There was no unfortunate misunderstanding with Simon, and when I knocked on the shabby door that looked as if it would fall over with a light tap, it reacted immediately and welcomed me.
Then, Simon first said,
“Hey, why is your left eye red?”
He was surprised by the change in my appearance that I had almost forgotten myself.
Putting off the explanation about Mia’s blessing for the time being, we first celebrated our reunion after a long time.
“I’m sorry for not coming to see you sooner.”
After a brief greeting, Simon offered that apology, but,
“No, you had your own circumstances too, right? Don’t worry about it.”
I responded smoothly, but internally I couldn’t hide my surprise at Simon’s appearance.
Because, Simon, who should have been a girl, was wearing a boy’s uniform.
Since coming to Spada, I had seen a lot of people in the school’s black blazer type uniforms, and I had assumed that Simon would show up in a girl’s student look with that red tie and checkered pleated skirt until the moment the door opened.
So why was Simon wearing a boy’s uniform with that tie and slacks?
Could it be that Simon was actually a boy?
Indeed, this uniform looked somewhat fitting, and seeing it like this, I thought he looked like an androgynous beautiful boy around middle school age.
When I first saw him, I couldn’t immediately tell if he was male or female either.
Wait, I remembered, Simon is a student and also an adventurer, so it wouldn’t be impossible for a girl to disguise her gender as a boy.
Because of magic and martial arts, the combat abilities of men and women can be said to be almost equal, but I have heard that some adventurers disguise their gender because being seen as a boy makes them less underestimated.
And it’s considered good manners among adventurers not to pursue those who appear to be disguising their gender, just as they don’t pry into each other’s pasts.
Alright, I understand now, Simon, if you’re going so far as to wear a boy’s uniform to disguise your gender, I will accept that.
So, concluding the Simon cross-dressing issue with myself, I began to focus and speak.
“You really look like a student here. Is it a good time now?”
It’s morning; it’s about that time where lunch break will start in around two hours. From a high school student’s perspective, it would be right in the middle of classes.
“It’s fine. I’ve still got various preparations, so I won’t be attending classes until a couple of days later.”
Then I’m relieved; we can take our time talking without being pressed for time.
Upon entering the room where Simon was staying, I settled into a chair, and Simon sat on the bed like before.
This room wasn’t overflowing with items like that cluttered laboratory; it only contained a desk and a chair, a bed, and a closet—just the bare necessities, surely more items will be added over time.
The room at the Arz Village Adventurer Guild that Simon had used had quickly become filled with stuff as well.
“For now, shall we start with updating each other on our recent happenings?”
When Simon nodded in agreement, I began to speak.
It’s a common story, but Spada has influential nobles with great power.
Here, they are particularly referred to as the Four Great Nobles.
One of them is the Baldier Family.
Their origin dates back over three thousand years to ancient times, originating from the first and strongest knight, Freesia Baldier, who served the ancient Demon King Mia Elroad.
No, nowadays it would be more appropriate to refer to them as one of the “Dark Gods” of the Pandora Continent.
There are a considerable number of people blessed by the “Dark Knight Freesia” even within Spada alone, making him quite a major deity.
Having such a great knight as an ancestor is how the Baldier Family became one of the four great noble families of Spada.
However, whether they are a direct descendant or if there is even a trace of Baldier blood is unproven, as there was a ‘dark age’ between the ancient times and the present.
At the very least, it was claimed that the direct ancestors who founded the Baldier Family were of the legitimate bloodline of Freesia Baldier.
Thinking about this self-proclamation being made about events over 300 years ago adds a strangely heavy weight of history, further enhancing the Baldier Family’s prestige in the present.
And it was Simon who was adopted into this Baldier Family.
Thus, Simon’s full name has turned into the grand “Simon Friedrich Baldier,” complete with a middle name.
“Is that so…”
After finishing my update, I eagerly inquired about Simon’s family circumstances, knowing that Simon had a sister who was a general in Spada.
And what returned to me was this explanation.
However, for me, who had been in this world for less than a year, hearing about nobility didn’t resonate much regardless of how impressive it might be.
It’s only natural that I could only manage a simple acknowledgment of “Oh, I see.”
“So, why was such a great noble adventuring in a place like Arz Village?”
That said, I could understand that nobility is quite a big deal compared to modern knowledge.
There’s no way they should be living a life getting muddy and going on herb collection quests.
“Well, um, it’s a long story to explain…”
“No, if it’s something difficult to say, you don’t have to—”
It’s adventurer etiquette; however, Simon shook his head and continued.
“No, I actually want you to hear it.”
How nice of him to say that, it feels like he somewhat trusts me.
Since he said that, no matter what the circumstances may be, I would listen closely and be there for him; perhaps it would also reveal the reason why Simon is cross-dressing.
“When I was a child, I wanted to become a knight serving Spada.”
This was around ten years ago when Simon was adopted by the Baldier Family, he said.
“The Baldier Family has produced many excellent knights and is quite reputable. Also, my sister Ria—uh, her name is Emelia, she’s the captain of the squad that came to pick me up.”
When I affirmatively respond to his question about remembering her, I recall that heavy cavalry knight in full black armor who was bigger than me; there was no way I could forget that presence and intimidation after just one look.
I see, her name was Emelia.
“That person is a bit special among elves, and even back when I first became an adopted child, she was already incredibly strong.”
At the time, Emelia was twelve years old, which is the minimum age to enter the Royal Spada Academy; to give a more relatable example to a Japanese like me, it would be like a sixth grader in elementary school.
From that time onwards, she could effortlessly exterminate a group of rank 1 monsters with her bare hands, and if properly armed, she could single-handedly defeat rank 3 huge monsters.
Indeed, that’s a terrifying elementary school student.
“So naturally, I admired strong knights even more, but—”
Simon slightly lowered his face and continued speaking.
“I didn’t have the talent; in fact, I didn’t even have the same level of ability as an elf.”
Elves are famous for excelling in magical power among various races.
Therefore, their combat abilities greatly rely on magic, and even when using martial skills, they are better at attributing elemental properties with raw magical power than physical enhancement.
“It would have been fine if I only lacked magical power, but I didn’t grow into a big body like you, no matter how much I trained, I couldn’t gain any muscle strength at all.”
Unlike dwarves or beastmen, whose muscles grow easily, elves particularly struggle with gaining physical muscle.
There are people even among humans who look much younger than their age; take my father as an example, but it’s said elves have that tendency even more prominently.
I heard this for the first time; Simon’s real age is sixteen, just one year younger than me.
However, her appearance is similar to that of Girl Lily, almost looking like a middle school student.
“Even so, I worked hard at both magic and martial arts.”
“Is that why you know a lot about magical formulas?”
Simon nods.
Alchemy completely excludes magic from its study; if Simon had only focused on that since childhood, he wouldn’t have been able to create weapons like that ‘machine gun’ with magical technology incorporated.
“I still remember quite a few spells, incantations, and magic circles, and I can even read some ancient characters.”
However, no matter how correctly I assemble, write, or chant the formations, because I lack magical power, I can’t trigger anything.
Having enough magical power to cast spells is a minority, as the distribution varies among races, but they are certainly not numerous.
Even among magic-focused elves, it would likely hover around half the population.
It’s not a problem for regular people to live without magic, but for someone aiming to become a knight whose profession revolves around fighting, that is exceptionally fatal.
Especially when lacking swordsmanship that could supplement magic and martial arts.
“After over five years since coming to the Baldier Family, I finally realized that I couldn’t become a magnificent knight worthy of this family.”
It was around that time he began to learn alchemy.
“I’m an adopted child with three elder brothers and one elder sister; therefore, I think I’m lucky to have a carefree position where I’m not demanded to be the heir.”
If that was the reason Simon was adopted, continuing the knightly line of the prestigious Baldier Family would have been impossible.
“But at the very least, I wanted to become independent enough to repay the favor of being raised, so I left home as soon as I enrolled in the Academy.”
I see, that’s how it got to the present.
Wait, while I’ve gained the answer about being a student, the reason for being an adventurer is still not explained.
“Oh, um, it’s a bit embarrassing, but I thought I would pay for my tuition myself, but I didn’t earn enough, and I got too engrossed in researching alchemy to earn credits… Haha, that really is embarrassing!”
It’s more embarrassing that I was staring directly at Simon’s ears, which turned red at their tips.
While maintaining an air of composure, I gathered Simon’s narrative and discerned that due to being unable to pay tuition and focusing too much on alchemy research, he submitted a leave of absence.
Once free, Simon became an adventurer, seeing it as a convenient job where he could both earn tuition and conduct research.
Additionally, he discussed this decision with Simon’s father, the current head of the Baldier Family, and obtained his agreement.
However,
“My sister Ria is, how should I put it, she’s much more stubborn and strict than our father.”
So she was strict from the start, but after Simon gave up on becoming a knight, she became even more demanding, always telling him to give up on alchemy.
Even going so far as to begrudgingly agree for him to enroll in the Magic Engineering Course instead of the Executive Course at the Academy; saying he had submitted a leave of absence would have…
He decided to quietly pursue adventuring in Daedalus, where his sister wouldn’t notice, Simon half-anger, half-fear confessed his situation.
“I see, it seems there were various challenges and complicated circumstances.”
This was about all I could say.
Having family issues is unfortunate, but it’s not something others should lightly point out.
Just as well, it seems Simon is getting along fine with their father, so it’s a relief that the Baldier Family is genuinely a home for Simon.
However, to hear that he has such discord with his sister…
It makes me sincerely sympathize with Simon, who didn’t have an understanding elder sister unlike Kuroha Mana, who took care of me since childhood.
“If it weren’t for ‘that incident,’ I could still be leisurely doing alchemy research in the shed in Arz.”
“That incident, huh…”
“Oh, sorry, that topic is—”
Suddenly realizing what he said, Simon hurriedly covered his mouth, and it seems I unintentionally made him uncomfortable.
“No, it’s fine. To say I’m not concerned would be a lie, but I’ve already come to terms with it. You don’t need to worry about it.”
“I see…”
Come to think of it, I still haven’t shared what happened after meeting the surviving villagers or the situation regarding the blessing.
It seems I have troubled him with my worries, so now I shall talk in detail about my circumstances and feelings.
Since Simon shared content that would be difficult to discuss with a complete stranger.