sevens - 3 - the third generation… perhaps he was actually quite dark

7/25/2019 Sevens - 3 - The Third Generation Perhaps He Was Actually Quite Dark

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Prologue

TL: start of a new volume, so recap to an extent.

The Bahnseim Kingdoms capital city, Centralle.

Befitting of the capital city of the empire, it was a metropolis rimming with

people.

!ts said that all the people and products of the country gather there, ut

loo"ing at its difference in scale from the other cities, one would have no

choice ut to accept that fact.

Centralle was a city filled with a mix of pretty main roads, and old and

gloomy ac" alleyways.

!n a place li"e that, !, the!diotic #ole Brat of $alien, Lyle %alt, my

former fianc&e#ovem 'orxu(, and the one who ecame comrades with us

in $alien, a city nice to newie adventurers, )ria Loc"wardemade a stop

on our travels.

'rom my position as a #oles son, ! made a complete change, ecame an

adventurer, and went to the capital to prepare to head to whatever town we

would set as our next home.

%hile Centralle was in the center of the country, it wasnt a city friendly to

adventurers.

!ts ecause they couldnt have their scarce *o mar"et e put to feeding saidadventurers.

The pulic safety was maintained y the soldiers and "nights, so there was

arely anywhere left for adventurers to get a turn.

+ven if wor" did come up, it would e for a well"nown adventurer ta"ing on


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the wor" of some nole or merchant.

The rest of the lot could only arely scrape y.

!n a city li"e that, masses of people came and went, and the streets were well

cared for.!n order to migrate to another part of the land, it was -uite a convenient place

to stop y.

%ith right rown hair tied in a side ponytail, #ovem was sitting drin"ing

aftermeal tea in the store we stopped y for lunch.

er pale s"in and violet eyes seemed to suc" one in.

!f there was anything ! had to rag aout, it would e this wellputtogetherformer fianc&e #ovem.

But perhaps she was a little too devoted, as she was truly trying to actuali(e

the harem plan ! voiced as a lie.

)s perfect as she was, could it e there was something out of place

somewhere/

#ovem, and the other0

%ith red hair grown out to her ac" that curled up out of hait, there was

)ria.

%e met when ! was to su*ugate a andit rigade, and from then, she started

ta"ing action alongside us. The comrade we gained in $alien.

The two girls and !, the three of us were seated around a round tale at a

snac" food shop.

)fter finishing our meal, we started to tal" aout the information we had

gathered.

! went up first.

1!ve gone around, and loo"ed at the weapons and armor, ut ! still thin" it


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may e a it too early for us to head to the free city of Beim. The

shop"eepers all informed me that efore going there, ! etter pile up some

more s"ill.2

Beim was a city ruled y merchants, and its aundance of *os made it an

easy place for an adventurer to live.

But at the same time, the areas out of the scope of merchants had a tendency

to have a lac" of pulic order.

%ithout enough experience, if we were to head to Beim, then young

adventurers li"e us would soon e loo"ed upon as prey. The possiility was

high.

! have the confidence to get ac" at whoever would do such a thing, ut

raising a ruc"us wouldnt e to my advantage.

#ovem agreed.

1! am the same. ! was shopping with )riasan, ut it sound li"e Beim will e

rough. 3ur lac" of numers is another prolem they spo"e of.2

'or adventurers, a group of three was on the lesser side.

#umers are power, and that alone would ma"e an opponent hesitate to play

their hand.

owever, teenage adventurers with scarce numers li"e us had a tendency to

e targeted.

)ria was the same.

1They told me that a young girly li"e me shouldnt set foot in there as anadventurer. ) large numer of mercenary rigades set up residence there, and

there are plenty of people there who shouldnt e approached.2

!t was definitely true it was an easy place for adventurers, ut the sac" of

pulic safety was *ust as true.


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But for adventurers, heading to Beim was an unavoidale trial. ) ma*ority of

famous adventurers received their calls to fame while wor"ing there.

3f course, its not li"e my end goal was to succeed as an adventurer.

0 4ore so, ! didnt have a goal in general.! simply wor"ed as one in order to live, and the earnings werent all too ad.

But ! dont plan on going on li"e this.

15ince its come to this, well put Beim on hold. +ven if were to go, it would

e etter if we gathered up numers first. )nyways, we *ust need to *oin in a

party with ade-uate numers.2

)s ! said that, #ovem showed some disapproval.

!ts not rare for parties of two or three to act together. 4any adventurers

cooperate on *os, and dont get involved with each other in other matters.

But it loo"s li"e #ovem was opposed.

1!m against it. The leader of this party is Lylesama. But spea"ing to our age,

oth you and ! are ut of fifteen years. !t we are to lin" with another group,

we will definitely e treated as inferiors.2

)nd )ria whispered something unrelated.

10 !m sixteen, you "now02

1!s that so/ !m counting on you from here on as well, )riasan.2

!t loo"s li"e #ovem wouldnt allow anyone ut me to e the leader.

!n the city of $alien, our experienced advisor taught us -uite a few things.!n a period of three months, we hammered the experience that would uild

our foundations into our odies.

But in the end, it was ut the foundations.

1!f merging with another party is impossile, then0 the only option left is to


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invite people into our own. $o you thin" there are that many adventurers who

want to enter our party/2

%e were all generally young.

6ather than the prime of our lives, we were in the prime of our growth.!f they uy into our future prospects, perhaps our comrades will increase, ut

the usual pattern is that its the party with greater numers that ta"es in the

younger memers in order to increase the power of the next generation.

7arties made up of only young people dont have it that easy.

1Considering that, should we *ust head to the city of scholars/ )rumsaas

has a large lirary, and !ve heard it has numerous private schools andtraining halls. There are campuses for study, and they ta"e in a wide variety

of youths.2

earing that, it sounded as if going there would e li"e commuting to school.

!m the same, ut #ovem was orn into a #ole ouse.

5tarting with reading and writing, shes received a proper education.

)ria didnt have prolems with the three 6s either. 'or arguments sa"e, she

even committed eti-uette to heart.

15o well e applying to learn speciali(ed fields/ !t will e hard to find the

time and money for that. !ve no intention to commute to a school for years.2

)s ! said that, #ovem shoo" her head.

1There is no need for us to enroll. They call out to those whove graduated

formal education, and those aiming to find adventurer wor" in the city of

scholars as well.2

5atisfied with that, )ria nodded a few times.

1Come to thin" of it, the leftover "ids of imperial noles also enroll there.

Li"e second and third sons not succeeding their houses, or second and third


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daughters and the li"e. 8ou often hear of them going to get some s"ills to

carry out governmental wor". 3f course, therere also some stories of them

failing, and changing to adventurers or mercenaries.2

#ovem too" over )rias explanation.

1!f there are youths there with an extent of "nowledge, experience and

techni-ue, then how aout we try recruiting at )rumsaas/ %e arent in any

sort of hurry, so we can even study while doing guild wor".2

earing that, )ria started tal"ing as if she had rememered something.

1)rumsaas is the city of scholars, so ! heard in the past that they were full of

really strange re-uests. )lso, there are plenty of adventurers there li"e us.

5earching for comrades, or staying in order to search for a party. Those sorts

of people are numerous.2

aving heard oth of their opinions, ! egan considering whether it was est

to set out there.

There, a voice came from the lue 9ewel hanging on my nec".

9ewel0 they recorded the single 5"ills that manifested in individuals, and

transmit them. )s a gem, this one recorded a total of eight 5"ills.

The 9ewel was a tool that held the function to teach the stages of a 5"ill a

gem could not, and also whatever other useful applications the 5"ill held.

The lue one in my possession had a characteristic of causing 5upport Class

5"ills to emerge.

The red rem around )rias nec" was for anguard Class.

)nd 8ellow ;ems recorded 6eadguard Class 5"ills.

ers was a gem, ut once they turn to 9ewels, a large change comes aout.

Lirary, is it0 in my time, the city of scholars wasnt a thing. ! thin" it was

Town of 5ages/ !t was called a gathering of igoted old men ac" then.


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The one ! heard was the Third ;eneration.

The Third ;eneration ead of the provincial nole %alt ouse, 5leigh

%alts voice.

6ight.

The memories stored in the memories of the 5"ills, their hearts0 those were

what transmitted the ways to use the 5"ills.

3' course, that wasnt *ust a good thing.

5il"y lond hair that hung down to his shoulders.

%hile the %alt ouse currently held Count 5tatus, ac" in the Third

;enerations time, it was at Baron level0

'rom the lowest "night class, it was *ust one ran" higher.

e was a man who left his name in history as one who safeguarded the

retreat of a "ing, ut0 ! cant thin" of this person as anything so righteous.

e loo"ed stylish, and he was always smiling. %ith lond hair and lue eyes,

he loo"ed li"e a good tempered older rother.

That was the impression he gave off.

'ollowing on from the Third ;eneration, ! heard the 'ourths voice.

8ou really do love oo"s. !f only you ran your internal affairs with so much

(eal when you were alive.

3n the 'ourths remar" "neaded with sarcasm, the Third laughed.

!ts est to ta"e everything in moderation. )lso, even if ! didnt do it, ! had

suordinates for that, and all we had to do was wor" ased on the 5econd

;enerations plan.

$espite the Third ;eneration eing the first one to carve the %alt 'amilys


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name into the history of the Bahnseim Kingdom, he truly seemed to have a

carefree personality, and he didnt seem to hold interest in anything.

is interest in domestic affairs and war was particularly light.

!its ecause you say things li"e

that02

er face was tinted red, ut ! shot ac".

1Things li"e that/ 4ore so, ! slept -uite early yesterday. The only time !

stayed up so late was the night we arrived here. %hats more, the one who

loo"ed sleepy the next day was you, )ria.2

! returned those words, ut )rias reaction was strangely sharp.

1%whose fault do you thin" that is>/ %hose>/2

By the way0

The people around me cannot hear the voices from the 9ewel.

!ll also put this out, ut there are as many voices in the 9ewel, as there are

people who had their 5"ills recorded into it.

There are 5even0 no, there were.#ow, the 5ix ancestors tal" with me li"e this. But the others cant hear them,

so its -uite trouling a lot of the time.

The hunterstyled 5econd ;eneration spo"e.

Let me add on that generations two through four showed heavy favoritism


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towards #ovem.

But )ria was different.

%hat a noisy woman.

The 5ixth voiced his agreement.

?uite right.

)nd in the end0 my grandfather, the 5eventh ;eneration closed the matter.

%hatever the case, if Beim sounds impossile, then isnt )rumsaas good

enough/ !ll et the Third ;eneration wasnt to read his oo"s, ut wouldnt

it *ust e fine to head to Beim after gathering your party there/ ! mean, the"nowledge and technology of the city of scholars is "nown not only

throughout Bahnseim, ut the surrounding countries as well.

5ometimes noisy.

5ometimes acting up to deplete my 4ana and ma"e me collapse.

5ometimes giving me advice. 4y ancestors.

! too" their opinions into account, and let out my conclusion.

1That sounds nice. !t will e safer than travelling to Beim, and it seems it

would e for our sa"e.2

To put it more specifically, its li"e past personalities *ust reside in the

recorded 5"ills.

Thats all it is, ut0 the 9ewel even recorded their hearts.

!ts truly troulesome, yet ! can only e than"ful to them0

1)nyways, once weve finished our preparations, lets set off for )rumsaas.

Lylesama, well have to oo" a coupled carriage tic"et.2

#ovem holds down )ria, and recommends the purchase of a tic"et.


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) coupled carriage is, well, a series of carriages coupled together. Thats all it

is, ut y that, goods and people can e carried en masse.

@sing 4agic Tools, it ecame possile to decrease the fatigue, and increase

the strength of the horses.

!t was one of the common transportation methods lin"ing large cities and

towns.

1;ot it. !f were preparing now0 would a departure tomorrow e fine/2

! sought confirmation from the two of them, and #ovem and )ria oth

nodded.

#ovem was smiling.)ria was averting her ga(e with a flushed face.


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%e crossed the walls encircling the city, and were surprised from the ma"e

unli"e the towns and cities we had visited efore.

1)ma(ing.2

)s ! muttered that, #ovem dismounted the carriage, and voiced heragreement.

1!ve heard they have various research facilities, so ! really is different from

other cities.2

)ria also consented.

%hile she had heard tales of it, coming here the first time was li"ely

surprising.1That uilding in the center, isnt it taller than Centralles royal palace/ +ven

so, how should ! put this02

Before )ria could say it, ! opened my mouth.

1!ts a complete mess.2

!gnoring the very concept of scenery, the city was flooded with tall uildings.

)t the same time, there were constructs with -uite strange structures litteredaround.

There were some with smo"e rising from their linedup chimneys, and even

some that were shaped as if large pieces of vegetation were ore through.

!t felt much more mixed than Centralles cityscape.

1ow should ! put this, its as if everything they could thin" of was

forcefully shoved and sha"en up inside a ox.2

)s #ovem said that, )ria agreed.

1Come to thin" of it, it really does give off the feeling of a oys toy chest.

#ot tidied up cleanly, with everything *ust shoved inside.2

earing of a toy ox, some of my past memories revived in me.


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!t was the happenings of efore ! was deserted y my parents.

4y father ought me toys.

4y mother got angry at me for not putting them away.

!t felt really nostalgic.

3f course, those warm memories would come to an end at ten.

The cause was my sister, Celes.

5tronger than me. 5marter than me. Loved y everyone.

)ccording to the one who taught me all he had, and recogni(ed me0

)4onster.

aving ac"nowledged me, and having fulfilled his role in the 9ewel, ! was

unale to meet the 'irst ;eneration ead anymore.

The one that man told me to e most vigilant of was my own sister, Celes.

Beaten lac" and lue y that sister, ! lost and was driven out of the house.

To me, she was nothing ut a symol of fear now.


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#ovem came to my side on the matter. 5he did, ut0

1Lylesama has already een graced with a ;rowth, so he should e fine.

!snt that right, Lylesama/2

;rowth0 in this world, it was li"e overcoming a wall, and li"e that, feeling asense of reirth.

!t was without a dout, the sensation of surpassing the me ! once was.

But at the same time, it ma"es one feel larger than life.

Loo"ing at me, )ria covered her mouth, and stifled some laughter.

#ovem put on a smile enveloped in warmth, as she loo"ed at me.

10 5top it. 7lease stop.2

+ven *ust rememering it made my face red.

+ven when ! should have experienced one at a much younger age, !

experienced my first ;rowth at 'ifteen.

! experienced it, and frolic"ed around in the sensation of eing reorn anew.

!t was a memory ! didnt want rought up again.)ria spo"e.

1Lyle, dont worry0 you were really interesting ac" then.2

! responded.

1! told you to stop, didnt !>/ )lso, at that time, you said, 4ine was nothing

li"e this> 6ight/ That means something happened right> !t did, didnt it>/2

1Tthat isnt the case>2

There, ! heard a voice from the 9ewel.

!t was the 'ourth

That attitude he "eeps ta"ing against this girl0 yep, its a lecture later.


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But her answer was, until you succeed in ma"ing a harem, you cant *ust

give up>

%ondering *ust where ! went wrong, ! dropped my shoulders, and wal"ed

down the streets of )rumsaas, the city of scholars.


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Arumsaas Guild

aving secured an inn, we decided to head off towards the guild.

!n the city that spread out li"e a layrinth, we fre-uently as"ed the passersy

for directions while aiming for the adventurer guild.

The road were clean, and the people treading on them also had a sense of

cleanliness to them.

But that didnt change that it was a *umled up city, and one easy to e lost

in.

@sing 5"ills, ! confirmed the area, ut eing in -uite a needlessly

complicated location was perhaps the characteristic of )rumsaas adventurer

guild.

1The fact that carriages are going down that way means the other way is too

hard to get through/2

)fter overcoming the ma(e and arriving at the guild hall, a uilding on a

smaller scale than the one in $alien was laid out efore me. $espite the si(eof the city, it gave off -uite a diminutive impression.

! dont "now if guild first floors were the same everywhere, ut it was

operating li"e a mar"etplace.

)dventurers and carts went ac" and forth, and monster materials and magic

gems were exchanging hands.

3ccasionally, a merchant would ma"e a purchase, and leave with a largeamount of goods loaded on his wagon.

1!t loo"s li"e guilds dont change wherever you go.2

)ria muttered that, and #ovem agreed.

owever0


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1Loo"ing from outside, they may e the same. But as ! thought, the

atmosphere really changes depending on the guild. %eihs was the same.2

%eihs was the name given to the land the %alt ouse governed.

!t was developed enough to have cities that could e called metropolises, andit had its own adventurers guild.

But !m not too "nowledgeale aout that matter.

The 5eventh spo"e.

%e did prepare a plot of land for them, ut its a mass of criminals,

deserters, and wannaees. ! left it alone in order to secure magic stones,

ut0 it wasnt very necessary in my time.

) large portion of adventurers were ruffians0 if a mercenary or criminal

called themselves an adventurer, then thats what they were.

The only difference lay in whatever they named themselves as.

#aturally, the guild does regulate their criminals, ut if they claimed to e

ale to manage them all, then ! would call that nothing ut suspicious.

There are some sinners out there who simply change their home guild in

order to flee.

)dventurers exist to hunt those sorts of adventurers as well. Those

speciali(ed in the trade "nown as ounty hunting.

!t sounds li"e the 5ixth was of the same opinion.

!f you send out soldiers, you can easily get your hands on monster materials

and magic stones. %or" is also aundant0 ut still, there are guys who

arent satisfied staying on the sidelines. Theres no helping it.

%hile the 5ixth and 5eventh thought of them as an unavoidale troule, the

Third had a different opinion.


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8ou guys sure are harsh. !f you can use them, why not *ust use them/ !

mean, they have the rights to magic stones, and theyre pretty much a

mercenary management facility. Theres no meaning in ma"ing them

enemies. 6emaining vigilant, and maintaining a moderate sense of distance is

important.

!t seems the Third held a concept of ma"ing use of the guild.

The 5econd supplemented his answer.

Come to thin" of it, it was in your time, right0 that a guild was uilt up at

our place.

!t seems it was around the Thirds time that a guild was uilt on %alt land.

+ven when its a time when they shouldnt have een too developed, !m

surprised they were ale to get one of those.

)s if noticing my curiosity, the Third gave an answer.

!ts ecause a lot of monsters live in the remote regions, and it was a good

environment to otain monster materials and magic stones. ! didnt interfere

too much, or restrict them.

The feudal lord has the power to levy heavy taxes on the guild.

!n that case, that influences the price of stones and materials, and there are

even some places where earning ecome impossile no matter how hard you

struggle.

But in that case, the adventurers would flow away. !f they ecome

excessively depressed aout their lac" of profit, -uite a few prolems may

crop up, it seems.

1#ovem, what was the %eihs ;uild li"e/ !ve never een, so ! dont "now.2

)s ! as"ed aout the %eihs ;uild, she made a it of a trouled face.


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#ot in a ad way, *ust that it seemed explaining would e a pain.

But to put is simply0

1#either good nor ad, something li"e that, perhaps. They were -uite hard

with crac"ing down on criminals, and the tax didnt seem too high, or toolow. !t didnt seem to e a guild where prolems would come up with putting

food on the tale, and ! thin" it had a relatively large amount of adventurers.2

earing that, the 5eventh was delighted.

!ts *ust as it was in my time. 8ep, perfect.

The adventurer hating 5eventh seems to have een trouled with mercenaries

efore.

)nd the cause was the guild or something li"e that0


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)s ! was sent into confusion, )ria was as well. %+ loo"ed at each other, and

grimaced.

1!snt this one strange/ !ts got room cleaning written on it, ut the location is

one of the campuss research facilities. $o they really allow adventurers to

walt( into places li"e that/2

?uite a few incomprehensile re-uests were spread out.

)s we headed to the receptionist des"s, we found a larger numer of cler"s

than in $alien seated ehind partitioned counters.

%hile their appearances ranged from youths to seniors, they gave off a

disinterested impression as they -uietly proceeding with their wor".

!n narrow spaces, they formally addressed their usiness.

The 'ourth loo"ed at them, and spo"e.

This is -uite a peculiar guild. %ell, since there isnt a feudal lord here,

perhaps they arent pressured enough0 how should ! put this, ! get the

feeling that there are few re-uests that would ma"e one satisfied as an

adventurer to e found here.Collecting certain monster parts was definitely -uite adventureres-ue.

But that would ta"e place in a layrinth managed y the city of scholars, and

we would *ust have to strip off the parts of a designated monster, or so it was

written.

'or the three of us, it was a it rough of a re-uest.


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monotonous explanation.

1!s this your first time in )rumsaas/2

!t was a male cler" with glasses, and hair parted in a :D ratio. @nli"e

aw"inssan, his feelings didnt seem to e ehind it at all.%as aw"inssan *ust exceptionally diligent/

#ovem responded.

1!ts the first for all three of us. %e are here with the intention of studying,

and ! elieve we will not e performing too many re-uests.2

The receptionist put my guild card into a device to confirm it.

10 8our evaluations in regards to re-uests receive a passing grade. 8ou even

completed an emergency re-uest, and received an assessment of )from the

guild. $alien, is it0 the -uality of adventurers there isnt the est, so ! cant

really say anything, ut please complete )rumsaas re-uests with that

dedication as well. !f you dont elieve you will e ale to, it would help if

you would say that clearly.2

The receptionist too" up a slight condescending attitude, ut getting angry athim seemed stupid, so ! nodded as ! accepted the guild card.

The 5econd ;eneration snorted as he spo"e.

5o you can find these sorts everywhere you go. Those guys that thin"

theyre aove everything/ That if youre different from them, you must e

elow them/

The Third reu"ed him.

This is the city of scholars, so couldnt it e that they have confidence in

their wisdom/ Be a little more tolerant. ! mean, we havent felt any real harm

yet.


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'or some reason, ! feel he put some strong emphasis on the yet part of it,

ut anyways, ! answered the receptionist.

1!ll do the est ! can.2

10 !s that so. %ell then, ! will e loo"ing after the second copy of the guildcard. $o you need an explanation on that/ !f you do, thats extra.2

8ou charge for that/ )s ! thought that, ! shoo" my head.

! finish my greetings with the apathetic cler", finished up the paperwor", and

we all left the guild.

A

A

A

aving exited the uilding, the complaints we had towards the receptionist

started coming out.

)t a snac" shop close to our inn, we finished our meal efore expressing our

dissatisfaction.

!t was mainly )ria.

1This place "inda has a ad feel to it.2

The mans attitude was one thing, ut she proaly hated the fact that $alien

was eing loo"ed down upon.

To her, $alien was Eelphys town.

)nd it was also the town that too" in her family. aving een part of animperial nole family in Centralle, through the misdeeds of a single family

head, the ouse forfeited its peerage over the course of a single lifetime.

%hen they had een anished from the capital, the place to accept them was

$alien.


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%hile #ovem seemed to understand that fact, she covered for the

receptionist.

1This place is different from $alien. But if theyre going to indifferently

carry out their wor" li"e that, it may e relatively easy to get y. ! mean,

where someone li"e aw"inssan would caution against ta"ing a life

threatening re-uest, ! dout those people would really care.2

6ather than covering, she let out -uite a dar" statement.

But the fact that we arent worrying anyone was comforting, in a sense.

! started conversing with the two on what to do from here on.

1ow aout we put that aside, and decide on where to live/ @nli"e $alien, !dout they have any houses so moderately priced, so this time, it has to e an

apartment, right/ %ill we live with the three of us, or rent three narrow

rooms/ %ell have to decide that soon, and search for property promptly.2

) characteristic of the city of )rumsaas was that rather than houses,

apartments were the ma*ority.

The reason was that students came and left in large numers, so there were

few that prepared houses for themselves.

%ith the city where many youths gathered to learn, and e on their way,

apartments were the main stream.

1!f possile, the three of us together would e nice. %e shouldnt have too

much of a prolem with money for a while, so perhaps it would e good to

see how much earnings we can expect here efore deciding.2

%ith #ovems proposal in mind, ! thought of hunting monsters sometime

tomorrow.

The )ncestors agreed, ut only the Third ;eneration0

Lets go to the lirary. Lirary. %ell e fine for a while, and if you find a


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profitale re-uest to raise your name with, wont you e fine for a while/

is feelings were already directed towards the lirary.

7ersonally, ! also wanted to go, ut daily earning was serious usiness.

6egarding that, the moneyloving 'ourth shouted out.

Thats for after you speculate your income, right>/ !ts ecause youre li"e

this, that the territory was0

;enerally, the 'ourth was regarded as extraordinary in financial relations and

internal affairs. e had an intelligent appearance, glasses and all.

4ainly in domestic matters, the fourth was exceedingly reliale.But as we were left without and land to manage, and the money management

was left to #ovem, he wasnt ale to get a turn.

The Third spo"e with a slight fed up tone.

8oure way too harsh with money. 9ust who did this oy grow to resemle/

)s the 'ourths father, the Third said that, the 'ifth too" over.

That was usually the 'ourths role.

9ust leave it there. +ven if Lyles 4ana stoc" increased, the 'irsts 5"ill is

storing up 4ana in itself every day. )t this point, theres no point in trying to

train him a little y acting up.

!n the past0

They thought ! was the type that didnt gain 4ana as ! experienced ;rowth.

'rom my aptitude in using two sares, they thought ! was the type that gained

techni-ue through the process.


26/233

!t wasnt the least it of a wonder to me, ut when ! told the ancestors that0

8oure the strange one here>

)pparently.

)nd in order to uild up my mana, they forcefully went and expended it to

the are minimum. That style of training was put on me against my will.

%hats more, ! wasnt even informed aout it.

!n the end, ! wasnt a techni-ue type, ut a type where all my specs receive

drastic increases, ut in exchange, ! needed several times the amount of

experience than a normal human. ) late looming type.

8oure )ria Loc"ward, right/ !ts me. 4iranda Circry>

%ed played together many a time in the imperial capital, so ! had a hunch it

was you, y some chance.2


27/233

The person addressing us was a slightly matureloo"ing woman.

But her age itself wasnt all too different from ours.

!f youre as"ing for characteristics, they would e her emerald eyes, and pale

rownishgreen wavy hair that came as a set with them.er slanted eyes thatgave her a mischievous loo" was li"ely one of her charms.

%hile carrying a mature impression with her, she was lively, and a woman

that loo"ed to have some childish parts to her0 that was 4iranda Circry.

14iranda/ %hy are you in a place li"e this/ 8oure the Circrys eldest, are

you not>/2

)ria spo"e with an ama(ed tone.!t wouldnt e strange to find a second or third child in the city of scholars,

ut the eldest daughter was another story.

!t was a spot mainly reserved for marrying into other families, or having

others marry into the family.

1%eve got four sisters over there, so its fine if *ust two of us do as we

please. 4ore importantly, you could have told me if you were cominghere02

)s 4iranda made a slightly sorrowful expression, )ria spo"e aw"wardly.

1! arrived today. @ntil then, ! was in $alien.2

%hile she gave a simple explanation, she didnt loo" at 4irandas face there

onwards.

5eeing her attitude, 4iranda gave a sardonic smile.

1!m not that concerned aout it0 ! mean, we all played together with

5hannon, didnt we/2

5ome 5hannon girl popped up, ut following the flow of the conversation,

she was li"ely a friend, or 4irandas younger sister.


28/233

)ria answered with silence.

10 5orry. !ve een attending this academy from three years ago. !ll tell you

my address, so stop y if you want. 5hannon will e delighted.2

5aying that, she wrote her information on a sheet, and in place of )ria, whowouldnt accept anything, she handed it to me.

1! apologi(e, ut what is your relation to )ria/2

! should proaly put it out here clearly that !m her party memer0

15he is one of Lylesamas lovers.2

'rom the side, #ovem cut in.

4iranda loo"ed flaergasted, ut as ! panic"ed to correct the

misunderstanding, she urst into laughter.

1)hahaha, sorry. That was a good one. That )ria has a oyfriend0 whats

more, one of the mans lovers means there are more/ ! thought you were the

pretty oy type, ut youve got some game, man.2

5he stuc" her elow into me, and waved her right hand as she left.

Before ! could correct anything, it was all over.

anging my head, ! turned to )ria.

15he sounded li"e a good person, ut are you unsatisfied aout something/2

)ria let out a sigh.

1Thats not it. 5he really is a good person. 5hes *ust a year older, ut shes

good at loo"ing after others, and whenever a ad rumor came up aout ourplace, she always stuc" up for me0 ut shes too good at loo"ing after others

to a fault, you "now. 5hes good natured, and shell never tal" ad aout

anyone.2

;ood natured to a fault, was how )ria assessed 4iranda.


29/233

3n her fifty cents, #ovem coincided.

17erhaps shes one whose two faces overlap. #o, perhaps one *ust good at

dealing with things/ +ven so, ! heard that a large numer of students came in

from Centralle, ut ! never thought we would e meeting one of )riasans

ac-uaintances li"e this.2

! thought the same, ut )ria seemed to e at her wits end.

14irandas on the etter side. But if ! were to meet the others02

5he seemed depressed.

! tried as"ing.

1Come to thin" of it, why did you go aout ignoring her/ !f shes a goodperson, it would e fine to tal" with her, wouldnt it/2

)s ! said that, )ria gave a straightforward answer.

1!ts ecause shes a good person. Because of that, even she started to get

slander going on around her. Thats why ! too" the initiative to distance

myself. )lthough it was soon after that ! was driven out of Centralle

anyways.2!t seems she has a lot going on here.

But here and now, wouldnt it e fine to get along/ That was my opinion.

theyre doing now0=

! loo"ed down at 4irandas memo, as ! worried aout how 6ondosan was


30/233

faring.

A

A

A

!n the inn, efore retiring to ed.

! came to the space round tale "nown as the conference room.

!n the very center of the room, the center of the tale, a large lue *ewel

shined.

)round the room, six doors were installed, and those were what acted as the

ancestors personal -uarters.

There were seven chairs in total.

!n a room li"e that, today, it was *ust the 5ixth for a change.

1uh/ )re you alone today/ %heres the 'ifth/2

! moved my ga(e to search for the 'ifth ;eneration, ut the 5ixth gave a

itter smile.

!ts not li"e !m always with my pops, you "now.

The 5ixths 5"ill was one that was orn with the 'ifths 5"ill as its premise.

!t determined the enemies and allies within a perimeter, and even conveyed

the locations of traps. e was the possessor of the 5"ill, 5earch.

%hen the two 5"ills were used together, it generated an extraordinary effect.

!n ones head, a map would appear, and the locations of everything were

"nown on it. 'or an enemy, it was -uite a frightening 5"ill.

1Then are you the one that called me/2

8eah.


31/233

e often agreed with the 'ifth, and he was a rare find in the %alt 'amily

istory, where the fatherson relationship was actually good.

!ve rarely seen signs of him ic"ering with my grandfather, the 5eventh,

either.

%ith his un"empt hair pushed ac", the 5ixth ;eneration, who gave off a

wild impression, was -uite docile efore the 'ifth.

#ormally, he came as a set with the 'ifth, so ! egan to thin" of it as the

usual.

The truth is0 ! "now of the Circry 'amily, so ! thought ! would inform

you.14irandasans ouse/2

The 5ixth was one with a lot of ad rumors circulating around him.

Ta"ing ries, using his connections to the imperial noles at the capital, and

ma"ing them move to his advantage, and other such things.

'or that reason, he was "nown as the greatest fiend to the %alt ouse0 ut !

really didnt get that feeling from him.

3f all else, the Third was much more scheming.

%eve een associated with them in the past. !ts ecause my younger sister

married into their house.

That was the first ! heard of something li"e that.

#o, perhaps ! *ust never "new it, and my family actually was on good termswith them.

!ts *ust that my father0 to the +igth ;eneration, it was *ust a lin" from two

generations ago.

'rom the point of view of Bahnseim #oles, They were pretty much


32/233

irrelevant.

15o youre saying theres a possiility they still have ties to our ouse/2

The chances are slim, ut "eep it in mind. ! dont really want to dout them

too much, ut0 its that. ! didnt have too many sisters ! got along with.

aving heard that, ! rememered a single fact.

The 5ixth had an exceedingly large numer of younger silings.

! mean, the 'ifth had five woman waiting on him, legal wife included. e

had five ladies y his side.

%hats more, all five of them cleared all of the %alt 'amily 7recepts.

!ts a surprise that he went after so many woman, ut the more surprising

thing was that0

10 ! elieve it was around thirty rothers and sisters younger than you, was

it/2

8eah.

%e oth made a -uestionale face.

%hile the 'ifth was definitely famous as the greatest luster of %alt istory,

the individual himself held -uite a dry impression.

! cant thin" of him as one twisted y carnal lust.

15omehow, the gap etween the ancestors we hear aout, and the real ones is

-uite large at our place02

Thats right0 it was -uite a shoc" to me when ! first heard ! was the fiend

of the %alt ouse, you "now.

)s ! exchanged some idle anter with the 5ixth, ! considered the possiility

of 4irandasans ties to my family.


33/233

The Library of the City of Scholars

3ur general o*ective in )rumsaas was to gather "nowledge.

!n the prided Lirary of the city of scholars, it was said that all the worlds"nowledge was gathered


34/233

+ven so, there still existed oo"s that the city of scholars would never show

to outsiders.

1!ts good and all that ! have the money, ut02

!f five silver was all it too" to use it for life, it was cheap.! too" out the money from my wallet and headed to the counter to complete

the registration process.

The 5econd made an oservation of the surroundings.

Theres -uite a few young ones around here. %hen you thin" of how all

these people can read and write, it really reminds me that times have

changed.

)round the 5econds time, *ust how many of his villagers were literate0

There was no dout it was less than now.

Living in itself was hard enough, and the villagers proaly lived lifestyles

that those of this time would call araric.

They must have struggled with that issue as well.

The 5eventh spo"e.

But it really is ama(ing. Theyre storing nothing ut oo"s in this many

uildings.

!t loo"ed li"e he had never visited the place himself, as the 5eventh offered

his admiration upon seeing the real deal.

owever the structure was massive, so when ! loo"ed at the map near the

counter0

1!ts too large for me to choose something to read.2

%hile mulling over where to read, ! called out to the girl who left the des".

1$o you have a moment/2


35/233

10 8es.2

5he was a very -uiet girl.

er height was short, and her odys ma"e was delicate.

)s for feminine charms, her reasts were forcefully pushing up againstclothing too small.

er hair was a deep lue, and perhaps she didnt pay a particular amount of

mind to personal appearance, as it seemed to have een put in place swiftly

with a hand com.

!ts length extended to her shoulder, and her hair ends were ruffled.

er halfclosed, sleepyloo"ing eyes were red.

!f she hadnt come out from ehind the des", ! would definitely have

mista"en her for a child.

The clothes she was wearing were, rather than stylish, giving off the feeling

she *ust put on whatever was there.

5he was wearing a shirt and a slightlyshort s"irt.


36/233

To him, it proaly felt li"e he was guiding immature children.

%hile wal"ing down the corridor, ! started to grow conscious of the silence,

so ! spo"e up.

1+ven so, there are a lot of oo"s here. !ve only come to )rumsaas recently,ut as ! thought, does this place get many outside visitors/2

)s ! said that, she monotonously responded.

18es. 4ost people as" the same -uestion. )nd !ve always responded to that

with, everyone as"s the same -uestion, time and again.2

earing that, my smile ecame stiff.

The 'ourth0

er type li"es to live in her own world, so even if youre a little nice to her,

! dout shell e swayed, Lyle.


37/233

want to ta"e a rea", theres a place if you go further down the hall.2

15sorry. Come to thin" of it, do you do lending/

)s ! said that, she shoo" her head.

1)s a general rule, lending out is prohiited. There are many oo"s whoseexistences are more valuale than their contents, and those sorts of articles

are expensive.2

! nodded and headed towards the shelves.

5he followed ehind me.

The Third put out a title he was interested in, so ! too" it in hand to read.

! want to hole up in this place for a while, ut time is0 Lyle, ma"e sure you

drop your reading pace.

!t seemed my reading speed was fast, and the ancestors even douted whether

or not ! was actually reading. ! was sure that ! was gaining an understanding

of the contents, ut0

! sat down in an empty chair and loo"ed around.

)nd ! tilted my head.

10 %hat are you doing/2

1+h/2

The guide who was supposed to e a staff memer too" a oo" and was

aout to ta"e a seat. 5he loo"ed at me with a little surprise.


38/233

e as"ed the 'ourth, ut he was trouled as well.

)s if ! "now. This must e wor", or a rea", or something, right/

'orcing myself to elieve that was the case, ! too" the empty seat next to her

and started into my own oo".

%hile thin"ing ! should have ta"en something to ta"e notes, ! flipped the

pages.

The lirary was so -uiet that all ! could hear was the occasional sound of pen

on paper.

! could also hear the sound of footsteps down the corridor, ut if !

concentrated, those started to not matter anymore.

! spent a while reading while listening to the ancestors exchange opinions.

!f only this were around ac" in my time>>

To the shouting 5econd, the 5ixth spo"e.

)h, that finally spread during my time, so ! dout that was possile.

The 5eventh agreed.

%hats more, a new method was already discovered in my time.

earing that, the 5econd lamented.

%hy are you guys reactions all so light> !snt it groundrea"ing>/

6evolutionary>

The heads of history had differing opinions in relation to technology.

@p to the Third, they really did live through agriculture, so they coveted

technology pertaining to farmwor".

But since their stories were different, perhaps the 5econd was unale to

understand the others, so the amount of times he spo"e up was low.


39/233

Listening to their opinions, all ! thought was0


40/233

)nd ! heard that endearing sound again.

10 @m, are you sure you arent hungry/2

! couldnt stand y not calling out to the girl who returned her old oo", and

had ta"en a new one in hand already.5he nodded.

The Third spo"e.

ow aout you treat her here as than"s/ 8ou have the money.

The one who opposed that opinion was the 'ourth.

$ont do anything that would cause a misunderstanding> !n the first place,Lyle already unmindfully confessed to that )ria>

earing that, ! was the one who was shoc"ed.

1+h/2

)s ! let out a voice, she started to return to her seat.

10ah. %ell, if its alright with you02

! ended up inviting her out to eat.

! heard the 'ourths voice.

)Fah, he actually did it. 5hell definitely misunderstand.

The 5econd spo"e.

5he doesnt loo" li"e the sort of type to me.

The 'ourth snorted.

! never said ! meant this girl. #ovemchan will misunderstand, is what !m

trying to say.

earing that, the 5eventh spo"e.


41/233

'umu0 er face isnt ad, and perhaps she has a good head on her

shoulders, ut !m a it doutful aout the others.

The %alt 'amily 7recepts.

Those were the criterion for wife selection.

Those that cleared six conditions were to e allowed to e welcomed as a

ride. 3f course, its also a single truth the family will "eep hidden that they

were created from the ramlings of a drun"ard, and passed on from there.

!t seems li"e the 5eventh assumed that #ovem would refuse if she didnt

clear them. owever the 'ourth differed.

Then if you treated a girl who didnt clear them to lunch, *ust what

would #ovem thin"/

earing that, ! ended up wondering whether ! was in for it.

=

%hile reassuring myself, ! ended up leaving the lirary with her.

A

A

A

Clara Bulmer.

The name of the girl with deep lue hair, and red eyes.

%hen as"ed, it seems she was doing lirary wor".5he was also registered as an adventurer, and she would occasionally do

support wor" in order to secure her funds to live in )rumsaas.

5he too" on a re-uest for a temporary staff memer at the lirary, and she

would help out whenever it got usy, it seems.


42/233

aving ended up treating her at a snac" shop along the way, ! was ale to as"

her various things.

1'ormer student/ But youre fifteen, arent you/2

Being of the same age of me and #ovem, she0 Clara nodded as she sippedher tea.

1! s"ipped grades. !n the academy meant to teach the foundations, its

something -uite standard. There are some who received prior private

schooling, and there are personal difference in reading, writing, and

calculative ailities.2

! nodded, ut started to wonder whether or not there were really that great of

differences.

%ithout finding wor" after graduation, she was apparently an adventurer who

did re-uests for the lirary.

!t was possile for her to actually ecome a staff memer there, ut she was

usy, so she refused.

%hen ! as"ed for the reason.

10 !t will decrease my reading time.2

!t seems it was the same reason as the Third.

%hats more, she held a 5upport 5"ill.

1+ven when you have a 5"ill, you wor" as an adventurer alone/ %hy not *oin

up with someone/2

! "new it was rude, ut ! was in the middle of searching for comrades.

! wanted to learn the sort of situation in )rumsaas.

But unexpectedly, she egan to go into the details of her own 5"ill.

14y 5"ill is to read oo"s. !ts useless in attle, and there are many staff

personnel at the lirary who possess 5"ills of this sort.2


43/233

5"ill, 6eading.

!ts a 5"ill to read articles, and regardless of whether it e in another

language, or in an old dialect, it was a 5"ill that let one comprehend them.

The Third sounded *ealous.

!f only ! got a 5"ill li"e that.

The 5ixth seemed fed up as he spo"e.

8our s"ill is the cruelest among ours, ut still0 it is *ust as useful, you

"now.

)mong the seven, the Thirds seems to e evaluated as the cruelest.

! was curious, ut ! couldnt as" here, so !ll try next time.

1!snt that an ama(ing 5"ill/2

10 !f you wanted me to choose etween ama(ing or not, its ama(ing, ut

there are many who hold the same one. )lso, ! hate using a 5"ill to read.2

Theres only point if she read it herself, she says.

But perhaps precisely ecause she was that sort of person, the 6eading 5"ill

manifested.

1)re you sure you should have told me all this/2

Clara said there was no prolem.

1!m not ale to read the important oo"s, and 6eading isnt almighty. !ts

not li"e ! can always rememer whats read either.2

!t wasnt too much of a user friendly 5"ill, and there were plenty with it, so it

wasnt considered too valuale a 5"ill to have.

1%hat do you do as a support adventurer/2

10 !m often as"ed, ut what ! generally do is carry luggage. %hile people


44/233

often assume ! dont have any strength with this uild, ! can do most standard

procedures. Theres also magical support. Lighting up layrinths, and

preparing fires. 7rocuring water. Those sorts of things are the contriutions of

support.2

%hile her small ody loo"ed unreliale, she said she would manage.

owever, ! truly am reluctant to have this girl carry heavy aggage.

Loo"ing closely, her loo"s were decent.

!f she properly set her hair, and changed her clothes, perhaps the change

would e impressive.

10 8oure an adventurer as well, right Lylesan/21Thats right. 8ou can tell/2

3n my short response, she started tal"ing at length.

1!f youre trying to get information out of me, !ll give it. )s" as much as you

want in exchange for the meal. owever, !m the type of support that

generally doesnt participate in attle, so the amount ! can tell you is

limited.25he seems to thin" the purpose of the meal was information collection.

7erhaps thats why she came when invited.

1Then that ma"es matters fast. $id you not thin" ! was a ad person for

that/2

5he shoo" her head.

15ituations are situations, and you were so earnestly reading a oo"0 if !

was fooled, then ! was the one who made a mista"e.2

Loo"ing at her lac" of tenacity, ! could only reply with, ! see.

)fter that, ! chatted a little, efore leaving the shop.


45/233

Clara returned home, and ! was to return to the inn, ut0

1ow rare.2

! turned to a voice sent in my direction, and there, ! found 4irandasan.

6ememering the 5ixths words, ! put myself on guard, and retreated a little.

5eeing that, ths gave a grin.

18ou didnt seem to e that type last ! saw you, ut perhaps you wor" fast/

4a"e sure you dont ma"e )ria or that side ponytail girl cry.2

%ith a mischievous smile, she displayed cuter traits than her age would

indicate.

!t felt as if ! would drop my guard.

18oure wrong. ! *ust met her in the lirary, and the meal was0 no, its

nothing

Thin"ing that regardless of what ! said, it would e ta"en as flirting, ! stopped

denying it.

4iranda laughed.

1!ts a *o"e. That girls Clara, right/ 5hes famous around here, and !m sure

that it ended with *ust a meal.2

1%ell, the deal was *ust for a meal, anyways.2

%ondering what it was that was coming out of my mouth, ! loo"ed down at

the item in 4irandasans hand.

1%hats that/2The rown paper ag, seemed to contain coo"ing ingredients.

1)h, this/ !ts food. 6ecently, the people ! hired suddenly -uit, so !m out

here ma"ing a purchase. +ven though its a livein *o with good wages, they

always seem to -uit.2


46/233

Loo"ing at her trouled face, ! proposed that ! carry the ag.

! extended my hand, and accepted the two large ages of foodstuff.

15orry aout that. 6ight, 6ight, !ll guide you to my house. !ts a it of a

wal", ut are you fine/21! dont mind.2

10 mmF )s ! thought, you wor" -uite fast.2

4irandasan tried teasing me, so ! refuted.

1Thats not it>2

! heard the 'ifths voice.

5o youre actually going/ %ell, no matter what happens, you should e ale

to sha"e it off, ut0 *ust dont drop your guard.

4irandas ouse, the Circry ouse was one that was related to the %alt

ouse y marriage two generations past.

3nce the ones concerned parish, the connection grows dim.

owever, perhaps she came into contact with me due to some sort of lin"age.


47/233

The Seven Great of the City of Scholars

10 5o you were living in a house/2

aving carried 4irandasans aggage all the way to her residence, ! was

slightly surprised upon seeing her estate.

%here it was normal for a ma*ority of the students studying here to live in

apartments, she resided in a detached house.

'or a nole family with the funding, it wasnt unthin"ale, ut thats only a

small portion of them.

4a"ing a itter smile, 4irandasan loo"ed a little trouled.

1! mean, even li"e this, !m the eldest daughter. !m not eing very useful to

my ouse, ut ! guess you could call it honor/ 'or that reason, they ought

me a manor. By the time !ve graduated, itll proaly have een sold off to

someone.2

+ven when they allowed the Circrys eldest to study in the city of scholars,

they couldnt have her living in a plain apartment.

earing that, the 'ifth spo"e.

%ell, honor is important in itself. )nd wait, if they were uying it, and they

were going to sell it later, ! dout they had too much to worry aout. 4ore

importantly, Lyle0 how is the reaction from the 5"ill/

The 'ifth remained alert, and ! -uietly activated the 5"ill.

The 5ixths 5"ill determined 4irandasan as an ally.

)llies were lue.

!rrelevant people, or those that didnt thin" anything of me were yellow.

Those with hostility towards me or monsters were displayed as red.


48/233

!t loo"s li"e 4irandasan didnt hold any hostility.


49/233

! thin" shes a nice girl, ut its her parents fault for allowing it. The all

important eldest, right/ 'rom her appearance, shes a pretty, and sociale

one, so go marry her off to a house you want connections with.

The 'ifth was cold.

The youngest daughter has ad eyes/ Then isnt this *ust the familys way

of "ic"ing her out/ The eldest *ust tagged along to loo" after her, and shes

proaly *ust aritrarily giving a reason. %ell, perhaps shes actually serious,

herself.

The 5ixth.

%ell, its nice to care for your sister. !ts a good thing to get along with

your sisters.

6ememering our -uestionale conversation from last time, perhaps various

things happened etween him and his silings.

%hile sympathi(ing with him a little, ! heard the 5evenths opinion.

!t isnt rare for a family to distance a child with prolems. !n my time therewere many a rumor aout confinement, and deaths y natural causes.

Though strange rumors do come out even if it really was natural.

%hat a dry family.

! need to rememer to e sympathetic myself.

different0 no, ! guess it wouldnt change. !t would *ust increase the numer

of people who were cold to me.=


50/233

) monster that can warp its environment.

+ven my "ind parents would never loo" at me at all.

1) touching story. ! wish ! had a sister li"e you.2

)s ! praised her, she started pushing me.

13h> 5o youre already gunning for me/ %ell, !m a it doutful over

whether or not !m that good of a sister. %hat aout your silings, Lyle

"un/2

! s"illfully put on a front, ut anxiety came over me as ! gave a simplified

explanation.

1! have0 one younger sister.2

!m not sure if she as"ed "nowing full well aout it, or she simply wanted to

as".

! couldnt determine anything li"e that, ut the 5"ill continued to mar" her

out as lue.

1#ice, arent theyG sisters> Theyre cute>2

16right.2

)s ! forced myself to go along with the conversation, perhaps sensing

something, she didnt tal" any further.

!ts possile she guessed the situation.

! followed her to the "itchen, and placed the foodstuff on the tale.

'rom what !d seen of the mansion so far, it was managed -uite nicely.Besides the fact that there were handrails leading everywhere, it was -uite

standard.

1! heard that you had no employees, ut its -uite clean.2

1)hahah0 its ecause they only -uit two days ago.2


51/233

4eaning that once the days passed, she would have no choice ut to clean it.

3nce the academys classes and tas"s came to an end, she would -uietly do

the housewor".

! wanted to as" for the reason why they -uit, ut thin"ing that was going toofar, ! stopped.

15till, with a dwelling this vast, it must e -uite a trial to clean it.2

!n the house ! once lived in in $alien, novem made sure the place was

cleaned up nicely.

%hile ! thought #ovem was ama(ing, upon seeing a mansion several times

the sa(e of that one with only two girls in it to0! honestly thought it would e -uite a trial.

1Thats right. But ! did learn housewor" to an extent02

!t loo"s li"e 4irandasan has her troules.

)t that moment0

13neesama, is there a guest/2

! turned around to find a girl standing there. 5he stood while clinging to the

doorway, ut ! had a sense of discomfort trying to figure out whether her eyes

were really resting on us, or not.

The Third spo"e.

!snt this the sightless younger sister/

The girl, who was still -uite small, had pale violet hair. The waves in itresemled 4irandasans.

er golden eyes were loo"ing in our direction, ut ecause of her vision

prolems, ! get the feeling they werent focused on us. 5he groped around in

the air as she drew closer to us, ut 4irandasan hurriedly ran over to her.


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15hannon> ! told you to stay in your room.2

1!m sorry, oneesama0 more importantly, is it a guest/ ) man at that/2

7erhaps from the conversation, or the atmosphere, she sensed it.

! tried introducing myself. To test 4irandasan, ! also tried putting out myfamily name.

! "ept the 5"ill up to see if she developed any hostility.


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%hen ! said that, ! directed a smile at her.

'or only a moment, 5hannons lue indicator symol turned to yellow, and

then to red, ut it soon went lue once more.

4irandasan didnt change at all.The one who reacted upon hearing the %alt houses name was 5hannon.

A

A

A

aving received tea in the "itchen, ! waited for 4irandasan to return after

dragging 5hannon off to her room, and was ale to as" aout the city of

)rumsaas.

%hat ! heard from her was mainly aout the campuses.

)s a currently active student, perhaps she held different interests, ut ! was

ale to get different information from her than from Clara.

1The academys seven great/ )re they ama(ing people/2

)s ! as"ed aout the )cademys 5even ;reat, she started giggling to

herself.

!t had come out in her story, so ! was curious, ut it seems they werent what

! was thin"ing of.

1Theyre definitely ama(ing, ut theyre not the type of people you may

thin" them to e. Theyre outrageous people from the academys history

since the time it first opened. There are even people long dead among them,

and ! guess there around three left now/ 3ne of them retired, so ! guess

theres only two left in the academy.2

'rom the start of the academy, the seven prolem children who raised their

names were "nown as the seven great, apparently.


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1)re they simply prolem children/2

)s ! said that, 4irandasan added on.

1They were normally -uite prodigious. 7erhaps its ecause they were so

prodigious, that the academy was so trouled. ?uite a few of them were firstrate magicians, and the achievements they left ehind were ama(ing0 its

*ust that they didnt have restraint in some areas.2

That thing called genius/

They proaly had different senses of value than normal people, and were

thus misunderstood.

1%hat sort of people were they/21The one ! "now of it the one who ecame a professor at a young age,

$amien alle. The other ones in the city of scholars congress, so !ve

never met them. $amian alle0 $amien the $oll @ser.2

%ith a moni"er li"e that, he may actually e an ama(ing person.

! tried as"ing aout him.

1!ts a strange one, ut hes -uite s"illed, and his specialty is in the use of a

magic called ;olem, ! heard. is personal 5"ill is also ased on the control

of ;olems, it seems, ut anyways, hes one with a passion towards his

research. 5ince hes a professor, hes on the teaching side, ut regardless of

that, he immerses himself in his wor", and hes received punishment from the

higherups several times. #ow, he does do lectures, ut hes famous for

showing no motivation in them.2%hat a man.

e was proficient, ut he "new no end in that, so he ecame -uite a

troulesome one.

1Then why didnt he *ust ecome a normal researcher/2


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10 )s a professor, his research funds are completely different. Thats why

he ecame one, it seems0 ut the contents of his research are *ust a little

inhuman, so he couldnt go aout -uitting the position himself. ! mean, its

considerale that he wouldnt even get any funding otherwise.2

9ust what sort of research is he doing/

)s ! thought that 4irandasan had her face a little flushed as she went into

the explanations.

1%ell0 do you "now aout autonomous dolls/ #ot the ones made with

4agic tools, ut the existences close to humans that were made with an

ancient technology. e plans on restoring them, it seems.2

1They werent created with magic tools/ Thats -uite rare in this time, or

how should ! put this0 does autonomous dolls mean theyre dolls that move

of their own accord/ By something li"e cloc"wor"/2

%hat ! imagines was a to that circled around through cloc"wor".

But 4iranda told me that was wrong.

1Thats a little0 its one of the reason hes "nown as a pervert, ut what he

wants to ma"e are humans themselves. )ccording to the man himself, he

wants to4a"e the !deal %oman. 2

+ven ! was shoc"ed at that one.

%hile thin"ing he was a little too honest to his passions, ! conceded that

perhaps it was a dreamli"e scenario for a man.

!ts *ust that0


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A

aving returned to the inn, ! called out to #ovem and )ria, who had een

dropping y the real esate agencies.

aving finished dinner, efore we were going to spend our time in leisure, !told oth of them of todays happenings.

! told them aout 4irandasans proposal.

10 )re you serious aout that/2

)rias expression was serious.

1! thin" doing as Lylesama wishes is for the est.2

Loo"ing at #ovems smile, ! rememered the lunch ! had with Clara.

!ts ecause the 'ourth said something li"e that, that ! cant help

ut e conscious of it.=

!f she learned hat ! had eaten lunch with a girl, *ust what would #ovem

thin"/

! somehow avoid the topic, and presented the information aout adventurers !

got as part of the information ! otained from 4irandasan.

)nd the final topic ! presented was0

14irandasan was serious. 5he said she would e than"ful with us there, it

seems. 5he was anxious with no one ut her sister around, and if it was )ria,

then she was already ac-uainted with 5hannon, she said.2

er proposal was that, if we hadnt found a place to stay in )rumsaas yet, to

come to the mansion.

'rom my point of view, ! was unsure of whether or not ! should ta"e

residence in there as a man.

+ven if the pulic order was good, it was dangerous.


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4irandasan said it would e convenient to have a man around the house.

! was worried aout what 5hannons reaction was, ut the ones who

approved the matter were the 'ifth and 5ixth.

The rest were opposed.)s a result of our discussion, ! was to leave the decision to #ovem and )ria.

That calmed them down.

1!m a it opposed to it. 4irandasan, and 5hannonchan, right/ )s a man, !

thin" it would e strange for me to e living with them. !ts *ust that our rent

would e the cleaning and laundry of the mansion, meaning we would e

ta"ing care of housewor". Though she said not to mind it if we were usy.2

!m than"ful to e ale to live there *ust y maintaining the place.

They did have rooms, and so our only real expense would e food, ! guess/

4irandasan said she would cover that, ut ! was seriously reluctant to have

her go that far.

)ria was perplexed.

19ust the two of them/ %hat aout their servants>21#o idea. $o you thin" ! could as" something li"e that/ %hy did everyone

-uit/ 5he said that a numer of them -uit, so ! thin" theres some sort of

prolem, though02

But loo"ing at 4irandasan, ! couldnt see that there was anything li"e that.

The one that "ept me wary was 5hannon.


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This girl frea"ing changed her opinion at the drop of a hat.

The Third laughed.

8ou really hate )riachan, 5econd. %hile !m personally opposed, it loo"s

li"e the 'ifth and 5ixth have something on their minds, so ! thin" it would e

fine to go along with it. %ell, it all depends on Lyle, though.

The 'ourth was0

8oure *ust fine as long as you can go to the lirary, arent you/

The 'ifth spo"e.

!f possile, ! would li"e you to go along with 4irandas proposal. 'rom mypoint of view, shes also my descendant, and shes more of a decent person

than the others, ! guess/

The 5ixth told me.

Lyle, my words may seem li"e someone elses prolem to you, ut !d li"e

you to ta"e up her offer. !t doesnt loo" to me that the %alt ouses hand is at

wor" there, ut theres something thats een othering me.

This thing othering them was something neither the 'ifth or 5ixth would put

to mouth.

6ather than living at the inn, ta"ing residence in the mansion was something !

was grateful for, moneywise.

1%hat aout you, #ovem/2

%hen as"ed, she thought for a moment, efore responding.

14irandasan, was it/ er sister is with her, ut her eyes are impaired0 !ll

have to confirm this. ! understand. Lets try living together so ! can ma"e my

*udgement.2


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There was something aout her response that caught me up.

1%hat sort of *udgement is that/2

1+h/ )s ! was saying, to see if theyre fit to parta"e in Lylesamas harem

operation. ! mean, it loo"s li"e you prefer larger reasts.23n #ovems misunderstanding, )ria reacted.

#o wait, this is the first time ! ever heard that ! was thought of as a large

reast lover.

18ou> 8ou were still thin"ing of such things>/ )fter saying you were

unrelated, or had no interest or other things li"e that>2

! hurriedly rushed to correct the misunderstanding.

#ovem continued to giggle to herself on the sidelines.

1%wrong> Thats definitely wrong> !n the first place, the one who proposed

it was 4irandasan, and ! didnt have any input> #ovem, why not say

something aout it>2

7utting her hand to her face, #ovem tilted her head, and spo"e.

1Lets see, !f they successfully pass through my discernment, then all will e

good and well for you, Lylesama.2

! covered my face with oth hands, and screamed out.

1%633333####;;;>>2

?uietly, the 'ourth muttered.

#ovemchan0 are you sure she isnt doing this on purpose at this point/

! didnt want to elieve that she was actually -uite dar" under that, so !

couldnt accept the 'ourths opinion.

#ovem is a good girl. 5he definitely is>


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Adventurers Circumstances

There is a layrinth managed y the city of )rumsaas.

They ma"e sure a large -uantity of monsters dont emerge, and manage it so

that adventurers are arred from entering the deepest chamer.

The layrinths defining characteristic was the restrictions placed on the

adventurers challenging it.

!ts not li"e everyone desired for it, ut there were some times when they had

to challenge it even if they didnt want to.

'or )rumsaas guild that conducted management of the layrinth, with the

monster materials and magic stones, and other treasures rought forth y it, it

was a valuale source of income.

)nd in the layrinth they managed, a set numer of adventurer had to

perpetually go down, and lessen the numer of monster.

That means0

1The right to challenge a layrinth/2

aving stopped y the guild, the three of us, me, #ovem and )ria, loo"ed

through the various ulletins stationed around efore finding on with that

title.

The contents0 no, rather than that, there was a re-uest for parties that

wanted to otain that right, and a search ongoing for parties that wanted to

challenge the layrinth.

!t was a re-uest directly put out y the guild.

)ria tilted her head as she loo"ed at it.

18ou need a special right to challenge it/ There was nothing li"e that in

$alien.2


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!n $alien, they generally didnt have the power or "nowledge to manage a

layrinth, so they handled them y sending out masses of "nights or

adventurers wo clear them.

Layrinths had a nature where they would gradually grow deeper, and after a

certain point, they would spit up a large -uantity of monsters efore

vanishing.

But if the amount of monsters inside it was "ept low, it would continue to

grow deeper, and larger as a layrinth.

#ovem loo"ed at the specifics of the re-uest.

1!t loo"s li"e this is how )rumsaas conducts management. The 7arty

re-uirements are0 at least three on the front line, two in the rear, and one

support, it seems. !ts impossile for us.2

!n our current state, were operating with *ust the three of us.

%ere mainly going out to defeat monsters, and selling their parts for profit.

! heard a voice from the 9ewel.

!t was the 'ourths.

The rights also come with an oligation. Theres no need to push yourself to

challenge it, ut that doesnt change the fact that youll need to gather

personnel0 Lyle, move with the intentions of assemling at least a party of

six.

! gripped the 9ewel in response.

!t was my signal of, understood. %hen there were a lot of eyes around, !

couldnt really let out my voice to tal" to them.

%hile ! could hear the ancestors voices, my own thoughts dont reach them.

10 Lets try gathering six people. 3f course, well need young notso

patriotic ones, though.2


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! get the feeling the conditions are slightly harsh.

There are many adventurers fine with leaving their homelands, ut there are

many others esides us searching for young adventurers with good future

prospects.

)ria loo"ed at me, and muttered.

1)nd in the end, you plan on finding yourself some cute girls, dont you.2

5hes een pic"ing fights with me a lot lately, so ! responded.

1%hether they e male or female, if theyre s"illed, then !ll invite them as

our comrades>2

But #ovem was0

1#o, if possile, lets fortify our party with women. !t would e troulesome

if various prolems came up, and !ve heard that many -uarrels can come out

in mixed gender parties.2

5he denied it all too naturally.

5ince the start, no matter how many times ! told her ! didnt want a harem,

she would gently change the su*ect.

! really cant tell whats going on in her mind.


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There, having heard her, a single adventurer stifled their laughter efore

offering a correction.

The hooded magicianli"e adventurer gave her a more detailed explanation.

1;irly, thats a little wrong, you "now.2'rom his voice, ! could tell he was a middleaged man. e was li"ely )rias

elder, so she revised her tone of speech.

1%hat do you mean y that/2

)ccording to him0

1;enerally, love and such relationships dont rea" out etween adventurers.

They often go off with ordinary civilians. ! mean, its -uite a dangerous *o.They dont want to have to see their comrades faces even after they finally

return. )lso, their opinions often clash on various things during *os.2

1!is that how it is/2

1Thats right. Therere even times theyll have to stay together for a *o.

6egardless of male and female relations, theyll see the parts of each other

they dont want to see. 'or a man who still wants to "eep up his prettyillusion of women they run off to civilians or harlots. 'or women, rather than

the men who dont treat them as females, a civilian is more appealing. 3h,

this is *ust the standard pattern, so !m not giving any asolutes. But there are

a lot of adventurers li"e that.2

earing that, ! recalled Eelphysan.

seemed she had many adventurer ac-uaintance, as ! thought, did she not want

to marry into the same usiness/=

6ondosan was dating 6achelsan of his party, so its true that it isnt an

asolute, ! gess.

owever, ! was ale to understand what was the general case.


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1!snt it ad not to treat them as women02

)ria tried to offer a reuttal, ut he continued on.

14an and women are all ris"ing their lives all the same. !n a place li"e that,

would you li"e to e protected, or perhaps underestimated for your gender/!ts simple manners to treat them all as adventurers.2

earing that, )ria closed her mouth.

5he had cone through such an experience, so she couldnt say anything in

return.

#ovem offered her than"s to the adventurer who provided the information.

)ria hopped on as well01Than" you for your "ind explanation.2

1Tthan" you.2

! also give than"s, and the hooded man went off with a re-uest form to the

receptionists.

! thought that most of the residents were apathetic, ut ! guess "ind ones exist

as well.

10 %ell then, with the fact that love affairs within the party arent

recommended in mind, ! elieve its time for us to seriously focus on

gathering memers. 5hould we put up a flier first/2

The standard method was writing down all the necessary information, and

putting it out with a recruitment call.

But the other two reacted adly to that.

)ria spo"e.

1%ell e doing an interview or something, right/ Li"e going out hunting as a

temporary party memer or something/ !n that case, wouldnt it e etter to

approach them from our side/2


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#ovem was the same.

But her opinion on the matter wasnt of any use.

1Theres also the method of having the guild introduce them to us, ut it has

to e a woman who fulfills the %alt 'amily 7recepts. !nterviews are goodand all, ut as ! thought, !d li"e to confirm them with my own eyes first.2

8ep. Lets not use her view as reference.

13"ay, then we wont put out a flier, and call out to them from our side.


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%here are the monsters/

%here should we fight them/

ow many will we have to fight/

!t made it simple to set up plans.

To get to the places where monsters gathered, ! was ale to use the 'ourths

5"ill for swift movement.

5o as not to leave the other two ehind, ! used the 5econds 5"ill to raise

their speed as well.

!n attle, even if we were at a disadvantage, we generally didnt have a

prolem.

%hen we were surrounded y golins0

1Lylesama> There are two coming at you from ehind>2

%hen ! heard #ovems voice, ! activated the 5econds 5"ill to sense the

enemies approaching my ac".

%hile turning around, ! loc"ed my sare with their weapons, and used my

left hand to draw my reserve sare to ta"e one out.

@sing the first golin corpse as a 5hield, ! loc"ed down the second ones

movements, efore impaling its head on my sares.

'inally, ! used 4agic0

1Lightning>2

+lectricity rains down on the golins all around, charring them lac".5eeing that, )ria shouted out.

1$dont scare me li"e that> !f youre going to use it, at least throw out a

warning>2

4y 5"ills already give me the positioning of enemies and allies, ut )ria said


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she found the urst of magic suddenly coming at her from ehind to e scary.

$oes that mean our coordination in attle is still immature/

Loo"ing at the attle, the ancestors gave their evaluations.

The 5econd levelheadedly0

Loc" them down efore they can surround you. +ven if you "now you can

win, dont get yourself into that sort of attle if you can avoid it.

The Third leisurely0

ey, hey, this is also a sort of experience. !ts hard to fight whensurrounded. es got to learn that one in real attle. !ts *ust that !m doutful

of whether Lyle was actually ale to grasp that or not.

The 'ourth spo"e.

'or now, youll *ust have to fight enemies you "now you can eat, and

polish your coordination.

The 'ifth was of the same opinion.

!f Lyles 5"ill, +xperience, were to e used on the entire force, and

everyone was ale to amass experience all at once, wont the coordination

reach a higher level sooner/ ! mean, rather than for ;rowths, it was a 5"ill

for gaining a large amount of life experience, right/

The 5ixth found my actions to e rash.

$ont ma"e light of an enemy you can defeat. 8ou may pay for that with

your life one day, Lyle.

The 5eventh was the softest.

But with Lyles aptitude, he can easily cut through this much. %hile it may


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sound natural, his lac" of numers is detrimental, though.

6ight.

$ue to our current lac" of numers, we cant *ust move as we want.

%e had no one to protect our aggage, so after collecting magic stones and

monster parts up to a point, we would have no choice ut to return.

+ven if we "new we would have to ecome more accustomed to attle, we

couldnt go as far as to discard out sources of income.

)void unprofitale actions, is one of the important principles of adventuring.

%e werent doing this in order to fight. !t was in order to live that we wor"ed

as adventurers.

nothing ut attle.=

Theres also #ovem and )ria.

! couldnt conduct attle thin"ing of only myself.

The 5econd started into his assessment of todays *o.

;enerally, with only three, this is aout your limit. !f you got a support, or

perhaps a front or ac" line that could fight, it would li"ely e much

different, ut0 well, thats the current issue anyways. !ts not li"e your

earnings will suddenly explode the moment you get a new recruit or

anything.


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! "now !m eing selfish, ut ! couldnt help ut wish for that.

A

A

A

aving returned from our wor", we washed off the sweat and lood at the

ath house near the guild, efore returning to the mansion.

%e ended up ta"ing residence in the property the Circry ouse possessed in

)rumsaas, and otained a lifestyle where rent was unnecessary.

%hen we entered, 4irandasan greeted us.

1%elcome ac"F.2

!t wasnt ad to have someone greet us, ! thought as ! stepped forward, ut0

1'ugoh>>2

1LLylesama>2

1)hah )hahaha>>2

4y feet suddenly slipped, and ! collapsed in the entranceway.

#ovem ran over to me, and ! orrowed her hand to stand.

)ria urst into laughter upon seeing me fall.

1%what/ %as there something to ma"e me02

)s ! sat down on the floor, ! found a fluid spread over it.

1ey, are you alright/ )h, this is024iranda came over, and touched the floor with her hand.

1Come to thin" of it, ! did drop some eggs on the floor. But thats strange.

!m sure ! did a decent *o wiping it away0 ah, sorry, Lyle. )re you hurt/2

To e honest, it hurt, ut if ! were to say that to an apologi(ing girl, ! get the


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feeling the 'ourth would e outraged, so ! held it in.

1#o, it was my negligence. !m fine. )nd wait, )ria> )rent you *ust a little

too happy>/2

Loo"ing at the girl holding her stomach and laughing ehind me, ! saw thather eyes had ecome teary.

! heard a fed up voice from the 9ewel.

!t was the 5econd and Third.

Lyle, you really need to e more aware of your surroundings. 7erhaps we

really have to wor" on that one.

6ight0

#ovem seemed fed up as well, ut that was towards )ria.

)s ! thought, #ovem is my ally.

1)riasan, isnt that a little cruel/2

15orry, sorry. ! mean, that was an ama(ing slip0 *ust rememering it is02

!t seems there was no stopping it, an she frantically attempted to endure her

laughter.

! stood up, and wal"ed into the mansion.

#ovem supported my ody, and )ria followed ehind.

4irandasan egan the cleanup of the floor.

1!m really sure ! wi

sevens - 3 - the third generation… perhaps he was actually quite dark

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