15
Chapter 15
* * *
Everyone has nights when they just can't fall asleep.
When I heard hurried footsteps from beyond the wall, I realized that last night was one of those nights for Leo.
I immediately took out the three-piece set for putting a child to sleep.
A cozy environment like a secret hideout.
A warm glass of milk.
And a fairy tale read at his bedside.
This will work. Because it worked for me!
On nights when I couldn't sleep, I would sneak under my aunt's desk, turn on a small light, and read the same worn-out fairy tale book over and over again.
Eventually, my eyes would get tired, and I would fall asleep before I knew it.
……Come to think of it, it seems a little different.
"Ahem, Acorn mouse?"
"Yes!"
Huh? His response is unusually energetic today.
"Today, I will give you a task. A very special mission that only my servant can do."
"……!"
In an instant, Leo's face lit up as if fireworks were exploding behind him.
If Leo had a dog's tail, he would be wagging the fluffy thing incessantly.
"Yes! I can do it well! I'll definitely do it well!"
Uh… If he's this happy, I feel a little sorry.
"I'll give you this."
I avoided Leo's sparkling eyes and handed him a delicately shaped quill made from peacock feathers.
"……?"
Leo carefully held the quill with both hands and tilted his head.
Then, he glanced at me and awkwardly held the pen, examining it from side to side.
At that moment, the tip of the quill tickled Leo's chin.
"Ah!"
I thought I saw an exclamation mark appear above Leo's head at that moment.
Leo immediately grabbed the nib of the quill and began to dust the window frame with the feather part…
"This is a duster…!"
"No, it's not."
"Yes."
Leo became dejected.
It seemed he had never held a pen before, let alone learned to write.
'We have a long way to go.'
I placed a sheet of high-quality paper on the desk and sat facing Leo.
Then, in a more stern and solemn tone than usual, I declared.
"From now on, I will teach you how to write."
"Study……?"
Leo blinked, holding the quill upside down. As if he didn't know why or how to do such a thing.
"First of all, that's not how you hold a pen."
I took out a new pen and demonstrated by writing on the paper.
The Belinda Translator also works for handwriting, and fortunately, I could write meaningless words that were unrelated to my emotional expressions properly.
Leo dipped the pen in ink and began to copy what I had written on the paper.
I secretly swallowed a laugh at his cute expression as he pursed his lips in concentration.
Will this child ever know? That the first letter he ever wrote was his name.
It's his first time writing, but the letters are so neat. Our Leo must be a genius.
Star of the Hero has learned to write for the first time and acquired the 'Elegant Calligraphy (lv.1)' skill.
Star of the Hero's Intelligence has increased by +1.
I smiled weakly with pride. Then Leo stared at me.
Realizing my mistake, I quickly turned my head and tightened my lips.
Ugh, if I'm not careful, I always end up smiling like this.
"From now on, you will learn three words a day, and you will have a test every week."
Gulp. I heard Leo swallow hard.
Indeed, the word "test" seemed to have the power to make anyone instinctively tense.
"If you fail the test……."
I deliberately smiled fiercely, wanting to tease Leo.
"I'll hit you on the head like last time."
"That, that time……!"
Leo's face flushed as red as a ripe tomato, recalling the previous misunderstanding.
* * *
Life in the annex was pleasant.
Since the employees of the main building were dispatched to take care of cleaning and meals, life in the annex was not much different from life in the main building.
However, since the entry of employees was prohibited on the second floor, which was our living space, cleaning our rooms was up to Leo and me.
Actually, I didn't want to make Leo do housework.
But I couldn't just tell him not to do it…….
Star of the Hero's 'Radiant Cleaning (lv.6)' skill has improved.
Star of the Hero's Stress has decreased by -1.
'Cleaning reduces stress levels.'
While I was choosing books for Leo's writing studies in the study, I sighed at the Status window that suddenly appeared.
It seemed he was very nervous ahead of his first dictation test, so he was calming himself down by cleaning the windows.
He's probably wiping them clean while breathing on them, haa.
To check his stress level and stats, I muttered "Status window" to myself, and a translucent window immediately appeared in front of me.
[Name: Acorn mouse]
[Age: 9]
[Intelligence: 4/100]
[Physical Strength: 3/100]
[Divinity: 5/100]
[Magical Power: 1/100]
[Stress: 3/100]
Intelligence and Divinity had increased slightly since the last time I checked.
Well, I didn't expect much growth in intelligence, since all I'm doing is helping him learn to write.
'Divinity isn't increasing easily.'
The day I faced the Holy Sword and thought about Leo's true ending.
I belatedly realized that the reason I couldn't ask Leo "What do you want to be when you grow up?" that day was because I was afraid that he wouldn't be able to give any answer, just like me when I was in elementary school.
I knew very well how futile a child's future dreams were when they didn't have a single adult to rely on.
Similarly, before meeting Ophelia, the protagonist's world was very narrow and the walls of reality were dauntingly high, so it would take great courage for Leo to even dream childish dreams.
For Leo, all I can do with only money is…….
'I want to protect him from the irrationalities of reality blocking his path.'
So that reasons like 'dreaming is a luxury', 'I have to grow up quickly', and 'I don't know how wide the world is' don't hold Leo back.
So, first of all, I will let Leo experience all sorts of things so that his world can gradually expand.
And so that I can help Leo if he has a dream later…….
'Let's make the three basic stats 100 no matter what.'
Physical Strength, Magical Power, and Divinity.
If those three stats are 100 at the age of ten, he can start anything he wants.
So, I first targeted Divinity, which can be easily raised in the early stages with just money.
Divinity can be raised through consistent worship and offerings, but somehow the efficiency wasn't very good compared to the amount of offerings.
It seemed that the current High Priest who ruled the Xenos Kingdom's main temple was of low status.
'Come to think of it, there was a parade in the game's introduction to welcome a new High Priest.'
It wasn't an event that involved the protagonist, so I didn't pay attention to it, but now that I think about it, he seems to be the High Priest and patron who bulked up the protagonist's Divinity.
'Unfortunately, for now, I have no choice but to increase Divinity little by little like this.'
Magical Power and Divinity are conflicting forces, so if one side's value is even slightly higher, the opposite stat is reduced by that amount.
For example, if Divinity is 10 and Magical Power is 8, the two forces repel each other, and in the end, only the power of Divinity 2 can be exerted.
But fortunately, since an awakening event is required to unleash Divinity, there was no need to balance Magical Power and Divinity right now.
Now all that's left is to find a teacher to teach Magic.
'Vivian is late.'
I was planning to personally sponsor Vivian and entrust her with Leo's Magic education.
But for some reason, her visit was later than expected.
'Could it be that she didn't find the place drawn on the map?'
I should visit the Magic Tower to find Vivian soon.
I turned off the Status window and carefully began to choose books that could be used as teaching materials again.
While skimming through books that seemed difficult and heavy with clouded eyes.
<Superpowers That Illuminated the Kingdom's History>.
My eyes were immediately drawn to it.
A book recording the Superpower users of the kingdom.
In this world, there are occasionally people born with powers called Superpowers, and Ophelia was also a Superpower user by birth.
With the Superpower of 'Nurturer', anything she cares for, whether it's plants or animals, grows healthy and special.
In other words, Ophelia is the perfect guardian to nurture a hero.
Out of curiosity, I took out the book and flipped through it, and a familiar sentence caught my eye.
A crown emblem tied with a purple ribbon.
'Where have I seen this before?'
The huge tapestry decorating the wall of the study came into my view.
I alternately looked at the emblem on the tapestry and the emblem drawn in the book.
"This is the Blanche family's emblem."
Good heavens, there was someone with Superpower in the Blanche family?
I hurriedly looked through the contents.
