Chapter 6

Recently, the young lady's attire has changed.

Now that I have turned thirteen and the young lady has turned seven at the start of the year.

The young lady, being born into a noble family, ages precisely according to the calendar, but I, a slave, am different.

In my case, I add a year to my age with each passing year.

It's not a strange thing for those below the commoner class; it's common to add a year at the time of harvest, the start of the year, or the seedling planting. The calendar divides the year into ninety days for each season, but in villages, they apparently don't pay much attention to the dates, and about sixty percent of the slaves, like me, add a year at the beginning of the season.

I was picked up in the fall, but when the new year began, the head slave decided:

"Alright, let's count it as one year from today."

So I follow that. It might not be my exact age, but since there are other slaves who count their age in a similar way, I don't mind.

Besides, I actually quite like the fact that my birthday is at the start of the year.

The start of the year is when the earth and sky are said to have been born, and the Festival of Birth is held.

Before this day, Master and Mistress go to the capital to participate in the Festival of Birth, and the nobles and commoners who work for them are given a break, making the work at the mansion easier.

Moreover, Master provides meat and wine for every meal on this day, so even the slaves who are not ordered to accompany them are always smiling. The slaves who do accompany them apparently participate in the festival in the capital.

The start of the year is a good day for slaves too.

On such a day, the slaves who are getting older feel good and often receive congratulatory words. I'm not sure if it's a celebration for the start of the year or for my age, but it feels good.

So, I feel good.

After turning another year older, I head to my usual spot after fixing the tools I used for the horse harness. That's the end of today's work. There won't be much work until Master returns from the capital.

I arrive at the corner of the garden a bit early. The young lady is having lunch, so it will be a while before she comes. Since today's work is light, it's fine.

I might as well study.

I've been learning the advanced parts of reading, writing, and arithmetic from Jurelle. There's no problem with that, but I'm struggling with the combat methods I started learning because my body has grown.

The most difficult thing is magic.

It seems that magic is entirely dependent on talent, and without it, you can't use magic. Apparently, one in a hundred people has talent, and even having one attribute is considered good.

Therefore, magicians in the city are valuable, and if you become an adventurer, you won't have to worry about food.

However, this is for those below the commoner class.

There are always exceptions, or perhaps it's a microcosm of the world.

Nobles can almost certainly use magic.

It seems that the talent for magic appears in their blood, and the continuous bloodline of nobles is also a lineage that inherits the qualities of a magician. The birth of a new noble is the birth of a new magician.

One in a hundred people in the city can use magic, while nobles can almost certainly use magic. This illustrates the thickness of the class between nobles and commoners.

When I was tested to see if I could use magic, it was determined that I had magic power.

I thought I might be one in a hundred, but apparently, everyone has some magic power. Don't raise and lower it. I was hoping I could use magic.

By the way, there were no slaves who could use magic. Slaves who can use magic are separated from ordinary slaves due to their high value and rarity. The head slave knows such slaves, but they are often freed relatively quickly because they earn more.

I almost gave up on studying magic, but there was a slave who was knowledgeable about the magical language used in magic, so I'm trying to see if I can use magic by learning from him.

"Hehe, I dreamed of it when I was young. Well, it's not a bad thing to learn, right? It's not like you'll gain anything, though."

That's what the slave Sancita, who likes magic, said.

So, I won't gain anything.

I'm trying my best, but it seems I don't have the talent for magic.

As I scratch the magical language into the ground with a branch, the young lady arrives.

She's unusually early today.

She peeks out from a bush that has a hole in it.

"Hehe, good afternoon, butler."

"Yes, young lady."

The young lady is wearing a blue dress with a white fur coat over it, and her hair is curled and hanging down.

The young lady, who has started learning manners, has changed her hairstyle. She says she received a request from Mistress to prepare for her debut in society.

It's not my concern, but I didn't mention her curled hair on the first day and received a whipping. With the young lady's request, the number of whippings increased to three, which was quite touching.

According to the female slave Raki, it was my fault. The other slaves present didn't disagree. So, it was my fault.

Since then, I've been trying to notice any changes in her appearance and praise her. The slave Sadome, who is good with women, taught me:

"Use metaphors or compare her to beautiful things. Even if you don't really think it, come up with a few phrases to say."

Sadome was then dragged away by Kukure.

As expected, he's a popular slave.

I have no blind spots when it comes to Sadome's phrases. I'll follow in his footsteps.

"Hehe."

The thorns no longer stick to her, but she still appears with leaves, so I remove them. The young lady obediently lets me, but she looks quite pleased.

Is it because of the white ribbon in her curled hair?

"Young lady."

"What?!"

When I speak to her, she reacts more strongly than expected. Her smile is strong, and her breathing is heavy.

I'll show you my butler skills, having already done my preparation.

"Today, you are wearing a ribbon in your hair."

"Y-Yes, I am! Because I'm a noble!"

Indeed.

"You look absolutely beautiful."

"R-Really?"

"Yes. It's so beautiful that it seems excessive for a slave to see."

"Hehehehehe."

"It's likely the best quality item available."

"Huh...?"

"The white is so pure that no other color can mix with it, and the luster emits a mysterious hue. It's probably made from the threads of a magical beast. The delicate craftsmanship is a masterpiece, and its presence is so strong that you can't help but look at it wherever you are. It's truly wonderful."

"......The ribbon?"

"Yes, young lady."

"......"

Perfect.

That day, I received five whippings, which is quite a problem for a noble. Moreover, the head slave told me an unusual message: "You could have been beheaded."

Despite her smile.