Login in to Alandal

<The King of Heroes, in an excited voice, tells you to say, “status window.”>

“Status window?”

-Ring!

『[Status window]

Name: Locke Ron Widia

Age: 14

Status: 「Mana Rejecting Body」, 「□□」, 「□□」, 「□□」, 「□□」

Disposition: 「F: Courage of a Child」, 「□□」, 「□□」, 「□□」, 「□□」

Martial Arts: 「□□」, 「□□」, 「□□」, 「□□」, 「□□」

Skills: 【Hero Draw】【Saving Abilities】

Number of cards: 0』

“…This is?"

<The King of Heroes clears their throat and says it's the current status of the chosen one.>

<The King of Heroes feels proud of the neat status window, saying that they only made it so the essential information would appear.>

In the status window, along with my current age, name, and the Mana Rejecting Body I had, were the abilities of the hero I had just obtained.

“What are those blank spaces?”

<The King of Heroes says those are the maximum spaces you can fill in.>

"Hmm… So, you mean I can only fill those blank spaces with five things from the cards?”

<The King of Heroes nods, noting you’re quick to understand.>

<The King of Heroes says, for reference, that abilities have grades, and if you gather five abilities, you can raise one grade at random or by specifying one.>

<The King of Heroes says, for reference, that you need to gather 5 for the random option but 10 to pick one.>

“This F… it’s low, right?”

<The King of Heroes nods.>

Status, disposition, and martial arts could be acquired with this skill called [Hero Draw], and I needed a card to acquire them.

Whether it was status, disposition, or martial arts, five things could be set in each space at most.

The letter F was a low grade, so there seemed to be several higher ones.

So if I gathered five F-Grades, a higher-level ability would be created.

However, the ability would be randomly determined, and I needed 10 to choose what happened.

“Can I gather them as I please?”

<The King of Heroes nods yes and says to save the abilities of heroes not needed with the skill [Saving Abilities]. You can fuse them and create other skills.> 

“What can I say… It seems to be a luck-driven ability." 

<The King of Heroes says that life is all about coincidences.>

Since I'd come this far, I had answers to most of the things that I had been curious about.

“And lastly, the cards...”

-Knock, knock.

Before I could finish talking, the door opened.

“It’s mealtime. I’ll ask you my last question after breakfast.”

<The King of Heroes tells you to do so, and they say they will be back after having breakfast.> 

“…Do you eat too?” 

<The King of Heroes says they're trying to live on too.> 

<The King of Heroes says they don't have much appetite these days.> 

<The King of Heroes’ eyes twinkle when they remember that they need to eat a lot to grow.> 

“…Enjoy your meal." 

<The King of Heroes tells the chosen one to enjoy their food and disappears while humming.>

I got up and went outside.

***

My meals were always the same: hard bread and a bowl of soup with a few potato chunks floating around.

That was all.

Whether it was breakfast, lunch, or dinner, I always ate like this.

It was worse than what the Duke's servants ate, but I was satisfied with it even then.

“Let’s eat.”

It was the only time I could eat with a creature that spoke the human language.

‘Tessrun...’

He always looked at me as if I was pathetic, but he was the only one who answered me.

‘At the time, I was happy with just that… wait. How old am I now?'

I felt I had seen my age in the status window.

'Fourteen?'

If I were 14 now, the incident would soon occur.

As I wasn’t eating and instead sat there frowning, Tessrun, usually quiet during our meals, asked.

“What’s the matter?”

“…What day is today?”

“January 4th, 1034, Haytons. If you're done with your questions, let's finish eating.”

The Haytons referred to the planet, which had 13 months in its year.

Hearing that, I let out a sigh of relief.

'Should I think there's a chance?'

On March 1st, all the children of nobles belonging to the Ryzen Empire would go to the Academy.

The Duke of Widia, who was called the right hand of the Empire, was no exception.

‘In the next two months… I’ll run away.'

To be exact, I ran away in about a month and a half.

‘Then, when this meal is over… That guy will be there too.'

-Clench!

When I gritted my teeth to the point where they made an audible noise, Tessrun stopped picking at his bread and looked up at me.

“Come to think of it, it’s almost time to go to class. He will be waiting for you today, as always.”

“…”

Even I, a 14-year-old bastard, had to go to the Academy because I was a son of a nobleman. And to do so, Widia sent a teacher to instruct me in basic swordsmanship.

'Bastards!'

Perhaps even my father, the Duke of Widia, didn’t know about this.

No, there was a high possibility that he didn't even know I existed in the first place.

I lost my mother when I was too young to remember and was brought to the duchy.

Since then, I had been almost imprisoned here, and my father, the Duke, never once showed his face to me or called me to his side.

Since childhood, only Tessrun had been beside me.

“Please train hard for the sake of the duchy.”

“Training...”

Even with training, it would be impossible to beat the other children who had mastered swordsmanship because I had no talent.

So with only three months left until admission, what did he mean for me to learn?

It was a short time to learn the basics, let alone master swordsmanship.

'Shit.'

I suddenly couldn't control my emotions, as if I was possessed by something, and I couldn't bear to stand this disgusting injustice.

“I only have three months, or is it a month and a half now? What do you mean for me to learn in that short time?”

“…Yes?"

“That's ridiculous. Really. Are you saying I should attend the Academy after receiving a brief but violent education?”

Tessrun repeatedly blinked, dumbfounded.

It was the first time the child who had never expressed his opinion complained about something.

Above all, the target of that criticism was the swordsmanship instructor sent by the Duke.

“For me, who doesn’t have the basics mastered, any stamina, or strength… What do you think I should be taught first, Tessrun?”

“Um...”

Tessrun came to his senses at my words and let out a melancholy sound.

Should he be happy about this? No, was it really something to be pleased about?

Before that, he had to wonder whether or not this child was indeed the Young Master he served.

Tessrun quietly opened his mouth.

"Wouldn’t it be… stamina?”

"No. Neither stamina, nor how to hold a sword, nor how to build strength.”

“Then what is it?”

“It's the way to argue with bastards with nothing in their heads who will teach me swordsmanship in three months. Even legendary warriors and heroes cannot master the necessary sword skills in three months.”

<The King of Heroes mumbles, with their mouth full, that hundreds of heroes have reached the level of a sword master in three months.>

‘…’

Tessrun replied, stroking his chin.

“But the Young Master...”

“I have no strength, and if I say no, parents… will you report it? The head of the Duchy of Widia, the right hand of the great Golden Dragon! Duke Eisen Ron Widia, the Black Drake himself, doesn't even know I exist."

“Hmm...”

Tessrun was confused.

This was definitely not the behavior of a child who looked up at the sky with tears and begged for his mother after receiving harsh training from his instructor yesterday.

‘A face that has seen much chaos… yes, that face.'

Tessrun became more confused upon noticing my face full of anger.

“…Are you really the Young Master?”

“Who else would I be? Tessrun?”

“…Never mind.”

He changed. He definitely has. But…

But Tessrun couldn't say what he was clearly thinking aloud.

Even if he has, nothing else will change.

‘Even if someone without talent changes, they won’t improve.’

I had no talent whatsoever, anyway.

Tessrun calmed his mind.

His role was to help me record my actions every month and send that to the Duke.

He didn't know if his letter would reach Duke Eisen or disappear on the way, but as a servant of the duchy, all he had to do was set aside his doubts and work.

“You are right, but we cannot ignore the instructor sent by the Duke.”

“Tsk.”

He had never seen me click my tongue before, either.

However, as a 'servant,' Tessrun made his heart cold and continued on as if it didn’t happen.

“Then, I will be going. I will tell the instructor that the Young Master will be a little late.”

"Okay."

Tessrun quietly picked up his plate and left the kitchen.

And I thought.

'Nothing changed.'

The only thing that could be considered an actual change by Duke Eisen's standards was if I discovered my talent.

But my personality being different had no bearing on that.

***

Left alone at the kitchen table, I gazed at the window in front of me.

-Ring!

[Your fate has changed by 0.003%.]

[You have acquired 3 Hero Cards.]

“…King of Heroes?"

<The King of Heroes is perplexed and says that they never dreamed that fate would change just with this.> 

“What do you mean?” 

<The King of Heroes asks if you know why they brought you, the chosen one, to the past.>

“Hmm...”

I remembered the moment I died, ten years from now.

“Because someone destroys this world.”

This planet was going to be destroyed by an unknown enemy.

Some said it was the devil, some said they were from the demon race, while others guessed it was an entity from another dimension, but at the time, neither humanity nor anyone else could figure out who they were.

It wasn't until my very last moment that I had a chance to learn of their existence, but in the end, I met my death after only catching a glimpse of the enemy's sneer.

<The King of Heroes says they were looking for someone to save this planet from its unfair end.>

<The King of Heroes says that after searching for a long time, they found an “untalented man” at the end of their life, and they chose them out of curiosity.>

“…Just out of curiosity?"

<The King of Heroes says those with talent were awfully out of luck. And that they would be satisfied if they raised someone untalented.>

“…”

Was that the only reason he chose me?

<The King of Heroes says this planet will be on the verge of destruction if it continues like this.>

<That's why the King of Heroes says that the fate of destruction must be twisted little by the chosen one’s actions.>

<The King of Heroes says that the way to get more cards is to change fate.>

“…I only talked to Tessrun...?”

But in fact, compared to how I was so far, it wasn't 'only' talking.

It was the first time I expressed my resentment toward the Duke of Widia, and it was clear that Tessrun was slightly affected.

'He didn't finish eating.'

There was a rule that servants of the duchy should always serve an appropriate amount and not leave any food to waste, but it was the first time I’d see Tessrun not finish a meal.

Like the saying that a small flap of a butterfly's wings can turn into a typhoon, it was only now that I could understand.

My words had caused a very small change in Tessrun.

“Then, now that I have some cards, I should open them.”

<The King of Heroes brings their 3D glasses and watches with excitement.>

‘What is 3D?’

I'd better open them before I meet with the swordsmanship instructor.