East wing, in a room. A young man sits comfortably and stares ahead. The young man is Winfred, who is training his spatial perception skills.
So far, he has managed to increase the detection range of his Sensor and Ping modes. With his Sensor, he can detect up to 15 meters away, while with his Ping, he can detect up to 30 meters away. Additionally, he seems to have noticed an increase in his Mana capacity.
He deactivated his abilities and took the Manameter his father had given him from a small bag nearby. He then held the Manameter tightly and circulated all the Mana within him. The arrow inside the Manameter rose steadily and stopped at a certain point. Winfred looked at the result with satisfaction.
"Breaking through the Apprentice-rank, huh..."
Winfred saw that his Mana capacity is a little higher than a full fledged Apprentice-rank. As a comparison, when Winfred and his two older brothers were sparring one day, he asked about their Mana capacity. As expected, their Mana is reaching halfway to Expert rank, especially Ardyn, who would probably reach the full Expert-rank in a few months.
He then put his Manameter back into his bag. The young man took a deep breath and exhaled. It had been 10 years since he was born into this world, and it seemed that he still couldn't fully accept his circumstances.
Winfred then cleared his mind and reactivated his Sensor and Ping abilities. He raised his eyebrows when he sensed two people approaching his door.
"Judging from their footsteps...they are females. Mother and Helina?"
It didn't take long for him to confirm this information, as Olivyn and Helina entered his room.
"Excuse me, Young Master Winfred."
"Good morning, my son! Oh? Where's Nina?"
"Hello, Miss Helina! Good morning, Mother! Nina went to the kitchen to get me a snack."
As usual, after breakfast, Nina went to the kitchen to put away her master's tableware and get some snacks. Olivyn smiled at her son, then approached Winfred and stroked his head.
"You are not experiencing any signs of 'that', right? I am so worried if anything like that happened to you again..."
"Don't worry, Mother! I am perfectly fine! I feel I can get stronger each day thanks to my training and efforts, hehehe!"
Winfred looked at his mother's face, which was a little worried about him. Perhaps an incident like Mana Rush was very worrying for a mother, but fortunately he already knew about it and could control his Mana normally.
The worry faded from Olivyn's face, and she smiled again.
"Oh right! I want to tell you something. The day after tomorrow, I will be going on a business trip to one of the regions. Looks like Lord Victor wants to ensure our agricultural products are exported smoothly this year."
"Eh, so sudden, Mother? Shouldn't Father's subordinate or our servants be the ones going on the business trip?"
"Hehe, truth be told, I am the one who asked your father to appoint me as the representative of the Emerdine family this time. It took me some effort to finally convince him. What do you say about accompanying your mother?"
"Hmmm..."
Several days had passed since Ardyn and Gerdan's departure, but the group of knights had not yet returned and appeared to still be on their journey.
Winfred weighed his mother's invitation, worrying about her even though he knew that her departure would surely be escorted by the knights of the Emerdine family.
Seeing her son still hesitant, Olivyn once again tried to persuade him.
"This is a rare chance, you know? To glimpse what is going on outside our family territory and how vast our empire is."
Winfred was tempted by his mother's persuasion. She is right, this is a rare opportunity for him to see what it was like outside the Emerdine territory because for the past 10 years he had only walked around the mansion grounds. With renewed vigor, Winfred told his mother.
"Well, if you insist, Mother. I will accompany you."
"Oh? You sound disappointed? I'm not forcing you, you know..."
"I get it, Mother! Please stop teasing me!"
Helina saw a mother joking with her son, and they both chuckled. It was a truly happy moment, and without realizing it, she smiled too.
A few seconds later, Winfred realized someone was about to enter his room. From the silhouette, posture, and the object she is carrying, this person is his trusted maid, Nina.
"Excuse me, Young Master. Pardon me for making you wait. Eh? Dear mother...and Lady Olivyn?"
"Nina! You brought me snacks, right?"
"Oh my. Thank you for your concern for my son, Nina."
"Come here, Nina. There is something I want you to hear."
Helina then told them about the business trip they would be taking the day after tomorrow. Nina was a little surprised, but with a firm tone she agreed to join them because it was her duty to always be by Winfred's side.
The four of them talked and shared the latest news with each other, such as Winfred learning a new spear technique, Olivyn discovering a new tea blend, Helina talking about the gossip from last winter's party, and Nina hearing news about the competition between the first prince and the second prince in the struggle for the imperial throne.
That day was more or less a peaceful one for Winfred, and he was content with the situation. He also hoped that days like this would continue.
***
The next day, Wayne happened to be taking a day off, so combat training was postponed, while Alcott returned home to his family for important matters, leaving Winfred with a lot of free time.
After practicing on his own, which included spear techniques, stamina training by running and jogging while carrying his wooden spear, and Mana training, Winfred is currently in the greenhouse, looking busy.
"Young Master. Pardon me, but are you sure about what you are doing right now?"
Nina asked with a confused expression as she watched her master carry several pieces of equipment such as a mortar, pestle, glass tube, and other tools. Nina thought that after training, her master would return to his room, but instead, the young man turned to the kitchen to get something. There, they met Head Chef Arren, and Winfred suddenly asked for something he had previously requested earnestly from Arren.
Arren just shook his head, thinking that Winfred was just going to play around with the ingredients and equipment he had been given. But that wasn't the case, because what Nina saw now was Winfred looking serious as he stirred some herbs that had been mixed and crushed.
"Don't worry, Nina. I know what I am doing."
Winfred replied with a serious expression. Since his mother's invitation, he had been preoccupied with the preparations that needed to be made. Since he and his group would only be going out for a few hours, there was no need to prepare clothes. That meant they would only prepare snacks and potions.
"Gently stir mashed Skyglass root after giving it some water, and then let it rest for a few minutes..."
He was currently making a detoxification potion and several healing potions based on his knowledge from the game. Winfred liked to bring things he might need later as a form of anticipation for the unexpected, a trait he carried over into this world.
What if they were suddenly attacked by a venomous snake on the way? What would happen if the healing potions weren't enough? and so on. Although he feels nothing will happen on tomorrow's business trip, it doesn't hurt to prepare something, such as those potions.
After a few moments, Winfred successfully made several potions that he felt would be useful on the journey. With a sense of satisfaction, he looked at his dark blue detoxification potion and light green healing potion.
Unfortunately, he didn't have the identification or appraisal skills or a system that could help him identify the quality of the potions, but he knew that the potions he made were low-grade creations from someone who wasn't an alchemist, so their effectiveness was reduced, but it was better than nothing.
"This one is a detoxification potion. And this one is a healing potion. I am pretty sure all of them are Minor Potions, but better than nothing, right?"
"Since when did you start dabbling in alchemy, Young Master?"
"Ah, about that. The books from the Main Library. Honestly, I just want to prepare something in case we are in dire situations. I know I sound paranoid..."
"It's fine, Young Master. Being cautious is a good trait, but please don't force yourself."
"Thank you, Nina."
Nina smiled resignedly upon hearing her master's confession. Winfred thanked his trusted maid for her understanding. After finishing the potions, Winfred and Nina cleared the table and returned to the mansion. They also returned the borrowed equipment to Head Chef Arren.
Finally, the next day arrived, and Winfred prepared for his first trip to the outside world.