The Astrea Household
"Understood. Then I'll leave it to you, Winston."
"Yes."
The old butler bowed respectfully, and Reinhild, who entrusted Subaru to the butler, hurriedly left the dining room.
As the footsteps faded away, the old butler straightened his posture and looked at Subaru.
"Well then, Subaru, let me introduce myself again. I am Winston, the head steward of the Astrea mansion. First, let me show you around the estate."
"The main mansion has aerial corridors connecting to five annexes.
We came from the corridor at the upper right corner, where the guest rooms are.
Now, we are heading to the annex at the upper left corner.
Here, there are the warehouse, dining hall, kitchen, training ground, infirmary, and library..."
The upper right corner is a huge three-story mansion.
According to the old man, many of these buildings were gradually prepared by Reinhild.
In the warehouse, Subaru picked up three sets of clothes in his size.
He saw a noisy dining hall reminiscent of a high school, a medium-sized training ground filled with various weapons resembling a gladiator arena, and a huge bathhouse like a public bath.
"That over there is the main residence, Mr. Subaru. That is the only mansion you are not allowed to enter freely. I hope you will remember that... Now, let's continue."
The old man walked straight toward the south, but for a moment, Subaru felt a bone-chilling coldness.
That gentle old man was definitely a monster no less than the Bowel hunter. Patting his trembling leg, Subaru hurried after the old man.
They went down the stairs and entered a normal corridor on the ground floor. From here, well-maintained courtyards could be seen on both sides.
"Up ahead is the guard squad's quarters. Usually, the night watch is their responsibility. Each annex has corridors leading to both sides and to the main mansion."
"But here, I can't see that long aerial corridor at all."
"Mr. Subaru, can you see the pillars on both sides of the path leading to the main mansion?"
"You mean those lamp-like things?"
"You could say that. On those pillars, there are magical circles called Opportunity Gates, engraved by Lord Bernie, the Yin Magician of the mansion. By activating the magic stones above the pillars, these circles create aerial corridors that don't naturally exist."
"Isn't it more appropriate to call them spatial gates? And is it okay to tell me something this important?"
"Lady Erine also had this doubt. According to Lord Bernie's explanation, the Opportunity Gate was not his invention but rather a reconstruction based on the diary of Tosca, the younger brother of the first Sword Saint, written 400 years ago.
It is said the original inventor was a blonde, Yin-affinity genius who once hunted down the silver dragon pack with the Sword Saint's younger brother.
She named this magic Opportunity Gate.
But according to the diary... after hunting the dragon pack 130 years ago, the two met again, and that genius had not grown further, so it might just be a story.
Before inventing the Opportunity Gate, that book had always been kept in the library we just passed."
"The aerial corridors were originally prepared to avoid danger. So, actually, everyone in the mansion knows about the aerial corridors.
Our duties also include regularly inspecting the condition of the magic stones.
Of course, because these magic stones are expensive, servants are generally not allowed to use them at will."
"This is where we servants live.
Male servants live on the first floor, female servants on the second.
The working hours are from 6 AM to 9 PM, but you only need to work 8 hours per day.
You can adjust your schedule with the person in charge.
There is one day off per week, and you must notify the person in charge three days in advance to use your day off.
For now, please tidy up your room before the afternoon."
The room farthest from the door became Subaru's personal bedroom starting today.
The room was not large and its style was much simpler than the guest room where he had been recovering, but Subaru was very satisfied.
There was a large bed close to a double bed size against the wall, a huge wardrobe, and a simple desk.
Sunlight streamed in through the window; if he closed the curtains, the room would be pitch black, but the desk lamp and ceiling light were both good.
"Rooms decorated with lots of money just make people feel suffocated; I prefer this kind."
Subaru said this as he flopped onto the bed.
"So this means I've moved into Rein's household. The next step is to slowly raise my status in the mansion to become someone who can stay by Rein's side. Finally..."
Subaru buried his face in the pillow, which felt and smelled much better than the one at his own home.
After a while, calming down, Subaru changed into the servant's uniform he had picked up earlier.
A white shirt paired with a black jacket and pants perfectly matched his image of a butler's outfit, and the size fit just right.
He put the remaining clothes in the wardrobe and energetically began his first day as a servant.
The servant corridor's clock changed from blue to yellow (from 0 to 6 it is the green Wind Phase, the next six hours are the red Fire Phase, followed by the blue Water Phase and the yellow Earth Phase).
Subaru returned to his room and collapsed on his bed.
"Ah— I'm totally just getting in the way, aren't I? Should I say it's because it's the Reinhild family? I'm so taken care of that my soul feels ashamed to death."
Looking back over the day's work, Subaru honestly expressed his feelings.
Although his clumsiness was a big blow to himself, what hurt him more was how kindly everyone helped him clean up the mess every time he made mistakes.
After cutting his finger while handling vegetables, he was taken to the infirmary.
When he returned, his vegetable basket contained only the easiest to peel potatoes and the easiest chopped scallions.
Even so, when he went to the kitchen to get water, he saw his chopped scallions being reprocessed...
There were also mistakes like sending the wrong items due to illiteracy, clothes not washed clean by hand, accidentally cutting down a tree...
"If this continues, my evaluation with Rein will definitely drop. Being helped all the time isn't my style. In short, I'll gradually overcome one thing at a time."
Suddenly awakened by a knock on the door, Subaru looked up and heard a voice from behind the door.
"I'm Winston. Subaru, are you free now?"
"Ah, yes, yes, I'm free."
"Sorry to bother you.
Subaru, you are from another country, right? Here are some illustrated beginner reading books for young children in our country.
They contain some work tips.
Don't worry; they're all in picture form, so even if you can't read, it should be fine.
I hope you keep a positive spirit.
Don't worry, many newcomers started just like you.
They too grew to where they are now with the help of many predecessors.
These books are the crystallization of the wisdom of your predecessors."