Chapter 026
As I returned to my quarters, I naturally ran into one person.
“Dilen!”
The clear voice made my steps stop on their own.
A welco person had called my na. When I turned, I saw Arwen smiling brightly at .
Perhaps because so much had happened lately, it felt as though I had not seen her in quite so ti.
At first, she had been a complete stranger to , but after all the help I had received from her, and perhaps because I had been moved without realizing it by the kindness she showed , it now felt as though she had truly beco my friend.
I raised a hand and smiled back.
“Are you on your way to the banquet hall?”
“Hm? How did you know?”
Because her clothes were different from usual. Instead of the white apron maids normally wore, she was dressed in sothing neat, almost like won’s formalwear.
I only knew because I had gone into the banquet hall myself a few days ago. At the ti, the maids had all been dressed like that.
“No reason. It is just that you look nice.”
“Ah!”
Arwen’s face reddened. She gave an awkward smile and lowered her head.
Hey, do not do that. When you act like that, foolish n start imagining that you like them. The ones who move quickly would probably be thinking about marriage already.
Of course, Arwen was very pretty. She was my type too.
But the Martial World was full of masters. There might be won even more beautiful sowhere I had yet to see. For example, Young Lady Sapiela of this mansion was said to be so beautiful that she carried the nickna of the greatest beauty in the kingdom.
If a man had the ability, then he ought to be able to choose his mate.
If I was going to make one of them my girlfriend, then rather than Arwen, Sapiela would be...
Ah, right. This was not Korea. It was another world.
Then there was no particular reason to insist on monogamy. Hm, in that case, would Arwen be better suited as a second wife? As for the principal wife, Young Lady Sapiela would naturally be the appropriate choice.
At so point, I had beco exactly the foolish man I had just been mocking.
“Where are you headed?”
Arwen seed to have recovered from her strange condition. Her flushed cheeks were gradually returning to their usual color. Letting out a small laugh, I pointed toward the end of the corridor.
“A few days ago, I was sent out to support the banquet and barely got any library work done. I am on my way to do so extra work. Since I am already working hard, I may as well make a good impression on my superior.”
“I see. It is late. You are working hard. Shall I bring you a snack?”
“I am fine.”
Had I turned her down too firmly? A slight disappointnt showed itself on Arwen’s face.
“By the way, I heard sothing impressive happened a few days ago. The rumor has spread among the maids too.”
“What rumor?”
“The sparring match. The one where you had it out with Beron.”
“Ah. That?”
So even the maids were talking about that now?
Then again, while the mansion was physically vast, human relationships within it were remarkably narrow. It was a rather closed world, in its own way. That was why the daily lives of the Butler Apprentices and the maids, who stood in roughly similar positions, were often shared between them.
Since the subject had co up, the maids occupied a rather ambiguous position. It had taken so ti to understand it at first. In truth, I was not even sure whether I understood it completely even now.
Though they stood in a position similar to Butler Apprentices, at tis they could occupy a higher place still. If they were chosen by one of the Young Masters or by the head of the house, they could beco honored guests almost overnight.
And if they went so far as to bear a child, then it would truly be a reversal of fortune. The very image of a dragon rising from a stream.
As long as that possibility existed, then no matter how low their formal position might be, they could never be treated carelessly.
“I just loosened my body up a little. I did not like the way that bastard behaved anyway. From what I heard, he had been bullying the others too.”
“That is why everyone was so happy. Or maybe excited is the better word? He used to act badly toward us too.”
“When you say us, you an even to you?”
Because I asked in a grave tone, as though angered, Arwen smiled and shook her head.
“I am always with Young Lady Sapiela, so nothing like that ever happened to . But my friends...”
“If anything like that happens from now on, tell . I will discipline anyone for you.”
“Even if it is the Head Butler?”
“Of course.”
“Fufu. Then I should go tell Lord Yanrof.”
Arwen covered her mouth and laughed. She had been born into a common household, but monts like this made it clear that she had been raised well. There was sothing about her that made one feel the warmth of a harmonious family.
“In any case, it is amazing. I think I would already be exhausted just from working. I cannot imagine making ti to train on top of that.”
“You do not need to train. You already have an extraordinary weapon.”
“A weapon?”
I ran a hand across my face as though brushing it. It was a gesture pointing at her looks. She stared blankly for a mont before finally understanding what I ant, and then she flustered.
It seed as though she still had sothing more she wanted to say, but instead Arwen turned and almost fled.
“I-I should go first!”
“Arwen.”
The mont I called her, she halted with a start.
Suddenly, I found myself curious. I wanted to know how the emotional part of her Status Window had changed.
It was not simply that I had thrown her a few sweet words to win her favor. This was more like an experint.
Before, her Status had been Pine Tree’s Trust, the sa as Rohan’s, but over the past few days she had shown little signs of affection, and after today’s encounter, I had the feeling sothing must have changed.
The first condition for seeing a Status Window was physical contact with the other person.
So I tried a natural piece of contact.
“There is sothing in your hair.”
“Ah?”
“There. It is gone now.”
The mont I brushed her hair back, blue letters scattered across my vision. In an instant, her Status Window was completed.
Just as I had expected.
○ Arwen Lefebvre
Rank: ★★★
Level: 8
Traits: Cooking A, Taste A, Handiwork B, Sewing B, Nursing B, Cleaning C, Eloquence C, ???
Status: Spring Breeze’s Flutter
[Not Unlocked]
[Not Unlocked]
......
Her emotional state had changed.
Spring Breeze’s Flutter. It sounded very much like the sort of expression one would use for soone falling in love. And so of the skills that had been hidden behind question marks—Sewing, Eloquence, Nursing—had now been revealed.
From that, I learned several things.
This was only a hypothesis, but depending on the emotional state the other person held toward , I seed to be able to see more of the hidden portions of their Skills or Traits.
In Arwen’s case, for example, I had never known she possessed a Nursing Skill. If her emotions deepened even further, I might eventually co to know every side of her.
How exciting.
Arwen, Rohan, and all the people I would et from here on.
The fact that I could look into the Status Windows of every one of them.
And the fact that the deeper my relationship with them beca, the deeper a side of them my ability allowed to see.
From Rohan and Arwen, I had already learned one thing clearly. Even when people possessed Skills, many of them had no idea that those were their actual talents.
The place where I had lived had been like that too.
No, anywhere people lived would be the sa. There were many who either failed to recognize their own gifts, or lacked the circumstances needed to bring them out.
If that was the case, then I could help them with my ability.
When I first opened my eyes in Dilen’s body and saw Arwen’s Status Window, I had already thought that she might be better suited to working in a dining hall rather than as a maid.
Because both her Cooking and Taste were A-rank. And she had the Traits to support them as well.
In truth, the favor I had wanted to ask Chef Ramsay for was exactly that. Whether he might teach Arwen how to cook.
It would not be a difficult request. So maids were assigned to dining halls and handled related work from ti to ti anyway.
Putting all of that together, it ant this: using the Status Windows I could see, I could help bring out the hidden potential in other people.
Which ant that even if I did not continue with butler work, whatever I chose to do later, this ability would still be useful.
It really does feel like so sort of character-raising simulation ga.
“Dilen?”
Perhaps I had lost myself in thought for too long.
Arwen, tilting her head, was staring at . I let it pass with a smile.
“Hahaha. I was just thinking about sothing else for a mont. You should go. Work hard.”
“Mm. You too.”
Just look at those wistful eyes.
Did I overdo the sweet talk today? It felt as though, if I confessed soon, she might actually accept it. But romance was forbidden for Butler Apprentices, so I needed to be careful.
Every ti I saw rules this ridiculous, the desire to beco a full butler only grew stronger.
In any case, I continued on in the direction I had originally been heading.
A little later, I arrived at the library, where Stewart—the great butler who had once lent the tailcoat—was working at the desk.
I considered thanking him for lending the tailcoat, but if I brought it up carelessly, it might create trouble for Chef Ramsay, so it seed better to pretend ignorance.
As I approached, he looked at with approving eyes.
“Have you co to read again today? You are truly diligent.”
“No. I still have work left.”
“Hoho. I feel as though I have said this several tis lately, but an apprentice like you truly is rare. Any other apprentice would have put today’s remaining work off until tomorrow.”
“You flatter .”
Now that I had offered the appropriate bit of sweet talk, it was ti to bring out the Overnight Leave Pass I had tucked away in my clothes.
“This is rather sudden, but a little while ago the Training Officer awarded an Overnight Leave Pass. Might I use it tomorrow? There is sowhere I very much wish to go.”
“You were rewarded? Ah, now that I think of it, I heard you knocked down one of the strong apprentices in a spar. Was it because of that?”
“That, and I also took first place on the stamina test.”
“My, that takes back. I too had such days once. In any case, after coming here at this hour to finish your remaining duties, how could I possibly refuse? Go and enjoy yourself with an easy mind.”
I took the Overnight Leave Pass from inside my clothes and handed it to Stewart. He accepted it readily enough.
“But if there is sowhere you wish to go so badly, where is it?”
“I am thinking of going down to the village. I heard there will be a festival there.”
“As I thought. It will be worth seeing. It is a festival with a fairly long history.”
I know. Which is why Young Lady Sapiela will surely go out there and wave to the people of the territory.
“Thank you for telling . Then I will go and do so organizing in the stacks.”
“Yes. Make it splendid.”
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