I've Inherited the Summoning Skill, So I'm Going to Try to Master It! - Episode 78: In Other Words, It's Top Secret

Episode 78: In Other Words, It’s Top Secret 

Brother Gilliam took out several books from the bookshelf. Their titles were “People Encyclopedias”. How straightforward. It seems these books contain detailed descriptions of various people. 

“These ones are related to the nobles connected to the Flute Ducal House. You can read them freely, but be careful—some of the information isn’t meant to be shared outside.” 

“I understand.” 

Whoa, is it really okay to give me something this dangerous? I’m getting a bit scared to check the contents. 

But there’s no point in coming this far and leaving empty-handed. I steeled myself and opened the first book. Which was about the members of the Flute Ducal House. 

The book included portraits along with detailed descriptions. Hmm, hmm… Do I really need to know about someone’s first love? But having the portraits is helpful. This way, I can match faces to names. 

Of course, since the portraits were drawn by hand, I can’t be sure how accurately they depict the real person. It’d be nice to have photos at times like this. I feel like Tora-chan might have a camera inside him, though. 

But if I used a magic tool like that, people might freak out and say, “Your soul will be stolen!” 

Humans tend to fear things they’ve never seen before. I should wait until this era’s science advances a bit more. 

“There’s a girl my age in the Flute Ducal House.” 

“That’s right. There are also people who are my classmates and Leonard’s classmates.” 

“That’s easy to understand!” 

I couldn’t help but shout. Does that mean they planned the births to coincide with the royal family’s? Mainly to build connections with royalty? Nobles are scary. I guess that’s what it takes to be a duke. 

I flipped through the pages to check on the children. It seems that both Brother Gilliam’s and Brother Leonard’s classmates are male, while the one my age is female. 

…………….Could she be a potential fiancée? Maybe this is also meant to be an introduction. 

First, I need to see what she’s like. Let’s see, her name is Flare Flute. Flare-chan, huh? I wonder if she’s got a fiery personality. Her portrait is cute, and it looks like she’s got twin-drill curls. 

It doesn’t say she’s arrogant. That’s a relief. Her inherited skill from the succession ritual is Fire Magic. That somehow makes sense. 

“Brother Gilliam, what kind of skill is Fire Magic?” 

“It’s a skill that lets you use all types of fire-attribute magic. But to master all of them requires intense training.” 

“I see. That sounds like an amazing skill.” 

“Hmm…” 

Huh? Did I get that wrong? Brother Gilliam can only use up to advanced magic, right? Wouldn’t a skill that allows usage up to special-grade magic be incredible? 

I must’ve looked puzzled because Brother Gilliam explained further: 

“It’s powerful if mastered, but it seems to take a lot of time to learn each spell. Most people end up stuck at intermediate magic. For a duke’s daughter, she might only get as far as beginner-level magic.” 

“That’s a waste.” 

“Yeah, it really is.” 

It would’ve been great if it had a side effect like Brother Gilliam’s Scholar Skill. Which makes him passionate about research. But I guess that’s not the case. Maybe this is normal. 

In other words, the Scholar Skill is the abnormal one. 

Perhaps not many people aim to fully master the skills granted by the gods. 

Thinking about that, I continued checking the key figures. The books contained all kinds of scandalous information. Like secret children, troubled marriages, or even who’s wearing a wig—definitely not the kind of stuff that can be shared publicly. 

They sure gathered a lot of information. The royal family’s shadow network is impressive. Have they investigated me too? 

No, probably not. I mean, I am royalty. 

I finished reading through the profiles. As expected from a young mind. And thanks to what seems to be a pretty good memory, I was able to absorb almost all the information in one go. 

If I’d had this ability in my previous life, things would’ve been much more fun. Well, no point dwelling on the past. I should keep moving forward.

“Thank you, Brother Gilliam. I was able to get a good understanding of things.” 

Brother Gilliam had been working at his desk. When I expressed my gratitude, he paused his tasks. Even though he had work to do, he answered all my questions without a single sign of annoyance. 

I should definitely give him a thank-you gift. 

“Are you done already? It seems Rufus isn’t as slow-witted as I thought. How about this—would you consider managing the Summoning Guild while also working here?” 

Was that his plan all along? But it’s too early for me. I’m only seven years old. Or maybe he’s looking ahead to when I’m older. Brother Gilliam is more calculating than he appears. 

“I’ll think about it. For now, I’m already quite busy with the Summoning Guild.” 

In reality, that’s not the case at all. But I figured it was better to say that. This way, Brother Gilliam wouldn’t try to rope me in too forcefully. 

“That’s good to hear. I do hope you’ll give it some thought.” 

Brother Gilliam smiled warmly. It seems my answer was exactly what he expected. Wait…… was he testing me?