Sevens

Volume 1, Chapter 8 – The Completely Continued Family Precepts

Translated by: Reiji

The Walt House Family Precepts for taking a wife.

There were six of them in total. It seemed that one more precept was added in the Fifth’s era, but fundamentally, even filling the five requirements from the First was really hard. After all, the requirements that were sought from the Walt House’s bride were extremely strict.

First, a woman must have an excellent body.

Second, she must be healthy.

Third, she must be robust.

Fourth, she must be smart.

Fifth, she has beautiful skin.

And then the sixth, in the era of the Fifth, the house had reached the rank of Baron, so a necessity to seek ability in regards to magic appeared. Because of that──

Sixth, she must excel in regards to magic.

These six requirements are the family precepts of the Walt House for taking a wife. Women who didn’t fulfill these requirements wouldn’t be allowed, those were the important family precepts of the Walt House that the First decided. He did that, but…

By the way, you mustn’t mention that the second and third precepts are similar. It seemed that even the Walt House was troubled by it at first, but they settled on the second precept meaning to not be sickly, and for the third precept meaning excellent physical ability.

Such family precepts were created and it became a source of trouble throughout the generations, but……apparently the First didn’t remember ever saying such a thing. It seemed that it began from some kind of misunderstanding , but my impression after hearing that was──

「Is the Walt House alright?」

──Like that.

Dalien’s adventurer guild.

We were guided to one of the rooms on its third floor and greeted the woman who was chosen to be our instructor. She had curly short purple hair and a comfortable appearance. Seeing that she wasn’t wearing any adventurer-like equipment, all it seemed that she’s doing today is an introduction. In addition to hear tanned skin, several scars could be seen on parts of her body that were exposed.

Hawkins-san introduced her to us.

「She is a veteran adventurer in Dalien. She has worked as an adventurer for more than ten years,, and the guild sometimes specifically requests for her to do work. Her strength is guaranteed.」

The woman in front of us two spoke.

「I’m Zelphy. Even so, there really are two rookies intending to hire an exclusive instructor, huh?」

Zelphy-san looked at the two of us and judged that we were rookies. But, perhaps it couldn’t be helped with our appearance. After all, we still hadn’t even purchased proper equipment.

「……Is that young lady there a magic specialist? And, this young man here is a vanguard type? The balance of the two seems fine though……you two are quite trained, where did you learn fighting from?」

Hawkins-san coughed at Zelphy-san who was probing into us.

「Zelphy-san, it’s frowned upon for an adventurer to question another party’s background.」

Zelphy-san seemed to be unable to go against Hawkins-san.

「Don’t be so angry like that, boss. It’s for grasping the real strength of the two that I’m going to instruct. Now then, I’ll do my work but…first, let’s decide on whether or not I’ll accept this request.」

Did the instructor have the rights to choose whether to accept the request or not? When I tilted my head in puzzlement thinking about that, Zelphy-san spoke.

「If you’re thinking that adventurers will always do work if they receive money, you should change that. Accepting a request that you’re able to accomplish is the basics of an adventurer. Not getting involved if you think it’s impossible will be for both your own sake, and the guild’s.」

What you could and couldn’t do──it was important to firmly grasp that. The Second spoke from inside the Jewel.

『That’s important. It’s something basic, but it’s essential. I think it won’t be bad if you’re instructed by this adventurer.』

Zelphy-san gave conditions to me and Novem.

「First, don’t complain about my policy. Second, don’t be particular when choosing a request. Third──」

From the instructor’s side, it would be impossible to give instructions if the student wouldn’t obey the instructor’s policy and was picky when choosing a request.

「──Third, you have to find one more comrade at the very least. Originally, at the stage when you receive an exclusive instructor it’s normal to have quite a number of comrades already. But there are only two of you. If you are going to continue being adventurers, it’s important to have comrades. You absolutely have to look for some.」

Hawkins-san also straightened up his back while agreeing with Zelphy-san’s opinion.

「Certainly, the survival rate will increase if there are three of you. Besides, there are a lot of cases where it will be preferable if there are more than three people when asking someone to do a request.」

I didn’t think about having comrades. Certainly that might be necessary. The Sixth gave me advice.

『It’s a simple case of strength in numbers. If you are going to continue as an adventurer, sooner or later you will have no choice but to increase your numbers. Lyle, it won’t be bad to follow what they are saying. Rather, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to use this chance to ask for an opinion from Zelphy about gathering comrades.』

Gathering comrades while listening to Zelphy-san’s opinion. Certainly that way would result in fewer mistakes compared to thinking about it with only me and Novem. We were mostly clueless in regards to being adventurers. Opinion from a veteran was desirable in order to avoid failure too. When I looked at Novem, she accepted my gaze and nodded. It seemed Novem was also feeling the same.

「Understood. We will obey Zelphy-san’s policy and won’t be picky in accepting requests. But, we wish to receive advice in regard to gathering comrades too.」

Hawkins-san nodded hearing my words. Zelphy-san was making a bit of a surprised face.

「I thought you were a spoiled noble from somewhere, but you’re real obedient, aren’t you. Well, I’m going to speak out in regards to your recruitment whether you like it or not. Now then, if you accept my conditions there’s no reason for me to refuse. Boss Hawkins, I’ll accept this request.」

Hawkins-san nodded and handed a sealed envelope to Zelphy-san. It seemed there was paperwork inside. A pen and ink were placed on a nearby table. Using that, Zelphy-san signed the paperwork.

Zelphy-san handed the paperwork to Hawkins-san and looked our way.

「Now then, I’ll teach you two the important matters first. Because of that, today will be classroom learning. Boss, let me use this room──」

「I understand. Please call me when you are finished. Well then, I’ll go take care of the procedure.」

Hawkins-san went out of the room with a smile. At the end, he turned towards us and said 「Please do your best」. After seeing off Hawkins-san, Novem and I sat down at the table, facing Zelphy-san who was seated at the other side inside the small conference room.

「I said it just now but, I’ll teach you two the basics today. Things like our schedule from here on, I intend to teach them to you here.」

Then Novem confirmed something with Zelphy-san.

「Can I ask something first before that?」

「What is it?」

「We were told that beginners like us hiring exclusive instructors almost never happened. But, are there no young people of nobility making this kind of request?」

Setting aside someone like me who was driven out, if we’re generally talking about the young people belonging to nobility, it surely would be possible for them to save money and hire an exclusive instructor. It couldn’t be said that there wouldn’t be anyone having such a hobby. Or, they might be preparing to become an adventurer for the sake of leaving the house. Zelphy-san laughed slightly.

「This is a city that is convenient for beginners. Certainly, perhaps there are those kinds of guys, but people with that kind of money will go to a bigger guild. Although, around this area it’s only Dalien that has a program that dispatched an instructor like this. Other places don’t do something like this, so you can consider it something unique to Dalien.」

The Third’s voice came from inside the Jewel.

『Conversely speaking, this is also a city that is inconvenient for anyone other than beginners. I see now. Those with money will go to a bigger town or city to become adventurers. Even so, this instructor is a bit curious.』

I didn’t know what the Third was getting curious of. And then, Zelphy-san told us the story of adventurers in general.

「Normally you will gather comrades, then five or six people will pay the fee, three or four gold coins each and hire an exclusive instructor. There are also those who joined veteran parties and asked them for training. Well, people like you two are the rare one.」

After that Zelphy-san taught us the basics about adventurers──or rather about humans. It was regarding the manners that were written in the booklet. Keeping to the appointed time. Accomplishing the work that was requested properly. Not pointing weapons at citizens carelessly. And then, the talk moved to the guidance plan from here on.

「Fundamentally, around the first month I’ll have you two accept odd job requests in Dalien. Jobs like construction work or the like, there are many sundry requests. They are just right for you to learn about the basics of requests. Originally beginners would live off from that kind of request while preparing their equipment before going outside, but……you two don’t look like you need it.」

Certainly, in regards to equipment Novem possessed a magic tool that was heirloom of her house. I’m unarmed, but I could fight using magic if I want.

「In the second month we will go out of the city and I’ll have you two defeat monsters. For the third month, there is a sufficiently severe place around this area. I’ll have you two fight there. Until then I want you to add at least one more comrade. But, you two……do you plan to leave Dalien in the future?」

I honestly nodded.

「We have plans to leave in the future.」

Zelphy-san nodded in response and asked.

「Then, you better search for someone who also plans to leave Dalien in the future. There are also those who will continue being adventurers in their birthplace, so it will be troublesome if your party breaks up when it’s time for you to leave here.」

Novem had a question after hearing Zelphy-san’s opinion.

「Excuse me, I can understand increasing the number of people. Besides, searching for adventurers who will also leave Dalien like us is also understandable……but, is quality not a factor in choosing comrades?」

In response, Zelphy-san started talking about her pet theory.

「Something like quality will change depending on the area you’re stressed on. Besides, even if they are strong, if they have a troubling personality, what are you going to do? Being careless with time, slacking off on doing requests. No cooperative spirit, unsociable…but strong when fighting. Someone like that, compared to someone of the opposite nature, which type would you two want to choose as a comrade?」

In my thinking, I would obviously choose the latter if I had to choose between the two. However, Novem’s thinking was different.

「I’ll have to refuse both of them. They’re too polarized.」

Zelphy-san smiled. Was that kind of answer allowed?

「That’s really close to the correct answer. That’s right, both of them are problematic. But, depending on the party there are also times when your fighting strength is in order and you want someone diligent. There are also times when you’re lacking in fighting strength and you have to shut your eyes to someone’s problematic personality to a certain degree. In the end, it comes down to what kind of personnel you are searching for. But see……if it’s someone quite diligent, they will become strong enough to be counted on if they have proper equipment and learn how to fight. That’s how it is in Dalien. The feudal lord here is reliable, so the dangerous monsters will be taken care of by the knights and soldiers.」

A feudal lord who proactively exterminated bandits and monsters in order to protect the public order of the territory. In that case, there would be less work for adventurers. But, if the public order was good, then the citizens could live in peace. The feudal lord of Dalien must be carrying out his rule properly.

「I didn’t plan to say it because it would only make you two anxious, but if you’re thinking about your future, it’d be better for me to say it. In Dalien, I’m a veteran. My strength is highly ranked here. But you see, if I go to other places, I don’t know if I’d be as effectiive. Depending on the place, the ability necessary to be adventurers will change. For example, if you go to Beim, people of my strength will be all over the place.」

In other words, even if we gathered skilled comrades, we had to search for people that we could accept. However, the Third spoke out.

『Well, whether humans or tools, it all depends on how you use them. But, I think it’s important to search for talented people who are necessary for you.』

──Even though the Third was famous as a righteous general, from listening to his words and watching his actions these past few days, I was starting to think this person might actually have quite the black heart. Zelphy-san laughed.

「Well, the basics will be useful no matter where you are, so I’ll beat them into the both of you. Also, it won’t be necessary for a while, but I want to talk about your weapon. Novem has that staff, but what kind of weapon are you specialzied in, Lyle?」

When I’m asked what kind of weapon I’m specialized at, as expected it would be a saber.

「I use a saber.」

Then Zelphy-san made a complicated expression.

「A saber, huh. Can you use anything else? Like a normal double-edged sword, or a shield……even a spear is fine you know?」

「As I thought, is a saber no good?」

Zelphy-san spoke with a troubled look.

「I didn’t say that. But, a lot of the times that kind of weapon is only used for decoration, to be hanged at the waist. Besides, the cheap ones that are badly made are so thin that they’re easy to snap. I won’t stop if you’re fixated on using that as your weapon, but only a few shops in Dalien will sell it. Besides, even the cheap ones will still cost quite a bit, so economically, it’d also be quite a burden for you.」

Rondo-san’s party also told me various things regarding weapons. It wasn’t like the only weapon I could use is a saber. I was taught the basics on various weapons. But, I’m troubled on what to do. Even if I consulted the ancestors, they’d just suggest their own weapons and couldn’t really be relied on.

「Well, I’ll have you do requests inside the city for a while. I’ll show you some shops when there’s some free time, so prepare your own tools by yourself. Oops, I forgot to say something important.」

Zelphy-san said to us.

「Beginners often fail. It was also the same for me. Listen well, your body is your capital as an adventurer. Even if you’re only doing odd jobs, you absolutely mustn’t forget to rest. After all, there are a lot of idiots who force themselves and harm their body. If you’re doing odd jobs, rest a day for every four or five days. If you’re venturing outside, no matter what, always rest the next day. Also, you can’t forget to replenish and maintain your tools on your days off. Do you understand?」

Novem and I nodded. However, I was also feeling a bit anxious wondering just how far I could go as an adventurer under Zelphy-san’s guidance. In the first place, I wasn’t even too enthusiastic about becoming an adventurer. Then, Zelphy-san quickly showed a document to us.

「Then, let’s try having you do a request right away. This one is really troublesome, and on top of that, most adventurers avoid this kind of job.」

I confirmed the contents of the document──the request paper.

「Zelphy-san, this paper mentions cleaning the gutters though?」

Zelphy-san smiled.

「Yeah, that’s right. It’s really dirty, so it needs to be cleaned periodically and cleaning requests are given to the guild. Adventurers who don’t receive this kind of request will end up not doing something like this their whole life. It’s an important experience, isn’t it?」

Zelphy-san said 「Don’t tell me you’re going to suddenly say no right at the beginning?」 while watching both of us smilingly.

.

Dalien’s downtown.

I, getting into a gutter on the side of the roadside, was covered with mud. My clothing was made out of slick leather purposed cleaning. My mouth had cloth wrapped around it as a mask. But no matter how much I covered up, it still smells terrible. I thought that I’d just be removing mud with a shovel, but in reality, I also had to carry away what I shoveled out. There were also some other adventurers that received the same job, and the mud was carried away using a wheelbarrow.

「Ly, Lyle-sama, I will take a turn so,」

In contrast, Novem was helping with Zelphy-san who was monitoring the work, and was only watching as she was wearing a mask. Zelphy-san talked about how Novem was a girl and didn’t let her participate. No, the ancestors inside the Jewel were also objecting, telling me to absolutely not let her participate.

『Novem-chan really is a good girl. Compared to her, your work still isn’t coming along at all. Oi, work diligently, you bastard!』

I was removing mud from inside the gutter while listening to the First’s voice. Sometimes there would even be some garbage appearing, emitting a terrible stench. Zelphy-san spoke up.

「The way people treat the gutter is terrible, isn’t it? They threw trash into it, even vomiting or excreting……the reward is quite large, but no one actually wants to do it.」

Hearing what was the source of the stench, the Sixth and the Seventh screamed after noticing my situation.

『Why is something like this……even though Lyle’s bloodline is a proper one, why has it come to this!?』

『As I thought, adventurers are hateful! Lyle, change the instructor right away. You mustn’t do something like this!』

The Fifth spoke disinterestedly at the two who were like that.

『Proper bloodline, so what? He’s already been driven out of the house. This is something necessary so Lyle can survive by himself.』

The Third spoke while laughing.

『Yep. Besides, in my era we even did some farm work. It’ll be worrying if Lyle throws in the towel just from this much.』

Then the Sixth mentioned something really important in regards to my background.

『Don’t say stupid things! Lyle is, he’s a child who succeeds the bloodline of the Sentras Kingdom──its royal family!』

The Sentras Kingdom that the Sixth mentioned was the country that controlled the continent before Bahnseim existed. When Sentras fell apart, several territories broke away, and new countries were founded on the continent. It was an unexpected revelation about my bloodline, but hearing about it in the worst possible place, I couldn’t really comprehend it. I quietly continue to shovel mud. The Fourth seemed interested, though.

『The Sentras Kingdom’s royal family? I thought they had all died out, but there were some survivors, huh?』

The Seventh explained angrily.

『Obviously! The blood of a noble is something refined over time in order to use magic. Speaking about the bloodline of the Sentras royal family at that time, that was something really priceless. There is no idiot that would let it be lost! My wife Zenoa inherited the blood of that Sentras royal family! That’s why, if times were better, the possibility that Lyle would become duke──』

However, the Third laughed it off.

『But, right now he is an adventurer and a gutter cleaner isn’t it? Well, surely it’s unpleasant that such a priceless bloodline is cleaning the gutters out, but this is reality. Or rather, Lyle should know more about the world, so I think this kind of experience is necessary. I believe that that adventurer called Zelphy is a good find, so I think Lyle should keep staying under her guidance like this.』

The Second was slightly moved.

『So, the Walt House was joined by that kind of bloodline……perhaps even my hard work was rewarded a bit if it’s like that.』

But the Fifth expressed a negative opinion.

『……Why did you accept that kind of troublesome bloodline? Or rather, if there was that kind of bloodline, the royal family should be the one to receive it rather than the Walt House.』

The Seventh explained the circumstances of that matter.

『It could only be said that the timing was bad. At first, the surviving royal family resented Bahnseim and took some distance from them. It would finally be reconciled in my era, with the daughter marrying into the Bahnseim royal family, but various things happened at that stage and Zenoa’s house revolted……the royal family couldn’t just accept Zenoa because of that, but it was also impossible to execute her, so it was me who received her. She was also a woman who fulfilled the family precepts, so I desperately wooed her and won her heart. We also had a plan about becoming a duke house through Lyle or his son marrying the royal family.』

I was listening to one of the secrets of my birth, but right now, the central person for that plan was busy cleaning gutters. The First after listening to the story until this point──

『Hey hey, no way you can work properly with that kind of weak kneed attitude. And you call yourself someone with royal blood flowing inside you, huh?』

──was provoking me. While I’m working in irritation, the Fifth noticed something.

『……Hey, that lineage of Sentras, you mean……that isn’t the lineage of that country toppling beauty Agrissa, is it?』

The country toppling beauty Agrissa──no way, I thought, but the Sixth seemed to be hesitant to speak.

『……No, look. That girl, Zenoa herself was a good girl, and the surviving bloodline, there was none other except Agrissa’s descendant, so…』

The First became boastful.

『Look at that! This is proof that Celes is the Evil God’s Child! If she inherited that Agrissa’s blood, it wouldn’t be strange for someone charmed by the Evil God to show up, just like I said!』

But, the surrounding reactions were cold towards the First. There was also the case about the family precepts. His story about some ‘Evil God whatever’ still wasn’t believed. Or rather, the trust towards the First had fallen rock bottom due to the case of the family precepts. The Second coldly spoke.

『……How great for you. Now then, I understand Lyle’s circumstances. He inherited the bloodline of the old royal family, and if everything went well it wouldn’t be strange even if he became the next Duke. No, I should use past tense there, huh?』

Apparently the Seventh wanted to turn the Walt House into a Duke house by marrying me or my child with the royal family. Certainly if everything went as it should, I would be in that kind of position. However, the Third’s opinion was candid.

『But, he is just an adventurer right now, so something like that is unrelated to the matter at hand.』

The Sixth muttered in vexation while looking dejected.

『……Unlike you guys, he is a genuine aristocrat, you know.』

The Third spoke as though in surprise.

『No, even if you called him genuine, even we are genuine nobles to an extent. Though certainly, you can’t say we excel in magic. But even I’m able to cast some simple spells.』

The Second was surprised.

『Eh!? You could use magic!?』

The Third spoke nonchalantly.

『I could. The Fourth was better than me, right?』

The Fourth sighed while,

『I can use magic if it’s the basic bullet type. Well, my wife was definitely able to use magic better than me, so it feels presumptuous to say that I could use it.』

Presently in the Bahnseim Kingdom, even if they called themselves nobles, only Baron houses and above could use magic. Houses other than that in general could only use some magic, or couldn’t at all.

──I was getting unsteady on my feet when the ancestors started to talk really enthusiastically with each other.

「Lyle-sama! Rest. Please rest! I’m going to take over the work, that’s why!」

Novem was worried about my unsteady gait and said that she’d replace me. Zelphy-san was slightly worried looking at me. She wasn’t worried about my condition, but about how things would be from now on.

「You have less stamina than I thought. Even though this is work that you aren’t used to, I wish you’d harder……like this, it will be necessary to make you do several harsh jobs in order to build up stamina……」

I was evaluated as if I’m someone frail, but fundamentally it wasn’t my stamina but my mana that was consumed, which caused me to be staggering like this. Even like this I had trained my body. I’ll recognize that this is work I’m not used to, but even so……

『Come on, get into it! I won’t allow Novem-chan to get dirty replacing you!』

There was no problem as long as Novem didn’t get dirty, the First said. I listened to that voice while thinking, ‘Then shut up and let me work’.