Sevens: Prologue

Having lost a duel with my sister, 【Celes】, and having been kicked out of my own House, I, 【Lyle Walt】, was sitting around a table with two women.

(I-I can’t taste anything.)

While we ate a slightly-late dinner, I started to worry about just how we got into this situation.

By the heir of the Count’s House, I was thrown out with nothing.

I lost everything, and so, I thought I would become an adventurer for the time being, and left my homeland.

My former fiancée,【Novem Forxuz】, had continued to follow me after I had lost my worth. She was the second daughter of a Baron House and an acquaintance from my childhood.

She was a well-put-together former fiancée, and also one I couldn’t think of myself as on equal terms with.

It wasn’t that she was scary, or evil, or anything.

She sold off all the furnishings she had prepared for her wedding to me and used the funds for my sake.

She even looked after me when I proved too oblivious to face the world.

She was kind, and yet, so beautiful.

Her bright-born hair was done in a side ponytail, and right now, she was quietly eating. The spoon touched her light pink lips.

Her violet eyes were locked on the food she made herself. Soup and bread, as well as some cheap grilled meat, was set atop the table.

“Lyle-sama, is it not to your taste?”

Perhaps noticing me staring at her, Novem directed a worried look.

“T-that isn’t the case!”

Saying that, I returned to my meal.

And I also looked at the woman sitting across from Novem.

Red hair that grew to her back, where the tips of it curled out of habit. Her violet eyes didn’t seem to be able to settle down, as they incessantly moved around.

【Aria Lockwarde】 was a woman driven out of her home.

Of course, her reason was fundamentally different from mine.

It was because her father had connections to a bandit troupe. The bandits that drifted into Dalien made a stronghold in a nearby abandoned mine, and a few of them infiltrated the town.

The one who aided them in all of that was her father.

She was from what was once a Viscount House, and a notable family which held a managerial position in government.

This girl… Aria’s father was able to crush all that history in his single lifetime.

What was more, he even sold off the family heirlooms.

Having been tasked with subjugating those very bandits, I played the part of a foolish son driven out by his family and received funding from Dalien’s lord before venturing out to reclaim that heirloom.

“Ah, this is good.”

As Aria said that, Novem looked happy.

With a smile, she went into an explanation about the dish.

“I used sake when I tenderized the meat. I’m happy it is to your taste.”

Take it from me, by no means did I a.s.sist Aria because I had fallen for her.

That was definitely wrong.

There was also a deep reason as to why she was in my and Novem’s house.

Aria’s father, who sold a 【Gem】 that contained multiple Skills to the bandits, was currently in the feudal lord’s custody.

And she was forced to vacate the house she was using.

Originally, the path of a harlot had been prepared for the girl. But somehow, it ended up that I had defeated the bandits because I had fallen for her…

“It’s better than when I make it…”

When Aria looked a little sad, Novem consoled her.

“If you’d like, I’d be more than happy to teach you.”

“I-I’ll leave it to you.”

… The feudal lord Ventra-sama didn’t want to deal with her, so he pushed her onto me.

(Like this, aren’t I looking like trash!?)

Novem prepared the necessary funds to turn me into a first-rate adventurer and even looks after me now.

Even so, the situation suggested that I had found another girl I liked and let her live in our house.

Of course, I didn’t save Aria out of a guilty conscience or anything.

I had a prim and proper reason.

When the situation came down to this, I confessed my feelings to Novem. But it wasn’t just Ventra-san who recommended that I take Aria in.

Novem also expressed her approval.

Right after I had finally resolved myself to confess…

“I am truly grateful for your feelings. But if I were to get married to Lyle-sama, I do not think this will become a comfortable place to live for Aria-san. By the time Lyle-sama becomes a first-rate adventurer, if you receive us both…”

… She said something like that.

(Even when my confession succeeded, why am I back at the starting point? And wait, I never imagined Novem would be recommending a Harem!)

It looked like that trigger for that were my words as well.

When I was leaving my homeland, I said them to make Novem return to her home.

【I’m going to become an adventurer, make a harem, and live a life of leisure.】

I ended up saying something like that.

And from that, Novem derived that 『An adventurer that can properly manage a harem must be first cla.s.s. And to live a life of leisure, they have to be the very best of the best.

As such, 『my goal must be to become one of the greatest adventurers.』 was how she understood it.

That was a mistake.

She was usually quite a perceptive girl, but I can’t even comprehend how she made a mistake there.

(I thought that if I made her think I was a useless man, she would give up and go home. Even so, she followed me… served me, and took my words to heart.)

Even when I had forgotten them, she faithfully remembered.

But if I may, I’d like to say it…

I really have no such intentions.

(Right, I have these guys… this 【Jewel】…)

A Jewel was what could be called the complete form of a Gem.

A gem was a tool that recorded the Skills which individuals only possessed one of.

They weren’t the main trend nowadays, but it seemed that by recording Skills like that, they would become complete upon recording eight.

From a gem, it would become a Jewel.

My own Skill, whose effects I have yet to determine, and the seven other ones from the past members of the Walt House were recorded over the ages by the blue Jewel .

However, the problem was…

『Aria-chan sure is cute… She was tormented by her s.h.i.tty old man and driven out of shelter. What a poor child.』

An audacious voice emanated from the Jewel.

It was the voice of the Walt House’s founder, 【Basil Walt】.

『How about you look in a mirror! You’ll see the face of another s.h.i.tty old man reflected right back!』

A voice as if to pick a fight with the First Generation Head rose up.

It was the Walt House’s Second Generation, 【Cra.s.sel Walt】.

Wearing the garb of a hunter, the Second Generation was quite a plain existence in the Walt Family history.

The First Generation led a force to reclaim land and raise a village, where he became a feudal lord and a provincial n.o.ble. Thus started the Walt House.

Then the Third Generation spread his name by letting the retreat of the king’s army succeed in a war with foreign powers.

What was more, he even died in the process, so even now, when stories about those times were brought up, the Third Generation 【Sleigh Walt】’s name often pops up.

Being stuck between the two of them, the Second Generation was inevitably quite plain.

… But the truth differed.

Haphazardly expanding his land, the First Generation persuaded barbarians to join him with his fists.

And the Second’s unreliable-looking, aloof son only gave a light reaction to everything.

Forced in between the two, the Second Generation went through quite a bit of trouble to harden the foundations of the Walt House.

Even so, it was a little pitiful that he was never evaluated by history for that.

(… The Second’s being especially hard on the First today.)

When it became a Jewel, the recorded Skills developed a personality.

Those were based on the recorded memories of the ancestors that used them.

When my own Skill manifested, and the gem turned Jewel, the ancestors also opened their eyes as Skills for the first time.

But, this Jewel was…

『They sure are energetic today, that First and Second Generation.』

The one who happily looked over their quarrel was the Third.

But the fact that I could hear them meant the Jewel was being put to use.

… Meaning my Mana would be expended.

Even when I couldn’t use their Skills!

(Can’t you guys just be a little more docile…)

Perhaps because the Skills had developed wills, the Skills could put restrictions on themselves.

Because of that, I had listened to Aria’s request in order to become able to use one of them.

Why was there a need to help Aria, you ask?

It was because Aria resembled the First Generation’s first love.

What was more, he kept calling her that girl’s living likeness.

That led to me defeating a Bandit Brigade.

I became able to use the First Generation’s Skill, and while it may be temporarily, I was able to use the other ones as well.

However, the Third’s and Seventh’s were still impossible for me.

Because of the reasoning that my body wouldn’t be able to handle it, they were restricted.

(These guys definitely aren’t a family treasure. This has to be a cursed item or something.)

Even if I thought that, the things that I couldn’t do anything about just keep coming, and gradually, my evaluation of the Jewel continued to fall.

–

–

–

I did end up accepting Aria, but naturally, what we needed on our team was fighting power.

For that, we ended up having her become an adventurer.

The individual herself said that she would feel bad if we just supported her, so she gave her acknowledgement.

She gave it, but…

“Well then, your party registration has been completed. While you have added Aria-san to your forces, you cannot extend Zelphy-san’s contract, so please keep that in mind.”

Shaved red hair, brown skin, and a muscular build. The guild receptionist… Hawkins-san, spoke to us, and Aria seemed nervous.

His appearance was grim, but his work was done tidily and politely, so he was quite a proficient one in Dalien’s adventurer guild.

“Y-yes!”

After Aria accepted her guild card, our advisor Zelphy-san called out to her.

“Don’t be too nervous. You’ve got your standin’ to worry about, so I’ll be droppin’ the honorifics on work time. Are you fine with that, Lady Aria?”

Having formerly served the Lockwarde House, Zelphy-san acted as our advisor under a request from the guild.

For us, who had left our homes, and were lost and confused, she taught us the foundations of being adventurers.

In preparation for her impending marriage, she left her own party and was currently taking guild requests to train adventurers.

… Was her public facade.

The marriage part was apparently true, but in the back, she was an adventurer with ties to the feudal lord Ventra-sama.

In Dalien, a town nice on newcomers, she was also one of considerable skill.

“Now then, you’ve got three members on you, but it looks like I have to teach your recruit from the basic stuff. I’ll be training Lad… Aria in the guild conference room, so I’ll be havin’ you two take on some odd job requests.”

Hearing that, I put on a blatantly reluctant face.

“W-we’re still doing that?”

Novem looked at my face with a slightly troubled expression.

To encourage me, she spoke up.

“Lyle-sama, let’s do our best.”

Zelphy-san was all smiles as she looked at me.

I mean, we tricked a bit of money out of her employer. It seemed he worked Zelphy-san quite hard, so perhaps she wanted some revenge.

“Naturally. Well, they’re requests you should finish by the end of the mornin’. Once you’re done, Lyle’s goin’ to have to get his equipment in order. Your reserve sabre became unusable, right?”

“… Yes.”

When I was fighting the Bandit Leader, I ended up ruining my own weapon of choice, my sabre.

The enemy had a red gem… one that contained Skills that specialized in close quarter combat with him, so my spare sabre ended up no good as well.

I thought they would be reusable with a bit of repair, but the blacksmith I brought up the request with told me to buy another one.

“You got some money on you. You’ll probably be able to get quite a nice one. Well then, Aria and I are goin’ up a floor. Boss, I’ll leave the request explanations to you.”

Zelphy-san led Aria off.

Hawkins-san took out the request forms for the jobs we were scheduled to take.

“… Odd jobs again?”

As my shoulders dropped, Hawkins-san tried to cheer me up.

“Lyle-kun, don’t feel so down. It’s important to acc.u.mulate these sorts of requests as well. If you change your home, they look at records like these to determine your disposition.”

Dalien is only our temporary stay.

Once we build up our abilities, I think our home… the town we’ll use as our area of operations will change.

“That’s right, Lyle-sama. Honest effort is important. Let’s try our best together.”

Novem directed a smile at me.

And Hawkins-san spoke.

“Ah, Novem-san has secretary work in the guild until noon. Lyle-kun has physical labor outside, so you’ll be separated.”

“T-that can’t be! Please put me on physical labor as well!”

As Novem said that, voices came out of the Jewel.

Having been heavily cared for by Novem’s family, the Forxuz House, the First through Fourth Generations showered the girl with favoritism.

『Novem-chan on manual labor? You’ve got to be b.l.o.o.d.y kidding me!』

As the First said that, the Second continued on.

『Lyle, it’s time to show your manliness.』

The Third as well…

『Novem-chan’s a good girl. Now Lyle, go say something.』

The Fourth was…

『You won’t let Novem-chan do something like that, right, Lyle?』

Threatening me in a low voice.

(… These guys… I’ve had it…)

Fifth Generation onwards didn’t have any special feelings for her.

Of all things, they thought of her as nothing but one from a va.s.sal household.

『Putting a girl on manual labor is none too efficient.』

As the Fifth said that, the Sixth as well…

『Right. Well, she’ll probably be in the way if she was there.』

The Seventh Generation… My Grandfather was…

『Making Lyle do physical labor or the like… even when he’s supposed to be one with royal blood.』

Quite sad for me. He was a grandfather quite soft on his grandchildren.

I looked at Novem.

“I-I’m fine. Let’s go shopping together in the afternoon.”

Hearing that, Novem still seemed a little worried as she spoke.

“Please don’t push yourself too much, Lyle-sama. Then, let’s finish the paperwork.”

Because the Jewel used up my Mana like there was no tomorrow, those around me were under the belief that my const.i.tution was quite weak.

The reason for Novem’s worry was that fact that I’ve collapsed numerous times.

(… For some reason, this doesn’t sit right with me.)

I wanted to shout out that none of that was my fault.