A year had passed.
Swordsmanship came naturally to her, and she advanced to Intermediate before turning ten.
Intermediate meant she had the strength to hold her own against an average knight.
According to Ghislaine, she would likely reach Advanced within a few more years.
She was only nine, though. Could our young lady possibly be a genius?
When I asked what about me, she averted her gaze.
Eris could read and write, more or less.
That was largely because Ghislaine had impressed upon her how difficult life was without literacy.
If you couldn't read, you couldn't do anything.
You'd get swindled by all manner of people, and in the end be sold off as a slave.
Hearing that, she was naturally motivated to learn.
Her progress in arithmetic was slow.
I didn't know what Eris would end up doing in the future, but advanced mathematics apparently wasn't necessary in this world, so I figured slow was fine.
Five years to master the four basic operations. That was the goal.
Magic was also going well, though I was starting to feel a bit stuck.
She could perform most of the beginner spells that used incantations.
Eris had nearly mastered every elemental type except earth, while Ghislaine could only use fire.
Why was there such a difference when they were receiving the same lessons?
Were water, wind, and earth Ghislaine's weak elements?
There were too many episodes that suggested she was bad at them, so I couldn't tell.
In any case, it didn't seem as though simply reading the incantations from a magic textbook would let you cast spells.
On that front, I hadn't exactly trained hard to learn it myself, so I didn't know.
Also, I had recently started having her practice incantationless magic, but it wasn't going well.
Or maybe Sylphie just had exceptional talent?
I didn't know.
Perhaps I was wasting her time.
Maybe it would be better to move straight to Intermediate.
But both Ghislaine and Eris were swordswomen.
It would be more practical to master the beginner spells that could be applied to everyday tasks.
In that case, the current pace was fine.
I wanted to believe that she'd get the hang of it someday.
Every subject seemed to be going smoothly—or so I thought, until a problem arose in etiquette.
--- Eris's tenth birthday was fast approaching.
The tenth birthday was special.
Birthdays at five, ten, and fifteen were celebrated by hosting large-scale parties and festivities—it was a noble tradition.
The mansion's great hall and the adjoining courtyard would be opened up.
Gifts would arrive from all over the domain, and nobles from across the town would be invited.
Since Sauros was a blunt military man, the plan had originally been to host a rowdy standing-drinks party.
But Philip intervened and reshaped it into a dance party so that mid-ranking nobles from neighboring territories could attend more comfortably.
A dance party.
The person most troubled by this was Eris.
After all, she couldn't dance.
She couldn't even perform the simplest steps.
"It's a problem that the young lady herself can't dance at her own party," Edna said at the monthly staff meeting.
When asked how things had gone at her fifth birthday, apparently in the
In a rush, every class except swordsmanship and magic was converted entirely to etiquette training.
It was an intensive crash course.
Morning swordsmanship remained unchanged.
After lunch, she did a brief warm-up in magic, and everything after that was dance.
I could see Eris visibly losing energy and confidence by the day, growing increasingly irritable.
"Excuse me, Lord
One day, Edna approached me around the time magic lessons were wrapping up.
"No, I can't."
"Then would you mind learning together? You'll be attending the party as well, won't you?"
"A-Ah. I suppose I will?"
I looked at Eris, and she nodded as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Rudeus shall dance too."
Her manner of speaking had gotten strange—probably because of the etiquette lessons—but I decided not to worry about it.
"She says you'll be attending."
"Then not being able to dance would be a problem."
"No, I'll just pretend to be a helpless child and stick to the edge of the room. I'll be fine."
Edna didn't even crack a wry smile. Her gentle expression didn't waver at all.
I'd noticed it by now, but this woman almost never showed any expression other than that soft smile.
In a sense, she was a poker face.
"The first ball can be more nerve-wracking than expected. You might step on your partner's feet, and your partner might hold back upon seeing how young the young lady still is. To help ease her nerves, I was hoping that her first dance partner could be someone she's comfortable with..."
She kept glancing my way without dropping that gentle smile.
In short, she was asking for my help.
Eris's dancing must really be struggling.
I hadn't planned to meddle outside my area of expertise, but I wasn't about to say no when asked directly.
After all, I was the head teacher.
"If that's the case, I understand.
But I can't pay tuition."
"Of course not, Lord Rudeus. I'm the one asking the favor."
And so, I ended up joining the dance lessons too.
--- Edna was a poor teacher.
No—for a teacher, she was probably about average.
"This goes like this, that goes like that.
So just memorize all of it."
That was her approach.
She never touched on why something was important, or what the key points were.
I'd had teachers like this in middle school too.
Well, if something was unclear, I could think it through myself. I wasn't a child, after all.
"I see."
After three days, I was able to perform several steps.
What they called dance was essentially just performing predetermined steps in rhythm.
The simplest ones barely required any practice.
Maybe the tiny bit of experience I'd had with Dance Dance Revolution at the arcade during middle school helped.
Nah, probably not relevant.
"You're wonderful, Lord Rudeus. You have real talent."
When Edna praised me, Eris puffed her cheeks in irritation.
She had spent months unable to do what I'd picked up in three days. She couldn't exactly be happy about it.
But I hadn't simply been memorizing steps mindlessly those three days.
I'd been searching for Eris's weakness.
And I found it.
Her steps were too fast and too sharp.
Her compatibility with the Sword God Style was working against her.
Where you were supposed to move slowly and steadily in time with the beat, she tried to move at maximum speed in an instant, throwing off the rhythm with her partner.
Eris instinctively hated having her rhythm disrupted.
At all times, she tried to maintain her own pace, never swayed by anyone else.
In a fight, that was a remarkable talent. In a dance, it was a hindrance.
After all, in a dance, you had to match your partner.
Edna said she'd never taught a student with so little aptitude, but that wasn't true.
Being able to move at top speed meant she could perform sharp, precise movements.
The teaching method was simply wrong.
Now, correcting this would be difficult.
But I had an idea.
"Eris, close your eyes and sway your body to your own rhythm."
"...What are you planning to make me do with my eyes closed?"
"...Lord Rudeus?"
Edna's gentle smile faltered slightly.
No, it's not what you think!
What rude people, suspecting a gentleman like me...
"I'm going to use magic to help you learn to dance."
"Really?! There's magic like that?"
"No—magic, not a spell. A miraculous phenomenon."
Eris tilted her head but obeyed my words.
It was a rhythm I'd seen countless times during swordsmanship lessons.
Fast, intricate, sharp, never patterned.
Impossible to predict. Naturally disruptive to any opponent's rhythm.
A rhythm that was impossible for me to imitate—purely instinctive willfulness.
"I'm going to clap my hands from now on. I want you to step in time with the sound, as if you're dodging an attack."
With that, I began clapping at a steady tempo—clap, clap.
Eris moved her body in response—flick, flick.
After repeating this for a while, I called out at a specific moment.
"Hey! Hey!"
The timing was just before I clapped.
Eris hesitated for a split second, then responded only to the clap itself.
"T-This is—!"
Edna let out a cry of astonishment.
Eris was performing the steps.
Still a bit fast, but she wasn't off-beat.
"You're doing it! You're doing it, my lady!"
"Really?!"
Edna clasped her hands together and—rare for her—exclaimed with an excited smile.
Eris opened her eyes and asked back, her face beaming with joy.
"Don't open your eyes. Remember what you just did."
"Remember it? That's just—reading a feint and dodging the attack!"
Exactly.
This training was something I'd done during swordsmanship lessons.
Dodging Ghislaine's attacks.
When Ghislaine feinted, she would shout "Hey!" and you had to avoid being lured by that and dodge only the real strike.
Compared to resisting Ghislaine's feints imbued with genuine killing intent, dodging my voice—which carried no killing intent at all—after identifying it before the real strike was child's play.
Incidentally, I scored higher than Eris in that particular drill.
Eris was too straightforward, which made her easy to bait.
"Eris, what you learn in one lesson can be applied to others. When something isn't working, think carefully about whether something similar came up in another class."
For once, Eris didn't say a word—just nodded earnestly with wide eyes.
With this, the dance would be fine.
"As expected of Lord Rudeus. You've been teaching arithmetic to the young lady for a year, and it shows."
Edna seemed genuinely impressed.
As expected...? Just how hopeless had they thought my arithmetic teaching was?
Well, I'd struggled plenty too.
Half of the credit went to Ghislaine.
I wouldn't let it go to my head.
"This Edna is utterly amazed. There is common ground between swordsmanship and dance."
Edna looked as though she'd witnessed something unbelievable.
I am witnessing a miracle—O God, there you were. That was the expression on her face.
What a drama queen.
"Well, there are dances performed with swords."
"Oh, there are such things?"
"Huh? Well, yes—I've only read about it in books..."
Edna looked puzzled and asked again.
Sword dances.
In my old world, this was common knowledge within the realm of adolescent chuunibyou, but it apparently didn't exist in this world.
"I believe there were such documents... What kind of dance was it?"
"I-I'm not sure. The document mentioned it being performed in a desert kingdom."
"A desert... Perhaps on the Begaritt Continent?"
"I don't know. It might have been demons dancing in the Demon Continent, for all I know. I've heard there are many small tribes there, and some of them might perform dances with swords."
I said whatever came to mind.
"Ah, I see. It is precisely this accumulation of knowledge that is the source of Lord Rudeus's wisdom."
Edna returned to her gentle smile and praised me.
She'd accepted my answer on her own terms.
"That's right! Rudeus is amazing!"
For some reason, Eris was puffing her chest out in pride.
That's right—keep telling me that. I'm the type who grows when praised. Mwahaha!
--- The day of the dance party arrived.
I had staked out a spot in the corner of the venue.
Early in the party.
Mid-ranking and lower-ranking nobles who were trying to curry favor with the
The two of them performed admirably, leaving not a single gap for anyone to exploit.
Those who then tried to approach Sauros directly were repelled by that booming voice and unreasonable, high-handed manner, and they scurried away.
Those who fled, as a last resort, headed to Eris—the star of the party.
Eris had no authority and no understanding of politics.
So she simply told them, "Please convey your message to my father."
Some brought along well-bred-looking young or middle-aged men to introduce as their sons.
There were a few who were around her age, but most of them were already quite spoiled.
They'd certainly grown up soft and pampered at home.
Just like the old me.
As I felt a pang of familiarity in my heart, the dance time arrived.
True to the original plan, I served as Eris's first dance partner.
Like children, with the simplest steps—but since she was the guest of honor, right in the center of the square.
Just like practice. No mistakes.
"W-Wh-Wh-What are you...!"
Eris was incredibly stiff with tension.
I lightly feinted with a glance and a step forward.
She muttered "What are you?" once more under her breath, then returned to her usual rhythm.
After the dance, Edna came over to talk.
Even from a distance, it had been clear that the young lady's tension had dissipated.
When she asked how I'd done it, I told her I'd simply done what we'd practiced.
Edna looked puzzled, so I added that it was the same technique from swordsmanship, and she let out a soft chuckle.
In any case, my role was done, so I went hunting for food.
There were many rare dishes that only appeared at occasions like this.
Pies made with some kind of sweet-and-sour fruit I couldn't identify, A meat dish that used an entire cow, Beautifully plated cakes.
I was happily munching away at these when I made eye contact with Ghislaine, who was on guard duty.
Her gaze wasn't accusing, but drool was hanging from her mouth.
I was a man who could read the room.
I wrapped small portions of food in napkins and had a maid carry them to my room.
The guards and servants would receive a slightly more lavish meal than usual after this, but not the kind of food that was out here.
Just as I'd finished having most of the food carted away, I suddenly noticed a lovely young girl standing before me.
She introduced herself with a formal greeting.
A daughter of a mid-ranking noble, apparently. I forgot her name.
She asked if I would dance with her, so I prefaced it by saying I could only do simple steps, and then made my way to the square.
I think it went well.
When I returned, another woman was waiting.
"Would you dance with me next?"
What the heck—I'm actually pretty popular, aren't I? I was thinking this when they kept coming one after another.
There were women well past thirty, and girls even younger than me who couldn't dance.
I turned down the ones where the height difference made dancing impossible, but other than that, I partnered with everyone.
I was the kind of Japanese person who couldn't say no.
But since I'd said yes to the first one, it was hard to refuse the others.
I did have ulterior motives, of course, but after accumulating an amount of faces and names I couldn't possibly remember, even I was exhausted.
Just when things had mostly settled down, Philip came over to explain.
Apparently, when someone asked Sauros who the boy that danced with Eris first was, the old man had proudly blurted out that it was a person bearing the Greyrat name.
In other words, it was all Grandpa Sauros's fault.
Still, I couldn't really blame the old man.
He'd been asked, "That boy who so skillfully eased the young lady's nerves during her first dance—could he be Lord Sauros's illegitimate child?"
And he'd been so pleased by the question that he'd let it slip.
The original plan had been for me not to reveal that I was a Greyrat.
But he'd been drinking, so maybe it couldn't be helped.
In other words, these people were now sending their own daughters and granddaughters, convinced that this branch family or bastard child was destined to become a prominent figure.
But if that was the case, wouldn't they have come right after the dance ended? I asked Philip.
He told me they'd actually found it endearing that I was wrapping sweets in napkins, and they'd waited.
People who observe, observe.
When I asked Philip what I should do about the girls who kept making advances, he told me to just humor them.
No matter how things turned out in the future, he clearly had no intention of getting me involved in politics.
Or perhaps he'd judged that becoming attached to someone could be a political asset.
I had absolutely zero interest in gaining political power.
So today's popularity was a fleeting dream.
But still, I wondered—if I became important, could I live lavishly with beautiful women? Using money and influence?
That single thought had barely flickered through my mind when— "Just don't go dragging girls into bed one after another like
—I received a stern warning.
The last girl to approach me was Eris.
Incidentally, today Eris wasn't in her usual lively outfit but wore a dress with blue as the base color.
Her hair was done up, adorned with a floral hairpiece, and she looked absolutely adorable.
At her first dance party, being approached one after another by unfamiliar adults, even she was looking tired.
But she was also excited, partly because her own party was going so well.
"Would you... dance with me?"
The usual loud-voiced, long-strided, tactless, ill-mannered Eris was nowhere to be found.
With a refined young lady's performance that rivaled any of the girls who'd approached me before, she invited me to dance.
When we stepped into the hall, a slightly more difficult piece was playing—one with a shifted tempo and a faster rhythm, something we hadn't practiced.
"Ah, um..."
Eris faltered on the first step.
She was forcing the act with her elegant demeanor.
She looked at me with a pleading "What do I do?" expression, so I feinted with my eyes in time with the music.
It was an off-tempo piece, but actually, this kind of song might be easier for Eris to dance to.
As for the steps themselves, I was improvising. Edna would either be exasperated or furious if she saw.
We held hands, advancing and retreating like our usual swordsmanship training.
It was technically in sync with the music but irregular, and from the outside, it must have looked rather strange.
But Eris seemed to be enjoying herself. She was smiling.
The girl who was always either scowling or sulking was smiling like a girl her age.
Just getting to see that was reason enough to attend this party.
When we finished, applause erupted.
Sauros came rushing over, hoisted the both of us onto his shoulders, and ran around the courtyard beaming with joy.
What an energetic old man.
Everyone around them was smiling at the sight.
Yeah.
It was a fun party.
--- After the party ended, I invited Ghislaine and Eris to my room.
Honestly, Ghislaine alone would have been fine, but Eris had been there when I extended the invitation, so I'd brought her along on a whim.
At the sight of the food spread across the table, Eris's stomach growled.
Apparently she hadn't eaten anything at the party—too much tension and excitement.
I pulled out the cheap liquor I'd bought in town beforehand and stashed at the back of the cabinet.
I'd bought it for Ghislaine, but Eris wanted some too, so I set out three glasses and proposed a toast.
The legal drinking age in this country was apparently fifteen, but tonight was a no-rules affair.
Time to let loose for once.
"Since this is a good opportunity, let me give you these today."
I said this and retrieved two wands from the shelf beside my bed.
"What? These?"
"I suppose you could call them birthday presents."
"Ehh, I'd rather have that instead."
What Eris was pointing at was the collection of detailed figurines I'd been crafting recently under the guise of magic training—sculpted from earth magic.
There were dragons, ships, and 1/10-scale Sylphie figures lined up.
Not to brag, but during my twenties I'd been into figurines and plastic models to the point of building a spray-painting booth out of cardboard.
Paint was expensive, of course, and I didn't have spray cans, so I hadn't done any painting.
But sculpting the parts individually with earth magic and then assembling them was fun and absorbing, so they'd turned out fairly detailed.
All things considered, they were the work of an amateur, though.
Incidentally, the first 1/10-scale
It was probably traveling the world right now.
But I digressed.
"My master told me that a magic teacher gives a wand to their disciple.
I didn't know how to make one, and I didn't have the money for the materials, so it's late, but please accept it if you'd like."
Upon hearing this, Ghislaine rose to her feet and knelt respectfully on one knee.
Oh, I knew this one.
It was the Sword God Style disciple's salute to their master.
"I gratefully accept this, Master Rudeus."
"Very well. Rise."
She was being so formal that I couldn't help but match the tone as I handed it over.
Ghislaine was looking at the wand with an unmistakably happy expression.
"Does this mean I can now call myself a mage?"
Oh—was that what this meant?
Could she really?
Roxy had never mentioned anything about that...
No, this was obviously an introductory-level wand. That couldn't be right.
But did completing magic training automatically qualify you as a mage?
My master didn't explain things well enough.
"Um, Eris, you wanted this one, right?"
I picked up the 1/10-scale Sylphie with a teasing tone, but Eris shook her head vigorously.
"No! That one—give me the wand! I want that one too!"
"Here you go."
She took it quickly, then—perhaps remembering Ghislaine's solemn posture— Immediately straightened up and held the wand reverently with both hands.
"Th-Thank you, Master Rudeus."
"Well done. You're welcome."
Then Eris glanced at Ghislaine.
Ghislaine noticed the look, froze for a few seconds, then shook her head.
"Sorry, but my race doesn't have that custom. I didn't prepare anything."
I wondered what was going on, but it turned out Eris had been expecting a present in return.
Come to think of it, that had been going on while I was collecting food earlier.
Eris sat down on the sofa looking dejected.
There was apparently no custom of an employer giving presents, but it seemed cruel that her beloved big sister Ghislaine had nothing for her.
I should smooth things over.
"Ghislaine, you don't have to go out of your way to prepare something special. Something you wear every day, or something that could serve as a good-luck charm—that sort of thing works fine."
"Hmm."
Ghislaine pondered for a moment, then removed one of her rings.
It was a carved wooden ring, quite worn and scratched, but—whether from some enchantment, the way the light hit it, or the material itself—it reflected a faintly greenish glow.
"It's a warding ring passed down through my clan.
They say wearing it protects you from being attacked by bad wolves at night."
"Is it... okay?"
"Yeah. It was just a superstition anyway."
Eris took it with some hesitation.
She slipped it onto the ring finger of her right hand, then clutched both hands tightly to her chest.
"I-I'll treasure it."
She looked happier than when she'd received my wand.
Well, it was a ring, after all. For a girl, that was—yeah, that made sense.
That reminded me of a question.
"A superstition? Does that mean you've actually been attacked by bad wolves, Ghislaine?"
"Yeah. It was an unbearable night. Paul had invited me to take a bath or something and..."
"Ah, nope—I can see where this story is going. Let's stop there."
I had to shut this down. Continuing this topic was going to tank my standing.
Paul's fault again. That guy was always ruining things for me.
"I see. Well, you probably don't want to hear about your father's romantic escapades either."
"Not at all. Now, let's eat!
Everything's gone cold, but let's enjoy ourselves.
In the spirit of a master-disciple relationship—no formalities tonight."
Eris's milestone tenth birthday passed without incident.
--- The next morning, I woke to find Eris sleeping right beside me.
"Whoa—"
Taking the next step with an adult, are we? Oh my, how naughty.
...Not a chance.
I remembered clearly.
She'd fallen asleep during the nighttime party and had staggered into my bed.
When Ghislaine had seen this, she'd decided it was time to leave and had headed back to her own room, leaving Eris behind.
The man who prepares the feast but doesn't eat it— Heh heh heh. Time for a little mischief.
I approached the bed, licking my lips.
And there lay Eris, wearing Ghislaine's ring, clutching my wand tightly to her chest, and sleeping with a blissful smile on her face.
The leering bad wolf retreated.
"The warding ring actually works..."
I murmured that, and without so much as touching Eris with a single finger, I quietly slipped into the far edge of the bed.
It was still early morning.
Looking out the window, the sky was just beginning to lighten but still dark.
I decided to go for a little walk.
I could stay here watching Eris sleep, but if she woke up, I'd get punched for sure.
I did not want to get punched.
I quietly left the room.
Walking through the chilly hallway, I considered where to go.
The mansion's main gate didn't open until a certain hour in the morning, so I couldn't go outside.
My options were limited.
Over the past year, I'd learned what was where in this mansion.
But unknown places were still unknown.
For example, the single tower that jutted out from the building.
I'd been warned not to approach it, but I was curious.
Maybe there was something good to be found there.
Like someone's freshly laundered panties, perhaps.
With such thoughts in mind, I climbed the stairs to the top floor.
On the top floor, I found a cheerful-looking spiral staircase.
This must be the entrance to that tower.
As I climbed, I heard a certain meowing voice drifting down from above.
So I ascended as quietly as possible.
Sauros was in a tiny room on the top floor—barely large enough for one person—engaging in certain activities with a cat-eared maid.
So that's why we weren't supposed to approach...
I watched thoroughly until the very end, at which point Sauros noticed me.
The maid had noticed quite a while ago.
And she'd been excited about it.
The cat-eared maid slipped past my side and headed down the stairs the moment things concluded.
"...Rudeus."
His voice was different from usual—small and calm.
Was this sage mode?
"Yes, Lord Sauros. Good morning."
I offered the proper nobleman's greeting, but Sauros raised a hand to stop me.
"Enough. What are you doing here?"
"I saw the stairs, so I came up."
"Do you like high places?"
"Yes."
I said yes, but if I stuck my head out of that bay window, my legs would go weak.
Liking something and being good at it were different things.
Even if I conquered the world and built the tallest tower in existence, my bedroom would be on the first floor.
"By the way, what are you doing here, Lord Sauros?"
"I was praying to that orb over there."
Huh.
The prayer culture in this mansion was quite decadent.
But I let it go. This strict-looking guy was still a member of the Greyrat family. Birds of a feather.
"An orb?"
I looked out the bay window.
There, floating in midair, was a single red orb.
Depending on the light, something inside it seemed to move slightly.
What the heck was that? Amazing.
Was it floating via magic power?
"What is that?"
"I don't know."
Sauros shook his head.
"I found it about three years ago. But it is not evil."
"How can you be so certain?"
"Because it is better to think so."
Fair enough. We couldn't even reach it.
Thinking it was evil wouldn't do my mental health any good.
And praying thinking it was good would make the orb feel nice too.
I'd throw in a prayer myself. Please let a girl fall from the sky...
"Rudeus, I'm going out riding. Care to join?"
"I'll come along."
Grandpa Sauros had just finished his business but was full of energy.
He apparently had the day off and was willing to entertain me.
Yay.
...This was going to be exhausting.
"Come to think of it," I said.
"What?"
"Does Lord Sauros not have a wife?"
I heard a grinding sound.
Realizing Sauros had clenched his teeth, a chill ran down my spine.
"She passed away."
"My apologies. I shouldn't have asked."
I apologized sincerely.
Here he'd been enjoying his cat-eared maid, and I'd probably reminded him of something unpleasant.
At this rate, maybe I shouldn't ask why Eris didn't have any siblings either.
"Well then, let's go."
"Yes, sir."
Today was a day off.
Starting tomorrow, I'd have Eris working hard again.
:Status: Name: Eris Boreas Greyrat Occupation: Granddaughter of the Fitto Region Lord Personality: Slightly violent Obedience: Listens without complaint Reading & Writing: Reading is nearly perfect Arithmetic: Has memorized multiplication tables Magic: Can cast most beginner spells with incantation Swordsmanship: Sword God Style – Intermediate Etiquette: Can get through a party without embarrassment Favorite people: Grandpa, Ghislaine, Rudeus