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Bumpy.
Dark.
Feel like throwing up.
When I opened my eyes, what greeted me was a chest.
Huh?
“Oh, you’re awake?”
A woman’s voice, from somewhere above that chest.
I sat up and looked at the woman who’d just had my head in her lap.
She was…
My nerves snapped tight in an instant.
I nearly reached for fire magic, ready to blow a hole in the carriage and run.
But then I thought, if she’d wanted to do something to me, I’d have been dead the second my eyes opened.
So then…
I sat up properly and forced myself to focus.
“Hello.
My name is Rudeus Greyrat.
May I ask yours?”
“Heh.
Paul’s kid is actually this polite?
My name is Ghislaine.”
“Uh…
you seem to know my father.
Could you tell me what’s going on…?”
Ghislaine didn’t answer.
Instead she reached into her chest and produced a letter.
Wow.
So that trope is real.
Pulling things out of your cleavage like it’s a pocket.
“This is from Paul.
He’ll explain everything in there.”
“Oh…
thank you.”
I took the letter and opened it.
[Rudeus, by the time you read this, you’ve probably already arrived in Roa.
First, I’m sorry for doing this to you as your father.
I’ll give you a rough explanation here, and if you’re angry, you can hit me however you like when you get back.
One day I received a letter from a noble……]
I read through the whole thing.
The short version: Paul didn’t want me becoming a tool for the nobility.
His solution was to send me to Philip’s household to work as a Home Tutor for three years.
Let those nobles assume I was serving Philip.
Once that impression stuck, I could come home.
“Paul also asked me to pass along a message.”
Ghislaine spoke from her seat off to the side.
I looked over, and she mimicked Paul’s voice as she said:
“I was afraid I couldn’t out-argue you if I tried to explain, so I figured I’d just knock you out and ship you over.”
“That really…
sounds exactly like something Father would say.”
A simple job, then.
Work as some young lady’s Home Tutor for three years, then go home.
Simple enough…
But Paul, the pride in my heart is probably something you can’t quite understand.
If those nobles try to threaten me, I will find a way to destroy them completely.
Still, I can’t really blame him.
From his perspective, this was probably the best option available.
Nobles in this world still carry real weight.
“Oh — there’s another letter.”
“Another one?”
Ghislaine reached into her chest again and pulled out a second envelope.
“This one’s from your friend.”
“My friend…?”
In this world, the only person I’d call a friend was…
Sylphiette.
I opened it.
Just a few short lines.
[Rudeus, please continue teaching me magic when you come back.
I’ll watch over the younger sisters for you in the meantime, also, I’m actually a girl.]
“Eh?”
The sound slipped out before I could stop it.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing…
just that something I’d taken as settled fact for a very long time has shattered just now.”
Ghislaine tilted her head, clearly at a loss.
Sylphiette is a girl…?
Alright.
I genuinely never thought to ask.
But, every time I said I was going to raise her into a proper man…
Actually, she never really agreed with me when I said that, did she…
Is that it?
Has something always felt slightly off because of this?
“We’re almost there.”
Ghislaine’s voice pulled me out of my head.
Well.
Three years as a teacher and then back home.
I’d apologize to Sylphiette then.
I leaned out to look at the scenery beyond the carriage.
The city wall stood roughly 7 or 8 meters high.
The streets were busy, lively, clean.
People in armor moved alongside common folk and merchants, everyone coming and going.
The scene had exactly the feel of something out of a fantasy.
I drew a deep breath of outside air.
I’d expected a city like this to carry some unpleasant smell, but there was nothing.
Not a trace of stench.
Right.
I can’t keep looking at this world through the lens of my previous life.
This world has magic.
Using it for sanitation must be trivially easy.
As the carriage rounded a corner in the town, the atmosphere shifted.
The roadside was lined with weapon shops and armor shops, the kind that cater exclusively to adventurers.
A little further in, those gave way to shops aimed at ordinary residents.
“Nicely planned…”
With that kind of layout, the deeper you went the larger the buildings became and the more high-end establishments appeared.
It seemed that in this city, the closer to the center you lived, the wealthier you were.
And at the very center stood the largest structure of all.
“This is the lord’s mansion.”
“That’s really…
more of a castle.”
Standing here, I understood something clearly for the first time: Paul had genuinely cut himself out of noble society.
Our family wasn’t poor by any measure, but our wealth couldn’t have compared to even one percent of what these nobles possessed.
“Still, the fact that I’ve come here means the young lady I’m supposed to teach is someone of fairly high standing.”
“Hmm…
not exactly.”
Ghislaine shook her head.
Huh?
I guessed wrong?
But the carriage was already rolling through the gates of this castle.
“Is she the lord’s daughter?”
“No.”
“She isn’t?”
“…
It’s a little different.”
What does that mean?
The carriage stopped.
…
After we entered the mansion, a butler led us to what appeared to be a reception room.
Two sofas faced each other inside.
“Please take a seat.”
I sat down as directed.
Ghislaine withdrew without a word and stationed herself in the corner of the room.
A spot with a clear view of the entire space.
So Ghislaine was a bodyguard.
“The young master will return shortly.
Please wait a moment.”
The butler poured something resembling black tea into what looked like a very expensive cup, then stepped back to wait near the entrance.
I took a sip while it was still steaming.
Awful.
If this passed for fine tea in this world, the kind brought out for honored guests, then this world had no decent tea whatsoever.
The butler hadn’t poured a cup for Ghislaine.
My initial read had been right.
She was here as a bodyguard, not a guest.
“Where is he?!”
I was still turning that over when a roar cut through the air, heavy footsteps hammering down the hall outside.
“Is he in here?!”
The door swung open with a crash.
A broad-shouldered, powerfully built man stormed in.
Somewhere around fifty.
Dark brown hair shot through with white at the temples, but everything about his bearing radiated energy and force.
“You’re Paul’s son?!”
“Yes.
A pleasure to meet you.
My name is Rudeus Greyrat.”
I stood and bowed, copying the noble greeting I’d seen in TV dramas back in my old life.
The man let out a contemptuous snort.
“Hmph!
You call that a greeting?!”
“My lord, Young Master Rudeus has never left Buena Village, and he is still quite young.
It’s likely he hasn’t had occasion to learn etiquette yet.
A small lapse in courtesy is surely——”
“Shut your mouth!”
The butler went silent under the man’s glare.
So this was my employer.
He looked absolutely furious.
“Hmph!
Paul didn’t even teach his own son basic etiquette?!”
“Father dislikes the way nobles conduct themselves.
He never taught me.”
“Making excuses immediately!
Just like Paul!”
God, I wanted to freeze this raging idiot where he stood.
I let the corner of my mouth pull slightly.
“Father makes a lot of excuses?”
“He does!
Every word out of his mouth is a justification!
He made excuses for wetting the bed!
Made excuses every time he got into fights!
Made excuses every time he skipped class!”
He just says whatever comes to mind, doesn’t he…
How does someone like this hold rank among the nobility?
Are all nobles this insufferable?
“You’re no different!
If you actually wanted to learn, etiquette wouldn’t be difficult at all!
You just didn’t put in the effort — that’s why you’re standing here like this!”
No wonder Paul hates nobles.
I’d admittedly spent my time in this world focused on magic and swordsmanship…
but still…
“If I recall correctly, you invited me here to serve as a Home Tutor.
I didn’t come seeking a position.”
“Yes!”
“I have no knowledge of etiquette.
What I can teach is reading, arithmetic, and magic.”
“Then you’ll learn etiquette now!
Otherwise you have no right to teach my granddaughter!”
Every sentence this man produced made me want to lose control and encase him in ice.
“First: you invited me to be a Home Tutor.
I didn’t apply for anything.
So I will teach what I am capable of teaching, reading, arithmetic, magic.”
“Second….
actually, I don’t have anything more to say.
If those terms are unacceptable, I’ll leave.”
“Hmph!
Glib tongue!
Just like that brat Paul!”
He stormed out and slammed the door.
Visibly furious.
But he hadn’t told me to leave.
So I still had a job, apparently.
What a headache.
“Who was that?”
I turned to the butler.
“That was the lord of Fittoa, Lord Sauros Boreas Greyrat.
He is also Lord Paul’s uncle.”
A man with a temper like that must make life difficult for everyone in his territory.
Actually…
thinking back on the journey here, the people in this territory had all seemed fairly happy.
Could this be one of those people, all bark, no bite?
Hmm?
Greyrat…?
“Which would make him my great-uncle?”
“Yes.”
That explained it.
No wonder Paul felt safe sending me here.
He’d used the family connections he’d supposedly cut off years ago.
“What is it, Thomas?
Why was the door left open?”
“Young Master, my sincerest apologies.
The Master met Young Master Rudeus just now and appeared to be quite satisfied with him.”
Satisfied?
What was this butler talking about?
From where I was sitting, my great-uncle had looked like he wanted to tear me apart with his bare hands.
“Oh, so Father liked him?
I wonder if we’ve picked the wrong person for this.”
The man said this and then settled into the sofa directly across from me.
“Pleased to meet you.
I’m Rudeus Greyrat.”
I stayed seated.
Didn’t stand, didn’t bow.
Honestly, I was already ready to quit.
Nobles.
Too much trouble.
“Hmm…
I’m Philip Boreas Greyrat.
Is that the same way you greeted the Master?”
“No.
I stood and bowed to him.”
“Hmm…
that’s also wrong.
When nobles greet one another, you place your right hand on your chest and dip your head slightly.
Your bow probably made the Master angry.”
Philip stood and demonstrated the proper gesture.
I didn’t stand to follow along.
He hadn’t expected that, his expression flickered with brief surprise.
“Yeah, he was angry.”
“You really are something…”
Philip smiled, unhurried, and sat back down.
“How much do you know about the situation?”
“Probably all of it.”
“Paul actually told you everything?”
“Yes.”
Philip rested his chin on his hand and dropped his gaze to the table, something working behind his eyes.
“Do you…
like girls?”
“I believe my preferences are entirely normal.”
“Good.
Then you qualify.”
Qualify for what?
Was he worried I was gay?
And wasn’t I here to be a teacher?
Were there no other relevant questions to ask?
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Because if you like girls, you’ll absolutely fall in love with my daughter.
Alright!
Thomas, show this arrogant little brat the way!”
Philip stood.
And so, I finally met that girl.
➤ Next: Eris