Chapter 1
Chapter 1
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: Became the Greatest Genius in History
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Anyone living in the 21st century hopes to be born with a silver spoon in their mouth.
If your parents are wealthy, life is easy.
With no worries about food or shelter, you can stroll down a straight, well-paved road like train tracks, and everything falls into place effortlessly. That's true free money.
I once dreamed of being born into such luxury.
Of course, I quickly gave up on that unrealistic fantasy, the kind that only happens in novels. Anyway.
I was an ordinary office worker.
After three years at a small company, I'd saved about two million won, and I was a guy destined to live alone, self-sufficient, reading web novels or playing games until I slowly grew old and died.
I was content with my life.
If I died like that, I wouldn't have any regrets.
As long as no nuclear bomb suddenly dropped from the sky, I could have said my life was happy.
"Fuck."
It was a massive bomb launched by the old pig up north in our country.
I don't know if he accidentally hit the button while ordering cola or if he'd lost his mind from dementia.
The reason was unknown.
As I watched the bomb explode, I died.
And then I was reborn as a golden spoon.
In another world, where magic and monsters exist.
***
I realized I had been reincarnated two weeks ago.
They say puberty is a stormy time of turmoil. If only I'd realized a little sooner.
"Young Master Ester, the Family Head is calling for you."
"Yeah?"
In this world, my name is Ester Tristy.
It's very different from Korean naming conventions, but after fifteen years living as Ester Tristy, it felt much more comfortable than my previous life's name.
I was the youngest son of the Tristy family.
The Tristy family are nobles of the Ostana Kingdom.
Not one of the powerful great nobles who wield influence over the nation, but a venerable house that has endured for 500 years since the kingdom's founding.
They possess one direct territory, drawing abundant resources and wealth from various commercial facilities there.
They even established their own academy in the territory—not as prestigious as the royal academy, but one that boasts many talented individuals.
"Father called for me?"
"Yes."
"I thought he had no interest in me...?"
Even though I was born into a very wealthy family, it was ambiguous to call me a true golden spoon.
In ordinary households, the youngest is doted on, but the Tristy family was different.
The Tristy family was strictly meritocratic.
No matter how much money they had, they showed no mercy to children without talent.
That was the policy of our father, the current Family Head, Porto.
Because I was the least talented among my siblings, I was assigned the smallest room in the mansion.
The only servant I had was this maid standing in front of me.
My other siblings even had knight escorts. What blatant discrimination.
Still, it was bigger than a 5-pyeong studio apartment.
Before realizing my past life, I remember feeling a bit aggrieved, but now I'm satisfied.
Three meals a day were properly served, and I could roll around in a warm bed or read books in the study.
Etiquette and swordsmanship lessons were boring and painful, but tolerable.
The maid blinked.
"I thought so too."
For the record, this cheeky maid's name is Dalpi.
She became my exclusive maid about a week after I realized my reincarnation.
After the previous maid under me caused an accident and quit, she willingly applied for the position no one else wanted for the youngest son.
"Why?"
"Because you're worthless."
Scratch that last thought.
Bad girl...
"No magical knowledge, crappy swordsmanship, terrible etiquette—truly bottom-tier."
Stop hitting me where it hurts.
I know that already.
"Dalpi."
"Yes."
"Did I cause some kind of trouble?"
She shook her head.
"Honestly, it's scary. I feel like running away right now."
"Even if you flee the mansion right now, a worthless young master like you couldn't survive alone. Hurry up and go."
"Is it an order to move to an even smaller room...? There are no rooms smaller than this except the doghouse. No matter how frugal I am, I can't sleep in a dog kennel."
Dalpi smiled faintly.
Then she pushed my back.
"Young Master Ester has a knack for earning himself a beating."
"I admit it."
With that, Dalpi shoved me all the way to the Family Head's office.
Dalpi bowed her head and stood guard in the corridor, while I sighed and opened the door to enter.
Please let it be nothing serious.
Please let it be nothing serious.
I prayed inwardly, but as expected, the gods didn't answer.
"........."
The Family Head sat in the head seat.
And.
All my siblings were gathered in the Family Head's office.
They waited stiffly in rigid postures for Father's words.
Even my older brother and sisters, who usually made no secret of their dislike for me, kept their mouths shut.
Seeing frail Second Sister Haniel there too meant it was definitely no ordinary matter.
I sat in a chair with a tense expression as well.
"Everyone's here."
Porto looked at us.
I had no idea what this was about.
"Tristy's rising stars, I have something important to tell you."
The solemn, quiet voice of the Family Head cut straight to the point.
"From this moment, I will select the successor to lead Tristy."
"...!!!"
My siblings' eyes widened.
Mine too.
Suddenly selecting a successor...?
What the hell is this, thunder in the middle of the night?
Porto was 42, young for a Family Head.
He had many children because he married two wives.
It was too early to select a successor.
"The method of selection is simple. Pass the tests prepared by your retainers from now on. This is the process to identify who is fit to rule Tristy, and we will evaluate you based on fair, objective standards."
Tension hung in the Family Head's office.
My siblings' eyes gleamed like those of wild beasts.
No one present probably didn't covet the successor position.
Immense wealth, of course. Glorious honor, and the power to rule everything in this territory.
Of course, I had the mildest eyes among them.
I had no desire for the Family Head position.
For a very modern reason: I hated troublesome, exhausting work.
Being a rich idler is great, but a busy rich person? No thanks.
I was too busy reading books in the study, strolling the garden, and scribbling in my room. Become Family Head and toil to feed the territory's people?
Porto worked hard.
He shut himself in the office day and night, endlessly pondering how to make the territory wealthier.
I don't know if he was a good father, but he was definitely a good Family Head.
I didn't want to live like Porto.
Ugh, just imagining it is horrifying.
I wanted to live like this.
But.
"At the same time, I will expel those the family doesn't need. If you fail to meet the standards in the selection tests, I will send you to the Polaris Waters, where battles rage, as common soldiers."
It was like a bolt from the blue.
If you fail the tests, you'll send your own children to the battlefield?
To a battlefield where terrifying demons wait with swords and spears for humans?
'No way!'
To me, it was the same as telling me to kill myself.
I was inferior to my siblings.
Not just etiquette—my swordsmanship and magic were pathetic too.
On the battlefield, I'd die instantly.
My limbs would be crushed, turned into human sausages that demons love to eat.
'Fuck.'
The Family Head's office began to buzz.
Tristy's blood heirs were all flustered.
No family in the kingdom sends its children to the battlefield if they fail selection tests. It's too harsh.
"Ah, Father, still, that's..."
"The battlefield is dangerous enough, but as a common soldier? It's no different from telling us to die."
Porto barked.
"Those without ability deserve to die! Sacrificing useless lives to elevate the nation's glory—what greater honor could there be!"
'This guy's completely insane...?'
Porto was a man who did what he said.
He never said things like this lightly.
If we failed the tests, he really intended to send his children to war.
His gaze felt piercing today.
Is this what they call a snipe...?
"Aria!"
Porto called a retainer.
Aria was a professor at Tristy Academy and a renowned mage of the Flame School.
A red-haired woman in a black pointed hat appeared.
The woman named Aria held papers, distributing one to each of us.
Test papers covered in complex symbols and patterns.
I blinked.
"These are problems carefully selected by Tristy Academy just for you. Magical knowledge is essential for a Family Head who must solve and manage various affairs. Deadline is two weeks."
What the hell is this?
Haniel, who had been covering her mouth and coughing softly, spoke up.
"These are problems related to flame magic..."
When Haniel, the most magically knowledgeable among my siblings, said that, everyone groaned.
"Flame magic problems...?"
"These are magic problems...?"
Good.
I wasn't the only one clueless.
"Yes. Special problems I personally selected for you. Even those who've spent decades in the school struggle with them. Good luck, everyone."
Aria explained kindly.
"That's all I have to say. Everyone out."
Porto's dismissal order came.
We moved out of the Family Head's office.
My siblings' faces looked troubled.
"What is Father thinking? Giving us problems like this—how are we supposed to solve them?"
"He must have his reasons, beyond what we know."
"This is bad. Can anyone even read this problem?"
Even Third Brother Felix, who loved tormenting easy prey like me, was busy staring at his test paper.
To avoid trouble, I subtly tried to slip away from my siblings.
"Ester."
Second Sister Haniel grabbed my wrist.
The only sibling who treated me well.
She smiled faintly.
"Have you eaten?"
I nodded.
"If anything tough happens, tell your sister, cough..."
Who was she worrying about when she was the weakest?
"Don't worry about me first—go inside and rest properly. You look exhausted."
"Yeah. I will."
I sent Haniel off and rejoined Dalpi waiting in the corridor.
"What's that paper?"
"A test related to successor selection."
Dalpi blinked.
"Pardon?"
I told Dalpi everything that happened in the Family Head's office.
"This is serious. Should we look for ways for you to survive on the battlefield right now?"
I shook my head.
"No need."
Dalpi looked puzzled.
"Do you have some secret weapon?"
I didn't answer Dalpi's question.
I just stared at the hologram floating before my eyes.
『AI Service. Nob AI.』
『What can I help with?』
I had one reliable friend.
The smartest guy in this world, whom only I could talk to.