It has been a year since Orca came to Foranada, and I am now seven years old. I'm the same age as an elementary school student in my previous life, and my physical growth has been remarkable. I think my physique has become more defined. Well, I guess full-fledged growth will come a little later.
Orca's case, which had been a concern of mine since a year ago, is progressing unexpectedly well. To begin with, he appears to have been a highly sensitive child, and he quickly became friendly with everyone in Foranada.
Even Caron, with whom he had had a bit of a feud, is now a good friend. They often play together at the castle, and they also get along well when we go out to the castle town. It's sad that he doesn't get to spend as much time with me, but it's a good trend for both of them, so I'm willing to put up with it.
By the way, Orca and I get along just fine. He now refers to me as "Zechs-nii" and adores me.
Incidentally, now that I have properly taken control of the Foranada, there's no need for us to sneak around when visiting the castle town. We were attacked by bandits, so an escort is following us in the dark. Of course, I didn't tell Caron and Orca about it because I want them to have a good time.
Getting back to the topic.
I've implemented a variety of measures since taking office, but my subordinates are outstanding, and things are beginning to improve even without me.
If that's the case, I might be on my way to the next plan.
It's also said that good things must come quickly. Soon after, I decided to go out to the castle town with Shion.
"Ah, Zechs-nii!"
"Zechs-sama."
On the way to the entrance of the castle, I met Orca and Sebastian, the family butler. Sebastian gave a condescending bow as Orca waved cheerfully.
Compared to a year ago, Orca has become very bright. I was honestly surprised to see him grow up to have such a clear temperament, as he had been an introvert in the game as well. That's how hard it must have been for him in the game.
His appearance has also become much prettier than before. I mean, I understand that this isn't right to say to a guy, but it's appropriate for Orca. Even though he wears men's clothes, she looks like a girl for a moment.
I responded by raising my hand lightly to both of them and asking,
"That's an unusual combination. Did something happen?"
Sebastian frequently stands next to the servants and me because of his role. Caron and Orca, on the other hand, who were not involved in work, had few opportunities to interact with him. Therefore, I assumed that something had occurred.
Then, It seems that my guess was correct.
"I've been asking Orca about his wishes because we're about to hire a magic teacher."
"I asked for someone who has no prejudice against beastmen!"
"Is it that time of the year already?"
Then this combination makes sense. I'm leaving all personnel matters to Sebastian.
Originally, there was absolutely no need to invite teachers from outside, not only for me, who was training independently, but also for Karon and Orca, who were under my guidance. In particular, I was non-attributed, which should have been a problem for the teachers.
Even so, this hiring was a necessary expense.
This was due to the other families' attention being drawn to us. If we didn't hire a teacher or hired a subpar teacher, Foranada's reputation would suffer. The family would be underestimated because they lack the financial resources and connections to hire a top-tier magic teacher.
In an aristocratic society that values those ties, such rumors were fatal. Even so, the next head of the family (which is me) was under severe scrutiny because of my non-attribute, and we could not expose our weakness any further.
For this reason, the three of us will be assigned a magic teacher. Later, I have to remind Caron and Orca to go easy on them in class.
"I'll leave the matter about the teachers to you. I don't care who you pick, as long as people don't complain."
"I understand. By the way, are you going out, Zechs-sama?"
"Going out to the town? I want to go with you!"
Orca happily jumped on Sebastian's question.
Orca seems to fit in with the castle town's children, especially Dan, and he's even more excited than Caron when she goes out to play.
I would gladly take Calon and Orca with me if we were going out to play, but this is a different matter. It pains me to say this, but I have no choice but to say no.
"I'm sorry, but I have to go out for something else today. You can stay home for today."
"Muu, that's too bad…"
Orca pouted his lips after saying so. It's a very cute gesture, but he can't expect me to change my mind.
Then, Sebastian asked a quizzical question while looking at our exchange with a smile on his face.
"Something else, sir?"
"It's about that case. I've come to the point where you can handle it completely without my help, so I think it's time for me to move."
"I see, I understand. Please take care, and have a good trip."
I had already informed the Foranada's top officials of what I was going to do. He remembered that and bowed politely.
"Then, I'm going out. I'll bring Shion with me, so I should be back before the sun goes down."
I replied and left the castle with the same gait.
In this world, as in many other fantasy works, there is a profession called Adventurer.
The outline of the job is about as you might imagine. It is a kind of "jack-of-all-trades" that undertakes a variety of jobs, from town chores to escorting merchants to exterminating demonic beasts.
However, being an adventurer is not a profession that attracts the admiration of those around you.
This is because most of the students who drop out of the academy go to do this job. The best ones usually became knights or bureaucrats in the service of the state, and those who could not make it into the ranks tended to become adventurers.
Some of them were geniuses who enjoyed doing such things, but adventurers were basically dropouts.
And I'm now trying to become such an adventurer.
Why am I trying to become such an adventurer when my position as the next head of the family is already decided, you say?
There are four reasons for this.
The first one is because I want to raise my level. For the past year, I have continued to hunt demonic beasts in the mountain forests as usual, but in the end, I only managed to raise one level. Since I was becoming less and less powerful in the small stuff, an adventurer who could hunt demonic beasts in the form of requests was the best choice.
Second, I could gather materials for the demonic beasts without Foranada's involvement. In order to become stronger in the future, I would naturally need to prepare stronger equipment. The key to this is to be able to prepare rare materials on one's own. Such materials are usually held by those who have the ability.
There's a way to collect it with large sums of money, but it's not very desirable. If it's known that the Foranada's buying up a lot, there's a higher probability of interference from other houses because of unwarranted suspicion. That's something I would like to avoid.
Because of the available human resources, anyone has the potential to become an adventurer. No identity verification is done at all. Therefore, I can gather materials with my own hands without raising suspicions about my relationship with the Foranada.
Third, I gain money by selling materials. You may think that this contradicts the aforementioned, but it doesn't. Not everything I get is used for equipment, so I have a portion to sell.
The last one. Which is probably the most important of all. It gives me the freedom to move around. I'd rather not be in the spotlight right now. I can act quietly, but there's a limit to how long I can continue to do so. So, having the cover of being an adventurer will help me in my future activities.
I can level up, collect materials from rare demonic beasts, and raise funds as an added bonus. It was no exaggeration to say that I was killing four birds with one stone by being able to do all of these things with almost no restrictions. That's why I decided to become an adventurer.
As expected, I will use [Disguise] to hide my age and appearance, as it might cause a commotion if I go out in my current form. I don't want people to notice that I'm Zechs, so I guess I'll just use my appearance from my previous life…I think black hair and black eyes will stand out quite a bit since it's a sign that I can handle magic of more than five attributes, but it will stand out when I intend to hunt rare and highly prized demonic beasts. In any case, I'll continue to stand out.
The reason I have Shion accompanying me is that she's a qualified adventurer, and I expected her to teach me a few things in the beginning. I'm not so weak that I can be easily beaten, but I still need the wisdom of a pioneer. This kind of guidance was essential so that I wouldn't make any blunders.