“Everything is so peaceful,” I mumbled, leisurely staring up at the blue sky.
I’d left the visit to the capital in my father’s and Kris’s hands—or rather, I should say in Kris’s, since she was carrying out what would’ve been my duties.
They’re probably dealing with a lot right now.
I’d previously asked my father and Garren what the capital was like so that I could factor it into my future plans. My father had been in a surprisingly good mood, and he’d shared a lot with me. Perhaps he’d been wanting to tell someone about his experiences for a while.
I’d learned that a man named Count Roland bothered him the most. As a margrave, my father was of a higher status, but the dukes trusted Count Roland, and he was quite the scheming man, so no good could come from getting involved with him. My father was doing everything in his power to distance himself from the count.
Roland was surprisingly well-connected, and I remembered my father saying, “He’s not well-liked, but he knows a lot of people. They’re all monetary connections. Perhaps you could call them ‘coin-nections.’” Then he’d turned to me and said, “Pretty good, right?” I’d just ignored that last bit.
Anyway, since then, whenever I gave my father a status update on how things were going with the beauty products, he would tell me about his dealings in the capital.
“It’s best you learn about these things early,” he’d said, but I believed he’d just wanted to vent to me.
“After hearing all those complaints, there’s no way I’d want to go,” I mumbled aloud, thinking back to all the things my father had told me. “Yeah, definitely not.”
Even if I had been willing to go myself, it was for the best that Kris was accompanying him on this visit. When presenting our products to the imperial family, it would be important to have the perspective and opinions of a woman who had actually used the products herself. That was why my father had left me behind and traveled to the capital with her.
“I pray that they return home safely,” I muttered.
Maybe I should thank Kris somehow when she returns. I wonder if she likes sweets. I should think of what I could make and prepare it for her.
I switched gears from such thoughts and began practicing magic. Sandra wouldn’t be coming over today, which was for the best. Truthfully, I didn’t want anyone to see what I was about to do. That was why I’d made my way to an isolated area behind the mansion.
“All right, then. Let’s see if my elemental potential is actually the same as in the game.”
I was currently living in this world as Reid, and the world bore a striking resemblance to an otome game from my previous life, TokiRella! The reason I described it as being similar rather than the world of the game was because of how it felt to be here—living in this world did not feel like I was inside a video game.
Perhaps events similar to those in the game would take place here, but nothing was guaranteed. Reid, the character I’d been reincarnated as, was barely relevant to the main story, and he only ever saw the light of day if you played through the bonus content. After I’d been reincarnated and began taking action, his presence in this world had begun to change.
Though my goal was to make money so that I could live an honest life, I had developed beauty products, and now those products were going to be presented as gifts to the imperial family. That was something that never would have happened in the original game. In other words, if I treated my life in this world as a path of my own choosing, I could pave the way to a happy future. I’d confirmed it was possible through this merchandising endeavor, so I was quite motivated to pursue my goals.
“I already know I can use fire magic, so I should try water and ice next.”
There were a total of ten elements in TokiRella!: fire, water, ice, wind, earth, plant, thunder, light, dark, and nonelemental. There was also specialized magic, which I’d learned about from Sandra, but that was something I wanted to look into later.
I immediately began the process of mana conversion and built a clear image of the elements I wanted to test in my head.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Whoa, Reid’s got way better stats than I thought,” I mumbled to myself.
After some testing, I’d learned that I was proficient in every element of magic. I had to visualize ten different types of spells, which had been surprisingly difficult, so I now understood why it was helpful to have the name of a spell during that process. After all, there were ten different elements that your magic could fall under.
For example, if you wanted to cast an ice spell, thinking of the spell’s name would immediately bring the image of that spell to your mind. Without names, you would have to work backward, forming an image of the magic you wanted to cast every time.
I don’t have to shout it when I’m casting these spells, but I should come up with names for them, just for myself.
After that, I began trying all sorts of things, but it was quite difficult to come up with spell names. I decided to try thinking of some attack spells that were all based on spears. It was quite simple: The spells would just be a combination of the element and the word “spear.” For example, if I cast it as a fire spell, it would be Fire Spear, and if I cast it as a thunder spell, it would be Thunder Spear. As the name suggested, it produced an elemental spear that flew toward its target.
“All right, I’m going to try running through them all.”
I cast every elemental variation of my spear spell, checking each one as I went. Testing out every element eventually left me exhausted, and I collapsed on the spot, my limbs spread out like a starfish as I faced the sky.
“For now, I think I passed and met my goal,” I mumbled between gasps.
I enjoyed the pleasant feeling of having worked hard and was satisfied with my results. Then, there suddenly came the rustle of someone’s footsteps. Surprised, I sat up and found Mer standing there, her eyes sparkling with excitement for some unknown reason.
“Brother, you’re... You’re so amazing!!! Do it again!!!”
“Mer?! How long have you been there?”
“Ummm, well, since you made the fire come out of your hand.”
That means she saw everything. Hrm, that’s not good. I want to keep the fact that I can use every element a secret, at least for a while. I don’t want to draw any unnecessary attention to myself.
With those thoughts in mind, I decided to try to appease my sister. “You see, Mer, the spells I was using just now were different types,” I explained. “You saw all the colors, right?”
“Yeah! It was so pretty and cool!!!”
“Thanks, but I want you to keep it a secret between us.”
“Whaaat?! But it was so pretty and cool!” Mer really wanted to see me cast magic again, and she shrank with disappointment.
“Well, if you keep it a secret, I’ll read you all the picture books you want today. How does that sound?”
“Ummm, what if you do story time today and tomorrow?”
I’m impressed! I didn’t think she’d have a counteroffer! She’s so smart and cute.
“Okay, deal. I promise I’ll read to you.”
Mer seemed very pleased with my response. That day, I read to her until she fell asleep.
It wasn’t until the next day that I learned why she wanted me to read to her the following day as well. Mer had asked our mother and Garren for more picture books, and the mountain of books they’d ordered for her had arrived. Mer insisted on character voices, so after spending the entire day reading to her, my voice grew quite hoarse. It was as if I’d gone to karaoke and spent the night belting out tunes.
The following day, Mer heard my hoarse voice and brought over a picture book with a familiar title, The Four Goats Gruff.
“I think your voice would fit this story today!”
Her eyes glimmered with innocent excitement.