IWBTP 02

Chapter 2

The Skill Bestowal Ceremony

Two years had passed since I regained the memories of my previous life.

I was five years old now.

And today was the long-awaited—or rather, not really awaited—Skill Bestowal Ceremony.

There were no exceptions. Commoners, nobles, and members of the royal family all underwent it.

For the people of this country, the Skill Bestowal Ceremony was a very special day.

When a person turned five, they received a skill from God.

That skill could have a huge impact on the course of their life.

For commoners, it influenced their choice of occupation. For nobles, it could determine the future of their house.

And for members of the royal family, things were even more troublesome.

Because it could affect their right to inherit the throne.

That was why the entire royal palace had been bustling since morning.

Come to think of it, I wonder what happened to the status I first saw when I was three.

Since then, I had started seeing those black hazes, so perhaps something had changed.

【Rainid Linden】

Age: Five

【Magic Attribute】 ???

【Skills】 ???

【Special Ability】 Danger Prediction

Oh!

The “Special Ability” section had increased.

So being able to see those black hazes really was my Danger Prediction ability.

But my Magic Attribute and Skills were still displayed as “???” just like before.

“Why can’t I see my skills and magic attribute yet? I wonder if they’ll change after the Skill Bestowal Ceremony.”

Now then, what kind of skill would I receive?

I hoped it would be something useful.

I definitely didn’t need some skill that would help me become king.

Something related to cooking or everyday life would be fine.

After all, my goal was to “live a leisurely life.”

Receiving a skill from God was such a mysterious thing.

This was fantasy at its finest.

Excited, I went to my mother’s room.

And then…

“Mother, do I really have to wear this?”

I stared at the clothes in front of me, my face twitching.

White frills.

Puffy pumpkin pants.

And white tights.

There was no other way to describe it.

It was a public execution.

For the thirty-something man I had been in my previous life, this was mentally painful.

“What are you talking about, Rainid? This is proper formal attire for a prince.”

Mother tilted her head in confusion.

No, no, no.

This was formal attire?

Maybe a five-year-old could get away with wearing something like this, but there was a thirty-something man on the inside!

I was going to die of embarrassment.

“Could I at least wear trousers?”

“We don’t have any.”

She answered immediately.

I quietly accepted my defeat.

Reluctantly, I changed clothes and arrived at the ceremony hall, where the other two were already waiting.

They were both wearing pumpkin pants too.

“Pfft.”

“Ray, that’s rude.”

“Kyle, you don’t look particularly good in them either.”

“Ray, neither do you.”

We weren’t exactly complimenting each other, were we?

While exchanging remarks like that, we headed to the temple.

The children who would turn five that year had gathered inside the temple.

Behind them, their families waited anxiously, wondering what kind of skills their children would receive.

The members of the royal family were seated in the front row.

My grandfather, grandmother, and my uncle, Keilrich, were all there.

They had come all the way from their territory in the north to the capital just to watch my Skill Bestowal Ceremony.

Mother was seated with the Queen and the other consorts.

The divine revelation of a skill was quite simple.

A person placed their hand on a crystal, and a divine revelation appeared. The High Priest would then read it aloud.

Whoa.

So this was basically a skill announcement ceremony.

Apparently, a person’s Magic Attribute could be determined through their own senses, but when it came to succession to the throne, skills were considered more important.

I was starting to get nervous.

There were a lot of five-year-olds this year.

There seemed to be especially many girls.

There were also quite a few daughters of high-ranking noble families.

I suppose simply being the same age as the three princes made them noteworthy as potential future queens or consorts.

Life in noble society was tough from the age of five.

Then the king—my father, whom I had hardly ever seen—gave the opening declaration.

He was handsome.

“The Skill Divine Revelation for those turning five shall now begin. Regardless of what skill you receive, or even if you receive no skill at all, continue to encourage and improve yourselves each day.”

The High Priest approached the crystal.

“Silence! The Divine Revelation Ceremony shall now begin. Those whose names are called, come forward and place your hand upon the crystal. Then await the divine revelation.”

It seemed they were going in birth order.

When someone placed their hand on the crystal, it lit up if a skill manifested. If they had no skill, it didn’t light up.

Some people rejoiced.

Some cried.

Some became angry.

Others simply stood there in a daze.

The parents reacted the same way.

The priests led those who had finished away from the ceremony area.

Next was Rudolf, the second son of Marquis Aezelt.

I had met him several times at tea parties where the children of nobles were introduced to one another.

The House of Aezelt had been a family of knights for generations.

“Skill: Farmland Reform!”

The hall immediately became noisy.

The members of the Marquis’s family looked coldly at their second son, Rudolf.

“Farmland Reform?! Why would a skill like that appear in a family of knights?!”

His father, the Marquis, turned bright red with anger.

“A person who possesses nothing but such a useless skill has no place in the House of Aezelt! Go live as a commoner!”

Just as the Marquis was about to strike Rudolf, the people around him hurriedly restrained him.

What a terrible father.

To tell a five-year-old child to go live as a commoner…

That was cruel.

This really was a country obsessed with skills.

Ugh.

I hated this.

The ceremony continued solemnly, paying no attention to the crying Rudolf.

“Silence! Next, His Highness Prince Kyle, step forward.”

We three princes were called in order of birth, starting with the First Prince, Kyle.

He placed his hand on the crystal.

The crystal lit up.

A skill had manifested.

“Skill: Sword Saint.”

A wave of amazement swept through the hall.

Ohhh.

Could this make him the leading candidate for Crown Prince?

I could see First Consort Jeralucy’s face, hidden behind her fan, curling into a delighted smile.

After that, the divine revelations continued one after another, announcing whether each child had received a skill.

Next was the Queen’s son, the Second Prince, Alexei.

“Now, His Highness Prince Alexei, please place your hand upon the crystal and pray.”

“Yes.”

The crystal lit up.

Had a skill manifested?

“His Highness Prince Alexei’s skill is Ruler.”

An even greater commotion erupted than before.

Ruler, huh?

That basically decided who the next king would be.

“That’s a lie! Make my Kyle do it again! My Kyle is superior!”

First Consort Jeralucy was shouting.

Beside her, the Queen wore a calm and confident expression.

“Silence! Next, Lady Royna von Albert, daughter of the Duke of Albert, step forward.”

The High Priest ignored First Consort Jeralucy and continued the ceremony without interruption.

I noticed Rudolf tightly clenching his fists.

He had been staring at Lady Royna the whole time.

Were they close?

The crystal lit up.

The members of the House of Albert looked relieved.

“Skill: Weather Forecast.”

The hall became noisy.

“Weather Forecast?”

“You can tell the weather just by looking at the sky.”

“A dud! A high-ranking noble family received a dud skill!”

Lady Royna didn’t cry.

However, her father, the Duke, looked furious.

Rudolf turned pale when he saw her father’s expression.

The divine revelations continued one after another.

Some people rejoiced.

Others cried.

There were even children who received no skills at all.

And then, finally, it was my turn.

Please, let it be something useful.

“His Highness Prince Rainid, step forward.”

My heart was pounding.

What if the crystal didn’t light up?

I looked at Mother, then at my grandfather and the others.

Well, my grandfather and uncles had already told me that nothing would change even if I had no skill.

And even if I were expelled from the royal family, I didn’t really mind.

All right.

Let’s do this.

I placed my hand on the crystal and prayed silently.

—Please let it be a useful skill.

The crystal lit up.

Yes!

I had a skill!

At this point, I didn’t care what it was.

“His Highness Prince Rainid’s skill is… Hmm? Hmm?”

What?

What was wrong?

The High Priest tilted his head.

The hall began to stir.

“What happened? Did His Highness Prince Rainid receive no skill?”

“No, the crystal definitely lit up.”

Come on!

Hurry up and tell me.

It lit up!

That means I have a skill, right?

“His Highness Prince Rainid’s skills are…”

—What were they?

“Catalog Shopping?”

“Hm?”

“Hyakkin?”

“Hm?”

“And… Alchemy.”

The entire hall fell silent.

Then the Chancellor, who was standing beside the king, spoke.

“Th-three skills have manifested. However… I’ve never heard of the first two. As for Alchemy, it is a skill that has hardly been used in recent times. Th-this… could these be… useless skills?”

The hall erupted into whispers once again.

“Indeed. I’ve never heard of the first two skills. And the other one is Alchemy.”

“The Third Prince is finished.”

“He’s been eliminated from the succession.”

I could hear whispers coming from all around me.

The High Priest was speaking in question form?

Just because he didn’t understand what the skills meant, they were calling them useless?

And the nobles were treating them as duds?

But—!

Catalog Shopping meant catalog mail-order shopping, didn’t it?

The kind of catalogs that used to arrive at my house in my previous life.

Food, household necessities, clothes…

All sorts of things were listed in them.

And Hyakkin?!

That’s the hundred-yen shop!

These were incredibly useful skills!

And Alchemy…

That’s the classic alchemist skill you always see in another-world stories!

I didn’t know what I could use it for yet, but there was no way I could consider it useless.

This was a huge jackpot!

…

Though I would have preferred an online supermarket.

Mother rushed over to me.

“Rainid, don’t be discouraged. Your skills are by no means useless.”

She hugged me.

“Nothing bestowed by God is useless. Hold your head high.”

Mother, it’s okay.

I’m actually incredibly happy with these skills.

Catalog Shopping.

A hundred-yen shop.

And Alchemy.

Everyone around me was calling them “useless skills,” but as far as I was concerned, there was no doubt that I had hit the jackpot.

First, I needed to find out what I could buy.