Aryan suddenly gets reincarnated into a different world, and the reason for this was a deity's mistake. In exchange for his unexpected death, that deity gives him a new life in a fantasy world filled with swords, magic, and demons. But the problem wa... Aryan suddenly gets reincarnated into a different world, and the reason for this was a deity's mistake. In exchange for his unexpected death, that deity gives him a new life in a fantasy world filled with swords, magic, and demons. But the problem was that this world was still stuck in medieval times—no electricity, no proper plumbing, and none of the technology that Aryan was so connected to in his old life. Will Aryan be able to change his life...? What will his journey be like...? We will learn in this story...<br />
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Is This the End?
Aryan said, clutching his chest. His breaths were rapid and shallow, as if death had him in its grasp. The only light in the room came from his PC screen, casting strange shadows on his face.
Most people were afraid of dying alone, but for Aryan, this end was just fine. In fact, it was satisfactory for him. His life was filled with playing games, watching anime, and ordering food. This was his definition of happiness. If he had access to the internet, he could spend his entire life at home. But at 35, this lifestyle was now taking a toll on his body.
"Ah..."
His vision blurred, as if he was being forced into sleep.
And then, darkness.
But something strange happened. He was still conscious. Aryan couldn't move. He couldn't feel anything, or even see. But he could think.
"Am I dead?"
He didn't believe in any religion, but maybe they were right.
"Hello, Aryan."
A booming voice echoed in the darkness.
"Who are you? Where am I?"
"First of all, I apologize. Due to my mistake, you had to leave this life early. You weren't supposed to die yet."
Aryan tried to understand the words, and soon he realized that he was talking to some divine power.
"So, you're a God?"
"Yes, I am God... Aren't you angry?"
Aryan's indifference towards his death shocked God.
"I guess you can't bring me back to life. If you could, you wouldn't need to explain so much. You would just correct your mistake and send me back."
"..."
Aryan didn't have a habit of worrying about things that couldn't be changed. Even if he shouted at this God, would it bring him back to life? Probably not.
"You won't even ask why an omnipotent God can't revive someone? You'll just accept it like that?"
If he had a body, Aryan would probably shrug.
"I'm just a chill guy," he replied.
God probably sighed wearily, but Aryan could only imagine it.
"I was thinking you'd yell at me and I'd become the mysterious, peaceful God... Well, never mind. It was my mistake, so I have to compensate you."
Aryan wasn't paying much attention. "Just release my soul, man. If I don't have consciousness, I won't even be sad that I'm missing the next season of anime."
"Hmm... Since I can't send you back to your old life, I'll give you a new life in a new world."
God thought Aryan would jump for joy at this news. After all, Aryan loved anime and fantasy. But his reaction was extremely cold.
"Hmph."
God, who was omniscient, knew that Aryan loved time travel stories.
"Why aren't you happy?! You're practically made for time travel!"
Aryan wasn't unfamiliar with time travel. But watching and living were two different things. He had no interest in fighting a demon king. He preferred watching the hero do it all on TV.
"Just release my soul," Aryan said with boredom.
God's silence was enough to indicate that this option wasn't possible.
"I have to put your soul into another body. It's the rule. And no matter how much you complain—"
"If you have no choice, then fine."
"! That's it?! Hey! Don't act like you're shrugging, you don't even have shoulders!"
Annoyed, God recited a mantra, and Aryan's soul was sent to another world.
Aryan's consciousness began to return. It felt like he was lying on something soft and velvety. He opened his eyes. The ceiling in front of him was so magnificent that he began to doubt its reality. What is this, am I in some royal cave?
He tried to get up, but his hands looked slender and delicate. He stared at his palms and muttered, "What the heck, am I stuck in the body of some rich kid?"
Just then, the door opened. An elderly man, who looked like a butler, entered and bowed, saying, "Master, your morning bath is ready."
Aryan said to himself, wow, now there are even servants for bathing? This God might be taking things a little too seriously. And then he remembered God's last words.
Aaryan, I have given you special abilities according to your desires. You won't know them yet, but you'll understand soon.
Aryan took a deep breath and looked around at the atmosphere of luxury. He muttered, "Let's see what happens next in this drama."
Aryan heard some strange and new sounds, which were slightly muffled and full of excitement. After a few moments, he felt his head being pulled out of a warm and sticky place. Then, a bright, dazzling light. It took his eyes a few seconds to adjust to the light.
Where am I? What are these people saying?
[Looks like these people are congratulating you on your birth.]
Just then, this voice echoed in his ears, shocking him, and he couldn't stop himself from asking
"What?! Who are you?"
"I am a system residing within you..." How will Aryan survive in this new place, on a different journey?
"Who exactly is this system...?"
And where did Aryan arrive...?
What will his journey be like in the future...? We will know in the next episode, so read my story "REBORN ...A MAGICAL SON"
Aryan said to himself, "Wow, now there are servants even for bathing? This God is probably taking things a little too seriously."
And then he remembered God's last words.
"Aaryan, I have given you special abilities according to your wishes. You won't know it yet, but you will soon understand."
Aryan took a deep breath and looked at the luxurious atmosphere around him. He muttered, "Let's see what happens next in this drama."
Aryan heard some strange and new sounds, which were a little muffled and full of excitement. After a few moments, he felt his head being pulled out of a warm and sticky place. Then, a bright, dazzling light. It took his eyes a few seconds to adjust to the light.
"Where am I? What are these people saying?"
"[It seems, these people are congratulating you on your birth.]"
"What?! Who are you?"
"I am a system embedded within you..."
"My birth also happened with you, although I have more information than you do. All information is within me. I am a God Gift for you..."
"Okay. Well, God did something good then."
Just then, a voice echoed in his ears...
"Is this child okay? Why isn't he crying?"
With the birth of the child, the whole room was in a shadow of worry and wonder. Everyone was waiting for the moment when the newborn's first cry would echo in the room. But on the contrary, the child was completely silent. His large, deep eyes were staring at everyone, as if he was processing everyone's data.
"Doctor, is something wrong?"
The doctor took a long breath and pulled out a magical scanner from the pocket of his shiny white lab coat. That scanner was like a gadget from a sci-fi movie, but it was emitting a light green glow all around.
"The child is physically completely healthy," said the doctor. Then after a bit of dramatic silence, "But... this is not a normal child."
On the other hand, there was turmoil within that quiet newborn. The real "Aryan" had awakened.
"Oh, reincarnation! Well, this went according to my plan."
Aryan looked at his mother. Her face had an interesting combination of worry, love, and exhaustion. Golden hair, glowing skin—as if a K-drama heroine had arrived at the hospital.
"Wow! Mom is completely queen material. And this... Dad? Oh, he looks like a king from a royal series! Are these people cosplaying?"
Aryan's mind was racing.
"What world is this? This doesn't seem like the 21st century. It's like a promo for a fantasy RPG game is going on!"
"[This is your new world.]"
A strange voice echoed in his mind.
"What? Direct voice in the mind? Is this God's customer helpline system?"
"[You were born into the world's most powerful magical family. This is a different world—where magic reigns instead of technology.]"
"Magic?! Oh, I'm getting game vibes."
Aryan said with a laugh.
Aryan looked at the doctor. A greenish light was shining around the doctor. He was moving his hand like a secret mantra.
"[The doctor is using magic called 'Medical Eyes'. It gives him the power to look inside anyone's body and detect diseases.]"
"This is amazing! If I am the main character of this world, then every magic and skill will be within my reach." Aryan's eyes began to shine with anticipation.
But the joy did not last long. As soon as Aryan paid attention to his surroundings, he began to understand the truth.
"Where's the TV? The Internet? And this smell... what is this?"
"[This is the 'natural scent' of this world's air. There are no things like pipelines and modern toilets here.]"
"What?!! God, this is a fraud! Even the richest family without AC and TV?!"
Aryan's heart was on the verge of breaking. He took a long breath, then screamed with all his might.
"Uwaaaaa!"
But the people outside took it as the child's first joyful sound.
"See, the child is crying! Everything is alright!"
A smile of relief appeared on the faces of the doctor and parents. But in reality, this voice was Aryan's first step of resentment and confusion.
"God, in what Middle Age world have you thrown me?!"
Aryan had only been born a few days, and all his time was spent doing only one thing—lying in his crib and staring at the ceiling. If this were a novel or anime, this part would have been skipped straight away. But alas, there was no time skip in Aryan's life. He was forced to endure every boring second. His only means of entertainment was those rotating bird toys hanging above the crib. But to be honest... "This is cheating, God! This is not fair!"
Just then...
"How is my little Aryan doing?"
"Hey! What's this... I'm understanding my mother's words?"
"( Ha we have decoded their language. From now on you will understand everything. At your service, System is present)"
The same voice echoed again.
"Hey listen..."
Aryan's face lit up from the inside. "Wow! This AI is totally worth the money." In this magical world, this technology was nothing less than a jackpot.
"My Aryan is so cute! Tell me, he is cute, isn't he?" His mother asked the maid.
"Absolutely, Madam. Little Master is the cutest," the maid replied, as if it was written in her duty.
Aryan was surprised to know that his name in this world was also Aryan. He found this coincidence amusing. "God, no creativity, but okay!"
His mother bent down and pinched his cheeks.
"Ouch! Hey Mom, easy!" Aryan screamed in his mind.
"Madam, maybe you held Little Master a little too hard."
"Oh! I forgot. My baby is so cute, I couldn't stop myself."
Aryan was enjoying his mother's over-the-top cuteness. "Well, God has given me a good mother!"
But the real fun was about to begin now.
"Aryan, today I am going to teach you something special. Let's meditate. Maybe you will also become a master of the Earth element like me!"
What exactly is Aryan's mother going to teach him, we will know in the next episode.
Aryan was enjoying his mother's over-the-top cuteness. "Come on, at least God gave me a good mom!"
But the real fun was about to begin.
"Aryan, today I'm going to teach you something special. Let's meditate. Maybe you can become a master of the earth element like me!"
"Oh! Now this is getting interesting."
His mother picked him up and sat cross-legged on the ground herself. Then she tickled his waist.
"Mom! Seriously, teach me magic first, we can play later!"
Then suddenly, her eyes closed. And the atmosphere changed.
The room suddenly began to glow. Tiny green particles, like grains of sand, began to float in the air. These particles swirled around his mother and disappeared into her skin.
"Oh my God! What magic is this?"
"[These are particles of the earth element. Your mother is drawing them into her body.]"
Aryan's eyes lit up. "Dude, this looks like Dragon Ball Z!"
For about an hour, his mother gathered the particles into her core. Then she opened her eyes, kissed Aryan on the forehead with a smile, and put him back in his crib.
But Aryan wasn't going to stop now.
"Can I do this too?" he asked his system.
"[Absolutely. Principle being downloaded… Done!]"
Aryan closed his eyes and immediately began to meditate.
Instantly, the entire room filled with colorful particles. Green, blue, red, and silver… everything began to be drawn towards Aryan.
"Bro, this looks like RGB lighting. Got a gaming computer with power!"
Gradually, four small stones began to form in his body—green, blue, red, and silver.
"So that means I can become a master of all four elements? Superhero movie ready!"
"[That's right. But maybe that's not all. There may be other elements in this world.]"
Aryan was now completely pumped up. "God gave me the whole VIP pass. This is awesome!"
But after a while…
"Bro, this is so tiring."
"[No problem. Automatic mana collection will be activated while sleeping.]"
Aryan slept soundly, but the particles continued to be drawn into him slowly.
Meanwhile, his mother came back into the room. She noticed that the earth element particles in the room had decreased.
"Hmm, how did this happen?" she wondered. Then she shrugged and left.
"Hehe, Mom has no idea that her son is already working on the master plan!"
A few months passed, and Aryan remained stuck in his 'baby duties' – meaning, just sleeping and crying all day. But dude, just doing that every day? The boredom was unbearable!
If anything was saving Aryan, it was "particle collection." Every day he drew in the energy around him, as if he had turned on a vacuum cleaner. And then he strengthened the "elemental stones" inside his body with that energy.
Gradually, Aryan began to understand that as he drew in more particles, his "mana sensing power" was becoming super-heroically sharp. Now he could easily tell which elements were swirling in the air and in what quantity. Meaning, a complete X-ray scan of the air!
But that wasn't all. Collecting mana gave his tiny body such strong energy that he was now almost trying to stand. Imagine, a baby posing like an action hero on the side!
But this was just the beginning for him!
Continuously collecting particles in his body was not just a simple advantage. Like some magical miracle, it had strengthened his tiny body so much that he was now almost able to stand!
However, he only did this exercise when he had complete alone time. And to be honest, there was such a scarcity of alone time that you wouldn't believe it!
If he wasn't swinging in his mother's arms, you could bet he'd be pinching a maid's cheek. Everyone in the entire palace seemed to be intoxicated by his cuteness. The maids would show him everything while carrying him around, and they wouldn't refrain from pinching his sweet cheeks in between.
It seemed as if God had sent him as a perfect combo pack of cuteness and charm. On top of that, he had such a touch of handsomeness that anyone would be eager to hold him.
He was in a situation, as they say, where "happiness can also come in the form of sorrow." And yes, as strange as it sounds, it was true that with this charisma of cuteness, he didn't get a single second of peace!
And think about it, how strange it is that it took Aryan two whole months to find out his mom and dad's names! Now why is that? Because his mom only allowed him to call her "Mommy." And his dad? He seemed to have forgotten the way home!
Aryan had understood from their small squabbles that Dad was busy with some business that kept him away from home day and night. But Mommy didn't like it at all. Mommy often muttered angrily while grumbling something - "Crystal Palace" or something like that. But poor Aryan, he didn't even know what this Crystal Palace was!
Finally, Aryan found out his mom and dad's names when he paid attention to the servants' gossip. He learned that his mom's name was "Shalini," and his dad's was "Samar."
And as for Aryan, his full name was - Aryan Samar Bajaj. It sounded like the heir to some royalty.
By the way, the Bajaj family claimed to be one of the richest families in the world. But only one question was going through Aryan's mind – "When will Dad finally get a break from this Crystal Palace work?"
Even though the Bajaj family were the kings of the rich, the point to consider is that they didn't even have an air-conditioning unit. Aryan's entire faith was only in the fact that when he grew up, he was going to get a huge inheritance from his family. And he could make his life completely awesome and comfortable with that money.
But for now, he had to wait until he grew up. For the time being, he had no option but to live his "baby life."
By the way, the Bajaj family claimed to be one of the richest families in the world. But Aryan had only one question on his mind – "When will Dad finally get a break from this Crystal Palace work?" Even if the Bajaj family were kings of the rich, the point was, they didn't even have a single air-conditioning unit. Aryan's only hope was that when he grew up, he would inherit a huge fortune from his family. And he could use that money to make his life super comfortable. But for now, he had to wait until he grew up. Currently, he had no option but to live his "baby life."
Aryan soon turned one year old, and the Bajaj family treated the event like the coronation of an ancient king! His mother immediately ordered that a small venue be prepared near the house where they could celebrate his birthday.
If you thought 'small' meant a tent in the garden, you are very wrong. Because the 'small' venue his mother had built was actually as big as a football stadium! Yes, you heard that right. So big that you had to take a carriage to get from one end to the other! And the funny thing? His mother was still not happy!
"Sorry, baby. I'll get an even bigger one made next year. Just think, how little we are spending on your first birthday! It's just that there wasn't enough time, otherwise I would have built a hall twice the size. But don't worry, the construction of the next venue has already started!"
For the first time, a light bulb went off in Aryan's little baby brain—"Oh, so we are that rich?"
Aryan couldn't even count the number of people working to build this small venue. Since there were no bulldozers or excavators in this world, everything was being done by hand. Aryan saw with his baby eyes that magicians were casting spells—trees were falling, boulders were being crushed. More than 10,000 people were toiling every day for his first birthday.
[Magic Theory Acquired.]
[Magic Theory Acquired.]
[Magic Theory Acquired.]
[Magic Theory Acquired.]
But the best part of this drama was that Aryan saw with his baby eyes in real-time how this magic worked. And that's when he decided—"If people can use magic for my birthday venue, why can't I?"
So, when he came back to his cradle, he immediately started experimenting.
[Tornado]
— ★★★
— Air Element
— This magic allows the user to summon a gigantic tornado that blows everything away.
Aryan tried to cast this spell, but… Error 404: Mana not found! He understood that most of the spells he had learned from the workers were high level, and his mana balance was currently low.
Good news? He had four small 1-star rated spells that his baby brain could handle.
[Water Ball]
— ★
— Water Element
— Allows the user to create a small water ball.
[Ember]
— ★
— Fire Element
— Allows the user to ignite a small flame on their fingertip.
[Rock Throw]
— ★
— Earth Element
— Allows the user to control and throw small rocks.
[Wind Blow]
— ★
— Air Element
— Allows the user to create a light gust of wind.
Aryan closed his baby eyes, took a deep breath, and concentrated his tiny hands. First, a small drop of water appeared on his left hand.
"Wow! I'm a magician!"
Then he tried again, and a small rock started floating in the air.
"Now all I need is a sword, and I'll be a pro magician!"
He raised his finger, and a flame as small as a candle lit up there.
"I should show Mom and Dad!"
Then he tried the last spell—a light gust of wind, which sent the water ball, rock, and fire flying towards the wall together. Baby Aryan felt like a winner.
"Now with a little more practice, and I can shake the whole world!"
"Now all I need is a sword, and I'll be a total pro magician!"
He raised his finger, and a flame as small as a candle flickered to life.
"I should show Mom and Dad!"
Then he tried his last spell—a light gust of wind, sending the Water Ball, Rock, and Fire hurtling together towards the wall.
Baby Aryan felt like a winner.
"Now just a little more practice and I can shake the whole world."
Finally, my first birthday arrived! The house was bustling, preparations were underway everywhere, but the real spice had been added a few days earlier. A small incident, but it had caused an earthquake in the house! There were strange burn and water marks on the wall near my crib. Everyone thought it was a ghost doing a water and fire show, or some kind of accident. But for my family, this incident wasn't just an accident, it was a conspiracy.
"Oh God! Someone has cast a spell on our son!"
Mom's reaction was as if a climax scene from a TV serial was playing out. And then what, security was increased, the servants were doubled, and me? I was shifted straight to Mom's room. Meaning, even my own freedom was gone!
"Bro, why so much overreaction?"
Aryan thought to himself.
Just then, the magic investigation team arrived and they said that all this was done by someone at the same time, and there were also traces of magic. Meaning? Some magician came here, threw some spells, and left. Now I got a little tense, because that "magician" was none other than me! But I wasn't about to say that. Who would believe that a one-year-old child was reciting spells and drawing designs on the wall?
Then came my birthday – and Mom's promotion mode was on! Slowly, this "ghostly" matter cooled down, but Mom? She was now presenting this whole incident as "God's blessing".
"My son is very special, God himself has given him talent!"
And I was thinking to myself –
"God may have given me this blessing, but Mom, who gave you this extra drama?"
The birthday party started and Mom was introducing me to every guest with so much love, as much as a politician might show during elections. Not only that, then a big shot said –
"Bajaj family, your son is so handsome!"
Mom (said shyly, listening to his words): "It's all the effect of my genes... yes, we can consider a little contribution from his father too."
Uncle: "I'm jealous of your family. What do you say, if we do something that benefits both families? My daughter has just been born…"
Hearing his words, Aryan facepalmed. When he looked at his mother, he was also shocked.
Mom: "Like I'm saying to that uncle that yes, I'm listening to what you're saying…"
And me?
"Enough! Don't fix my marriage!"
Five years later – when I started to think of myself as a hero! Now I'm five years old and I've become so pro that I can fill an entire tub with water with just one spell! But the real problem? Bath time! Naina, my helper, brings a bucket every day, fills it with water from the well five or six times, and then my tub gets filled. And I was thinking – "Bro, this is such a hassle!" Meaning, I can fill the water myself in a second with magic, but if I do that, Naina will suspect that ghosts are roaming in the house.
Just then, my AI assistant said something in my mind–
["Would you like to know how a tap works?"]
Me: "You can really do that?!"
The very next moment, the system poured all the information into my brain. Now I had complete information on how to build a tap! Aryan excitedly said to himself: "Oh my god! I... I can build my own tap!"
["Would you like a step-by-step guide to build it?"]
And I started thinking to myself...
"Bro, it seems like the real magic is yours!"
Naina, my helper, used to bring water from the well five or six times a day, carrying buckets to fill my tub. I was thinking, "Man, what a hassle!" I mean, I could fill it with water in a second using magic, but Naina would suspect there were ghosts in the house if I did. That's when my AI assistant planted an idea in my head -
"Would you like to know how a tap works?"
Me: "You can actually do that?!"
The next moment, the system dumped all the information into my brain. Now I had all the information on how to build a tap! Meanwhile, Aryan himself excitedly exclaimed:
"Whoa! I... I can build my own tap!"
"Would you like a step-by-step guide to building it?"
And I thought to myself... "Man, it seems like your magic is the real deal!"
Suddenly, a flood of information surged into Aryan's mind. A map seemed to be forming within him - diagrams, blueprints, everything was etched into his memory as if he had known it for years. Now he understood the complete process of building the structure of his tap.
The plumbing information from the system further solidified his understanding. He could now build a water tap himself.
"Yes!"
"Did you say something, Young Master?" Naina peeked into the bathroom to see Aryan jumping for joy.
"Oh... nothing."
Aryan tried to hide his happiness, but he was thrilled at the thought of building his own water system. This was another step towards his comfortable life.
Naina shook her head with a slight smile. "Fufufu... It seems the Young Master is growing up."
"Huh?" Aryan didn't understand what she was saying.
"Oh, nothing. You take your bath, I'll wait outside."
Naina picked up the bucket of water and poured it into the tub, but it wasn't even half full. She needed to bring more water. She headed back towards the well, but as she walked, a slight pain shot through her back. She didn't show her discomfort, but a hint of fatigue was visible on her face.
"I've put your clothes in the room, Young Master," she said.
"Thank you." Aryan sat in the bathtub and began planning his project.
As soon as Naina left the room, her tired smile faded.
Another maid came up to her and said in a concerned voice, "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," Naina said, waving her hand. But the other maid knew she was in pain.
"You don't need to lift water every day; there are many water mages in the house. They can create water in a second."
Naina said with a light laugh, "The Young Master likes warm water; the mages' water is too cold."
"But you'll break your back because of this! You're spoiling him too much."
"It's alright. I like it. After all, he is our Young Master."
After bathing, Aryan went straight to the house's library.
This library was no less than a treasure - books on every subject, knowledge about the world, history, and all sorts of technical information. Aryan needed the right information for his project.
After searching for a while, his eyes fell on a thick book - 'The Bajaj Mansion'.
He climbed the ladder, picked up the book, and immediately started reading.
"System, can you show me the structure of this house?"
[Yes, I can.]
[Data analysis in progress...]
Aryan quickly flipped through the pages, and the system began scanning them.
[Analysis complete. Best location found for installing the plumbing system.]
Suddenly, another wave of information rushed into Aryan's mind. He saw a blueprint of the entire mansion in his mind, like a map, including the exact location of the water pipes.
"Perfect... Now I have to learn how to make it."
The System explained that the pipes had to be copper. Fortunately, copper was readily available in this world.
As for shaping the pipes, Aryan already had some production magic.
He had accumulated a lot of mana at a young age, so he could use two-star magic at just five years old.
Spells like [Metal Bend] and [Metal Fuse] were no longer difficult for him.
"Alright, now it's time to build it."
Aryan left the library and went straight to his mother's room.
His face was serious, as if he were going on a big mission.
Knock! Knock!
"Come in," a voice came from inside.
Aryan opened the door. His mother was sitting comfortably, holding a handkerchief in her hand. She said with a slight smile, "What is it, my dear son?"
"I need to buy some things."
His mother looked out the window and asked with a smile, "And why would I do that?"
Aryan took a deep breath and said, "In exchange... you can pinch my cheeks five times."
"Deal!"
And so, with red swollen cheeks at the end of the day, Aryan finally began his plumbing project.
Aryan finally found the large shipment of goods in a large container. The Bajaj family was involved in several businesses, so it wasn't difficult for them to take some metals out of their warehouse and give them to the young master.
Now the question was, where would Aryan complete this project? He had a great plan for this. It was a great advantage to have a large estate located in the middle of the forest—there was plenty of empty space here. Bajaj Haveli was built in the middle of a dense forest, surrounded by mountains and hills. It was a quiet area, where not many people came and there were no dangerous wild animals. So Aryan was not afraid to go out alone. He increased his physical abilities and quickly crossed the walls of the Haveli, and his 1-star magic spell [Air Jump] helped him in this.
"I need a place where I can work on my project without any interruption. Sistim, can you find such a place for me?"
[Understood.]
[Analyzing location… Scanning…]
[Found.]
Suddenly Aryan saw a large arrow pointing towards the depths of the forest. He followed it and soon found himself standing in front of a flat wall at the foot of a small mountain.
"Good thinking… I can make a small cave here."
Aryan started cutting the wall slowly using the 1-star spell [Boulder Crush]. As soon as he released the spell, a half-sphere pit the size of a basketball appeared on the wall, and the stone turned to dust.
"Wow… this is going to take a long time."
Aryan worked hard for the next several days shaping this cave. This gave him two advantages—first, he got a separate and quiet room where he could focus on his work, and second, he strengthened the mana in his body by practicing his magic spells.
After about twenty days of hard work, Aryan finally prepared his 'Project Room'. It was a large room of 20x20 meters, with a height of 5 meters—meaning quite spacious and comfortable. He prepared metal tables, chairs, and desks using the 2-star spell [Metal Bend]. This was also a good practice for joining pipes and making the right structure for the tap. After everything was ready, Aryan was finally ready to start his real project.
The sound of hammers echoed in every corner of the Haveli. The whole house trembled with these sounds, even the maids working in the kitchen felt the vibrations below.
"What is going on upstairs?" one maid asked in surprise.
"The young master is doing something secret. He has said that no one should disturb him," another maid replied.
"But what is this noise? It sounds dangerous. Should we stop it? Sir and Madam have gone out for the whole month!"
The maids were worried about Aryan's actions. His mother had allowed him to do whatever he wanted, but they had no idea that he would do such a big demolition.
And then, suddenly there was silence. A little later, Aryan reached the kitchen. His clothes and face were covered with dust and concrete pieces.
"Working hard, or avoiding hard work? Hahaha… Just another day's work!" he said with a smile and poured himself a glass of water. He wiped the sweat from his forehead, refreshed himself, and went back to his room. The maids were just speechless.
A few days later… Aryan finally completed his tap project. He had installed a simple tap in his bathroom, which was a curved pipe coming out of the wall, with a simple lever on top. There was a small bowl under the tap, from which water flowed downwards. Now was the time for the final test. Aryan turned the tap lever, and rumbling echoed within the pipes. After a few seconds, some drops of water dripped into the sink. Then, a thin stream began to form, and gradually a thick flow of water began to flow.
"I did it!" Aryan shouted happily. He filled his hands with water and poured it over himself. After about a month of hard work, his dream had come true. To create this entire system, Aryan had to install a large water tank on the roof of the Haveli. The combination of gravity and air pressure caused the water to flow down through the pipes. During this time, he had to break the walls and floors to lay the pipes, making the room and the Haveli look like it had been ransacked by a madman. But it didn't matter. He had taken one more step towards his comfortable old world life. And more importantly, it was a technological revolution for this world.
"Young master, we need to talk about your noise—"
A maid came in and went straight to Aryan's bathroom. She wanted to complain that there was no point in breaking the house like this. But as soon as she saw the tap, she was shocked. Water was flowing in an uninterrupted stream, like a river.
"Young master… what… what is this?"
Aryan smiled. "Oh, this? It's called a 'tap'. Just a little hobby of mine. Would you like to try it?"
The maid was surprised, but still apprehensive. She couldn't understand what magic was making the water come out of the pipes. And then, Aryan suddenly splashed water on her! She was completely soaked and recoiled in shock. But then she realized… this was not magic water. It was natural water straight from the well!
"But… how is this possible?"
Aryan just smiled and said, "Just a little bit of brains and hard work!"
A whole crowd of maids was gathered in Aryan's bathroom. They were all astonished by the strange non-magical water flowing from this thing called a 'tap'.
"This is beyond comprehension! How can it flow so quickly?"
"Is someone blowing water from behind it?"
Naina looked at Aryan.
"Young Master, did you make this yourself?"
He shook his head.
"How?" everyone asked, their eyes sparkling with curiosity.
Aryan shrugged.
"It's nothing special. I just used gravity and pressure correctly. To explain it in simple terms, water flows down because of gravity, and if you connect pipes..."
He then gave a short explanation of the mechanics of water pressure. All this information was from the system, so he was speaking as if he knew everything.
The maids didn't know this. When they heard the Young Master's words, they were astonished by his intelligence. They thought the tap was some kind of magical miracle, but when they understood its simplicity, they couldn't believe why no one had thought of it before.
"Young Master! You are a genius!" one maid praised him.
"We should tell Madam immediately! She will be surprised to learn that you are not only handsome, but also intelligent."
Aryan raised his hand to stop them.
"I would prefer that you don't tell my mother until she gets home. I don't want to interfere with her business."
Aryan was allowed to do anything he wanted in the entire mansion because his parents were out of town for a long time. There was no one to stop him here.
But if his mother came home and saw this, he didn't know what her reaction would be.
"Young Master, what is this?"
One of the maids finally noticed a suspicious metal bowl near the sink. It was fitted directly into the floor, not the wall.
This bowl already had water in it, but there was no tap above it.
"Oh, this? I call it a toilet."
This was the main reason why Aryan had arranged to have running water installed in the house.
Aryan had spent five years in this world doing his business in bushes or a small pot!
The people here were already used to the smell of dirt because it was normal for them. But for Aryan, who had lived in a clean world, it was unbearable.
That's why he created a proper plumbing system.
For the time being, he couldn't create a perfect water purification system, so the flushed water was flowing through the pipes into the river a little distance from the mansion.
He was planning to improve it in the future, but for now, it was enough.
"What does it do?"
"Oh, I know! It's for drinking, right?"
Aryan immediately shook his head.
"No, but I'll show you."
He went to the toilet and pressed a button on top of the tank.
And suddenly—
Whoosh!
The water went down the pipes and made the same flushing sound that Aryan was familiar with in his old world.
But for the maids, this sound was like the thunder of a demon, making them feel like there was a monster hiding under that 'toilet' bowl.
All the maids were startled and almost jumped out of the room!
"What was that?!"
"Young Master, is it some kind of creature?"
Aryan laughed.
"No, no. It's called a toilet. This is where you do your... business..."
The maids were still suspicious, but Aryan's words piqued their curiosity.
"Meaning... business like number one and number two?"
Aryan nodded.
"You sit on this bowl and do your business. And when you're done, you press this button here, which will flush all the water, and everything you dropped will go out of the toilet. Then you wash your hands in the tap and you're completely clean!"
Surprise was written all over one maid's face.
"Where does it all go after flushing?"
"I connected the pipes to the river near the mansion."
Everyone gasped in surprise, as they now understood the true utility of this toilet.
After all, they were the ones who cleaned the house. They had to remove all this waste themselves and throw it into the river, which was a very laborious task.
And even after this, their work was not over. They had to clean the dirty pots and latrines with lots of water and labor.
But with the help of this 'toilet', they didn't have to do any of this anymore. Because everything was cleaned by itself with just a press of a button.
And the biggest relief—the bad smell would also be gone!
"This is a revolutionary change! I've never heard of it before!"
"Young Master... this... this invention of yours... is extraordinary!"
"The wonderful miracle of water! You are even more mysterious than some magicians, Young Master!"
The maids began to shower him with praise. They were looking at the tap and toilet as if they were made of gold.
Some of the maids were so excited to see the water flowing from the tap that they started splashing water on themselves.
"Hahaha!" Aryan laughed. He had a similar reaction when he completed his plumbing system.
"Okay, okay, stop it! This is not proper. We are professionals!"
Naina immediately stopped the maids who were having too much fun. They had forgotten that this was the Young Master's personal bathroom.
"Get out! Before I tell Madam that you were all in the Young Master's room."
The maids immediately straightened their backs and left the room, afraid that Madam would burn them.
Naina also left, making sure everyone was disciplined.
Finally, Aryan was left alone, to enjoy the fruits of his hard work.
The next morning, Naina woke up to the loud screams of the maids.
"Kyaaaa!"
She immediately got out of bed and rushed out of the maids' quarters, thinking something terrible must have happened. But there was no one in the corridor. The entire area was empty. Usually, by this time, the maids would be busy cleaning and doing their work, but today there was no one.
"...How can this be...?"
She headed towards the kitchen, the direction from which the screams had come, where the maids seemed extremely excited about something.
"Why are you making so much noise?" she asked.
The young maids suddenly turned towards her, their faces beaming with big smiles. They stepped aside and showed her what they were so excited about. As soon as Naina saw it, her eyes widened in surprise. Near the cabinet, where plates and utensils were usually kept, a new sink was attached to the wall. And above it was a magical-looking tap. Not one, but more than three taps were lined up.
"Young Master must have installed these last night!"
"Isn't it amazing?" the maids exclaimed happily. "Now we can wash all the dishes here, we won't have to go to the well!"
Naina slowly approached the taps and turned a lever. As soon as she did, a fresh stream of water began to fall into the sink.
"Shishishishi... And this is nothing! You should see what they've done in the bathroom!"
The young maids forcibly dragged her towards the mansion's public toilet. This used to be the place where all the mansion's staff relieved themselves. For this reason, it wasn't a very clean place. But as they approached, Naina didn't smell any kind of stench. And when they all went inside, the reason became clear. The room had been completely transformed. On one side of the wall, several taps were installed, and pipes were laid in the ground so that all the dirt would automatically drain out and there would be no smell. On the other side, some 'toilets' were installed, which had a flush facility, through which all the waste would flow into the river through the pipes, making the bathroom cleaner than ever before.
"We've tried it, and it works exactly as Young Master said it would!"
"I'm still scared of the sound of the 'flush', but maybe I'll get used to it slowly."
Having clean, running water in the house was nothing short of a miracle. Now, not only were the maids feeling fresh all day long, but their work had also become much easier!
"Did you like it?"
A young boy's voice came from behind them. Aryan was leaning against the wall, a satisfied smile on his face. The maids happily ran towards him and hugged him tightly.
"Young Master, we love you! We will serve you for life!"
"We never thought you would give us such a precious thing, thank you!"
"I want to stay in the bathroom forever now!"
Aryan's entire face was buried in the maids' arms, but he didn't mind it at all. Seeing them so happy over such simple things made him realize how low the standard of living was in this world. He decided at that very moment that he would improve life not only for himself, but for everyone.
After freeing himself from the maids' embrace, Aryan turned towards Naina.
"I want to show you something," he said.
Naina looked at the other maids, but they didn't know what Young Master was talking about either. It seemed that the bathroom wasn't the only thing Aryan had changed.
Aryan headed towards the maids' dorm, and Naina and the rest of the maids followed behind him. The maids' room was a small building connected to the mansion, where they lived their private lives away from work. They had their own rooms and separate washrooms were also built for them. And it seemed that Aryan was heading in exactly that direction.
"Young Master?" Naina asked.
Aryan went straight to Naina's washroom. Although it was called a washroom, it only had a bucket and a mug, which they used for bathing. But when Aryan opened the door, every maid present saw that strange pipe that was attached to the wall. The pipe was like a tap, but it looked completely different. It was circular, and there were small holes in its lower part.
"This is called a 'shower'."
Aryan turned the lever, and suddenly, water started falling in small streams from that circular metal, creating a small waterfall-like image inside the room. Naina slowly went under the falling water. It was warm. It wasn't like the cold, strange water created by the magicians. It felt completely natural.
"I know you don't like magical water, so I made this shower. Now you won't have to carry heavy buckets from the well. Now you won't have to bend your back."
This last thing was very important. Naina and the other maids thought that Young Master didn't know anything about their troubles. But now it was clear that he knew everything.
"Young Master... did you make all this just for me?"
Aryan turned his face away, a slight blush on his face.
"N-no, I... just wanted a shower for myself too. And it's not a big deal. It didn't even take that long to make."
The young maids looked at each other and smiled.
"Kyaaa! How cute they are!"
"They are not only intelligent, but also very kind! How perfect!"
Naina's eyes became slightly moist. She was just a maid, but still Young Master had done so much for her. That was why she always liked to serve Young Master. And perhaps that was why she could spend her entire life serving him.
Days passed, and young master Aryan's inventions spread like wildfire among the workers of Bajaj Haveli. Those who had gone out and weren't present during the invention of the faucets were stunned to see a strange sight upon their return—the maids of the palace were spending most of their time in the kitchens and toilets.
In the eyes of the butlers, it seemed as if the maids had become accustomed to bathing twice a day!
It was only a day later that they discovered the truth. The Young Master had installed working showers and toilets in all the maids' rooms, allowing them to easily use running water without bothering the magicians every time.
As expected, when the butlers saw the faucets and toilets for the first time, they were just as amazed as the maids had been.
"Young Master made this?"
Some of the butlers were artisans themselves and knew how difficult it was to craft such pipes and fixtures. It was impossible to make all this by hand.
Some of the butlers, skilled in magic, immediately noticed that the pipes seemed to have been molded by a magical spell.
This explained how the Young Master could have made such perfect pipes, but still, it was hard to digest. Aryan was only five years old. He was only just beginning to learn magic, so seeing him create such complex magical structures was astonishing.
Since they were just butlers, they couldn't directly question the Young Master. But deep down, they were also a little fearful of his talent. At such a young age, he had created such a wonderful 'plumbing' system like faucets and toilets, and on top of that, he also possessed such an understanding of magic.
Aryan understood everything from their gaze. He realized that his 'secret' wouldn't remain hidden for long. The maids hadn't paid much attention to how the pipes were made, but his mother and father would certainly ask questions.
But until they were here, his 'hidden talent' was safe. And to keep the butlers quiet, Aryan also installed showers and toilets in their rooms.
The trick worked! Now, the butlers were also lost in the joy of bathing, just like the maids. They didn't make fun of them anymore and even started bathing twice a day themselves.
But there was one problem—water. Every time the water tank emptied, everyone had to work together to fill it up.
To solve this problem, Aryan had six manual water pumps installed near the tank, connected to the underground water source.
Every morning, only six people had to pump water for a few minutes, which filled the tank for the entire day. This was much less work than drawing water in buckets from the well and transporting it throughout the palace.
The atmosphere of Bajaj Haveli had completely changed. The maids now walked with lighter steps, the butlers were more confident than before, and overall, everyone was extremely satisfied with the changes made by the Young Master.
Then one day, Aryan saw a butler carrying a deer carcass on his back. When he asked, he learned that the butler and the magician had left the Haveli a week ago because they had gone hunting in the forest.
"We are preparing for winter, Young Master. We must preserve the meat now, so that when famine sweeps across the country, we will have enough food."
Aryan looked at the cut body of the deer and noticed its pale-white fat.
'Fat...'
Suddenly, an idea struck him. What is the most important thing when bathing?
Soap. The soap in this world was very ordinary and weak. Aryan didn't like it at all.
"System, can you tell me the method to make soap according to the standards of my previous life?"
[Certainly. To make a soap that can keep the skin clean and healthy, you need the following things...]
His Artificial Intelligence Assistant immediately began to fill his mind with information. He found a simple but effective method that he could try immediately.
"Can I get some animal fat?" Aryan asked the butler.
Animal fat was the most important ingredient in making soap, and Aryan already knew this, but he still asked the System to confirm.
The butler looked at him in surprise—what would a five-year-old do with animal fat? But then he thought that this was the same child who had made the plumbing! So, he gave the fat without question.
Now, Aryan needed the rest of the ingredients, for which he sought help from Naina.
"Young Master, are you going to create something new again?" Naina asked with a smile, reading his list.
"Nothing too big, just a small experiment." Aryan replied jokingly, placing his hand on his heart.
Naina took a deep breath and looked at his list.
"Alright, Young Master. We will have to buy these items from the nearby town. We will be back before sunset."
Naina and some other young maids left to get the supplies. Aryan watched them go and smiled inwardly. Having rich parents was a blessing for him—every experiment was completed without any obstacles. If he were poor, life in this world would be hell.
After a few hours, the maids returned. They had a heavy bag containing all the materials Aryan had asked for. He excitedly peeked into the bag—it contained vials of essential oils and, most importantly, lye.
"Now it's time to start the real work!"
Aryan headed towards the forest, towards his laboratory.
"Be back by dinner, Young Master!" Naina called out from behind.
Aryan laughed and waved, immersing himself in his experiment. The next morning, he woke up early and ran to his laboratory. After a night of hard work, he had succeeded. He had made soap!
Aryan headed towards the kitchen, where most of the maids were busy cooking something over the fire. As soon as they saw him enter the room, they immediately greeted him with smiles.
"Young Master, we've made your favorite beef stew!"
"Would you like to eat it now, Young Master?"
"Young Master…" Naina approached Aryan and noticed the same mischievous smile on his face that he had when showing the tap. Now it seemed even more suspicious, as he was hiding his hands behind his back, as if concealing something.
"Hehehe… I just wanted to get a little feedback on my new project."
As soon as he said this, the maids immediately stopped their work and turned towards him.
"Oh! What is it, Young Master?"
"Is it related to that thing you bought last time?"
Aryan shook his head and finally revealed the white soap chip hidden behind his back.
Immediately, a subtle, floral fragrance began to emanate from the peculiar bar in his hands.
"It's called hand soap. It's used to clean your hands, body, and everything."
Aryan went to the tap and let water run over his hands. Then he rubbed the soap, and immediately a thick lather began to form, covering his entire hand.
The maids knew what soap was, but what the Young Master had in his hands was completely different. It smelled better than perfume and was more foamy than the most expensive soap on the market.
Aryan washed off the foam and showed his hands to the maids.
"See?"
A maid, who was extremely curious, grabbed Aryan's hand and began to sniff it. And as soon as she smelled the fragrance, she immediately became addicted to it.
"Oh my God! Young Master, it's even better than perfume! How does it smell so good, even after washing?"
The other maids also wanted to smell the fragrance, but Aryan stopped them.
"If you want, you can try it yourselves," he said and handed them the soap.
They immediately started fighting with each other to use the soap. But eventually, everyone got a chance to try it.
"It's cleaning my hands so quickly!" one of the maids said. Usually it took her at least ten minutes to remove the charcoal stains from her hands, but with this soap, her hands began to shine in less than a minute. And at the same time, they were leaving behind a wonderful fragrance!
Seeing the maids so impressed with the soap, Aryan was satisfied. Now, with water and soap, a new standard of hygiene had been established in this mansion.
"To thank you all for your hard work, I have prepared something for you," Aryan said and went outside to pick up a large bag.
Then he gave each maid a chip of soap and a small vial filled with a strange blue liquid.
As expected, the maids screamed with joy at receiving this wonderful gift. They were so excited about the soap that they almost forgot about the strange liquid.
"Young Master, what is this?" a maid asked, holding the vial up to her eyes.
"It's called shampoo. Just apply it to your hair while bathing, then see its magic."
A maid removed the cork from the vial and smelled the shampoo. Its fragrance was even better than the soap, as it had more concentrated essential oils.
The maids looked at each other, their eyes burning with the flame of competition.
Then, silence fell for a few moments.
A few seconds later, one finally broke the silence and shouted,
"I'm going to bathe first!"
After that, the rest of the maids also started shouting.
"Me too!"
"I said it first!"
"You already took a bath this morning!"
"No, I didn't! You're the one who bathes every day!"
After arguing for a while, half the group of maids immediately ran towards their rooms, so they could try the new soap and shampoo given by the Young Master.
Meanwhile, the remaining maids were unfortunately forced to continue their work in the kitchen.
Some time later, the maids who had bathed returned from their rooms. They smelled so fresh, as if they had just walked through a flower garden.
Not only that, their skin was glowing in the light, as if all the dirt and grime had been completely removed.
Even they themselves couldn't stop touching their skin, which now felt softer and smoother than ever before.
But the biggest change was seen in their hair. It had become thick and silky, as if coated with a layer of honey. Their hair now looked healthier than ever, without any tangled or broken ends.
The rest of the maids were just about to compliment the soap when they immediately ran towards their rooms, so they could try it too.
Meanwhile, the refreshed maids turned to Aryan and once again praised him for his generosity.
"Young Master, if you give these to any woman, she will marry you immediately!"
"Yes, your popularity among girls will increase a lot."
But Aryan was not thinking about girls and romance yet. His mental age was far greater than his body, due to his previous life.
At this time, his focus was on improving the standard of living in this mansion. Now that the problem of water and hygiene had been solved, his next goal was even more complex.
In this world, time was still measured by sundials, sand clocks, and candles.
His next project was—to build the first mechanical clock!
Since it was entirely made of gears and mechanical components of metal, it was possible under his current capabilities. Of course, he had to practice his 2-star [Metal Bend] magic even more, in order to achieve the accuracy required for this project.
[Metal Bend]
— ★★
— Fire and Earth Element
— This magic allows the user to bend and control metals through telepathy. Its effectiveness depends on the material and the magic's practice level.
The next day, one of the maids, Naina, went to Swarnnagar, the nearest town to the Royal Manor.
It was a sophisticated place, built for the upper class. Royals, merchants, and other wealthy individuals resided there, living their lavish lifestyles.
Naina arrived at a prestigious location where wealthy women gathered. It was a place where wives, their daughters, and their maids would drink tea and share interesting gossip.
Since Naina was a maid of the Royal Manor, she was allowed to visit these upper-class places.
"Do you like it? My husband bought it for me from abroad! It's made of 'Orient Pearl'," a woman said, showing off her sparkling necklace.
"Exquisite! I will also ask my husband to buy one like that for me and my daughter," said the woman sitting opposite, fanning herself with her handkerchief.
The women were laughing and joking with each other, but there was also a hidden competition behind this atmosphere.
It was not just a tea party, but a world of showmanship. Every woman here wanted to show that she was the wealthiest, her husband pampered her the most, and her life was far better than others.
It was a harsh environment. If one was not rich, one had no right to be a part of these gatherings.
Just then, the door of the tea party opened, and with it came the faint sound of a bell.
Usually, wealthy women would immediately turn their eyes away upon seeing a maid, but this time something was different. A sweet fragrance floated in the air, which was impossible for them to ignore...
The maid Naina stepped inside and bowed to greet the wealthy women, then she went to the place designated for maids. The women and their wealthy daughters sitting at the tea table began to sniff the fragrance with their noses raised, which was light but effective. It was not as strong as a perfume, but it was gentle, yet its presence was hard to ignore.
"Are you sensing this fragrance?" asked the woman wearing the pearl necklace.
"Yes, Auntie! It... it smells so good!" replied a girl sitting at the table.
"Tell me the truth, did anyone put on a special perfume?"
All the women sitting at the table shook their heads. Just then, Naina approached them with tea and biscuits on a tray.
"Excuse me, Madams. The mistress of the Royal Manor is out of town for this month. She asked me to serve you today and bring you the finest tea and biscuits from our pantry."
But Naina did not see that all the women were staring at her. As she approached them, the fragrance became more intense, as if she herself had turned into a bouquet of flowers. Even though the women sitting at the table had immediately noticed her fragrance, Naina herself was unaware of it. All the servants in the Royal Manor smelled the same way. Since Aryan had given them new soap and shampoo, everyone had started using it for bathing. That was why the fragrance was ordinary for Naina.
But when the table remained silent for a full minute, Naina realized that something was different.
"Did I do something wrong?" she asked hesitantly.
Finally, the woman wearing the pearl necklace asked her, "Which perfume do you wear?"
Naina suddenly became nervous.
"Perfume? No, Madam, I don't wear any perfume."
The other women sitting at the table shook their heads.
"Don't lie. We are all women, tell us the truth. Which perfume do you use?"
Now Naina understood what this was all about.
"Oh, maybe you are sensing the fragrance of my soap," she said excitedly.
"That can't be. Soaps don't leave such a good fragrance. Are you lying?" the woman suspected.
"No, Madam!" Naina shook her head, causing her hair to sway and its fragrance to spread throughout the room. One of the girls sitting at the table immediately stood up and began to smell Naina's hair.
"Your hair smells so good! And your skin is so soft too!"
Now the rest of the women also came closer to Naina to see her closely. Surely, a natural fragrance was coming from her entire body, which was not possible with any perfume.
"Girls, pay attention to your behavior," the woman with the pearl necklace gestured for them to step back. Then she asked seriously, "Can you say for sure that this fragrance of yours is only because of the soap and shampoo?"
Naina nodded politely.
"Yes, Madam. I only wash my body with soap and clean my hair with something called 'shampoo' after bathing."
The women sitting at the table looked at each other in astonishment. How could only soap and shampoo smell so good?
"Can you tell us the name of this soap and shampoo? Or even better, can you sell it to us? I am ready to give a gold coin for it!"
"Me too! I want to buy it too!"
"Keep two for me! I need it for my daughter too."
Before sunset, Naina returned to the Royal Manor and knocked directly on Aryan's room door.
"Naina? What happened?"
As soon as she entered the room, she told Aryan the whole incident.
"I'm sure, young master! If you sell it in the market, these women will loot it. They don't hesitate to spend money at all!"
Aryan fell into deep thought. If a simple soap and shampoo could compel such wealthy women to buy it, then the idea of selling it in the market was not bad. Although, he was to become the heir to the Royal Manor's legacy one day, having his own personal property was also a good idea. If he always depended on the Royal Manor's wealth, he would have to ask his mother for money every time he had to buy his supplies. But if he had his own business, he could keep his projects secret… (To be continued…)
Aryan learned that one gold coin was equivalent to 1000 silver coins, and one silver coin was equivalent to 1000 copper coins. For reference, it turned out that maids like Alisa and Nanna earned approximately 1 gold coin per month, which was considered a very generous salary in this world. Commoners only survived on silver and copper coins, so possessing even a single gold coin was enough to be considered very wealthy. The best part was that the ingredients required to make soap only cost a few hundred copper coins. The profit margin was enormous!
"Okay, thanks for telling me. If I were to sell it at the market, would you deliver the goods?"
Alisa immediately perked up. "Of course, Young Master! It would be my honor. As long as we sell this soap to those rich ladies, its fame will spread like wildfire."
Aryan nodded. Alisa described the type of women who liked to show off their splendor. Once other people saw that they were using his soap, many would immediately become envious of them. In this world, those women were like the early influencers from Aryan's original world.
"Take the other maids with you too and buy more ingredients for the soap. Oh, and also buy some exotic flowers and oils."
If he was going to sell it, Aryan decided that he would make different versions of soap and shampoo. Not everyone liked the scent of flowers. Alisa nodded and left Aryan's room with eyes full of enthusiasm.
Now that he was alone in his room, Aryan twirled a gear in his hand. Using his 2-star magic [Metal Bend], the smallest gear he could make was the size of an adult's hand. It was too big to create the wristwatch and pocket watch he envisioned.
"I guess I'll have to settle for a large clock for now..."
"System can you tell me in detail how an early mechanical clock worked?"
"[Certainly. Mechanical clocks use a combination of gears and weights to measure time accurately...]"
Aryan lay on his bed as the information flooded his mind. The mechanical knowledge required to construct a clock was too complicated for him to learn in a single moment. He spent the entire night absorbing this information until he eventually mastered it like an engineer. He was so excited about this project that he could barely sleep. To tire himself out, he meditated and gathered mana energy at a faster rate than normal until his body was exhausted. At the same time, he continued to increase the mana stones in his body. Right now, the four main elemental stones near his stomach were already the size of a small walnut. He found that these small stones allowed him to continuously cast 1-star spells for 10 minutes without getting tired.
"System, can you tell me how my mana compares to other mages?"
"[I apologize, I do not have enough data for an accurate comparison.]"
This was a downside to keeping his magic a secret. He didn't have a teacher who could teach him the basics of magic.
"I'll have to tell my parents about my magic. When they get back, I'll tell the truth and say that I used my magic to create the plumbing system."
His goal was to use this excuse to learn more about magic. He knew that his father would immediately appoint a teacher who would teach him everything he needed to know.
The next day, Aryan began crafting the first parts for his clock project. Since the gears required great precision, he couldn't rush, or the clock wouldn't work. Meanwhile, he had some of the maids help him create the soap and shampoo he was going to sell at the market. He adopted a modern method and created a small factory-like environment. Some maids were in charge of mixing the main ingredients and turning them into a fine powder, while another team was tasked with adding water. Then, he created new soap molds where the other maids were slowly pouring in the mixture to create a perfect rectangular shape. The maids were incredibly excited about this project because Aryan promised that they could take soap and shampoo for themselves at the end of the day.
However, when Aryan offered to give them some coins for their work, the maids immediately refused.
"There's no need, Young Master! After all, we're employed to help you with everything you do in your life. And we are still very grateful for the plumbing system you gave us. It has changed our lives. It's our honor!"
"Let them, Young Master," Nanna said to Aryan. "You don't know how grateful the maids are for your inventions. If you pay them, they will lose the chance to show their gratitude."
Aryan was very touched by their spirit of sacrifice, but he didn't like it. He grew up in a world where fair labor was given fair compensation. So, if they weren't going to accept coins, then Aryan would just shower them with more modern inventions in the future.
Days passed, and the mansion's servants continued to work hard every day. They finished all the work in the mansion early in the morning and then went to the back to continue making soap and shampoo.
Meanwhile, Aryan was busy with his clock-making project. The most difficult part was already complete. Most of the gears and mechanisms in his project room had been prepared. Now, all that was left was to make a few small adjustments, and then he could assemble it completely and turn it on.
Two days later, he finally created a simple clock, similar to Big Ben. It was as big as a wooden cabinet, with a round dial in the center. The clock's hands were made of thin metal rods, but they were doing their job of showing the time properly.
"As long as no one looks inside, it looks fine," Aryan said, consoling himself. Because he was not yet a skilled artisan, he had to complete this project somehow. If someone peeked inside, they would see a strange, haphazard structure of gears and pulley ropes. But yes, Aryan made sure that all the mechanisms worked correctly. At least, that was the hope.
"If it runs correctly, then its looks don't matter."
The good thing about this clock was that it didn't need any power source. But the problem was that it had to be charged every day by turning a crank, which caused the weight inside to fall and the clock hands to move.
Aryan went to the side of the clock and started turning the crank attached to it.
"Ding!"
A soothing sound echoed, and Aryan felt the resistance in the lever increase, meaning it had now reached its limit.
Now was the time for the real test. Aryan let go of the crank and...
"Tick… tock… tick… tock…"
The clock's rhythmic sound began to echo.
"It's working!"
A look of satisfaction came over Aryan's face. It was difficult to make, but the result was satisfying.
"Young Master, what is this?"
Aryan didn't even realize that a crowd of servants had gathered behind him. They were all looking with great curiosity at the large cabinet-like object, which was constantly making a "tick-tock" sound.
"Listen everyone, this is called a 'clock'. It is divided into twelve parts, and each part represents one hour…"
After that, Aryan gave a lengthy lecture on the workings of the clock. But as expected, it was not easy for people who had never seen a clock to understand it. After all, even in his previous world, many people had difficulty reading a clock, even though they had been seeing it their whole lives.
"If this hand goes to the next mark, then it is equal to the amount of time it takes for a candle to burn out."
As soon as he connected it to candles—which was the way time was measured in this world—people immediately understood.
"Understood, Young Master!"
"Ohhh… another new invention from the Young Master… how intelligent he is!"
However, they still didn't understand how useful the clock would be to them. After all, they were not yet in the habit of paying attention to time in their daily lives.
But all this was about to change.
"So, from today, I am making a rule that you all will only work eight hours a day, not a second more."
Everyone was shocked upon hearing his words. They couldn't understand why such a strict rule was being made, when working more would produce more soap and generate more profit.
If Aryan wanted, he could have made them work all night long and made a lot of profit, and they would have obeyed his orders without question. After all, they were employees of his family.
But now, he wanted them to work only half a day!
"Young Master, why?" the maids asked, "Are you going to fire us?"
They had become so accustomed to working day and night for so long that it seemed normal to them.
But in Aryan's world, people had understood that overworking could have terrible consequences. A person should strike a balance between work and life so that they can truly live. They were not slaves, after all.
Aryan could have kept them as they were and made a lot of money, but he was not one of those people.
And there was a very simple reason for this.
"If you were in my place, would you like to work all day without stopping?"
Aryan said with childlike innocence. This innocence touched their hearts.
All the employees of Suvarn Nagari Mansion felt a warmth in their chests. How lucky they were to be serving a Young Master who considered them not just servants, but also human beings.
Some people wiped their eyes and smiled.
"Hey, Young Master, I hope you will think the same way in the future."
"This makes me want to work even harder!"
"Yes! Let's make more soap and make the Young Master even richer! If necessary, I will work all night!"
The servants shouted happily and ran towards their respective stations.
Aryan shook his head in disappointment.
"These people didn't understand me at all…"
"Hmm… maybe these people want to work continuously because they have nothing else to do… maybe I should give them something interesting that they are excited to do after a day's hard work…"
Aryan sat on his bed and began to think. There were many means of entertainment in his previous world, but some of them required advanced technology.
"If I were in their place, what would I like?"
Then, suddenly, an idea came to him, and he himself was surprised why he hadn't thought about it before.
After all, what kind of relaxing place did he often see in anime and on TV?
Hot springs!
The next day, Aryan began working on his hot springs idea. It didn't need to be too complicated—just a large pool with a separate section at the bottom for wood and fire to heat the water to a comfortable temperature. It was unfortunate that they weren't near a volcano; otherwise, they could have had naturally heated water. But, they could still make an artificial hot spring. Aryan asked his AI assistant to find a suitable place near the house, and it suggested a flat area near the river. For the design, Aryan adopted the style of Roman civilization, where hot air and smoke were used to heat the floor and water of bathhouses.
He began by building the foundation of the bathhouse, where small pillars would allow the smoke and heat of the fire to spread. The actual floor of the bathhouse would be built on top of these pillars. Aryan used 2-star magic [Boulder Curve], which allowed him to cut large stones from the ground and transform them into the necessary pillars and floor. [Boulder Curve] — ★★ — Earth Element — This magic allows the user to cut and carve stone pieces from large boulders. Along with this, he also used 1-star magic [Stone Mend], which allowed him to join the stones without any cement, creating a solid structure. [Stone Mend] — ★ — Earth Element — This magic allows the user to join similar earth-element materials as if they were one from the beginning.
The work was so large that Aryan could no longer hide his magical powers. The maids and servants of the castle watched in astonishment as the reality changed from Aryan's hands, and a glowing green aura appeared around him.
"Young Master... he's doing magic!"
"I shouldn't be surprised, but he's really using Earth Element magic! And even at the 2-star level!"
Some clueless maids tilted their heads.
"Is that surprising? Most talented people learn magic at the age of five."
Experienced butlers shook their heads.
"Yes, but Young Master is different."
"How?"
"Have you ever seen a magic instructor come to this mansion? Or seen Madam teach Young Master Earth magic?"
As the elderly butler said this, the maids realized that Aryan was truly a prodigious talent. He had learned this magic himself! No one had taught him anything. This meant that he had learned magic either through observation or intuition, which was only possible for the greatest talents.
"And... how long have we been watching him use magic? Almost an hour? But he doesn't seem tired at all! How high would his mana capacity be?!"
"How lucky are Sir and Madam! Young Master is heading towards becoming a great craftsman, and he may also become a powerful magician!"
They didn't know that Aryan was proficient not only in Earth magic but also in the other three main magical elements. But that was a story for another day...
The construction of the bathhouse took a few days, and the hot springs bathhouse was finally complete. It was huge in size, but compared to the castle, it was just like a small puddle. Aryan divided the pool into two parts—one for men and one for women. At the end of the work, he called all the maids and butlers to the entrance of the hot springs. Even standing outside, they could feel the warm air coming out of the door.
"Young Master, what did you make this time?" Naina asked.
Aryan took a bunch of wood and threw it into the 'basement' of the bathhouse, making the fire even hotter.
"This is a hot spring. After a day's hard work, you can come here, relax, and soak yourselves in the hot water. Believe me, it will be very refreshing."
Everyone loved the idea of taking a hot bath after work.
"This looks amazing! I can't wait!"
"You've really outdone yourself this time, Young Master!"
"Just the steam alone makes my face feel younger!"
Everyone went inside filled with curiosity and eagerness. Aryan instructed the butlers to go to the right and the maids to the left.
"Take off your clothes here, then take a towel and wash yourselves..."
As he explained the process to them, the maids and butlers happily went inside. The problem? Aryan also started walking towards the men's bath, when some of the maids stopped him.
"Young Master, where are you going?"
"Uh... to bathe?"
The young maid shook her head.
"With those burly butlers? No, Young Master. You will come with us."
Aryan saw that the maids were smiling, and suddenly his face turned red. He remembered—he was only five years old, so everyone thought of him as just an innocent child.
"Come on, Young Master! We'll wash your back!"
Aryan began to retreat.
"Uh... no, thank you..."
Most of the maids were in their twenties, and when viewed according to his past life, they were actually children.
"Oh, Young Master, we've been bathing you since you were a little baby! Don't be shy!"
A group grabbed him and dragged him towards the women's bath. This is fine... right? I'm only five years old... Just keep my eyes down and everything will be alright... right, System?
Laughter and splashing water echoed from the hot spring. It seemed the maids were thoroughly enjoying relaxing and playing in the warm water.
Aryan, of course, had no idea. He was sitting by the edge of the pool, covering his eyes with his hands.
"Young Master, come join us!" they teased him.
But the adorable little master only shook his head. In their eyes, he just seemed like a shy child.
"Young Master is so cute!"
Aryan tried his best to keep his mind calm. But the maids weren't making it easy for him.
"My skin has become so smooth! Look, feel it."
"Aii! Don't touch there!"
"Hehehe, I didn't know you were so—"
"Shut up! Look at yourself, I'm surprised you can even sit down with such big..."
A few hours later, everyone had emerged from the hot spring, their bodies wrapped in soft robes. They had expressions on their faces as if they'd experienced something heavenly. They'd never felt so relieved and refreshed.
"Young Master, the milk you ordered has arrived!" a butler said, unloading a large barrel of milk from the carriage.
Drinking milk after relaxing in a hot spring was a must! It helped replenish the nutrients lost through sweat.
Aryan even showed them the proper way—a glass of milk in one hand, and the other on the hip.
"Ahhh!"
"This is so delicious, I'm going to melt!"
"So this is true relaxation..."
Praises for the hot springs were heard from all sides. These maids and servants had been working since they were children, so they had never experienced anything like this before. It was as if they had become ten years younger, their cheeks looking rosy and radiant.
Aryan was satisfied. He sat in his chair watching them, relaxing and chatting under the night sky.
He had taught them how comfortable life could be.
And he didn't want to stop there. He wanted the world to experience it too.
The next morning, the clock tower chimed, signaling the start of a new day.
The maids and servants woke up early and got to work. Yesterday's relaxation had completely recharged their bodies, making them work twice as fast.
They pumped water to fill the tanks, cleaned the mansion, changed the sheets, and tended to the garden. Before the midday bell even rang, every task in the mansion was completed.
After that, they moved on to making soap, taking the molds that had been drying in the sun and putting them away safely.
With the Young Master's help, they were contributing to the production of this soap and shampoo, hoping to repay him in some small way for all his kindness.
Finally, after several days of hard work, Aryan had a good stock of various soaps and shampoos.
Wooden crates filled with soap were stacked everywhere inside the mansion, and hundreds of bottles of shampoo and soap were placed on top of them.
"I'm going to deliver these to the Madams," Alisa said.
Some of the Madams had already placed orders, as they had seen for themselves that these soaps and shampoos were even more fragrant than some perfumes.
Those few women had already ordered a crate each, and now, thanks to word-of-mouth, even more Madams had contacted Alisa, hoping to purchase them as well.
"That's amazing," Aryan said.
The butlers loaded the crates into the carriage, which Alisa herself was going to drive to the next town to deliver. But before she left, she asked Aryan an important question.
"Young Master... if they ask me where I got these goods? What should I tell them?"
The maids and servants had been carefully keeping the Young Master and his inventions a secret. Even when they wrote letters to his parents, they lied and said nothing special had happened at the mansion. This was a fireable offense, but for the Young Master, it was all worth it.
Hmm... If I want to hide this business from my parents, I need to come up with a different name... or a company?
"Tell them that the goods came from a company called 'Reborn'."
Alisa repeated Aryan's words and nodded.
"'Reborn'... Reborn soap... Reborn shampoo... That's a wonderful name, Young Master. After all, any woman who uses it will feel reborn!"
"Uh... yeah..."
Little did she know that Aryan chose that name because he was literally reborn into another world.
Alisa went to the town herself and delivered the soaps and shampoos to the Madams' houses.
The Madams and their daughters happily opened their packages and sniffed them. And as promised, the fragrance was as wonderful as Alisa had described.
They couldn't wait any longer and immediately told their maids to prepare a bath for them.
"Please forgive Madam for eagerly awaiting these soaps and shampoos, which put her in a bad mood. This is her promised payment, and a little extra for your trouble."
The Madam's butler handed Alisa a bag filled with gold coins. Just by the weight of it, she could tell it was much more than she had expected.
Just as she was about to leave, the butler stopped her.
"If we need more of these goods, can we contact you?"
Alisa smiled. "Yes, of course."
"Oh, may I know the name of the person who made my Madam so happy?"
Alisa wanted to praise her Young Master, but she stopped herself.
"You received it from the Reborn company. I'm afraid I can't say more than that."
"Reborn... very well."
The very next day, their husbands immediately noticed the difference. Throughout the town, every woman who was using the soap and shampoo had radiant and fragrant skin and hair.
Slowly, the brand name "Reborn" became the most essential beauty product among the wealthy.
Since a pair of soap and shampoo cost 1 Gold Coin, while it only cost him 500 Copper Coins to make them, he was making a profit of approximately 999,500 Copper Coins per pair sold!
It sounded crazy even hearing it. That much profit from just a pair of soap and shampoo?
Each crate that Alyssa delivered had about a hundred pairs in it; meaning he was getting 100 Gold Coins per crate!
All in all, Aryan was now staring at a thousand Gold Coins scattered around his bedroom.
"Hey System, if I convert these Gold Coins to U.S. dollars, how much would they be worth?"
[The value of the Gold Coins you have can vary greatly depending on their purity and condition. But since you have a thousand Gold Coins, on average, they would be worth around 10,000 U.S. dollars.]
Aryan took a deep breath. That amount was enough to be considered rich in third-world countries.
And since he had only made the soap and shampoo last week, it meant he could make about 40,000 U.S. dollars’ worth of Gold Coins a month. And if he did that for a year, he would own nearly half a million dollars!
Back in his previous world, a monthly salary of 10,000 dollars was enough to live a comfortable life. But if he made 40,000 dollars every month, he could enter the top 1% of the richest people in first-world countries like America.
Making this much money felt like a cheat code. All the work was being done by servants, and he was just lazing around in the mansion.
"I'll save this money for now."
For now, Aryan wasn't lacking in money. If there was anything he wanted to buy that he didn't want to tell his parents about, he could easily afford it.
A few days later, Alyssa came running to Aryan's door, a bright smile plastered on her face.
"Young Master! Young Master!"
Aryan opened the door, rubbing his eyes as he said, "What is it?"
The morning bell hadn't even rung yet, but Alyssa looked like she had been awake for hours.
"The soap and shampoo are becoming very popular, Young Master! I've only heard maids in the city talking about them!"
Aryan yawned, "That's good."
Perhaps because he was born into the richest family in the world, he didn't feel that much excitement about making money. A thousand Gold Coins were enough for him.
Besides, the things he wanted to buy didn't even exist in this world yet. He had to make them himself, so he had no interest in the things sold in the market.
"Wait... I was just thinking of this world as medieval? I forgot that it was also a magical world!"
Aryan said softly, "I need something. Can you buy it for me discreetly?"
Alyssa immediately understood and came inside.
"What do you need me to buy, Young Master?"
Aryan shook his head, "First, can I trust you?"
Alyssa placed a hand over her chest, "Of course, Young Master!"
Aryan gave a slight smile and ignited a flame at the tip of his finger. It was the first 1-Star magic he had learned—[Ember].
"I can use magic," he said.
"Fire?! Young Master, you are also proficient in the Fire Element?"
Alyssa wasn't surprised that Aryan could use magic. But she was shocked that he could use the Fire Element in addition to the Earth Element.
"What's strange about that?" Aryan asked, feigning ignorance.
"Young Master, Dual Element Mastery is considered very rare!"
Aryan stared at her, as if seeing if she was joking. But then he went ahead and raised his palm.
A flame on one finger, a small rock on another, a drop of water on the third, and a gust of wind blowing around the fourth. The four elements spun around his fingers as if he was controlling them playfully.
Alyssa stumbled back, nearly falling.
"Four... Four Elements... This is impossible, Young Master! I can't even call you a genius anymore!"
"So, that's not normal?"
"Not at all!" Alyssa exclaimed.
"Hmph..."
Now Aryan understood that he shouldn't show his Four Element Mastery to the world just yet.
"I advise that you only show your Earth Element Mastery for now, Young Master. At least, it can be considered a legacy of your mother's talent."
What Alyssa said seemed right.
A few minutes later, Alyssa calmed herself down after Aryan brought her a cup of water.
"That was truly shocking, Young Master."
"Sorry about that."
"Anyways, what were you going to ask me to buy?"
Aryan handed her a pouch containing a thousand Gold Coins.
"I need any books with information on magic, incantations, and spells. Especially things that will help me learn more spells."
Alyssa promptly took another gulp of water.
"Books... Young Master, are you talking about Magic Scrolls?"
"What are those?"
"Magic Scrolls are things that mages use to learn new spells. Most of them can be bought from the local Wizard Tower."
"Magic Towers, you say… tell me more."
"A Magic Tower is a tall tower where experienced mages and new, budding mages gather. The upper floors are restricted to the general public, but the first floor is open for business. They sell books and scrolls there, and you can even hire a mage."
Aryan became very interested in the Magic Tower. He thought of it as something out of the fantasy novels he read—with moving pictures, floating floors, and secret rooms.
"Have you been there before?" he asked Alisa.
"Yes, once. When I was little, I was fortunate enough to see a mage publicly demonstrate their magic spells. The sight was incredible. I wish I had the aptitude to become a mage too," Alisa said wistfully.
Aryan suddenly perked up and looked at Alisa. "The mage demonstrated their spells? Is that normal?"
Alisa shook her head. "Not very often, only on special occasions. The 'Esoteric Order' does it to give the locals faith that they're under their protection. Oh, the 'Esoteric Order' is the organization that manages the Magic Tower…"
Alisa continued to tell him more about the Magic Tower, but Aryan wasn't paying much attention to her words. He was too fascinated by the fact that he could witness an experienced mage cast a spell firsthand. After all, his chat system could analyze the principle of that spell and help him use it himself! This was a very exciting opportunity, one that made Aryan eager to leave the mansion and go to the Magic Tower for the first time. 'Suvarna City' was only two or three hours away from here, so it wasn't too far either.
"Young Master, are you listening?"
Aryan was confident that his chat system was listening on his behalf. He didn't need to pay too much attention.
"Can you give me a summary of it?"
["The Magic Tower is managed by the 'Esoteric Order.' It is a national organization responsible for maintaining peace between mages and the general public."]
Aryan simply repeated that, impressing Alisa with his listening skills.
"Do you think I could go to the Magic Tower?"
Alisa was slightly taken aback and immediately shook her head. "I'm sorry, Young Master. It would create too big of a spectacle for someone of your status to go there. As soon as you leave the mansion, your mother and father will be notified immediately. They will return home at once and fire us for letting you go!"
Aryan kept forgetting that he was the son of one of the wealthiest families in the world. Even in his previous life, the children of celebrities were swarmed by the media. This world was no different.
"Alright, there's no rush," he said.
"That would be the best decision, Young Master. There's no doubt that your mother and father would want to take you to the Magic Tower themselves after they learn about your magical talent."
Aryan nodded in agreement. If he went to the Magic Tower with his parents, the mages there would definitely want to pay their respects and demonstrate spells in front of them. They would see it as just a curious child's inquisitiveness, but Aryan would secretly learn those spells.
The next day passed, and Aryan was starting to get bored. Ever since Alisa told him about the Magic Tower, it was all he could think about.
"My mind has become too active… Is there any activity that can keep me mentally engaged?"
Then, he remembered something. Before he died in his previous life, he was addicted to an online game on his computer. It wasn't a role-playing game, nor was it a multiplayer game, it was far more ordinary than that. It was chess.
Since he was always confined to his home every day, he couldn't play a real board game. But now, he had the chance.
Without wasting any time, Aryan got out of his bed. He swiftly weaved through the busy maids, who were washing dishes, and gave them brief greetings. Then he went into the forest and found a large tree with strong roots and a thick trunk.
Using the 1-star spell [Splinter Wood], he began to gradually cut down the tree. After some time, when the tree fell, he visualized a perfect 8x8 grid on its wood—just like a chessboard. A few hours later, Aryan emerged from the forest carrying a thin wooden board and some wooden figurines.
The bell had already rung, which meant everyone was finished with their work and now it was relaxation time. Most of the maids had gone to the hot springs, but some of the butlers were tired of bathing in the hot water every day. They were just relaxing in their chairs.
Thump!
The butlers were startled as Aryan slammed the chessboard onto the table.
"Young Master, you're here?"
Aryan sat down on the other side of the board and looked at the butlers with a mischievous grin.
"Come on, let's play a game," he said strangely, and began setting up the chess pieces.
"What is this?" they all asked in unison.
"This is chess, an intellectual game played only by distinguished gentlemen."
"This is chess, an intellectual game played only by distinguished gentlemen. If any of you can beat me, I will give him 100 gold coins!" The butlers perked up at that. The clinking of coins was like sweet music to their ears. "Is that true, Young Master?" one of the butlers asked. "Absolutely, but only if you can beat me." Just then, the experienced butler with white hair and a thick mustache gestured for the younger ones to back down and stepped forward himself. "Haha… I am an intelligent and distinguished individual, Young Master." Aryan smiled. "I knew you'd like this game, Dhir. Very good. This game is called chess, and the rules are something like this…" The butlers listened attentively, their expressions gradually changing. "Just capture the king? That's easy!" they thought.
Time passed, and the maids finally returned from the comfort of their hot springs. But as they entered, they noticed all the butlers were huddled around a single table.
Not only that, but there was quite a racket going on.
"No, the best move would be to move the horse there."
"Oh no, but then the camel will catch him!"
"You're all missing the real point. Young Master is only one move away from checkmating the king!"
Aryan picked up the piece in front of him and completely surrounded the king, taking out his opponent's pawn and leaving him with no choice but to concede.
"Checkmate," Aryan said, smiling proudly.
Dheer, who always seemed calm and distinguished, was terribly troubled this time. His white-haired head was disheveled as he scratched his head every time Aryan's queen made an attack. Even his famous mustache had lost its splendor and drooped.
"I... I concede, Young Master."
The rest of the butlers applauded the Young Master's magnificent victory. Dheer had been defeated in twenty consecutive matches, and now the thought that "chess" was an easy game had been completely disproven.
Although the butlers considered themselves extremely intelligent because of their training, they were in no way close to the Young Master's talent.
Eventually, the butlers began to discuss the next best move with Butler Dheer, but despite their combined efforts, they failed to catch the dangerous queen that had completely devastated their army.
"Don't mind it. I just have a little more experience than you, that's all."
Aryan had a rating of 1500 in online chess, which was considered quite good for an amateur player. He didn't even need to take the help of his chat system this time.
"[There were many mistakes in your endgame positioning. Shall I tell you about those mistakes and suggest the best moves in those situations?]"
"Not yet. These people aren't worthy of being my opponents at the moment. Maybe when these people get a little better, I'll take your help... maybe in a hundred years, haha."
"[I have calculated that Dheer can beat you in chess within two years. He has shown tremendous talent in it.]"
"What?!"
Aryan's pride was slightly hurt. After all, he had achieved this level by playing online chess continuously for five years.
"Young Master, just one more… just one more game…" Dheer pleaded.
"Oh, look! The bell is ringing. I think I have to go to sleep. See you!" Aryan perked up his ears in the air, as if a bell was ringing, and then left.
The butlers kept playing among themselves until night.
But when Dheer closed his eyes and tried to sleep, the chessboard was still spinning in his mind—with the Young Master sitting in front of him. And even in his dreams, he could not defeat the Young Master.
The next day, Aryan made more chessboards and pieces to satisfy the butlers' growing addiction to the game.
As soon as the bell rang and their day's work was done, they immediately rushed to the tables and started playing chess. It seemed as if the mansion was engulfed in the tune of chess, and everyone was eager to test their intelligence.
Dheer was at the forefront, and now he was constantly defeating all the other butlers.
As they played, the butlers' skills increased. Their friendship fostered this development—the winners began to teach the losers how to improve.
Now it was not limited to just the butlers—some maids had also become interested in the game. Alisa was one of them, and she quickly became addicted to the game and its intricate moves.
The mansion now echoed with the clatter of chess pieces and the screams of accidentally losing pieces.
A few days later, finally, it was time to send another batch of soap and shampoo from the mansion to new customers. When the wealthy women and their daughters showed off their fragrant skin to their friends, everyone had an intense desire to buy the same products.
But since the "Reborn" soap and shampoo were not yet available in the market, it had become like some mysterious myth among the wealthy women. This caused demand to skyrocket.
Alisa had already received contact from several wealthy women who wanted to buy lots of products for their friends.
Fortunately, Aryan had already anticipated this demand and increased the production of soap and shampoo.
Now, Alisa was going to deliver the batch of soap and shampoo to those eager customers.
"Oh! I can feel the fragrance from here!" a wealthy woman said, as Alisa placed a heavy wooden crate at her door.
"Indeed," Alisa smiled. "That's why Reborn soap and shampoo is so popular these days."
"I consider myself very fortunate to be one of the few people who have the opportunity to buy this product!"
Alisa smiled politely.
"Would you like to join me for tea?" the madam asked, who was clearly trying to build a good relationship with Alisa.
"Oh, I wouldn't want to trouble you, madam."
"Oh, it's no trouble at all. And we still have a lot to talk about. Some of my friends also want to buy a box for themselves, maybe you can help them?"
Alisa could smell the money. She nodded and went inside, smiling.
The madam and Alisa sat in the garden drinking tea and eating biscuits.
"Oh... a guest... this is the most interesting moment of the day," a well-dressed man said as he sat comfortably in a chair.
"Please forgive my husband. He has been quite bored lately," the madam said, laughing.
But then, an idea came to Alisa's mind. She looked at the madam's husband and said,
"Bored, sir? Perhaps I can tell you about an interesting game—'chess'?"
What exactly is going on in Alisa's mind, we will find out in the next episode.
"And that's checkmate, sir," Alisa said as she cornered the man's king with her bishop.
The man, despite losing, became extremely excited instead of angry.
"This is thrilling! There are so many possibilities for moves that I can't help but plan five steps ahead!"
Alisa giggled. She was just as excited when she first learned chess.
"This game called chess... can I buy it for myself? I must tell my friends about this. They'll love it!"
This was unexpected. She only brought her chessboard because she was bored every time she traveled in a horse-drawn carriage. She would play by herself and try to improve her moves with her imagination.
When Sir said he was bored, Alisa thought, why not play a game of chess with him?
She didn't expect it to become another potential source of income for the Reborn Company.
"Very well, sir. I will tell my master to make chess boards available for you."
In the evening, Alisa told Aryan about this event.
"Hmm... yeah, why not?"
"Great, Sir! How much should we sell a chess set for? One gold coin per set? No... that's too little. Ten gold coins?"
Alisa thought chess was a precious item because Aryan carved each piece by hand himself, which took a lot of effort and time.
The servants couldn't do the job because they didn't have magic or the exquisite craftsmanship to create these intricate shapes.
In her mind, a chess set should cost at least a hundred gold coins.
"No, that'll be too expensive. We should sell it for around 100 copper coins," Aryan said, stroking his chin.
"Copper coins? Not gold coins, Young Master? Wouldn't that be too little?"
Aryan shook his head. "What will happen if we start selling it for one gold coin?"
"People will want to buy it?" Alisa guessed.
Aryan shook his head. "Yes, but what if they can't afford it?"
Alisa pondered. "They'll try to save up for it?"
"No. In fact, more people will try to make it cheaper. They'll create their own chess boards and earn more profit than us because more people will buy them."
Aryan had experience from his previous life. There, it often happened that if a famous brand came out with a new product, there would be a flood of fake products that would be sold very cheaply.
"There's nothing unique about a chess board. It's just wood and some pieces. Anyone can make it," Aryan explained.
Now Alisa understood Aryan's point. Why would people buy it at such a high price when they could make it themselves?
"I understand now, Young Master. If we sell it cheaply, more people will be able to buy it and they will prioritize our board."
Another thought was running through Aryan's mind—branding.
Many times, strengthening branding is more important than profits. That's why companies in his previous life grew so big on a global scale.
"How much profit did we make today from the sales of Reborn's soaps and shampoos?" Aryan asked.
Alisa handed him a large leather bag.
"About 3500 gold coins, Young Master."
Aryan felt a wad of gold worth about $35,000 in his palms. This was more than the most amount of money he had in his previous life.
And this happened in just one week!
But he had no reason to spend this money, so he decided to invest it in the company.
"Use this money to hire some carpenters and magicians who can make chess boards and pieces," Aryan handed the bag back to Alisa.
"Understood, Young Master!"
Before leaving, Aryan said one more thing—
"And introduce this game as Reborn Chess. We need people to know that it's ours."
The next day, Alisa set off for Lazpat, this time to deliver the first batch of chess boards to Sir's mansion.
Several gentlemen were already standing there to welcome them, specially invited by Sir.
Aryan had made 10 chess boards for this shipment, but other artisans would make them in the future.
"Look, gentlemen. This is the lady who introduced me to this exquisite game."
Curious gazes were fixed on Alisa. They all seemed to be highly intellectual people.
"Greetings, ladies and gentlemen. I have come to deliver the chess boards you ordered," she said as she placed the boards on a table.
"So why don't we play a game to explain the rules to everyone?" Sir proposed.
"It would be my honor," Alisa replied.
An hour later, gentlemen gathered around the table, some stroking their chins and others adjusting their glasses. Everyone was deeply focused on the game.
"And once again, that's checkmate, sir."
The audience gasped. They now realized that Alisa's one move had turned the entire game around. There was no escape for the king.
"Incredible!"
"Oh, my God!"
The loser still had a smile on his face.
"See, gentlemen? This game is like a mental battle for people like us. Just like we command our armies in war!"
The room was silent for a moment.
Then, a man, adjusting his glasses, spoke—
"You shouldn't have moved the king there! You should have used your bishop to protect the last pawn!"
This comment prompted others to jump into the discussion.
"You are completely wrong! The best move would have been..."
"No, no, he should have castled earlier."
"Let's play to decide who gets the next board!"
"Get ready!"
