Mysteries and Doubts

The recent "bullying" incident between the girl with the prosthetic arm and the maids had Rio boiling with rage. One of her hands gripped the edge of the table tensely, as if trying to hold herself back from jumping into the scene, while her other hand clenched the fork with restrained aggression. Meanwhile, Ren stayed with the girl with the prosthetic arm and bid her goodbye.

Only then did he notice just how angry Rio really was. Worried, he hurried to her side, attempting to calm her down, but without success, Rio firmly slammed down her utensils and left the dining room.

Anguish swept through Ren’s body; he carefully returned the trays to their proper places before hurrying after her. He found her standing with her back to the wall beside a side door, head bowed, silently gripping her left arm with her right. Rio sighed quietly, lowering her gaze to the floor, her thoughts distant.

After a moment, Rio straightened and decided they needed to find the girl with the prosthetic arm. Together, they searched the mansion, quietly asking the other servants and staff if they had seen the maid with the unusual prosthetic arm. Their questions were met with polite shrugs or vague answers, but no one could tell them where she was. Despite their efforts, the halls remained silent, and the girl's whereabouts remained unknown.

As more time passed, they noticed the bustle of preparation for the evening meal picking up around them.

— It’s almost dinner time — a servant remarked casually. — You’re unlikely to find her now; she’s probably resting in her room. —

Hearing this, Rio’s shoulders sagged. The futility of their search settled on her, and she let out a heavy breath, a mixture of disappointment and resignation.

Ren noticed her change in demeanor and gently stepped closer, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Ren approached with the intent to speak, but seeing her mood, he simply stood beside her, sharing the silence. After a few moments, Rio spoke, her voice subdued:

— Ren, we have to find a way to make our abilities visible, okay? — she asked, pain lingering in her tone.

— Of course, Rio. That will be our priority — Ren replied softly, staying by her side as she gradually calmed.

After a few minutes lost in silence, Ren and Rio found themselves searching for answers. They began to wonder how skills might level up. Could simply breathing improve the 'Wind' skill? Or were skills more specific, like 'Jump'? Could there be general skills divided into several sub-skills, like 'Cleaning', which includes manual cleaning, teeth cleaning, and vacuuming? And what if the skill they were training didn’t even exist in this world? What if they practiced jumping only to find out the skill doesn’t exist in the system?

The couple kept raising more questions than finding answers. Their experiences with different systems in their isekai series made reaching a consensus difficult. That’s when Rio said:

— We have to consult the FAQ system. —

— I don’t know, Rio — Ren replied uneasily, his heart heavy with guilt and fear; afraid he couldn’t tell her the whole truth, and worried about disturbing the "system" if he said something wrong. His mind raced for something (anything) that could ease the tension between them.

Finally, he blurted out, hesitating: — Hey, don’t you think it would be more interesting if the skill suddenly appeared on the interface? — The excuse felt weak even to himself.

— Rennn! This isn’t the time to joke! — Rio exclaimed, annoyed that Ren wasn’t taking the matter (or her feelings) seriously.

— Alright, sorry. I just wanted to cheer you up; it was a bad joke. Let’s find a place to connect, okay? — Ren responded, cheeks burning with embarrassment.

Leaving the dining room doors, they stood in the hallway that ran along the mansion’s side, a place rarely traveled by others. As they tried to whisper instructions to FAQ, a couple of distant silhouettes approached, so they decided to move elsewhere immediately.

They went out to the garden, but the same thing happened: from afar, they spotted a couple of silhouettes heading their way, so they chose to move to the corridor. However, the same scenario repeated, so they finally went up the stairs, where it seemed no one was present. Once upstairs, they began the connection, but soon the silhouettes appeared in the hall. It felt like a game of cat and mouse, so Ren decided to confront them.

The pair revealed themselves as a man and a woman, sturdy guards dressed in appropriate attire, batons hanging from their sides. As they approached, a flicker of surprise crossed the woman’s face. She thought to herself:

— There’s no doubt that seeing servants wandering the halls at this hour is unusual, and these two definitely are servants. — The woman guard took the lead, addressing Ren and Rio:

— It’s almost time for men and women to return to their wings; night is settling in. —

The man guard added in an upbeat tone:

— We haven’t seen you around here, so you must be the new servants. We are the mansion guards, and with us, you will be safe. Our primary duty is to protect the mansion, its rules, and its inhabitants. —

Ren and Rio said their goodbyes, agreeing to meet early the next morning. Ren gave Rio a pat on the shoulder, who nodded, a bit embarrassed under the guards’ gaze. Once the gesture ended, Rio whispered to Ren: 

— Connect up.—

Ren understood the message without hesitation. As they moved to the far end of the wings to connect, a diverse crowd of workers, having finished their meal, began making their way upstairs to their dormitories, with only a few servants among them. Ren and Rio kept their voices low as they waited for a moment when they wouldn’t draw attention.

Ren saw Noah, who told him that his room was #2, next to Ren’s. He asked him to come talk there, but Ren replied he’d be there soon, as he had some matters to attend to. Noah nodded and walked off to his room.

As night fell, everyone retired to their rooms, and although it wasn’t very late, Ren and Rio proceeded to synchronize their FAQ.

— System, please search: ‘Can you hear me, Rio?’ — Ren murmured to the sphere.

— Yes, Ren. Your words have reached me — Rio responded enthusiastically.

— Ren, I’ve made a firm decision. I no longer care if the players see us or the strict rules that bind us. The only thing that matters now is finding the fastest and most effective way to earn the money to pay the blacksmith. My priority is to achieve it, with all my strength — Rio said with determination.

— Wow, you talk about breaking the rules as if it were nothing, while here I am, terrified of the system. That’s pretty reckless coming from you. But you know what? That courage is exactly what I like about you — Ren thought, blushing at Rio’s words.

— Rio, you have all my support. Let’s find the answer together — Ren responded, clenching his fist in a show of determination.

Since their whispers couldn’t be clearly heard, asking FAQ separately would mean the other wouldn’t know what was asked, potentially causing confusion. Additionally, due to Rio’s emotional turmoil, they agreed to ask questions together, at least until she got used to the solitude of the female wing, avoiding separate inquiries to stay in sync.

Whispering, the couple decided that at first light, they’d interact with FAQ together, although Ren insisted on confirming any information with real people. So they also proposed asking the instructors or the head butler and housekeeper, regardless of the system’s answers.

Afterward, they would act according to the missions given by the system. Ren mentioned to Rio that he could go take classes tomorrow, although in reality, he wanted to meet the person Noah would introduce him to.

Rio was glad Ren had liked the classes and that he was slowly adapting to this world. She said yes, and that while he was in class, she would focus on leveling up her skills within the mansion. 

They wished each other goodnight, with a soft 'See you tomorrow' from Rio.

Subsequently, Ren met with Noah, who asked him why he’d hidden the truth from Rio. Ren explained Rio had been emotionally upset and he didn’t want to cause her more trouble. Noah understood but warned that one day she would have to hear it, and if Ren didn’t tell her, he would. Ren agreed and promised it would be soon. They arranged to meet at 12 the next day. After chatting a bit about their favorite animes, they went to bed.

The next day, Ren and Rio met on the stairs. They found a quiet spot and began reviewing their missions, which were the same except for the third one. The first missions were to take two servant lessons and complete three servant tasks, while Ren’s last mission was to level up a skill and Rio’s was to learn magical concepts.

— What a bad joke! That mission was supposed to be mine! — Rio exclaimed angrily.

— Don’t worry so much, learning magic sounds great! — Ren said.

— So, we’ll do the missions together, right? At least until my class starts and I have to go to the academy! — Ren proposed.

— Yes! That sounds good, Ren. In the meantime, I’ll research my mission and skills — Rio responded.

With no one around, they connected to FAQ. An expressionless sphere appeared, very different from the one that used to show gestures whenever it appeared. At first, they didn’t give it much importance and decided to expose their doubts.

FAQ informed them of what they already knew: when performing activities, an invisible bar fills up until it shows when leveling up. They asked if skills were specific, and the sphere confirmed it was for all types of skills. Rio then asked if there was a skill called “Jump” to see if it really covered all kinds of abilities, but the sphere replied it had no such detailed information in its system.

The couple noticed a drastic change in the AI, like when you downgrade from a "premium" to a "free" plan on an AI chat, and their responses were less satisfactory.

They thought this sudden change might be because they’d overused the “conversing” feature through FAQ, so they proceeded to talk remotely, moving away from each other to confirm the system still worked normally.

With no satisfactory answers, they decided to continue their day, gathering information about skills from other people.

They chose to go to the instructors’ office to receive their lessons. As always, they were greeted courteously. They repeated the previous routine, sitting in their usual spots while waiting for class to begin. Upon arrival, they noticed both instructors seated, each silently waiting for the other to take the lead.

As time passed, doubt began to show on Ren and Rio’s faces. The instructors exchanged uneasy glances, soon shadowed by growing anger, as if they wanted to voice their frustrations.

— What are you waiting for to give them the first lesson? — Laplace thought impatiently.

— Fool, I was the one who gave them the lesson yesterday. It’s obvious it’s your turn — Lucy imagined, her gaze following the ticking clock.

Their looks intensified while Ren and Rio remained oblivious. Rio then asked if something was wrong. Lucy, tired of Laplace’s persistent stare, replied curtly:

— Their lesson will start whenever the instructor feels like it. —

Upon hearing this, Laplace jumped from his seat, clenched his fists, and took a threatening stance toward Lucy. It seemed like a fight was about to break out.