After a bath, Ein spent his free time before dinner in the archives. His only companions were the bookshelves that solemnly lined the walls. He sat down at his desk, proceeding to open up a book that had been resting on it. Ein was a kid who worked diligently and hard. He’d give it his all, whether it was training with his father or his nose deep into a book. His regular visits to the archives left a positive impression on the servants working within the house. Many of them were excited to see where the future would take him, but he also did have a tendency to be a little too wrapped up in his own thoughts. After reading for a few hours, Ein realized that he was out of the paper he used to take notes from parts of his books.
“I did it again,” he mumbled.
The surface of his desk was littered with a mountain range of papers. Midway through his studies, he found a subject he was reading about to be quite intriguing. This led to him becoming way too invested in it. For Ein, the more inscrutable the topic, the easier it was for him to grasp. He had a feeling that this might have been another perk of reincarnation. As such, his stack of notes was enough to fill out multiple books. It wasn’t likely that another five-year-old could do that.
“Young Master, dinner is ready. Ah, were you copying down some books again?” the house’s butler said. Watching Ein pour all his effort into his work, the butler couldn’t help but smile warmly at him.
“Y-Yeah. I was just about done,” Ein said. He was studying, but to most others it must’ve looked like he was simply copying the books.
“How wonderful. You’re more diligent than others in not only your training, but your studies as well.”
Ein gave a forced smile. He was indeed diligent, but felt a little embarrassed since he thought that the bonuses of reincarnation had helped him out a fair bit.
“In the future, you could become a scholar... Or with your daily effort, you could even become a general,” the butler said.
Unlike Rogas and Camilla, the butler displayed an approving attitude to the boy. Ein’s kind demeanor towards others and his earnestness had made him rightfully popular among the servants.
“I hope I can, but I can’t say for sure,” Ein said.
He wanted to prove his worth somehow, so naturally, his mind was filled with such thoughts. Thus, the butler’s words made him happy.
“I’m getting hungry, so I’ll call it a day,” Ein said as he left the room.
“Hm, I suppose I’ll tell the other servants that the Young Master has made himself quite the mountain within the archives,” the butler said playfully, glancing at the enormous stack of papers on the desk.
✦ ✦ ✦
The next day, Glint had been prioritized for the day’s training. Rogas gave Ein some quick instructions before heading off to another room to coach the younger Roundheart. The following week, Rogas’s instructions became even more brief. The week after that, Ein was only swinging his sword. Three weeks after Glint started his training, Rogas didn’t even show up after Ein had finished his training regimen. How can I get father’s approval so I can get back at Miss Camilla?
While trying to think of a plan one evening, Ein was preoccupying himself by carving a sword out of a block of wood. This was meant to be a replacement for one of the many wooden swords he had broken. He had somehow snapped the base of his sword this evening, leaving him with a conundrum he couldn’t understand. Yes, his diligent training must have strained the wood, but could a child’s strength break a sword this easily? He had broken enough recently that it concerned him.
“This is weird. I feel like I’m only getting better at carving,” he muttered while continuing to shape his blade. He’d meant it as a joke, but couldn’t help but be proud of his work. He had carved so many blades that he’d developed some decent wood carving skills. He could even take a chunk of wood and make a small bear from it.
“I can even make a bear. I’m good.” He felt like he’d lost track of his initial goal, but he was having a bit of unexpected fun. He stashed the animal in his inner pocket and stood up with his newly carved sword in hand. “Hmmm... I think it’s bath time.”
He’d had a good workout today, even without a teacher. The sound of his blade had gradually changed, the whistles of his swings slicing through the air serving as proof of his improvement. With a sense of accomplishment, Ein waltzed his way back into the manor.