“Oh…？”

I squinted my eyes.

The familiar characters began to appear in my field of vision.

――――――

Due to the victory in battle, your skill level has increased.
Available cheat codes have been unlocked.

★ Visualization of the target’s health

――――――

What’s this?
Another ability has been added?
And visualization of the target’s health, too.

I can somewhat understand the meaning, but what does this mean?

I was tempted to try it right away, but I decided to stop for now.
If something like the 《Attack Power Up (Small)》 accident from earlier happens, it could be a problem.

“Arios? What’s wrong?”

“No… It’s nothing.”

I gave an unclear answer to Ray, who tilted her head and looked at me.

Could it be that this skill keeps unlocking new abilities?

If so, that would be crazy.

Normally, people can only use one skill.

Sometimes, there are those who can use multiple skills, but they are few and far between. Those who can wield two or more skills are often highly valued by the country and often hold important positions.

――Yet, at this point, I am able to use three abilities.

Since this isn’t something I can talk about publicly, I decided to keep quiet for now. I don’t want to attract any more attention.

I still don’t fully understand the extent of my skills.

“Arios…”

Seeing me silent, Ray seemed to have figured out the reason, looking at me with concern.

“Arios? Are you okay?”

“Yeah… Don’t worry about it.”

She’s usually a bit careless, but suddenly, she acts this cute.

“If it’s about the 《Sword Saint》 skill… you don’t need to worry that much. That orphan, Dudley, doesn’t seem to have a very good reputation.”

“Huh? Is that so?”

“Yeah. Apparently, he’s strong, but his personality is… well…”

So that’s how it is.

As for me, since my skill wasn’t 《Sword Saint》, everything became a mess, and I didn’t have the luxury to worry about others.

“…By the way, how do you know so much about this? Even I didn’t know.”

Did you go out of your way to research it? Why would you?

“Eh… th-th-that’s…”

She suddenly looked around, her face turning bright red.

“……?”

What’s going on? She’s acting strange all of a sudden.

However, before she could say anything else…

“Next customer, please!”
A staff member raised their voice, beckoning us forward.

“Oh, here we go.”

As I began to walk, Ray muttered under her breath,
“…It’s obviously for you.”

I would later find out she had said this.

★

Meanwhile, at that time,
A commotion was unfolding at the Macba household.

“Hey, hurry up and bring the food! I’m the successor of the Sword Saint!!”

The one shouting with a pompous attitude was Dudley Claise, the heir to the 《Sword Saint》.

Sitting back in a soft chair, crossing his legs, he was raising his voice arrogantly.

“Y-yes! Young master!”

“Shut up!! If you have time to reply, hurry up and bring it! Don’t forget my favorite chocolate sauce!”

As he spoke, Dudley slapped the servant’s cheek.

Slap—
The sharp sound echoed throughout the room.

“Ahh…!”

The servant screamed and collapsed.

Mary Lobart.
A young maid who used to be close to Arios.

(Dudley… Why is he acting like this…?)

Thinking this, Mary got up as best as she could.
If she lingered here, she’d be hit again.

(As soon as he gained power, he suddenly started acting like this… Arios-sama was always humble…)

On the fateful day when Arios’s skill was revealed…

Mary had been unable to speak to him.

She understood his sadness very well.

Mary was also the owner of a “Useless Skill”.

That’s why she decided not to offer any empty comfort. It would be better not to get involved unnecessarily, for his sake.

As a result—without ever speaking to him, Arios left.

(If I had known this would happen, I should have followed Arios-sama…)

Mary shed silent tears that no one noticed.

(No, it’s not too late. Lord Leon won’t pay any attention to me, so I have to find a way to meet Arios-sama…)