Work

Allen woke in a small room. No light had yet seeped through the gaps in the wooden window. It wasn't the light that woke him, but an unfamiliar smell.

(Morning?)

He still wasn't used to the smell of the mansion. It was the scent of old wood, like an old wooden building he'd smelled somewhere before. He couldn't remember whether it had been a library or an art museum.

He checked his magic recovery in his grimoire and used up his magic as part of his daily routine. It was already November, so sunrise came late, but it was time to get up.

This was Allen's room. Amazingly, he'd been given a room to himself. Baron Granvelle's mansion had three floors, but his room was in the attic on the fourth floor. The low-ceilinged room was about three tatami mats in size, but seasonal furniture and dishes that weren't used often took up space, leaving only about two mats clear.

This barely furnished room didn't even have a bed, so he slept on a futon. Apparently, the rooms for the male servants were full, so they'd put him in this one.

He'd heard that the male servants shared rooms with four people, so he was thrilled to have a room to himself. There were plenty of things he needed to test, and he could summon small creatures in here.

(It's twice as big as a net cafe's private booth. That's more than enough.)

Back when he was Kenichi, he sometimes played games at net cafes. When he stayed overnight, sitting in a booth where he could stretch his legs was less tiring than sitting in a chair. He had no complaints at all about this cramped attic on the fourth floor.

He changed clothes and went down to the first floor. He wasn't wearing the shabby hemp clothes he'd worn before. These were fine black clothes, the servants' uniform. He'd been told not to get them dirty. He'd also been given ordinary clothes to change into, and they were much better than the clothes he'd worn as a serf, too.

There were already quite a few people in the servants' dining hall on the first floor. About ten, he guessed.

"Good morning."

"Good morning."

As he carried his tray, someone greeted him. It was Rikkerel, the head footman. He told Allen to come over, so Allen sat down across from him. He was a considerate senior. Every day he asked how Allen was doing and whether he'd learned his work.

"Are you getting along all right with Lady Cecil?"

He sounded a little concerned. Apparently, new footmen usually weren't assigned to one person right away. They started out doing general chores, and if they did well and earned someone's favor, they might be asked to become that person's personal footman. Rikkerel hadn't become a personal footman; instead, he oversaw the other footmen.

They ate as they talked. The meal was bread and vegetable soup, with a token amount of meat in it. The portions had been bigger back in Krena Village. Last year and this year, they'd had plenty of meat, too.

"Yes, just yesterday."

He told Rikkerel about being sent to buy Popo fruit and seeing the airship while he was out.

"I see. Was that your first time seeing a magic ship?"

"A magic ship?"

Rikkerel explained what a magic ship was. It was a ship made with magic tools. It made about three round trips a month between here and the royal capital. "You can go for one gold coin each way, so maybe you could visit once you've saved up," he said, telling Allen all sorts of things.

There were several magic tools in the mansion. A large grandfather clock stood on the first floor. Several magic lights were installed around the place as well. Peromus had told him they ran on magic stones.

Rikkerel kept telling him all sorts of things, but the people of the household were starting to wake up. Allen said he was off and parted ways with Rikkerel.

He headed for Cecil's room with a maid, one of the lower servants. Cecil's room was on the third floor, directly below Allen's.

The maid helped Cecil get dressed, so Allen waited until she was finished before entering the room. He straightened the bed, collected her nightclothes, and cleaned up. It was all odd jobs.

Sebastian, the butler, had assigned Allen two duties.

• Attending to Cecil's personal needs (odd jobs)

• Serving

Sebastian had told him that he was good-looking, so he should serve at table. Allen wasn't aware of it, but he was quite handsome. He took after his beautiful mother. Now that he was eight, his good looks were beginning to stand out more. He had striking, unusual jet-black eyes and hair. Sebastian wanted him to serve guests when they visited.

Good-looking maids and footmen were chosen to serve at table. Rikkerel had said he'd never done it.

To learn how to serve, Allen also waited on the baron's family during their regular meals.

As for taking care of Cecil, she had quite a few lessons during the day, so there was almost nothing for him to do while she was occupied. She hardly ever called for him.

Allen could understand why Rikkerel had a habit of slacking off. About thirty servants looked after the family. There were times when they had relatively little to do. The house was certainly large, but it didn't require that much housework. Some people, like the butler, had many responsibilities, but even they had plenty of free time.

For now, he washed dishes with the maids until Cecil summoned him.

(They get two half-days off out of every six days, right?)

The servants had time off, too. In a six-day week, they were given two half-days off in the afternoon.

On other days, some servants finished work by five. Since Allen served dinner to the baron's family, his workday ended between six and seven p.m.

If there were guests or a dinner party for important people, he had to serve until much later.

In the evening, he served the baron's family as they ate in the dining room on the second floor.

The food in this other world was served in courses, and each dish was brought out separately, so it took quite a while. Someone waited outside with the next dish, and Allen went in and out of the room to serve them. There were three servers, including Allen, so it wasn't all that busy.

"You've gotten quite used to the work, Allen."

The baroness spoke to him.

"Thank you. That's all thanks to the guidance of my seniors."

He bowed his head slightly and thanked her. The baroness widened her eyes. "Oh my!"

"You hardly seem like someone who came from a serf family."

"Indeed. And all this despite having no talent."

(Hm? Did they have my talent checked? They'd naturally investigate me before taking some unknown boy into their household. So they know all my stats are E, too?)

Allen guessed what lay behind Baron Granvelle's remark.

In his previous life as Kenichi, Allen had worked as a company employee for over ten years, and he'd also had some customer service experience, though not in the food industry. Even that had only been for a few years. He was serving based on his own impression of what it should be like.

He was modeling himself after a waiter at a fancy hotel he'd seen on TV, in manga, or in a movie. He was going by feel and atmosphere.

"Oh? You have no talent?"

Cecil joined the conversation between Allen and the baron and baroness.

"Yes. That's what the priest told me at my Appraisal Ceremony."

He never said in his own words that he had no talent. It was the priest who had said so. If he were appraised now, his talent would show up.

"Really? I'm a Mage."

She said it with a smug little flourish, seeming to puff out her chest.

"How impressive, Lady Cecil. That is a wonderful talent. Not many people can become a Mage."

She clearly wanted praise, so he praised her enthusiastically. Cecil grinned, pleased. Allen didn't realize that his attitude was exactly why Cecil kept pestering him.

(A Mage, huh? Was that even a thing? Weren't Wizards one star and Archmages three stars? So a Mage would be in the middle, at two stars? That's quite a talent.)

Allen remembered looking into the various Jobs when he was Kenichi, before going to another world and choosing a Job. Then—

"Cecil! How many times have I told you not to talk about your talent so much?!"

"I-I'm sorry, Father..."

Baron Granvelle began scolding Cecil for her behavior.

"And Thomas, stop crying over something like that."

"I-I'm sorry, Father. I-I'm the only one without a talent. My older brother and my younger sister both have one..."

Thomas, Cecil's older brother, was sitting beside her and crying.

"Talent has nothing to do with it. I've told you time and again that I'll send you to the Noble Academy in the royal capital, haven't I?"

"I want to go to the academy city, like my older brother."

"That's not possible. The Noble Academy is a fine place, too. Your father went there. I had no talent, either. They hold balls there at night. That's where I met your mother."

"Oh my," the baroness said, placing both hands against her cheeks. She seemed to be remembering her days at the Noble Academy.

(I see. Even nobles can't go to the academy city if they don't have talent. The nobles without talent attend the Noble Academy. Well, talents are less likely to appear among nobles.)

In this world, talents were more likely to manifest in commoners and serfs, people of lower status. Thomas's older brother and younger sister, Cecil, had manifested talents, while Thomas, the second son, was disheartened to learn he had none.

Glare!

(Whoa! Cecil is glaring at me like crazy.)

As he thought about the relationship between nobles and talents, he felt a sharp stare. She was glaring as if to say, "Father scolded me because of you!" He continued serving, careful not to meet her eyes.

And so Allen's work for the day came to an end.