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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Lord Fourth
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“Twenty-three… Twenty-four…!”
Lately, Arnold felt he was was devoting a lot of time to training.
“Excellent. Even though you’ve only just begun learning, there’s not much left to teach you.”
He learned the finer points of swordsmanship and trained his body under Martin’s guidance,
“So… I can make electricity flow through the barrier I cast, or combine water and ice magic to create makeshift blades?”
and practiced advanced magic by combining various spells in the forest.
Certainly, this practical training was more effective than just reading books and learning through theory.
As the saying goes, seeing is believing. There was a significant difference in growth between understanding something through text and learning it through hands-on experience.
“Hmm.”
This method also made it easy to feel his progress.
“Compared to the beginning, I’ve definitely improved.”
Physically, he had changed significantly.
From his arms and shoulders to his chest, back, and abdomen, well-defined muscles had developed throughout his body.
An agility and firmness he couldn’t have imagined before enveloped him, adding power to every movement.
It wasn’t just muscle development; the harmony enhanced his balance and agility.
His magical abilities were also on a different level.
In the past, he could only focus on one spell at a time, but now he could easily cast two or more spells simultaneously.
He could even link multiple spells to create complex and creative applications.
Considering the original Arnold, this was smooth progress, but he didn’t stop getting stronger.
“But… is it still not enough?”
Of course, it would be ideal to shed the image of a villain and prevent future misfortunes from happening in the first place.
“To survive, I need to be stronger.”
He had enough talent, so there was no harm in getting stronger.
If he found himself in a situation where he couldn’t avoid the death flags of his fate, he would have to resolve it with his own strength.
Besides, in this world without computers or electronic devices like his previous one, he would be bored with nothing to do if he didn’t train.
“Should I set a date and go look for stronger monsters?”
“I should also practice using the sword and magic simultaneously.”
“Should I look for a magic tutor while I am at it?”
It seemed best to get as strong as possible while he had the time.
“First… I want to get a better grasp of my abilities by hunting monsters like last time.”
For now, his growth was steady.
Time-wise, the original story hadn’t even started yet, and the game’s main prologue began after entering the academy, so he had plenty of time.
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“Hello, Master….”
Eilly wasn’t originally a character in the game, but if there was one thing that defined her, it was her identity as a maid.
“Eilly….”
“Yes, do you have any tasks for me….”
She was clumsy and had many shortcomings, but on the bright side, her unique airheadedness could be seen as cute.
Also, she was always bright and energetic, with a lot of innocent smiles, which he personally found pleasant.
“… What’s wrong today?”
“What do you mean?”
But today, her demeanor was strange.
Eilly was usually, how should he put it…
Like a clear, cloudless day, weather-wise.
Her optimistic attitude, free of worries or anxieties, was like a bright sun illuminating the entire earth.
“Is something the matter?”
“No, nothing….”
Today, she seemed gloomy, as if it were raining.
Her pure and bright demeanor was gone, replaced by a face clouded with worry and anxiety.
“But you seem a little down.”
“Do I? B-But I’m fine…”
He was puzzled by her unusually serious and melancholic attitude, but Eilly just kept repeating that nothing was wrong.
“Hmm, is that so?”
Even though she denied it verbally, he could see her anxiously wringing her hands, as if seeking help.
“Yes, I’m really fine….”
Did she have a secret she couldn’t tell anyone? Or was she being unfairly treated because someone had some leverage over her?
He didn’t know the reason, but
“Ugh….”
He instinctively knew something bad had happened to Eilly.
………
My name, Eilly, was given to me by my mother.
I have no memories of my father.
At some point, I was living with my mother and my younger sister, Julie, who always tried to live with a smile despite her frail health.
Life without a provider was incredibly difficult.
It was a struggle for three frail women to make a living without a strong man to protect them.
Still, our family was happy in its own way.
Even though we had nothing, we gave and received plenty of love, supporting each other.
And things started to look up when Mother and I started working as maids for a noble family.
However…
‘Eilly… I’d like you to come home for a bit today.’
‘Mother? Yes, I understand.’
One day, tragedy struck.
‘Ugh… Sister -’
‘J-Julie?!’
My younger sister, Julie, who was born frail,
had fallen ill with an unknown disease.
She had always been sickly, suffering for days even with a mild cold, and now she was fighting for her life with an unknown illness.
‘Hmm… I think I’ve seen this before, but I’m not sure.’
We couldn’t afford a good doctor, so we had her diagnosed by someone who was within our means, but they said they didn’t know what it was.
‘But it seems like she’s been poisoned, so a high-grade antidote should work. The price is -’
There was a cure, but it was an expensive medicine that Mother and I couldn’t afford.
Still, to save my sister, we continued to care for her and waited for the day we could afford the medicine.
‘Mother, how is Julie?’
‘She’s alright. No, not alright… she’s the same as usual. Julie is holding on well.’
Mother started visiting home twice a day to care for my sister.
We worked, trying to ignore the looming worries because there was still hope.
‘Eilly, it’s an emergency…! Julie is in danger…!’
Then today –
‘What?! Why?!’
The unexpected happened.
‘Her condition has worsened… They say it’s because she hasn’t been treated for so long…!’
Julie, who we believed would hold on… finally succumbed to the illness and was now between life and death.
‘Then what do we do…?’
We were still far from saving enough for the medicine. But time was not on our side. What should we do?
God –
If my prayers reach you, please help this poor family…
Or anyone, please-
‘Oh….’
With that thought, the face of a certain man flashed through my mind.
I had heard rumors that he was a cruel and ruthless man, but in reality, he was the kindest and warmest young master –
‘No, no….’
But I decided to discard such impious thoughts.
I was already deeply indebted to him.
He protected me when I was about to be branded a thief,
he gave food to my hungry sister,
and he even risked his own life to save this insignificant life of mine.
So no matter how shameless I was, I couldn’t ask for another huge favor from the young master.
I was a maid, and he was a nobleman.
It was absurd for me to cause him more trouble when I should be devoting myself to him.
This time, it was something my family and I had to handle on our own.
‘Listen carefully. There’s something I want you to do from now on.’
Therefore… the best I could do was –
‘… I want you to do this.’
‘Yes…?’
‘Oh, I understand….’
To follow my mother’s request.
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Eilly’s demeanor was strange.
“Ugh….”
She kept glancing at him as if she had something to say,
but anxiously fidgeted, as if she couldn’t muster the courage.
“Eilly, do you have something to tell me?”
He decided to break the ambiguous atmosphere and asked Eilly directly.
“Yes? Oh, n-nothing’s wrong…”
“Lies. What’s been wrong since this morning? Tell me honestly.”
As she continued to avoid revealing her true feelings, he had no choice but to press her with a serious tone.
“W-Well, the truth is -”
As if giving in, her tense shoulders slumped,
“I have something important to tell you, Master.”
She spoke with difficulty, her expression pained.
“What is it?”
“Master, I -”
The first words she uttered, with a look of determination, filled his mind with confusion.
“I will be resigning from my position as a maid… starting today…!”
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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.
