The hot summer has ended and I turned 9 years old.

Just like in Japan, there are four seasons in this world. It is hot in the summer and cold in the winter. There are no electric devices, but heat and cold problems could be solved with magic.

I have also grown quite accustomed to the butler uniform. Right now, I am being entrusted with guiding guests of the Versam family. In the first place, the old butler, Waiton, always helps me with an advice and follows up if a need arises.

One day, there was a guest when I was training, and this guest made quite a rough entrance.

Three「Fireball」are closing in on me at high speed. With LV4, it is possible to adjust the size, distance, and power according to mana used. And teacher’s fireballs were powerful, almost on the level of the serious attack.

Against the three fireballs, coming from a different direction, I erect the thick barrier. In the next moment, a big explosion happens. It is on the level that would have been an emergency unless the garden of Versam family was any smaller (around the size of the Tokyo Dome). I managed to endure it somehow, but then, in the next moment:

「Naive」

The barrier was broken and shock ran through me, almost robbing me of my consciousness, but I managed to recover. I looked backwards and found the figure of the woman with the wooden sword in her hand.

「Quite a strong barrier you have here, but it’s uneven. Your back in full of openings」

「Lady Eril! You have returned! 」

「It was long since we last met, but you are still the same」

Lady? Is she the daughter of Mrs. Elsa? No, doesn’t look like it. Granddaughter?

「Greet the lady, Rinos. She is Versam von Eril-sama. Elsa-sama’s niece」

I immediately kneel, put a hand on my chest and bow my head.

「Forgive me for my rudeness. I’m Rinos, the slave」

「Your manners are quite good, maybe better than mine」

「From a year ago, I learned a lot by following Waiton, the butler. I can already read, write and calculate」

「You are still a child, right?! You can already cast barriers and calculate」

The lady watched me with her mouth wide open. I slowly lifted my head and looked in her eyes. Her stare is intense. Oh, her chest is quite big. [¹]

「Falco, what is the skill of this slave?」

「Fire, water, wind, earth magic is LV1, barrier magic is LV3. He can shorten the chant and can use recovery magic. He also has appraisal magic at LV3. He has quite impressive defensive potential」

「This slave is still 9 years old, right!? How does he have two LV3 skills? 」

Don’t fret, my lady. I used magic every day after all. I’m not your average slave. Under the threat of being returned back, anyone will work hard.

「So, what is his level of swordsmanship? 」

「Absolutely nothing. During these 2 years, he only learned the magic under my tutelage」

「T-this might be inconvenient in the future. After all, you should be able to fight even without magic」

「That is that. However, even if I’m not able to use a sword, I never had any problems because of that」

「Fa-falco is special. I saw this slave’s barrier and it was easily broken from behind. You should let him properly learn the swordsmanship」

「Let’s see. I guess it’s a good opportunity for Rinos. Let’s teach him the swordsmanship from now on」

Why are you casually raising the difficulty???

「I don’t mind being this slave’s opponent. But first, I will go greet the aunt」

The hell is this woman? Let’s check her skills first.

Versam Phil Eril (Licensed Swordsman, 24 years old) [²] HP: 387
MP: 77
Sword Arts LV4
Body Recovery LV4
Body Strengthening LV4
Life Magic LV1
Etiquette LV1

She is a monster. She is even licensed. Her HP completely outstrips the teacher. No wonder my barrier was broken. Wait. If this woman is to be my opponent then I will be in the world of pain!

My vision darkens. The teacher lightly tapped my shoulder, while smiling. There are only S in this world!

After that, I learned some details about Eril from the teacher.

Eril is Elsa’s sister’s granddaughter. For Elsa, who lost her child immediately after the birth, Eril is like her own granddaughter. Usually, noble children spent their time learning etiquette and such. However, Eril was interested in the sword since childhood, and she even had the talent for it. Elsa learned about her talent and supported her.

But when Eril was twelve, she married and became estranged for a while. After she turned 16 and still wasn’t able to produce children, she got divorced. In this case, it was expected of her to stay at home or become someone’s second wife, but Mrs. Elsa didn’t hesitate to recommend her as an apprentice to the famous swordmaster, Gunball. Then, after 8 years of arduous training and graduating, she returned home.

By the way, in this world, you are considered adult at 12 years old. Since the average life expectancy is 50 years old, the marriageable age became this low. Still, marrying at 12 and divorcing at 16 without giving birth to any children is amazing in a sense. That being said, the teacher speculated that she was too dominating in this relationship.

「Aunt, I’m back」

「That was fast. I expected you to return in six months, but I never expected that you would reach here in just two months」

「I wanted to arrive as soon as possible, so I almost never left the horse. Riding, riding, and riding, if horses weren’t so weak I would have arrived sooner」

「You were riding the whole day? 」

「There were times when horses collapsed under me. About 10 such times」

「…It must have been hard (for horses) 」

「There is no reason to worry anymore. I will protect the aunt with this sword. Falco can go to the royal palace with a clear mind. Let him protect the uncle and the prince」

「Oh, about that, the situation is stable right now. Let’s leave things as it is for a while」

「T-then I will…..」

「It’s all right. I’m happy with just you being here」

「Then I will bother you for a while. By the way, I heard that Falco is training the slave」

「On, it’s Rinos. He has quite the talent. He can already cast barriers, read, write and calculate. And as a butler…」

「No, aunt, you should teach him swordsmanship! A man needs to have some strength. He can’t protect everything with magic alone」

「I see. Then you can teach him if you want. Just keep in mind that we are trying to raise him as a barrier master」

「Yes」

Eril felt happy from the bottom of her heart. Rinos is strong, there is no way to tell how much stronger he will become in the future. If you practice with a strong opponent, you will become strong yourself. There in no way she will let go of this opportunity. I’m looking forward to our training. Eril thought so and went to her room.