Yukitaka's heart raced with hope. There was a chance he had a skill too, so maybe he wouldn't be sent to the frontier after all.
But his feelings were mixed.
The country treated the summoned high school group with care. But for him, once it was clear he had no skill, they made him feel unwelcome. And then they schemed to make him want to go to the frontier himself. That was the sly part.
Now that Yukitaka had noticed that, he wondered if he should tell them a skill had appeared at this late point.
But all he could do was appraise objects, and only while wearing his glasses.
Whether he could survive the frontier with just that ability was a whole different question.
So it would be safer to swallow his pride, tell them he'd awakened a skill, and stay in the royal capital.
Yukitaka went to the room of the man who had been his clerk and reported that he'd awakened a skill.
"Eh? You awakened a skill!?" the clerk asked, looking confused.
But if it was true, then banishing him now and getting revenge later would be dangerous.
Especially since there had been real cases of people summoned from another world, the rare visitors, awakening skills later. So they had to be careful.
"Yes, so can I ask you to re-appraise me as a person?"
Yukitaka was about to be banished, so position-wise he had no choice but to ask humbly.
"...That's a problem. By the way, how much do you know about the magic tools used for person appraisal?"
"Nothing at all."
"The appraisal crystal costs one commoner's living expenses for a year for a single person appraisal, and on top of that, it is a consumable. Court mages pour huge amounts of magic into it every day, so the labor costs are huge as well. It is a most precious item. You have already been appraised many times, Mr. Goto, and a great deal of money has already been spent. If you are judged skillless again this time, you might earn the resentment of the royal family and the nobles. Are you quite certain about this?"
The clerk pressed Yukitaka with a solemn face.
"(gulp...) Y-yes. It seems I can appraise objects while wearing my glasses. Please let me do the appraisal with my glasses on."
After noticing his skill, Yukitaka had tested it several times to confirm the conditions for activating it.
So he answered with confidence.
"...The appraisal result is in. As expected, no skill."
In a special room in the royal palace, the king, the high nobles, and at Yukitaka's request the high school group were all present as witnesses. But the worst result came out.
"W-wait a moment! I'm not lying! Really, if I'm wearing my glasses, I can appraise! Look, that necklace you're wearing, at first glance it looks expensive but it's actually cheap plated stuff, right? And the ring on that person's finger. You got it from the person you're cheating with, right?"
Yukitaka panicked and tried to prove he wasn't lying by saying appraisal results only the person themselves would know.
Then a voice snapped out, "How rude!"
"If you're going to lie, at least do it properly!"
"Even if that were true, that kind of thing could be found out with a little investigation. He is without question skillless, an incompetent!"
The high nobles attacked Yukitaka.
The high school group must have thought they couldn't defend him either. Takamiyano Shion (17), a tall handsome boy with brown hair and brown eyes, a model-like build, who had been recognized as the Hero, said, "Mr. Goto. As a rare visitor, please don't embarrass yourself any further. You're a grown adult. I wanted you to be a role model for us."
He sighed with disappointment.
"That's right, sir. Shion is correct. I feel bad you got dragged into this with us, but lying is just pathetic."
Next, Shishidou Leo (17), who had been recognized as the Holy Knight, with short orange hair and orange eyes, tall with a build that showed he was an athlete, hit Yukitaka with harsh words full of contempt.
"Mr. Goto. This appraisal costs a lot of money, I hear. Do realize you's wastin' the people's taxes with your lies."
Then Shihouji Runa (17), recognized as the Sage, with long black hair, black eyes, a serious-looking face, good figure, and a cool attitude she always kept, the daughter of a major company president, said coldly, "Mr. Goto. I am unable to defend that position either."
Finally, Kidouin Sei (17), recognized as the Saint, with long blonde hair and light blue eyes, said to be a working model with a striking figure, had leveled up together with Yukitaka so they weren't strangers. She was left speechless by his shameful display.
"N-no, really, through these glasses I can appraise!"
Yukitaka was desperate, so he had no choice but to insist on the facts.
It was true. He could appraise things if he focused on appraising them.
But he couldn't appraise people, so he didn't know how useful it really was, though...
"Enough. Be quiet. Tool Appraiser. Just to be certain, appraise those glasses."
The king, who was present, had completely stopped showing any sign of caring about Yukitaka. But if there was even a small chance, he wanted to be extra sure.
"...Since it is from another world, I cannot tell what material it is made of, but despite the fine craftsmanship, it appears to be merely ordinary glasses."
The Tool Appraiser took Yukitaka's black-rimmed glasses and reported the results after a careful examination.
"No way..."
Yukitaka was shocked that no one would believe what he said.
"Goto. That you have no skill has been confirmed over and over by our country's finest people for these past few months, with results. This time we even gathered me and the high nobles as witnesses, and still this. It should be clear by now. Do not waste any more of everyone's time and taxes. Silently accept being sent to the frontier."
The king finally decided Yukitaka was useless, and since he no longer needed to be careful, he spoke his true feelings.
Yukitaka was left speechless.
With the king, the high school group, and the high nobles all looking at him coldly, Yukitaka's banishment to the frontier was decided.
Trivia:
- The country's treatment of Yukitaka was never about cruelty alone; they deliberately made him uncomfortable so he would choose the frontier himself, avoiding the political cost of open banishment.
- The supervisor's warning about earning resentment from the royal family and nobles hints that Yukitaka's repeated failed appraisals have already strained patience at the highest levels.
- The Tool Appraiser says the glasses are from another world and made of unknown material, but dismisses them as ordinary, leaving open the question of whether the glasses are truly the source of Yukitaka's power or something else entirely.
Notes:
• Yukitaka - First given name of Yukitaka Goto. He is a twenty-five-year-old salaryman summoned to another world without receiving a skill, who maxed out his level at 99 in half a day without gaining meaningful power, spent about three months at the royal palace before being pushed toward the frontier, and discovered that his black-rimmed glasses let him appraise objects.
• Goto - First given name of Yukitaka Goto. He is a twenty-five-year-old salaryman summoned to another world without receiving a skill, who maxed out his level at 99 in half a day without gaining meaningful power, spent about three months at the royal palace before being pushed toward the frontier, and discovered that his black-rimmed glasses let him appraise objects.
• Takamiyano - Family name of Takamiyano Shion. He is a seventeen-year-old high school student recognized as the Hero, with brown hair, brown eyes, and a tall, slender, model-like build, whose Hero skill helps allies level up more easily, prompting him to bring his group along for Yukitaka's leveling, and who speaks politely but with disappointment.
• Shion - First given name of Takamiyano Shion. He is a seventeen-year-old high school student recognized as the Hero, with brown hair, brown eyes, and a tall, slender, model-like build, whose Hero skill helps allies level up more easily, prompting him to bring his group along for Yukitaka's leveling, and who speaks politely but with disappointment.
• Shishidou - Family name of Shishidou Leo. He is a seventeen-year-old high school student recognized as the Holy Knight, with short orange hair, orange eyes, and a tall, athletic build, who reached level 1 alongside the other members of Shion's group and speaks roughly and contemptuously.
• Leo - First given name of Shishidou Leo. He is a seventeen-year-old high school student recognized as the Holy Knight, with short orange hair, orange eyes, and a tall, athletic build, who reached level 1 alongside the other members of Shion's group and speaks roughly and contemptuously.
• Shihouji - Family name of Shihouji Runa. She is a seventeen-year-old high school student recognized as the Sage, with long black hair, black eyes, a serious-looking face, and a good figure, as well as the daughter of a major company president, and she remains cool and analytical while explaining that even top-tier skills initially rise quickly from level 0 to 1.
• Runa - First given name of Shihouji Runa. She is a seventeen-year-old high school student recognized as the Sage, with long black hair, black eyes, a serious-looking face, and a good figure, as well as the daughter of a major company president, and she remains cool and analytical while explaining that even top-tier skills initially rise quickly from level 0 to 1.
• Kidouin - Family name of Kidouin Sei. She is a seventeen-year-old high school student recognized as the Saint, with long blonde hair, light blue eyes, and a striking figure, and a working model who leveled up alongside Yukitaka and confirmed that the others had also reached level 1.
• Sei - First given name of Kidouin Sei. She is a seventeen-year-old high school student recognized as the Saint, with long blonde hair, light blue eyes, and a striking figure, and a working model who leveled up alongside Yukitaka and confirmed that the others had also reached level 1.