If you could regress or reincarnate like a fantasy protagonist and restart a ruined life, there'd be many people confident they'd succeed.
Advanced learning is an educational method that starts from that confidence. The intent is to experience life in advance in virtual reality, so you don't repeat the same mistakes and regrets in reality.
'But what's with this guy?'
The head of the Count Benator family, Count Redin Benator, couldn't understand the identity of the enemy who killed his son.
Ronan Marcus.
Alone, he drove out the bandits and even defeated the main force composed of automatons.
'Baron Marcus. What did you teach your child?'
Did he teach his youngest son only fighting instead of life through advanced learning?
Judging by results alone, Ronan Marcus was a monster far beyond the category of ordinary humans.
"Leon..."
His heir, sent to safely level up, returned as a cold corpse. It'd be a lie to say he wasn't sad at all.
When he first heard news that ruins were discovered in a vassal's estate, he was certain this was an opportunity given by heaven.
So he betrayed his loyal vassal, Baron Shuba Marcus.
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"Master. I examined all combat records in detail. However, I found no traces of manipulation."
The automaton who'd been reading the master's mood reported in a cautious voice.
"Conclusion?"
"Manipulation is certain."
Couldn't find evidence of manipulation, but concluded it was manipulation.
"I thought so..."
"It's impossible for a level 10 human to overwhelm automatons' coordinated attacks."
"I think the same."
He'd also watched the combat footage transmitted by the automatons defeated by Ronan Marcus. But the content was too unrealistic to naively believe.
'Obviously manipulation.'
An era where manipulation is so perfect you can't distinguish real from fake. Materials like photos or videos can't be trusted.
Meeting Ronan Marcus directly to verify would be most certain, but there were too many watching eyes around, making it difficult right now.
'Can only wait quietly.'
Now was the time to show restraint while pretending to mourn his loyal subject's death. While waiting for other vassals' anxiety and distrust to subside.
"...Master."
"What?"
"Just now, a Unique was born in the Baron Marcus family."
"A Unique?!"
Redin almost spit out the tea he was elegantly drinking in shock.
Unique.
A special title given only to automatons level 20 or above.
Even the Count Benator family, which boasts a long history, only has 3 Uniques. Precisely speaking, they could become counts because they possessed 3 Uniques.
"What should we do?"
At the unavoidable question, Redin closed his eyes and fell into thought.
'Ha! Suddenly a Unique...'
If the Marcus family truly possessed a Unique, he could no longer dismiss and ignore them as just a baron family.
Redin had planned to hire an excellent assassin for his son's revenge. But if a Unique that never sleeps always guards nearby, the story changes.
'This is troublesome.'
Vassals with strong power are more dangerous than external enemies. Have to eliminate them before they grow bigger or bind them through marriage.
"Wait."
"..."
"Marriage?"
"Should we proceed with a marriage proposal?"
The automaton who'd read the master's thoughts asked.
"You're not unaware there are no unmarried women in the main family?"
"There is one in the Marcus family. She avoided death because she was studying abroad."
"I didn't know that."
He didn't care about women since they have no succession rights. But the situation changed with a Unique's appearance.
Automatons can also be inherited by women. If you bring that woman, the Unique follows.
"Should we proceed with the marriage proposal?"
"Yes. Immediately."
"Understood."
"Interesting. Won't I become family with the enemy who killed my family? Hahaha!"
"..."
"A good day for hunting."
The Count Benator family formally proposed marriage to the Baron Marcus family.
***
I believed from the start. That there's no odds rigging in this perfect game.
"Seems rigged."
But the automaton who shared that great moment lacked faith.
"Elise. You said manipulation is impossible?"
"Yes. That's why it's strange. I think the publicly known odds are wrong."
"It's normal."
The phenomenon of luck tilting toward the game's protagonist is extremely normal.
The automatons who received souls from me finished training to adapt to shields and assembled. Though I used the grand expression "training," it was an unidentifiable time when girls performed group dances to cheerful songs.
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A Unique casually mixed in among ordinary automatons.
The first automaton I pulled reported as representative.
"Master. Inspection is complete. There were no abnormalities."
"That's good."
Automatons also have a hierarchy. If the master doesn't organize the hierarchy, it's decided by service period to the family or master.
That's why Elise's rank is highest. Just character setting, but she's an automaton who's served since I was born.
"Young master. Can we deploy them to normal duties from now on?"
"Do as you see fit."
I didn't ask what duties. Because I plan to trust Elise with estate operations and leave it on automatic.
The automatons except the Unique disappeared with light.
"She's the strongest automaton in the main family. So from now on I'm thinking of assigning her to guard you, young master."
"What about you?"
"I'm the butler who oversees the family and estate. If you don't like me because my level is low, you can replace me."
"No. I like Elise."
Placing a high-combat automaton in a management position is inefficient.
"...Confirmed."
"Touched?"
"No."
Elise immediately put on a serious face. Her strong denial was cute.
"What's your name?"
I turned my gaze and questioned the girl who'd guard me from now on. Because Unique isn't her name.
The girl bowed gracefully.
"I'm Teresa."
"Teresa. Nice name."
Teresa.
Really is a nice name.
"The boy who blocked me became my new master."
"Why didn't you want to kill me?"
"Because I felt sorry for you."
"For me?"
"A boy who loses his family and has his life threatened by getting caught up in politics the moment he opens his eyes. Isn't that pitiful from a human perspective?"
Teresa tilts her head and asks back.
"It is pitiful."
But expecting empathy from a gamer who only sees experience points is difficult.
"Master has a strong heart."
"Well, yeah."
Even AI is free to misunderstand.
Right then, Elise suddenly interjected into our conversation.
"Young master. A marriage proposal came from the Count Benator family."
"Marriage proposal? A bit out of the blue."
The tutorial just ended. Isn't a marriage event too early?
"The other party is Lean Benator. The second son who became heir after the eldest son, Leon Benator, died."
"Second son? Then he's a guy?"
"Yes. A married man."
"I'm a guy too."
And a man who's already married with an owner. Though it's become a tolerant era toward homosexuality, I still think this is kinda wrong!
"Don't worry about that. You have an older sister."
"Sister? Me?"
"Yes."
"Can't be a childhood friend, so like siblings with different parents?"
"No. Shurin Marcus. Your real older sister with the same parents."
I'd thought it was time for the heroine in charge of the game's advertising to appear since the tutorial ended. But she was a real sibling with no possibility of falling into a romance route.
"Didn't you say my family was wiped out?"
"The males were. But not the females. Miss Shurin wasn't at the main house because she was studying abroad."
"So the setting is she survived thanks to studying abroad."
"It's fact, not a setting."
The Baron Marcus family is a vassal of the Count Benator family. You could call it a relationship between an affiliate and parent company.
'This is troublesome.'
To properly enjoy this game, I absolutely have to get rid of the Count Benator family.
Couldn't send family as hostages there.
"Refuse."
"You'll incur Count Benator's wrath."
"That seems kinda forced."
I lost family and even had my life threatened because of Count Benator's son. The order of who should be angry is wrong.
"It's a marriage to improve a strained relationship. If you refuse, it'll look like you're ignoring your lord's goodwill. You'll be suspected of plotting rebellion."
"Annoying."
Because it's fact, not suspicion.
"The choice is yours as the head of the Marcus family, young master."
Head.
The title given to the family's master.
Nice ring to it. Much better than protagonists who start as looked-down-upon mercenaries or adventurers.
"First, I want to hear the person in question's opinion."
"Miss Shurin must unconditionally follow the head's decision."
"Still want to hear it."
"Understood."
I called my sister, who was studying abroad in a very distant place, home.
***
Baron Marcus territory repeated regression instead of development because the lord squandered all taxes on maintenance of dignity expenses.
Shurin Marcus's study abroad was also the lord's decision. Because he wanted to say one line about his daughter studying abroad in a developed country.
'Should do well himself.'
Parents who couldn't even beat bandits had sky-high ambitions. If the setting is they died because of that, nothing to say.
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"Greetings for the first time, my lord. I'm Shurin Marcus."
My sister who was supposedly studying abroad in a very distant place came home quickly. But perhaps she really hurried, she hadn't even changed out of her school uniform.
She was neatly wearing a sky-blue blouse and tie with a navy skirt. On her left chest I also saw an occult-looking crest presumed to be the school emblem.
'The pink irises are similar.'
First impression was dazzling like a lotus blooming on mud. No makeup on her face, but her long eyelashes and eye corners exuded mature feminine beauty.
Her figure standing straight with hands together was modest. However, her straight shoulders and back conveyed confidence and aristocratic dignity.
"You heard the news, right?"
"Yes. School wouldn't allow early leave so I was late. I'm sorry I couldn't help."
"Not that."
"Huh? Oh, yes. I also know a marriage proposal came from the Benator family."
"What do you think?"
"I'll follow the lord's decision."
Her pink eyes showed no hesitation in her immediate answer.
"You're not going to pretend to follow my decision then run away, are you?"
"I won't."
Her eyes wavered slightly. Seems I hit the mark.
"I want to hear your heart, sis."
"Sister...?"
"Why? Aren't you my sister? Is there some undisclosed secret of birth?"
"No. Absolutely not."
She strongly denied, looking very suspicious.
'Smells like drama.'
We needed to verify the truth by comparing our genetics. Don't want to get backstabbed later.
"Do you want to get married?"
"No. I think this marriage is too wasteful for me."
"Then don't. I was thinking the same thing. You're too good for that, sis."
Too wasteful to marry my sister off to a family that'll soon disappear from this game. Because arranged marriage is a very powerful card.
'Have to save it as much as possible.'
She's marriage-banned until I feel I need a powerful alliance. I'd prefer if she didn't date either, but there was no way to monitor my sister studying abroad.
'...Ah! There is!'
A very good method flashed to mind.
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"Teresa. Protect my sister. Make sure no one can touch her without my permission."
"Yes. Master."
Can rest easy if I attach Teresa as a monitor. Have to invest this much to keep in check even punks like protagonists who hide their strength.
Elise, who'd been listening quietly from behind, immediately pointed out.
"Overprotective."
"No. Not excessive at all. My sister is very precious to me."
My sister, who hadn't yet realized she was also banned from dating, spoke in a trembling voice.
"Thank you! I'll definitely live up to the lord's expectations!"
Her eyes reddened, moved by my investment.
"Don't worry about it."
"But..."
"Really, it's fine."
Because she'll want to run away soon enough.