The exceptionally hot summer had passed. The cool autumn and the very harsh winter followed, and the warm spring of March came again. Evan's 11th birthday was just around the corner.
"Master, this is a single cup. Pattern X today? The strongest pattern… Uh, I'm afraid the kettle will melt due to the poison's strength."
"That's right. Oh, I can't bear this feeling. My tongue is melting."
"…Master, you really drink it for training, right?"
Normally, the childhood of young children is very slow, and every day is like a jewel in a jewel box, but Evan's daily jewels were to avoid the countless flooding signs of death.
There had been no more feeling of repetition of his terrible fate in the upcoming days.
He was stuck in training and other various tasks in front of him without enjoying the passage of time or doing anything else, and every time he woke up to the same surroundings in the game. Several months had passed.
By that time, Evan, who seemed to be drinking the poisonous tea in such a leisurely way was now practicing poison resistance training and slime training at the same time, so it was not new to him anymore.
"What about Shine?"
"He was taken to the Knights Templar. They are very fond of his weak body as his movements are very agile and he avoids attacks well."
"What about Belois?"
"When I woke up, she was already missing. Maybe she was doing her lamp training?"
However, because Evan was not alone in his struggles, he had to endure them. Shine and Belois also endured the training, which was as hard as Evan's, or even more difficult, considering their physical strength. And they did it even without a single word of complaint!
Moreover, since the last attack on Evan, both his eyes were full of passion.
Previously, Evan would grunt and groan a lot during his training. With the passage of time, he had controlled these noises of pain and hard work.
Evan knew that their deal with him had a greater meaning for the two, so he couldn't say anything. He just vaguely expected that their impatience would disappear if they just entered the dungeon and gained a lot of strength.
"I think Belois is aiming for my place these days. The last time she was attending to the Master… She was trying to stick to you as much as possible. You should definitely tell her about me, Master! Make sure she doesn't have any vain delusions!"
"What, that you are my exclusive maid?"
"Yes! You have to tell her that. To her!"
"You never give up, do you know? You are already expected to gain the plausible title of being the CEO of the Brotherhood Pharmacy."
"That's not what I want! All I want is to be next to you, always! I always want to stand by your side, Master!"
Maybell, who still couldn't give up her vain delusions, stretched his cheeks. He struggled with both his arms to try and get rid of her.
Since she was 15 years old, Maybell still had an acceptable age for doing such things. After she turned 18, if she still did that, then Evan vowed to himself that he would make fun of her.
'Well, there were some unexpected factors, but I think I've done well so far. At least for most of the part…Everything is excellent. No, it seems to be exceeding expectations. After repelling the last Rogue's attack, I wonder if I have the same strength as an ordinary level 5 protagonist?'
Either learning martial arts from the Knights Commander (even to be praised for his talent) or alchemy from Bernard Garcia (Evan thought this was also going well), there were always some unexpected things that Evan didn't know about before. But overall, everything was going according to Evan's original plan.
'No, I should consider this situation to be even better.'
As Evan had been unable to find his aptitude, he thought that everyone could learn together, while improving their basic body skills (this was important). Fighting and alchemy were one of the best options he could choose from at the moment.
However, because it was too frustrating and inefficient to learn everything at once, he gave priority to slime training and physical training that he could do on his own… Now that his abilities were leveling up in every field, there was no problem.
'Yes, I am definitely getting stronger. I am also growing much more faster.'
In the past year, Evan's body had strengthened remarkably, and his stamina had significantly increased. His body was rapidly growing on its own.
Evan didn't know in detail because he couldn't check the figures, but he was convinced that he had certainly reached the level to be able to survive on the first floor of the dungeon! He was only 11 years old, but still, he had no match!
"He is our Second Master. Why is it so hard to see his face these days? Seeing that cute face, once a day, relieves fatigue…"
"I think Master Evan is busier than Master Eric. If you knew how much the knights Commander liked him! It was as if he would've wanted to keep holding on to Evan, just so he could teach him."
"Is that true? Last time, I was amazed to hear the new opinion that the Master Count Benissen gave about him, who was the famous history teacher of the First Master. I also heard that Evan will be the co-author of his thesis!"
At that moment, the Marquis' maids' voices, who were walking in the corridor, came through the window. As Evan's overall physical ability had improved, his hearing ability also improved with it.
Evan put down the teacup, bursting slime with both his hands and grinned. The co-author news was a sham.
'I was just writing that thesis for fun.'
"But who is the Grandpa who sometimes visits the mansion? The Marquis also said to be polite with him."
"Isn't he just an ordinary pervert Grandpa? He seems to be close with the Master."
"No, there is something else too. I saw the Commander of the Knights meet with him. The Knights Commander was amazed by the Grandpa for a moment. And he greeted him respectfully. The Knights Commander!"
"Really…? In my heart, I had no doubt that he was a pervert."
This damn perverted Grandpa! Evan couldn't go down into the city every day, so he sometimes asked if he could take a class at the mansion instead. Bernard was very happy to accept it. Evan squeezed his fists together as he blamed it all on Hanna.
"Anyway, he's learning something great from the Grandpa."
"Yes, it was because of him…That the Brotherhood Pharmacy was a complete success."
"Hey, weren't those the earrings worn by Master Eric?"
"Idiot, don't you know that Master Evan received those precious Snow Mountain Spirit earrings as a gift for his 10th birthday? They were gifted to him due to all of his efforts but in reality, they were given to him as reward for his achievements in academics."
"I'm not sure what that means, but if it goes on like this, maybe Master Evan will replace Master Eric as the Marquis's successor…"
"Ah, that sounds ridiculous."
"Stop it. The relationship between the two Masters is very good."
The maids condemned each other and passed through the corridor, laughing softly. Evan's expression suddenly changed. Maybell, who had roughly guessed what was going through his mind carefully lifting the tea tray, asked him.
"Shall I go and bury them in a moment?"
"It's scary when you talk like that sometimes."
"But those miscellaneous things made you feel upset Master…"
"No, wait. I have a good hearing, but how did you hear what I was barely able to comprehend…?"
"It is because I have been trained as a maid!"
'Using the word 'maid' as an excuse, you seem to be getting away with a lot of things these days…' Evan looked at Maybell with a suspicious expression, but Maybell just smiled back.
'By the way…It might get difficult for me to not punish her, if she keeps repeating this excuse.'
Maybell had been strange from the beginning, so he decided to let the matter go. Evan then sighed, recalling what the maids had just said.
Evan didn't consider himself better than Eric, so did that mean he didn't deserve to be the Marquis's successor? In fact, this wasn't the first time Evan had thought about this.
Since the day Brotherhood Pharmacy had been created and various business plans had been presented, the things that Evan had been thinking about were now gradually getting bigger enough to rise to the surface. The cause…Well, maybe it had something to do with the last attack.
"Why are you arguing with the lowly position you have?"
"Master Evan…You are a special person."
"What, Maybell do you really think so?"
Evan glanced at Maybell for a moment. It would've been crazy to say that Evan was special.
In the game, what was even special about Evan? He just always died no matter what he chose.
Evan realized now that he knew his talents and abilities well than ever before. That was because he was both Evan and an unbeatable gamer now who had tried at least thousands or even tens of thousands of times to save the character Evan in his previous life!
Evan didn't have a talent for magic, and he didn't have a weapon with aptitude, but he had raised his level of existence through slime training with the little knowledge he had secured from his previous life. Did that make him a little superior to his brother?
Evan had barely grown up.
'They say that I'm better than my brother who was able to have a permanent space in the protagonist's party? They're spouting nonsense. If he had the experience that I currently have as a gamer, then he would have been recognized by others as being much stronger than me.'
And most importantly, what a dangerous situation it would be for Evan, who had to face countless deaths even with the inconceivable role of being the Second Master of the Marquis if he became the next successor of the Marquis.
Would he really be exposed?
By then, everything may have gotten out of control for him! Compared to that, it might be better for him to dig a grave for himself and wait quietly for the moment of death to come!
"You are a special person Master. I don't want you to deny it. People are expecting a lot of things from you, and you have every reason to work hard."
"Maybell…"
"I wish for you to become the successor to the Maquis. If you don't want it, then I hope that you do not. Just because you're special doesn't mean that you should want to be a Marquis yourself."
"… Huh, yes. I want to be a guy like that."
"Hehe."
As her loyalty and other emotions gradually escalated in a strange direction, Evan wasn't expecting a normal opinion from Maybell, who now treated Evan with something similar to faith.
However, Evan didn't feel so bad like this. In fact, he was feeling a little clear-headed.
"I have to see my father. I'm going to ask him for something that will get rid of such nonsensical talk."
"Master do you mean, inspection?"
"Yes. Originally I was going to receive and declare my first inspection order, when I was going to get 12 years old. But I think I should do it now."
Being an aristocrat who governed the dungeon city, there were two fundamental duties to be carried out.
Of course, the first was to perform all the duties as the person in charge of governing the city, like the current Marquis. And the second was to enter the dungeon and inspect it, and then fight directly against the monsters that threatened humanity.
"And when more than one son is born to the Marquis, the younger child has the option to fulfill the second duty."
"To become the head of the family…?"
"That would be such a waste. I want to become the head of the Dungeon Knights."
The 'Dungeon Knights Commander' referred to a person who had the right to recruit personnel and receive Marquis's support to create a special knights squad, known as 'Dungeon Knights'. They served the purpose of attacking the monsters in the dungeons. It could be said that it was an option to completely ignore the first duty that was to care for the people and devote yourself to the second duty only.
'In Yo-Ma Great War 3, the Dungeon Knights Commander from other dungeons appeared occasionally… Evan, who was ordered by the Marquis to train to become the Dungeon Knight, refused to do it. Therefore, the Dungeon Knights didn't fight well. But Eric, who would succeed the Marquis, became an excellent Sergeant who would go on every important mission.'
In fact, if you thought about it with common sense, did it even make sense that the First Master Eric that would later become the Marquis would jump into a dangerous dungeon with the protagonist every time!? It was all because of Evan!
'But I won't let that kind of thing happen again.'
You could never know what would go wrong after Evan's brother entered the dungeon. Of course, even scarier was to assume if the Marquis went into the dungeon and something bad happened to him.
Entering the dungeon was, of course, terrifying. The duty to enter the dungeon was inevitable, being a noble. Then wouldn't it be better for him to be the one to go into the dungeon?
'Moreover, I can also find a way to foster strong knights this way.'
Evan was working hard even at this moment.
He laughed as he recalled Shine and Belois, who were training along with him. Was that all of them? Paul and Marie were also now educated as servants. They were also growing slowly but continuously.
The slave had said that it would be possible to bring in three additional Rookies soon. This meant that Evan had already secured seven knights. All of them were of a new race, the race that could become the strongest in the dungeon!
'It's okay, I can handle it well.'
Evan quickly stood up from his seat, resolving his determination.
"I will tell my father that I will be the Commander of the Dungeon Knights. Then every problem will be solved. You'll get rid of rumors, and my brother won't have to worry about being the Dungeon Knights Commander."
"Can I join the Dungeon Knights too?"
"You can't, because you are the representative of the Brotherhood Pharmacy."
"Master, really!"
That was the moment when Evan's long-awaited resolution was destroyed. Someone was running down the hall in haste. It was the maid, Elisha.
"What is it, Elisha?"
"Master, you are here! Well!"
Elisha exclaimed with overwhelming excitement.
"The second Mrs. gave birth to a beautiful baby!"