0 – What can I help with?

If you’re living in the 21st century, wouldn’t you want to be born with a silver spoon in your mouth?

Life is just easier when your parents are wealthy.

No need to worry about making ends meet, just walk down a smoothly paved road, a path laid out like train tracks. That’s the definition of living life on easy mode.

I, too, once dreamed of being born into privilege.

Of course, that sort of dream is something out of a novel, a completely unrealistic story, so I quickly gave it up. But anyway.

I was just an ordinary office worker.

After working at a small-to-medium sized company for three years, I’d managed to save about two thousand. A man destined to grow old and die alone, self-sufficiently reading web novels or playing games.

I was content with my life.

If I could grow old and die like this, I wouldn’t have any regrets.

If a sudden nuclear bomb hadn’t fallen from the sky, I could’ve said my life was happy.

“Son of a b*tch.”

It was a ridiculously massive bomb launched by the old pig up north.

Whether he accidentally hit the button while trying to order a Coke, or if it was just senility, I don’t know.

The reason remained a mystery.

As I watched the scene of the bomb exploding, I died.

And then, I was reborn with a silver spoon in my mouth.

In a different world with magic and monsters.

*

It was only about fifteen days ago that I became aware of my past life.

They say adolescence is a turbulent, tempestuous time. It would’ve been better if I’d realized it a little sooner.

“Young Master Esther. The Head of the House wishes to see you.”

“Does he now?”

In this world, my name is Esther Tristida.

It’s very different from the Korean style of naming, but having lived as Esther Tristida for fifteen years already, my current name feels much more comfortable than my name from my previous life.

I was the youngest son of the Tristida family.

The Tristida family is a noble family in the Kingdom of Ostana.

Not one of the powerful, influential families that sway the nation, but a venerable house with a history stretching back 500 years to the founding of the Kingdom.

They own a direct fiefdom, and enjoy considerable wealth derived from its abundant resources and various commercial facilities.

I know they even founded their own academy within the territory, not quite on par with the Royal Academy, but still producing a good number of talented individuals.

“Father has summoned me?”

“Indeed, young master.”

“Was I not deemed unworthy of his attention…?”

Though born into a rather affluent family, I couldn’t quite call myself a true silver spoon. In ordinary households, the youngest are usually cherished, but the Tristy family was different. The Tristy family was ruthlessly meritocratic. No matter how much money one possessed, children lacking talent received no quarter. It was the policy of Porto, our father and the current head.

I, being the least talented amongst my siblings, was assigned the smallest room in the manor. My only attendant was the maid standing before me. Apparently, my brothers had their own guard knights. Truly, a disparity in treatment.

Still, it was larger than a five-pyeong studio apartment. Before I awakened to my past life, I remember feeling a pang of resentment, but now, I find myself content. I receive three proper meals a day and can laze about on a warm bed while reading books from the library. The etiquette and swordsmanship lessons are tedious and agonizing, but nevertheless, bearable.

The maid blinked. “I, too, believed so.”

For reference, this impertinent maid’s name was Dalphy. She became my personal maid probably about a week after I regained the memories of my previous life. After the maid working under me caused some trouble and quit, she was the gracious one who volunteered for the position of the youngest son’s attendant, which no one else wanted.

“Why?”

“Because you’re hopeless, young master.”

Strike that. Bad girl…

“You possess no magical knowledge, your swordsmanship is appalling, your etiquette is atrocious, you are, in short, a failure.”

Enough with the blows, Dalphy. I’m perfectly aware of the facts.

“Dalphy.”

“Yes, young master?”

“Have I perhaps committed some kind of transgression?”

She shook her head.

“Truthfully, I’m afraid. I feel like running away right this instant.”

“Even if you were to flee the manor right now, young Master, that pathetic excuse for a man couldn’t possibly survive on his own. Now, off you go.”

“Is this an order to move me into a smaller room… The only room smaller than mine would be Poppy’s doghouse, and as frugal as I may be, I can hardly sleep in a kennel, can I?”

Dalphy offered a gentle smile.

And then, she nudged me forward.

“Master Esther has an uncanny knack for inviting trouble.”

“I’ll concede that.”

And so, pushed along by Dalphy, I moved towards the Lord’s Chamber.

Dalphy bowed her head, remaining in the hallway, while I sighed and opened the door.

*Please, let it be nothing serious.*

*Please, let it be nothing serious.*

I prayed inwardly, but as usual, the gods did not answer my plea.

“………”

The Lord sat at the head of the table.

And.

All of my siblings were gathered in the Lord’s Chamber.

They sat stiffly, rigidly awaiting our father’s words.

Even my brother and sister, who usually made their distaste for me quite obvious, had their lips pressed into thin lines.

Seeing even our sickly second sister, Haniel, present, it was clear this was no ordinary matter.

I, too, sat down in a chair, my expression tense.

“Everyone is here, then.”

Porto gazed at us.

I couldn’t begin to imagine what was going on.

“There is something of consequence I must impart to the rising stars of Triste.”

The Lord’s solemn and quiet voice cut straight to the heart of the matter.

“From this day forward, we will begin the selection of the heir to Triste.”

“……!!!”

My siblings’ eyes widened in disbelief.

As did mine.

Suddenly, an heir selection…?

What sort of nonsense is this, plucked from thin air?

Porto was 42, considered young among the heads of household.

He had many children because he’d married two wives.

It was far too early to be selecting a successor.

“The method for selecting an heir is simple. From this moment forward, you will attempt to pass the trials prepared by our retainers. This is a process to ascertain the most suitable to rule Tristi, and we shall assess you with impartial, objective criteria.”

Tension hung heavy in the Lord’s Hall.

The gazes of my siblings were quite like those of wild beasts.

Amongst those gathered here, surely not one did not covet the position of heir to Tristi.

Boundless wealth, of course. Glorious honor, coupled with the power to command all within this territory.

Of course, mine were the meekest eyes among them.

I held no ambition for the Lord’s seat.

For an exceedingly modern reason: I eschewed troublesome and demanding tasks.

A wealthy layabout was agreeable, but becoming a wealthy, busy person was not.

I was already occupied enough reading books in the study, wandering the gardens, and scribbling away in my room. Did they expect me to become Lord and live diligently, filling the bellies of the estate’s people?

Porto lived diligently.

Day and night, he was holed up in the Lord’s Hall, endlessly pondering how to make the estate more prosperous.

I didn’t know if he was a good father, but he was certainly a good Lord.

I had no desire to live like Porto.

Ugh, the mere thought was dreadful.

I wished to live as I was.

However.

“And concurrently, we shall expunge unnecessary individuals from the family. Should you fail to surpass the benchmark in the selection trials, you shall be sent, as soldiers, to the Polaris Sea, where a battle is currently raging.”

A bolt from the blue.

If you failed the trial, they would send their own children directly to the battlefield?

And to a battlefield where fearsome demonic tribesmen, grasping swords and spears, awaited humanity?

‘Unthinkable!’

For me, it was the same as being told to commit suicide.

I was inferior to my other siblings.

My etiquette was deplorable, and my swordsmanship and magical prowess were pathetic.

To the battlefield meant certain death.

Limbs torn asunder, transforming into the human sausages that the demons so enjoyed.

‘Shit.’

The family head’s hall began to buzz.

All those who bore the blood of Tristi were dismayed.

No other house in the kingdom would impose such an outrageous decree – sending their offspring to the warfront for failing the selection test.

“Father, even so, that’s…”

“The battlefield is perilous enough, but to be sent as a common soldier? It’s no different than telling them to die.”

Porto thundered.

“Those without ability deserve to die! Rather, by sacrificing their worthless lives to elevate the glory of the kingdom, there could be no greater honor!”

‘Is this guy completely insane…?’

Porto was a man of his word.

He would never say such a thing idly.

If they failed the test, he truly intended to send his children to war.

Today, Porto’s gaze felt especially sharp.

Is this what they call being sniped…?

“Aria!”

Porto summoned a vassal.

Aria was a professor at the Tristi Academy and a renowned mage within the Flame School.

A red-haired woman in a black conical hat materialized.

The woman named Aria held papers in her hand, distributing them to each of us.

Test papers riddled with complex symbols and patterns.

I blinked.

“What is written on this test is a selection of problems meticulously chosen for you by the Tristi Academy itself. For the family head, who must resolve and control many affairs, magical aptitude is essential. The deadline is a fortnight from now.”

Just what is this supposed to be?

Haniel, who had been covering her mouth and quietly coughing, spoke.

“These are problems related to flame magic…”

When Haniel, the most knowledgeable in magic among the siblings, said this, everyone groaned.

“Problems related to flame magic…?”

“This is a magic problem…?”

A relief.

It wasn’t just me who was in the dark.

“Precisely. I have personally curated these special problems for you all. Problems that even those steeped in academia for decades would find difficult to solve. I wish you the best of luck.”

Aria explained with kind grace.

“That is all I have to say to you. Now, leave.”

Porto’s order of dismissal fell.

We made our way out of the Lord’s chamber.

The faces of my siblings appeared troubled.

“Just what is Father thinking? How does he expect us to solve problems like these?”

“He must have a reason we don’t know.”

“This is a disaster. Can anyone even decipher this problem?”

Even Felix, my third older brother, who greatly enjoyed tormenting easy-going me, was engrossed in studying the exam paper.

Mixing with my siblings rarely led to anything good, so I subtly began to drift away.

“Esther.”

My second older sister, Haniel, grasped my wrist.

She was the only one among my siblings who treated me well.

She offered a soft smile.

“Have you eaten?”

I nodded.

“If you’re having a hard time, make sure to tell me, cough…”

Worrying about others when she’s the one struggling the most.

“Don’t worry about me for now, Sister, and go inside and get some rest. You look exhausted.”

“Alright, I will.”

I turned Haniel away and joined Dalpi, who was waiting in the hallway.

“What is that paper?”

“An exam related to the successor selection.”

Dalpi blinked.

“Pardon?”

I recounted everything that had happened in the Lord’s chamber to Dalpi.

“This is grave. Shall we seek a way for you, Master, to survive on the battlefield, even now?”

I shook my head.

“There’s no need for that.”

Dalphy looked at me, puzzled.

“Do you have something up your sleeve, perhaps?”

I didn’t answer Dalphy’s question.

I merely stared at the hologram shimmering before my eyes.

『Artificial Intelligence Service. Nob AI.』

『What can I help with?』

I had a steadfast friend.

The most intelligent entity in this world, with whom only I could converse.