Chapter 4 : Chapter 4
Chapter 004
When people hear the word butler, they usually picture an elderly male servant.
I used to think the same. That was the sort of person one often saw in dramas and novels.
But the butlers here at the Adeline Marquis House were a little different.
Perhaps that was simply what all butlers in this world were like. Then again, since I had not seen the others, there was no way to know yet, so I put the thought aside for the time being.
Butlers held far more status than I had imagined.
The Head Butler in particular, the leader of all butlers, seemed to wield tremendous authority. Not long ago, I had seen him speaking with the knights, and it was not the butler who spoke respectfully—it was the knights.
Whenever Yanrof, the Head Butler, appeared, the atmosphere grew heavy. I had the feeling he might be on the same level as the Knight Commander.
And butlers had ranks as well.
At the very bottom were the Butler Apprentices.
That was the position I currently occupied.
After living as an apprentice for a time, you took a test, and if you passed, you were promoted to a full butler.
There were other positions as well, such as Senior Butler and Supervising Butler. It did not seem to be a matter of hierarchy alone; I had learned that rank also changed depending on one’s assignment.
My memories were still uncertain, so I did not know the details yet. I would need to learn more.
Butlers handled many kinds of work, but fundamentally, they oversaw all administrative affairs within the family.
What were the essential elements of human life that everyone knew?
Clothing, food, and shelter.
From what people wore, to what they ate, to where they lived, everything fell under the control of the butlers. They held authority over the maids, had the power to appoint cooks, and controlled all matters related to clothing, food, and shelter.
In other words, if a person had a good eye for talent, they could rise very quickly in this line of work.
“In that sense, my ability is extremely useful.”
A smile naturally rose to my face. With the Status Window, I could see a person’s Traits and Skills at a glance.
Taking Rohan as an example, it would be far more profitable to have him handle cleaning than to place him in the kitchen.
His Cleaning was A, after all, while his Cooking was only C.
If I used this ability on other people, work efficiency would rise dramatically. As someone who loved simulation games, I had stumbled upon a whole new kind of pleasure.
But it was still too soon.
I had not even returned to work yet, and more importantly, I was being ostracized among the Butler Apprentices.
I needed to solve that fundamental problem before making any moves.
Well, I was not especially worried.
I had already drawn up a fairly solid plan.
“Hey! Loser!”
As I continued walking, I heard someone’s voice.
It was a sticky, unpleasant voice.
Since he had not called my name and had only shouted “loser,” it might not have been directed at me—but unfortunately, I was the only one standing in the corridor ahead.
I stopped for a moment and turned around.
A young man dressed exactly like me stood there. He was one of the Butler Apprentices as well.
What an unexpected windfall.
I remembered him.
He was the man who had pushed me from the balcony.
His name was probably Beron Yogheim. Arwen had told me, so I remembered it clearly.
He approached with a nasty grin.
“Where do you think you are going?”
“I am on my way to see Lord Yanrof.”
“To see him? Fuck. Why are you talking so casually? Just because you hurt your head does not mean you can behave however you want. I will kill you.”
The vicious curses flew out of his mouth.
My expression stiffened for an instant, but I still managed to offer him a gentle smile.
“You are smiling? You crazy bastard. Have you completely lost your mind?”
“This is not really the sort of thing we should discuss here. Shall we move somewhere else for a moment?”
“Hah!”
“By the way, your name is Beron, right?”
“‘Your name is Beron, right?’ What the hell did you eat today?”
Judging by the way he looked ready to throw a punch, I must have been right.
Beron had bullied me ever since I first came here.
A little of the original Dilen’s memories remained, and Rohan had told me the rest later, so I was sure of it now.
Personally, I despised this sort of person.
Bastards who swaggered around relying on nothing but brute strength.
There had been countless men like that in South Korea too. Punks so young the ink on their ID cards had barely dried still went around shaking people down at school.
It had been a country ruled by law, but fists had always been closer than the law.
But things were different now.
An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.
If rough words came at you, then rough words ought to go back.
Since I had gained power, I had decided to use it for a worthy cause.
Surely the reason God had granted me this mysterious power was so I could deliver proper lessons to bastards like this.
And besides, I wanted to test the limits of my ability a little.
“You unlucky son of a bitch. Today is your day. I was already in a foul mood, so let us have a proper round!”
I casually cleaned out one ear with a finger.
“You talk too much. Just lead the way.”
“You little shit?”
And so Beron and I moved to a basement storeroom.
It was a place where various things were kept, and since few people ever came there, it was very quiet.
THUD!
Beron locked the door from inside.
Then he cracked his knuckles and grinned wickedly.
“If I beat you half to death, your mind will go back to normal. Clench your teeth! If you lose any, that is your problem. Once your head is straight again, you ought to be thanking me.”
“Before that, let me ask you one thing.”
“What is it, you little bastard? A loser like you thinks you have the right to ask questions?”
“Why do you bully Dilen like this?”
It was a strange question.
I had referred to Dilen in the third person, because I was not really Dilen.
But Beron seemed too dumbfounded to care about that part.
“Because it pisses me off to see a worthless nobody slither in here pretending he can become a butler. Begging on the street suits you a lot better!”
“That is all?”
“What did you say?”
“I asked if that is all. It is a pretty flimsy reason.”
Crunch.
He grabbed me by the collar.
Then he raised his right hand, ready to strike my face whenever he pleased.
He was fairly strong.
Now I was curious about this bastard’s stats.
At that moment, his Status Window appeared in my vision.
○ Beron Yogheim
Rank: ★★
Level: 14
Traits: Molestation A, Theft B, Swordsmanship C, Fist Arts C, Provocation C, Iron Wall D, ???
Status: Dumbfounded
[Not Unlocked]
[Not Unlocked]
......
I had assumed the window would not appear because we were on bad terms, but this system was surprisingly kind.
That aside, what was Molestation supposed to mean?
Surely it was exactly the thing I was thinking of...?
Apparently, the list did not contain only positive Skills.
In any case, his Skills and Traits did not suit a butler at all.
That was the sort of combination better fit for a thug in some back alley. I could not understand why someone like him had been accepted here in the first place.
I had no intention of dancing to his tune.
SMACK!
I slapped his hand away with ease.
“Well, look at you. You are fighting back?”
“Do you know why I asked you to move somewhere quiet, you pretty little flower?”
This time, I grabbed him by the collar.
I possessed a strength beyond anything I had ever known. Even if he struggled, there was no way he could escape my grip.
Beron coughed and choked, breathing raggedly.
“The answer? Because the one getting beaten is not me. It is you!”
SMACK!
This time, Beron knocked my hand away.
I could easily have overpowered him with raw strength, but I needed to test my power too, so I decided to play along for a while.
“You bastard!”
WHOOSH!
The punch he threw cut beautifully through empty air.
It lasted only a fraction of a second, but my body was faster. That was why his attack looked as clear to me as slow motion.
Next, a kick flew at me.
I moved my feet and lightly stepped back out of range.
Enraged, he snatched up a chair and hurled it at me.
That was not how I had expected this to go.
CRACK!
Without thinking, I raised my left arm and blocked the chair.
It shattered into pieces, as though it had been smashed against the floor.
That was because I had not merely blocked it.
I had blocked it by using the mysterious power flowing through my heart.
This was more useful than I had expected.
Your Majesty! There stands a Swordmaster ready for service!
An endless number of applications sprang to mind.
But now was not the time for that.
It was time to teach the punk in front of me a proper lesson.
I rushed him while he was still stunned and seized him by the collar.
“Ghk!”
SLAP!
I struck him lightly across the cheek.
Blood flew, and his face whipped violently to the side. More than the pain, he seemed shocked by the sheer impossibility of the situation.
And no wonder.
When the boy who used to be everyone’s errand runner suddenly grabs the school bully by the collar and slaps him across the face, anyone who sees it would freeze up—including the man getting hit.
“Y-you have really lost your mind. Do you have any idea what happens if you do this...? Ugh!”
SLAP!
His voice trembled violently.
That was proof my plan was working perfectly.
I slapped him again. This time, I hit him harder with the back of my hand.
“It is no fun if you just stand there and take it. Start counting for me. I am only going to hit you thirty times. All right?”
“Hey! Wait! Just wait!”
“Why should I?”
SLAP!
I struck him mercilessly until he gave in.
In the end, tears streaming down his face, he had no choice but to count the blows as he received them.
“Sixteen....”
“That was too quiet.”
“Sixteen!”
SLAP!
“Seventeen...!”
SMACK!
“Eighteen!”
“Hold it. Did you just swear at me?”
“N-no! It is a misunderstanding! I was counting! Seventeen, then eighteen!”
“You cute little bastard.”
SLAP!
I hit him across the face again with all my strength.
I had no intention of going easy on him.
Men who strutted about relying on strength alone had to be subdued by strength, or there would only be trouble later.
Once I had completed the full thirty, I released his collar.
That felt incredible.
“Ughhh....”
He collapsed to the floor, crying and sniffling.
Both lips had split open, and dark handprints covered his swollen cheeks. He probably would not even be able to lift his face in public.
He was weaker than I had expected.
Or perhaps my own ability was simply that good.
Subduing one grown man had been effortless.
I dusted the blood from my hands and said,
“I will not bother telling the Head Butler what you did to me the other day. But from now on, keep your head down. I do not want any more trouble.”
“Sob....”
“Do you understand what I mean?”
Leaving the bastard, who reluctantly nodded, behind me, I walked out of the storeroom.
Just before I left, something occurred to me, so I turned back.
Then I grabbed him by the collar once more and brought up his Status Window.
Status: Abyssal Vengefulness
Just as I thought.
Letting out a sigh, I flung him aside and stepped back outside.
***
Yanrof happened to be in his office.
I gave a light knock and entered.
“You are certainly the one from that time....”
He seemed to recognize me.
To be fair, the mansion employed more than a hundred butlers in total if one included the Butler Apprentices, so failing to remember a face was common. Even so, since he had seen me not long ago, he seemed to recall me.
“I am Dilen. I came because I have something I wish to say.”
“Sit.”
Graciously enough, Yanrof offered me a seat first.
I had heard it from Rohan, but apparently Yanrof carried out many unseen duties in the Adeline Marquis House. Rohan himself had not known exactly what they were.
In any case, it meant Yanrof possessed even more power than he appeared to.
“Thanks to your concern, I have recovered completely. I am in a condition to return to work.”
“You mean to say that you wish to continue the apprenticeship?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Hmm.”
Yanrof fell silent in thought for a moment.
Instinctively, I had the feeling that something unpleasant was about to be said. If he had intended to accept my request, there would have been no need for such hesitation.
I waited patiently.
“Regrettably, we have decided not to continue your apprenticeship any further.”
Just as I had expected.
I had sensed as much when I was beating Beron earlier. Beron was only a puppet, and I had a strong feeling there was someone behind him.
I did not know exactly who it was.
But it had to be someone with enough influence to sway Yanrof.
Keeping my expression calm, I asked,
“Forgive me, but may I ask the reason?”
“I would rather not wound you needlessly.”
“I can bear it.”
“If that is the case, then it cannot be helped. Your midterm evaluation was poor, and since your injury created a gap in your duties, there were opinions that we should simply fail you as you are.”