Everyone Has a Plan
Sigh, I really think I should hear the demon's side too...
『Everyone Has a Plan』
Enter the academy in three years.
Reward: Random C-rank skill
Failure: A demon descends upon your head.
Okay. Even if I don't know who the reincarnator is, it's clear he really hates me.
Why? What did I do?
“No.”
“Reject.”
“No.”
“Ya.”
What the hell, why did you ask then.
Throwing the academy once and running away, but with this quest popping up, he'll probably force me with the head demon descent again.
Sigh, I really think I should hear the demon's side too....
Even the reward is rigged. Everyone else is going on about S-ranks, SSS-ranks, TS-ranks, but it's just C?
Eh, C-rank is fine.
I briefly thought about escaping after enrolling, but with this quest active, he'd probably blackmail me with the head demon descent again.
Just quietly going about my business.
Knock.
“Young master, are you alright?”
“Ah, I'm fine.”
“……”
“M-May I come in?”
The door burst open and a woman in a maid uniform rushed in.
Whoa, a maid uniform.
Actually seeing it up close, it's a bit different from what I imagined. Clean and neat, I guess.
Why no chest exposure?
“Young master! Is your body not feeling well?”
“Eh.... no?”
My answer made the maid's face turn pale.
“T-That's impossible. Young master using formal speech like this.”
Oh.
Wait, when did I start doing that?
I slowly tried to recall.
'This useless bastard, the tea is cold!'
'You stupid woman, a goblin would be smarter than you.'
'Did you learn this garbage cooking from your mother?'
Ugh....
Even if the East has changed, this is a bit much....
I glanced sideways at the maid.
Her face was deathly pale. Both hands were clutching her apron tightly, tense to the breaking point.
'Where do I even start with this?'
It's not like I'm going to live as a delinquent my whole life, and it doesn't suit my personality anyway.
“Hic!”
“?”
When I raised my hand to scratch my head, the maid jumped back in fright.
“S-Sorry.”
She bowed her head, approached again, closed her eyes, and offered her cheek.
Eh?
“What are you—?”
My question made the maid's body tremble slightly.
“T-That's....”
“Why are you suddenly offering your cheek?”
She looked at me with an expression of confusion.
“Because you raised your hand, Young master.”
“……”
“I made a mistake. So I will receive punishment.”
No, I didn't hit you directly.
I threw a teacup when the tea went cold and made her kneel all day when I was annoyed, but I never actually hit her.
“I didn't hit you.”
“Huh?”
“I said I didn't hit you.”
The maid blinked. Like she was hearing words for the first time.
“I was just scratching my head.”
The banmal felt awkward, but I guess I needed to get used to it. It would be annoying if this happened again.
The maid still looked unconvinced.
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“Y-You really won't hit me?”
“I said so.”
She kept checking, as if to make sure.
“Since there's nothing wrong, you may go.”
“A-Alright.”
The maid backed away cautiously, like she was handling a bomb that might explode at any moment.
The door closed.
I flopped onto the bed.
“Ugh, it's burdensome.”
Treating me so formally was actually more stressful. Even if I remembered the past, it seemed emotions and personality hadn't changed.
This is why transmigrators start with one skill from the mental category.
Of course, our kind system doesn't have that kind of thing.
I'd have to get it later or get used to it.
[New field experienced.]
[Field: Command]
[Current proficiency: 1%]
[Unique trait 'Third-Rate' experience has increased.]
“Oh.”
So that's how it is?
I didn't know what it meant, but it looked good at least.
The unique trait 'Third-Rate' experience has increased.
Experiencing a new field increases the unique trait's experience....
Does raising proficiency have anything to do with it?
If so, the task is simple.
Keep experiencing new things, raise proficiency, and level up the Third-Rate.
If I do that....
I could become the strongest among the Third-Rates.
“Shit.”
Something feels off.
The strongest among the Third-Rates?
Isn't that just Third-Rate?
No matter how you package it, it's still Third-Rate.
Sword Third-Rate.
Magic Third-Rate.
Command Third-Rate.
If I combine all of these, what do I get?
“……”
After thinking about it, it seemed like it would turn out to be something like Kimchi-tang or Mint Choco Oijiramyun.
With a troubled heart, I checked the fields I had acquired so far.
Swordsmanship
Current proficiency: 32%
Magic
Current proficiency: 14%
Etiquette
Current proficiency: 17%
Command
Current proficiency: 1%
Provocation
Current proficiency: 72%
Braggadocio
Current proficiency: 84%
Excuses
Current proficiency: 65%
Peeping
Current proficiency: 11%
More than I thought.
It said various fields, but there really were all kinds of things.
[Provocation]
Current proficiency: 72%
[Braggadocio]
Current proficiency: 84%
[Excuses]
Current proficiency: 65%
But unfortunately, the time I spent swinging swords and studying magic was much less than the useless things I did.
[Peeping]
Current proficiency: 11%
Why is there even this?
“Wow.”
Admiration naturally came out.
What kind of life have you lived so far, JOAT?
2.
The Marque Duchy.
One of the most prestigious noble families in the empire. The head is one of the Seven Swords of the Empire, and the eldest daughter is a candidate for the youngest knight captain.
But where there's light, there's shadow.
The second son, Rian Marque.
He didn't properly learn swordsmanship or magic, and all he did was cause trouble.
Unlike his sister, he had no outstanding talent.
What remained was a twisted personality. It was common to hear that even his parents had given up on him.
“The young master seems to have changed recently.”
However, strange rumors were circulating among the servants of the Marque Duchy.
“Shh, someone might hear.”
The Marque Duchy kitchen.
After dinner, the servants were cleaning up and chatting about trivial things.
Most of it was ordinary talk about today's events or tomorrow's schedule.
But over the past few days, a separate topic had been mentioned most frequently here.
“No, really. I accidentally spilled water in front of the young master earlier....”
“What? Are you crazy?”
The maid who was wiping dishes jumped in surprise and approached her colleague.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“I'm fine.”
“Really? Did I hit somewhere?”
“I said I'm fine.”
She laughed awkwardly and shook her head.
“Rather, the young master asked if I was okay.”
“...What?”
At that moment, every servant's hand in the kitchen froze.
“No way.”
“It was quiet lately, but....”
“Did he really change?”
Seeing that it was the right time, the others began joining the conversation one by one.
“I heard too. Today at breakfast, he said the food was delicious.”
“Recently, it seems he's doing sword training and magic study.”
Believable stories piled up.
Indeed, Rian's actions had changed from before, and the servants were the first to notice the anomaly.
“Still, be careful. Who knows when he'll revert.”
“That's right.”
Everyone nodded.
3.
“Haah....”
A long sigh echoed in the quiet office.
The sigh belonged to Elena Ervain, the only daughter of the Ervain Baron family.
Although her title was merely baron, their influence was not to be underestimated.
Merchant guilds stretching across the continent.
The highest-grade magic tools supplied to the imperial court.
“Miss, you're overdoing it.”
The maid said while looking at the mountain of documents piled on the desk.
“I have to do this much.”
Elena forced a smile.
Normally, a noble lady her age would spend time on social circles and etiquette lessons, but she was different.
From a young age, she had helped with the family business and now handled various practical matters.
“Miss....”
The maid called her cautiously.
“Yes?”
“Th.... tomorrow.”
Elena's pen stopped.
She didn't need an explanation to understand.
“Yes.”
A subtle fatigue seeped into her expression.
Tomorrow was the engagement exchange meeting held once a month.
Precisely, they had not yet held a formal engagement ceremony. It was a period for the two to get to know each other before the formal engagement.
The Marque Duchy.
When I first heard the name, I was surprised.
A prestigious family that produced one of the Seven Swords of the Empire and had maintained its power and honor for hundreds of years.
In comparison, the Ervain family was a noble house that rose to their position with money rather than blood.
Their influence was great, but other nobles did not recognize them.
A title obtained with money.
A noble with the blood of a merchant.
Those taunts were the tail that followed Elena and the thing she hated most.
She wanted to show that it was not just a noble house that rose with money, but one that had proven its own value.
That's why the engagement with the Marque Duchy held special meaning for Elena. A chance to change the gazes of old nobles toward them.
However.
Reality did not flow so easily.
Rian Marque.
A man who did not suit the name Marque at all.
Terrible.
That was Elena's evaluation.
He had no interest in swordsmanship and made no effort to learn magic. Nor did he maintain the dignity of a noble.
She understood in one glance why such a marriage proposal had come to her, a baroness.
That said, Elena had no intention of abandoning this engagement.
It was a once-in-a-lifetime chance.
The one saving grace was that the other party seemed to like her quite a bit.
Of course, only on the surface.
She didn't care about the efforts he made or what she liked.
Elena clenched her fist.
'If that's enough.'
Utilize whatever you can. This time, it was just herself.
At least until that night, she had thought that way.
Not knowing how much she would be shaken by that man.