The Mysterious Child: An Adventure Tale Beginning with Numerology

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The man's footsteps echoed - kan, kan, kan - as he descended the stairs.

The basement door remained locked. The sturdy wooden door showed no signs of warping. He had worried that since the girl was already learning the basics of magic and mystical arts, she might escape if she managed to remove her shackles. 

Breathing a sigh of relief at the unchanged door, he opened it.

In the dark basement was the figure of a young girl, her feet chained. He thought that leaving her in this environment for a day would make even this strong-willed girl reflect a bit. Truthfully, he wanted to punish her more severely to make her obedient, but as the important heir to the Schreine family, he couldn't leave any lasting marks on her body.

"Well, Saaya. Have you realized your foolishness?"

He questioned the girl who kept her head down. A stale odor emanated from her already unclean room clothes. With no toilet here, she must have soiled herself.

Pinching his nose, he ordered the slave servant he had brought to remove the girl's shackles. She glared at him slightly, but she wasn't foolish enough to attack her father here. Though she was a child who didn't know her place, she was intelligent.

Despite her tendency to say dreamy things, she remained his proud daughter - beautiful and talented.

Of course, he meant a daughter to be proud of for arranging a better marriage.

As he climbed the stairs, he spoke to the girl walking behind him.

"Listen, Saaya. You need to be more aware of your position as a member of the viscount's family. Once you properly learn noble etiquette, I'll take you to social gatherings. Delicious food you can't taste in this poor lifestyle, elegant dances, upper-class nobles. You're my daughter, but your looks are first-rate. You must make the royal family or upper nobles like you at all costs."

"......"

"Then this family will be secure. Both you and I will have days of living without any want."

He added that she should focus on refining herself as a woman rather than thinking foolish thoughts.

Perhaps the basement had been quite effective, as Saaya just silently followed along.

When they reached Saaya's room, he spat out his final words:

"But you stink terribly. Change and go to sleep quickly before you dirty the mansion. Your meal can wait until tomorrow."

The girl looked like she wanted to say something, but in the end, she entered her room without a word.

As the door closed, he returned to his own room with the servant.

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"Phew, somehow I managed to fool him."

I removed the perception-inhibiting bracelet after entering Saaya's room.

This technique Roze taught me is really convenient. You can freely set gender, age, height, and appearance. Of course, I could only imitate her because the real Saaya was right in front of me, but if the conditions are met, you can even deceive her real father's eyes. You're too good, "Threshold Compilation". You're number one.

"But the treatment was worse than expected. No wonder she wants to run away."

The father's true intentions peeking through his words, and this shabby, cramped room. There were almost no toys, just a black-haired boy doll with worn-out, faded fabric sitting lonely on a cheap bed.

--I won't acknowledge that guy as my father!

I can understand Saaya's words now. I'll have to consider the worst-case scenario and get her out of here.

For that, I have two plans in mind.

The first is the orthodox approach. Gather information in this mansion and look for material to persuade her father. That's why I've infiltrated like this, pretending to be Saaya.

The second plan is a forceful measure that only I can do. It's quite a power play with high risks, so I'd prefer to succeed with the first plan if possible.

"Well, first I'll change clothes."

It's uncomfortable to stay in dirty clothes, so I took them off immediately.

I boldly open the closet in just my underwear. Here I am, almost naked, browsing through a young girl's clothes. It's a valuable experience that would get me immediately reported if seen by someone who doesn't know the circumstances. I can't help feeling a bit guilty.

But right now, I am Saaya. What's wrong with Saaya going through Saaya's clothes? In fact, I'm even folding and neatly organizing the carelessly stuffed underwear. The real Saaya would probably appreciate it.

And of course, there were only little girl clothes, so nothing I could wear.

Can't be helped.

"'Equipment Summon'"

I summoned my own clothes from the inn.

Even if I wear the perception-inhibiting bracelet outside the room, it would be suspicious if my clothes were obviously male. Once doubted, the inhibiting effect weakens, and it doesn't work at all if the other person realizes who you are. It's not an illusion, but merely an impression manipulation technique. So I chose clothes as close as possible to what Saaya has. In other words, a skirt.

Why do I have a skirt, you ask? I prepared for such a situation. Actually, I had it ready in case kidnappers came so I could disguise myself as Elen and deal with them.

I twirl in front of the full-length mirror to check.

Hmm, not bad.

It doesn't look like a boy wearing a skirt, and with my refined features inherited from my mother, I could probably pass as "little Ruru-chan" without raising suspicion. All the Muuteru men except me are gorillas, so I'm really grateful to have been born with this body, at least for this.

Alright, let's go.

I put on the perception-inhibiting bracelet and sneaked out of the room.

Saaya taught me the mansion's layout, so I roughly understand the room arrangements. They're poor, so there seems to be only one servant, who I saw earlier, basically following the master - Saaya's father. Apparently, Viscount Schreine himself doesn't employ servants and does everything with just his two wives.

By the way, the viscount, his two wives, and the beast-people children they've adopted are on the third floor of this mansion. Even Saaya isn't allowed on the third floor, so she doesn't know what it's like up there.

Well, I'll start with the second and first floors.

I began moving, blending into the darkness of night.

Conclusion.

Almost no useful information.

I investigated various internal affairs, but it was just as I'd heard - a typical poor noble family. Their income is mostly from taxes on farmland that Viscount Schreine leases to farmers, and even that's not much. They don't have any other profitable activities, and their expenses are quite high due to supporting the adopted children.

They seem to have debts to several counts and dukes, but not so high as to go bankrupt, nor low enough to repay in full. If they live frugally, they can maintain their current status.

Financially, it's like a typical example of a poor noble family.

However, the number of thank-you letters displayed in the study was considerable. This was truly impressive.

Many were from beast-people countries, towns, and villages, and there were even letters of gratitude directly from kings. Upon closer reading, it seems a beast-person prince that Viscount Schreine had helped and sent back to his homeland. While my own family also had a fair number of thank-you letters, this Viscount Schreine had received more than twice as many compared to that ducal house.

Poor in money, but rich in virtue. That seems to be the kind of person he is.

In contrast to the viscount, Saaya's father... let's call him Fat Dad for simplicity. Fat Dad doesn't seem to be much of a hard worker.

It's clear he has a young female servant he bought through a slave contract do various chores for him, while he doesn't do much work himself. It seems the viscount manages the leased farmlands, while his younger brother, Fat Dad, handles communications and appearances with the royal capital and other nobles. Fat Dad's study was full of letters from nobles and documents about meeting schedules and conference contents, but the messy table area didn't seem well-managed.

Other than that, the only thing I directly observed was Fat Dad drinking alcohol in the dining room late at night. Even drunk, Fat Dad just yelled at the timid servant and didn't provide any useful information.

As the night deepened, I took a short nap, and then was called for breakfast the next morning.

There, I finally met Viscount Schreine face to face.

At opposite ends of the large dining table sat the viscount couple and Saaya's family. Sitting on the opposite side of the table, the viscount was a slightly thin, kind-looking man in his mid-30s. Next to him sat two beautiful women of about the same age without makeup, and around the three of them, about ten beast-people children were seated noisily.

Though the meal was simple, the beast children were eating happily. The viscount and his two wives watched over them with smiles.

It was a warm scene despite the poverty.

"Tch, those animal-like creatures eating the same food... should just feed them leftovers..."

Of course, it was Fat Dad who muttered such things.

Sitting on the opposite side of the table with several empty seats in between, Fat Dad continued eating while glaring at the children. Behind him stood the servant child, and diagonally across from Fat Dad sat me, disguised as Saaya.

Saaya's mother passed away several years ago, and he hasn't remarried, so it's just father and daughter on this side. The atmosphere here? No need to ask. It's as cold as beer in the fridge.

It was a meal scene with an extreme temperature difference.

The two families didn't speak to each other. I tried to stay as quiet as possible to avoid any slip-ups, and I heard that Saaya usually acts this way too, so playing Saaya's role was easy. Without anyone paying attention to me, I finished my meal, and the servant cleared the dishes.

There was no reason to linger after the meal, so I stood up to return to my room. That's when the viscount suddenly addressed me.

"Saaya"

"...Yes, Uncle?"

I responded in a way I thought Saaya would, of course in a falsetto voice.

According to Saaya, her relationship with the viscount is fairly good. In fact, Saaya greatly respects him. Due to pressure from Fat Dad, they can't be too close, but he's a reliable person who helps her when she's in trouble.

"You didn't show up for dinner yesterday, so I was worried about what happened. It seems you weren't feeling well, are you alright now?"

His gaze and tone showed genuine concern.

I see why Saaya is more attached to the viscount than her father.

However, it seems he doesn't know about her being locked in the basement. Looking at Fat Dad, I received a fierce glare.

Here, it's probably safer to go along with Fat Dad than to be honest.

"Yes, I'm fine now. Thank you, Uncle."

"I see. That's good to hear."

The viscount looked relieved. His two wives also seemed to have been worried and smiled gently at me.

Just in case, I told them I'd rest in my room today and was about to leave the dining room - that's when it happened.

From outside the mansion, near the gate, the sound of a knocker announcing a visitor rang out.

The servant child immediately went out and returned in less than a minute.

In his hand was a letter.

"Who is it from?"

"I-It's from Count Ketaaru, sir."

The servant nervously replied to Fat Dad, then handed the letter to the viscount.

The viscount read the letter carefully, then let out a big sigh.

"Brother, what does the count say?"

"...It's a notice demanding support money for the town's reconstruction."

"What? How much?"

"For now, 20 gold coins for a viscount's rank. The details of the damage haven't been fully reported yet, so it might increase."

"Damn it! We don't have that kind of money!"

Fat Dad slammed the table with all his might.

The beast children looked scared.

"Even so, we're members of this town. Supporting in times of need is a noble's duty."

"I know! Damn, another round of borrowing... giving me more work."

"I'm sorry as always."

"...We're family. Can't be helped."

Though their words sounded like close brothers, Fat Dad's words only came across as sarcastic to me.

However, talk of support money, huh.

This might be useful.

I quietly left my seat and returned to Saaya's room.

Since I said I'd rest for a while, it's unlikely anyone will come to check on me.

I locked the room, opened the window, and escaped from the mansion.