My head-to-body size still isn't very big, so I explore the mansion carefully so I don't trip. The hallway seems to be made of marble, but there's a fancy red carpet laid down, so it isn't cold. It helps that it's spring right now. Even in a noble's mansion, the hallway would be really cold in winter.
Unlike a Japanese house, a noble's mansion keeps going and going, even though the inside looks the same. With ten or twenty doors in a row, all the same shape and color, I'll probably get lost in my own house soon.
My room is on the first floor, in the far-left room seen from the north, where the morning sun comes in. From there, going right, there are about a dozen rooms, which lead out into a lobby-like place. Above the lobby, a grand staircase like something from a Western movie splits left and right and goes up to the second floor, and between them is a big door. Beyond it is a dining hall and gathering room big enough for small parties.
The stairs are still dangerous, so I can't go to the second floor. So I'll keep exploring the first floor.
Past the lobby, there are several rooms the size of elementary school classrooms lined up on the right. The first one is the small dining room, where the family usually eats. This room is used only by us family, and the servants use the servants' dining hall inside the servants' quarters. Even so, as expected of a margrave's house, even the servants' dining hall was stylish and well-equipped. Our family's employee perks seem solid.
Next to the dining room is the reception room. I don't usually go in there much. Father often talks in this room with messengers from the imperial capital, merchants, and nobles from other territories, but it's still too early for me. After all, I'm only two.
Next to the reception room is the guest room. This seems to be where visitors stay overnight. I've never been in this room either.
Next is the bathroom, and this mansion actually has a hot spring!
Well, calling it a hot spring is a bit much. It's not a natural hot spring with flowing source water, just plain hot water heated by a magic tool. Still, it has a somewhat stylish public bathhouse feel like the ones from my past life, and I really like it. I'm still a child, so I often bathe together with the family, but I've already come to know the joy of soaking in hot water like an old Edo geezer1. Even while my big sister splashes water on me, I just keep relaxing, and Father said, "Eberhard is strangely old-manish," which made me panic a little, wondering if my reincarnation had been found out.
Anyway, on to the next room. From around here, I'm getting into a zone I still don't know. Since the rooms needed for daily life are all contained up to here, I don't get many chances to go beyond this point. Thinking it'd be nice if there were a hidden room leading underground, like a noble's mansion should have, I patter down the dim hallway, even though it's daytime.
"Lord Haru?"
"Waaah!"
A chill ran down my spine. Even though it's my own house, I don't know all of it yet, and it's dim. Just when I was starting to feel a little creeped out, someone suddenly spoke to me. At the age of two, I nearly died of a heart attack.
"D-Did something happen?" I stammered.
"What the... Alisha... don't scare me like that..," Alisa gulped.
This is the second time, but forgive my poor pronunciation. I'm still two.
"I-I'm very sorry. I didn't mean to startle you," Alisa said, dipping her head.
"Well, it's fine," I forgave her easily.
This servant, no, this maid, is named Alisa. She's the one who was secretly cleaning when I shouted "[Impact!]" in my room to test the effect of [Impact].
This mansion has a lot of servants. They're split into various parts and maintain this huge mansion and its grounds. Among them, Alisa belongs to the butler and maid part. In short, they're our family's caretakers. And Alisa is the one who mainly takes care of me among the family, my so-called exclusive maid.
"Lord Haru, what are you doing here?" Alisa asked, glancing back at me.
"I wanna read a book," I said.
"The study? If it's the study, it's on the second floor," Alisa told me.
Seriously? I can't go. For a two-year-old's body, the stairs are too big, one step at a time.
"You mustn't go to the second floor alone because it's dangerous. This time, I'll specially take you there," Alisa said firmly.
"Thank you," I replied.
"Not at all, my lord," Alisa said with a smile.
Alisa lifts me up and carries me in her arms. Held tight against her chest, I feel happy. This is the privilege of a child. Heh heh.
After going up the stairs and passing about three rooms, there was a fairly large, fancy room.
"This is the study. It also has documents passed down through the Fahrenheit family for generations, so it's already a small archive," Alisa explained.
"Wow," I said.
The study was much too large to call a study. It might be about the size of an elementary school library. While being held by Alisa and looking at the mountain of books that looked like tens of thousands of volumes, I ask her.
"Are there books about magic?" I asked.
"About magic? Yeah, we got some," Alisa said.
I see. In this world, magic is called magic. Even in fantasy manga, whether it's sorcery or magic depends on the world you're reincarnated into. You can't know which one is mainstream until you actually reincarnate.
Still holding me, Alisa approaches the shelf on the opposite side from the window. Then she shows me a bookshelf displaying several thick books like dictionaries.
"This shelf is entirely a shelf about magic. Which book would you like to read?" Alisa asked.
"From the start," I said.
"Then let's learn from the basics," Alisa said.
Saying that, Alisa picked up a book called "Complete Guide to Magic, Basics Edition," It has a fine leather binding and a heavy, dignified feel.
After being set down on a reading desk and chair in the study, I take "Complete Guide to Magic, Basics Edition" from Alisa and open the pages. And the next moment, I freeze in shock.
"........................I can't read it."
Of course. After all, I'm a two-year-old. Naturally, I haven't been taught letters by my parents or a tutor. Normally, you'd learn that after getting a little older.
"Alisa, read it. Please," I asked.
"Yes, certainly. Right away," Alisa said.
Saying that, Alisa sits down next to me, peeks in from the side, and begins reading aloud.
"Then, excuse me. 'The great God gave us five miracles. The first is reason. The second is the word. The third is skilled hands. The fourth is fire. And the fifth is magic. To learn magic and master it is to thank God and revere Him.'"
A wild passage came right away. It's super Western-medieval religious.
"'After the great God created the world, He sent His child down to the earth and gave them rule over the world. That child is the first emperor of the imperial kingdom. All who learn magic should keep in mind that learning magic and serving His Majesty the Emperor is in line with God's will.' This is the phrase that, when learning magic, is always taught first at any school, in any book, or at any shrine. Magic is a great power, so it would be a serious matter if someone used it against the nation under wrong ideas. It's said the purpose is to teach that power comes with responsibility, along with loyalty to the imperial kingdom, though that might still be a little hard for Lord Haru," Alisa paused.
"No, I kinda get it," I said.
"Eh?" Alisa blinked.
This is probably close to how religion and moral education were historically closely tied on Earth too. No, maybe it's exactly the same. Churches and temples teach morals to the people in the form of the teachings of gods and Buddhas. Rulers protect the churches so the people keep teachings convenient for the state. In that give-and-take relationship, the sacred and the secular have kept a balance. That probably doesn't change in this world either. Rather, because magic, a more mysterious power, exists here, religious education might be even more important than on Earth.
"You understand my explanation just now!?" Alisa asked, surprised.
"Sure. Anyway, read the rest faster," I told her.
"Y-Yes... Then I'll continue. 'In addition to non-attribute magic, which involves no attribute change, magic has four attributes called the four basic attributes, fire, water, wind, and earth, which require attribute change. All people possess the nature of one of these four attributes, though the strength differs. Generally, the four attributes are determined by appraisal at the Seven Crown Ceremony2 at a shrine, but this is not always the case. For example, those who can check their own status, or those in a place where a priest can appraise them directly.' Yes. For ordinary people, the Seven Crown Ceremony... ah, the Seven Crown Ceremony is a ceremony celebrating a child safely growing to their seventh birthday. ...So, it's often discovered at that Seven Crown Ceremony. For nobles, it seems that if it's early, they call a priest to the house and have them appraise at four or five. By the way, I'm fire attribute. Though I can only make a small flame, so I can barely use any practical magic... Huh? Lord Haru? What's wrong?" Alisa stopped reading.
No way... right...
I was frozen in shock once again.
"All people possess the nature of one of these four attributes, though the strength differs"?
My status's Magic Attribute field says "Magic Attribute: ―" though............!?
Trivia:
- Haru's status shows no magic attribute, which directly contradicts the book's claim that all people have one of the four basic attributes, hinting at a unique reincarnation trait.
- Alisa's fire attribute is weak enough to only make a small flame, quietly setting up the gap between noble status and actual magical ability.
- The book's opening passage ties magic learning to loyalty toward the emperor, showing that magic education in this world is built as a tool of state and religious control.
Translation Notes:
1 ↩ "Edo geezer" (Edokko) refers to a native of old Edo, stereotyped as someone who loves soaking in hot baths. The phrase carries a playful old-timer nuance that plain English loses.
2 ↩ A coming-of-age ritual at age seven. The name suggests seven symbolic crowns or blessings, and the ceremony doubles as the standard moment when a person's magic attribute is officially appraised.
Notes:
• Haru - Alias for protagonist. Reborn as Eberhard Karlheinz von Flensburg Fahrenheit, a two-year-old noble of the Fahrenheit Frontier Count family. Retains full memories of a past life on Earth. Has a status screen only he can see, with an innate magic called Impact and an innate skill called Persistence Pays Off. Loves Rango fruit. Has a four-year-old sister and a father aged 25 and mother aged 22.
• Alisha - A maid serving the Princess. She has red hair and a well-endowed chest. She is highly protective and skilled enough to easily restrain an average man.