The man with glasses didn't answer immediately.
He simply stared at Zeldryn for several moments.
Then the corners of his lips slowly rose.
A smile.
Yet for some reason, there was something strange about it.
It didn't look friendly.
But Zeldryn couldn't exactly call it mocking either.
It was difficult to read.
The man then bowed slightly.
He placed his empty right hand over his chest while his other hand continued holding a long staff.
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Young Lord Zeldryn,” the man said calmly.
“My name is Kera.”
Kera raised his head slightly.
“I am a Level 3 Manholer, as well as a Healing Manholer from the Giorry family's main residence.”
Zeldryn, who had been staring at him in confusion, immediately fell silent.
A Level 3 Manholer?
A healer?
Those two pieces of information instantly changed his focus.
Zeldryn still didn't understand the entire mana system in depth.
But thanks to the novel Life Really Is Happy, Right?, he at least had a rough idea of how powerful a Level 3 Manholer was.
Of course, Level 3 didn't sound particularly impressive when compared to the monsters who appeared later in the novel.
The protagonist.
Level 5 Manholers.
Not to mention those who reached even higher levels.
Even Zorin Giorry himself was known to have reached Level 5.
But that didn't mean Level 3 was weak.
Not at all.
Zeldryn still remembered one section of the novel from when the protagonist had first reached Level 3.
During a war, the protagonist had been able to face hundreds of ordinary fighters who couldn't use mana all by himself.
And it wasn't because those enemies had no idea how to fight.
They were still trained fighters.
But when comparing physical ability alone, the difference between an ordinary human and a Level 3 Manholer had already become far too great.
That was why, even if Level 3 might seem ordinary compared to the monsters that appeared toward the later parts of the novel, in the real world...
They were still powerful people.
People who would be respected almost anywhere they went.
However, there was another part of the man's introduction that caught Zeldryn's attention even more.
A Healing Manholer.
Zeldryn frowned.
“A healer?”
Zeldryn repeated the word quietly.
That type of Manholer was far rarer than those who chose paths focused on combat.
Most mana users who appeared throughout the novel used their abilities to fight.
Swords.
Spears.
Bows.
Or countless other methods of killing their enemies.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to NovelPhoenix for the genuine story.
Healers were different.
There were far fewer of them.
And if Kera really was a Level 3 Healing Manholer...
His abilities wouldn't be limited to closing small wounds or stopping bleeding.
Zeldryn still remembered several explanations from the novel.
A healer at that level could already treat deep wounds.
Muscle damage.
Severed nerves.
As long as there was still enough tissue remaining to reconnect, a sufficiently skilled healer even had a chance of restoring it.
Someone like that should be extremely valuable.
Zeldryn looked Kera over from head to toe again.
A white robe.
Glasses.
Black hair styled in a cut that reminded him of the two-block hairstyle from the modern world.
Tall.
A face that could easily be called handsome.
A staff in one hand.
And that strange smile that still hadn't disappeared.
Zeldryn narrowed his eyes slightly.
Tall, handsome, Level 3 Manholer, and a healer on top of that...
Zeldryn complained silently.
Why does his smile have to look so damn suspicious?
Kera continued waiting without showing any sign that Zeldryn's stare bothered him.
Eventually, Zeldryn spoke.
“Kera?”
Zeldryn repeated his name.
“A Manholer?”
“That is correct, Young Lord,” Kera replied.
Zeldryn didn't immediately say anything else.
His thoughts began moving.
The main residence.
Those two words were far more important than they appeared.
From the information he had managed to get from Hera, Zeldryn already understood at least part of his current situation.
He had been placed far away from the main family.
His mother lived there.
Zorin Giorry lived there as well.
His relationship with the Giorry family was clearly anything but normal.
And now...
A Level 3 Manholer from the main residence had suddenly appeared inside his private room.
Zeldryn didn't know who Kera was.
He also didn't know what kind of relationship this man had with Zorin.
But that was exactly why he couldn't trust him immediately.
Someone sent by Zorin?
Zeldryn wondered silently.
If so, had this man come carrying an order?
To examine him?
Watch him?
Or was there another reason?
Zeldryn still didn't know whether the people from the main residence should be considered allies or enemies.
Even when it came to Zorin himself, the information he possessed was still far too limited.
For now, it was safer to treat Kera as someone he needed to be cautious around.
Zeldryn looked directly at him.
“Why would a Level 3 Healing Manholer from the main residence come all the way out to a remote place like this?” Zeldryn asked, making no attempt to hide his suspicion.
Kera, who had still been slightly bowed, finally straightened his body.
The staff remained in the same position.
His faint smile didn't change either.
“I came to deliver an invitation to Marquis Zorin's birthday celebration,” Kera answered.
Zeldryn froze.
!?
Several seconds passed.
“Huh?”
Zeldryn stared at Kera.
“To deliver a birthday invitation?”
“That is correct, Young Lord,” Kera replied calmly.
Zeldryn continued staring at him.
Then his eyebrows slowly lowered.
What?
A Level 3 Manholer.
A healer.
Traveling all the way from the main residence.
To a border mansion.
Just to...
Deliver a birthday invitation?
Zeldryn almost wanted to laugh.
He would have found it easier to believe someone telling him that Earth was going to end tomorrow than accept that explanation at face value.
It made no sense.
If the Giorry family only wanted to deliver an invitation, they surely had plenty of other people who could do it.
Servants.
Messengers.
Guards.
Or anyone whose actual job involved delivering messages.
There was no reason to use someone on the level of a Level 3 Manholer.
Even if the document was considered important enough to require protection from a Manholer, sending a Level 1 user would have made far more sense.
And the person standing in front of him wasn't merely Level 3.
He was a healer.
Someone belonging to a far rarer group of mana users.
Zeldryn crossed both arms over his chest.
For a moment, he even forgot that he still wasn't wearing anything on his upper body.
“A birthday invitation?” Zeldryn asked again.
“Yes,” Kera replied.
Zeldryn stared at him without blinking.
“So a Level 3 Manholer who also happens to be a healer came all the way from the main residence just to hand me an invitation?”
Kera didn't answer.
Zeldryn continued.
“Are there no servants?”
Kera remained silent.
“No guards?”
Zeldryn tilted his head slightly.
“Or is everyone at the main residence so busy that Level 3 Manholers are delivering letters now?”
Kera's smile grew slightly wider.
Zeldryn noticed immediately.
This guy really is weird.
“Why would a respected Manholer be sent all the way out here?” Zeldryn asked.
He looked Kera over from head to toe once again.
“Has a Level 3 Manholer really fallen this far?”
The room became silent.
Kera simply stood near the doorway.
Then...
That strange smile appeared again.
This time, it was slightly more obvious.
“Hmm...”
Kera made a small sound.
His gaze moved slowly over Zeldryn for several moments.
As though he were examining something.
Zeldryn didn't like that look.
A few seconds later, Kera opened his mouth.
“It seems the rumors about you being an idiot aren't entirely true after all, are they?”
Kera said it casually.
Zeldryn fell silent.
...
?
What?
Zeldryn stared at Kera.
For a moment, he wondered if he had heard him incorrectly.
Idiot?
Zeldryn repeated the word in his mind.
This guy...
Did he just insult me?
Directly?
To my face?
Zeldryn already knew that the original owner of this body had a terrible reputation.
A bastard.
Trash.
A troublemaker.
There were probably plenty of people within the Giorry family who thought Zeldryn was stupid as well.
That wasn't difficult to believe.
But thinking it privately and saying it directly to a Marquis's son were two completely different things.
Even as a Level 3 Manholer, Kera was still under the Giorry family.
At least, assuming the social structure of this world worked the way Zeldryn understood it.
More importantly, Kera claimed to come directly from the main residence.
He should understand the etiquette of speaking to a noble far better than most people.
And yet the man had just called him an idiot.
His expression?
Still smiling.
Zeldryn slowly lowered both arms.
The way he looked at Kera changed.
He wasn't angry.
Rather...
He became even more suspicious.
This guy...
Zeldryn thought silently.
Who the hell is he?