Reincarnated in Another World at the Age of 82!? - Chapter 8, Chapter 9, Chapter 10

I Want Coffee Milk
“Oh, Gray! There’s a serious problem! Th-the young lady is—oh! She’s here! Oh, young lady, you really had me worried!”

It was Sarahh.

I must have worried her… I’m really sorry about that.

“I’m sorry, Sarah. I woke up thirsty, so Gray kindly brought me to the kitchen.”

“I see. But if you’d just rung the bell, I would have come.”

“Well, it was only five o’clock, so I felt bad about waking you.”

“That’s… quite early. But still, I was concerned…”

“I’m sorry. I thought I’d be right back.”

“It’s all right. Now, let’s go back to your room. There’s still some time before breakfast; would you like a bath?”

With Sarah leading me by the hand, we returned to my room.

After the bath, I feel so warm and relaxed.

I can’t even remember the last time I had a morning soak.

Before I got sick, I used to go to the local bathhouse about three times a week.

I wish there were a cold bottle of coffee milk waiting for me… Is coffee even a thing in this world?

“Young lady, breakfast will soon be ready. Shall we head to the dining room?”

“Yes~”

I’ve always preferred Japanese-style breakfasts, but I suppose that’s asking too much here…

When I arrived at the dining room, it was only my brothers there so far.

“Good morning, Brother Noel, Brother Gene.”

“Good morning, Jo. Are you feeling all right?”

Noel’s smile is dazzling, even this early.

“Morning~ Jo. So, you’ve learned to wake up early, huh?”

Gene’s grin was more of a smirk.

“Yes, I’m feeling fine now. Thank you, Brother Noel. With the baptism ceremony over, I’m trying to be more diligent, so I’m practicing getting up early, Brother Gene.”

“Well, good for you, Joan.”

“…! G-good morning, Father, Mother.”

Please don’t talk to me so suddenly! If I were still 82, my heart might’ve stopped right there.

“Good morning, Joan. Did you sleep well?”

So graceful, even first thing in the morning.

“Yes, Mother.”

With everyone gathered, breakfast is brought in.

Today’s menu included soup, salad, scrambled eggs, and bread.

The soup had onions, carrots, and bacon.

The flavor was, as expected, thin and salty…

Is this the only way they know to season soup?

The salad is, as usual, all green…

If this were Mahjong, it’d be a “Ryuuiisou” hand—fully suited in green tiles. In a way, it’s a perfect draw.

The scrambled eggs… were a bit dry and crumbly.

They’re more like scrambled egg crumbles than scrambled eggs…

And the bread… still hard as ever.

Luckily, thanks to the smaller portions I requested from Abe, I managed to finish everything.

It really pays to ask.

I wonder if they’d let me help with cooking if I asked?

If I could make the meals tastier, everyone would surely be happier, right?

Even with the attribute of Null, there’s got to be something I can do to contribute.

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What Are Skills?
After breakfast, we moved to the living room for tea time.

People in this world really do love their tea time.

When I asked Sarah about it…

Early Morning Tea… a cup upon waking.

Morning Tea… after breakfast until around 10 o’clock.

(Only on weekends in the Lampail household)

Afternoon Tea… around 3 o’clock.

After Dinner Tea… after the evening meal.

Well, I love tea too, so I’m thrilled.

Gray’s tea is exceptionally delicious.

Plus, drinking it feels calming and somehow lightens my body. Is there some special technique to how he makes it?

If they have black tea, there might be green tea around too. After all, it’s just a difference in processing with the same tea leaves.

By the way, today is what they call the Null Day.

It’s basically like Sunday in my previous world.

So my brothers have a day off from the academy.

Usually, my brothers stay at the academy dormitory, only coming home on weekends.

Royal Academy.

All children aged 10 to 18 in the country, noble or commoner, are required to attend this boarding school. However, if a child already holds a job, they can commute as necessary. It’s somewhat like a correspondence school, where they primarily study from home.

In the academy, noble and commoner students are treated equally, so classes are divided based on academic assessments.

From ages 10 to 13, they receive a general education, learning subjects like arithmetic, history, geography, and magic.

From ages 14 to 18, they take specialized courses based on their interests.

- Magic Department… for those pursuing fields like magecraft or magic artifacts.
- Knight Department… for knights, adventurers, and other sword-related fields.
- Civil Department… for government officials, merchants, and other non-magic or non-combat careers.

So it’s like a full boarding school that combines elementary through high school, where they study general education and specialized fields. It’s wonderful that commoners are treated equally.

“By the way, Joan. Have you checked your skills?”

Father starts talking.

What’s this about skills?

“Skills…?”

Not that I know how to check them.

“Uh, how do I do that?”

“Oh, right. I haven’t explained it. If you say Status, it’ll display your information.”

“All right, then… Status.”

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[Joan Lampail]

Status
Healthy

Attribute
Null

Skills
Search S

Storage S

Repair

First Aid

Aqua

Dry

Assist

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“...…”

A lot of stuff came up!

“Well? Did it show your skills?”

“… Yes. Quite a lot of things came up.”

“Hm? A lot?”

“Yes. Seven.”

“”””””!!!!””””

Huh? Everyone’s frozen…

Even Gray?

“S-Seven? C-could I take a look?”

“Father, how do I show it?”

“Oh, just say Status Open, and we’ll be able to see it. Look—Status Open.”

Then, I was able to see Father’s status.

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[Stanley Lampail]

Status
Lacking Sleep

Attribute
Fire

Skills
Search

Storage

Self-Heal

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“Oh, I can see it. Huh? Wait a minute?”

He only has three skills.

“Joan, could you show us too?”

“Yes. Status Open.”

“It’s true, seven skills…”

“My goodness.”

“That’s incredible.”

“Skills really are fascinating, aren’t they?”

“!”

Is it really that shocking?

Though one of them is being rather rude.

But I am curious about what these skills do… As the second-oldest grandchild, I used to play games where I’d hunt monsters. Oh! I just remembered there’s a ranking event starting next week! I would’ve loved to join.

At 82, I was a grandma who loved cooking and food, became obsessed with a 16-member dance and vocal group, loved comedy, martial arts, was skilled with smartphones and AI, and loved anime, manga, and light novels—not to mention keeping up with popular games.

I wasn’t your typical elderly lady by any means, but I simply loved trying new things and following my interests.

“Better to regret doing something than regret not doing it,” and “Things will work out” were my catchphrases—quite the positive-minded grandma.

----------

Gene’s Suffering
"……… Joan. Normally, people have only three skills, five at most."

"What!? B-but I have seven?"

"Ah, yes, I've never seen anything like this before."

Well, well, could it be…? The classic “otherworldly cheat” skill, perhaps? Reincarnation really is something else.

"And also, Jo, you have an 'S' marked on both Search and Storage, don’t you?"

Brother Noel asked.

"Yes, I do."

"When an 'S' is attached to a skill, it means its performance is far superior."

"Hm? Performance?"

"Right. For example, could you try using Search on this?"

He points to the teacup filled with tea.

"Uh, Search. Whoa, amazing!"

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[Teacup]

An item used for holding beverages.

Patterned with wild berries crafted by Copen.

Material: Ceramic.

Heat resistant up to 800°C.

Not edible.

Note: Originally part of a set of 10, now reduced to 8 due to Gene breaking two.

-------------------------------------------------------------

[Tea]

Gray’s original blend tea.

Made from hand-picked leaves and buds, rolled and fully fermented, then dried.

Origin: Lampail territory, highest quality tea leaves.

Edible: Yes.

Note: When brewed by Gray, slight restorative effects can be expected.

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"What did you find out?"

Mother asked.

"Yes. The teacup is made of ceramic, with a wild berry pattern crafted by Copen. Also, it was originally a set of 10, but Brother Gene broke two, so there are currently eight."

“Gah!! H-How do you know I broke them?!”

"Oh, it was mentioned in the notes."

"””!!!”””

"No way..."

"And as for the tea, it’s Gray's original blend made with the highest quality leaves from the Lampail territory. It seems that when brewed by Gray, it even offers a slight restorative effect."

"”””Whaaa—t!?”””"

"Gr-Gray, is this true?"

"Yes. It is indeed my original blend, and the details about the origin are correct. However, as for the 'restorative effect'... I’m unsure about that myself."

"I see..."

"Incredible. So this is Search, Brother Noel?"

"Y-Yeah. Well, sort of. There’s more to it, actually. With Search S, you can also use Search on living beings, including humans."

"Oh~ living beings, huh?"

"Then, why don’t you try using it on Gene here as a test?"

"What!? W-Why me~?! Have her try it on you, Big bro~!"

Ignoring Brother Gene’s protests, I proceed.

"Search."

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[Gene Rampail]

Second son of the Marquess family, 11 years old.

Attribute: Wind.

Status: In good health, though mouth ulcers due to insufficient vegetable intake.

Note: Mischievous, tsundere. Hiding something.

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"Hehe."

"Hm? What did you find?"

Brother Noel seemed very interested.

"Yes. He’s in good health, but apparently, due to a lack of vegetables, he has mouth ulcers. Also… he’s hiding something."

"H-How do you know even that!?"

"... Gray, could you prepare some vegetable juice for Gene?"

Father had a very pleased smile.

"Understood. I shall return shortly.”

Gray says, departing with a slight smile on his face as he turned away.

"Well then, until the juice arrives, let’s discuss both the cup-breaking incident and whatever secret you’re hiding, shall we?"

Mother smiled as well.

"......"

Ah, Brother Gene has turned to ash… Just like that anime I watched ages ago.

Burned out, all faded to white...

"U-Uhm, Jo, why don’t I take you to my room and teach you about skills?"

Brother Noel is quick to make his escape, huh.

"Y-Yes, then… Father, Mother, please excuse us."

I offered a small prayer to Brother Gene.

Good luck!

As soon as we left the living room and the door shut, Brother Noel and I exchanged a knowing smile and burst into laughter.

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