Jin didn't have an answer. He filed the question away and moved on.
« Alcohol Tolerance »
[ Exceptional physiological capacity to process, endure, and recover from alcohol consumption. The bearer can consume quantities that would incapacitate most adults while maintaining basic function and coherent speech. Recovery time is significantly below average. ]
[ Skill Grade: 3rd Tier ]
[ Skill Proficiency: A ]
'A?'
Jin didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
He closed the skills menu, speechless, and moved to the next section.
«« Narrative Quests »»
[ No Active Quests. ]
[ New quests will generate as the host is involved in narrative-significant situations. ]
[ Tip: Involve yourself in the story. ]
Jin looked at the words, mildly disappointed.
He had expected to see something since this section had unlocked as a reward for the emergency quest, after all. But there was nothing.
'Let's think about what it means.'
He had received an emergency quest the moment he possessed Encrid's body, but it seemed emergency quests were categorized differently from narrative quests.
To put it simply: narrative quests seemed to come from being in the right place at the right time, in proximity to important characters from the novel. But the system offered nothing further. It didn't hand him a roadmap of choices he had to make, which meant the decisions he took would shape what quests appeared.
'Will there be a quest at the Wall?'
The Wall wasn't especially significant in the story but it wasn't a place that could be ignored either.
One of the main characters lived there, and considering that the fall of the Wall caused a massive impact later on, it was worth noting that a quest might appear when he arrived.
Jin didn't know where to find that character or what he was doing at this point in the timeline - the novel hadn't explained it, and he wasn't certain of the exact timeline either. He could only hope for the best.
He moved to the last section in the menu.
[ Narrative Relevance ]
[ Current Value: 0.11% ]
[ Narrative Relevance determines how important the character is to the story. ]
[ It is determined by the Host's involvement in narrative-significant events and decisions that affect or alter the story's course. ]
[ A Host with 0% relevance has no story left, and a Catastrophic consequence will follow. ]
[ Ways to increase Relevance value: ]
[ ▸ Participation in significant events ]
[ ▸ Building connections with important characters ]
[ ▸ Acquiring skills and strength relevant to the world's interests ]
[ ▸ Making decisions that alter the story's course ]
[ Golden Tip: Something amazing will happen when Relevance reaches 10%. ]
Jin read through the whole thing carefully.
The last line sparked something in him but right now, ten percent seemed like a long shot. He didn't think it would be easy to reach.
Looking at the four pathways listed, one conclusion was clear- he had to be in the story. To be a part of it.
The first canonical event had been disownment, and he had somehow evaded that. Now he had to think ahead.
'Let's organize the thoughts,' he said to himself, closed the menu, and stood up.
The painting on the far wall caught his attention again. He still didn't know who she was, but he filed it as something to find out and set it aside.
He crossed to the desk, pushed the papers aside, and found a blank sheet beneath them.
He picked up the quill and began making a list.
A list of every significant event that took place in the novel.
✧ ✧ ✧
The list took shape quickly.
The details weren't always precise, but it wasn't hard for Jin to pull from his memory of The Last Age of Radiance.
On the list he noted the names of all the important characters and where they were at this point in the story. Most locations were unknown - he only knew where they would appear at certain events.
That became the next list - a sequential record of every significant event.
This was harder. The first two volumes dealt mostly with events relevant to the growth of the main characters, without much broader consequence - but he kept notes on them anyway, in case a situation arose where they could be useful.
When he had finally done all he could, he looked at what was most immediately relevant. Two things stood out.
The Mercenary King and The Spark of the Great Uprising.
The first was a character he wanted to meet.
The second was an event that would happen soon enough in the story. He wasn't certain of the exact timing, but based on the period of disownment he'd just navigated, he predicted it was in the near future.
Both were goals he had in mind.
'All right. Now the provisions.'
The duke had told him to take what he needed and depart by morning. The journey to the Wall was not easy, and he also had to consider what to do once he arrived.
So he started another list.
Cold-weather gear - the northern winters at the Wall started early and ended late. It was called the cold hell for a reason. Warm clothing was an absolute essential.
A carriage and a good horse - he doubted he would be permitted both, but he could hope.
Weapons - a sword, certainly. He also wanted to request a crossbow and some daggers, given that he knew nothing of swordsmanship in this body.
Food - rations sufficient for the entire journey. This was critical.
He paused before writing the next item.
Money.
This was an uncomfortable one. He didn't know how much he currently had, or how much he could request from the household. Looking around the room, nothing stood out. Then his eyes dropped to the ring on his hand.
The crest of the White Griffin was engraved with remarkable precision. Still, since he hadn't been formally disowned, he ought to receive a monthly allowance, shouldn't he?
Jin went to the door and opened it.
The boy was where he'd expected him to be.
His back was against the corridor wall, arms loosely folded, eyes forward. He straightened immediately when the door opened.
'Come to think of it, I don't know his name.'
Jin hesitated for a moment before asking.
"What's your name?"
The boy looked as though someone was playing a prank on him. He blinked several times, visibly struggling to process the question, and then as if something had clicked, he replied.
"...It's Gus, young master."
Jin was fairly sure the boy had assumed Encrid was drunk and asking nonsense. He didn't have time to address the misunderstanding, so he pressed on.
"How long have you served in this household?"
The boy blinked again. "Five years, young master."
"And me specifically?"
"Two years."
Jin absorbed that and looked at him properly for the first time.
The boy looked fifteen, maybe sixteen. He had sharp eyes and a careful stillness about him. He didn't look particularly impressive, but Jin found himself with a favorable impression anyway. If this boy had been serving House Gannon for five years, he must have started at ten.
'Child labor,' Jin thought.
But he wasn't in a modern world where a child's rights could be protected. He was in a place where food didn't appear on a plate unless work was done. And moreover, if the boy had secured a position in one of the four ducal houses at the age of ten, he had to be talented.
"I need your help tonight," Jin said. "I'm leaving in the morning and there are things to arrange before then. Can you do that?"
Gus stared at him for a moment, as if he had heard something wrong.
"...Yes, young master."
"Good. First - who manages the household supply stores?"
"Head Steward Corvan."
"Ask him to come to my room. Immediately."
✧ ✧ ✧
'I think I understand the situation I'm in.'
Jin waited patiently in the room. It had been more than half an hour since he sent Gus to fetch the head steward, and there was still no sign of him.
Either Gus hadn't delivered the message, or the man was taking his sweet time.
'Well. I am the famous degenerate son, after all.'
With nothing else to do, he looked at the letters stacked on the table and picked one up.
From your dearest sister, Zuri.
All of them had the same name. Looking at the dates, they had been delivered weekly.
'Who is Zuri?'
Jin tried hard to remember but couldn't place her. He wasn't even sure if there was a character by that name in the novel.
He was about to open one of the letters when the door swung open, and an old man walked in without knocking.
"You called, young master?"
Jin was momentarily taken aback.
Head Steward Corvan was a tall, iron-haired man with the lean precision of someone who had spent decades running a large household. He wore a neatly pressed black coat, a crisp white shirt, and a cravat. His shoes were polished to a mirror shine. He looked to be in his late forties.
But what struck Jin was the man's arrogance.
'I had considered my unfortunate position, but this is... something else.'
No matter how low his reputation had fallen, he was still a Gannon. For a household steward to enter his room without so much as a knock - it was brazen.
Jin looked at the man and considered how to handle it.
"Corvan. Who am I?"
"Pardon, young master?" The old man looked as though he had heard something wrong.
"I asked who I am," Jin repeated.
Corvan's expression cycled through several things in quick succession - confusion, amusement, then blankness.
"You are the fourth son of Duke Aegis Von Gannon," he said, politely and precisely calibrated to the very edge of respectful without crossing it.
"The fourth son of Duke Aegis Von Gannon," Jin repeated.
"Yes, young master."
"Of one of the four ducal households of the Astralis Empire."
"...Yes, young master."
"Then I would like you to go back through that door," Jin said, "knock on it, and come in again when you are told to."
The room went very still.
✦ ✦ ✦