Overlimit Skill Holder

It was almost 3pm when I returned to the Earl’s mansion. The Earl should be back after sunset… but considering what happened yesterday, it wouldn’t be strange if he was later than usual. Let’s inform the chief butler that I want to meet him – was what I was thinking, but–

「You have returned.」

「Eh?」

The Earl was standing in the entrance hall.

「Reiji!」

「My lady– Oof…」

The young lady rushed and embraced me, causing me to stumble a step back, but I had confidence in my spring-like, flexible upper body, so I was able to avoid falling.

「W-What is the matter?」

「You said you’d return early! But look at the time…」

「Ah–」

Did I make her worry? No, the young lady was already worried from the start… and yet, I was having a leisurely lunch.

(Man, what am I doing…)

The thoughts about the Earl filled my head, causing me to forget about the young lady.

「…I am sorry, my lady. I’ll be with you for the rest of the day until it’s time to go to bed.」

「Really?」

「Of course.」

So, please stop hugging me… The chief butler is glaring at me with a furious devil-like expression, and the chief maid has a horse whip– Wait a minute, where’d she get that from!?

「Reiji-san.」the Earl called me, his eyes cold like permafrost!

「Calm down, Earl, calm down…」

「I know. I am calm. I am calmly thinking about how to lecture an escort who goes loitering outside even though there was such a big incident last night.」

Inescapable lecture course!

「M-More importantly, who is that gentleman?」

A tall and thin man stood next to the Earl. More so than a noble, he looked to be a civil official. He wore a fine brown coat. However, the color of his skin was bluish black, and his silver hair stood on end. He wore spectacles over his cat-like golden eyes. Doesn’t seem to be of the human race.

「Wow! I saw an interesting thing today. Your Highness Earl Sillys also acts like a normal parent.」

「…2nd Secretary Specular, you shouldn’t make fun of nobles like that.」

「I am sorry if I offended you.」

Looking at him talking to the Earl in a relaxed manner, does that mean a secretary is a high-ranking person?

「Eva, Reiji-san, to my room.」the Earl said.

Five people gathered in the Earl’s office, where the usual “10 days once” reporting session takes place: I, the young lady, the Earl, Specular-san, and the chief butler. Since the chief butler is standing at the doorway of the room, is he just going to be “watching over”?

(Just who is this person?)

When I was looking at Specular-san, he was also looking at me.

「Nice to meet you, Reiji-san. My name is Specular, a secretary at the capital internal affairs department.」

「Nice to meet you. I am Reiji, the escort of Lady Eva.」

「Hmm…」

「?」

At that time, it felt like Specular-san’s eyes were shining. Feels like… he’s trying to read me.

「…Earl, is Reiji-san’s escorting style the same as usual today?」

「Yes.」

「I see. Here it is.」

What is that?

Specular-san wrote down something on a piece of paper and handed it to the Earl. When the Earl took a look at it, his beautiful eyebrows furrowed, and he gave a slight nod.

「Well then, I shall take my leave.」

「You are leaving already?」

「My job is done.」

When Specular-san stood up, the chief butler bowed and led him out of the room.

「What was that about, father?」

「………」

After looking at the paper left by Specular-san for a while, the Earl showed it to us.

「2nd Secretary Specular has been given an extremely rare skill even in the capital internal affairs department.」

And this was written on the paper – No Skill.

「The skill 【Orb-See★★】 lets you know the skills of the person you’re looking at. Though, at his level, he can’t know the number of stars… but he just checked Reiji-san’s skills.」

「Father! Why did you do that?」

Although the young lady’s tone sounded condemning, she was quite taken aback.

「Reiji, you…」

「Yes. I don’t have any skill in me.」

I spoke honestly.

(That was so closeeeee~~~~~! I was on guard, wondering if there might actually be a skill like that!)

Since we signed the escort contract, the Earl has never once tried to confirm my skill. I don’t know if he thought it was good enough as long as I was capable of stopping assassins, or if there was another reason, or if he thought I was a “Magic specialist” after witnessing my 【Dark Magic】 in the mock battle with Maxim-san. However, considering that I spotted the poisoned dish yesterday, the Earl must have thought that I had some unique skill. It would not be surprising if the Earl suspected that the skill can be used to bring harm to himself or the young lady. The Earl is very cautious about anything relating to his daughter.

(Just in case, it was really just in case, I decided to take out 【World Ruler】. I am so glad I did…)

The Earl has “Magic Eye of Inquiry”. So I replied, “I don’t have any skill in me,” instead of “I don’t have any skill.”

It was my victory that I kept alert.

「I am sorry, Reiji-san. It’s not that I doubted you.」

「No, I understand your feelings. It was just in case, right?」

「Yes. On the other hand, I found out something else – something I am sure Reiji-san doesn’t know.」

「Something I don’t…?」

「People who can use magic without using skill orbs have various advantages such as faster activation of magic and higher usability than common magic. But of course, it is difficult to learn.」

「Activation of magic…」

「Yes. You probably used “Praying Nightmare” of 【Dark Magic】 in the match with Maxim, I am guessing? That would explain how it was activated so quickly.」

「…Does that mean you had already suspected that I might not have magic-related skills from back then?」

The Earl replied with a broad smile, which didn’t match him at all.

「But I didn’t think you would have no skill at all. Is there a reason?」

「No. It’s just that I can carry on with life without any problems so far, so I will absorb a skill orb if I need to.」

That statement was also honest. I can manage just about everything with 【World Ruler】 right now, so of my 16 skill holder slots, 6 remain empty still. I will use those 6 slots if I need to.

「Father, is there new information about yesterday’s attempted assassination?」

「Regarding the poison discovered in the Holy Prince’s dish, there are some nobles who argue it might have been Reiji-san who applied it.」

Ah~ I suppose so. No one other than me was aware of the poison at that moment, after all.

「That’s absurd! Reiji didn’t do it!」

「My lady, please calm down. Earl, please use your Magic Eye. I did not poison the dish.」

「…Yes, I have just confirmed it.」

The moment he activated it, his eyes shone for a moment.

The Earl would have surely intended to confirm whether or not I was the true criminal at some point, and the way he transitioned to activating the Magic Eye at this moment was too smooth.

Conversely, it means that he has not used the Magic Eye until right now. Does he surprisingly trust me? …No, I’m sure it’s a strategy to make me think so.