Somewhere in the mansion, I leaned back.
“I’ve accidentally given some advice…”
During the escape from Stein, I had whispered into Sera’s ear something I wanted to say for a while. It had been bothering me since I had seen her training with a broom in each hand--she had been squeezing in some training during her cleaning duty.
I don’t know what came over me, but I had whispered to her how to adjust her grip to use the brooms in sync in a more efficient manner. It was only a few words, which was why I had time to say it before Stein tried to get her to capture me.
Her face had gone blank, because she had gotten advice from someone who was thought to be both lazy and had only touched a sword once in his life. It was embarrassing, but the surprise had also slowed down her reactions.
I was currently in one of the secret rooms hidden within the mansion.
“It’s because of my memories from my previous life…” I mumbled.
The stress that the returning of my previous memories, which had been getting worse since I was 16, was quite significant. And the advice I had whispered in passing to Sera was one of my bad habits from back then.
It was both that I couldn’t help but correct bad swordsmanship--but I also had multiple disciples in the early days of being a hero…before everyone turned on me.
“That’s why I tried so hard not to go near the training grounds.” I murmured and rubbed the back of my neck.
In the Iphelleta House, even the maids would fit their training into even the slightest gaps in their schedule.
Sera may not have the loudest of mouths, but she’s still a maid--a maid who liked good gossip. If she were to spread what happened just now…well, it was likely that no one would believe her.
Shaking my the thoughts from my head, I shut my eyes and widened my senses. A few seconds later my breathing automatically slowed and deepened.
This wasn’t what people from the Iphelleta House learned, but it was my own breathing technique. One which I had learned in my previous life and then modified so it suited me perfectly.
The faint Mana floating around me slowly began to gather. This Mana recovery technique was, rather than efficient, it was more like I was devouring the Mana in my surroundings.
The Mana gathered, thickening in density, while Chaotic Mana was pushed back.
The dark space around me began to light up, lights glittering and floating, like fireflies.
It was manifested Mana.
As I felt the Mana flowing into my body, I opened my eyes and considered if I shall take a look at what was happening.
My ‘hide and seek’ has now begun.
***
“Young Master.”
“Master Riley!”
The Iphelleta Mansion had become rowdy once again.
It had been turned upside down because of Lady Orelly yesterday, and another incident had just happened--which was thankfully much less serious compared to Lady Orelly’s banishment.
“Haah, where did he go?”
The situation could be summarized in a single sentence: Riley had disappeared again--his ‘hide and seek’ had begun.
A game of hide and seek that everyone who lived within the mansion knew too well. Everyone was aware that once he hid, the third son wouldn’t show himself until many days later. Therefore, everyone was expecting that this wouldn’t be any different from before.
“Haah, how are we supposed to find him when even Master Stein can’t either?” Sera pouted, resting her chin on the top of her broom--she had been scolded by Stein.
There had been a chance for her to catch Riley before he disappeared, but she couldn’t catch him.
This was the reason.
“It’s because Young Master said something strange…”
Riley had whispered some strange words to her as he passed--it was almost as though his normal personality was replaced by that of an experience teacher.
Sera took her chin off the broom and looked at it as she recalled Riley’s voice.
“Hmm…”
Sera looked over at another broom that was leaning against the wall.
She was a dual-wielding swordswoman who relied on speed and fought with a sword in each hand.
Therefore, in order to keep up with her training during her cleaning duties, she would always take two brooms with her, and today was no different.
“Just once…”
Some advice from her Young Master.
Although it is rejected by everyone else in the mansion, for some reason, Ian would always say: ‘Our Young Master is the best! Young Master is so cool!’.
She was curious as to why Ian would always praise the lazy Young Master so much--maybe the answer to this question lies in the advice he had given to her.
As those thoughts swirled through her mind, Sera grabbed onto the spare broom, moving as though possessed.
“...I’ll try it out?”
She stood with her legs at shoulder width.
As taught by the Iphelleta Swordsmanship Manual For Servants, she would swing the swords…brooms by moving her whole body like she was dancing.
This was a practice that Sera did quite often.
However, recently, she had been having some difficulty of the 3rd step of one of her moves.
‘Here!’
At the spot she’s stuck on, she spun the broom with her fingers, as Riley instructed her, and her eyes widened--the move became much sharper and faster.
Sera’s jaw dropped as she flowed from the 3rd step to the 4th step so smoothly and comfortably.
‘But I’ve been stuck for so long. How can just using my fingers make it so much easier?’
“Wait, one more time…”
Unable to believe how easily she had connected the moves, she got back into her stance.
The method wasn’t written anywhere in the family’s manuscript.
‘It works? How can it be so easy?!’
Swoosh! Swoosh!
The two brooms made sharp noises as they moved through the air--all she did was use her fingers to connect the moves. But, it was different, simpler and faster than before.
She suddenly got the creeps--she felt as though something crept up her spine as she dropped the two brooms.
She could finally understand, a little, the feelings of the old butler who would always sing the praises of the Young Master.
