Chapter 16: The Young Lady is Ten Years Old.

A year passed.

Eris’s education is progressing smoothly.

Her swordsmanship talent is exceptional—she reached Intermediate before turning ten.
Intermediate means she can hold her own against an average knight.
According to Ghislaine, she’ll likely reach Advanced in just a few more years.
She’s only nine… is our young lady actually a genius?
When I asked about myself, Ghislaine averted her eyes.

Eris has also become reasonably competent at reading and writing—
mostly thanks to Ghislaine’s vivid stories about how difficult life is without literacy.
You can’t do anything if you can’t read.
You get deceived by everyone, and in the worst case you end up sold as a slave.
Hearing that, anyone would study desperately.

Arithmetic is improving more slowly.
I don’t know what kind of future awaits Eris,
but advanced mathematics doesn’t seem necessary in this world,
so I’m taking it slow.
Mastering the four basic operations within five years—that’s the goal.

Magic is going well too, but I’m starting to feel a bit stuck.
She can now use almost all beginner-level chant magic.
Eris has mastered nearly every element except earth,
while Ghislaine is only comfortable with fire.
We’re taking the same lessons—why the difference?
Maybe water, wind, and earth are Ghislaine’s weak elements.
There are so many episodes suggesting she’s bad at them that I can’t tell.
In any case—it seems you can’t just chant what’s written in the textbook and expect it to work.
I never really put effort into memorizing chants either,
so I don’t fully understand.

Lately I’ve been having her practice chantless casting,
but progress is poor.
Sylphie picked it up almost immediately—
is it an age thing?
Or was Sylphie just exceptionally talented?
I don’t know.
Maybe I’m wasting her time teaching it.

Should I just move on to Intermediate?
But both Ghislaine and Eris are swordfighters.
Mastering versatile beginner spells would be more useful for them.
So the current pace is probably fine.
I want to believe that someday she’ll get it.

Everything seemed to be going smoothly…
except for one subject: etiquette.

—

Eris’s tenth birthday is approaching.

The age of ten is special.
In Asuran noble custom, the 5th, 10th, and 15th birthdays
are celebrated with large-scale parties.

The manor’s grand hall and adjoining courtyard will be opened.
Gifts arrive from all over the territory,
and nobles from the entire town are invited.
Because Sauros is a rough military man,
the original plan was a casual standing-drinking party for ruffians.
But Philip intervened,
suggesting it be turned into a dance party so mid-tier nobles from nearby could attend more comfortably.

A dance party.

The person most troubled by this was Eris.
Because—she can’t dance.
She can’t even manage the simplest steps.

“It would be a problem if the star of the party, our young lady, cannot dance.”

Edna raised the issue at the beginning-of-the-month staff meeting.
When asked how they handled it at age five,
she explained that in Asuran nobility,
dance becomes mandatory only from age ten.
So there had been no need to dance before.

As a result, we immediately converted all lessons except swordsmanship and magic into etiquette crash courses.
Special training.

Morning swordsmanship remains unchanged.
After lunch—light magic practice to settle the stomach—
and then the rest of the day is nothing but dance.
I could visibly see Eris losing energy and confidence day by day.

“Excuse me, Rudeus-sama—do you know how to dance?”

One day, around the time magic lessons were ending,
Edna asked me that.

“No, I don’t.”

“Then please join us.
You’ll be attending the party as well, won’t you, Rudeus-sama?”

“Uh… well… probably?”

When I looked at Eris, she nodded as if it were obvious.

“Rudeus is coming too.”

She was speaking strangely—probably because it was etiquette class.
I decided not to point it out.

“It seems I’ll be attending.”

“Then it would be inconvenient if you couldn’t dance.”

“No, I plan to pretend I’m just a helpless child and stay in the corner, so it’s fine.”

Edna didn’t even give a wry smile.
She kept her usual gentle expression.
I’ve noticed—she almost never shows any other face.
In a way, she’s a perfect poker face.

“Your first ball will be more nerve-wracking than you expect.
You might step on your partner’s foot,
or your partner might hold back because you’re still so young.
So to help ease the tension,
I was hoping you could be Lady Eris’s first partner…”

She glanced at me repeatedly while keeping that soft smile.
In short—she’s asking me to help.
Apparently Eris’s dance progress is going very poorly.
Can’t be helped.
I planned to stay out of it since it’s outside my field,
but if I’m asked, I won’t refuse.
I’m the grade-level coordinator, after all.

“If that’s the case, I understand.
But I can’t pay lesson fees, you know?”

“Of course not. We’re the ones asking you, Rudeus-sama.”

And so—I joined the dance lessons.

—

Edna’s teaching method was poor.
No—probably normal for a teacher.

This is how it’s done, that is how it’s done.
So just memorize it.
She never explained why it’s important or what the key points are.

I had teachers like that in middle school.
Well—whatever I don’t understand, I can figure out myself.
I’m not a child anymore.

“I see.”

After three days, I could perform several steps.
Dance is basically just stepping in rhythm according to set patterns.
The simplest ones didn’t even require practice.
Maybe my brief experience with Dance Dance Revolution at arcades in middle school helped.
Or maybe not.

“Wonderful, Rudeus-sama. You have real talent.”

When Edna praised me, Eris pouted.
Something she couldn’t do after months—I’d managed casually.
No wonder she wasn’t happy.

But I didn’t just mindlessly memorize steps for three days.
I was analyzing Eris’s weaknesses.

And I figured it out.

Her steps are too fast—and too sharp.

Her affinity for Sword God Style is backfiring.
Where you’re supposed to move slowly and rhythmically—
ton-ton—she tries to go sa-sa at maximum speed,
throwing off the rhythm with her partner.

Eris instinctively hates having her rhythm disrupted.
She always tries to keep her own pace. She refuses to be led.
In combat that’s an admirable talent—
but in dance it’s a hindrance.
Dance requires matching your partner.

Edna says she’s never seen a student with so little talent,
but that’s not true.
Being able to move at maximum speed means she can perform sharp, powerful movements.
The teaching method is just bad.

Correcting this is difficult.
But I have an idea.

“Eris—close your eyes and sway your body to your own rhythm.”

“…Why do I have to close my eyes?!”

“…Rudeus-sama?”

Edna’s gentle smile faltered slightly.
No—no, it’s not what you think!
How rude—treating a gentleman like me this way…

“I’m going to use magic to make you able to dance.”

“Eh?! There’s magic like that?!”

“No—magic, not a spell. A mysterious phenomenon.”

Eris tilted her head but obeyed.
The rhythm I’ve seen countless times in sword lessons—
fast, sharp, irregular, impossible to predict,
naturally disrupting the opponent’s tempo,
a heavenly selfish rhythm I could never imitate.

“I’m going to clap now.
Step to avoid an attack—match my claps.”

I clapped steadily—pan, pan.
Eris moved—kui, kui—in time.

After repeating for a while, I called out at a specific moment.

“Hi! Hi!”

Just before each clap.
Eris hesitated for an instant—then reacted only to the clap.

“Th-this is…!”

Edna let out a stunned voice.
Eris was stepping properly.
Still a bit fast—but the rhythm matched.

“You’re doing it! You’re doing it, Lady Eris!”

“Really?!”

Edna clasped her hands and—for once—shouted with genuine excitement.
Eris opened her eyes and beamed back.

“Come on—keep your eyes closed.
You need to remember how this feels.”

“Remember…? It’s just dodging feints and avoiding attacks!”

Exactly.
This was the same drill we did in sword class.

Dodging Ghislaine’s attacks.
When she feints with a “Hi!”—don’t react to the fake; only evade the real one.
Compared to resisting Ghislaine’s genuine killing-intent feints,
distinguishing my harmless voice and dodging the real attack is easy.

By the way—I outperformed Eris in that drill.
She’s honest, so she falls for feints easily.

“Eris—things you learn in one lesson can be applied to others.
When you’re struggling, think back—
has something similar happened in another lesson?”

Eris—eyes still wide—nodded silently for once.
With this, dance should be fine.

“As expected of Rudeus-sama—
a full year of teaching arithmetic has clearly paid off.”

Edna looked deeply impressed.
“Expected of”…?
Was teaching Eris arithmetic really considered that hopeless?
Yeah… I struggled too.
Half of it thanks to Ghislaine, though.
No need to get cocky.

“This Edna has seen the light.
There truly is a connection between swordsmanship and dance.”

She looked like she’d witnessed a miracle—
like she’d just seen God.
A bit exaggerated.

“Well—there is something called sword dance.”

“Oh my—such a thing exists?”

“Uh… well, I only read about it in a book…”

Edna looked puzzled.
Sword dance is common knowledge in my chuunibyou brain,
but maybe it doesn’t exist here.

“Well… the literature said it was seen in a desert country.”

“A desert… perhaps the Begaritt Continent?”

“I don’t know.
Maybe it’s demons dancing in the Demon Continent.
There are lots of small tribes there—some probably dance with swords.”

I answered vaguely.

“I see. So it’s the accumulation of such knowledge
that forms the source of Rudeus-sama’s wisdom.”

Edna returned to her gentle smile and praised me.
She seemed to convince herself.

“Yes—Rudeus is amazing!”

For some reason Eris puffed out her chest and answered for me.
Yes—say more.
I grow when praised. Mwahaha!

—

The day of the dance party arrived.

I took up position in a corner of the venue.

At the start of the party—
mid- and lower-tier nobles swarmed, trying to curry favor with the Greyrat family.
Philip and his wife handled them masterfully—no one found an opening.
Those who then tried to approach Sauros directly
were crushed by his booming voice and one-sided unreasonableness,
and slunk away in defeat.

Their last hope was the star of the party—Eris.
She has no authority and knows nothing about politics.
So they asked her to “please tell your father.”
Some brought well-bred young men or middle-aged ones,
saying “allow me to introduce my son.”
A few were around her age,
but most were already quite greasy.
Probably raised pampered indoors.
They reminded me of my old self.
I felt a strange kinship—
until the dancing began.

As planned, I was Eris’s first partner.
Child-appropriate, simplest steps—
but since she’s the star, right in the center of the floor.
No mistakes—just like practice.

“Wh-wh-wh-what…!”

Eris was incredibly tense—stiff as a board.
I threw in a light feint with my eyes and step.
She muttered “what” again—then returned to her usual self.

When the dance ended, Edna approached.
From a distance she could clearly see Eris’s tension melt away.
When asked how I did it, I answered honestly: “the same thing we did in practice.”
She looked puzzled—but when I added “though it was from sword training,” she chuckled.

My role was done—so I went to forage for food.
Lots of rare dishes you only see at events like this.
Pies made with some mysterious sweet-sour fruit,
a whole roasted cow,
beautifully plated cakes.

While happily munching away,
my eyes met Ghislaine’s—she was on security duty.
No pleading look,
but drool was hanging from her mouth.
I’m a man who can read the room.

I wrapped portions in napkins and asked a maid to carry them to my room.
Apparently security and servants get an extra-lavish meal later,
but not these particular dishes.

After I finished transporting the food,
a lovely young girl suddenly appeared before me.
After a polite introduction,
she asked me to dance.
I warned her I only know basic steps—then headed to the floor.
I think I danced decently.

When I returned—another woman approached.
Then another—“Would you dance with me next?”
What the—am I actually popular?
Before I knew it, they kept coming.
Some were past thirty, some too young to dance properly.
I politely refused the ones where height made it impossible—
but basically accepted everyone.
I’m Japanese—I can say no.
But after saying yes to the first one, it felt awkward to refuse the rest.
There was some ulterior motive, of course—
but with so many faces and names I couldn’t remember, I got tired.

When things finally calmed down, Philip came over and explained.

Apparently at the beginning,
when someone asked who the boy dancing with Eris was,
Sauros proudly boasted “a Greyrat.”
That’s why.
Everything was Sauros’s fault.

Still—I won’t blame the old man.
After seeing me perfectly ease Eris’s tension during her first dance,
someone probably asked “Could that boy be Sauros-sama’s secret child?”
He got carried away.
The original plan was not to reveal I’m a Greyrat.
But he’d been drinking—can’t be helped.

So now—everyone thinks even branch family or illegitimate children
are bound to become prominent someday,
and they’re sending their daughters or granddaughters my way.

But if that’s the case, why didn’t they approach right after the dance?
When I asked Philip—
he said they saw me carefully wrapping sweets in napkins and thought it was charming,
so they waited.
People are watching, huh.

When I asked what to do about all the advances,
he said “just deal with them casually.”
Does he have no intention of giving me any political involvement?
Or does he think if I pair with someone, it could become political leverage?

I have zero interest in political power.
So today’s popularity spike is just a fleeting dream.

…But if I become powerful,
could I use money to sleep with cute girls one after another?
The moment that thought crossed my mind—

“But don’t go dragging women into bed left and right like Paul.
That would tarnish the family name—so restrain yourself.”

He nailed me preemptively.

The last girl to approach was Eris.
Today she wasn’t in her usual energetic outfit—
she wore a blue-based dress.
Hair up, decorated with flowers—very cute.

At her first ball, being approached by so many unfamiliar adults
had clearly worn her out.
But because her party was going well, she was also excited.

“Would you care to dance with me?”

The usual loud, long-striding, shameless, rude Eris was gone.
In her place—an impeccably ladylike young miss
invited me to dance with perfect etiquette.
When we reached the floor,
a slightly difficult, fast-tempo song with changing rhythms began—
one we hadn’t practiced.

“Ah… u-uh…”

Eris froze instantly.
Trying too hard to act proper backfired.

When she looked at me pleadingly,
I threw in a feint timed to the music.
The irregular rhythm should actually suit Eris better.
Though the steps themselves were improvised.
Edna would probably be appalled or angry if she saw.

We held hands and stepped in and out like in sword training.
It matched the music—though irregularly—
and probably looked bizarre to onlookers.
But Eris was enjoying it. She was smiling.
The girl who usually only frowns or pouts
was laughing like someone her own age.

Just seeing that made attending this party worthwhile.

When the dance ended—applause.
Sauros came running, hoisted us both onto his shoulders,
and ran joyfully around the courtyard laughing.
What an energetic old man.
The crowd laughed along.
Yeah.

It was a fun party.

—

After the party, I invited Ghislaine and Eris to my room.
I originally only meant to call Ghislaine—
but Eris was there when I did, so I brought her along too.

Eris’s stomach growled at the sight of the food spread on the table.
Apparently she’d been too nervous and excited to eat anything during the party.
I took out the cheap liquor I’d bought in town and hidden away.
It was meant for Ghislaine,
but Eris wanted some—so I poured three glasses. Cheers.
Legal drinking age here is 15,
but today’s no-rules day.
Let’s cut loose for once.

“Perfect timing—so let me give you these now.”

I took two wands out of the shelf beside my bed.

“What are these?”

“Birthday presents, I suppose.”

“Ehh—I’d rather have one of those.”

She pointed at the precise earth-magic models I’d been making lately
under the guise of magic training—dragons, ships, a 1/10-scale Sylphie figure, etc.
Not to brag, but back in my twenties I got really into figures and plastic models—
even built a cardboard painting booth.
No paint or spray here, so they’re unpainted—
but making parts with earth magic and assembling them was fun and I got pretty detailed.
Amateur level, though.

By the way—the first one, 1/10 Roxy,
was bought by a traveling merchant for one gold coin.
She’s probably traveling the world with it now.

Anyway.

“My master told me a magic teacher gives their student a staff.
I didn’t know how to make one and couldn’t afford materials, so it took a while—
but if you’ll accept them…”

Ghislaine stood, dropped to one knee in respect.
Ah—I recognize this.
The Sword God Style disciple’s posture of reverence to the master.

“Hah—Master Rudeus. I accept with gratitude.”

“Umu. You may have it.”

I handed it over solemnly since she was being so formal.
Ghislaine looked at the wand with genuine happiness.

“Now I can call myself a mage too.”

Wait—is that how it works?
You can just declare it?
Roxy never mentioned that…
No way—this is clearly beginner-grade.
But can you call yourself a mage just for starting to learn?
My master left some things unexplained.

“Um… Eris wanted this one, right?”

I jokingly picked up the 1/10 Sylphie.
Eris shook her head furiously.

“No! That one! I want that wand too!”

“Here you go.”

She snatched it—then, perhaps remembering Ghislaine’s respectful posture,
straightened up and held the wand reverently in both hands.

“Th-thank you, Master Rudeus.”

“Umu. Use it well.”

Then Eris glanced at Ghislaine.
Ghislaine noticed, froze for a few seconds, then shook her head.

“Sorry—my tribe doesn’t have that custom.
I didn’t prepare anything.”

Eris looked crestfallen.
She sat back on the sofa.
Apparently servants don’t usually give presents to masters—
but not getting anything from her beloved big-sister Ghislaine was sad.
Time to cover.

“Ghislaine—you don’t need to prepare something special for this.
Something you normally wear, or something that could be a protective charm—
anything like that is fine.”

“Hm.”

Ghislaine thought for a moment,
then removed a ring from her finger.
A wooden ring—well-worn and scratched,
but perhaps enchanted or just the material—
it reflected light with a faint green glow.

“A protective charm passed down in my tribe.
They say wearing it keeps evil wolves away at night.”

“I-Is it really okay…?”

“Yes. It was just superstition anyway.”

Eris accepted it timidly.
She slipped it onto her right ring finger,
then clutched it tightly to her chest with both hands.

“I-I’ll treasure it.”

She looked happier than when she received my wand.
Well—it’s a ring, after all.
Girls like that kind of thing, right?

Then a question occurred to me.

“Superstition… meaning you were attacked by evil wolves even while wearing it?”

“Yes. It was a sleepless night. Paul invited me to take a bath together and…”

“Ah—never mind. I can guess where this is going.”

Danger.
Continuing this topic might lower my favorability.
Paul’s fault again.
He always gets in my way.

“I see. Well—you probably don’t want to hear about your father’s love life anyway.”

“Exactly. Now—let’s eat.
It’s already cold, but let’s enjoy it anyway.
Master and disciple—mutual support—no formalities today.”

And so—Eris’s milestone tenth birthday passed without incident.

—

The next morning, when I woke up—Eris was sleeping right beside me.

“Wow…”

Did she climb the stairs to adulthood overnight?
…Of course not.

I remember clearly.
She got sleepy during the late-night party and staggered into my bed.
Seeing that, Ghislaine said she’d head back and left Eris here.

A feast laid out before me.
Hehehe—time for some mischief.
I licked my lips and crept closer.

There she was—
wearing Ghislaine’s ring,
clutching my wand to her chest,
sleeping with a contented smile.

The lewd wolf retreated.

“…The protective charm actually works…”

I muttered that,
then quietly slipped under the covers at the very edge of the bed—
without laying a single finger on Eris.

It’s still early morning.
Outside the window, the sky is just starting to lighten—but still dark.

I decided to go for a little walk.
Staring at Eris’s sleeping face is nice,
but if she wakes up she’ll probably punch me.
I don’t want to get punched.

I slipped quietly out of the room.
Walking the chilly hallway, I wondered where to go.
The manor gates don’t open until a certain hour—no going outside.
Not many options.

After a year here, I know most of the manor’s layout.
But there are still unknown places.
Like that one protruding tower.

I’d been told to stay away—
but I’m curious.
Maybe there’s something good up there.
Like someone’s sun-dried panties.

With that thought, I climbed the stairs to the top floor.
Wandering around, I found an elegant spiral staircase.
Probably the entrance to that tower.

As I climbed, I heard a suggestive “nyan~ nyan~” from above.
So I ascended as quietly as possible.

At the top was Sauros.
In a tiny room barely big enough for one person—
nyan-nyan-ing with a cat-eared maid.

I see. So that’s why we’re told to stay away…

I watched until the end.
Sauros noticed me.
The maid had noticed much earlier—and was getting excited.
After it finished, she slipped past me and hurried down the stairs.

“…Rudeus, huh.”

His voice was unusually quiet and gentle.
Wise-man mode, perhaps?

“Yes, Sauros-sama. Good morning.”

I gave the noble greeting.
Sauros stopped me with his hand.

“No need. What brings you here?”

“There was a staircase—so I climbed it.”

“Do you like high places?”

“Yes.”

Though if I looked out that window ledge, my legs would probably give out.
Liking it and being good at it are different.
Even if I conquered the world and built the tallest tower,
I’d put my room on the first floor.

“By the way—what are you doing up here, Sauros-sama?”

“I was praying to that orb over there.”

Huh.

I looked out the window.
There—floating in midair—was a single red orb.
Perhaps due to the light, or something inside it moving—
it looked faintly alive.

What is that? Awesome.
Floating with magic, probably?

“That thing?”

“I don’t know.”

Sauros shook his head.

“I found it about three years ago.
But it’s not a bad thing.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because it’s better to think that way.”

I see.
Makes sense.
It’s out of reach anyway.
Thinking it’s evil would only hurt your mental health.
Better to assume it’s good and pray to it—
makes the orb feel better too.
I’ll pray too.
Please let a cute girl fall from the sky…

“Rudeus—I’m going for a ride soon. Want to come?”

“I’ll join you.”

The old man’s full of energy right after doing that.

He’s free today—so he’ll play with me.
Yay.
…I’m probably going to get exhausted.

“By the way—”

“What?”

“Does Sauros-sama have no wife?”

A grinding sound.
Sauros clenched his teeth.
My back went cold when I realized.

“She died.”

“I see. Sorry for asking something painful.”

I apologized sincerely.
He’d just been nyan-nyan-ing with a cat-eared maid—
I might have reminded him of something unpleasant.

At this rate—I probably shouldn’t ask why Eris has no siblings either.

“Then—let’s go.”

“Yes.”

Today’s a day off.
Eris can work hard again starting tomorrow.