I'm a Noble on the Brink of Ruin, So I Might as Well Try Mastering Magic: Volume 5 E-Book

Nazuna Miki

• Herausgeber: J-Novel Club
• Kategorie: Fantasy und Science-Fiction
• Serie: I'm a Noble on the Brink of Ruin, So I Might as Well Try Mastering Magic
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 160

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025

Beschreibung

From averting the crisis of his noble family to setting his nation of monsters on the right track, Liam’s journey has had its fair share of ups and downs, but it’s all proved to be very worthwhile. His wealth of experience has begun to inspire the awe and respect of the surrounding nations, and it even has his father knocking on his doorstep with a certain curious request! Each day in the nation of monsters passes peacefully and vibrantly thanks to their powerful king and his ingenious magic inventions. However, such power can sometimes bring unforeseen consequences. When a sudden earthshaking disaster strikes the land one night, can Liam rely on his pool of knowledge and experience to protect his citizens?

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

Cover

Character Profiles

I’m a Noble on the Brink of Ruin, So I Might as Well Try Mastering Magic: Volume 5

Then and Now

Afterword

Color Illustrations

About J-Novel Club

Copyright

Landmarks

Table of Contents

.162

When the sun rose on Liam-Lardon, I crawled out of bed, changed clothes, and headed to the dining hall with eager steps. I wonder what’s for breakfast today!

With their innate dexterity and increased know-how on human cuisine through Bruno, the elven maids were only getting better at cooking with each passing day. From warm homemade meals you’d find in a family restaurant to gourmet dishes served only at the most luxurious banquets, the elves were stocking up on any and every recipe they could get their hands on. Every meal was a new treat and a pleasant surprise.

“Oh, there he is!”

“Master!”

A whole crowd of elven maids rounded the corner. Their faces lit up instantly, and they wasted no time surrounding me.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen?” I asked.

“You’ve yet to change your clothes, haven’t you, Master?”

“Huh? No, I already did...”

“That won’t do. You must dress more dashingly!”

“More dashingly?” How exactly do I do that? My gaze fell to my outfit, which I felt was plenty dashing—after all, it was noble attire, prim and well designed from every angle.

“Please try this on, Master,” said a maid as she brought out a jacket and proudly held it up. It was black and red, decorated with golden aiguillettes.

“Did you make that?” I asked casually, only to be swarmed over by the eager group of maids the next second.

“Yes!”

“We made it for you!”

“So please! Do try it on!”

Well, if they made it for me, then who was I to turn them down? I accepted the jacket and passed my arms through the sleeves—or rather, tried to. I frowned in confusion. There was no hole for my arm to slip through; the sleeves were sewed shut.

“Oh, no need for that. Simply drape it over your shoulder.”

“Drape it...?”

“Yes, like this!” The elven maid took the jacket and set it over my back.

Ah, so it’s more of a mantle than a jacket... The sleeves are just decoration.

“Wooow! How dashing!”

“Our master is the coolest!”

The maids squealed and cheered, the sight of me wearing their handmade article leaving them all jumping in excitement. Some were even too moved to speak. T-Talk about an overreaction...

“But what is this thing?” I asked.

“This is what’s in style these days,” a maid gushed.

“Really?”

“Of course! Master, you are a king, aren’t you?”

“Um... Yeah. I am.” I reluctantly nodded. Truth be told, I still didn’t feel like much of a king. That said, I knew that I needed to step up to protect the monsters of this land.

“Until now, you’ve only dressed as a noble,” the maid continued. “This, however, makes you look far more kingly.”

“A complete upgrade!” another agreed.

“Really...?” I lifted my arms, peeked over my shoulder, and peered at my reflection in the window, taking in my entire outfit. I wasn’t sure it warranted all their squeals and screams earlier, but it did look pretty cool, I’d give them that.

What’s a cool pose? I tried folding my arms, letting the jacket-style mantle flutter behind me. Without warning, one of the maids collapsed.

Startled, I rushed to her side on the ground. “Wh-What’s wrong?”

“My eyes have been blessed...”

“Huh?” I had no idea what she was on about, but she seemed to be fine. Physically, at least.

Slowly, she regained her footing. I followed suit and returned my attention to the rest of the maids—they were still around me, all with dreamy and blissful looks on their faces.

“Uh...” I began, snapping them out of it. “Well, thanks for this. I’ll make sure to wear it from now on.”

“Thank you very much!”

“We’ll make more!”

“Okay.” I nodded and watched them giddily scamper away.

Then, I heard Lardon chuckle. “Quite the lady-killer, hm?”

“Don’t tease me...”

“I am not teasing you.” Noting my confusion, she went on. “You humans complicate far too many things. A man simply needs to be strong—and you were most certainly the very image of power earlier.”

“Oh...” That, I understood. Animals were like that too—males were all about strength and power. I kind of wanted to refute her first point, but she wasn’t exactly wrong about it either.

“That is why you are excellent,” Lardon continued. “Your looks are swell, and your mana is undoubtedly top class among humans.”

“Really?”

“When it comes to magic, you would surely fall within the top five.”

“Ohhh...” That made me happy. Really happy. Of course, it was flattering to be told I looked cool, but nothing could beat being complimented for my immense mana and—more than anything—receiving praise for my magic, which I poured my heart and soul into.

.163

“Master.”

Just as I was relishing in Lardon’s praise, Reina showed up. Serving as the chief of the elves, she was the only one among those working in this mansion who didn’t wear a maid uniform. She stopped in front of me and primly bowed from her waist.

“What’s up, Reina?”

“A guest has arrived,” she reported.

“A guest? Who?”

“Your father.”

“What?”

My father, the head of the Hamilton house and a proud noble of Jamille, had come knocking? Now this, I wasn’t expecting.

I couldn’t help but feel a little wary of this sudden visit. A while back, Albrevit had come by and caused some trouble. We had to reciprocate his discourteous attitude a bit, but Gai and Chris clearly went overboard with the stunt they pulled after he left. Did father come here to rebuke me for it...?

“What shall I do?” Reina asked calmly.

As different as she might be from Gai and Chris, I nevertheless often felt the need to tell the three of them how to act. While Gai and Chris were the types to charge in headfirst, Reina tended to lurk in the back and wait patiently, persistently, and dare I say endlessly for the perfect time to strike. Frankly, I found her more frightening than the other two. Even her supposedly innocent “What shall I do?” sounded more like “How shall I dispose of him?” to my ears.

“Let him into the reception hall and treat him courteously. I’ll follow.”

“Understood.” Reina bowed once more and left.

Fortunately, unlike Gai and Chris, I could mostly trust Reina not to run wild as long as I’d given my orders, so I saw her off with peace of mind.

Meanwhile, I stood in place for a while longer. Turning father away at the door was simply out of the question, hence my instruction to let him in. There were no problems up to this point—we treated pretty much every guest the same way. The issue lay in what father had come here for.

I sighed. “Well, I guess thinking about this won’t lead me anywhere.” Nothing wasted more time than pointless speculation, all the more if I was the thinker and the matter was unrelated to magic. Even Lardon would agree.

Rather than racking my brain here, it would be faster to go hear it from the man himself.

I left the mansion and arrived at the reception hall. The elven maids guided me to an especially luxurious parlor, where my father was waiting for me. He turned my way when he heard the door open.

“It’s good to see you again, father,” I greeted him.

His eyes opened wide. “L-Liam...?”

“Hm?” I stared back, puzzled. What? What’s with his reaction? “Er, yes. I’m Liam.”

“R-Right... Of course. You’re Liam.” He nodded stiffly, his perplexed gaze glued to me all the while.

Seriously, what’s going on with him? I reined in my confusion and took a seat across from him. The couch was soft and plush, as Bruno had procured our parlors nothing but the best.

An elven maid swiftly entered and began serving us with coffee, tea, and snacks. I watched as she deftly set everything up, then nodded once she finished. “Good work,” I said.

The maid smiled and, with a bow, excused herself from the room. Unlike the maids in my mansion, the maids in the reception hall were thoroughly composed—the cream of the crop, selected by none other than Reina. After all, we wouldn’t want the giddier girls to commit any kind of discourtesy in the place where we welcomed our guests.

Just as I was inwardly nodding in satisfaction...

“Oh my gosh! Master praised me!”

“Awww, good for you!”

I heard some very giddy squeals right before the door shut. We can hear you... I’ll have to ask Reina to reprimand them later. Whatever the case, this was unacceptable for staff of the reception hall.

“My apologies, father. Our maids haven’t been educated properly.”

“O-Oh, I suppose so... Well, that happens with the younger servants,” he replied absently, seemingly not offended by the maid’s behavior.

That only made me even more perplexed with his odd behavior. Especially his reaction when he first saw me... Seriously, what’s up with him? “More importantly, what brings you here today?”

“Ah, you see...”

“Could this be about my eldest brother?”

“Albrevit?” Father cocked his head, not an ounce of fakeness in his expression. He looked genuinely confused.

Was I wrong? I thought that if he was going to come here for something, it’d be the incident with Albrevit. How anticlimactic... Still, I checked just to be sure. “He came here the other day. Is your visit unrelated to his?”

“Certainly,” he answered. “Did he do something again?”

“Oh, nothing much.” If it was unrelated, then there was no need for me to bring it up. What was more, father asked if he did something “again.” I sensed the many struggles loaded behind that word.

“So?” I urged him on. If this wasn’t about Albrevit, then I had nothing—he’d have to clue me in.

“Y-Yes. You see...” Father’s eyes swam around the room. No more words came from his stiffly gaping mouth, leaving an awkward silence between us. He drank some of his tea as though he was mustering the courage to speak, but his lips remained pursed.

Suddenly, I got a feeling. Could it be...?

I broke the silence first. “Is this about your achievement?”

To say father was shocked would be an understatement—he very nearly jumped from his seat. In contrast, I simply nodded in understanding. Now that I thought about it, what else was there but this?

The nobles of Jamille Kingdom could only hold their status for up to three generations. The head who made an achievement would be the first generation, and the title would be passed down to two more generations thereafter. The fourth generation would have to relinquish their status and become commoners. To avoid that, before the fourth generation took over, they needed to gain an achievement that the state would recognize. Only then would their status be reset and they could pass the title down for another three generations.

Nobles typically passed down their titles and retired at a certain age, but my father, the third generation head of his house, would no longer be a noble the moment he passed his title down to his heir—the fourth generation head. Hence his desperation for an achievement—he couldn’t say it was no longer his concern just because it was the generation after his.

Father heaved out a very burdened sigh. “So you can tell... Yes, you’re right. That is what I came for.”

“So you’ve yet to make an achievement.”

His face twisted bitterly as he nodded. “That is correct.”

“His defeat before me must have been quite painful,” Lardon chimed in.

Indeed, he had tried to subjugate Lardon, known then as an evil dragon, to gain an achievement. It was an operation that ended in failure.

“And some men tend to shrink back after failing once—just like that one.”

I gazed at my father, finally understanding. Some people simply couldn’t bear the thought of failing yet again, much like my father after his dragon subjugation ended miserably. I mulled over my decision for a while. Then, I met his eyes.

“I understand,” I said. “What can I do to help you appeal an achievement to Jamille?”

Father drew in a sharp breath, his eyes wide in shock—far too wide, if you asked me.

“Father?”

“Are you...really Liam?”

“Huh?” There he went again, asking such weird questions. Just what was going on with him today? How was he seeing me?

“M-My apologies. Forget I said that.”

Lardon chuckled, and I curiously raised a brow. She sounded terribly amused. I waited for her to explain why, but moments passed and only silence came.

Now that’s rare. Lardon didn’t usually hold back when explaining her amusement. I mean, it was great that she was in such a good mood, really, but I sure wished she didn’t leave me hanging like this.

Father awkwardly cleared his throat. “S-So...”

Oh, I almost forgot about him.

“It’s as you say,” he admitted heavily. “As such, could you...grant me a favor? Say, like Bruno?”

“Oh...”

At present, Bruno had essentially been granted a monopoly of all this country’s trade, from manastones to all our other sources of income. He told me that it had been counted as an achievement and extended his nobility rights.

I nodded and stood from my seat. “Okay. Give me one night. I’ll think of something.”

“O-Okay. Thank you.”

“You can spend the night here. See you tomorrow.” I turned around and left the room, calling over an elven maid as I passed through the door. “Prepare my father’s accommodations.”

“Understood.”

As soon as I stepped out of the reception hall, I called out to a certain dragon. “Lardon? Why were you laughing earlier?”

“Hah. I was simply amused. You were finally looking the part.”

“What do you mean?”

“Look in a mirror.”

So she told me, but there was no mirror around. I approached a glass window nearby instead and peered at my reflection. There I stood, same as always. “What is it?”

“Do you not look like a monarch?”

“A monarch...? Oh, because of the mantle?” The elven maids did give this to me to make me look “more kingly.” It seemed to be serving its purpose.

Lardon chuckled once more. “Ah, yes... You are fine as you are.”

“Uh...” Why is she talking like I got it wrong? Was that not what she meant? I scratched my head, perplexed as ever.

.164

After parting from my father, I went to Scarlet’s mansion to ask for her opinion on the matter. After all, she was Jamille’s first princess—she’d know her country better than anyone else. Scarlet pondered on it for a while.

“The easiest method,” she finally said, “would be to recommend your sister as queen consort to Jamille. That is your quickest and most acceptable choice at present.”

“Oh, yeah... We had that option.” Gosh, why did that never come to me?

“I have done some investigation on your household, Master. It seems your father has been hoping for such an outcome but has yet to achieve it.”

“Right...”

Come to think of it, I first became Liam during the party they held for the birth of my sister—or rather, to celebrate the possibility of earning the easiest achievement in the country. Quite some time had passed since then, but my sister was still very much a baby. Of course there wouldn’t be much progress yet.

“The proposal should be swiftly accepted if you, Master, were to recommend it.”

“Really?” My eyes widened. There was no hesitation in Scarlet’s voice, nor did it sound like she was trying to convince me; she spoke as if she were simply stating a fact.

“Indeed. Jamille wishes to improve their relations with you—a desire that has been growing with recent developments.”

“What developments?”

“Dyphon,” she said simply. When I cocked my head, she elaborated, “One of the three main players in the Tri-Draconic War alongside Lardon now greatly adores you. The masses have yet to learn of this, but the heads of state are surely aware by now.”

“Is that so?” That was...kind of embarrassing.

“With the favor of two dragons of the Tri-Draconic War, you now hold in your hands the power to destroy an entire nation at worst.”

“At worst, huh...” She must be referring to the worst-case scenario where they turn both Lardon and Dyphon into their enemies. Yeah... That’s definitely a nation-ending catastrophe.

“Thus, it has become all the more imperative to form amicable relations with you,” Scarlet finished. “As such, I believe your recommendation to place your sister as queen consort will be approved with two hundred percent certainty.”

“I see...” She had a point, and besides, I could always trust her word. “All right, I get it. Then it’s settled.”

“Yes. Of course, I believe you must make it clear that your father asked for your recommendation.”

“Ah, right.” I nodded. That went without saying. I couldn’t be the main motivator if we were going to make this father’s achievement. It needed to be clear that I was only moving because he asked me to.

“And one more thing, if I may...”

“What is it?”

“I believe it would be more effective if Dyphon were to deliver the letter.”

“Dyphon? Why?”

“To flaunt that a legendary dragon is so head over heels for you, she would even run your errands.”

“Oh...” I didn’t know how that would work out with her, but... “All right. I’ll try asking her.” I thanked Scarlet and left her residence.

I once again sat face-to-face with my father in the reception hall as I relayed Scarlet’s idea. “Well? What do you think, father?”

“Of course!” he exclaimed right as I finished speaking. “I’d be incredibly grateful!”

“Really? I feel like this isn’t much, though...”

“Not at all,” he insisted. Then, he suddenly settled back down, the light in his eyes fading into something more somber. “You see, Liam... I believe people have their limits in life. That must be why I failed the dragon subjugation all those years ago—because I dared to achieve more than I was capable of, far beyond my worth.”

“Father...”

“So this is more than enough for me. Besides”—his lips quirked into a bright smile—“any achievement grants a three-generation extension, so why bother taking the more dangerous path?”

“I see...” I nodded. He certainly wasn’t wrong.

While talking with Scarlet, I had thought of another possibility: to make my sister my wife. That is, the Hamilton house presenting Liam-Lardon’s king with a wife, much like how Scarlet was now with me. After all, a political marriage would strengthen ties between our countries, so the Hamilton house would undoubtedly be rewarded the achievement.

However, this idea only came to me because I was reincarnated and had no actual blood ties with the Hamilton family. There was no way for any noble short of royalty to actually be married to his own sister.

“So, please... Could I ask this of you, Liam?”