episode_0004

McLain, seeing my disgusted expression, added with a wry smile.

“It’s true that she is exceptional. She achieved the 3rd Circle by the age of ten. However… she still occasionally acts spoiled, as befits her age.”

“Ten years old? Wait, she’s that young?”

“Hmm…”

McLain gave me a look that seemed to say, “Are you really one to talk?”

With a slightly lighter heart, I replied.

“If it’s because she’s young, then it’s fine. I’m good at taking care of kids.”

“This time, let me ask you something. Are you really ten? It was written that way in the introduction.”

“Why would I lie about something like that?”

“How fascinating. If it’s true, then it’s a heaven-sent talent.”

McLain smiled softly as he looked at me.

I sensed a subtle desire in his gaze and took a step back.

Should I report him to the police?

“Please be careful. I’d hate to see you get ruined.”

“…Yes, thank you for the advice.”

I thought he was just saying it casually.

What kind of orders could a ten-year-old brat possibly give? Something like, “Go climb that tree and pick some fruit,” right?

I realized my misjudgment exactly one day later.

“Are you Vir-Dem?”

“Yes, my lady. I am Vir-Dem of the Selbus family.”

On a hill where apple trees bloomed.

I knelt to greet the young mistress who would be with me for the next ten years.

“Lift your head.”

I raised my head, which had been bowed deeply.

There stood Firunea. Short silver hair, blue eyes, and chubby cheeks that still retained their baby fat—she was an adorable little girl.

Though one could already see the budding charm of a femme fatale capable of reducing men to tears, for now, she was just a child.

“Hmm…”

Firunea also scrutinized me up and down as if evaluating me—

“Not very handsome,” she spat out bluntly.

…I staggered, forgetting even that McLain was standing beside her.

They say children don’t lie.

But does that mean I’m ugly?

The one thing I was most satisfied with after reincarnating was my refined looks.

As I struggled to regain my composure, another blow followed.

“What can you do?”

“…Anything you desire, I will strive to accomplish.”

I straightened my posture, smiled gently, and exuded confidence.

How much time had I spent training to become a butler?

Even if it was a child’s order—no, even if it were the request of some ancient monster—I would carry it out flawlessly.

But then.

“Use magic.”

“…Pardon?”

“Magic. I’m 3rd Circle. What about you?”

“I… I apologize, but I have not walked the path of magic.”

“What? So you’re not that great after all?”

I was utterly crushed.

McLain, who had been watching my pitiful downfall, hurriedly intervened.

“M-My lady, ordinary butlers cannot use magic. If you wish, we can assign a royal mage to you…”

“A royal mage?”

After a moment of thought, Firunea delivered the final blow.

“Can I have them as my butler?”

Three minutes.

A mere three-minute conversation trampled all my self-esteem into the dirt.

“T-That’s impossible. Royal mages cannot be employed as butlers…”

“—I will do it.”

At my solemn voice, McLain and Firunea, who had been at a loss, turned to look at me.

I met Firunea’s gaze directly and answered.

“What kind of magic would you like to see, my lady?”

“You said you don’t know magic.”

“I will learn.”

“…Are you stupid?”

“Please, give me just one chance.”

I bowed my head again.

Losing this opportunity now would be too much of a waste.

—More than anything, I wanted to pay her back.

To this audacious young lady who had looked down on me.

“I will never disappoint you.”

“Hmm.”

Firunea studied me for a moment, as if amused, then extended her right hand.

—Fwoosh. A blue flame ignited in her palm.

It was unmistakably magic. Forgetting the situation, I marveled at its mystique.

“Pyrokinesis. Learn it within a month.”

“I will.”

“You know what happens if you fail, right?”

“Yes.”

On my way out, McLain called other butlers to attend to Firunea and hurriedly approached me.

Now that we were in a butler-to-head butler relationship, I bowed in greeting—only to be met with a baffled expression.

“V-Vir-Dem. Did you know how to use magic?”

“No. I’ve never even tried.”

“???”

“So I’ll start learning now. May I borrow some magic tomes?”

“…Are you insane!? Just because Lady Firunea made it look easy doesn’t mean magic is simple! She’s a once-in-a-millennium genius, and nine out of ten humans never even sense the flow of mana in their lifetime!”

“Then I’ll just have to hope I’m the one in ten. So, may I borrow some magic tomes?”

“…”

Seeing my resolute expression, McLain shook his head in disbelief.

“You’ve got a reckless streak. Just like the young lady.”

“I’ll… take that… as a compliment…”

With Firunea’s butlers and the head butler behind me, I devoured magic tomes like a madman.

Unfortunately, the infinite talent that had made me a butler offered no help this time.

It seemed my talent was strictly limited to butlering.

However.

—Fwoosh.

“…Two weeks, my lady.”

I barely slept.

Proudly, I ignited a flame in my palm before the young lady.

It wasn’t exactly impressive. Dark circles under my eyes, a wad of tissue stuffed in my nose.

Even the flame was no bigger than a candle’s.

But the fact that I did it was what mattered, right?

“It’s too small.”

“B-But I still did it.”

“True. Hmm… I’ll take you as my butler.”

The young lady waved her hand dismissively, as if unimpressed, and issued her decree.

I left the room with my head hanging low.

Outside, McLain, who had been waiting, looked at me with pity and offered advice.

“Your talent isn’t bad. It’s just that the young lady is a once-in-an-era genius…”

I knew it was just empty consolation.

So, I gritted my teeth.

“—Let’s give it a shot.”

“Huh? Give what a shot?”

I took an advance on my salary.

I bought every single book on pyrokinesis that didn’t exist in the mansion and read them cover to cover, 24/7.

The concept of magic, as I understood it in that short time, was ultimately about comprehension.

Understanding the structure of a phenomenon and using mana to reassemble that structure to manifest the phenomenon.

I wasn’t a genius, but when it came to comprehension, my adult male brain had a slight advantage over a child’s.

I supplemented my lacking talent with memories from my past life and pushed myself to the limit.

—Whoosh!

“—Three weeks, my lady.”

I confidently conjured a flame.

It was twice as large and intense as Firunea’s.

“…Wow.”

Firunea nodded slightly, as if mildly impressed.

“Amazing. You do have talent! I like you!”

“Haha, this much is nothing…”

She beamed at me, showering me with praise.

As I wiped my nose, Firunea, still smiling, dropped another bombshell.

“Now that that’s settled, why don’t you practice swordsmanship?”

“S-Swordsmanship, my lady?”

“Yeah, that.”

Firunea held up the book she was reading.

It was titled—The Wars of Knights.

“I want a knight.”

“…”

I looked at McLain.

He shook his head helplessly, as if to say, “There’s nothing I can do.”

To describe Lady Firunea in one word—

She was a madwoman.

After pouring all my effort into learning swordsmanship from a knight—

“Yawn, boring. Wanna try shooting an arrow?”

—she said.

The reason? She’d recently read a novel with an archer protagonist.

Thanks to the genes ingrained in my body, I hit the bullseye ten times in a row—

“Wouldn’t it be better to just summon ice spears? Can you chant ice spear?”

—so I went through hell to learn ice spears.

Once I did—

“Vir-Dem! Fight an orc bare-handed and win. No magic. Oh, don’t worry. I bought the strongest orc available!”

—she pulled this nonsense.

For half a year, I felt like a circus clown and stuntman combined, catering to the young lady’s whims.

Thanks to that, though, the young lady, who had initially treated me like a bug, began to like me quite a bit… but the workload only increased.

Then one day, I woke up in a hospital bed.

McLain was beside me, looking at me with pity.

“Ugh… ugh?”

What the hell? I roughly tore off the bandages covering my mouth and protested.

“Just out of curiosity… am I really a butler?”

Since becoming a butler, I hadn’t done a single butler-like task.

I don’t even know why I took the exam in the first place.

McLain sighed and answered.

“Well… the young lady is a bit lonely.”

“Lonely?”

I tilted my head at the meaningless statement.

“The master dotes on her to death, and there are hundreds of maids who’d die on command. How could she possibly be lonely?”

“We are not in the same position as the young lady.”

“What about the master?”

“…Just think of it as a test. Who knows? Maybe the young lady sees you as a peer.”

McLain’s words weren’t exactly comforting.

If she’s lonely, does that mean she makes people fistfight lions bare-handed? That’s not loneliness, that’s just psychopathy.

No, first of all, with the master and maids around, why would she be lonely?

A peer? Kids my age are either commoners playing in the dirt or, at best, just learning to read. Firunea and I come from fundamentally different environments.

McLain, perhaps reading my troubled expression, shrugged.

“I’m not asking you to understand. Just endure it.”

“…What does me enduring have to do with the young lady’s loneliness?”

“Who knows?”

He smiled cryptically. Pulling a plush chair closer, he sat down.

“You’re quite a unique existence, Vir-Dem. At least, to the young lady, you are.”