Her eyes were a beautiful golden color, like amber, but they were filled with nothing but contempt.

Kaian barely managed to move his stiff tongue enough to greet her.

“…Hello?”

The unfamiliar woman looked as though she might spit on Kaian at any moment.

Just then, Eldarin silently walked past them and greeted the woman.

“Good morning, Amber.”

“Oh, your name is Amber. Nice to meet you.”

“…”

Kaian tried his best to greet her cheerfully, but Amber didn’t respond at all.

Eldarin sat down at the dining table, opened a book, and said,

“Good morning. I’d like a cup of warm tea, Amber.”

“Of course. That’s right. Today is a very good morning.”

“…”

“Ha, ha, ha…”

Kaian put on the most innocent, childlike expression he could manage.

It was one of his secret techniques for reducing the five smacks he would normally receive from his brothers to two.

It worked especially well on my second brother.

But Amber clenched and unclenched her fingers as though trying to restrain her anger, then abruptly turned around and walked away.

Her green hair, grown all the way to her waist and neatly braided into a single plait, swayed behind her.

Like the tail of an angry cat.

“Phew…”

Only after Amber had completely disappeared from sight did Kaian quietly let out a sigh.

He thought peace had finally returned.

But then—

“Oh, Amber. Give Kaian some astragalus tea. Make sure it’s warm.”

Kaian squeezed his eyes shut.

Why did you have to say that?!

At this point, he decided to sit at the table before Amber returned with the tea.

He needed to show at least that much courtesy if he wanted to make up for the horrible first impression he’d just made.

It’ll be a disaster if the unwanted guest becomes someone everyone dislikes, too.

Kaian clenched his teeth and pushed himself up from the floor.

A thin stream of drool ran from his mouth.

Ugh. Amber won’t like seeing that.

He dragged his legs along and casually wiped away the drool with his foot.

Every creaking bone and aching muscle in his body screamed in protest, but he forced himself to move faster.

Move, move! Just ten more steps! Five more! Two more…!

At last, his hand found the chair.

Thump. Scrape.

The moment he finally managed to sit down at the table, Amber brought out the tea.

“Th-thank you.”

Kaian held the teacup with trembling hands.

Oblivious to the tension in the room, Eldarin took a sip of her tea and introduced Amber.

“Amber is the spirit of this house. I lent her the body of a spherical-jointed doll I created so that she could freely use magic. Amber takes care of all the miscellaneous chores around the house, so make sure you are always grateful to her.”

“The spirit of the house…?”

Kaian’s pupils shook even more violently than the teacup in his hands.

A scene flashed through his mind like a passing lantern slide.

I’ll kill you… I’ll burn everything to the ground…!

It had been the day he first arrived at Eldergrove.

He was pretty sure he’d burned quite a lot of things back then…

Kaian broke into a cold sweat as he asked,

“If she’s the spirit of the house… then, before, did I perhaps… here…”

Eldarin gave him a gentle smile.

“You burned it.”

“…I burned it.”

“You did.”

“…”

After having the verdict confirmed beyond all doubt, Kaian’s vision went hazy.

No wonder.

He’d merely been rolling around inside the house, yet she’d been glaring at him so viciously.

So I already ruined my first impression.

Feeling the piercing gaze directed at him from beside him, Kaian took a sip of the astragalus tea.

It was hotter than he’d expected and burned his tongue and the roof of his mouth, but he couldn’t complain.

“Ahk. G-good. It’s good.”

He tried to smile as gently as Eldarin had, but he probably looked more like someone having a seizure.

Amber, however, neither responded nor reacted.

She merely stared at Kaian for a moment before turning around and disappearing into the kitchen.

Kaian’s eyes darted around in confusion as he tried to make sense of it.

What was that? What kind of expression was that supposed to be?

Then his gaze fell on the tea Amber had given him.

It was a clear tea with a faint yellow tint.

She didn’t spit in it… right?

And so began another chapter of Kaian’s life as the youngest member of the household.

After having a simple breakfast, Kaian put on the overalls Eldarin had given him and left the house.

She had even kindly prepared a cane for him.

Kaian gripped the cane tightly, feeling like he wanted to cry.

It would’ve been nice if you’d given me this yesterday…!

Still, this was his first time leaving the house since coming to Eldergrove.

With a secret flutter of excitement in his heart, Kaian followed Eldarin outside.

What kind of place is this? I hope it isn’t too big. It’ll be hard to walk around if it is.

The moment he stepped outside the front door, however, Kaian couldn’t help but let out a cry of astonishment.

“Woooow…!”

Endless waves of gold stretched out before his eyes.

Kaian’s voice trembled faintly.

“W-what is all this?”

“Rice.”

Kaian glanced up at Eldarin.

Now that he thought about it, his mountain-goat elf master seemed a little oblivious.

How could she not know what that scenery was?

The Valancia Empire, where he had lived, was the greatest granary in the world.

That wasn’t what Kaian had meant by his question.

“Yesterday, you said I’d have to work in the fields and garden…”

“I did.”

Kaian looked up at Eldarin with the most pitiful expression he could manage.

“Then… do I have to harvest all of that?”

“Don’t worry. The rice still needs more time to ripen. For now, I’ll teach you how to work the fields.”

Eldarin answered with an expression so impassive that it looked as though not even a single drop of blood would come out if someone stabbed her.

Kaian immediately frowned.

Even the tears that had been about to well up vanished.

“…This is patient abuse.”

“Hmph. You’ll be thanking me soon enough.”

Eldarin nodded with absolute confidence.

The Eldergrove she had created was a space where mana flowed in a state far purer and more balanced than that of the outside world.

It was an ideal environment, one that any mage would marvel at upon entering and never want to leave.

That was Eldergrove.

But judging by Kaian’s reaction, he wasn’t perceiving the mana here at all.

Hmm. As I suspected, perhaps it’s because he unconsciously awakened his inner world?

Ordinarily, humans awakened their magical power between the ages of twelve and fifteen.

Eldarin considered it a miracle in itself that Kaian had unconsciously awakened his inner world while in a dangerous situation.

If it’s not a miracle… then it must be talent.

Kaian had used magic without being able to perceive mana.

Mana was the source of magical power.

By common sense, it was impossible to use magic without being able to perceive mana.

And yet Kaian had accomplished the impossible.

Yes. He has extraordinary talent, but… from this point onward, I need to make him adapt to mana in as short a time as possible.

That would also allow him to repair his inner world more quickly.

While Eldarin was lost in her thoughts, Kaian hesitantly spoke in a small voice.

“…I’m already grateful.”

Eldarin blinked.

…This human child is more thoughtful than I expected.

But she didn’t say it aloud.

Kaian and Eldarin, two people who were equally hopeless when it came to communicating with others, stood side by side and gazed out across the golden plains.

Kaian unconsciously let out a sigh.

“Phew…!”

In the end, he decided to accept his fate.

Perhaps Eldarin had never intended to raise a hero in the first place.

Maybe she’d been planning to raise a farmer.

Right. Even if she’s a mage, anyone with fields this enormous is going to need extra hands…

Kaian let out another deep sigh and turned around to close the front door.

But the moment he saw the exterior of the house, he couldn’t help but gasp in astonishment once again.

“Wooooah…!”