Cecil, Ryu's mother, sat her three sons down in the study chairs and began their lessons.
"Alright, Tauro and Jiro, continue with yesterday's assignment," Cecil said. "Ryu, since you can already read and write, we'll skip the alphabet. I'll start you off with some basic arithmetic."
"You got it!" the three boys shouted in unison.
Ryu, of course, was far beyond simple numbers. In his previous life, he'd been a back-alley loan shark. When it came to crunching numbers, he was faster than a professional accountant.
Hoping to teach him the basics, Cecil brought out several Rigo fruit ¹ to help him visualize the quantities. However, she-and his older brothers-were floored when Ryu didn't just count the fruit, but started rattling off addition and subtraction problems without breaking a sweat.
"Just like your father said," Cecil whispered, her eyes wide. "Ryu, you might actually be a child prodigy!"
"That's insane, Ryu!" Tauro cheered.
"You're a total genius!" Jiro added.
The brothers joined in, celebrating their younger sibling's intellect with genuine pride. There wasn't a hint of jealousy to be found-only the warmth of a supportive family.
"Hmm. Well then," Cecil mused, tapping her chin. "What else can I teach you? I've got it-let's dive into history."
"History?" Ryu asked, his heart sinking.
He had been riding high on his family's praise, but the word "history" instantly soured his mood. It had been his worst subject in his past life. He could never keep all those foreign names straight in his head, and his previous knowledge was useless here. This was one subject he'd have to learn from square one.
Cecil caught the sour look on his face and let out a mischievous little laugh. "It looks like there are still a few things I can actually teach you."
From that point on, Ryu was buried in the history of the Kingdom of Crestoria ² and the lineage of the Landmark Knight family.
In short, the Landmark family served as an auxiliary force under Margrave Sugoera ³, who had granted them a portion of his territory. In exchange for the land, the Landmarks were duty-bound to mobilize whenever the Margrave faced a crisis.
The family had risen to the nobility through Ryu's grandfather, Camiza Landmark. Camiza had started as a mere foot soldier in the Margrave's army during the last Great War, eventually earning enough merit to be granted his own fief. Now, his son-Ryu's father-had taken the reins as the second-generation head of the house.
Grandfather Camiza was still healthy, living a life of leisure with Grandmother Kei in a detached villa on the estate. Though they were "retired," both were still in their vigorous forties and frequently stepped in to help Cecil and the boys' father.
Apparently, they had only retired because they both absolutely loathed attending aristocratic parties.
So they just dumped all the paperwork on Dad, Ryu realized. Poor guy. No wonder he looks so tired.
While Ryu enjoyed the physical sword training, the gap between him and his brothers was sobering. Even though he had been hunting beasts in the forest, the art of the blade was an entirely different beast.
I guess this is the power of 'Skills,' Ryu thought.
Tauro, the eldest, possessed the "Knight" skill ⁴, making him a prodigy with swords, spears, axes, shields, and maces. Jiro, the second son, was a "Priest-Warrior," giving him mastery over the mace and martial arts alongside healing magic.
As long as those two were around, the Landmark family's future was secure. Ryu wanted to support them, but he knew he wasn't there yet. He needed to find his own niche-and it didn't take long to find it.
The family's finances.
He had known for a while that the Landmark estate was strapped for cash. His father managed the books, but he followed the "rough-guess" tradition passed down from Grandfather Camiza. In other words, the accounting was a mess.
The family's shinogi ⁵-no, their side business-of lending money to the villagers was handled just as poorly. There were IOUs scattered about, but there wasn't a single proper ledger in sight. Collections were handled entirely by memory.
At this rate, the Landmarks are going to go bust, Ryu thought.
He decided to team up with the family butler, Sebastian, to overhaul the books. At first, his father was reluctant to let a child handle the money, but after Ryu and Sebastian hit him with a barrage of cold, hard logic, the man had no choice but to surrender the keys to the office.
Trivia:
- Grandparents Camiza and Kei are only in their 40s.
- The Landmark family are vassals to Margrave Sugoera.
- Tauro and Jiro have combat-oriented 'Skills' while Ryu's specific skill is not yet highlighted in combat.
- Ryu's grandfather was a common foot soldier who rose to nobility.
- The family business involves lending money to villagers, a direct parallel to Ryu's past life
Character Insight:
Ryu shows a shift from mere survival to active family management. He uses his 'underworld' expertise (money lending and logic) to assert authority over his father regarding the household's survival.
Behind the Scenes:
The term 'Shinogi' used by Ryu is specific yakuza slang for 'earning a living' or 'revenue-generating activities,' highlighting his inability to fully leave his past life behind.
TL Notes:
1 ↩ Rigo fruit: A common local fruit used in this world for basic counting lessons.
2 ↩ Crestoria Kingdom: The sovereign nation where the story takes place.
3 ↩ Margrave Sugoera: A high-ranking noble who holds the frontier territory; the Landmarks are his direct subordinates.
4 ↩ Knight Skill: A combat-oriented blessing that grants innate mastery over multiple weapon types.
5 ↩ Shinogi: A Japanese term specifically used for yakuza business operations or illicit ways of making money.
Notes:
• Cecil - Wife of the Landmark Lord. A blonde woman with deep blue eyes.
• Ryu - Formerly Yokohama Ryusei, a yakuza. Reincarnated as the third son of the Landmark family. Has red hair and blue eyes. Possesses memories of his previous life and the ability to see names of objects.
• Tauro - Ryu's older brother. The eldest son of the Landmark family. He has the 'Knight' skill and is proficient in various melee weapons. Described as kind and supportive of his younger brother.
• Jiro - Ryu's second older brother. He has the 'Priest-Warrior' skill, combining martial arts with healing magic.
• Sugo - Captain of the territorial guards. Responsible for teaching martial arts.
• Camiza - Ryu's grandfather.
• Sebastian - The family's elderly, white-haired butler who has served since the grandfather's generation. Highly knowledgeable.