Adopting the Male Protagonist Changed the Genre - Chapter 55

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 55

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“Suga was there.”

【Suga wasn’t there!】

Suga, whose form had become blurry due to the severed mana connection, struck a proud pose with a flourish and said.

After giggling with delight for a while, she flew off to the large dollhouse I had brought up from the basement and decorated in one corner of my room.

“Ha.”

My sigh deepened as I watched her.

The past few days since contracting with Suga had truly been nothing short of hell.

Don’t show yourself to anyone except our household members.

Don’t touch any gold coins other than what I give you.

I had promised those two things and supplied mana to Suga.

“Ow. Why do you keep poking my back since earlier?”

“What are you talking about? I didn’t do that.”

“If you didn’t do it, then a ghost did? There’s only the two of us here.”

“What ghost. You’re just imagining things by yourself… Ow! I told you I didn’t do it, so why are you poking my back!”

“What? We’re facing each other like this right now, so how could I poke your back!”

“B-but just now, clearly…”

“…”

“Peek-a-boo. Did someone call for Suga?”

“Aaaaah! It’s a ghost!”

Suga was a mischievous five-year-old who stubbornly refused to listen, and a gang leader type at that.

Because she played mean pranks on the employees, my notoriety became even more terrifying.

Eventually, I chose the last resort of cutting off the mana I sent to Suga during the day when the employees stayed at the manor.

Only then was I able to quell the ghost commotion in the annex.

After giving her gold coins and finally getting her to shut up, I looked at Suga with hollow eyes before turning my head toward the window.

Leo was diligently attending his morning lessons under Penandel’s guidance.

Even to my untrained eye, Leo’s posture while wielding the wooden sword looked quite decent.

He was like a baby lion earnestly practicing his swipes with sharpened claws, which was adorable.

I smiled contentedly and called up the status window to do a mid-term check, then just blinked for a while.

[Name: Jui-bam-tol]

[Age: 9]

[Intelligence: 23/100]

[Stamina: 47/100]

[Divine Power: 19/100]

[Mana: 29/100]

[Stress: 18/100]

No matter how I looked at it, several numbers seemed strange.

It had only been a month since he started magic lessons. These numbers, was he a prodigy…?

In contrast, his divine power was rising at a worse pace than expected.

And above all, his stamina.

‘He has been more enthusiastic about sword training since the day we came back from watching the festival.’

It was such a frightening growth rate that I wondered if Penandel was secretly feeding Leo nutritional supplements.

“Sir, could you show me Jui-bam-tol’s training schedule?”

When I rushed to the training ground from the morning, Penandel readily handed me the schedule. My expression immediately contorted upon seeing it.

What was this hellish camp-like schedule?

‘I thought his stamina stats seemed unusual.’

My hand holding the schedule trembled.

“You’ve been working my servant with this kind of schedule?”

“That’s correct.”

Penandel’s tone was calm as if asking what the problem was.

I crumpled the schedule in my hand and said menacingly.

“My Jui-bam-tol is very, very, very weak and frail and feeble and fragile and soft!”

Morning training, afternoon training, evening training for such a small and precious Leo – did that make sense? Don’t you have any compassion!

Just as I was about to snap at him to lower the intensity of the lessons immediately, I heard a shocked voice from behind.

“Soft…”

‘No way…’

I stiffened and creakily turned around.

Leo, holding his wooden sword, was staring with wide eyes like a child who had just heard the shocking truth that Santa doesn’t exist.

“Soft…”

The shock must have been great because Leo repeated the same word twice.

I opened my mouth helplessly, then closed it, reached out my hand, then withdrew it.

No, Leo. That’s not what I meant…

“Soft… I’ll… take a short break.”

Leo’s shoulders drooped as he trudged away.

I couldn’t bring myself to stop Leo, whose very shadow looked dejected. I didn’t know what this mouth of mine might say.

“…”

After standing like that for a while, I sat down on the outdoor bench as if in a daze.

Soon I felt a presence, and Penandel quietly sat down beside me.

After a long while, as if he had found something to say, Penandel spoke in a calm voice.

“Jui-bam-tol is not as weak and frail and feeble and fragile and soft as you think, my lady.”

I know. I know that…

Leo never says he doesn’t want to do anything.

He likes learning, and it seems like he’s found his dream of becoming a knight, but what if he’s enduring hardship without showing it.

“Didn’t Jui-bam-tol… find it difficult when learning the sword?”

“He finds it difficult. But training is supposed to be difficult.”

Damn it. I already knew that Penandel was an excessively honest person.

I was about to ask whether Leo was struggling to keep up with the lessons, or if he showed any signs of dislike or reluctance, when.

“Jui-bam-tol is a strong child. I believe trusting him would also be good for the child.”

All the questions I was going to ask him evaporated in an instant. Only then did I reflect on myself.

Perhaps all that worry toward Leo might have hurt the child.

Being such a diligent child, he would have worked harder than anyone.

Instead of praising him for being admirable, I was being overprotective and belittling the child’s efforts.

After pondering for a moment, I asked Penandel a different question.

“Does Jui-bam-tol like sword lessons?”

“Yes, he enjoys them very much.”

At his answer, given as if he had been waiting for it, I finally realized that Penandel staying by my side and keeping me company was his way of offering comfort.

His comfort wasn’t the type that patted someone who had sat down in distress, but the kind that waited until that person could stand up on their own.

I’m really glad that this kind of person is Leo’s sword instructor.

“And even if you didn’t know Jui-bam-tol was there, saying he was weak and frail and feeble and fragile and soft was wrong. So you should tell the child that he’s not weak and frail…”

“I get it, so shut up.”

I wish someone had told this tin can that when comforting someone, you shouldn’t start by repeating their verbal mistakes word for word without missing a single syllable.

After taking a deep sigh, I abruptly got up and dusted myself off.

‘I need to apologize to Leo first.’

Hearing Penandel’s words that I couldn’t tell were meant as comfort or harsh criticism, I felt somewhat energized.

I decided to move up an event I had planned for late autumn in order to find the right timing to apologize to Leo.

Since I had been refraining from going out until Terry finished dealing with the assassination request, Leo hadn’t been able to properly see any festivals either.

On the first day, we couldn’t even properly watch the parade due to my stamina and the attack…

That had been weighing on my mind, so I had decided to hold a small competition within the manor for Leo—what you could call the highlight of festivals.

I had already had Terry ask Leo what kind of event he’d want to participate in if he could join a competition, and had gotten an answer.

I immediately had the employees prepare all kinds of ingredients, then dismissed all the manor staff and gathered only the freeloaders.

Since it was a day for magic lessons, Chaser ended up participating too, but it didn’t stray far from my plan.

I declared to the bewildered group with a serious expression.

“The reason I called you all together is to hold a small competition in my manor to celebrate the festival.”

Everyone looked rather unimpressed.

I understand. Yeah, when you’re already struggling with work life and then someone suggests going on a company retreat, it’s annoying.

But once you hear about the prize for winning, you’ll think differently.

“To the victor, I will grant any wish they desire, within the limits of my power and wealth.”

At that moment, everyone’s eyes turned serious.

“Wh-what’s the competition?”

“Gold coins! Suga wants gold coins!”

“You mean anything the master can do…?”

“Ah, this couldn’t be…”

But whatever they wanted didn’t matter to me.

‘The winner has already been decided.’

Terry seemed to have caught on, but yes. This is a competition for Leo!

Naturally, Leo was predetermined as the winner, and Leo must never know about these dirty adult circumstances.

It was fortunate that Leo answered cooking competition.

If he had chosen magic or swordsmanship, I would have had to worry about how to use dirty and underhanded methods to put victory in Leo’s hands without him knowing.

Fortunately, rigging a cooking competition isn’t difficult.

“Create food that can satisfy my palate within the time limit. I will be the judge.”

And so began the most modest cooking competition in the world.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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