As I was thinking about what to do with the ring, Erno and Faevyre entered the room. Faevyre was now cleaned up and wore a short-sleeved white silk tunic instead of her armor and cloak.
She cast a small look at the two happy girls with the gifts, and then me, and then smirked as if telling me, "You owe me.".
Yep, I owe her one, although she is the cause of the trouble in the first place.
Erno said with a smile, "Sorry for being late, everyone. We were helping the mistress with something. Alright, let's eat!"
Borso immediately said loudly, "Food!"
Luckily, the over 7-foot man who was more muscular than an orc berserker managed to hold himself from slamming the sturdy marble table with his massive hands. I could only imagine what would happen if he really did that. I heard from Faevyre on the way back that he was actually a half-Barbarian. A race that is indigenous to the far north and mountainous regions.
Although I never saw a barbarian before, I heard from my father that Barbarians are generally a sub-race of the human race, designed to survive in harsh arctic climates and environments. Male Barbarians are talented warriors and berserkers, even more so than orcs, but in exchange, they have a poor talent for magic and have low intelligence. Female Barbarians, on the other hand, are less apt warriors than their male counterparts but are as intelligent as other races and have the same magical talent as regular humans. Also...
Faevyre gingerly sat next to Borso before elbowing him on the side and nagging, "Your wife enters the room, and the first thing you say is food?!"
Borso rubbed his shiny bald head and said with a downcast look, "Borso is sorry..."
Faevyre smirked, leaned over, and pecked Borso's frightening face with affection, and said, "At least you are honest. Alright, go and eat, big boy."
Borso immediately brightened up and gave off an honest yet frightening smile and said loudly, "Yes! Food!" He started placing food quickly on his plate while Faevyre watched from the side with an amused look before putting food on her own plate.
... Also, Barbarians are apparently matriarchal by nature, just like Drows. Looking at how simple Borso is, I could only imagine how simple-minded a full Barbarian is. Because of that said simplicity, all Barbarian men are far more likely to be henpecked husbands while Barbarian women have a more dominant leadership role. Borso was only a half Barbarian but was wrapped around Faevyre's little finger, so I could only imagine what it was like for full Barbarians. Well, at least they are blissfully happy about it.
That aside, I scanned the exquisite food on the table; Pork sausages with green herb gravy, fresh vegetable salad with feta cheese, and dry crackers on top, and cereal flatbread with some salt on the side.1Yes, cooking reached such a level back then. A meal like this could easily cost over a silver coin in a specialized tavern, a meal even better than my birthday dinner, and yet I can eat it casually for lunch every day. This made me expectant to the fabled dinner of the rich people, the main meal of the day.
After this delicious and satisfying lunch, Faevyre said to me, "Ok Mog, let Cispia trim those nails of yours and go to the training field to get introduced to Sir Agrippa. I already said a good word about you to him, but you need to prove yourself to him if you want him to acknowledge you. Regardless, I will still train you in the morning along with Livia even if he doesn't accept you. You earned it."
With an excited smile, I said, "Thank you, miss Faevyre!"
Erno also chipped in and said with a smile, "Also, from today onwards, come to the study every afternoon so I can teach you. You must be well-learned to attend to the mistress."
My excited smile widened as I said, "Yes! Thank you!"
"I get specialized training and get personally tutored by a B-rank mage! I get a luxurious lifestyle only rich people have! If I can have this kind of treatment, I don't mind being a slave for life!"2He is living a lifestyle similar to that of an heir of a rich merchant. Perhaps better.
After that, Cispia took me to a room and trimmed my unkempt nails with specialized tweezers and a metal nail file. Honestly, I trimmed my nails from time to time by myself using a knife, but I did a poor job at it, resulting in uneven edges and such. Having my nails trimmed properly after over a year of being relatively unkempt felt good.
After that, she led me outside the mansion to the mansion's training grounds, just on the right of the mansion.
The training ground was large but not too large. On one side, there was a square field of grass with battered thick logs stuck to the ground, and on the other, a 5m-diameter sand arena.
Sweaty, half-naked muscular men were currently practicing in the field. Some were running or doing exercises using tools such as iron weights and stones. Some of them wore helmets and held wooden swords and wooden scutum while exchanging blows. Others were hitting the logs with a wooden sword as practice. In the sand arena, two muscular men were wrestling with each other, practicing grappling techniques. Some sat cross-legged on the ground, seemingly meditating with a strange translucent aura surrounding them. Even the weakest of these men appeared to be stronger than the thug I risked my life to kill, and that is when considering him in his uninjured prime. However, the three half-naked men sparring two on one with wooden swords were the most eye-catching of them all.
The first two are young master Aulus's personal bodyguards, Drusus and Lars. They look similar to each other, most likely siblings or twins, with their only obvious distinguishable difference being their different scar patterns. They are both 1.8m tall, moderately muscular with no signs of irrelevant fat on their bodies. They are both shorthaired blond men with clean-shaven faces. They both look like they are in their late twenties, and although they are not exceptionally handsome, they both look above average.
They are both battle-hardened men, having some trophies in the form of scars on their muscular frames. Each of their coordinated moves exhibited immense power no less than Faevyre's, forming blurs as they moved in speeds unobtainable by average men. They both circled and attacked the third man beautifully yet fiercely, both of their movements in perfect sync as if rehearsed a thousand times.
In contrast, the third man appeared much more low-key. With his right hand holding a dark wooden gladius and his left hand behind his back, he stood in place and guarded against the torrent of blows with the gladius.
The man was middle-aged and stood 1.85m tall with broad shoulders. Tight muscles were covering his body, and his build is not even half as exaggerated as Borso's, but I somehow had the impression that he was physically stronger than Borso. The man has short brown hair with two grey sideburns. On his very average and surprisingly normal round face, a trimmed brown mustache sat above his lips. However, the man's dark-brown eyes were calm yet deep, having experienced the harshness of this cruel world.
He didn't have any scars on his body, unlike all the other warriors and soldiers I'd seen, except for one thing. White bandages covered his stomach, lower back, and left forearm. At a glance, the bandage had yellow and red patches on it, which were most likely soaked in blood and pus, making me wonder how he could even move with such injuries.
At first, I thought that the man was losing to the other two. But after looking for half a minute, I noticed some key points; He only blocked a few select blows, and the rest were deflected beautifully by his gladius. His right foot always stayed rooted to the ground, only using his left foot to move in place. Whenever Drusus or Lars attempted to use their off-hand and legs to attack, the man lashed his left leg to counter them, sending them staggering back. Whenever they got too close, he swung or stabbed his sword at them, making them fall back gracelessly.
"He is stronger than the two C-rank bodyguards of young master Aulus working together. In this mansion, there is only one man who can be this strong, so that means..."
As I was finishing my line of thought, Cispia already beat me to it. She leaned in close to me and spoke in hushed tones, "That is Sir Agrippa, the captain of the guards, and also my mentor. When you speak with him, show him the respect that he deserves, for even the masters respect him. Also, don't mention his bandages. For obvious reasons."
I could only nod at her words and remain silent. Even if she didn't say it, I would have done so. Even if we are both high-rank servants, I was undoubtedly not the equal of people like Sir Erno and Sir Agrippa. In fact, for now, I was the high-rank servant with the lowest status of the bunch, and my position was shaky at best, being dependent on the mistress. Even Livia and Cispa outranked me as the mistress's handmaidens. Although I can be casual with Cispia and Livia, or even Faevyre because of her easygoing personality, I can't act casually with Erno or Agrippa. They commanded too much respect for me to do so. As for talking about his scars? I would be a fool to ask him about that.
We both stayed quiet and watched the spar for a few minutes before Agrippa said in a dignified voice, "Alright, that will be enough for now. Take five."
As if they heard magic words, the powerful Drusus and Lars dropped to the floor and started breathing heavily like a street urchin that just escaped the guards after stealing a loaf of bread. It was apparent that even strong warriors like them could also feel fatigued after an intense fight. In contrast, Agrippa seemed as casual as before, not breaking a sweat, as if he only did some warm-ups and not a superhuman level fight.
After tossing his wooden sword to the side, Agrippa turned to face us and walked casually while staring unblinkingly at me, as if prying deep into my soul, causing me to shudder.
After 15 seconds of an unblinking stare, Agrippa finally blinked and said two words, "Not bad."
He then said to me, "So, Mog, you are little miss's new... pet, right? That little devil praised you greatly, a rarity for an adventurer like her. It seems like it isn't without merit."
I was inwardly shocked at those words, "Little miss?! He dared say that?! It seems like his status is really high! Even higher than Erno's!"
Those thoughts went by like a flash as I hurriedly answered while bowing slightly, "Yes, sir Agrippa. Thank you for the praise."
Agrippa's eyes narrowed slightly, "Don't thank me yet, boy. I know why you came to me, and before I approve of you, I shall not teach you a thing, even if that little miss cries and whines. I am not gullible as the brat. Now then, Cispia, go stand behind me."
While I was confused, Cispia nodded and walked behind him. After she stood behind him, he said loudly, "Now then. Let's test your willpower!"
All the training soldiers paused their actions and looked at me when he said those words as if expecting a good show. Even the tired Drusus and Lars looked at me in Schadenfreude while smirking mirthfully.
My confusion deepened, "Hah? Test my willpower? What is he talking ab..."
Before I finished my line of thought, I suddenly felt something terrifying in front of me. Agrippa's originally dark-brown eyes suddenly turned malevolently red. I stood there, rooted to the ground and paralyzed, as the world reddened and darkened, the sun blotted by a bloody moon, the ground dried and cracked, and the originally comfortable summer wind turned into cold knives that pierced my vulnerable skin.
Except for Agrippa, who had transformed into a malevolent giant, everyone in front of me vanished quickly into thin air. No, it wasn't him who became a giant. I turned into a small toddler and kept shrinking. As I watched in horror, Agrippa's giant right hand slowly reached out to me, ever-growing and ever-menacing. As it approached me, it grew, bigger, Bigger, and BIGGER, blotting my vision. I was now like an ant in front of a human!
"I must dodge, or he will crush me like a bug! Avoid it! AVOID IT!!! MOVE, YOU STUPID BODY!!! MOVE!!!"
As I screamed to myself in my mind, my stiff and paralyzed body finally creaked into action, barely moving a step back, before the arm suddenly stopped right in front of me, an inch away, before retracting.
The vision was gone, and the world came back to normal. The sky was blue, the sun was yellow, the ground was fine, the people were back, and Agrippa had returned to his previous normal size.
However, I noticed that apart from Agrippa, everyone was staring at me in astonishment. Even Drusus and Lars stared at me with wide eyes.
Agrippa, who already retracted his arm, finally let out a smile, "Good, you endured my intimidation well. C-rank willpower at such a young age is rare. From now on, come to me after breakfast to train."
After he said that, he didn't confirm my response and walked back and said, "Alright, you slobs, get back to training before I add fifty laps to all of you!"
Immediately, everyone shouted, "Yes, Sir!" before continuing their respective training.
After half a minute, I felt a tap on my shoulder, snapping me out of my shock.
"Congratulations, Mog. You passed with flying colors!" Cispia said with a cheerful tone.
I shook my head and asked, "What was that?! I felt like I was going to get squashed!"
Cispia took back her hand and explained, "That was intimidation, very high-level intimidation at that. He was trying to gouge your willpower and your ability to resist it."
I couldn't help but ask, "How does he determine it?"
"Sir Agrippa has a rare talent to appraise people, just like intermediate appraisal stones. He can roughly determine your stats and level through it. If the stats he sees are satisfactory, he tests your willpower through intimidation. At A-rank and above, you can ignore it. At B-rank, you can move and avoid it out of fear. At C-rank, you will move very slowly and barely avoid him. At D-rank, you will freeze and be unable to move. At E-rank, you will collapse on the ground, possibly losing control of your bladder. Anything less than that will cause you to lose consciousness and your right to study under him."
I was astonished. The man was very blunt and direct in his methods. I couldn't help but ask, "Did he also test you?"
Cispia nodded, "Yes, he did. I was only E-rank, though..."
I nodded, but then I frowned and couldn't help but ask, "Wait, does that mean..."
Cispia suddenly blushed, understanding what I meant. She took a quick step back and waved her hands while stammering, "N-No! That didn't happen to me! Sir Agrippa lowered his intimidation against me by two grades! My reaction was just like yours!"
I couldn't help but bitterly smile, "It seems like Agrippa is partial towards women but cruel towards men."
Shaking my head, I changed the subject, "So, what should I do now? I have nothing to do."
Cispia smiled and offered, "How about we go to the study room and read? That should pass some time productively."
At her words, I couldn't help but smile, "That would be wonderful."
Although I wasn't some scholar, I knew how to read well enough to the level I wouldn't have trouble reading most books. It was at times like this that I couldn't help but thank my father for teaching me.
I followed Cispia to the study room, where we walked earlier after breakfast with Erno and the mistress. The door was wide open, inviting any guest of the mansion to study in its halls of knowledge. As we entered, I couldn't help but marvel again at the thousands of papyrus scrolls and books, all of them stored in magical bookshelves designed to repel insects that liked to eat them, along with preservative magics.
Papyrus was not a cheap commodity in Lamaria. Generally, a minimalistic papyrus scroll with 20 glued pages and no writings costs a silver coin. One with 500 written lines cost two silver coins. A premium papyrus scroll with 20 glued pages and no writings writing costs two and a half silvers. One with 500 lines costs five silver coins.3Basically, a papyrus scroll equals about 1.5 of my chapters, lol. An odyssey is 24-25 papyrus scrolls long. Naturally, the price might fluctuate from author to author and the information inside them.
Those are the prices cited by my late father. I don't dare name a price to magical ones, however. Their worth varies greatly, to the extent that some of them cannot be bought by any amount of gold.
As I was looking in marvel at this coffer of knowledge, Cispia's voice sounded next to me, "Mog, let's get you a book. What would you like?"
I snapped out of my reverie and asked, "Are there any beginner books? I am not exactly proud of my reading skills."
Despite my father's best efforts, I lagged behind children born with silver spoons in their mouths as a slum kid. After all, I had to survive first before I could read.
At my question, Cispia smiled and nodded, "There is. It's a favorite of the young mistress. A story called The Paragon."
