Chapter 3 Hikikomori Noble

On the Averus Continent, there are several human-ruled kingdoms, to be more precise, there are four kingdoms, including the Kingdom of Misonia, which is the biggest kingdom.

The system of the Misonia Kingdom is almost similar to the system of kingdoms in medieval Europe on Earth, which used a monarchical legal system.

Of course, the monarchy system is held by the nobles.

The highest authority in a monarchical system is the king. Only after that, the order will be according to the rank of nobility. Starting from the topmost, Duke, Marquess, Earl, Count, Viscount, and the lowest level is known as Baron.

In that noble family that had the rank of Baron, Mesties was located. More precisely, he was at the southern tip of the kingdom of Misonia, where the Warwick noble family's territory was located.

Right in the middle of Ryam city, the city that was the administrative center of Baron Warwick's entire fiefdom, there stood a magnificent mansion.

This mansion was the residence of the noble Warwick family, headed by Baron Delray Warwick.

Inside Baron Warwick's office room, the light of the morning sun had lit up the room. There was a table in the room. On the table was a stack of thick cake-like documents.

Baron Warwick, who had just finished taking care of some administrative paperwork, started to stand up from his seat. He put his hands together and began to stretch the muscles of his aged body.

Meanwhile on the other hand, outside Baron Warwick's office room, Willa was standing at the front door.

She had just run out of Mesties' room.

Cold sweat was still dripping down from her forehead. The beads of sweat from nervousness were huge. Her body was also trembling slightly.

The symptoms she felt were the result of an event that she had not expected at all. She was shocked to death by the kiss Mesties gave her.

That was why she stood at the door of Baron Warwick's office room to report what had just happened.

Then, she pushed the door hard.

Slam!

Due to Willa's violent slamming of the door out of nervousness, Baron Warwick, who was still stretching his body, was shocked to the point of looking like he was going to die.

Creak!

"Ahh!"

Baron Warwick accidentally stretched his muscles too hard. As a result, the muscles in his aged body were almost torn apart. It caused him to scream and widen his eyes like they were going to fall out.

Without noticing Baron Warwick's condition, Willa spontaneously said what she wanted to say.

"Fa-Father, you have to do something to Mesties! E-even though it... was my first time." Her last sentence slightly disappeared in the wind because it was too quiet.

"What's wrong with that useless kid? Why do you look upset and agitated?"

Baron Warwick spoke while holding his waist that was still in pain. Surprisingly, Baron Warwick's expression suddenly turned more serious.

Seeing the displeased expression on her father's old face, she began to reminisce a few things about Mesties.

Mesties, in recent years, had only locked himself in his bedroom without ever putting his feet outside his room. In Japanese terms, he might be called a hikikomori person.

According to the law of cause and effect, Mesties locked himself in his own bedroom ever since he realized that he was having difficulty feeling the flow of mana in his body.

In short, his affinity with mana is weak.

When the Mesties were young, he was just an ordinary noble child, with no notable advantages or disadvantages.

Training like any other noble child, playing like any other noble child, and interacting with family members like any other noble child.

But now, he's like an annoying pimple.

Naturally, the children of nobles who had been ten years old or less should already be proficient in Mana Control, and in some cases, there were also those who managed to create their Mana Core faster than most children.

However, even though Mesties was already 16 years old, he had not even created a Mana Core within his body.

After shutting himself in his room for years, an inferiority complex or insecurity begins to form in his personality.

Drinking alcoholic beverages until he got drunk had become a habit for him. What's more, he had also begun to distance himself from other family members.

Because of that, Willa felt Mesties' behavior today was very strange. But she could not say anything to her father.

In the midst of Willa's deep contemplation, she finally said, "... N-nothing."

Willa, who almost said that she had been kissed by Mesties, preferred to keep quiet.

There was no way she would say that to Baron Warwick, even though Baron Warwick was her own father.

If Baron Warwick knew, then she would be labeled as a useless child like Mesties. That was the importance of the first kiss in this world.

If it was a woman from a noble family, showing too much skin to men had been taboo, furthermore if it came to kissing a man other than the husband.

Such a norm was to show that women who had noble names were superior and more important than women from the common people.

After a moment of silence, Baron Warwick changed his expression to a more serious one, then he said, "Shouldn't you be here to report on what I ordered you to do earlier?"

"Ah!"

"So, did you make it?"

"...Yes."

"Did he really drink it?"

"...Yes," Willa replied weakly while nodding.

No explanation was needed for Willa to understand what Baron Warwick meant. What Baron Warwick meant by the drink was the drink Willa had given to the Mesties, which contained poison.

The poisoned drink that she had given to Mesties was actually the drink that she had received from her father. She received orders to give the poisoned drink to the Mesties.

Even though she was told that the poison was classified as harmless, she was confused because she did not understand why her father gave such a terrible order to give the poisoned drink to Mesties.

"Good job. Then, have you told him to attend the party after the maturity ceremony?" Baron Warwick said.

"Ah, I forgot about that. But, father, even if we have forced him, what if he doesn't want to attend the party later?"

"Of course, that doesn't matter. I just need a good reason to kick him out of this house." Baron Warwick said it casually.

Whether Mesties would come or not, it would make no difference.

Baron Warwick was tired of hearing other nobles raving about him.

The old nobles kept saying that he was not good at educating children. So, Baron Warwick made a resolution. If Mesties will not attend the party later, then that would be a valid reason to expel him.

Because if Mesties don't want to attend the party later, then it is the same as Mesties disrespecting him in front of the other nobles.

Baron Warwick flicked his tongue in annoyance.

Although from the outside he looked like a clumsy and stupid old man, his brain was still capable of thinking up many evil ideas.

Willa could only shudder in fear when she saw her father's terrifying expression.

She was merely the hand that Baron Warwick used to execute the plan to banish Mesties by accident.

This morning, when her father ordered Mesties' personal servant to deliver a poisoned drink to Mesties, Willa accidentally overheard.

And after that, Baron Warwick had ordered her to be the one who delivered the poisoned drink to Mesties.

Of course, she wanted to refuse at first, but she didn't dare.

"Are you surprised about what I did, Willa?"

"I didn't dare, father."

"Good. Although you resisted at first, now you seem to understand. What I did is for the good of our family."

After finishing speaking, Baron Warwick ordered Willa to leave the room.

Willa turned around, opened the door, and walked out of the room. As she walked along the corridors of the mansion, she looked pensive.

To be honest, she regretted giving poison to Mesties. She thought so deeply about what she had done.

'!!'

As she looked down, an exclamation mark appeared above her head, and she finally remembered that she had swallowed some of the poisoned drink.

She couldn't imagine what would happen to her since she had swallowed the poison-filled drink earlier. Moreover... from mount to mouth.

She put her finger on her lips. Then she shook her head vigorously.

As Willa's thoughts flew to the sky, her stomach suddenly began to churn. She grabbed her stomach and looked around.

'Is the effect of the poison already active?!'

The more she stepped, the more her insides churned.

Pooff!

And finally, a loud fart sound was heard.

Her face quickly changed to a bright red color like a tomato.

This was a very embarrassing experience for her, fortunately there were no people in the corridors of the mansion, so no one saw her.

With lightning-fast footwork, she quickly ran to the toilet with steam billowing from the top of her head.

***

I thought I had just heard something important.

"I had no idea that Baron Warwick was the one who planned it all."

In my previous life, I didn't know that. Therefore, I blamed Willa instead.

I looked up at my ceiling. Directly above my room is Baron Warwick's office room. My room is on the second floor, while Baron Warwick's office is on the third floor of the mansion.

Previously, I used mana to amplify my hearing. But I didn't expect to hear something so important.

Not that I did anything really great. This is just one of the basic mana manipulation techniques.

Even though I said basic, this isn't something anyone can do. However, for me, who had managed to survive until the epilogue in this world, it is not something difficult.

[Successfully created a simple mana circuit.]

[Simple mana manipulation works.]

[Would you like to give a name to the mana manipulation skill you did just now?]

I tilted my head slightly at the message window that appeared before my eyes.

As far as I know, messages like that never appear in my previous life. I knew that there was a system that was always monitoring me, but that system had almost never appeared in my previous life.

By the way, I call it World System.

Well, it's useless if I continue to grapple with that problem.

"Five Senses Technique - Sense of Hearing."

I mention the name that I think is appropriate.

[That skill has been given the name 'The Five Senses - Sense of Hearing'.]

And just like that?

I kept waiting for what the name meant, but nothing happened. Even though I was expecting a cheat ability, I can only feel disappointed.

Clearing my mind of unimportant matters, I got out of bed.

Apparently, in my room, there was already a standing servant. Did the servant just barge into my room without knocking on the door or something?

In fact, the servant immediately said what he needed to say.

"Young Master, I have been instructed to convey a message from Master to you. He said that you are ordered to join the family for breakfast at the dining table."

Although the words he spoke were polite words, the tone, intonation, and style he spoke made it clear that he was belittling me.

A frown formed on my forehead. I was aware that I was the scum of this family, but even a servant dared to act like this?

"Already?" I asked annoyed.

"Oh, I know you don't want to go, so I'll tell Master that you're not feeling well."

When he said goodbye and was about to leave, I immediately walked over to him and held his shoulders tightly.

"Who said you could go out?"

"What do you mean?"

He looks at me from his back. I saw his shocked face.

"I mean... Eat this!"

When I said that, I hit his face hard.

And then, he fell to the floor with his face hitting the floor first.