After I turned six, my education stared. I study how to write polite sentences, mathematics and sometimes history. It should have begun with memorising letters, but because I knew them already I ranked up.
.
The person next to me who is getting a headache from numbers is Eleanora-neesan. Eleanora-neesan is twelve.The improvement in her swordsmanship is noteworthy, that according to Nord-tousan she has enough skills to enlist in a knightly order. Even including the neighbouring village, only Nord-tousan and best her.Sheâs going to an unreachable place now.
In contrast, her studies arenât going well. No, you canât say, âWhy is it like that?â after looking at the numbers. Itâs just like that. Iâm not sure about complicated theories myself though.
.
Further inside, Silvio-niisan was working silently. Silvio-niisan likes studying, heâs amazing. Heâs only nine but he can do divisions very well. Amazingâ. He was looking closely at the numbers and flowingly wrote down the answers.
Itâs annoying how his recent growth made him even more handsome. But when I say that, he smiles shyly and says, âThatâs not trueâ. What an ikemenâŚâŚ
Currently, his popularity among the old ladies or the village girls are increasing. Could they be shotaconsâŚâŚ I thought, but then again, this is world where marrying early is natural. Turning fifteen years old means becoming an adult. There are many people aiming for Silvio-niisan.
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And, the maker of the questions and the supervisor is our mother Elna-kaasan. Her family is a pretty big trading company, so sheâs good at numbers. Since she knows the importance of writing and mathematics, sheâs a little strict on teaching.
âAl, whatâs wrong? Is it too hard?â
âThis is tiresomeâŚâŚ I want to play.â\nNo, I know. I can solve this easily. The problem is, Iâm afraid that there may be more. Iâm waiting for the words that raise a childâs motivation.
âI know you want to play, but studyingâs important tooâ?â
âI know. Studying also protects me and makes me better.â
Seeing me drooping, Elna-kaasan sighed.
Huh? This makes me like a bad child.No, but if Iâm six, this much is natural, right?
âThen, if you can solve that, you can go play.â
âOkay, yes!â
I was waiting for that!The feather pen felt lighter and I quickly filled in the paper with numbers. These calculations are easy as pie.
âItâs quite hard todayâ?â
âReally! Itâs hard today!â
âEleanoraâs questions are from last week though?â
ââŚâŚEh?â
Next to me, Elna-kaasan and Eleanora-neesan were talking about something but I couldnât hear it.
âFinished!â
âEhh? Youâre already finished?â
âAlfried-sama, we havenât checked the answer though?â
When I was about to exit the room after handing in the sheet of paper, I was caught by Sara-san who was standing still and waiting.\nRecently, it feels like the maids are treating me roughly. Last time, Mel grabbed me by the back of my neck.
I was returned to the desk (restraint) like a cat.
Elna-kaasan checked my answers with a serious expression, stood up a few minutes later and let out a great sigh.
âAll correct. You can go.â
Her expression is a little awkward, but I donât care.
âYes!â
âEhâ! Al, going off alone, thatâs unfair!â
âYes, yes, why donât we revise the basics, Eleanoraâ?â
While listening to Eleanora-neesanâs cute complaints, I exited the studying room (prison).
Ahâ, I didnât know the air of the world was this sweet. I might understand how a person coming out of prison might feel.
âDid you finish studying already?â
When I went out to the corridor, Nord-tousan walked over.
âYup. I solved them quickly so I finished early! So Iâm going to go play nowâŚâŚâ
âI see. Dad just finished work too. Letâs practice swordsmanship now!â
After hearing only half of what I said, Nord-tousan happily grabbed my hand started walking toward the courtyard.
âEhâ? But sword training is at noon.â
âItâs alright. Your body must have grown stiff from sitting for too long, right? Letâs train together sometimes.â
Well, communication with my parents is important too. My magic trainingâs going well, so why donât I put some effort into the sword.
\nAfter lunch, I headed to the courtyard again.
Already, Eleanora-neesan and Silvio-niisan were staring at each other with wooden swords in their hands.
Theyâre probably sparring.
Eleanora-neesan looked like she was enjoying it, resembling a hunter who found a prey, but for Silvio-niisan, his face was stony, because he dislikes it or because he was forced to do it. When I looked at his feet, his legs were shaking like a newborn pony.
I wonder how many losing scenarios Silvio-niisan is imagining now.
âBegin!â
The moment I said that, Eleanora-neesan closed the distance in a moment.
Silvio-niisan panicked at my sudden signal, but he calmly blocked Eleanora-neesanâs downward swing.
Then after about four or five clashes, Silvio-niisanâs thrust was aimed for Eleanora-neesanâs chest, but she flowingly avoided it and softly hit Silvio-niisanâs head.
But it still looked like it heart, because Silvio-niisan was moaning âAhâ!â while clutching his head.
Seeing that, Eleanora-neesan, me, and Nord-tousan who was next to me before I knew it laughed.
Watching from afar, Elna-kaasan and the maids looked on contentedly.
Ah, itâs peaceful again today.
âAl, you wanna do it too?â
âNo.â
To Eleanora-neesanâs offer, I declined in a refreshing voice.
But then, Nord-tousan said, âTry as much as you can,â so when I reluctantly took up the challenge the same thing happened as what happened to Silvio-niisan and I was laughed at by everyone.