Chapter 2: Progress

"Where is Young Master Paul?"

Inside the vast and luxurious Notos Greyrat estate, a question was thrown out between a chat between two of the many servants that swore loyalty to this high-noble house.

Most of them were nobles themselves, but to dedicate themselves in service to another of higher ranking was often seen as a career choice that boosted their pedigree and reputation.

The person the two servants were talking about was the son of the current Lord of house Notos Greyrat, Paul Notos Greyrat.

A child who made immediate waves upon his birth for his seemingly unusual behavior as a toddler.

He made no fuss and obediently followed any requests made by his caretakers. In essence, an absolute joy for the servants who nursed him.

However, some servants who hailed from lands far from the Asura kingdom speculated that he was possessed by an evil spirit.

Fearing such rumors despite their unpopular belief in the household, Lord Amarant Notos Greyrat called upon a priest of the Milis faith to inspect his son.

But going against the rumors, no holy magic reacted upon reaching the toddler. Faced with this, the priest only had one thing to say to Lord Amarant.

"You're son is exhibiting signs of being a genius!"

Celebration immediately followed around the household as a reputed priest and scholar determined the young scion to be a natural genius.

The ecstatic Lord Amarant and Madame Valentina were delighted beyond belief to hear such news.

Preparations were immediately made to raise him in the best manner a high noble of the Asura kingdom could afford.

As for the few servants who rumored Paul to be possessed by an evil spirit? Well…it's up to you to imagine what became of them after insulting the heir of house Notos Greyrat.

"Young Master Paul? It's obvious! Are you new here? The Young Master lived up to the priest's prediction quite quickly"

The servant began to retell the progress of his Young Master as if he were his own child.

Before he was one, he spoke his first word. Before he was two, he could speak reasonably as well as walk. Before he was three, he already began his studies under famed tutors.

"Now that he's four? He's locked himself up in the library to further his studies…I envy his personal maid. She struck it big by being favored by Young Master Paul…there's a common belief among the servants of the household whenever he passes by them, you know?"

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Young Master Paul will carve his name into the annals of history.

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"𝘼𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙤…is winter coming sooner than I expected?"

Reading a dense book by the window sill of his family's personal library, Paul wondered to himself about the changing of the seasons.

"Eh, it doesn't matter. Mom is so overprotective that she hasn't let me out of the house yet…something about geniuses being frail…must be some local belief in this world"

Being amused by another peculiarity of this world in contrast to his past one, Paul resumed his studying of the book in his hands.

It was an original copy of a famed merchant's guide to commerce and the cultivation of one's wealth. Something only the immensely influential and rich could be capable of attaining.

"I never really traded stocks before, so it's quite the interesting read…a lot of bragging about his personal galleon ship though…is a galleon this world's equivalent for a bugatti?"

Being amused by another peculiarity of the world, Paul did his best to put to memory all the words and techniques being discussed in the book.

It has been some time since he had to experience the hell that was not being able to control when or where he shitted or pissed.

Following the words of some priest who ogled his mom's big chest, his dad put him through a rigorous schedule of tutors and private lessons as soon as he was able to talk without lisping every two words.

"Mom fought with him a lot about pushing me so hard while I was so young. Fortunately for him, however, I also wanted to start studying"

"Being a baby for so long would naturally make anyone want to do something productive for one"

Basic Speech. Basic Language. Formal Etiquette. History. Arithmetic. Commerce. Ceremonial Events.

Paul was put through the course of expected lessons one might give to the young scion of such a reputed noble house.

To most children, such dense topics would only be partially absorbed, but for Paul who had the mind of someone far more used to studying, it was a breeze.

'It was a bit annoying to deal with tutors who were dumbing the lessons down immensely for me'

Seeing that he was quick to learn, many of his tutors were quick to praise him to his father and mother and urged them to further support his career in academics.

And after urging his mother to accept with some puppy eyes, they did. Increasing his covered topics of learning and expediting some introductory lessons.

Ballroom Dancing. Philosophy. Political Maneuvering. Basic Swordsmanship. And Basic Magic. Much more intricate and dense topics began to be taught to the young master of the house.

Many tutors were amazed to see him keep up with them. Many extended offers to take him in as their apprentice, but Paul quickly rejected their offers.

Much to the disappointment of his father, and to the immense relief of his mother who didn't want to see his baby boy leave the nest so soon.

The reason? It was simple. He wasn't interested in becoming a scholar. There was only one profession he had in mind that he wanted to pursue.

Being an adventurer. Just as the original Paul would've done in the original timeline of Mushoku Tensei.

"I could have the freedom to develop and challenge my strength for what is to come. I don't want to become some dinky old man locked in a room…I already experienced how that was like working unpaid overtime as a software engineer…"

Mushoku Tensei was a world that was filled with immense dangers and plenty of unknowns in spite of his position as a reincarnator…but it was undeniable that the allure of exploring a fantasy world was tempting.

"I'll milk all that I can as a noble to strengthen myself, then I'll start my adventure far better than the original Paul"

Swordsmanship. Magic. Knowledge. Social skills. He will maximize the latent talent of Paul Greyrat to the greatest extent possible.

𝙁𝙒𝙊𝙊𝙊...

Thinking of the topics of swordsmanship and magic, Paul began to manifest a circular sphere of rapid gusts of wind.

Translating his magic from its natural state of internal application in swordsmanship, the young boy's energy began to form itself into the image he desired.

Having studied the spell's formula and incantation thoroughly, Paul cast the beginner-level wind magic, Aero Ball.

A rather useless spell that only provided a weak breeze, but with a grin on his face, Paul began to power up the potency of the spell.

𝙁𝙒𝙊𝙊𝙊!!!...

The sphere of winds began to grow more and more violent until the space it took up began to be visible. Distorting the surroundings with its immense force.

"Rasengan!"

Joking while recreating the famous ninjutsu of his past life, Paul quickly unmanifested the ball of wind into nothing after he got his amusement.

"Good, progress has been going along nicely"

In the past four years, he had continued his practice of scanning his body with his source of magic to exhaustion. Usually draining himself out when he went to sleep so as to not raise any suspicion.

As a result, his reserve of magic grew quite large over time. Though he wasn't sure how it compared to others, regardless of its size, Paul wouldn't grow cocky or complacent in cultivating it.

'Even with his immense reserves of magic from his Laplace factor and raising it from a young age, Rudeus didn't have enough to successfully cast powerful spells such as time travel…at least Old Man Rudeus didn't, but his reserves should be the same as the originals'

'So if Rudeus didn't have enough, I sure as hell won't believe that I will. Paul has a naturally large amount of magic that he used to become a prodigy in swordsmanship, but it won't even begin to compare to a Laplace factor. I just hope when it stops growing, it'll be enough for my future plans'

Due to this, Paul constantly activated his magic to strengthen his body. Specifically, he was strengthening the development of his body, such as his skeletal and muscular structure.

Knowing of the biological phenomena that occur to grow a child from his time as a software engineer for medical projects, Paul was constantly draining and raising his magic reserves beyond the notice of most people.

A method that was far more suitable for Paul compared to Rudeus' spamming of water balls into a basin.

'I have to not accrue too much attention on myself as much as possible. So outside of when I'm studying with my magic teacher, I should be fine to use this method'

Though Paul made a reputation for himself as a genius, he did his best to not go so far as to become a hot topic for his tutors, parents, and servants.

The reason? He didn't want to appear weird, especially to the human god, as unlikely as it was for that to happen.

'Though I am able to hide my future and presence from his vision. The moment he hears other people talk about me deviating from what he knows, it's game over for me'

Though the skill he chose when he reincarnated avoided him being spawn-killed, it wasn't an absolute defense.

Rumors were his current number one weakness. Until he is strong enough to defend himself a bit, it was in Paul's best interest not to stand out too much.

'Just enough to open avenues, not enough to become famous'

With this in mind, though he excelled far more than most noble children in his fields of study, he was capable of far more than what his tutors, parents, and servants know about.

'My lessons in most subjects are fine, but for magic and swordsmanship, I'm only known to have gotten a touch of the basics of basics. Most of my abilities as of now are from self-study'

As a noble household, the Notos Greyrat's personal library held many books on its shelves, with some of them being books on magic which helped him grow stronger by studying spells.

As for swordsmanship, Paul emulated the original method and just simply learned by watching other swordsmen perform their skills.

'Paul really is such a cheat character. I will never get over how he wasted all this for a bunch of one-night stands and casual hook-ups'

But before he became lost on another rant about how Paul could've optimized his life, a knock was heard on the door to the library.

"Young Master Paul, may I come in?"

It was a soothing voice that he came to recognize instantly, due mainly in part to how often he heard it.

"You may enter, Corrinthia"

Entering the library was his personal maid, Corrinthia Emblem. A beautiful young woman with ashen blonde hair who raised him since he was a toddler.

"I'm sorry to disturb your personal reading time, Young Master, but Lord Amarant requested your presence at the dinner table"

"The dinner table? He must want to talk about something urgent given that it's a bit early compared to usual"

Checking an ornate pocket watch he had been given by his father in reward for his excellence in his studies, Paul determined the time to be five past noon.

Usually, his family would gather to eat dinner at six. But given the urgency and the timing o the event, he could roughly guess what his father wanted to talk about.

"Alright. Accompany me, Corrinthia. I assume the servants know what to do with the library?"

"Yes, Young Master. I have instructed the servants as always to leave your favorite reading spot as is while you're away"

"Excellent"

With a smile on his face, while he put away his book on commerce, Paul began to walk in front of his maid toward his family's dining area.

By the windowsill of the now closed library, beneath the book on commerce was a series of other books that the young scion had read for one of his future plans.

『Theories of Magic Circles』and『Basics of Summoning Magic』

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"Father, it is Paul, may I come in?"

"You may"

With the servants opening the door for him, Paul began to see his father and mother waiting for him at the end of a long and resplendent table befitting their noble status.

Expensive decorations and chandeliers sparse the room as an assortment of various foods presented themselves along the table's length.

"Excellent etiquette, my son! So young yet so polite!"

"That's my Paul! Come here and let Mother congratulate you!"

Seeing their young child already act with an aura and demeanor fitting his blood, Amarant and Valentina were overjoyed and expressed as much to Paul.

Though his mother was quick to dote on him, his father only began to follow suit after seeing that his wife's doting hadn't hampered his son's development in the slightest.

"It's just a couple of words, mom"

"Oh, don't be like that! If you don't think it's praiseworthy, then just let your mother hug you for how cute you are!"

"M-Mom!"

Becoming smothered in his mother's abundant chest, Paul grew quickly embarrassed as he struggled to breathe in his mother's embrace.

Though he would indeed admit that he somewhat enjoyed the sensation on his face, it was still hard for him as a grown man mentally to experience such a thing with so many people watching over him.

As of that moment, there were countless servants observing the noble family at that moment. Most of them being maids due to his father's perversion.

"Why have you grown so rebellious to my cuddling, Paul? You used to be so ecstatic whenever I breastfed you before"

'That was because I needed nutrients! Not because I enjoyed suckling on my mother!'

After Valentina had recharged on her daily dose of Paul, the young scion quickly breathed for air as she sat on a chair opposite to his mother.

His maid Corrinthia relegated herself to the side with a smile as she enjoyed seeing her young master interact with his mother.

'Young Master Paul, for all his excellence, is still an adorable child'

With the familial banter having concluded, the dinner began, and so did Amarant's discussion of what he wanted to talk about with Paul.

"Paul, the reason I called dinner so early…is to discuss your upcoming fifth birthday and the subsequent plans following after"

'I knew it'

Paul Notos Greyrat's fifth birthday. In the world of Mushoku Tensei, one only celebrates their birth after five, ten, and fifteen years of life.

And for a noble like himself, such occasions were extremely important, especially his fifth birthday, as it was his debut into the world of noble life.

"I have invited a number of notable people in our faction in the royal court, so do your best to get along with everyone. I'm sure you know what to do after your lessons in political maneuvering and etiquette, yes?"

"Of course, father. You needn't worry about such things. Please give me the list of attendants, and I will begin my study of their houses and political relationships in the kingdom"

Seeing the perfect response from his son, Amarant was immensely satisfied with his son's development.

Feeling a great anticipation swelling in his chest when the day comes when he can show off his extremely capable heir.

Valentina and the other servants shared a similar response, growing proud of Paul for capable he was at his age.

Meanwhile, the young boy in question felt extremely tired and wanted to get this dinner over with.

'Why must dinner be so stiff? I want to eat cup noodles sloppily while reading books! Not consciously remember which knife and fork I use to eat pork!'

He was not a big fan of formal noble dinners. Between the countless observing stares and the numerous rules of etiquette when eating, Paul abhorred how some stuck-up people ruined the universally loved act of eating food.

But with his countless days of trudging along the bastardization of his favorite time of the day, dinnertime, Paul was able to at least do it somewhat unconsciously.

'Moving on from that…my fifth birthday…this is where things will start getting interesting for me'

He was excited as what followed after Paul's fifth birthday in the story, excluding the time he had sex for the first time, was his enrollment into the Asura Kingdom's national academy.

'Though I would've preferred Ranoa a bit, the national academy of the Asura Kingdom is balanced in their curriculum in various fields'

'Seeing as I want to grow both as a swordsman and a magician, it's currently my best choice overall'

Another thing he was excited about was that enrolment into the academy requires the student to live in their dorms. Meaning he will have much more freedom to grow without his parents or servants constantly observing him.

'I can finally start experimenting with more noticeable forms of magic. I was essentially limited to the library when I wanted to test something…and most forms of magic don't blend well with a room full of old and hard-to-obtain books…'

Counting down the days until his birthday, Paul cannot wait to finally see how far he can push the rules and systems of this world.

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AN:

Thank you for reading this chapter

Wanted to experiment with chapter lengths for this fanfic.

I've been writing 10k words consistently for my other fanfic, so I wanna see what it was like to type around 3k words. It's pretty weird for me ngl HAHAHA.

Hope you look forward to the next chapter