After finally coming to the realization that I know next to nothing about the world I live in I’m presented with the opportunity to learn. Apparently there’s going to be several tutors throughout the week which are 8 days… I had figured there would be 7 days a week since that’s what I’m used to but I seem to be quite wrong!
There seemed to be several similarities between my original world and this one so I had assumed a lot of other things were the same. There also seems to be 24 hours in a day, but there is 100 minutes per hour and 100 seconds per minute making the days longer than back home.
The next bit is that there are exactly 4 weeks per month and 12 months per year and there are 4 seasons though the region’s weather doesn’t change too drastically and is relatively warm all year around like California. The current date is the 2nd of the 4th month and the year is 715? Getting the general information was helpful the rest will be taught by a tutor it seems.
The first day Lila is supposed to study under her first tutor was uneventful, I’m allowed to sleep with Lila now instead of staying outside as extra protection now. That damned Maid gently woke up Lila who was sleeping while using me as a pillow and helped her change before waking me up. Of course she woke me up by poking me with a stick… what’s with this vast difference in attitude!
(Melia) “Can you please wake up Mr. Kurogane…?”
Once she confirms that I was awake she pulls the stick back and bows to me.
(Melia) “I am so sorry about my previous attitude towards you Sir and beg for your forgiveness.”
Gah… what is this stupid maid going on about so early in the morning… I let out a groan and roll over changing to my human appearance.
“It’s too early for your ranting ya damned maid, come back and wake me up when there’s foooodddd….”
I couldn’t sleep well last night since Lila was so nervous I spend a long time calming her before I could sleep myself, that and I didn’t eat dinner since I was busy all day preparing for today.
(Lila) “Blackie~ wakie wakie! Sebas said he’ll prepare you a nice breakfast!”
Huh? Sebastian will make breakfast not the regular chef?
(Melia) “That’s right, doesn’t Kuro like the dishes that Sebas cooks. You always look so happy when eating the steak dishes he prepares for you.”
Ah… she not only dropped the honorifics but used my nickname… cheeky little maid… Wait…? Didn’t she say that I usually like what Sebastian makes? As one would expect from the ideal looking Butler type, he must be the chef that has been preparing my food.
Given sufficient incentive I roll off the bed onto the ground and slowly pick myself up while Lila is getting dressed. Gah… I hate mornings so much why can’t I just sleep until I feel like waking up like before. Once I stand up that maid hands me the paper and pen and ink that I had prepared the day before with a smile.
(Melia) “Here you go Kuro, I saw you were preparing those items yesterday and wanted to make sure you didn’t forget them.”
I click my tongue and grab the bag while she looks at me dejected. Now she’s starting to act like a maid with me and escort Lila to the dining room. We had another delicious meal, there was what looked like scrambled eggs with some ground meat cooked inside, toast and tea. It was nice to be able to eat at a table after so long. I’ve almost grown used to eating things on the ground or off a plate on the ground… I feel like my sense of being a person has deteriorated over time.
After we had our meal I thank Sebas for the delicious meal as usual and all the previous meals. With a smile he bows to me with one hand to his side and another across his waist… total Sebastien move there. Now there’s another issue… no one outside the family can know that I can change into a Human.
There’s the fact that an unknown boy appears in the home and I would be dragged into the politics of the Kingdom as a possible successor. Also there was the chance that it would be known that the family's pet dragon had the ability to change into a human and would cause a lot of other worries, that and Lila preferred me as a pet then a playmate it seems.
So we enter the room prepared for the Tutor with Lila riding on my back… the tutor’s reaction was hilarious I wish I could have recorded it. The first set of lessons were Etiquette and was taught by a lady who looked like she was 50? Her hair was tied up in a bun and wore glasses with a strict teacher aura until she saw me.
She looked at Lila then me… back to Lila and fainted on the spot! Thankfully she has a chair behind… nope she slipped off it and is completely prone now. Now the sweet girl Lila was she hopped off my back and went to take care of her Tutor and tried to wake her up asking if she was feeling alright. She fainted a few more times before she finally came to terms with the fact that there’s her new student will be with her pet dragon. Before we finally start I can hear her faintly mutter
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(Etiquette Tutor) “I knew there was a reason why they were paying so well…”
Ah makes sense… having to teach a little noble girl while her pet dragon is next to her is rather nerve racking isn’t it?
Several weeks passed with the new Etiquette Tutor before another Tutor was employed, there was now a History Tutor and a Mathematics Tutor added today. I had found out that Lila was especially gifted girl, she picked up the proper way to speak and carry herself as a noble quickly. Of course there were slight difference to what I would understand as Etiquette, table manners were the same as where I was from, no elbows on the table and slurping one’s soup was shown as rude.
Now the method of introducing oneself felt more European than Asian. The girls would raise the sides of their dress slightly and with one leg behind the other do a curtsy instead of one hand over the other in front and bowing. I had guessed that things would have more of a European feel here judging by the architecture, but this being another world somewhere in my heart I had hoped it would be more like Asia which would be more comfortable.
All in all, Lila picked up her lessons quickly and was learning how to properly dine with nobles… something I don’t really care for and don’t really pay attention. After the lesson Lila nudges me softly after noticing how I wasn’t paying attention and crawls on my back leading me to the next room with the History Tutor.
This Tutor was a lot more composed than the last one and instead of fainting showed great interest in me. Of course I have zero interest in him since History was never my strong suite, I forget things such as names quickly and names of places.
Most of today’s lecture was just a meet and greet it seems and he went on about where he studied and how he was the favored student of some important sounding person… mendou kusei… this guy is a pain in the ass and will put me to sleep at this rate!
After he finally finishes he leaves and we move back to the previous room to meet Lila’s new Math Tutor. Apparently she just needs to learn simple arithmetic but the Duke wanted her to be as learned as possible so got a well-known merchant to teach his daughter.
This time as soon as we entered the door I can see a middle aged man, unlike the History Tutor who looked like he had one leg in the grave already.
(Tutor) “Ah, Miss Lila….?”
The man stops mid-sentence as he meets eyes with me… he then throws his abacus in surprise and actually ran and jumped through the window! Did that… really just happen?
(Lila) “Blackie! Did you see the look on his face?”
And starts giggling. Ah this little girl is absolutely adorable I really wished I had a daughter like her… but that was never meant to be. The rest of the time used for the Math Tutor was me talking to Sebas and the dumb maid about what happened today with the tutor and a new one was going to be arranged soon. In the meantime I ended up playing hide and seek with Lila for the rest of the day in my Human form since… a giant lizard isn’t exactly the easiest thing to hide.
The tutorage continued for several weeks until a new Math Tutor was arranged. During that time Lila became a much more refined young lady and I ended up learning a bit about where I’m located. The Kingdom is known as the Kingdom of Drakon and has a long history with Dragons, fortunately it seems like a good relationship.
Dragons were seen as intelligent creatures and revered, some even worshipped. The continent we lived on was Seraid and there were 3 major territories, the Human’s territory which consisted of several kingdoms including Drakon which was near the center. The other 2 territories were rather close by, the Demon’s Lands and the Land of Faeries.
Not much is known about the Demon’s lands other than the fact that it was full of blood thirsty war mongers whose demonic nature would cause them to invade Human lands periodically. Ah… why couldn’t I live far away from the battlefield… I’ve had enough of that already.
Then again the Land of Faeries were neutral in its dealings with Humans and would usually not interact with us unless required to and trade was almost non-existent. Leaving much of the other two territories as an enigma to me and the talk about the other kingdoms in the area just didn’t interest me so I ended up zoning out for most of it.
Despite my attitude our Lila was very studious and seemed to be properly learning each day. Every day was peaceful and I was content watching over Lila… that was until the Duke came home that my peace had shattered.