After breakfast came my usual routine.

The morning was devoted to lessons.

Reading and writing.

Etiquette.

The history of the kingdom.

The fundamentals of managing a territory.

Even though the lessons were meant for children, there was a great deal that the child of a noble family was expected to learn.

I didn’t dislike studying.

If anything, I enjoyed the feeling of gradually making sense of things I didn’t understand.

The only exception was books about magic.

No matter how many I read, they always left me unsatisfied.

Magic is the power possessed by all people.

Magic supports the body and serves as the foundation for spellcasting.

A person’s control over magic can improve through training.

Those with little magic should avoid overexerting themselves.

Every book said more or less the same thing.

I was sure they weren’t wrong.

But none of them answered the questions I actually wanted to know.

Why didn’t my body respond?

Why could everyone else use magic as naturally as breathing?

What did it actually feel like to move your body with the aid of magic?

Neither children’s books nor the introductory texts in the mansion contained those answers.

I closed the book and let out a quiet sigh.

If magic wasn’t an option…

Then I would have to focus on something else.

That wasn’t running away from reality.

If anything, it was the most practical conclusion I could reach.

When afternoon came, I headed for the garden.

Tucked away in one corner of it were the tools Nico had helped me make.

A ladder-like training tool made by tying ropes at equal intervals and fastening them between branches.

If I remembered correctly, in my previous life it had been called an agility ladder.

There was also a short rope that I used as a jump rope.

To anyone else, they would look like nothing more than children’s toys.

But to me, this was a small training ground.

With the agility ladder, I practiced placing my feet exactly where I intended while improving the way I started and stopped my movements.

With the jump rope, I focused less on jumping high and more on maintaining my balance when I landed.

I didn’t remember every detail of the theory behind these exercises.

But I did remember one thing.

Training like this helped you move your body exactly the way you wanted.

I still didn’t understand how magic assisted the body.

So until I did, the only choice was to begin with what I understood—how to control my own body.

Lost in those thoughts, I walked along the path leading to the garden.

Which was why I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going.

“Whoa.”

Thud.

I lightly bumped into something.

No…

Someone.

I quickly stepped back.

“I-I’m sorry.”

Standing before me was an elderly man I had never seen before.

He was thin.

His back was slightly bent.

Yet he didn’t give the impression of being frail.

He favored one leg ever so slightly, and his clothing hardly resembled that of a noble guest.

Even so…

His eyes alone were unusually sharp.

He didn’t look like one of the mansion’s servants.

Nor one of Father’s retainers.

His gaze belonged to someone who had experienced the wind, the dirt, and dangers far beyond this estate.

“…Boy.”

The old man looked down at me.

His voice was low and slightly hoarse.

“Are you hurt?”

“No.”

“I’m fine.”

“I wasn’t watching where I was going.”

“I’m sorry.”

I lowered my head in apology.

The old man looked as though he were about to say something.

But I didn’t linger.

It wouldn’t be appropriate to stand chatting with a stranger after bumping into him.

Especially if he happened to be one of Father’s guests.

“Please excuse me.”

I bowed once more before walking toward the corner of the garden.

I could feel his gaze on my back.

Part of me wanted to turn around.

But I had a feeling that doing so would only make things more awkward.

So I kept walking.

A little while later, I heard a servant’s voice behind me.

“Lord Erwin, thank you for waiting.”

“The master is ready to receive you.”

Erwin.

The name sounded strangely familiar.

I was fairly certain it was the name of the old man the servants had been gossiping about.

A retired adventurer with extensive knowledge of monsters, dungeons, and ancient magic.

Apparently he was an acquaintance of Father.

But judging from the way the servants spoke about him, he seemed less like an ordinary guest and more like an eccentric whom no one quite knew how to handle.

Could that have been him?

I almost stopped walking.

Then I thought better of it.

It wasn’t as though I could go back and ask, “Are you the eccentric old man everyone’s been talking about?”

That would have been far too rude.

When I reached the corner of the garden, I pretended to check the position of the ropes and quietly let out a breath.

He was a strange person.

Not frightening…

Just someone who made me feel as though he could see right through me.

Of course, there was no way for me to know it then.

Even after I had returned to the garden, the old man—Erwin—was still watching me.

Nor did I know about the question he asked the servant guiding him.

“…Who was that boy?”

Erwin’s low voice echoed quietly.

The servant answered with a hint of hesitation.

“That was Young Master Yukiya.”

“He is the fourth son of our lord.”

“The fourth son…”

Erwin turned his eyes toward the garden.

“…That boy’s magic feels…”

He stopped mid-sentence.

As though even he couldn’t make sense of the words he was about to say.

The servant hesitated before speaking.

“Yes…”

“He is, well…”

“Someone who has difficulty using magic.”

“So he’s lacking in magic?”

“…There are those in the mansion who see him that way.”

Erwin fell silent.

In the corner of the garden, I gently placed my foot into the first square of the agility ladder.

Right foot.

Left foot.

Slowly…

Carefully confirming each step.

“So…”

“Lacking in magic, huh.”

There wasn’t agreement in his voice.

Only the faintest trace of doubt.

“…What a strange boy.”

I never heard those words.

And yet…

For some reason, the back of my neck tingled ever so slightly.

It should have been an ordinary, peaceful day.

The morning had been noisy.

My siblings had behaved exactly as they always did.

Breakfast had left me wanting.

And the afternoon had been reserved for my usual training in the garden.

But on that day…

At the edge of my quiet daily life, an eccentric old man became entangled with it.

And perhaps…

I had become lodged in that old man’s thoughts as well.