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<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"></figure>\nRhine Tri-Empire. An old, well established country located at the eastern end of the west central continent, it was a monarchy that boasted vast landmass.\n
Three Imperial families that govern vast territories of the Empire in collaboration with the seven great houses of elector lords who posses the right of voting hold joint elections to select the emperor thus realizing a stable rule. This is a major power that has accumulated 500 years of history and is still going strong showing no signs of decay.\n
In the southern part of this booming country which has developed itself flexibly and efficiently due to the national culture of accepting human, Demon and Demi-human alike, exists the district of Heidelberg. This territory belongs to a rather cool climate zone, main product being grape used for winemaking. Although olive cultivation is also flourishing and it is highly regarded as a prominent vegetable oil production region in the Empire.\n
Standing guard over the western side of such an important yet at the same time unremarkable landmass is Konigsstuhl Castle which had several manors under its authority and in one of them a very yet again unremarkable peasant household, husband and wife were racking their brains over a certain issue.\n
Husband’s name is Johannes and the wife’s name is Hanna. In regards to the Empire they were considered a very commonplace “Mankind” couple, exemplar peasant farmers who followed the god of harvest and fertility. Other than toiling in the fields of rye, their main and also the most common and widespread crop, they also manage one olive orchard and can be considered only as medium sized peasant proprietors in terms of scale. You could probably find hundreds, thousands of similar households in the Empire.\n
For this ordinary couple to be agonizing over a dilemma with such fervor, it concerned their 4th son, Erich who would turn 6 this autumn. It’s not that he was a mischief or a troublemaker no, or that he was particularly dull-witted or feebleminded, nothing of the sort. On the contrary he was a well behaved, well raised son who you could be proud of. In fact he obeyed everything that was asked of him, neither would he go over the line and do anything stupid or foolish which young kids are apt to as that is very natural for their age, he would even recite scriptures with a lisp as he obediently attended the sabbath services without grumbling or being restless out of boredom. Erich was a son who wouldn’t embarrass them in public, so the couple weren’t worried about his ability, in fact for a fourth son he was overperforming and was too well brought up. \n
This pair was blessed with four sons and a daughter, the eldest son turned eight this year, as for the twins the second and third son, seven, as they were born an year later. The fourth son Erich with a little longer birth interval is now five and therein lies the problem. It concerns who to send to a private school organized by the Bailiff.\n
In Rhine Tri-Empire where its citizenry were relatively well-off, peasants were also encouraged to be literate, and as a peasant proprietor household if you wanted to be noticed and noticed in a more positive light and maybe even gain favors from your Bailiff and the Lord, being able to speak the imperial courtly language( derivative of the common imperial tongue, making use of refined pronunciation, special expressions and irregular grammar) was a given, being versed in writing poetry and being able to play an instrument or two was also considered as matter of course. \n
Therefore while having to pay a high tuition fee it’s a common occurrence for landed peasants to send their eldest sons to a school ran by the Bailiff and nor would it be unusual for even the poor and relatively needy peasant farmer families to try and send their eldest sons for the sake of their future distinction and advancement in society. Now if it was a household which was especially well-off, sending their second son as a backup for the succession, or maybe sending them with the idea of wanting to establish a branch family was also not unusual. Accordingly the couple wanting to send their son was also quite normal.\n
However, the issue is who to send?\n
Johannes was able to with great difficulty receive permission from the Bailiff to expand his farmland recently, for the occasion of which he had also bought one plodding workhorse emptying his coffers. And if he wanted to keep some spare in case of emergency sending only 1 son was the most rational given his finances.\n
If these were normal circumstances just sending the eldest son and being done with it would be ideal. After all, patriarchy is the norm when it comes to Mankind who have a short lifespan, and letting the eldest succeed is even more common, so much so that it has become “customary” in regards to the Imperial Law.\n
However the fourth son was outstanding to the degree of overshadowing the eldest son. Normally, there is a big difference in the abilities of the oldest when it comes to children with an age gap of 3 years which is par for the course since their bodies are more developed and they have more life experience. But between the eldest son Heinz and the fourth son Erich, the reverse difference was to such a degree that it could not be ignored.\n
While Heinz still had memory lapses when reciting scriptures in praise of the gods and also when offering a prayer of gratitude to the god of harvest, Erich’s prayers on the other hand were flawless leaving aside some lisping and dubious pronunciation due to being very young. Not only that but he also managed to remember Chants, which is a difficult task compared to remembering Scriptures since they contain more complicated archaisms, as a result he was even noticed and remembered by the Bishop of the cathedral which is a joyous occasion.\n
Then there also was the thing with peeling simple vegetables where Heinz’s fingers would be full of cuts as opposed to Erich’s who didn’t have a single scratch. Also there was a time when he would constantly plead for it and then actually giving him that small knife Erich in one day managed to carve out a holy icon. In fact last month by simply watching and imitating he even managed to prepare a whole set of wooden game pieces for a board game. \n
On top of that Erich had a more flexible way of thinking. Giving him multiple errands, he would quickly notice that it would be more efficient to incorporate them with each other thus taking care of them all at once, he would tackle each task faithfully without a shred of laziness and without failing even once. \n
As for Heinz often times he would be lazy and tended to mess up. Like for example finding it bothersome and failing to feed the horse, and even with water just pouring it rashly all over the horse trough.\n
You didn’t need to guess who would better catch the Bailiff’s eye.\n
And while the general rule of having the eldest succeed wasn’t absolutely imperative, this decision could have severe consequences. If it was the second son that would still be fine, however by prioritizing the fourth, hardships facing the family would be numerous. First and and above all else, as parents there was a necessity to consider the feelings of second and third sons who would be overtaken by the fourth and of course Heinz who had already come to think of himself as the successor.\n
Therefore today as well, two wise parents were racking their brains over the approaching school admission deadline…..\n
[tips]: Man-kind. They are part of the Human-Kind and can be found on every continent. Difference between their best and the brilliant in comparison to their worst and the brainless is so wide that they came to be known as “Race of the wise and the foolish” , “Race of the unexpected”. However in cruelty they are inferior to none.\n\n
Having a good underlay is important. Oh it’s so very important. Because rather than the number of dice, the fixed real number you get from bonuses often tends to be the deal breaker. I am a firm believer of the so called “Fixed Values” when it comes to TRPGs. After all my lady luck almost never smiled.\n
As a PL(player) my 2d6 expected value would boast a mighty five, and just by rolling during an entire session I would accumulate a whoopin 250 experience points, I was blessed with hard luck(shitty rolls) like that. \n
Now as a GM(game master) or a keeper my expected value would be an impressive 9. My my I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve killed player characters with an unforeseen accidental critical hit!\n
With the above track record it’s no wonder that in my search for the ideal form I would focus on the aspects which would help me kill even with miniscule amount of luck. For example the divine power of a certain legendary item from a certain TRPG the lord and savior, the power of Mace with +1 hit rate bonus was such a reassuring component for someone like me who’s far removed from the mathematical concept of average.\n
Of course there are also power plays like eliminating the factor of luck with excess number of dice but even in systems which allow that, the method of just slaughtering with a guaranteed fixed critical value is much stronger really. There’s just no way around it. \n
Which is why steadily, without taking any risks I’ve been working hard at just raising my basic stats since the day my ego awakened. Attributes of my physical body I can interact with are as followed: <strength> <endurance> instantly, is like a drop in the bucket with how much those digits request from you which does remind me of the agonizing grind of mobile gachas and their “end” content.\n
For the time being lets see how much can be earned gradually, step by step and consider things accordingly since I’m not yet familiar with this new world well enough that I could just decide on a definitive strategy when it comes to seriously investing in my build. It’s no laughing matter If I decide on a policy too early and there exist certain circumstances which can make the whole thing misfire.\n
Now then, leaving aside efficiently earning experience, it’s my firm belief that the next crucial step pertains to my social reputation. Eh it’s nothing too serious, but in the future when I decide on what exactly I want to be doing there’s nothing wrong with playing it safe and cultivating an environment where people around me would go [Weeeeell, it’s you we’re talking about here so this is fine] no matter what I do. And doesn’t matter if it’s my parents or the priest from the cathedral or…\n
“What you doing Erich?”\n
Or even my siblings.\n
“Oh hey Heinz”\n
Boy who approached me while I was sitting on the wood pile beside the barn was none other than my big bro Heinz. He had a large build with the same chestnut-color hair and rough-hewn angular face as our father, although recently Heinz has been in a rather foul mood as he’s getting compared to me constantly no matter where he goes or what he does.\n
I was the youngest even in my previous life and I’m the youngest brother now so can’t say that I understand completely but I do sympathize. For children, parents make up most of their world. It’s natural not finding it very pleasant that they think more highly of your younger brother with whom they take a different attitude, who is rarely being patronized. I probably can’t fully imagine the anguish of falling into a downward spiral in which you try to garner more attention to yourself becoming more and more irresponsible and insincere which keeps lowering your evaluation even further and further.\n
Which is why, because of my matured mind and because I really do love my mentally younger brother that I choose peace instead of war.\n
“I was just making this”\n
“Woah…” \n
What I handed over to Heinz was a child sized wooden sword I made from a piece of hardwood firewood and its scrapwood. I used a small knife and a rasp used for trimming hooves of our workhorse to put it into shape and it had the shape of a straight sword, not unlike the one held by a certain hero in the green which could appeal to a child’s taste and their sense of imagination. Sword tip is rather cartoonishly big but well, the five year old in me is screaming [this is so cool!] so it’s fine.\n
“It’s for you!”\n
“What?!”\n
Enchanted by the sword, my brother’s expression which was slowly shifting to a one that gave away he was up to no good, suddenly changed to a one of surprise and confusion as I bestowed the sword to him with a straight smile.\n
From the beginning I never intended the sword for myself, it was for Heinz who was brimming with jealousy when the other day he saw this kid playing with a toy sword which they got as a present from their parent.\n
“A…are you sure?”\n
“Of course, it’s for all that you’ve done for me!”\n
To Heinz who made a dubious face as if saying [have I done anything?] I listed all the debts I could think up on the spot. Like that time that I had him eat my tomatoes which I wasn’t a fan of (interestingly it’s already being circulated as edible food and ingredient in this world) or that time he helped me with drawing water from the well (Although I think he just wanted to show me his superiority) which was quite hard for me as I haven’t invested much when it comes to my overall strength department, and so on. As long as people live together thinking of times one helped another is a piece of cake.\n
“Which is why, thank you!”\n
Stunned Heinz, to whom I expressed gratitude with a straight face returned an awkward, embarrassed smile. I’m sure he’s experiencing a swirl of emotions. Like regret in regards to his violent thoughts and envy that stemmed from simple naivety which is natural for his age. And if somewhere in that swirl there begins to bud some affection towards me then I genuinely couldn’t be more happier.\n
“How is it? Do I look cool?!”\n
“You’re looking awesome!”\n
Praising my brother who was taking up something similar to a stance while holding the sword by the hilt, I felt the sweetest joy at how he was so happy with what I had made. Regardless of my previous life he is my flesh and blood family. How could I not be happy when I see my brother this delighted? Someone who would be okay with throwing stones at him probably never had a childhood….\n
[tips]: There are many types of limited time traits: Child Prodigy, then also similar but lower tier traits such as Bright Student and Genius that are effective from the ripening of middle childhood up to full adolescence. Some limited time traits also affect beauty and good looks such as Vibrant Youth. \n\n
Hello there, this is your translator. Gonna rant a little bit. You know when I first started reading the LN I thought to myself surely some of these reviews on Amazon and Bookwalker-which are in the minority btw- slandering the author for being verbose and roundabout are ridiculous, who are you trying to fool this is great! Having to actually translate well, they might’ve not been that wrong haha…\n
Till next time\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n