Chapter 57: A Clear Direction

'Yeah... probably.'

Zeldryn decided not to think about it any further. Most likely, one of the servants had passed through the corridor and collected the dirty dishes he had left beside the door earlier.

He opened the bedroom door and stepped inside.

The room still felt unfamiliar, but not quite as much as it had when he first woke up there. He had only been living in this world for a little over a day, yet somehow, enough had already happened inside these walls that the room was beginning to feel less foreign.

Zeldryn closed the door behind him and walked toward the table, where several sheets of his notes were still scattered across the surface. He pulled out the chair, sat down, and picked up his writing tool.

“Hmm...”

'It's time to reorganize my plans.'

He had already written down several things he wanted to accomplish in his new life, but his circumstances had changed considerably since then. He knew much more about this world now, including the upcoming birthday party for Zorin, his potential to become a Manholer, and at least some of the basics surrounding the Mana Hole.

Most importantly, he now knew that he had only about twenty-four days before he would have to attend his father's birthday party.

Zeldryn stared at the blank sheet in front of him before his thoughts briefly returned to the rumor involving Hera.

'As for that...'

His hand paused above the paper.

He still had not found a reliable way to resolve the situation. Hera had already explained what happened, yet some of the servants clearly did not believe her. If Zeldryn tried to defend himself directly, there was a real possibility that they would interpret it as him forcing Hera to support his version of events.

'For now, I'll leave it alone.'

There was no point forcing himself to solve a problem when every action he took seemed capable of making it worse. Instead, Zeldryn returned his attention to the paper and considered what else deserved priority.

'What should I prioritize besides becoming a Manholer?'

Mana was obviously important, perhaps more important than almost anything else he had discovered so far, but he could not spend every waking hour training it.

Zeldryn slowly tapped one finger against the table while thinking. After several moments, his attention shifted toward his own arms.

'My body.'

His current body was only twelve years old and still had plenty of room to grow. His bones, muscles, stamina, and overall physical condition were nowhere near their final state.

'Right. I need to build this body too.'

Reka had never possessed a particularly impressive physique in his previous life. He had been skinny, lacked much muscle, and had never committed seriously to exercise. This time, however, he had effectively been given a fresh start from the age of twelve.

If there was ever a perfect opportunity to build his physical condition properly, this was it.

Zeldryn immediately wrote Build My Body on the paper and stared at the words for a moment.

'Starting tomorrow.'

He decided that his mornings would be dedicated to exercise, with the goal of gradually improving his stamina, physical strength, and muscle development. There was no need to do anything absurd immediately. His body was still young, and what mattered was building it steadily.

After that, he moved to the next part of his schedule.

For the afternoon and evening, Zeldryn wrote Mana Training.

That time would be used to better understand his Mana Hole, practice controlling mana, and learn how to actually use it instead of merely moving particles around. If Kera was willing to continue teaching him, Zeldryn intended to make as much use of that irritating man as possible.

That still left the night.

Zeldryn thought for a moment before writing Learn About the World beneath the other two sections.

There was no shortage of subjects he needed to study. He had to learn more about the language and writing system, the Giorry family, the structure of the nobility, territories, money, and countless other things that everyone born in this world probably considered basic knowledge.

The writing system was especially important. Zeldryn could not keep relying on Hera every time a letter or document appeared in front of him.

He leaned back slightly and reviewed the plan he had created.

'Morning for my body, afternoon until evening for mana, and night for learning about the world.'

It did not need to be followed perfectly every single day. Circumstances would change, unexpected problems would appear, and there would undoubtedly be times when his schedule became impossible to maintain.

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Still, for the first time since arriving in this world, Zeldryn felt that he had a clear direction.

He lowered his writing tool toward the paper again, intending to add a few more details, when three knocks sounded from the door.

TOK. TOK. TOK.

Zeldryn stopped writing as a familiar voice came from the corridor.

“Lord Zeldryn, it's me, Hera. I've brought your evening meal.”

He put down the writing tool.

“Come in.”

The door opened, and Hera entered carrying a tray of food with both hands. She approached the table before glancing at the notes covering most of its surface.

“Where should I put this, Lord?”

“Just put it on the bed, like this morning.”

“Yes, Lord.”

Hera walked over and carefully set the tray down on the bed. After finishing, however, she did not immediately head back toward the door.

Zeldryn noticed her remaining there with both hands held in front of her body, her head slightly lowered.

“Hmm?”

“My apologies, Lord.”

Zeldryn frowned. “For what?”

Hera looked slightly awkward before answering.

“I didn't expect the servants not to believe what I told them about what happened last night. In the end, it only caused the false rumors about you to continue spreading.”

Zeldryn immediately understood where the conversation was going, but he remained silent and let her continue.

“But earlier, I tried explaining it again to several of the servants,” Hera said, raising her head slightly. “I also asked them to believe that Lord Zeldryn truly didn't do anything to me.”

Zeldryn stared at her as a familiar heaviness immediately returned to his head.

'Oh my God. Hera explained it again?'

She had not merely repeated the explanation. She had actively asked the servants to believe her.

'Doesn't that make it sound even more suspicious?!'

Zeldryn had no idea how the servants would interpret something like that. Perhaps Hera's explanation had worked and some of them finally believed her, but considering the old Zeldryn's reputation, there was also a very real possibility that they would assume she had been pressured even harder into defending him.

'Why the hell is this getting even more complicated?'

Hera seemed completely unaware of the thoughts running through his head.

“If there are still rumors about you tomorrow, please tell me again,” she said, lowering her head slightly. “I'll try explaining it to them once more.”

Zeldryn stared at her.

'Don't. Please don't explain it again.'

He kept those words to himself. At this point, he genuinely did not know which option was worse, and trying to stop Hera from defending him might somehow create yet another misunderstanding.

Before Zeldryn could settle on a response, Hera seemed to remember something else.

“Ah... Lord Zeldryn.”

Zeldryn, who had started massaging his forehead, looked back at her.

“What now?”

“Didn't you order me yesterday to bring you food three times a day?”

Zeldryn immediately remembered the request. “Yeah.”

Morning, afternoon, and evening. That was exactly what he had told her.

Hera lowered her head slightly.

“Actually, I intended to bring your lunch earlier today, but when I was about to bring it, I remembered that you were with Sir Kera. I didn't know where Lord Zeldryn had gone with him, so in the end, I wasn't able to bring you lunch.”

She looked slightly guilty as she finished speaking.

Zeldryn understood immediately. Of course Hera could not bring him food if he was not even inside the mansion, especially when he and Kera had gone quite far into the forest.

He let out a small sigh.

“Forget about it. You don't need to worry.”

Hera raised her gaze.

“Tomorrow, just do it like usual,” Zeldryn continued, waving one hand slightly. “If I'm at the mansion, bring it three times a day like I told you.”

Hera nodded. “Yes, Lord.”

“And you can leave now.”

“Yes.”

She bowed slightly before turning toward the door.

Zeldryn looked back at his notes, but his attention no longer remained on the schedule in front of him. Only a few minutes earlier, he had decided to leave the rumor alone for the time being, and now Hera had already gone and explained everything again.

'Good grief. What a headache. I don't even know whether that helped or made everything worse.'

He massaged his forehead for another moment before deciding he had already spent enough time thinking about it.

'Whatever. I'll deal with it tomorrow.'

The Mana Hole alone had nearly made his head explode today. There was no reason to add servant gossip to the pile tonight.

By then, Hera had already reached the door.

“Very well, Lord. I'll take my leave.”

Zeldryn gave a small nod, but just as Hera was about to close the door behind her, something caught his attention.

The room had become noticeably darker.

The orange light that had previously entered through the windows was fading quickly as the sun approached the horizon, and there was no other source of light inside the room.

Zeldryn looked around and realized that none of the candles had been lit.

“Hera, wait.”

She immediately stopped and turned back toward him.

“Yes, Lord?”

Zeldryn gestured around the room. “The servants didn't light the candles? It's getting darker.”

Hera glanced around as well, and only then did she seem to realize how dim the room had become.

“My apologies, Lord. I'll light them immediately.”

Before Zeldryn could respond, Hera hurried out into the corridor.

He stared after her.

'That was fast.'

A short while later, footsteps returned from outside, and Hera entered carrying several candles. She moved around the room lighting them one by one until a warm yellow glow gradually spread through the space.

The candlelight illuminated the table, chair, bed, and nearby furniture, but it did not fill the room evenly. Long shadows stretched across the floor and walls, shifting whenever the small flames flickered.

Once Hera finished, she turned toward Zeldryn.

“It's done, Lord. I'll take my leave now.”

“Yeah.”

Hera finally left, and the door closed behind her, leaving Zeldryn alone once again.

He remained seated and slowly looked around the room. Even with several candles burning, the lighting felt completely different from what he remembered from the modern world. Some corners of the room remained dark, the shadows of objects were clearly visible, and every small movement of a candle flame caused the light around it to flicker.

Zeldryn leaned back slightly in his chair.

'It's pretty dark.'

His thoughts naturally returned to the lights he had taken for granted in his previous life. All he had needed to do was press a switch, and an entire room would instantly become bright. There was no flame to maintain, no candle to replace, and no concern about a gust of wind extinguishing the light.

Then his thoughts shifted toward mana.

It existed almost everywhere in this world, and Zeldryn had already seen firsthand that it could be manipulated strongly enough to create explosions. If mana could produce that kind of force, perhaps its uses extended far beyond combat.

His gaze settled on the candle burning on the table.

'If mana can do something like that, could it also be used to produce light?'

A small smile began to form as the idea took hold.

“Ah...”

Zeldryn rested his chin against one hand while continuing to watch the flame.

“When will I be able to create something like a lamp?”

His thoughts immediately wandered further. If mana could somehow be converted into light, perhaps there were other possibilities as well, including something so familiar to Reka's old life that the idea almost seemed obvious once it entered his mind.

Zeldryn slowly raised his head, his eyes still fixed on the candlelight.

'Or maybe... electricity?'