Kevin POV:

Introductions. Take number 3. Ready, Set, Action!

“The name’s Brovado,” Pause. Glance down towards the mirror with an arrogant and charismatic smirk. “Jon Brovado.”

Nah, still suffered from the same problem. Jon wasn’t the type of guy to make such a face. The man’s supposed to be a coward. He didn’t have the balls to show such confidence. Next!

Introductions. Take number 4. Ready, Set, Action!

“The name’s Brovado,” Pause. Glance down towards the mirror with a charming smile. Throw in a casual wink at the end. “Jon Brovado.”

Hmm, maybe using a spy as my template wasn’t the greatest idea. I should have watched Indiana Jones when I had the chance.

Your ‘Acting’ skill has ranked up. ‘Acting’ is now rank B.

Oh-hoh, ‘Acting’ already at B? Rather than just staying and being useless at C, you decided to move up in the world. Great for you! Let’s see what you can do.

Acting B: Significantly increases your ability to convey what you desire.

A significant increase to uselessness is still useless but hey, don’t let that stop you. You keep being you.

“Kevin.” I turned to my eldest brother sitting on the other side. His bowl was clean and set to the side as he took small sips of his morning coffee. “Stop playing with your soup and finish it before it gets cold.” He commanded without even looking my way, his eyes focused on the papers he brought with him.

This was all green and umm… basically just green and reflective. It looked like trash,

You have resisted the ‘Poisoned’ status effect.

and it tasted like it too. At this point, I’m 100% sure that the poison was the only reason my meals always tasted like shit. I would love to throw this garbage away but that was just stupid. I was probably the only one with the ‘Tenacious S’ skill. And what if someone were to eat this? I’ve seen what happened to those unfortunate bugs, and anyone who got a taste would probably drop the same way in an instant. I just had to suck it up and gulp it all down in one fell swoop.

You have resisted the ‘Poisoned’ status effect.

You have resisted the ‘Regurgitate’ status effect.

Thank you, ‘Tenacious S’, thank you! Such a reliable skill. ‘Acting B’ got a lot to learn from you.

Anyways, I didn’t wake up early today for absolutely no reason, time to go to work. I needed to abuse my childish charm and my status as his unbelievably adorable baby brother to get through to this workaholic. I’ve got everything prepped for the expedition; I just needed to get myself his permission.

I got off my seat and ran a marathon to get to the edge of the dining table. Why was it so fucking huge?! There were only 4 people in the house to use it. I can’t believe it took me this long to notice. I smelt a mystery here, and that meant I had something to do. I made a mental note to play detective sometime in the future.

Aight, I had James in sight, now the performance begins. Begin the approach by skipping in a zigzag manner. Perfect. Arms out like an airplane with frequent tilts when making turns. Perfect. Occasional slips of the giggles that became more audible and frequent the closer I got the target. Good. A bit creepy, needed more work. Now the most important part. Three, or one? One was always the safest option but three would be cuter with the risk of backfiring and being super creepy. Playing it safe was for pussies, I ain’t no pussy. Firmly grasp the chair arm, gaze upwards with an opportunistic smile. Hop three times in place.

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“Jamey! Jamey! Jamey!” No, mistakes were made! Three was too creepy! I repeat, three was too creepy!

“Hmm?” He continued to sip his coffee; eyes glued to a paper he held in his hand.

…

This fucking bastard! After such a spectacular performance, ‘hmm’ was the only reaction you could give?! At least look at this adorable smile you heartless piece of shit!

“Who am I currently speaking to?” He asked as the mug covered his lips. “Kevin Kenworth or Jon Brovado?”

It hurt a bit that he didn’t even bother to look my way, but it was still something I could work with. My spectacular childish charm had been proven ineffective. Guess it was time for me to go with the flow.

“It is I, Jon Brovado. The greatest explorer in the kingdom of…”

“Empire, we live in the Concordian Empire.” He tried to correct me. He didn’t know the source material.

“No, not the Concordian Empire. I am the greatest explorer in the kingdom of Tibberland!” I declared for all to hear, nothing more than a pair of guards that stood by the doors and some maid that was picking up my dishes. But still, I heard someone gasp and I got the workaholic to glance my way. He got a glimpse of my charismatic smirk and that was more than enough to make my day.

“Kingdom of Tibberland?” Just smile and nod Kevin, the basics. Smile and nod. “And why would a subject from a hostile nation come to my land? Were you sent here to spy on us?” I saw him smile. I swear I saw him smile just now. Ha Ha, your papers were now useless! You’ve already fallen for my charm.

“I am an explorer that seeks out glory and adventure,” I dusted off my left shoulder with the intent to show that I didn’t have a care in the world. Not like it would do much since he was grabbing a new piece of paper to ogle at, but others were also watching. My performance had to be perfect. “My loyalties are tied to no one.”

“Then why are you here?” He asked as he took another sip of his coffee. “And what brought you to me?”

Uhh… Shit. I didn’t think this far ahead. Why would Jon Brovado want to explore the dungeon city of Heizer? He wouldn’t come here to go explore a dungeon. Assuming that it was some isekai dungeon with monsters and shit. He wanted glory and fame, not risking his life for something anybody could do. Think Kevin, think. We accept any and all clichés at this point.

“I’ve heard rumors of a magical library that existed since the beginning of time, containing books from every time period. It has everything. Books that were written, books that are being written, and even books that haven’t been written yet.” Holy shit! I liked where this was going. No reaction from James, fucking workaholic. I turned to glance towards the others. The maid had stopped what she was doing. Good. The guards were still guarding, but I knew their gazes were on me. Perfect. I had been blessed with an attentive audience.

“And what does this library have to do with me?” He stood from his chair and stacked his papers, ready to take his leave. I had to get straight to the point or else I’d have to wait until tomorrow. He never comes out of the room.

“The Library changes location every season and I believe it's currently in the city. I came here seeking your permission before I begin my expedition.”

“So, you want to go explore the city?” Smile and nod, just smile and nod. “Then you have my permission to explore the city.”

Uhm, that was easy, a bit too easy. There had to be a catch. I’m waiting, what’s the catch? He just got up and walked past me. Wait, was there no catch?

“Sasha,” The maid, too captivated by my performance, jumped when James called for her.

“Y-yes, young master?” She asked after she lowered her head.

“Bring me some more coffee, I’ll be in the study.” The bastard didn’t even look her way as he made his selfish demand. That poor maid. Trust me Sasha, I understand the pain of being a servant. I understand the pain.

Anyways, now there was absolutely nothing to get in my… God damn it! I should have asked if Elizabeth could come. She would have loved it. I made a mental note to make up for it when I’m playing detective. Jamal could also come if I could catch him before he started his ‘training’. I’m sure he’d love to explore the city too.

I ran past the guards and went straight towards my room. I needed that blanket if I was gonna force him to come out and live.

The house was huge, like really fucking huge. There were like fifty-something rooms that remained unused. Why was it always so empty? That was for the detective to figure out. But despite how big it was, it would usually take me a minute to get to my room at top speed. I know, I know, I’m the fastest five-year-old the world would ever see.

“Kyaah!” I narrowly avoided some maid that was carrying a tray towards my room. Jamal’s breakfast. I’m 100% sure that if he could shit in the room, he would. It was a whole new level of being a shut-in.

I quickly opened the door and I was, unsurprisingly, too late. Jamal already starting the ‘training’ to expand his mana pool. Guess he won’t be exploring the city with me today.

Okay, I was all by myself again. No Jamal. No Elizabeth. Nobody. Eh, who needs them? I could always have fun by myself. Prepare yourself world, Jon Brovado is on his way!