Chapter 1

This is my debut work.

I aim to write a story that is easy to read.

I will do my best to update regularly, so please look forward to it.

"Master Allen! Master Allen!" The voice of Zold, the tutor, shouting in anger can be heard.

Before I knew it, I had been reborn as the third son of a viscount in a world of swords and magic.

No, to be more precise, I was forced to study day and night, which I detested, in preparation for the entrance exam to the Ygralian Royal Academy of Knights and Mages (commonly known as the Royal Academy), which was only three months away. The pressure from my family to pass the exam had pushed my exam stress to its limit, and I suddenly remembered my past life.

"You only have less than three months until the exam! Do you have the luxury to daydream, Master Allen?"

Zold's lecture continues.

In my past life, I dedicated my youth to exams according to my parents' policy.

But I wasn't particularly smart.

I managed to get into a local high school, but I couldn't reach the prestigious national university in Tokyo that my parents desired. After failing the first time, I barely made it into a well-known private university.

The habits formed from a young age are terrifying.

By the time I became a university student, I felt a vague sense of unease if I didn't study and a sense of guilt when I went out to play.

My breaks during university were spent studying for various qualifications.

I obtained many qualifications, mostly useless and without a specific purpose.

"You are 12 years old, Master Allen. Considering the move to the capital, I only have about two and a half months to teach you!

Your ranking in the entrance exam and the class you are assigned to will greatly affect your future grades, employment, promotion, and life!

This exam will determine your entire life! I don't sense any urgency from you.

Are you listening?"

This isn't what I imagined for my reincarnation in another world...

In my past life, I managed to maintain decent grades in university and got a job at a top-tier food manufacturer, feeling a sense of relief that my efforts had paid off.

However, the real world was far from the meritocratic society my parents had always talked about.

Times had changed.

What was needed was communication skills, problem-solving abilities, and a broad general knowledge and intellectual curiosity that extended beyond one's job.

I was at a loss.

It was as if I was being told to become a different person.

While my peers were building their skills and achievements, I was just a useful but unremarkable young professional, doing only what I was told and handling tasks that anyone could do but no one wanted to.

There was no sense of fulfillment, but it was enough when I was young. After turning 30 and having juniors, the reality became even harsher.

I was scolded by my boss for being a "wait-for-instructions guy" and mocked by my peers for being "fast at simple tasks" and criticized by my juniors for being "unreliable."

I tried various self-improvement activities, such as attending seminars, obtaining qualifications, and participating in volunteer work, but the results were not good because my fundamental way of thinking was flawed.

After becoming a professional, I read web novels, especially those about reincarnation in another world, to escape reality and find solace.

"Huh? I'm unusually calm..."

Am I too calm for someone who just reincarnated?

No, maybe my mind hasn't caught up because it feels so unreal.

"Please have a sense of urgency!

This is not the time to be calm!

You are barely passing the qualifying line!"

Shut up...

"To be born into the Lovaine viscount family means that challenging the Royal Academy entrance exam is a tradition.

However, no one has ever opened that heavy door.

The 700-year-old dream of the Lovaine family!

The future of glory is within reach!

If you tarnish the history of effort and tears of this family, I cannot face the master!

As a dedicated tutor, I am prepared to die in apology!"

Is this some kind of curse?

It's too heavy...

My face twitched as I tried to calm Zold down.

"Sorry, old man.

I was just thinking.

Of course, I have a sense of urgency. Please continue the lesson."

I raised my hand to stop Zold's rant and bowed my head.

But Zold looked at me with a puzzled expression.

"...If you understand, that's good.

Then I will continue the lecture."

Confused, Zold resumed the lesson.

I understood why Zold was confused.

My response was not like me.

As the youngest son in a relatively privileged viscount family, I was spoiled and pampered, and I was a spoiled and selfish brat.

If I had responded as I usually did, it would have been something like this:

"Shut up!

I'm sick of studying from morning till night!

The job of a knight is all about discipline and strength, and as long as you have the communication skills to hang out with your buddies at the bar after work, that's all you need.

The history of the continent?

I can tell you it won't be useful in my life!

Mathematical magic conversion?

Since I don't have the talent for external magic, I have to learn physical enhancement magic!

Do you think I'll become a magic engineer or a magic item craftsman?

Even if my arm is torn off today and I can't be a knight, that's not going to happen!

What's the point of cramming useless things just because they're needed for the exam?

Is it useful to be a fool who can silently do unnecessary things?

Come on, seriously..."

That's the kind of argument I would have made, a typical study-hating brat.

It's a very childish and arrogant way of speaking.

But that's fine.

In any case, I need to sort out the situation.

First, I just regained my memories from my past life.

To avoid complications, I'll say I "awoke" at 12 years old after reincarnation.

I have memories of living as "Allen" for 12 years, but my personality and thinking have changed to some extent due to the influence of my past life's memories.

For example, in my past life, I was a bookworm who had no interest in sports and used "boku" as my first-person pronoun, so it's not as if my past life's personality has completely taken over. I think I'm in a hybrid state between "Allen" and "my past self."

I died at 36 after being used as a corporate slave and falling ill.

Next, about this country and my surroundings.

I am the third son of the Lovaine viscount family, which has a 1200-year history in the Ygralian Kingdom, one of the oldest in this continent.

The Lovaine viscount family governs a certain castle town and several surrounding villages in the southeastern part of the country, which is under the rule of the Duke of Dragoon.

I have two older brothers: the eldest, who, despite failing to pass the 700-year-old family tradition of the Royal Academy entrance exam, graduated from a noble school in the Dragoon duchy with decent grades in the civil servant course; and the second, who also graduated from the knight course with decent grades.

In this country, the eldest son is not explicitly the first in line for succession, but it is generally the custom to follow the order of birth, with the current lord's nomination and the king's approval for succession.

The family is close, and it is almost certain that the eldest son will be the lord, and the second son will be a backup and support the estate management.

The risk of being involved in the complicated succession issue is low.

Eventually, I will leave the family, but if I pass the Royal Academy entrance exam, the path to the royal knights or national civil servants, a long-held dream of the family, will become much more realistic.

With their immense power, they will undoubtedly support my birth family.

The pressure on my shoulders is immense.

By the way, the Royal Academy and the noble school in the duchy also have a civil servant course and a mage course in addition to the knight course. My older sister, who is four years older, graduated from the mage course (specializing in magic item crafts) at the noble school with top grades.

My sister would have undoubtedly passed the Royal Academy entrance exam, but due to a high cutoff for magical aptitude that year, she failed.

It's a cruel world, even in the realm of exams.

After graduation, she entered the prestigious Royal Capital's Advanced Magic Item Research Institute and has been busy with research, so we haven't seen each other in a while.

But when she was at home, she doted on me to the point where it didn't hurt to look at me.

Now that I've awakened, I realize she was a severe case of "big sister complex"...

I didn't reply to her numerous letters because it was too much trouble, and she ended up crying to my parents.

My parents, thinking it would interfere with our studies, decided to limit the letters to once a month, with a maximum of three pages.

If the limit was exceeded, the letters would be burned without me seeing them, and she was furious.

The letters, written in such small letters that a magnifying glass was needed, were terrifying.

In summary, I have three older siblings: one brother and one sister, and the possibility of more is low.

It might seem like a small number for a viscount family, but it's about average.

This is likely due to the structure of the country.

To put it simply, there are too many noble families.

The noble system in this country is ranked from top to bottom as Duke, Marquis, Count, Viscount, and Baron.

Dukes are treated as insurance for the royal bloodline and occasionally serve as governors of the king's direct territories but generally do not have their own territories.

In exchange, they are involved in many rights, such as infrastructure projects like roads and waterways, and merchant and explorer associations, and have considerable authority.

However, due to the excessive number of dukes over a long history, which pressured the rights of lower nobles, there was a bloody political struggle, and the number of dukes is now strictly limited to three.

Marquises are like the lords of regions such as the Kanto and Chubu areas in Japan, and there are only nine prestigious families in the vast (though the exact size is unknown) Ygralian Kingdom.

They are powerful nobles with diverse specialties, such as agriculture, forestry, mining, marine resources, and materials and processed goods derived from monsters, according to their jurisdiction.

Each of the nine marquis territories has its own noble school, a large branch of the explorer association, and other important facilities concentrated in the region.

Noble children who fail to enter the Royal Academy generally attend these marquis schools, where my siblings graduated.

This is roughly in line with the Japanese image.

Counts are medium-scale lords who govern units similar to prefectures in Japan, with multiple cities and villages within their territories.

There are over 80 count families in the kingdom.

Many operate specialized higher schools, such as those for sailors and fishing in areas near the sea.

While the number is quite large, it is still within the acceptable range for a Japanese person.

However, the problem lies with viscounts like the Lovaine family.

Viscounts generally own one or two central cities and their surrounding areas.

My birth family, the Lovaine viscount family, is a typical viscount family.

It's like a mayor with a bit more power.

The number of viscounts increases significantly, with over 1000.

Barons are more like village chiefs or estate managers in rural or frontier areas, rather than the nobles Japanese people imagine.

Many serve as village chiefs without appointing a steward.

They live modestly and are close to their subjects.

Many only visit the royal palace once for the inheritance or granting of their titles.

Due to the large number, there are many cases of increase or decrease due to scandals or promotions, and no one can accurately remember all their names and numbers.

According to the last survey conducted every ten years at the royal court, there were 8521 baron families.

...But when you think about it, it's an incredible number.

It's like a noble bargain sale or the crowded beaches of Shonan in summer.

This situation accelerates the trend of fewer children in noble families.

In other words, this country is quite well-established.

When a society is well-structured, and people enjoy a certain level of happiness and stability, the birth rate tends to decline, regardless of the world or country.

Even with the risk of monster attacks and diseases, the risk of producing too many children and facing inheritance issues is much higher.

Incidentally, due to the long history and numerous noble families, many commoners have noble blood.

Not just many, but it's almost impossible to find a commoner without noble blood.

With so many noble families and only one person able to inherit the title, it's inevitable that those who cannot inherit become commoners.

Tracing back, it's not uncommon to find commoners with royal blood.

At the time of the kingdom's founding, there were fewer noble families, and those with high magical aptitude, which had a strong genetic component, held special positions. However, the difference in magical aptitude between nobles and commoners is not as significant now.

Therefore, commoners with high magical aptitude occasionally appear, and in such cases, they may be adopted by higher noble families or their vassals.

In exchange, they are supported in their rise to prominence, starting with the Royal Academy entrance exam, and used to promote their adoptive families through their power.

Over time, the concept of "noble blood" has become a hollow term, and what remains is the economic disparity between families.

Despite being reborn as a noble, as the third son of a viscount with a very low chance of succession, I will most likely end up as just another commoner, like many others.

Ugh, no dreams!

Reborn into a noble family in a world of swords and magic, yet the third son of a viscount is destined to become a commoner in a meritocratic society...

What the...?

I suddenly realized that Zold was staring at me intently.

"Master Allen, you were thinking about something other than the lecture, weren't you? I've been your dedicated tutor for four years, and I can tell from your eyes.

Why, Master Allen..."

I raised my hand to stop Zold again.

"Don't worry, old man. I was listening carefully and took thorough notes."

I showed Zold the three pages of neatly summarized notes.

In my past life, I would diligently take notes for hours every day, even in the most boring classes.

Even after becoming a professional, taking meeting minutes was always my job...

With my past life's standards, summarizing the key points of a lecture on the kingdom's history and geopolitics, which is roughly at a middle or high school level, was easy, even while daydreaming.

Well, I am 12 years old, so it