What the heck are magic tools?
Till explained them as best she could with what vague knowledge she had. Some crystals, gems, stones, and other minerals had the power to store magic. By charging them, you could make all kinds of magic tools corresponding to different aptitudes.
Our nation was the Kingdom of Scuderia, tucked away in the southern region of the Grant continent. The king’s name was Dino En Tsora Bellrinet. The sovereign’s bloodline went back some 300 years, and the ruling family had steadily spread their influence since then.
Recently, His Majesty had ordered the nobles’ forces to invade a small country and claim its territory. It was through this battle that my father earned his title of marquis. As nobles in a militant nation, our position was safe while we remained at peace. Should we lose our fighting prowess, however, that would almost certainly change.
That said, ours was a marquis’s house. We were highly ranked among the nobility, and we had an influential voice in the kingdom due to being a warrior house. My future was nothing if not bright!
In the time that followed, I peppered Till with all sorts of questions and studied magic on my own. Rumors of my actions gradually spread throughout the house. The maids spoke as though I were a prodigy, and those words soon reached Esparda, the butler.
One day, out of the blue, he came poised to lecture me.
“You are only two years old, my lord, yet you’re learning your letters and basic mathematics. How much do you know?”
Esparda peered down at me, eyes narrowed and lips pressed thin. His white hair was swept back, and he was rocking a black butler uniform. The man was quite tall, likely in his late fifties. Supposedly, he’d served my father for many years. I hadn’t spoken to him until this very moment, but my first impression was that he looked like he did good work. Problem was, he was terrifying.
“What is the matter? I’d like you to tell me how much you know.”
That’s no way to speak to a two-year-old!
Suppressing fearful quivers, I considered my answer. “I can speak and understand people just fine. But I’m not very good with my letters…”
“Then what about numbers?”
“Um, I-I can do a little bit of addition and subtraction?”
Esparda went rigid. The silence stretched out so long I nearly fled the scene, but at length he held up both hands, lifting a few fingers.
“Two here, and three here. How many total?”
“F-five fingers.”
He displayed seven fingers this time. “Subtract two fingers from a total of seven.”
“Also five.”
Esparda froze again.
Our conversation that day ended there, but apparently Esparda went and told my father something about it, as he ended up lecturing me twice a week.
It was hell. This was work clearly not meant for a two-year-old, and there was too much of it. Moreover, he was mechanical and indifferent about everything.
Is he an android? Actually, since this is a world of monsters, does that mean he’s a golem?!
With that in mind, I continued my lessons and eventually learned how to read and write. I also studied the rules of war, the peerage system, and territorial government.
They’re seriously teaching a toddler this stuff…?
For two whole years, that was my life. When I turned four, I was handed a stick and forced to do something barely resembling bladework. But that…that was fun.
I’d done judo in my past life, and I’d attended a karate dojo in junior high. I was a big fan of martial arts. I swung my stick around, hit the one planted in the ground, and whacked the stick a cute maid was waving in my direction.
“Come on, my lord!”
“Wow, you’re so fast! Great reflexes!”
“I knew you could do it, Lord Van!”
I smacked the maid’s stick over and over as she sang my praises. This feels like some form of geisha entertainment. Seems like it should be taking place in a tatami room or something.
Till also picked up a stick, eyes sparkling with anticipation, and held it low enough for me to hit.
“Hiyah!”
I put my all into swinging, but Till leapt to the side, causing me to miss.
“Hah! My victory, Lord Van!”
What is she, a little kid? In a fit of rage, I struck out at her again.
At the end of the day, I was but a four-year-old child. There was no way I could stand a chance against a fourteen-year-old. As I furiously chased after the giggling Till, waving my stick at her, two of the older maids grabbed her.
“Oh, Till…”
“You dare insult Lord Van? Do you not value your life?”
The two maids wore deadly serious looks in their eyes, and the smiles on their faces only made them more terrifying. Till blanched, her joy vanishing completely.
“Now then, Lord Van. We shall hold her down. Deliver punishment to this foolish girl!”
Till stared at me with tears in her eyes.
Punishment? My heart went out to the poor thing.
Smiling, I gripped my stick tightly. “Okay! Punishment, right? Leave it to me.”
I swung down, only to give Till’s butt an ever-so-gentle tap. Light though the blow had been, she still gave a little shriek of fear. I felt pretty bad once she started apologizing, tears streaming down her cheeks.
Man, sword practice is awesome. I’m gonna do it every single day!
And so I wound up reveling in the art of the sword. I only spent half a year sparring with the maids. After that, a young boy—a soldier-in-training—was assigned to be my partner. We mostly hit each other’s light shields with sticks, so it was more like play-fighting than anything else. The rules were simple: the first to land a strike won each match.
Other aspects of swordplay were surprisingly intricate. In judo, breaking someone’s stance was extremely important, as was procuring an advantageous position. In karate, range was key; you predicted your opponent’s reach and calculated the range so you could hit them with an effective attack. I could use those two skill sets in my swordplay.
Sure, my partner was a kid, but he was about ten years old. He was taller than me, with longer limbs—even more difficult to reach with the added length of the stick. Still, his size advantage ultimately meant little. His attack style was simple and boyish. After facing him multiple times, I could read his tells and pick out his best moves.
By the time I was five, I could fight other soldiers-in-training on equal footing. Soon, even the knights themselves said things like “Looks like Van has some real talent with a blade.”
A middle-aged knight came to me one day, drenched in sweat. He was Dee, deputy commander of the Chivalric Order and my father’s best fighter.
Removing his armor, he said to me, “Lord Van, may I ask you a question?”
Beneath his simple clothes, the man was ripped. Less impressive than it sounds, though, since his clothes soaked up all his sweat and clung to his muscular body. The gray cloth was so drenched it had darkened to black, which kind of grossed me out.
I took a swig of water. “What is it?”
Dee extended both hands, a dead serious look on his stubbled face. “I’d like you to show me your hands.”
“Uh, okay. What are you gonna do?”
Feeling somewhat uneasy, I reached a hand out. Dee reverently took it in his and examined it.
“No calluses. Your skin is still soft. Hrm, your nails are a bit long.”
“S-sorry. I’ll train harder when I’m an adult,” I said, tugging my hand back.
Dee groaned, a deep crease in his brow. “Here I thought you spent every single night training after my apprentice beat you, but that doesn’t appear to be the case.”
“Studying’s tough, but I’ll do it when I have time. I also like the way of the sword, so…” I attempted to make excuses, thinking he was mad at me.
The knight narrowed his eyes, then looked up at the castle. “I heard that Esparda was told to make you study three times harder than normal. If you wish to get better at the sword, I can make an appeal for you.”
“Oh, that’s why I’m always studying? I thought it was weird that I was the only one hitting the books from morning to night.”
This fresh truth was a real blow, and my head drooped.
Dee nodded. “That big brain of his is too devoted to scholarly pursuits. As someone with an impartial view, I believe you should head down the path of a swordsman, my lord. You have a natural gift. First, you need to learn proper form and build muscle. After that, we can have you practice daily. I will make you into the greatest swordsman in the kingdom!” he declared. The look in his eyes told me he was beyond serious.
If Esparda was an egghead, then Dee was a meathead. All he did was swap out studies for sword training. They both skewed things too far in a single direction.
“I like sword practice, but I also like studying. I’m gonna work hard at both,” I said, but that only served to disappoint him.
“Grr… Fine! But when you train, I shall instruct you directly. Understood?”
First Esparda, and now Deputy Commander Dee was offering himself as a teacher. He peered into my face, waiting for my answer.
“Uh, ha ha… Just be gentle, okay?” I said with a forced smile.
“Ah ha ha! Lord Van, you are still only a child. Of course I’ll go easy on you.”
So he said, but that later proved to be a complete lie.