The butler is deep in thought.
"Let's assess the current situation."
It was nighttime, and Milady was already asleep, peacefully dreaming like a well-behaved child. After finishing my daily duties and returning to my room, I sat down at my desk to make sense of the bizarre situation I found myself in.
It appears that I've experienced something called "reincarnation" into another world. I don't fully comprehend it, but in simple terms, I, who lived in Japan in my previous life, died after being struck by a car and was reborn as Crow in the Kingdom of Farrant.
Normally, the memories of my past life should have been erased, but it seems I remembered them due to taking in Lady Maria's magical attack.
It's a rather common trope in stories for a character to regain their past life's memories due to some shock, well, what you might call a template.
In stories like these, a person's personality is usually shaped by their memories. There's no way that suddenly having a complete stranger's lifetime of memories thrust into your brain would be okay.
As expected, recalling the memories of my past life caused my previous personality to resurface, and my sense of self became severely unstable.
Thanks to Milady, I'm calmer now, but if things had continued as they were, my personality would likely have deteriorated.
Right now, my previous personality has disappeared, leaving only memories, but it hasn't left my character entirely untouched.
Especially since the fog that had clouded my mind has cleared, I feel like I've reverted more to the personality I had before being taken in by Milady. Nevertheless, my deep admiration for Milady remains, and as long as I can work as her butler, it shouldn't be a significant issue.
"Hehehe... hehehehe..."
More importantly, there's something I need to confirm now. In the web novels I used to read for fun in my past life, people who reincarnated into another world usually gained some kind of special ability, a so-called "cheat" ability. Normally, I'd scoff at it as fiction, but given that I'm living a fiction myself by being reincarnated in another world, there's a possibility it might be true.
Moreover, I have a hunch about the specific special ability.
"..."
I pick up one of the magic gems lined up on my desk and examine it.
There have been rare cases reported where individuals without magical abilities awakened them under certain circumstances.
Given my current situation, having remembered my past life after a near-death experience, I wonder if I can use magic. The symbol of absolute power I've admired since childhood might just become attainable.
I can't help but have high hopes for this.
"Imagining the flow of magical energy within my body..."
I close my eyelids and intensify my focus, recalling the basics that Milady once taught me. Since it's my first time, I decide to try using fundamental magic.
"Here we go... 『Wind Ball』!"
I opened my eyes wide and shouted the name of the magic while fixing the spell, but no magic manifested.
"No, not yet..."
Magic users only have affinity for one of the six attributes: fire, water, wind, earth, light, or darkness. It seemed I didn't have an affinity for any of them.
"Next, 『Fireball』!"
I grabbed the next magic gem and chanted the spell once again.
...........
"Well, I had a feeling halfway through..."
The result? Total failure.
After trying all the magic gems of different attributes and failing to cast any magic or even sense magical power, I couldn't help but think that whoever said you gain special abilities when you reincarnate into another world was a complete liar.
"Can't be helped..."
I tidied up the useless magic gems and shifted my thoughts to the next possibility. While I couldn't use magic, there was another type of ability often found in isekai stories aside from the overpowered ones.
This was what they called "knowledge cheat."
It's a method of gaining an advantage by using knowledge from another world that doesn't exist in this world.
"With this, I don't need any special abilities, so there shouldn't be any room for failure."
I let my pen glide across the paper as I began jotting down various knowledge cheats that came to mind.
1. Farming Cheat
...Let's face it, an average office worker like me wouldn't know a thing about farming.
Plus, I'm not important enough to meddle in something as crucial as food production. If we want to increase yields, we can simply use magic.
2. Culinary Cheat from Another World
...A guy who mostly survives on convenience store meals and eating out, can't be expected to know anything about cooking, right? Besides, in this world, they have nearly every type of cuisine from my previous life, so it's pretty pointless. Even though this world has a medieval European vibe, they have Japanese and Chinese food readily available. There's no place for me to shine.
3. Weapon Cheat with Firearms and Such
...I'm definitely not a military enthusiast, so I hardly know anything about guns. Even if I somehow manage it, just shooting bullets using gunpowder, is that stronger than magic?
.......
N-No... There has to be something I can use from my past life...
Hobbies: Drinking and visiting adult entertainment establishments.
Skills: Proficient in apologizing to superiors and business partners to resolve conflicts.
"G-Guess these won't work..."
I looked at the paper I had written on and couldn't help but grimace. This is beyond useless. I should have something more... substantial.
The fact that this was my past life is starting to make me want to die a little.
"Umm... Sir Crow?"
"Hah...!"
I was lost in my despair over my past life's uselessness when suddenly, in a room that should have been empty, a maid in uniform appeared and spoke to me.
Startled, I jerked my head up to find her standing on the other side of the desk as if she had appeared out of thin air.
"Eins, what are you doing here? I don't recall giving you permission to enter."
"I apologize. I did knock, but there was no response, so I became concerned."
I scolded her while trying to hide my inner turmoil, and Eins, the maid, bowed with an expressionless face.
I see, it's my fault for being so focused that I didn't hear the knock. It's understandable for her to worry about me, especially since I'm still recovering.
...And then, I realized something.
"...How long have you been watching?"
If she came into the room while I was concentrating, that meant she had witnessed me going through the highs and lows of seeking cheat abilities in this new world.
"Since you began arranging the magic gems, Sir Crow."
From the very beginning!
She saw me desperately practicing magic that didn't even manifest, and I'm sure she witnessed my struggles. I just want to disappear...
Or perhaps, judging by her nonchalant response, does she genuinely feel remorse for it?
"..."
I observed Eins's face intently, but her unexpressive countenance made it difficult to gauge her emotions.
"You didn't see or hear anything, understand?"
It was a failure to be seen like that, but I suppose it's fortunate that it was her, considering the circumstances. She's unlikely to blab about it. Thinking that, I forcibly convinced myself and ordered her to keep it a secret.
"I understand... Sir Crow may I?"
"What is it?"
"If you ever require magic, please do not hesitate to inform us..."
"Enough with that! Forget about it!"
It's not what she thinks. I just wanted to be able to use it, that's all. Everyone goes through a phase of yearning for that kind of power! Just leave it be!
My emotions were stirred, and I felt like crying just a little bit.
"So, what do you need?"
It took a little time to regain my mental composure, but I refocused my attention on Eins.
"I apologize, Sir Crow."
Once again, she bowed her head.
It must be a different matter from what happened earlier.
However, I couldn't quite figure out why she was apologizing, so I tilted my head in confusion.
"What's this about?"
"We failed to protect Mistress, and it exposed you to danger, Sir Crow. Please, punish us as you see fit."
"Ohh..."
I couldn't completely disregard her point.
Servants had responsibilities beyond tending to their master. In moments of crisis, they served as guardians. If, by any chance, the knights couldn't handle a threat, the servants would be the last defense for their master.
In that regard, they might feel like they failed as servants for not being able to protect Milady.
"That was unavoidable; it's not your fault."
However, given the circumstances, there was really no other option. Even I, who was the closest, barely made it in time. What could the maids, who were working in a different and far place, have done differently? Furthermore, blaming them would also entail blaming the knights who were stationed outside the academy, and that would be excessive.
In the first place, I didn't expect them to have such roles.
Their true identities are spies owned by me personally, solely for the purpose of carrying out Milady's orders, and the maids are just doing it as an extra.
Certainly, the Duke's household has similar personnel, but they are under the ownership of the Duke, who is, in essence, Milady's father.
It's not possible to use them for Milady's whims, but at the same time, I alone am vastly insufficient to carry out Milady's orders.
So, I came up with the idea of bringing orphans from the slums, give them some basic education, and train them to become spies.
Considering that in the slums, lives are plentiful but often expendable, it seemed reasonable to employ a few of them for this purpose.
To my surprise, this plan worked remarkably well.
The number of spies began to grow steadily, and now we have reached a scale where we can effectively cover the entire capital city.
Some of our spies work as maids because they are close by, making it convenient for me to give them instructions. However, the main reason is the shortage of servants available to take care of Milady.
Milady has a demanding personality, and her exclusive servants, except for me, have all quit. The remaining household staff are reluctant to attend to her.
As a last resort, I have placed a few trusted subordinates by Milady's side, serving as maids.
"But..."
Even though I mentioned it's not a problem, Eins, who usually obeys without question, is showing an unusual determination this time.
She was the first orphan I took in, and now she serves as the coordinator for our spies. That's probably why she feels particularly responsible for this incident.
However, I have no reason to entertain such sentimentality.
"You're being persistent. I've already said I won't blame you for this incident. Or do you want to defy my decision?"
"Ah! No, that wasn't my intention. I'm sorry," Eins stammered, her shoulders trembling as she bowed deeply.
I couldn't help but feel like I may have gone too far. Such incidents had never occurred before. I could understand her frustration; she took great pride in her work.
"Excuse me."
"Wait."
"What is it?"
As Eins attempted to leave, I called her back and tossed a healing potion from my wristband to her.
"Use this. How long do you plan to show Milady such an ugly burn?"
For some reason, Eins had half of her face covered in a red burn since she entered the room. Perhaps she had been splashed with scalding hot tea by Milady, but it wouldn't do for her to appear in front of Milady with such a face.
"Ah..."
"Hmm?"
"Thank you, Sir Crow!"
"Uh, sure..."
The emotionless demeanor she had just moments ago had vanished, and Eins trembled as she clutched the healing potion bottle to her chest, wearing an ecstatic smile. I could only watch in bewilderment as she left the room, treating the potion like a treasure.
"Seriously why is it..."
In the quiet room, I slumped into the chair.
All I wanted were obedient followers, so how did things turn out like this?
They're all useful in their own ways, but my subordinates have pledged their loyalty to me personally, not to Milady.
I get it; they're thankful for being rescued from that wretched slum, but the almost-worshipful admiration they have for me can be rather uncomfortable.
"*Sigh*..."
Having subordinates with such unwavering loyalty has its downsides.
With that thought in mind, I let out a deep sigh.
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