I finally finished my meal. It felt like I was being stared at the whole time, but the food was too good to pass up on. "Follow me, Ken. I'm sure you have lots of questions, so I will answer as many as I can." I got up, ready to follow Yasuko. "Yasuko, the questions can wait. He first should start learning proper etiquette."

"Don't worry, Fuyumi, it won't take too long. I will send Ken over as soon as possible." Shivers went down my spine. Why did she want to teach me etiquette so badly? Was there something I was missing? For now, I had been spared, and after following Yasuko, we arrived in a training area behind the mansion. The training equipment was good, but no soldiers were anywhere to be seen.

"We're all alone, so ask me anything you're curious about. By the way, my three sizes are—." I interrupted her before she could finish the sentence. "How do stats work, and how can I improve mine?"

"Stats are something you are born with, and they grow as one gets older. At a high age, most people's stats won't rise anymore, and it's also not rare for them to eventually decrease. A talented person will grow quickly and ideally also start off with high stats. Your talent can be determined pretty early on in a person's life since, normally, stats growth doesn't change that much. However, there are cases of late bloomers."

"Are my stats any good?" Yasuko paused for a moment. "Unfortunately, your stats are average at best. But don't let that discourage you. In a combat situation, you make up for your lack of stats with your impressive high cast speed and sheer quantity of spells. When facing off against you, I felt like fighting multiple mages at once." She really is sharp. For now, I didn't want to reveal too much, so I had to change the topic.

"Aside from being gifted, is there another way to increase my stats?" Yasuko had a devilish look. "There sure is. It's called hard work! By working hard, you can overcome any stat deficiency. Study to get smarter, train to get stronger, simple enough, right? If a person is talented, just work twice as hard as them, and you will overcome them. No matter how talented they are, determination beats all!"

I feel like I know what's about to happen, but I might be able to delay for long enough to find an opportunity to escape. "Yasuko, do you know why Fuyumi looked so happy when she saw me eating?"

"Well, you better not tell her that I told you, or I will put you through hell, but she used to struggle a lot with etiquette, so she must be happy that she can show off." A sensible explanation. "I also need some geographical and historical teaching. I struggle with memory loss and can't recall any common knowledge about those." Yasuko looked at me strangely before nodding.

"And also I would like to know—" She interrupted me. "Enough stalling. It's time to make up for your lack of stats. We will start with a simple warm-up consisting of 100 pushups, 100 situps, 100 squats, and a 10-km run." What are those outrageous demands? Does she want me to go bald?

After an excruciating training session which only got interrupted by lunch, I was lying on my back, looking at the sky, breathing heavily. "You did good, Ken. Go wash up. Fuyumi is waiting for you." Right, etiquette training, honestly, I just wanted to lie down here a bit longer, watching clouds fly by. "What's wrong, Ken? Are you too tired to wash yourself? Don't worry. Onee-chan will help you wash yourself." I sprung up. "No need. I will get ready on my own." I rushed into the mansion towards my room.

As I entered my room, I looked around, making sure I was alone. Then I used magic to fill the barrel tub with water and heated it to a comfortable temperature. After finishing my bath, I changed into new clothes. After opening the door, I noticed the maid from this morning smiling at me. "Please follow me, Goshujin-sama. Fuyumi-sama is waiting."

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"Calling me Ken is enough," I responded. "Right… Ken-sama, please follow me." We quickly made our way through the mansion until the maid stopped in front of a door and knocked on it. "Fuyumi-sama I have brought Ken-sama." Afterwards, it got noisy inside before we received a response. "You may come inside." The maid opened the door, and I could see Fuyumi sitting at a table with 2 sets of tableware prepared. One at her seat and one next to hers.

"What are you waiting for, Ken? Sit down." Her smile still gave me the creeps. I swallowed and sat down. Fuyumi then relentlessly threw all kinds of rules at me. No matter what I did, she always pointed something out. And after wrestling with forks and knives for what seemed to be an eternity, I was beat. "Fufufu, you still have a lot to learn."

"It's almost time for dinner, Fuyumi-sama." The maid's announcement saved me, at least for now. "How unfortunate. We will have to continue another time." Dinner was uneventful, although nothing much happened. Fuyumi's stealthily looking at me. Judging my every move wasn't the best experience in the world. "Now that dinner is over, we can finally continue where we left of Ken."

"I'm really sorry, Fuyumi-sama, but Yasuko promised me to teach me, so we will have to continue another time." She pouted. "Is that true, Yasuko?" Yasuko smirked at me. "I wonder…" Quickly I continued, "Don't tell me you forgot? You promised when I was training that you would help me." Pleadingly, I stared at her. "Ah, I remember now. Sorry Fuyumi, you will have more time to teach Ken tomorrow."

"Fine, but tomorrow there won't be any more excuses." She was still pouting. "Let's go. Yasuko lead the way!" We quickly arrived in what appeared to be a library. Filled to the brim with all kinds of books. Actually, I never found out if I could read. Curiously, I opened a book, and disappointingly, these weird symbols didn't automatically transform into words.

"You owe me one since I saved you earlier." I closed the book and looked up. "Reluctantly, but yes, thank you. I will try to make it up to you. For now, can you please teach me the basics of geography and history I should know?" She smiled and put on glasses. "Listen up, this planet we live on is called Nelonara. We currently are on the continent of Normura, in the capital, with the name Zane. The entirety of Normura is part of the human kingdom, which is currently being ruled by Hideki, with different provinces being governed by appointed nobles."

"You said human kingdom. Does that mean there are kingdoms governed by other races?"

"You are correct. There is Sheiqira, which is elfen territory, Usaikor belonging to the dwarfs, and Vlainox territory of the demihumans. A long time ago, all races lived together in harmony, but different conflicts led to a strict separation. Relations used to be neutral for many years, but this changed once Hideki ascended the throne. The former king outlawed human trafficking and slavery, but Hideki made both legal once more. This resulted in a surge of many non-humans being captured at borders and being turned into slaves. Especially demihumans are affected. Tension is rising steadily, and a war could break out at any moment."

"Why hasn't it broken out already? The dwarfs, elves, and demihumans have a common enemy. Aren't they powerful enough to bring forth change?"

"Each of those races lives rather seclusive, and they don't have particularly good relations. Furthermore, dwarfs and elves aren't affected a whole lot, and demihumans aren't one united kingdom but rather many smaller tribes with their own territories. Historically, there always has been conflict, making it difficult for them to attack as a united force. However, tension is still steadily rising. There is no guarantee that things will continue peacefully."

"Thanks a lot, Yasuko. That was really informative. One more thing. Could you teach me how to read and write?" Yasuko paused and looked at me before bursting out in laughter. "Are you serious? You can't read and write. You always seemed so sophisticated, but I guess you are still a child. Don't worry. I will teach you every night from now on until you become proficient."

I felt really annoyed, but there was nothing I could do but comply. After a tiring session of looking at children's books and other teaching materials, I was finally entirely out of charge. "Let's call it a day you did good, and tomorrow will be more of the same. It will be a rough time until you are good enough to become Fuyumi's attendant, but I'm sure you'll manage." I simply sat there, my head resting on the table. "Ah, I know why you're still here. You want a goodnight's kiss, don't you? Don't worry, Yasuko Onee-chan has you covered."

"I'm good. Good night, see you tomorrow." Swiftly I dashed to my room and, after closing the door and changing clothes, I threw myself on my bed, promptly falling asleep.