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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Lord Fourth
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My mind went blank.
“I’m sorry, Young Master! I was wrong! Please forgive me…!!”
Clearly, I was the one at fault.
“I’m sorry…! I’m truly sorry!”
Yet, the victim was the one begging for forgiveness.
A disconcerting feeling washed over me, as if common sense itself had been twisted.
“I’m sorry, Young Master…!”
It was a stark reminder of the kind of person I’d become.
“Are you alright? I’m sorry.”
Yes, this was how people saw Arnold.
“Oh… N-No!! It was my fault for blocking your path, Young Master…!”
He was someone who, simply for being born under a wicked family, was met with misunderstanding, fear, and contempt.
“No, I wasn’t paying attention. It was my fault.”
Now, how was I supposed to calm this maid, who was still pleading with tears in her eyes?
“No…!”
“I said it’s okay. What’s your name?”
I tried to approach her slowly, without causing further distress.
“Eek…!!”
But the moment I asked for her name…
“I was wrong! Even if this lowly life has to pay for the sin of offending you, Young Master, please spare my mother who works here!!”
What was she imagining? She suddenly brought up her mother and bowed her head again.
“No… Look…”
“I’m sorry!!”
She bowed so low, it looked like she was trying to break through the floor.
The tears that had welled up in her eyes were now streaming down her face like a waterfall.
“…”
Anyone would think I’d threatened to wipe out three generations of her family…
“Haa…”
What was I supposed to do? I wanted to resolve this with words, but conversation was impossible.
“I’m sorry, Mother. I’m a bad daughter…”
She was overly agitated, but it couldn’t be helped, given the general perception of Arnold.
“Lift your head.”
She was young, so perhaps I needed to soothe her gently.
“Uh… Yes?”
At my words, the maid slowly raised her face.
“…”
I bent one knee, bringing myself to her eye level.
“Look…”
“Eeek…!”
But as I reached out, she squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for pain.
Sweep
“Eh…?”
But I hadn’t reached out to hurt her.
“It’s really okay. I’m the one who hurt you. You don’t need to apologize.”
I gently stroked the young maid’s hair, soothing her in the calmest voice I could manage.
“Young Master…?”
“Yes, there’s nothing to worry about. Nothing’s going to happen.”
“You, and your mother, will be safe.”
I stroked her hair as if brushing away all her anxieties, offering a faint smile.
“Th-Thank you!!”
She replied in a much louder voice than before and bowed her head again.
“Thank you… Thank you so much, Young Master!”
The difference this time was that the gloomy atmosphere had completely disappeared.
“Stop crying.”
“But… these are… tears of joy…?”
“Come here.”
I pulled out the sleeve of my clothes and wiped the tears streaming down the maid’s cheeks.
“Y-Young Master…! Your precious clothes…”
Of course, it was a bit difficult to wipe her tears because she kept fidgeting nervously.
“It’s alright, don’t worry.”
But I reassured her and wiped away all her tears, even patting her shoulder encouragingly.
“Th-Thank you, Young Master…”
“It’s nothing. By the way, I didn’t hear your answer earlier. What’s your name?”
I helped her up and asked her name again.
“My name is Eily…!”
“Eily Kaysher, I work as a maid in the mansion with my mother, Arina Kaysher!”
Unlike her initially timid demeanor, she told me her name with a bright and confident attitude.
“Hmm… Is that so?”
Eily…
I repeated her name several times in my head to memorize it.
“By the way, what were you doing in front of my room?”
“Well, it was almost lunchtime, but you seemed to be asleep, so I came to check on you.”
It seemed Eily would be my first human connection after my transmigration.
“Really? Actually, I had some personal things to do, so I stayed in my room for a long time. I woke up early, though.”
“I see! I was worried you might be unwell, but I’m glad you’re alright!”
I hoped my recent actions had changed her perception of me, even if just a little.
“Yes, thank you.”
“Yes! Then I’ll get back to my chores!”
“Thank you for your hard work.”
I hoped my first impression on her had been that of a friendly person.
My life as Arnold in this game world had truly begun.
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A week later.
“Hmm~”
For the past week, I’d been careful with my words and actions, trying my best to adapt to this world.
“I guess it’s because it’s a noble household? Even the private library is huge.”
The first thing I investigated was the language here.
Just like how the first concern when traveling to a different country is the language barrier.
“Cooking, gathering, hunting… There are so many books, categorized by subject.”
Having come to a completely different world, I was naturally interested in the language of this world.
“Farming…? Maybe I’ll read it if I get the chance.”
But contrary to my initial worries, language wasn’t a big problem.
Was the language here the same as the one I used?
No, it wasn’t.
“Mmm…”
The characters here were… well… they didn’t exist on Earth. At least, not within my knowledge.
Then how was I able to read and understand it?
“…”
Honestly, I didn’t know.
The words here were definitely unfamiliar, words I’d never learned before.
But somehow, I could read and speak them like a native.
If I had to explain it… it felt like they automatically popped up in my head. As if a translator had been installed in my brain.
“So… this is the Wigliad Continent…”
“Monster Compendium? This is a bit interesting, too.”
Next, I learned about the world’s setting.
“It’s pretty much the same as what I know.”
Honestly, this wasn’t too difficult either.
After all, I’d seen the world’s setting countless times.
The level of scientific technology was significantly behind the world I came from, but instead, supernatural concepts like ‘magic’ existed.
Also, there were races commonly found in fantasy worlds, like elves and dwarves.
“…”
Ironically, learning the layout of the mansion without revealing my ignorance was more difficult than understanding this vast world.
“Hmm, so… Electric…?”
Zap
“Whoa…”
Speaking of magic…
“I almost burned all the books.”
Arnold Stenman—
“And next is…”
He had a remarkable talent for magic.
Well, that’s probably why he acted as a boss in the later parts of the game.
“Fire.”
Whoosh!!
“Wait?! Ugh…!”
I didn’t know the exact standards of this world yet, but I’d heard that even those with talent barely showed any magical reaction until they were 15.
Meaning they could only detect mana, not control it.
“Phew…”
But this Arnold fellow… after some inquiries, I found out he had just celebrated his 14th birthday. And yet, he could manipulate various elements.
I hadn’t used it directly on any living beings yet, but… dare I say, it was powerful enough to inflict significant damage on a person.
“Haa, I’ll stop here for the afternoon.”
I’d been engrossed in reading magic books in the mansion’s library, and it was already 4 p.m. I was starting to feel tired.
“I hope I can find my way back to my room without getting lost this time… This mansion is too big…”
I closed the book and carefully placed it back on the shelf.
Click
I opened the library door and stepped out into the hallway.
“Oh?! Hello, Young Master!”
As I stepped out, I happened to run into Eily.
“Eily, are you alright…?”
Our encounter was fine, but…
“Yes…? O-Of course! It’s a little heavy, but I can manage…!”
She looked incredibly unsteady.
“Oof… Heave-ho.”
Eily took a step forward, carrying a large vase that was almost as big as herself.
“Whew.”
She looked as though she might fall at any moment; her precarious steps made me nervous.
“Let me help you.”
I wanted to at least lend a hand.
“What? No! I can’t let the Young Master do a maid’s work… Woah?!”
But as I approached, she tripped and fell in a manner that could only be described as theatrical.
“Ouch… Oh?! Oh no, this…!! It was an important vase…!!”
Eily gaped in dismay, at a loss for what to do.
“Haha…”
This was something I learned while gathering information recently.
“Ouch.”
Eily Kaysher.
She really was a maid working in this mansion with her mother.
Their family was struggling financially, so both mother and daughter worked to make ends meet.
According to the other maids, their reputation wasn’t very good.
Especially Eily. Her mother, Arina, might have been passable, but Eily’s reputation was particularly poor.
She was young, so it was understandable that she wasn’t very skilled, but she was also prone to mistakes, passive in her work, and overly sensitive, often bursting into tears.
In fact, just in the past week, the mistakes I’d witnessed firsthand…
‘I’ll clean the floor spotless!’
‘Scrub scrub, Eek?!’
Tripping over the bucket while mopping the floor.
Crash
‘Oof…! I’m sorry!!’
Breaking dishes while washing them and getting scolded by the chef…
Thud!!
‘Uh… Oh no…?’
Knocking over the drying rack and ruining all the laundry…
“Are you hurt?”
“Yes… But the vase…”
Honestly, she seemed clumsy in most of her tasks.
“It’s alright. I’ll say I broke it by accident.”
“What?! You can’t! Why would you…!”
But I still chose to cover for Eily.
“You don’t want to get scolded by the head maid again, do you? It’s better if I say I broke it.”
“But…”
Of course, part of it was to shed my villainous image, but more than that, I felt sympathy for her as a person.
How difficult and tiring it must have been for her at such a young age.
“I-I’m so sorry. I-Instead… I’ll definitely pay for the vase…”
“Forget it. Nevertheless I appreciate the thought.”
Every time I saw Eily make a mistake, I’d pat her head and comfort her.
“Don’t worry about it.”
“But, Young Master…”
I believed that someday, she’d become a capable person.
“Gotcha! I caught you red-handed!”
But one day…
“Eek! I’m sorry! That, this is…!”
Eily, whom I’d thought to be innocent and kind…
“Master Arnold! You won’t believe it, this little brat dared to…!”
…was accused of being a thief.
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Hi Lord Fourth here!
I’m new to translating so if you find some mistakes or inconsistencies let me know about it on the dedicated channel on discord.
