First Meeting

The year turned and it was now early March, when sunlight fell soft and gently across the land.

Allen was currently riding in a carriage.

Upon becoming a huntsman at the end of the previous year, he had received permission to go hunting two days every week. Thanks to this, he had made plenty of progress hunting goblins and was now Lvl. 19. He needed more XP than ever to level up, but he also had more time to hunt, so his leveling was still going rather smoothly.

The large New Year's event held at the start of the year for all the most influential people of the city had ended up being an extremely grand affair thanks to the white deer Allen had brought back.

After that, he had continued hunting one white deer each month. Before, he had only been able to bring back horned rabbits, but things were entirely different now that he was officially a huntsman. He had the leeway to think about providing the house with a greater variety of meat, with white deer as one part of those considerations.

Last month, when he had returned with his third white deer, he found a large plank in the garden. The gardener firmly instructed him to place any game he was going to bring back on the plank from now on.

Apparently it was tough work restoring the lawn from the tremor that generated each time Allen lowered a one-ton beast onto the ground. That, and because the garden kept getting drenched with blood and other viscera during the butchering process. Thus, the plank.

Now that it was March, the days were starting to warm back up, and edible monsters besides horned rabbits and white deer were starting to appear. Allen planned on looking for new targets among the newly awakened monsters starting this month.

"Allen, you aren't falling asleep on me, are you?!" Cecil suddenly said, kicking Allen's shin from her seat across from his.

'Ow, that hurt. Looks like I fell asleep in the middle of thinking about what I'll hunt next time. I blame the warm sun. But wow, so people don't sleep while riding carriages in this world. Different land, different customs and all that, huh?' Clearly, Allen was not very aware of his identity as a manservant.

"My apologies, Young Lady Cecil."

"If you act like that in front of Mihai, I'm going to make you regret it!" Cecil's crimson slanted eyes glared at Allen.

The carriage they were riding was currently heading to the landing pad east of Granvelle City where a magic ship was scheduled to arrive from Academy City. Mihai, Baron Granvelle's eldest child, was riding on that ship, and Cecil was on her way to pick him up.

Allen sometimes found himself ordered to come along on Cecil's outings such as these. Shopping trips he could understand, as she needed an extra pair of hands to carry her things, but there were some trips for which he honestly could not understand why she brought him along. Perhaps Cecil was at the age when she wanted to go around with an entourage.

Because the landing pad needed to accommodate magic ships that measured more than a hundred meters in length, the vast majority of the grounds were basically a flat, expansive area with nothing on it, just like the airports in Allen's previous life.

After Cecil's party waited around for thirty minutes, a dot appeared in the sky, gradually growing in size.

"Wow!"

Eventually, the giant form of the magic ship roared over Allen's and Cecil's heads. After hovering a short while directly over the landing pad, it came straight down.

'What an incredible sight. How is it flying? Lift? Magic?'

The body of the vessel resembled a short, stout hamster that was hunched over. As Allen watched on in wonderment, what looked like a flight of stairs extended from the cabin at the bottom part of the magic ship.

'It all looks so high tech. So, this world's actually quite technologically advanced.'

Allen's everyday living conditions were closer to the standards of the undeveloped Middle Ages. In contrast, this incredible magic tool before his eyes looked so sophisticated it was practically an anachronism.

Cecil, who apparently adored her eldest brother, stood restlessly next to Allen as passengers slowly filed out of the magic ship. Soon enough, a boy with hair the same shade of purple as hers waved in their direction and started walking over, bulky luggage in hand. This was Mihai.

"Hey there, Cecil. How've you been?"

"W-Welcome back, Mihai! I've been doing wonderfully."

'It's always great to see siblings getting along well with each other. Mihai started attending school last year, which means he must be thirteen or fourteen now. He's got a kind of mature vibe, though. Do children just grow up faster in this world?' Mash and Myulla came to Allen's mind as he watched the reunion between brother and sister.

After the two finished greeting each other, they headed back to the carriage. Allen picked up all the luggage and got on after them.

"Hm? Are you the new servant?" Mihai asked.

"Yes, Young Master," Allen replied smoothly. "I have been blessed with the opportunity to serve House Granvelle as of last autumn. My name is Allen."

"Allen's my manservant," Cecil added.

"I see, so father has already given permission. Allen, as you said, this is an opportunity. Make the most of it."

"O-Of course, Young Master."

There was no way Allen could say no in this situation.

When Mihai mentioned their father giving permission, he was talking about how Baron Granvelle had allowed Cecil, who was still only eight, to have a personal servant. Her second brother, Thomas, was still being tended to by the common maidservants.

Allen had not asked, but Rickel had nevertheless told him about the relationship between man- and maid-servants and the children of noble families. When he heard the details, Allen had thought it sounded like a nightmare.

When a noble child turned ten, he or she would gain a personal attendant—either of their own or their parents' choosing. This servant would normally be around twelve years old and serve the noble child for the rest of their lives, gradually gaining experience on the job. This was generally a good thing, as it meant they would be set for life. Once these servants turned fifteen, they would then be promoted to gentleman- or lady-in-waiting, with a possibility of eventually becoming even a butler or a knight further in the future.

Conversely, a man- or maid-servant who did not get personally selected for service by a member of the noble family could not become a gentleman- or lady-in-waiting. In order to be chosen, lower servants would spend several years dedicating themselves to odd jobs, serving the noble family's children in hopes of earning the child's trust. Rickel, who had already turned eighteen, admitted that the opportunity had already passed him by.

A man- or maidservant who became a chef or stable hand could never become a gentleman- or lady-in-waiting. Basically, once someone entered a specialized trade, their only path of promotion would be within that line of work.

Allen, who had already been accepted as Cecil's personal manservant, was stuck having to serve Cecil for the rest of his life. As it turned out, he had unknowingly gotten onto an elevator he never should have. He had no idea how to get off, but he had to find a way somehow.

"Your name is Allen, right? Are you just that exceptional?" Mihai studied Allen with the same crimson eyes that Cecil possessed.

"I am here only because of Young Lady Cecil's magnanimity."

"I see."

"That's enough about Allen, right?" Cecil cut in as if vying for Mihai's attention.

"Ah, that's right, Cecil. I bought you souvenirs from the royal capital."

Mihai dug through his luggage to find a shiny hair clip in the shape of a butterfly and presented it to Cecil.

"Oh my! Thank you so much!"

Cecil delightedly accepted the gift with both hands, gazing at it with enchanted eyes while slowly changing the angle at which it reflected the sun.

"I'm glad you like it. I'm sorry I couldn't come back home during the summer holidays."

'Ah, so the souvenir is also meant as a peace offering.'

"That's right, you didn't come home! Didn't you say you have a long summer holiday and that you'd be able to rest all you wanted at home?"

"That's what I thought, but then I was told I had to clear a dungeon during the break or I'd be expelled."

'He said "dungeon"! Clearing a dungeon is a must for staying in school?! That's incredible!'

"Oh my! Please tell me all about it!" Cecil's eyes sparkled. She had always dreamed of attending the Academy.

According to Mihai, the summer holiday lasted all of August and September. Students were generally allowed to do whatever they wanted during that time, but it was a must to clear at least one of the many dungeons within Academy City. Mihai's teacher had even said, "If you can't clear a single one, this school doesn't need you. Go home." In those exact words.

"My! What an attitude to take! Is he allowed to do that?"

Mihai was the heir apparent of a baron family. And presumably, there were other students at the school who were children of even more important nobles. Cecil was astonished to hear the teacher sounding so blasé about expelling students of such high social standing.

"Of course. After all, it's a policy decided by the headmaster."

Apparently, Academy City had the authority and standing to ignore even the orders of the royal family. Allen recalled Baron Granvelle mentioning how the school would reject Krena's admission if she failed the entrance exam. Clearly this was a body with very high autonomy.

"That sounds like such an ordeal." Cecil was worried for Mihai upon hearing how strict life was at school.

"Well, the standards are high, but it also comes with great opportunities. Sword Lord Dverg visited my class once and gave me pointers in person!"

The memory made Mihai so happy that he unconsciously reached over to touch the sword he had taken off and propped up by his side.

'Hey, I recognize that name. I see, so Sword Lord Dverg teaches at Academy City.'

Mihai continued to tell stories about his life at school, his eyes shining excitedly. He had seemed rather mature earlier on, but once he got talking, he reverted to being a normal boy his age. He and Cecil talked nonstop until the carriage finally reached home.