I Can See Your Stats Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The cold atmosphere of the morning banquet showed no signs of recovery as time passed. Being in that environment gradually diminished his appetite. Intending to let at least the retainers eat comfortably, Ayra rose early and left the banquet hall first. As he walked along with heavy steps, he called up the quest window.

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<Quest!>

[Let's level up this cute Pebble.]

*Check stats of 10 people (10/10)

*Introduce cute Pebble to 10 people (10/10)

Reward: New stat category unlocked

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When he confirmed the quest was complete, the text 'Level Up!' appeared on Pebble's body. Ayra's eyes widened.

"Level up? You can level up too?"

Pebble shone dazzlingly bright. Ayra unconsciously clasped his hands together and waited. At that moment, what flashed through his mind was a certain anime featuring pocket monsters or digital monsters.

Is it evolution? It must be evolution! As he held his hands over his pounding heart, the light finally faded, revealing Pebble's new form.

A round, smooth pebble-like body the size of two adult fists, eyes like two dots, a ㅅ-shaped mouth... Even after evolving, Pebble was still Pebble. There was almost no difference from before.

Except for the tiny hands that had appeared, each about the size of a marble.

"Wow, w-wow."

As Pebble spun around looking so proud of itself, Ayra found himself awkwardly applauding.

"You got... hands!"

It flew over to Ayra's shoulder with a flutter and began either massaging or patting his shoulder—it wasn't clear which. Well... as long as it was cute! When he touched Pebble's hand with his index finger, it felt slightly squishy, like touching jelly.

"Ayra-nim."

Just as he was wondering whether to call these unconnected floating parts hands or dependent fragment entities, he turned around to find Ginas walking toward him, apparently having just left the banquet hall as well.

As he had been curious about which stat category had been unlocked, Ayra called up the stat window. Upon checking the new category in the stat window, he reflexively started to furrow his brow but quickly glanced at Ginas. This young governor was quite perceptive, and he didn't want to needlessly raise his guard.

"Sir Ginas."

"I have something to discuss with you regarding the succession ceremony schedule."

Forcing his gaze away from the stat window floating beside Ginas's head, Ayra nodded for him to continue.

"Since it hasn't been long since the previous lord's unfortunate passing, it might be better to hold the succession ceremony after taking some time."

"Yes. It hasn't been long since Father, Mother, and Brother passed away, and I don't know much, so it would be good to take time to learn various things while mourning. We can take another month or two."

The implication was that since he himself felt burdened about immediately ascending to the position of lord, Ginas shouldn't feel pressured either. However, at these words, Ginas's gray eyes flashed as he became serious.

"No. We must proceed before a month passes, no matter what! I will ensure you take the lord's position as soon as possible, Ayra-nim."

"Oh, well, thank you..."

Even seeing this attitude, Ayra felt that the reason for Ginas's resolute stance definitely wasn't out of loyalty to him. From the atmosphere in the banquet hall earlier to Ginas's current attitude, layers of unsettling feelings kept accumulating. Ayra carefully broached the subject.

"Well then, shall I start handling estate matters before the succession ceremony? Work must be piling up with the lord's position vacant."

"I deeply apologize, Ayra-nim. While the seal needed for routine internal affairs and document approval is in the study, traditionally only the lord and their proxy can enter the study."

Ginas had indirectly said, 'You cannot be involved in our estate's internal affairs until after the succession ceremony.' Another unsettling point was added to the list. Ayra couldn't tell if this was simply a conservative retainer adhering to tradition or if there was another reason. He suspected it was the latter.

Though he considered pushing the issue, Ayra gave up. He didn't want to create conflicts with an important retainer from the start, and he also felt burdened about immediately taking the lord's position. Besides, even if there were problems in the estate, it didn't matter.

Because no matter what, he was determined to inherit the position of lord.

It wasn't that he already felt a heavy responsibility toward the estate. To Ayra, who had spent more time in the Labyrinth, the estate was just a place from nostalgic childhood memories. His determination to become lord was for a different reason.

What were the chances that the deaths of the lord and his family all at once were merely an accident?

The lord, his eldest son, and the lord's wife. If even one of them had survived, there wouldn't have been major problems with governing the estate immediately. Yet coincidentally, all three had died at once. Moreover, all the knights accompanying them had died too, leaving not a single witness.

What Ayra found most suspicious was that his brother's body had been torn in half, as if ripped apart. Could a body really be so severely damaged even if the carriage had fallen from a cliff?

If all of this was intentionally done by someone...

Ayra's eyes grew cold. Though he too might be in danger by setting foot in this estate, he wouldn't submit easily. He wouldn't let whoever did this continue living peacefully.

"Then I'll wait until the succession ceremony."

"Yes, I will handle it as quickly as possible."

"Alright. I'm counting on you, Sir Ginas. Ah, that's right."

Just as he was about to turn and go his way, Ayra stopped as he remembered what he wanted to ask Ginas. He turned around sharply and asked politely.

"If it's alright, could I remove one... no, just a few bricks from the castle wall?"

It took a moment of buffering before the sharp-looking young governor could answer. Ginas asked back with a face that suggested he wasn't sure he had heard correctly.

"...Pardon?"

"Preferably from the main corridor's central wall, if possible. There's something I'd like to check."

"What... would you like to check?"

"It's clear that this castle stays so clean and lasts so long because of magic, so if I could just check how the magic circuits are arranged—"

"Absolutely not!"

Ginas flatly refused, looking as if he had heard something absolutely horrifying. Before Ayra could try to persuade him further, he emphasized even more seriously.

"Even as lord, tampering with the historic main corridor walls would be unacceptable."

"If it's just about being awkward in front of others, I could secretly remove them at night and reattach them perfectly. If I apply a bit of well-boiled slime gland secretion, it would be undetectable."

"Good heavens! Apply what?"

Seeing Ginas's eyes practically screaming 'To think such a crazy mage will be our next lord!', Ayra's confidence wavered slightly. It seemed slime gland secretion wasn't commonly used outside the Labyrinth.

...Am I creating conflicts with an important retainer from the start after all?

"If the corridor is problematic, perhaps somewhere else..."

"Every single brick, down to the smallest fragment everywhere else, carries the history of Solar estate, so it would be absolutely unacceptable. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have urgent matters to attend to."

Worried that Ayra might suggest something else, the young governor quickly bowed and hurried away with quick steps. After watching his retreating figure with regret, Ayra turned and grabbed Pebble, who had been floating gently nearby. As he squeezed it like kneading rice cake and stretched it out, Pebble flailed its newly acquired hands.

"All I got was just a full name reveal? Isn't that a bit much?"

Raising his eyebrow crookedly, Ayra gestured toward the stat window he had maintained even after Ginas left.

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<Hess Lu Ginas>

HP: ???

MP: ???

Physical Attack: ???

Magic Attack: ???

Affection: ???♡

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Indeed. After completing the quest, the newly unlocked category merely showed the name 'Ginas' expanded to 'Hess Lu Ginas.' While kneading the artificial spirit that strangely seemed to enjoy being tormented, Ayra searched his memories.

"The Hess family has traditionally served as governors of the estate."

Naming conventions in Solar estate were as follows: for nobles, the family name came first, followed by a generational character shared by those of the same generation, and finally the given name. In the case of Solar Xing Ayra, it meant something like "A person named Ayra from the Xing generation of the Solar family."

"If this ability is what I think it is... even just this could be very useful."

While lost in thought, he realized Pebble had become flat as a pancake in his hand. When Ayra let go with a start, Pebble pretended to be dying and clasped its tiny hands together in a pleading gesture. Though it seemed to enjoy being kneaded, it apparently didn't prefer being flattened too much.

Soon, a new quest window appeared.

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<Quest!>

[Let's level up this cute Pebble.]

*Check stats of 300 people (0/300)

Reward: Unlock 1 stat category of user's choice

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