High Society Debut
Liselotte Lothringen. Nickname: Lize.
She was a born powerhouse.
It might not be the most flattering way to describe a woman, but in a world where mana existed, it wasn't all that unusual. Modern or not, this was still a fantasy world.
There were realms that clueless scientists would never understand.
"I hear you caused another incident at the border."
"Ahaha. Incident? No, no. I was just promoting our weapons and got a little too excited. Put on a slightly excessive demonstration, that's all."
"They say you wiped out an entire monster colony."
"Well, the way they wriggled was disgusting. Spores just kept spewing out monsters, and I figured blasting the whole thing would feel amazing. You know the feeling, right?"
"Not really."
"Like pouring boiling water into a termite nest?"
"Ah. Yeah, that I couldn't resist either."
"Ahahaha! See? My little brother gets it!"
So monster colonies only ranked about as high as termite nests in her mind.
For the record, a "monster colony" in this world wasn't some little nest tucked into a cave. It was a horrific contamination that ate through entire mountain ranges, converting every resource—minerals included—into combat organisms.
Weapons had to match that level of threat. An individual's martial prowess rarely swayed a battlefield... but there were degrees to everything.
If a single person could haul around naval cannons, modern warfare tactics would look completely different, wouldn't they?
"More importantly, I hear my little brother has been running a merchant group lately? Feels like just yesterday you were crying in my arms, and now look how big you've gotten."
"I still bury myself in Rosé's arms pretty often."
"Between me and Rosé, whose arms do you like better?"
"Well, Rosé's are softer and squishier, so they're cozier, right? Yours are a little too solid, so..."
"Ahahaha! My little brother's getting more and more cheeky."
"Honesty is part of my charm."
Well, Lize's arms did have a charm all their own. If Rosé's embrace was soft and warm, Lize's felt reliable—like something you could lean on without worry. I liked that feeling. It was just that Rosé was overwhelmingly better. Still, for a freeloader who wanted to eat and sleep without working, Lize might actually be the safer bet.
She gave off the vibe of someone who would raise me properly. And she didn't seem the least bit interested in romance, either.
"Your arms are nice too, so don't get too upset."
"Sure, sure."
I sank straight into her embrace. She snorted a quiet laugh and ruffled my hair.
What about a man's pride, you ask? Ah. I left that behind in the new era. A young man who just wants to rest has no business clinging to pride.
"Haa... I want to rest in your arms forever... I don't want to work..."
"Honestly. You're such a harmless little thing. How did someone like you come out of the same womb as me?"
"Must've been a different seed..."
At that, Dad—who had been listening from the side—looked utterly appalled and thumped me on the head.
"Tsk. Son. Making that kind of joke in front of your father isn't filial, is it?"
"Doing it behind your back would probably be even less filial..."
"Hmm. Fair point."
"You're actually accepting that...?"
Dad really did have a good personality. If he would just use half of that easygoing nature to leave me alone, life would be perfect. Maybe it was the merchant in him—no pride, but also zero compromise.
In a way, I suspected I took after him. A reincarnator resembling his father? Spend more than a decade living as a baby and you end up learning an awful lot from your parents. Couples start looking alike, so why not parents and kids?
Anyway, reincarnator or not—Dad was Dad.
"In any case, now that you're back, Otto, it's time you learned the family business again."
"I'm rather busy with the Cave Merchant Group..."
"I already know you handed everything over to a professional manager. Top graduate of the Imperial Academy, no less. So you've got a talent for recruiting people, too."
"Pardon?"
Ah. So Miss Elise was the top graduate?
I knew she was elite, but she was insanely elite.
Elite Elise... Elise-Elise... If Elite Elise ran an election... Elise-Elise-Elise-Elise...
No. Stop escaping reality with nonsense.
"So what merchant group are you planning to dump on me this time?"
"This time I'm not handing you practical work."
"Huh?"
"You're already used to employing talent. So you should step back from the day-to-day and learn political affairs as well."
"Political affairs?"
"We may be the wealthiest family in the Empire, but plenty of people still sneer at us as nothing more than money-counters. And some ventures can't be forced open with capital alone. In the end, social connections matter."
"Ahh. So you want me to make my high society debut?"
"Exactly."
Go network, in other words.
Ugh. Just imagining it already exhausted me. It might still be better than showing up at the office every day... but I was an extreme introvert. Strangers were terrifying.
Outside the blanket was dangerous...
"With that thick skin of yours, you'll get along with even the prickliest nobles in no time."
"Me?"
"Your older siblings hang on your every word, don't they?"
"That's only because I'm the youngest."
"You have a talent for winning people's hearts."
"Can I get a refund on those hearts?"
"That is precisely the most important talent a merchant can possess."
"You're not listening to me at all, are you?"
Was it even allowed for a merchant to be this bad at conversation?
Maybe I needed to buy him a hearing aid. Plenty of excellent mana-stone models on the market these days. How old was he already, going hard of hearing?
Ah. Come to think of it, Dad really was getting up there. He was about to hit his sixties.
Not a single wrinkle—I completely forgot.
For the record, skin care in this world was far superior to my previous life. Mana existed, after all. It was vastly more effective than botox or fillers from my old world, with zero side effects.
As long as you had money, you could preserve your youth. The cost was just ridiculously high—nothing like the botox prices I remembered. Commoners couldn't even dream of it.
Still, if something like Viagra hit the market as a pill, wouldn't it sell like crazy?
"Boss! We've developed a medicine that improves skin elasticity this time!"
"The money just keeps duplicating again!"
I could almost hear those phantom voices echoing in my skull.
Yeah. That's ominous. Let's not think about it anymore.
Ominous daydreams had a nasty habit of coming true.
From now on I would not so much as glance toward the magic towers.
"Anyway, I just need to make my high society debut, right?"
"Yes. Conveniently, there's a royal banquet next week. Represent House Lothringen and attend."
"Fine, whatever."
I would just quietly eat the food and leave.
If I came back empty-handed a few times, Dad would give up eventually.
"Good. Then start preparing from this moment."
"Huh?"
"Etiquette for high society, the way nobles converse, how to present yourself—cramming all of that into a single week is going to be rough."
"Huh?"
"Lize happens to be here. She can help."
"Lize?"
"Hell yeah! Little brother, this big sister is going to drill you hard for a whole week."
For the record, people often misjudged her because of that boisterous personality, but my sister was an absolute master of imperial etiquette.
She ran the arms business, after all. Impossible without deep connections in central politics. Her nickname in high society had been something like "the Flower Who Wields a Sword."
Didn't suit her at all?
I agreed completely. No matter how you looked at it, she was closer to a lioness than a flower. What kind of flower was that vicious?
"Come on, come on! Training grounds, little brother!"
"Wait, why the training grounds for etiquette lessons—"
"Society is war! Without stamina you'll never survive a battlefield like high society!"
"You just want an excuse to make me exercise, you lunatic!"
"Ahahaha!"
Kyaaaaaaah!
Rosé! Denma! Manager Kissinger!
"Honestly, you fuss way too much."
"I'll give you the merchant group! The position of master! Just spare my life!"
"It's fine. You won't die."
"That means you're going to work me until I'm right at death's door!"
Ahh, Father.
Your unfilial son is leaving this world...
What? You sent me here yourself?
Your filial son is leaving this world...
I survived.
"Ohh, little brother, you're starting to look the part."
"Urgh... muscle pain..."
"See? A little muscle and you look so much better."
"Normal people don't put on muscle in a single week..."
For seven days, countless doctors and priests had been stuck to me nonstop.
Excuse me? You said I wouldn't die.
Without treatment I absolutely would have. Why is "receiving medical care" the baseline here?
Doesn't something feel wrong about that?
Was a high society debut always this brutal?
"Anyway, have fun at the banquet. Don't get intimidated just because you're facing traditional nobles."
"Yeah, yeah."
I was just going to eat and leave.
I had zero intention of mingling with nobles under the pretext of building connections. Wasn't it a waste after a whole week of lessons? I've said it before—if you get hung up on things like that, you can never become a young man who simply wants to rest.
At this banquet, I planned to be a thorough wallflower.
"If any bastard looks down on you, tell me. I'll kill them on the spot."
"When you say it like that, it actually sounds like you'll murder them, and that scares me..."
"Hm? Of course I mean I'll actually kill them. Is there another meaning?"
"What."
I would have to be extremely careful not to get into any fights.
People would die!
"Anyway, Lize. I'm off."
"Got it."
And so, at last, I made my debut into high society.
"...Elise?"
"...My. I'm afraid I have no idea what you mean. You must have mistaken me for someone else."
You are definitely Elise.