Chapter 3
In his previous life, Kurtz had spent time as a servant of House Eisenhud.
However, looking back now, he realizes he was slightly different from an actual servant.
The reason for that was–
“–Kurtz, let’s study.”
While preparing a large stack of books, Artesia said.
“We’ll start with learning to read and write.”
“I’m sorry, I can’t even read or write–oof.”
“No apologizing, okay?”
Saying that, Artesia poked Kurtz’s cheek with her fingertip.
Whenever Artesia pointed something out, she would poke Kurtz’s cheek.
At first, Kurtz thought it was just Artesia’s habit, but now he understands the meaning behind it.
Kurtz had lived a life of poverty, abused by others.
He had lived a life where he would flinch, expecting to be hit, even when raising his hand to have his head patted.
Knowing his circumstances, Artesia must have poked his cheek to avoid making Kurtz feel afraid.
“At first, no one knows anything. No one expects a baby to read.”
“But…I think normal ten-year-olds can read and write.”
“That’s not true. Literacy and enrollment rates among commoners have improved compared to before, but there are still people around your age who can’t read or write. They can still work and live, but the world seems to be set up so that those without knowledge or education tend to suffer losses.”
“…Is that so?”
“Yes. For example, if someone offered to sell you bread, you’d buy it, right?”
“If I had money…I think I would buy it.”
“Well, what if someone offered to sell you ‘onigiri’?”
“Um…what’s that?”
“It’s a portable food made of rice molded by hand, commonly eaten like bread in the eastern island nations. But since you didn’t know it was food, you’d probably end up buying bread instead.”
“…If I didn’t know it was food, I’d probably buy bread to avoid wasting money.”
“Similar things happen routinely in this world. If you knew the market price of bread, you could choose the cheaper one. If you knew something more nutritious and cheaper than bread, you could choose a different food. The same applies beyond just bread – knowledge and learning help you avoid ‘losing out due to ignorance’ and allow you to ‘gain by being informed.'”
Artesia patiently explained the meaning to the ignorant Kurtz.
“Among those, knowing the meanings of words and characters is useful in many situations. Has Kurtz ever left the imperial capital?”
“No…never.”
“This world is vast, so even leaving the capital, there would be many things you don’t understand. But by reading books written by others, you can learn information from their words. If an author described the ‘sea’ in detail and you knew the meaning of the words used, you could imagine it. If you could imagine it, you’d be able to recognize it as the ‘sea’ when seeing a photograph later. By connecting bits of knowledge like that, you can accumulate and expand your understanding further.”
After saying that, Artesia handed Kurtz a pen.
“The knowledge you accumulate will surely become a ‘power’ to help you.”
Smiling at those words, Kurtz nodded and took the pen.
“…Yes. I’ve never done this before, but I’ll try my best.”
“Good child. If you study hard, I’ll give you a reward.”
“…A reward?”
“Yes…I didn’t prepare anything today, so how about I give you lots of praise instead? Maybe pat your head lots of times?”
“No it’s okay.”
“Why refuse?”
“Because it’s childish and embarrassing…”
“You’re ten, so you’re still a child. Besides, being physically praised by patting your head or hugging gives a stronger sense of accomplishment than just words, fostering self-confidence and drive to improve.”
Artesia said this rather logically while spreading her arms.
I now realize that my refusal back then led to Artesia praising my learning progress by patting my head and hugging me.
Because Artesia praised me so happily, as if delighted for me, I too came to feel that joy, which enabled me to keep studying diligently afterwards.
Since it became a habit, I was able to understand the enjoyment of gaining knowledge from an early stage.
But…perhaps even back then, I was subconsciously aware of something.
That I wanted to use the [power] I was cultivating to help Artesia.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT LOCALIZERMEERKAT.PAGES.DEV
After forming an alliance with Lucia
Kurtz and the others were staying in a room at an inn in the imperial capital.
“–I see, so you came back in time to help Lady Artesia.”
After Kurtz explained the situation again, Lucia nodded deeply in understanding.
“But Lady Artesia had already passed away by then, right? How did you manage to come back in time?”
“House Eisenhud has established methods to ensure the continuation of their noble line, such as intentionally inducing the manifestation of innate magic, or having the lord’s innate magic inherited by a successor in case of an untimely accident.”
Answering while gazing at his own hand, Kurtz continued.
“I used that method to inherit Lady Artesia’s innate magic and regress to the past.”
“Whoa, so you have the same magic as Lady Artesia now?”
“I lost it at the point when I regressed to the past. Only those of Eisenhud’s bloodline can fully inherit innate magic, so regression was my limit.”
“Hmm…so what about having it inherited again if you fail this time?”
“That’s not possible either. Even if I use the [Regression] method to return to the past, the [time] possessed by the entity using that magic doesn’t rewind.”
“…Uh, can you explain that more simply?”
“Simply put, everything has a lifespan.”
Taking a pen lying on the table, Kurtz deftly spins it in his hand.
“If you keep using a pen, eventually the tip will get worn down and the ink will run out. Regression can’t undo that. So I can’t regress infinitely.”
“Hmm…but how has Lady Artesia been able to use magic for three hundred years?”
“That’s like how pens use different amounts of ink depending on their purpose.”
Pulling out a random sheet of paper, Kurtz runs the pen across the table’s surface.
“Halting one’s physical aging only uses a tiny amount of ink, like a few characters’ worth. But regressing to the past consumes a huge amount, enough to fill this paper.”
“I see. So not only does it deplete ink faster, the pen tip would also wear down more from the strain, making regression much more taxing than normal use?”
“Exactly. Though described as ‘manipulating time,’ it’s not an all-powerful ability. Simple things like ‘stopping the target’s time’ consume little, but more complex processes like ‘rewinding into the past’ expend far more of one’s lifespan.”
“I see…I was wondering why she didn’t just regress when she realized her magic was fading, but I guess there were all those constraints.”
Indeed, if not for those limitations, Artesia herself could have chosen that option.
But…
Artesia had reasons why she could not take that approach.
“By the way, I was wondering about something.”
“What is it?”
“Since you regressed using that magic, doesn’t that mean your own lifespan was greatly reduced too?”
“It was. But it’s a small price if I can save Lady Artesia.”
“Heh…got a good head on your shoulders, don’t you? I like that about you.”
Saying that, Lucia smiled and patted Kurtz’s head.
Lightly brushing her hand away, Kurtz fixed her with a stare.
“Speaking of which…I’ve been wondering since the underground waterway, why is your emergency outfit a maid uniform?”
The outfit Lucia had prepared for emergencies was–
a maid’s uniform.
However, Lucia just puffed out her cheeks defiantly.
“It’s the most convenient in the capital. With this, you can blend into the noble-filled center without drawing attention. And it’s easy to infiltrate places too. There’s a perfectly good reason for it.”
Certainly, the maid outfit Lucia wore lacked any particularly distinctive designs that would cause issues, with a rather traditional and inoffensive style.
While some nobles had their servants wear custom designs to show prestige or affiliation, such practices were not that common. So she could likely blend into the central areas filled with nobles’ mansions and shops.
“…Well, I did intend to have you wear such an outfit anyway.”
“Eh…could it be you have a maid fetish or something?”
“Don’t lump me in with such unsavory tastes.”
“But the clothes you told me to buy were along those lines too.”
Without a shred of embarrassment, Lucia brandished a paper bag.
It contained the clothes Kurtz had instructed her to purchase.
“Since it’s a child’s butler outfit, does that mean…you want to do some kind of ‘older maid sister and young master’ role-play?”
“Don’t put it in such an uncouth way.”
“Because you stripped me in the underground sewers, you know. That’s why I thought there might be some ulterior motive,”
“I didn’t consider that. I took off your clothes and covered you with a blanket so you wouldn’t be identified by your clothes if we were found by pursuers. There was no other reason.”
Kurtz answered bluntly as if disgusted,
“Ohh…I see, you are a virgin, aren’t you? ”
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