Another year is about to pa.s.s.

Today is 2/14/7436 my birthday.

I've turned eight years old.

My level has gone up and putting aside my abnormal MP my abilities are near the level of someone in their early 10s.

Just to explain a bit, level 5 is the average level of a 30 year old farmer. Again, my strength and other ability parameters are close to those of a level 2, 13 year old child. The normal leveling method of an average farmer that doesn't train with the sword is they start farming at seven or eight years old, around 15 years old when they become an adult they reach level 3. Around this time their MP is between 3 ~ 4 and they start training in magic. According to what I've heard being able to use small magic, Cantrips around three times in a day is the measure. Then around 20 years old level 4, 30 years old level 5, mid-way into 40 years old about level 6. The fact that farm work is extremely inefficient for gaining experience is an understandable example. After observing it seems that the amount of experience points made from one day of farm work is between 1 and 5. It seems easier to gain based on heavy labor like cultivation.

Compared to that training with the sword, no matter how much effort you put into it at best you'll get 1 to 2 points per day doing just swinging the sword. When it comes to compet.i.tion or practice matches, basically live combat fighting you can make up to 20 points in a single day. n.o.bles start training with the sword at 7 years old and change to real combat style at around 10 years old. By the time they're about to be an adult they're already level 5. After watching our squires and my older sister that seems to be the case. After that the amount of experience required for level up increases so it's pretty varied but around 30 years old they're between level 8 and 9. Then around 40 years old they retire from the squires (Though there are no women in the squires in the Greed family) and their son or daughter inherits their job in the squires. I don't know if it's because he's talented or just because he's still healthy but the squire leader Beckwiz is still going at 47 years old and is far beyond that at level 12 nearing on level 13. Of course, my parents who had a lot of real experience as adventurers fighting monsters when they were young are a special case.

Obviously since I'm not allowed to do anything other than swing the sword the experience gain is inefficient but thanks to the Gift of Natural Talent with hunting once or twice a month you could somehow or other say I'm pretty good on my own.

In April, Farne turned 14 years old and entered the knight group. Normally he was supposed to enter next year after becoming an adult but since he's a n.o.ble it's fine to advance it a year. In reality, I think they just want to show a good face to the Greed family after we started producing rubber products and sell a favor to Hegard. I wonder if it's being too distrusting? During this era it might be okay for a n.o.ble to ignore the rules and enter early. In j.a.pan it was something that would never happen so I'm not sure if its just my distorted point of view.

Also, about Myun, she's still working on making rubber products and occasionally coming with me to hunt at night. Her real age is already 26 so if she doesn't marry soon things will get pretty difficult. Her adoptive father Tobas is already well over 60, he's a squire member but just in name, I wonder what she thinks. Should I ask?

"Hey, Myun. It might be a bit of an uncomfortable conversation but is it alright to ask?"

"Yes, what is it?"

That night as we were going to hunt monsters as usual I asked Myun.

"Does Myun not plan to get married? Myun can use the sword and is strong so you could inherit the squire position from Tobas as well but starting training to be in the squire now is a bit unnatural, what do you plan to do about the Tobas family?"

It's difficult to say, you'll miss your chance for marriage after all. I'll just casually, very casually~ ask here. It's not very casual at all though.

"..I guess so. But, even if it were to come to bringing in husband.."

Ah, it seems she was bothered by missing her chance for marriage after all.

"But, it wouldn't be strange if you already had a child right? The Tobas family will cease to exist like this?"

If she already knows then it's fine. There's no other choice than to say it frankly.

"I'm, well.. I don't look very good after all.."

No, no, don't go in that direction. The conversation will go in a weird direction.

"Isn't there someone you like?"

"No, not particularly.."

As she says that her expression is a bit suspicious. Hm, there is someone.

I'll try misleading her into saying it.

"Hm, how about Desdan? You're the same age and often talking after all. Or maybe Bosch?"

Desdan is 26 years old the squire Timba family's second son, he's got some rough points but a good hearted man. The reason why he still isn't married at 26 is because he liked the girl his older brother Sean married and when they married he went off to become an adventurer. Recently he seems to have gotten injured, retired from being an adventurer and returned to the village. Just the same Bosch is the second son of the squire Donnel family, he's 24 years old and the same age as Myun's deception setting so there's no problem. Bosch is the quiet type and often acting as a.s.sistant to the eldest son Ra.s.seg that inherited the squire position. It's said that he's too quiet so he ended up being late on getting married.

"Eh? Bosch and I aren't in that sort of.."

Ignoring Desdan huh. But, this seems to be a hit. It seems like her expression changed a bit.

"I see, I guess that's right. Bosch is quiet after all, not really the image of a squire."

"Bosch is kind to everyone after all..And, he can use the sword as well."

Hoho.

"Though he's still not joining the patrols of the squires right, I'm sure he's no big deal."

The patrol is when Hegard and the squires all gather and go around the forests thinning out and hunting monsters in the territory every 10 days or so. Farne keeps saying to bring him along as well but he hasn't become an adult or a knight yet so Hegard hasn't brought anyone but the adult squires and their siblings. Around the time I was born Ra.s.seg got married at 19 years old and the Donnel family was stable so his little brother Bosch stopped training for the squires and just did farm work.

"That isn't the case, Bosch can fight properly!"

What, the answer is already obvious.

"Then there's no problem is there. Talk to Bosch and Dangle about it. Or should I say it for you?"

I say while grinning. I'm the worst~

"Eh? But, um...It seems Bosch likes girls with big b.r.e.a.s.t.s... In the past he always looked at Ann's b.r.e.a.s.t.s after all.."

Bosch is a closet pervert I guess. Ann is a rabbit people race farmer so her b.r.e.a.s.t.s are huge. I don't know the cup but anyways they're huge.

"Men are all like that. And Ann is of the rabbit people race. Rather, when is that a story from? I think you might get a different answer now."

Yeah, I have no basis for saying that though. By the way, it's possible to marry between different races but it's difficult to have children so it doesn't occur very often. In Bakkudo there's a human male and cat people race female couple but they haven't had any kids. It's not as if it's completely impossible but it seems to be a considerably low probability of getting pregnant so it's not recommended.

"..Is that really the case?"

Myun says uneasily. She may not be a beauty but her looks are average so that sort of expression is a bit cute.

"I could indirectly try hearing about how Bosch feels for you?"

Somehow or other it feels like I've become a guardian. Even in j.a.pan up until the Showa era it was common for parents to decide on the marriage partner so somewhat, somewhat~ it feels kind of like that.

"It's almost as though Al-sama is an adult with how many things he notices..."

She says while staring at me. Hmp, I wonder what in the world Myun is hesitating about at this point?

"If you think about what you should to the point of throwing up, you won't easily make the wrong decision. There's no relation to age."

"Really...Please don't say something like what Farne-sama would say."

I was exposed immediately.

"Farne-sam really seems to think meticulously and deeply about various things and says sharp things but it feels like Al-sama naturally says things. Are you really a child?"

"You've known me since I was born right, and, what are you going to do?"

Myun quietly said it while staring at the night sky.

"I'll propose it to Bosch and my adoptive father myself. Even if it's no good that's for the best."

"..I see..Good luck."

I can't say anything but that.

That night it wasn't the mood to go hunting anymore so I teased Myun as we returned.

By the way, on the forging end things seem to have considerably gotten on track. We buy iron ores with the abundance of money we've made from rubber products and can now make the farming tools and pots that we need ourselves. It's big that the village can make cast metal products all on its own. Because of problems with demand everyday life articles are given priority but refining with my magic. I'm continuing to forge in particular with the iron I've sorted. Although, it's almost entirely dependent on Arnold. Even though it's not perfect, the performance is much better than my pseudo forged type 64 bayonet so Hegard and Arnold have realized the importance of hitting the unprocessed ores.

Recently I'm trying to make an alloy tougher than iron so I'm challenging the production of stainless. In a ratio with iron I think it was around nickel 10% and chrome 15%. In the future I want to make a gun barrel which can use a life ring so for the time being I'll use a random amount of nickel and chrome to produce stainless and then improve it from there. Alloys are fundamentally made by heating it up with magic and mixing it so it's not very difficult to make. I converge it with fire magic, use void magic to accelerate that (isn't quite the correct way of putting it but) and it's not all that difficult to reach the necessary temperature to make an alloy. It just uses a lot of MP.

Looking at it like this, it's easily to tell that void magic is extremely useful in selecting things on the molecular, element, and atom levels. I'm primarily using it for metals right now but I noticed I can take out the elements of various other substances than just metals as well. It consumes a considerably amount of MP but I found out I can separate acid and other important elements as well.

Hm? Then if I were to mix molecules could I create elements as well?

Now then, Al-kun is testing out various things. There are successes but obviously there's many failures as well. Failure is the mother of success after all.