Early in the morning, a sharp knock echoed in my room. When I permitted entry, my exclusive maid, Misha, entered the room.
“Good morning, young master.”
“Good morning.”

It was the same greeting that I’d exchanged with her almost every morning since coming to this world. However, there was something slightly different today, Misha was holding a pile of laundry in her hands. She drew out a pair of books that were carefully hidden underneath a towel. Since I am not allowed to even take general lessons, she’s brought these to me out of her own initiative. The fact that she’s taking such actions which could be interpreted as a betrayal to Baron Endenburg’s household, proves that she is fully committed to being my collaborator.

— The cause for this change tracks back to the day before.

Realising the limits that bound me by acting alone, I decided to ask for some help from Misha who had come to my room as usual.
“Could you please lend me your aid?”
“Yes! Yes! Definitely!”
Misha enthusiastically nodded her head several times. I wondered why she was so pumped about helping someone out, and learnt that she had her own reasons.

Apparently, she was touched by my plight because her upbringing and my current state of affairs were similar. It felt like a pretty weak motive to me, but I guess it can’t be helped, Norwin is still only five after all. If a young boy like Norwin, who is treated coldly by his entire family, desperately pleads for help, anyone with a heart would probably fold.

—I don’t really get it, but if it means that I’ve gained an ally, all is well.

Besides, Misha is really cute and even if they learn that she’s been helping me study, there is no need to fear the worst. Apparently, she won’t be executed because she also belongs to the nobility. At worst, she’d be dismissed and sent back to her house. So, she won’t die because of me, that’s even better.

Incidentally, I thought it would be fine if I asked Misha for help because I’d picked up on her sympathy for me. Thinking back on it, I felt that such a thought was too shallow. I never considered the possibility that she could have been faking it, and was always an agent of the Endenburg house. Was my impatience with my current state the reason I rushed this?

After beginning my magic training, I personally experienced this body’s lack of talent. Due to the game, I knew that the main characters were all incredibly talented, so Norwin’s average abilities were enough for impatience to sprout in me.

In the end, Misha became my ally and everything turned out fine. But if she were really loyal to the Endenburg house, my movements would probably be restricted even further. I need to be more prudent from now on.
“Is something the matter?”
“No, it’s nothing.”

While I was reflecting on my actions from the previous day, it seemed I’d worried Misha, she was peering at me with a concerned expression. Wow, she’s gorgeous. In the right light, I’d bet she’d even outstrip the game’s heroines.

That pretty exclusive maid of mine closed the door behind her and locked it. “Now it’s just the two of us.”, she said smiling at me like I was her younger brother. She’s been showing me such a smile since the previous day. I wondered if it was because our relationship had transformed from master and servant, to collaborators that harboured a secret. It makes me happy to have such a beauty smile at me, but it has enough charm to shake my resolve about Chris, so I wished she’d turned it down a notch or ten.

“With that, the plan for the day is…”, said Misha, breathing roughly in all her excitement. Is it really that exciting to help me?, I wondered. But it happens right? That rush you feel when you sneak around and defy ridiculous rules laid by adults. Add to that her wish to protect little Norwin, and I suppose such behaviour would be the result.

“Usually you would begin with things that require focus, like magic training, in the morning. After a break at noon, you’d move on to language and general studies in the afternoon.”
“Magic training in the morning would tire me out, so if possible, I’d like to begin with some lessons.”
“That would be difficult.”
“Why is that?”
“I analysed the schedules of all the servants in the annex building and found that, their mornings are much busier compared to their afternoons. In that case, I think we should prioritize magic, which requires a lot more preparation, in the mornings where the chances of us being interrupted are low.”

I see. That makes sense.
Hold up. Didn’t she just slip in something incredible in there?
She analysed the schedules of all the servants?
In less than a day?

“Is something the matter?” With no self-awareness of what she’d done, Misha tilted her head in confusion at me, who was staring at her in disbelief. Dammit! She’s too cute!
“It’s nothing. In that case, let’s begin with magic training.”
“Yes!”

Excited, Misha took out the magic textbook and opened it on the floor. The reason we weren’t using a desk was because this setup would make it easier to hide the evidence if we were to be disturbed. We could just gouge a hole in the ground with earth magic, throw everything in there and fill it back up. By putting the carpet back in place, we would also be able to hide the characteristic traces of earth magic.

“Well then…” The magic I’d learnt in the game was very battle oriented thanks to the game’s characteristics. You wouldn’t really have a use for insect repelling magic in an action game after all. So focusing on battle oriented magic was a given in the context of the game. But this world must have a much wider range and deeper understanding of magic.

Since I’ve already learnt a variety of battle oriented spells thanks to the game, I should also try to master the other types and the theoretical aspects of magic. By combining the knowledge from the game and this world, I will become an unparalleled magician. With that aim burning in my heart, I lowered my gaze to the magic textbook.

“——”
“Young master?”
“———”
“Um, young master?”
“…I can’t read it.”
“I’m sorry?”
“Misha, I don’t know how to read this.”
“Eh?”

What’s with the ‘I wasn’t expecting that face’? Well I suppose I was at fault too, acting under the assumption that I could read all along. I mean, wouldn’t you think that? I could easily speak in Japanese to them, so I thought the writing system would be like Japanese too! Seriously, why is the written script alone from this world!?

“Um, Misha, could you please teach me to read first?”
“Ha Ha, I understand, we’ll start with that.” With a smile that made her look much older, Misha took out the language textbook.

⚪

We only did lessons for a while after that. Language, general knowledge, and Misha taught me as much as noble etiquette that she could. I was trying to learn all kinds of things about this world that I couldn’t learn from the game alone.

I was worried whether I, who hated studying, could learn all this. However, a child’s brain, like a dry sponge absorbing water, soaked up all the knowledge that I tried to load it with.

As such productive days rolled along, an incident occurred about three months later. Even though I believed that I had years yet, I would be forced on to the stage of Arcadia Quest whether I wanted it or not.