Leon Hemsmith .
He is the person who played the most crucial role in the victory of the protagonist, and is also most immersed in the story of Lucus.
Born into a family famous for generations of magical medicine, Leo manages to convert the venom of his brother into a strengthening agent of the core.
The recipe is rather elementary, but as I am unable to receive assistance from my family, I must make acquaintance within the school to procure the herbs.
'The main character and Lucus are the same age.'
Below I jotted down the story I recall about Leo.
When I was on the verge of completing filling a notebook, I glanced at my watch. There was still over half a day remaining until departure.
'I guess I'll begin searching for what to do next.'
By just setting the target correctly, I reached 1/3 of the target, so if it's even a little bit beneficial to me, there's a good possibility it'll pass with a generous pass.
'I wish I could raise my score a bit.'
It is not the time to boost your stamina or impression scores.
It would be better to experiment with the technical items available beforehand before leaving.
I stepped out of the room to locate the library and get used to the house layout.
Then, the whispering talks and tiny laughter abruptly ceased. The servants who had been proceeding down the corridor with their work in hand were stuck against the wall.
The rejection that Lucus felt in the novel reached me in the same manner.
'It's new because I experienced it firsthand.'
I didn't feel so bad.
You're shunning Lucus, you're not exactly shunning me.
I liked the new experience and went through the contents of the novel again.
Servants don't behave like this because they are walking on a tightrope to their father or elder brother. If it was just that, there would be no need to shun people.
And, since my brother is so skilled at acting, most people don't question his brotherly love.
The reason Lucus is shunned is due to the rumors his brother has been fabricating for many years.
My brother has been circulating rumors for many years that I am involved with the Pleroma.
Pleroma is a cult that holds the belief that they can sustain eternal life by drinking in the magical energy of others through blood.
The majority of its members are those who passed away a long time ago and reincarnated roughly 10 years ago, and they say they were selected by God to come back to life.
'If we reach here, we're just mad.'
Pleroma kills and resuscitates the living in a bid to enlarge its authority.
Most dead bodies do not get resurrected, but in extremely rare instances, there are dead bodies that return to life with their consciousness lost.
The dead bodies and pleromas revived in this manner draw the magical power of others to sustain their physical forms, and during this period, they ingest blood infused with magical power to mitigate the harm caused by drawing magical power directly. They were an abhorrent lot in several respects.
My brother has been causing all kinds of trouble, from small controversies to killings, to make people envision my normalcy.
And at last, he managed to spread the rumor without soiling his own mouth.
After the lie was uttered, the lie spread all over the country in a split second, and Hyung staged his utmost efforts to shield Lucus from the investigators of the empire and the media that had invaded the territory.
It has been nearly a decade now.
The older brother sent the younger brother to the other world by adding lies one after another for 10 years.
And while doing so, he did not forget to maintain his own good name.
With the result that he managed to fool his father, the whole country, and even Lucus himself. And the servants were no exception.
'It's better this way.'
If you're so obvious in your actions, I welcome it.
That doesn't mean I don't mind what you do, but it's much better than sticking my nose into everything.
As we made the turn and ascended the stairs, the servants reacted in the same way.
Among them was the frightened laughter that came as a shield.
The odd sense that my presence was floating away and becoming detached didn't cease.
Lucus's memories blended together, bringing back the feelings he experienced, and the servants' demeanor became more real.
Rather, different from Lucus, I didn't get impatient.
'What do you want me to do?'
Must I just vanish at this very moment?
Do you not understand that the more this occurs, the more brazenly I desire to shove my face into your face?
But now is the time to hold back my temper. Now is not the time to play with them at my whim.
After walking around the house for a bit, I began to feel drained of energy, so I entered the library on the first floor.
I walked around the library and took out books on history and magic.
Tiring!
----------------------------
Chapter 1 Special Reward
Turn your knowledge into skills! Fully become the knowledge you are gaining now. (0/1)
---------------------------------
'hmm?'
They even give you this sort of thing.
Even though I thought rationally, the circumstance itself was not one that was rational.
I rolled my head hastily.
'I'm stuck with the number 1.'
It implies that chance is once in a while.
I browsed through the books stacked on my desk.
I can't spend this chance on history books or something. I can just memorize it myself.
It is appropriate for the areas where knowledge and outcome are independent and need a lot of practice.
I stored my history books and arranged the magic books I had selected.
'An Introduction to Basic Magic.'
Obviously, this is useless too.
I can learn the basics myself.
'50 combat magic spells used in real combat.'
This one's sort of interesting.
But there are better options than that. You learn enough of that in school anyway.
I shoved all the books into a corner of the desk and approached the bookshelf where the magic books were.
'If you know this, your life will change - Real-life magic pharmacy that is easy to study.'
Even if you do know it, there is a great chance that it won't change.
'Absolutely not! A forbidden curse that should never be uttered.'
There are already whispers circulating that he is a member of some religious sect who eats human blood, so do we need to make that more official?
And since this has already been censored by the imperial censorship and landed in this mansion, we can't really hope for it to be a good curse spell. At best, it's a textbook.
'Let me consider it for a moment.'
I can simply acquire magic.
I must pick a discipline that is hard for me to become proficient in, and has a 'massive' opportunity cost in time and effort.
Then there is only one choice.
I instantly changed to a different room.
Having sifted through the books one by one like that, I finally encountered one which was somewhat helpful.
'A Study on Divine Power as Authority.'
It was imbued with special magic through divine power.
Divine power is power that has been processed into magical power, and essentially is not all that different from magical power.
But as it is a power that is 'processed magic', users of divine power can expertly deal with both divine power and magical power, but those who merely use magical power have an extremely difficult time dealing with divine power.
'First of all, priests need divine power only….'
I also need it now.
Particularly for this.
I looked at the mind manipulation magic in the table of contents.
There was a need to know how to manipulate people's minds and shut them up in case something went wrong.
This kind of magic is a tremendous strain on the physical and mental power of the caster, and there are numerous limitations, so even if you master it, you won't be able to cast it on your brother…
'I can prevent the news of my transformation from reaching my brother's ears.'
In short, it can broaden the field of action.
Most importantly, if you study divine power, you can study not only mental control but also all sorts of special magic based on divine power.
I opened the book and stuffed my head with all the information regarding divine powers.
I had to learn it by myself until I mastered it. Because I didn't get it, I just memorized it at first.
DING~!
------------------------------
Chapter 1 Special Reward
Turn your knowledge into skills! Exactly capture the knowledge you are learning now. (1/1)
The 'Divine Power' characteristic has been implemented!
-------------------------------
'Okay.'
Merely memorizing it is a success.
I took a deep breath and smiled.
* * *
I slept in the library, and when I listened to the soft ring of a bell announcing that the servants were arising, I rose from where I sat. Checking my watch, I noticed that it was nearing the time to go to school.
"master."
At that moment, the servant who had appeared the previous day entered the library to look for me.
I trailed behind the servant who was leading me on the way, daydreaming.
I know it's very far to school, but I believe it will take three or four days.
You won't likely be able to use a teleportation device, as that is something that impacts the wizard's core.
Lucus was born a wizard, but given that his brother's medicine kindly kills his very essence every week, it's safe to say he can't do anything which only a wizard can accomplish. There's a big chance that he'll ride a carriage.
As I went through many passageways and gardens and came to the very outside of the building that I was in, there indeed was a carriage waiting there.
'As expected.'
It's no longer surprising.
I nodded vaguely in the direction of the carriage and inquired.
"How many days does it take to reach the capital?"
"Oh, for me… it took a little under three days. I haven't heard anything regarding your case since I've only been here briefly."
If it's three days, then it's three days, so what about my case?
I did not expect my servant to be so strict, so I simply got into the carriage without a word.
"See you next vacation, Master. Take care of yourself."
The servant who had led me here bid farewell.
I simply nodded slightly, recalling Lucus's unstable personality.
There were probably others serving me, but other than the servant who led me here, no one was gazing at me.
If his servants had acted like this when he departed, they would have all been dismissed.
'Well, it won't be any use because everything will be different next time I arrive.'
I slammed the carriage window shut and made myself comfortable on the plush backrest.
And then, the following day, I understood why I had used 'your case'.
The carriage with the family crest traveled through the other provinces without a single check, and reached the doorstep of the capital in one day.
'It's certainly quick because it has a family name.'
I closed the book of divine powers I had taken from the library yesterday and gazed out the window.
The road in the distance was already filled with carriages. It was even more crowded since it was the beginning of the school year and a checkpoint was there.
'It's going to take some time here.'
I opened the book once more.
The instant I looked up from the last chapter, another wonderful sight transpired.
The carriages that had not yet reached the fork in the road all moved together as if they had coordinated to do so, and the road that had been complicated until just a moment before was now clear.
It was at this time that a high-pitched shriek was heard from a passing carriage.
"oh…!"
A child who was sitting by the window stared at me and closed the carriage window with a bang.
And questioning why, a rational doubt entered my mind.
'It appears like… you're shunning me?'
Now I finally get the way that's as wide as the road.
There is no need for the Askaniens, a magical clan, to employ carriages. They can simply employ warp magic.
Then who in the world would have taken a ride here?
Of course not.
"…Hahahaha!"
I laugh now that I know everything.
I wasn't laughing because I was bad, I was laughing because it was so ridiculous.
'You're going this far?'
This is a bit extreme. Regardless of what, I am not going to step down from my carriage, blow up this road, and resurrect, so do we have to do all this?
'… … .'
Considering it from this point of view, it seems there is some chance from their side.
I rapidly calmed my mind and maintained my self-control.
Anyhow, I had long understood that Lucus was an individual who was ostracized by the whole nation, but experiencing that characterization personally outside of the house was at a different scale than what I had encountered from some servants.
'I'm looking forward to it.'
What would be the fate of them if I were to pull my brother to his present location, and simultaneously lift myself above his present level?
How would my brother perceive the totally transformed situation?
I shut the window and opened the book.
'hmm.'
Now I have committed all the magic formulas described here, along with the other facts regarding divine powers.
They have no big regrets because they reached their destination ahead of time despite having nothing to do.
Tiring!
Are you getting the hang of it? Keep doing this!
'Proposal: Life is your own! Find what you have to do.' 2/3 achieved!
Just then a new notification came.
I wasn't surprised, since I had a general feeling of success the moment I got to the vault and was rewarded with the special reward.
Rather, it is interesting that this has appeared now.
'I just learned the content here and this appeared.'
Doesn't that imply that there are changes aside from the traits gained as a reward?
'Status window.'
------------------
Lucuss Rein Astian
Title: Empire's Biggest Idiot
Stamina: -5
Mental Strength: -10
Horsepower:?
Tech: +0.002 (+0.002)
Impression: -10
Luck: -9.998 (+0.002)
Trait: Dawn 777, Divine Power
--------------
The tech is minimal, but it's come up.
It was so small it was a shock.
'… Well, I expected that.'
I feel the mental strength and impression scores are very sensible, so it looks like every item is worth 10 points. but I can't give 1 point for reading a single book.
I immediately consented and opened the window.
More unexpected was that the luck stat increased. It also felt like it was able to have an interaction with other items.
"We have arrived."
The door of the carriage was opened by the coachman.
Off in the distance was a structure resembling a school to anyone who had the pleasure, and children dressed in school uniform were present outside the square.
I shouldered my pack, stepped out of the carriage, and scoured the stores.
'Now there's something to do.'
It is a bit random, but this should be able to do the final item in this 'proposal'.
I am going to have to get a haircut now.
I held up my hand and brushed my hand through my hair.
The waxed hair dropped down in clumps over her eyes and ears. It was difficult to determine how long it had been since she cut it.
Even my servants who attended to me never called me unless my father would come searching for me. I last cut it before I went to school, when I have seen my father.
'The more the servants shun me, the surer I have to be, anyway…'
Fine.
Lucus had no option but to do that, so what is there for me to do?
Anyway, I was at the library and I didn't have time so I just left, so in the end I don't have anything to say.
But if you just keep going like this, you won't be able to get any colleagues or anything, so you have to plan your appearance to look normal.
'The problem is I don't know where to get a haircut.'
I stood there and looked around.
As soon as the carriage of the family appeared in sight, those who had been occupying the square started leaving, looking, and now there were clearly fewer of them, and only three or four remained.
Among them, a school student in uniform recognized me, paused, turned round sharply, and vanished in an alleyway.
'hmm.'
As usual, it is not very bothersome.
I feel no bad whatsoever.
You're avoiding Lucus, aren't you avoiding me?
But still… I think it's a bit annoying right now. Let's just say it's okay this time.
I widened my stride and entered the alley. Then I grabbed the shoulder of someone in a school uniform.
"hey."
"Eww!"
The owner of the shoulder jumped and slowly turned his face. Judging from his reaction, it seemed like he already knew who the person who grabbed his shoulder was.
I did my best to soften my face and smiled softly.
The other individual simply opened his mouth like he couldn't believe the circumstances, and replied in a crawling tone.
"Why, why…?"
"Let me ask you something."