This woman is a bit like Iris in that sense, since she sometimes acts like a mischievous little girl too; maybe that's why I don't hesitate to scold her the way I do with Iris—even if it completely undermines my role.
The good thing is, she doesn't even notice.
"You can eat them once you answer me."
"W-well...hmm... she's always served me since I came to the palace. She was assigned by my family and has been with me ever since."
"...So she's been with you for about twenty years. I see. But what's your personal relationship with her like? Do you get along? In private, do you talk the way you and I do?"
"/_\ No, I've often wanted to get closer to her and the other maids, but they said it's inappropriate,"
"So there's no closeness,"
I haven't been here long, but I already understood that it's a serious lack of respect to address Amarillys by her first name, even when adding 'Lady'
As queen, she must command that respect from everyone beneath her without exception, and unless Amarillys has given her permission when they're alone, that shouldn't happen.
That means the head maid isn't showing Amarillys the respect she deserves.
And she doesn't care if others notice, or rather, she's doing it to demonstrate some kind of superiority; she's arrogantly doing something she shouldn't, and it could cost her her head.
Well, now the question is what she's up to by making me bring the—
"Besides, my friends say they're bad people, that they talk badly behind my back and look down on me, though they won't hurt me. Hmm, though I don't know if I should believe them since they also say I should be careful around you. I don't understand why—if they didn't even show up when I went to your place before, uh? Couldn't they get in?"
Just as I was analyzing Amarillys' surroundings, she said that, and it's something that's been bothering me from the start.
And now that she said something like that, it makes me doubt that they're really just imaginary friends, and in this fantasy world, I can't overlook anything.
"Amy, could you tell me a little about those friends of yours?"
"Huh? Sure, big sis... What? Why can't I tell her? hmph!, she's my big sister, so of course I'm going to tell her...
"Amy?"
"Oh, I got distracted. Yeah, big sis, they've been with me since I was a little girl. I don't know why, but those four and a few others—only I can see and hear them. They told me it's because of my profession skill, but they're such sillyheads because I already told them it's a unique skill."
"Why do you think that?"
"Well, like I said, I'm an Arcane, and my family and instructors say I should be able to use powerful magical skill, but I can't. My family says I'm a rare case born without the basic skill of an Arcane, and that's why I'm a hopeless fool, but at least I have two unique skills—even if one is only good for seeing my friends and the other is completely useless/_ \"
'Arcane' is a term used to designate high-ranking magical professions, such as Ice Arcane Mage or Arcane Summoner.
There are many, but they are all professions that use mana and have at least a potential of 7; however, they require a great deal of knowledge, understanding, and training to practice them and grow stronger.
These professions come with many abilities that help with this, but it seems Amarillys has none.
She's not an exception; there are times when people may have more or fewer abilities than others in the same profession, or some unlucky ones are born without any—and according to her family's assessment, she seems to be the latter.
As I always say, it's good to have as much information as possible, and I already know what an arcane is because many of the books in his mini-library seemed to focus on those specific topics, for obvious reasons.
But precisely because I now have some knowledge of the subject, I find myself with a few questions about it.
"Okay, Amy, tell me something—what's the exact name of your profession? And do you know what your abilities are?"
"Huh? Hmm… Ah! Right! 'Arcane Tuner' was my profession. As for my skill, I only remember that one was 'eyes'—eyes of something… hmm, it was a long time ago, I don't remember."
"And don't your friends remember?"
"Huh? Do you guys remember? Oh, you do. Why don't you tell me if you know? You guys are really mean too… Big sis, the skills are Confluence and Eye of the Essence—just those two."
"I see. An arcane profession has at least seven abilities. You're missing the common, basic ones like mana control, and you don't have any attack, defense, or utility abilities. Most critically, you don't have any mental enhancement abilities—which are standard in 'arcane' professions that require understanding concepts ordinary people can't grasp. I suppose learning magic on your own was useless."
"Yeah, my family said it was easier to teach a—."
"Stop, you don't have to say that again—I get it… You're at rank one, right? I suppose that, as an 'arcane,' your family had you practice some kind of magical breathing technique, and it must have been really good, isn't that right?"
"Yes, big sister. According to my instructor, it was the best technique passed down in my family, which has produced professions arcane for several generations, even during the Age of the Gods… Was that right? Yes, that's what he said.... though I couldn't advance past Rank One. Still, I'm sure I understand what an arcane is."
"Well, I think I'm starting to get it."
"Huh? What do you mean, big sister?"
To advance in rank, in addition to meeting a certain level of strength, people must also have a certain level of understanding of the profession they possess and the identity it gives them.
It's a bit of personal interpretation, drawing heavily on the knowledge, experience, and abilities it grants you.
But when it comes to the first rise in the ranks of powerful professions—and, specifically, the arcane professions—it suffices to understand that these are people who will embark on a path that unveils the world's secrets, accumulates knowledge, and studies the incomprehensible and even the forbidden.
It's not complicated or difficult at all, of course, for the first promotion; but as people move up to higher ranks, they must develop a deeper understanding and mastery .
And that is an infallible common sense that has always worked, and if anything is questioned, that certainly wouldn't be the first thing.
From my point of view, it might be a bit silly to do, but that's from my neutral perspective where everything is new and I'm adapting it to my logic.
But for the inhabitants of this world, who hold deeply ingrained preconceptions backed by years of experience and progress, the idea that someone whose profession includes the word 'arcane' in its name cannot rise through the ranks: using the 'arcane' method, makes no sense to them and defies their logic.
Yes, and besides, by the established logic of that world, Amy was a lost cause no matter how it was looked at.
Starting with the fact that she only has two skills, plus an intelligence so poor that it doesn't even allow her to do something as simple as advancing to the second rank when her profession has the potential to reach the eighth rank and she practices a very powerful breathing art.
Yes, she was a rare arcane pofession, and from what I understood, they did try to explore her and see what she was all about—it's no wonder she had so many instructors—but that yielded no results.
This led to the conclusion that it was due to her limited skills and low intelligence. That's why it wasn't worth waiting for anything more, and her family valued her more as a political tool.
But the way I see it, they got too caught up in the standard, and Amarillys might be an exceptionally unique case.
Though I have to verify that first
"I have a question, Amy. Didn't those friends of yours tell you anything about your profession and abilities or something like that?"
"Yes, they told me things, but everything they said was very different from what my instructors said. They told me"
"…So you decided to listen to the instructors and not your friends?"
"Why should I have listened to them?"
"Weren't they your friends?"
"Yes, but the instructors are always right, just like my older sister."
"Just because of that? Was that the only reason you ignored what they told you?"
"No. My instructors warned me about corruption and told me that if I heard voices telling me they'd give me more power, I should ignore them. Ah, that brings back bad memories too. When I told my family about them, they took me to a strange place where they did a lot of weird things to me, though later those men in white said I wasn't corrupted."
"…"
Now that she mentions it, her case also sounds like that phenomenon occurring in this world and linked to corruption statistics, but apparently it was already confirmed that wasn't the case.
Although I suppose after that they labeled her with something else, like insanity—more reasons to give up on her.
"Oh, and you shouldn't believe everything they say either. When I was a kid, they were mean to me and liked to play pranks on me… even now they talk without knowing and tell me to be careful around you. Look, even now they call me stupid for telling you all this. Hmph, they even claim to be my friends but they're still mean to me."
"￣へ￣, I see, so even now you haven't considered listening to them to see if the method they propose works."
Well, that mostly confirms it; it's not that Amarillys is incapable, it's just that she's incompatible with the standard method.
"Huh? But big sister, I don't need to become strong anymore. If my husband is strong, everything will be fine."
"...and I suppose your family told you that, didn't they?"
"Yes, big sister."
There are several issues here that hindered progress, starting with the conditioning Amy has ingrained in her.
She didn't pay attention to them when she was young, and after getting married, the issue ceased to be relevant to her. If those friends of hers are intelligent enough, they must be very frustrated.
"Big sis, did I answer everything? Can I eat now? If anything's dangerous, it must be the tea—my friends say I should throw it out, /_\ which is a shame, it smelled so good, but the cookies are fine."
"…since you know what the problem is, that's fine—you can eat."
"Yeah!(≧▽≦)ツ┏━┓"
If that was what I wanted to talk about from the start, I got a little sidetracked by the whole Amarillys' friends thing, but it was obvious that the head maid was up to something and wanted to drag me into it.
It's curious that it was Amarillys herself who found the problem, but even more astonishing is how she simply ignored it, as if she were used to it.
It definitely wasn't paranoia to think that she was in potential danger, and I need to figure out if this danger has just one source or more.
Since that's the case, it's better to get more help.
"Hey Amy, you trust me, right?"
"Heem! Gulp!, big sister is trustworthy."
"Well, this big sister thinks you should listen to your friends."
"Huh?"
"Well, like I said before, even though your family taught you, it seems they didn't teach you everything very well, and I think it's okay to get stronger—in fact, that might attract your husband."
"Huh? Really?"
"Yes, and for that, you should listen to your friends. Your family seems to have forgotten to mention that they aren't corrupt; rather, I think they're like special instructors for you. If you listen to them, I think you can become very strong."
"Oh! If my big sister says so, it must be true. I'll do it! Hey? Why do you guys look happy? Huh? Well, of course my big sister has always been a good person. It's just that you guys are dumb and can't see it. No, I'm not. My sister told me never to think I am. You guys are."
"Ahem! Amy, talk to your friends later. I want to ask you a favor before I go."
"Huh? Are you leaving already, big sister?"
"Well, yeah. I just came back to give you this tea. Anyway, there are some rats that need to be caught, and I need a little help from you."
"Oh! Leave it to me, big sis. When I was a kid, I used to catch lots of them, hehe~ no one's better at it than me."
"(>ლ),"
"What's up, big sis? Where are the rats?"
Amy isn't stupid, but she's still a long way from being a truly functional adult—this is also something I need to fix.
I have to teach her some common sense so she doesn't blindly follow Iris when they're alone—who knows what might happen.
"...Forget that. Just help me with a few things. It's nothing complicated. Start by telling me who usually brings you your food and stuff. Also, ask your friends if they can…"