7 – Maintenance
A quiet dinner time, unlike usual, with only two men.
The son of the Anderson Family continued eating with only the clinking of utensils as the background noise.
The head of the family, Theodor, put down his utensils for a moment.
“Eric.”
“Yes.”
Theodor himself wasn’t very talkative, but Eric was even more silent.
He recalled his mother, who was always strict. Had he inherited that side of her personality?
“Have you noticed any changes in your body recently?”
“No, I haven’t.”
“Has your heartbeat changed suddenly? Or perhaps your senses have become sharper?”
“No, I have not experienced such symptoms yet.”
“Hmm…”
The things he was asking his son were the latent symptoms that appear before the awakening of the dragon factor.
“If any changes appear in your body at any time, come and tell your father right away.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Awakenings usually occur between adolescence and young adulthood.
Now that he himself is middle-aged, he was simply an ordinary, fleeting head of a generation.
But his son, Erik, was different. No, he had to be different.
If even he was not an awakened, the Anderson family would be in a serious danger.
No, the kingdom itself would be in danger.
Above the peninsula kingdom lies the great empire.
One of the few forces that can prevent the empire from looking down on the kingdom is the existence of the Sorcerer.
His great-grandfather wouldn’t have much time left alive.
If Erik does not awaken, they could face the worst situation.
However, not many within the kingdom are properly wary of this.
‘Both the royalists and the unionists are fools.’
The nobility of this country falls into two categories.
The royalists who are loyal to the kingdom and support the reinforcement of the royal power.
And the nobility union, considering their own territories most precious, gathered for the interests of the aristocrats.
Naturally, the nobility union has a greater sway.
The royalists were dissatisfied nobles that were not accepted even by the nobility union.
They too, eventually sided with us merely for the benefit of their families.
Thankfully, the balance was just right because the Andersons and Taylers were on the side of the royalists..
But if the Sorcerer’s seat is vacant, a serious imbalance will occur.
‘Maybe the kingdom will fall into chaos from within, even before the empire invades’
Theodore watched Erik, who was dutifully chewing his food twenty times each bite.
He simply wanted to safely hand over the headship to his son…
—————————
After finishing his meal, Theodore decided to stop by his great-grandfather’s room.
Since performing the summoning ritual, Old Lady Albert had no energy left.
As such, she was currently eating her meals in her room.
-Knock knock
“Old lady, I’m coming in,” he announced.
“Come in.”
Upon opening the door, the sight of an elderly person lying in bed greeted him.
They looked several years older than just a month ago.
“What brings you here?”
“I wanted to see if you’re feeling better.”
“hahahaha, why? Would you prefer if I passed on sooner?”
The elder teased.
“Please don’t make those dreadful jokes even in jest.”
The old person flashed a small smile.
“I guess I have about five years left.”
“……”
It was clearly evident what “five years left” meant.
“Being chosen as an Awakener is somewhat akin to a curse…”
Theodore could guess the meaning of the elder’s words.
“I’ve already witnessed the deathbeds of three descendants, from my son to my great-grandson.”
“Grandpa…”
Theodore used the name he used to call the old man when he was a child after a long while.
“I won’t have to see you leave.”
“Shouldering this responsibility is too burdensome. If you’re gone grandpa…”
Although Theodore always acted strong in front of others, the pressure as an heir was too great for him.
“Don’t worry, Ted. Haven’t I told you? The Lord is watching over us.”
The elder’s tone changed to a soothing one, as if comforting his grandchild.
“I suppose they are meeting about now.”
“Do you mean the summoner and the duke?”
“I must say I feel sorry for him.”
“There’s nothing we can do, it’s the will of God.”
Roughly two months ago.
Out of the blue, his great-grandfather claimed he had received an oracle.
And he achieved the unheard feat of summoning a being from a different world.
“Named him Thomas, did you? He’s an exceptionally sharp one. He should bring in some good fortune for about five years.”
“Will Erik be awakened within five years?”
“The divine never gives false oracles. Just trust in it.”
“Sigh… Understood, great-grandfather.”
Theodor let out a small sigh, going back to the old man’s title.
———————————-
– Knock Knock
Waking up to the knocking sound, he propped the upper part of his body up.
“Yawn… Who is it?”
He asked, trying his best to conceal his sleepy voice.
“Sir Thomas, Lady Maria is looking for you.”
She was the maid serving me exclusively during my stay at the mansion of the Duke on the royal road.
Looking out the window, he saw the morning sun shining brightly.
“Tell her I will be down shortly.”
He felt more comfortable in this mansion than his own house.
‘It was a bit too large over there. Felt like a fortress’
Haphazardly fixing his greasy hair, he headed downstairs.
Maria and Christina were already eating breakfast in the dining room.
“Good morning.”
He greeted first.
“Did you sleep well, big brother?”
“Was your bed comfortable?”
‘Greeted by these two women in the morning…’
At the time he was summoned, he was stunned, but he now thought that it’s bearable if he had these kinds of rewards.
He was led by the maid and took a seat at the table.
On the table was a relatively light meal, including soup, bread, and a fish salad.
The bread was freshly baked, soft and warm, and the soup, although a bit greasy, had a refreshing and sophisticated taste.
One of the great things about being in this world is this meal.
One dish was truly breathtaking.
Maria seemed to have something to say to me as we savored our dinner for a while.
She was giving off such vibes subtly.
“Chris, you should go to the Academy now, right?”
Was it a topic of discussion just for the two of us?
“Yes~”
Christine cheerfully responded and promptly left the restaurant.
She’s really a clever girl.
“Tom, there’s something I want to tell you.”
“What is it?”
I swallowed the bread and asked.
“You’ve officially become the eldest son of the Anderson family.”
“Yeah…”
I had a hunch I wasn’t going to like what was coming.
“It’s impossible for a person of Anderson to be incapable of magic. Tom, you need to enroll in the Magic Department at the Royal University next spring.”
“The University? You mean I have to go back to that damn university where I struggled and graduated three years ago?”
“Can’t I simply learn magic without going to university?”
“If you want to quickly improve your skills with high-quality classes, the Royal University is the best choice.”
Maria’s normally gentle face was stern, expressing that refusal was not an option.
But wouldn’t it be hard to even get into a place like the Royal University?
“Don’t you need basic scholarship skills to get into university? I can’t even use basic magic.”
In the past month, I had simply learned some introductory theory as part of my noble’s education.
I couldn’t even use basic magic.
“Don’t worry about that. Have you forgotten what kind of family we are?”
I know very well.
A noble magician family composed of the kingdom’s strongest sorcerer and all members being high-ranking magicians.
“We have all sorts of secrets handed down over hundreds of years. We will use them to raise you to an admission possible level in a short time.”
They were going to turn me into a magician, which sounded good in itself.
I was interested in magic, of course.
But I couldn’t help asking an obvious question.
“If I can learn magic so well, couldn’t I just hone my skills within the family? Why do I necessarily have to go to university?”
Fundamentally, I dislike crowded places. I don’t relish going to school every day either.
“You are the first in the history of the Andersons to be able to carry out official external activities. Don’t you understand what that means?”
What on earth could she mean?
While I was pondering, Maria continued to explain.
“Royalty utilizes all usable cards. You must become the face of the Duke in university.”
Are they planning to use me as a figurehead?
“I am not particularly handsome, though.”
“hehehehe, I am not speaking about looks. You need to get excellent grades in university and restore our family’s reputation through exemplary behavior.”
What the heck is exemplary behavior?
I tried to imagine myself acting in such a manner.
Ugh…
“There’s no need to feel pressured. We have roughly evaluated your character over the past month or so. Just lead a quiet college life. Naturally, you should do your best in terms of studies.”
She seemed to dislike my show of distaste.
But, more studying? I happened to quite enjoy learning introductory magic theory but how hard it’s going to be practically is uncertain.
Just as I was contemplating, she extended her hand towards me.
“5 years. If you obediently stick with us for 5 years, we promise to deposit a 100,000 gold in a secret bank under your name.”
My mouth gaped open involuntarily.
When learning general knowledge, I heard about the value of money. 1 gold approximates to one hundred thousand won.
That means 100,000 gold is… One billion won?
Wow.
Seeing my jaw drop, she hastily added.
“We’ll give you 200,000 gold. With such a stipend, even if the Duchy falls, your future is secured.”
“I accept.”
Could their sense of money be skewed because they’re nobility?
Honestly, with just 100,000 gold, I could live a luxurious life for the rest of my life.
Besides, this place feels rather medieval, there’s barely any inflation and the cost of living is cheap.
From Noble mtl dot com
Yet, a short hesitation on my part and she immediately raises the stakes, should I have held back a bit more?
“No. Excessive greed typically summons disaster.
I extended my hand to Maria.
“Please take care of me from now on.”
“Thank you.”
Maria clasped my hand.
Is this the power of capital?
Before I realized it, my lingering attachment to my hometown was melting away.