The Old Man Who Is a Lesser Noble

Marie and I only help out during the first hour of the evening service, when it's relatively busy.

Apparently, most people eat dinner at home, so the only customers who come to the shop are mostly people looking forward to enjoying alcohol and snacks. That's why it isn't very busy.

The evening menu consists of only two things: ale and a daily snack set. Since everyone orders one of those two things, serving customers is apparently very easy.

As I was thinking about that, a customer came in.

"Welcome. Please sit wherever you like."

"I'll have an ale and a snack set."

"Yes, sir. I'll bring them right away."

Like this customer, most of our patrons are regulars who already know the menu, so there's no need to explain anything.

After that, five more customers came in, and then the stream of customers stopped.

"Leon, Marie, you two can go ahead and finish up."

Mother called us. That meant our work was over.

When Marie and I went to the kitchen, Mom handed us our dinner.

After that, all we had to do was eat dinner, wipe ourselves down, and go to bed. Mom and Dad ate after the customers left, then got ready for bed and went to sleep.

"Marie, shall we eat dinner?"

"Yeah! I'm hungry!"

While talking, we went to the living room and began eating dinner together.

"Itadakimasu!"

Tonight's dinner was bread and soup full of vegetables, but apparently it was normal for people in this world to eat a light dinner.

People didn't eat much at dinner. Instead, they ate a lot at breakfast and lunch.

It seemed they had a habit of eating more during the day so they would have the energy to work hard.

Munch, munch... The bread was hard, but it was fairly good if I dipped it in the soup.

"That wild strawberry dish was really delicious, wasn't it, Big Brother?"

"Pancakes."

"Pancakes? Is that what they're called?"

"Yes, I named them. It's easy to remember, right?"

Since Marie would definitely call them pancakes no matter what other name I gave them, I decided to officially name them pancakes.

They didn't taste anything like pancakes, though...

"Yeah! I want to eat pancakes again."

"I'll make them again. We'll have to go gather more wild strawberries, too."

"Yeah! I'll gather lots!"

While having that conversation, we finished dinner, wiped ourselves down, and immediately headed to the bedroom.

Marie must have been tired, because she fell asleep as soon as she got into bed.

There was only one bedroom, and the whole family slept together, so it was a little cramped. But as I watched Marie's sleeping face, I thought that was nice too.

I must have been tired as well, because I soon fell asleep.

The next morning, I woke up to the morning bell.

"Uuugh... yawn... I slept well."

I woke up, sat up in bed, and suddenly froze. For a moment, I didn't know where I was.

That's right... Somehow, I became Leon in another world. So it really wasn't a dream.

As I was thinking that, I heard a voice from beside me.

"Leon, why are you spacing out? If you're awake, go wash your face."

"Good morning, Mom. I'm getting up."

Mom and Dad were getting out of bed too. They had apparently just woken up. Marie was still sleeping soundly.

Mom and Dad quickly went downstairs. I followed after them, washed my face, and sat in a chair in the living room.

Yesterday, it hadn't felt real, but I really was going to live in this world from now on.

As I was thinking about that with a deep sense of emotion, Mom woke Marie and brought her down, while Dad brought us breakfast.

"Well then, let's eat. Itadakimasu."

"Itadakimasu."

"Itadakimasu..."

Marie still seemed sleepy, rubbing her eyes as she tried to wake herself up.

Breakfast consisted of bread, a fried egg, and something like meat-and-vegetable stir-fry. Everything was seasoned with salt, but the natural flavors of the ingredients made it delicious.

"Do you have any plans today?"

When Mom asked Marie that, Marie seemed to remember her plans and wake up completely.

"I'm planning to go to the street stalls with Luke today!"

"Oh, really? That sounds fun."

Mom looked at Marie with a gentle smile.

Marie was going out with Luke? Then that worked out perfectly. I'd been wanting to look around the town by myself.

"Are you coming with me too, Big Brother?"

"No, I have something else planned, so I'll pass."

"Oh, really? Then maybe next time!"

"Yeah. We'll go together next time."

After breakfast, I helped with the laundry and cleaned the house. Then I helped with the lunch service, and my free time began.

"All right, I'm off!"

"Be careful!"

"Okay!"

I took the money I had saved from my allowance and went outside. I wanted to buy anything that caught my eye.

However, I only had five iron coins, so at most I could probably buy a small snack. I'd like to earn some money too.

Even if I sold knowledge, I would need someone willing to buy it at a fair price, and I had no capital to make things... It seemed impossible for now.

Thinking about that, I walked away from the house in the opposite direction from the forest.

Leon had never gone far from home, so I didn't know much about the town, but apparently there was a small plaza on this side with street stalls.

First, I decided to go to the plaza, then explore a little farther into places I had never visited before.

After walking for about twenty minutes, I reached the plaza. You could get there from our house simply by following the main street. The main street continued straight on beyond the plaza.

I considered trying the road beyond the plaza, but noticed that there were also roads to the left and right that were a little narrower than the main street.

For some reason, I felt that narrower roads would have more interesting shops, so I decided to try the road on the left.

After following the road on the left for a while, I saw that most of the buildings were ordinary houses, though there were occasional workshops.

Some workshops had signs with pictures of hammers and saws, while others displayed pictures of clothes, thread, wood, and various other things. They were probably furniture workshops, clothing workshops, textile workshops, and woodworking workshops.

I could hear people talking and loud noises coming from inside.

After passing several of those workshops and houses and walking for a while, I found a sign with writing on it. Most commoners could barely read, so signs were generally pictures instead...

As I thought that, I casually read the writing on the sign. It said Magic Tool Workshop.

A magic tool workshop!? Magic tools existed!? Maybe magic tools were like the machines we had in Japan! If so, there might be all sorts of things I wanted!

I was extremely curious, and desperately wanted to see a magic tool, so I decided to peek inside the workshop, even though I worried it might be rude.

"Hello~ Is anyone here?"

I called out, but no one came. I couldn't hear any sounds, either.

"Hello~! Is anyone there~!?"

This time, I called out a little louder. The door at the back opened, and someone appeared.

"You don't have to shout so loudly. I can hear you just fine."

He was a very old man. His face was covered in wrinkles, his hair was thinning, and his back was hunched.

I wondered if this old man was the one who made magic tools.

As I was wondering that, the old man spoke to me.

"So, what brings you here? I didn't think anyone had business in a place like this."

"I'm interested in magic tools..."

"What? You can read?"

Oh... Was I not supposed to be able to read? I could read normally, so I just ended up reading it without thinking.

What should I do...? But I wanted to learn all sorts of things, so maybe it would be better to admit that I could read.

"Someone nearby who could read taught me."

I didn't think there was actually anyone like that, but I decided to say it anyway.

"I see. How fortunate you were."

"Is being able to read really that unusual?"

"Among commoners, yes. Only well-off merchants can usually read."

"I see. So I was fortunate, then."

I answered with a laugh, but the old man looked at me suspiciously again.

"Did that person teach you to speak that way too?"

"Speak what way?"

"You know, you've been using proper polite language this whole time."

Ah... I automatically used polite language with older people. Even though I had been trying to be careful!

"Yes, the person who taught me to read taught me that too."

"Even so, it seems to come naturally to you. The polite language commoners use is usually more rough around the edges, isn't it? Some merchants use refined polite language, but... are you really a commoner?"

He was seriously suspicious of me... Was this bad? What should I do...? As I broke out in a cold sweat, the old man's expression softened slightly.

"Well, I suppose you had a good teacher."

It seemed the old man had stopped suspecting me... What a relief. I was so relieved that I quietly let out a sigh.

Come to think of it, he'd been talking about commoners and people who weren't commoners, and he seemed to understand polite language too. Was the old man not a commoner himself?

"What are you, sir? You're not a commoner... are you?"

"Me? I'm technically a noble. But I'm a lesser noble, so I'm no different from a commoner."

I knew it... I'd had a bad feeling about this. But why was a noble here? And what was a lesser noble?

"What is a lesser noble?"

"A lesser noble is a child of a noble. If he becomes the head of the family, he can become a noble, but most second sons and younger children can't become nobles and remain lesser nobles. I'm one of them."

"I see. So that's how it works."

So there was a system like that... The eldest son inherited the family and became a noble, while the other children remained lesser nobles. Then what happened to the children of lesser nobles?

"What happens to the children of lesser nobles?"

"They become commoners. Otherwise, there would be too many nobles, wouldn't there?"

"Nobles have it pretty tough too... So if you're born a second son or younger, is there no way to become a noble?"

"No, you can become a noble if you're granted a title that lasts only one generation. It's called a knight's title, and your children can't inherit it. You receive one for accomplishing something great."

"I see..."

Nobles had it tough too. I had assumed that being born a noble meant you would be set for life. As I was thinking that, I noticed the old man looking at me with an exasperated expression.

"What is it?"

"Haaah... Haven't you noticed how strange you are?"

"Strange? Did I say something weird?"

"No. The opposite. You aren't saying nearly enough childish things. You're only seven or eight, aren't you? Yet you understand the complicated system of nobility accurately and ask questions about things you don't understand. You're clearly not an ordinary commoner's child."

This is bad...! I got carried away because it was fun learning so much information, and asked too many questions. Could I still cover it up? Would saying someone taught me really work?

As I frantically panicked inwardly, the old man continued the conversation for me.

"Well, I suppose you have your reasons. If you don't want to tell me, you don't have to. I'm old now. I'll choose to think that it was fortunate I got to meet an interesting child at the end of my life."

"Um... thank you?"

"But while I don't mind, you shouldn't show too much that you're different in front of other people. There are many bad people in the world, after all."

"Yes!"

He was a really good old man. What a relief... I would be more careful from now on.