2 Acclimatization and Discomfort

As inconvenient as infancy and childhood were, Paul learned to enjoy it. Sure, he had people constantly watching over him, but that wasn't a bad thing. They just wanted to keep him safe, and he wasn't arrogant enough to think he was entitled to be independent just because he had memories from his past life. After all, no amount of knowledge and insight changed the fact he was a toddler.

Seeing no reason to go about pretending he was some super prodigy, Paul spent the first three years of his life learning the Human Language, how to read and write, and the basics of etiquette. The former took him longer than he would have liked to admit, but he blamed that on the US's education system. They only taught secondary languages in High School, long after the 'ideal' period for learning a new language.

Fortunately, Paul had unlimited access to educational resources and people who were willing to teach him. The moment his esteemed father, Lord Amarant Notos Greyrat, learned of his appetite for knowledge, he immediately employed a Governess famous for teaching members of the Royal Family. Paul's mother, Valentine Notos Greyrat, also doted on him quite a bit, so he never lacked in conversation partners.

Paul's only complaint was, much like the original, he had absolutely no talent for magic. He could feel 'something' when he focused his mind, but that was about it. Instead, he made up for his lack of magical aptitude by possessing enhanced instincts an almost unreasonable amount of visual acuity. In particular, his kinetic vision, his ability to track moving objects bordered on superhuman.

A few months before Paul's third birthday, his father had taken him out for a stroll through one of the many vineyards that encircled the county-sized Notos Estate. A magical creature known as a Panterabat had attempted to swoop down and seize him, but Paul managed to leap to the side due to a shiver passing through his body moments prior. He ended up faceplanting into the ground, but a bloody nose was a small price compared to having a cat-like bat sink its teeth into the base ff his neck and skull.

As terrifying as that incident was, Paul walked away from it feeling more excited than trepidatious. It was the first time he had gotten to witness his father's skill as an Intermediary Swordsman, a single step above the Beginner Rank yet far beyond the level of anything present in his previous world.

Though the original Paul was a prodigy that had managed to reach the Advanced Rank in all of the major sword schools, those being the Sword God, Water God, and Northern God Styles, the reincarnated Thomas had far greater ambitions. He had no intention of settling down and becoming a simple town guard at the relatively young age of nineteen. Instead, he planned to, at the very least, reach the Rank of Sword King.

While there was a literal army of people willing to die for and protect him, Paul knew the only surefire method to guarantee survival was becoming strong enough to defeat anything that crossed your path. The notion of slicing the head of a 20m snake or cutting through fortress walls with a simple sword also made his heart palpitate, so there was no way in hell he was going to settle on being a 'normal' human.

Though his father had forbidden him from practicing swordsmanship until he was five, Amarant had no problem with Paul learning the fundamentals and observing others. For a time, he had even behaved as Paul's teacher, eagerly demonstrating his relatively meager and somewhat rusty skills in the hopes of impressing his son.

Fortunately for Amarant, Paul was more than impressed by his father's performance. Seeing a middle-aged, slightly chubby man moving with the finesse of an Olympic athlete as he cut through tree branches and thatch mannequins was quite the sight to behold.

Amarant's downfall came when Paul asked him about Touki, colloquially known as Battle Aura. He was familiar with the concept and could even use it thanks to decades of training, but only a Sword Saint could claim to have a proper grasp of the coveted ability. Touki, and their mastery over the Longsword of Light, the ultimate technique of the Sword God School, were what denoted them as Saints.

While it was a simple feat for Amarant to employ a famous Governess to teach his son, hiring someone at the level of a Sword Saint would cost a small fortune. It was rumored that there were less than 100 in the entire world, so, unless you ventured to the Holy Land of the Sword, even just finding one was remarkably difficult.

Though the Notos Family employed two Sword Saints to protect their territory, Amarant wasn't comfortable asking them to demonstrate for his son. Nepotism may be widespread in the Asura Kingdom, but he didn't want his one and only son to become a spoiled brat. He hoped that Paul would grow in a wise and capable Lord, not someone who wielded their power and authority as if it were a birthright.

Fortunately, the Academy Amarant would be sending Paul to when he reached five years of age had an Advanced Practitioner of the Water God Style. She had nearly reached the Rank of Saint at the age of 25 but was unable to due to an injury. Since then, she had been teaching Nobles and their children how to protect themselves using the Water God Style, the most practical and defensive of the three schools of swordsmanship.

Confident that Paul would learn everything he needed to know once he started school, Amarant told him to focus on learning how to read and write. The literacy rate of the Asura Kingdom was estimated to be around 8%, so it would give him a significant advantage over his peers if he were able to read and write by the age of five...

...

..

.

Staring out the window of his private study, Paul couldn't help having a pensive expression on his face as he watched his father, a 44-year-old man, 'playfully accosting' one of their more recent hires, a 14-year-old girl from a lesser noble family. The Asura Kingdom had the tradition of having each of their children beyond the first two serve as the maids, butlers, or guards for other Noble Houses. Since humans were considered 'adults' as young as ten, it led to some rather...discomforting situations.

"The people on Twitter would lose their minds if they witnessed a scene like this..."

Instead of attempting to resist Amarant's advances, Paul could tell that the much younger girl was actively grinding against him as he groped her rather prominent breasts and whispered into her ear. She pretended to be hanging the laundry, but she had been holding up the same sheet for the better part of ten minutes.

As Paul had anticipated, it wasn't long before his father hiked up the back of the Maid's long skirt and lowered the front of his trousers. Not wanting to see what came next, Paul shook his head before sliding off of his chair and perusing the many books lining the bottom two shelves of his private library. Most were still far beyond his current ability, especially the magic tomes, but that didn't deter him. After all, even Ghislaine and Eris, two of the densest characters in the original series, had been able to master the basics of magic.

While the original Paul may not have possessed any talent for magic, the reincarnated Thomas wasn't going to give up. So long as he could get his foot in the door, he could gradually increase his aggregate mana reserves. Training during the developmental years of one's childhood was the only way to increase the mana capacity of the body. Touki and mana were, in essence, the same thing, so even if he had to stare at the page until his brain and eyes bled, Paul was determined to comprehend at least a single spell before his tenth birthday.

*tok tok tok*

"Master Paul, are you in there? If so, please allow me to enter."

Just as Paul was preparing to crack open a book comically called 'Even You Can Learn Magic!' a soft rapping sounded at his door. Recognizing the voice, he immediately fixed his expression and posture before inhaling a half-breath and replying, "Please, enter." in a conditioned voice.

"Pardon the intrusion."

Upon receiving permission to enter, a lovely yet middle-aged woman with silver-blond hair entered the room. She had sharp and intelligent features that, at one time, would have made her the talk of the town. Even now, at the startling age of 72, she retained a bit of her youthful splendor thanks to her status as an Advanced Water Magician. Her never-smiling face had a number of prominent wrinkles, but she was still remarkably slender and perky for a senior. Her well-tailored purple dress made that very apparent.

Seeing the thick tome on Paul's desk, the elderly yet middle-aged-looking woman, Tabitha, raised her brows and asked, "Still trying to learn magic? I must commend your resolve, but there are far more relevant matters you could be studying."

Without so much as a single change in his expression, Paul, despite being three and a half years old, calmly replied, "That may be so. However, how I choose to spend my free time is ultimately up to me. If I only focused on things others wanted me to know, I would never learn the greater secrets of this world."

Though she maintained her characteristically grim countenance, Tabitha nodded her head in approval, stating, "Well said, Master Paul. The Milbots Region is truly fortunate to have such a capable young master as its next Lord."

Placing his hand over his chest, Paul responded to Tabitha's praise with a slight bow. One of the first things he had taught him was to never verbally acknowledge someone's praise unless the person giving it was of a much higher position than him. Tabitha was his Governess, but their status was worlds apart. If he was heard accepting her praise, she could literally be jailed on the grounds of trying to groom or manipulate him.

In Asuran Aristocratic society, those in higher positions had near-absolute authority over those in lesser positions. As the first son of one of the Four Great Noble Houses, Paul could outright 'purchase' the sons or daughters of lesser noble houses on a complete whim, and their parents would have 'no choice' but to hand them over.

The world of Mushoku Tensei was fantastical, but it was also one of the darkest stories Paul, then Thomas, had ever read.

Offering the faintest of smiles, so indiscernible that Paul couldn't even make it out, Tabitha supplied, "Very good." before going on to add, "Now, on to the purpose of my visit. Your mother has requested your presence in her chambers. Shall I have someone carry you...?"

Due to the size of the Notos Manor, it was easy to get lost and remarkably challenging for a child to navigate. Paul's father had given him a mansion-sized wing as his play area. If he wanted to reach his mother's chambers, he would need to traverse more than a kilometer and numerous flights of stairs. Could he? Sure. It would just exhaust him.

Nodding his head in affirmation, Paul calmly replied, "That is acceptable." before waiting as Tabitha clapped her hands to summon one of the only non-humans in the Notos Estate, a 'young' Dwarven girl that Paul's father had purchased for him after he expressed an interest in Dwarven culture and blacksmithing.

Bowing to the point she created a ninety-degree angle with her body, the childish-looking but 27-year-old Dwarf said, "Lamilette of Crystal Snow is eager to be of service to her Lord, Master Paul Notos Greyrat."

Gesturing with his right hand, Paul said, "Rise." while doing his best not to cringe. Even if she was twenty-seven, Lamilette resembled a human child no older than ten. Even adult Dwarves were only around 120-128cm, so, if anything, she looked younger. The only difference was that her legs and arms were noticeably thicker, while her orange hair was akin to steel wool in terms of toughness.

Raising her head, Lamilette offered a courteous nod before turning around and squatting down. She was the only servant that 'officially' belonged to Paul, so, while it was possible to arrange another transport, the 'duty' was hers to bear. Paul wasn't comfortable with this notion, but, understanding that things wouldn't end well if he had 'no use' for Lamilette, he ultimately climbed onto the petite yet remarkably robust girl's back and allowed her to carry him to his mother...