Alice's Progress and Daily Life at House Boreas

Time flew by, swift as a fleeting white colt.

The leaves in the courtyard turned from emerald green to golden yellow, then quietly fell.

Only then did Cui Ciyou realize that several months had already slipped by since he became the Boreas Greyrat Family's tutor.

This period could be called the calmest and most comfortable stretch of time since he had arrived in this world.

Thanks to Cui Ciyou's "fun-based teaching method," which Teacher Edna had hailed as miraculous, as well as the "immersive classroom atmosphere" created by Ghislaine and Cui Ciyou as fellow "students."

Alice's academic performance had undergone earth-shaking changes.

Alice showed gratifying "progress" in those noble etiquette and arithmetic lessons.

One afternoon, Cui Ciyou sat in the study.

He sipped the tea brought by a maid while flipping through his teaching journal.

In his heart, he reviewed Alice's growth over the past few months.

First was history.

More than once, Teacher Edna excitedly told Cui Ciyou that Alice was no longer that little troublemaker who forgot everything as soon as she heard it, with knowledge going in one ear and out the other.

While studying the history of the First Human-Demon War, she had even taken the initiative to ask:

"What happened to that hero Ars afterward? Did he leave behind any descendants? Was his sword really powerful?"

Teacher Edna sighed with emotion:

"Alice truly is of House Boreas's noble blood. Her comprehension is exceptionally strong. She simply wasn't guided properly in the past."

Cui Ciyou merely smiled and nodded, but inwardly, he grumbled:

You're overthinking it, Teacher Edna.

Alice isn't interested in history at all. She's clearly only interested in stories about heroes fighting Demon Kings.

What Alice cares about isn't the course of history, but how strong the hero was and whether his weapon was powerful.

Still... fine. Being able to make her sit still and listen is already a huge improvement.

Next came arithmetic.

Alice could already perform addition and subtraction within a hundred quite proficiently.

Cui Ciyou believed:

This was entirely due to how he had incorporated concepts such as the number of sword swings, successful block rates, and points for striking vital spots into the lessons, making dry numerical calculations tangible and practical.

Every correct calculation is closely tied to victory or defeat in battle.

This approach perfectly suited Alice's competitive and combative nature.

Cui Ciyou wrote in his journal: "I just wonder whether Alice's extraordinary abundance of physical energy drives her brain into action."

"Or whether interest is the foremost force behind intellectual development?"

Next, Cui Ciyou planned to begin teaching the more difficult multiplication table.

Though when Alice first encountered it, she had already worn an expression of resistance that said, "This thing is harder than Demon God Tongue."

Cui Ciyou had already thought of a solution—perhaps he could turn it into a set of swordsmanship mnemonics?

It was worth mentioning that Ghislaine, the "study companion," had made astonishingly rapid progress in arithmetic.

Perhaps her past experience of utter poverty had been too painful, making Ghislaine exceptionally sensitive to numbers and money.

Now, she could clearly calculate her own wages and daily expenses.

Very good, Cui Ciyou teased inwardly.

This Sword King will most likely no longer end up mistakenly eating poisonous insects and monster droppings because she miscalculated her accounts. That counts as a good deed on my part.

Then came reading and writing.

Besides writing simple numbers, Alice could now shakily write her own name—"Alice"—across a complete sheet of papyrus.

Whenever she completed this "great feat," she would raise the sheet high as if she had defeated Ghislaine in swordsmanship, her face overflowing with an incomparably brilliant and proud smile.

She would look expectantly at Cui Ciyou, waiting for his praise. That appearance often made him want to laugh.

No, stay calm. I'm the teacher, Cui Ciyou reminded himself every time.

I've received professional training. No matter how funny it is, I won't laugh... unless I can't hold it in. Pfft.

Compared to the original story, where Alice had not mastered these things even by the age of nine.

Her current progress was nothing short of astonishing.

Cui Ciyou also tried to cultivate her habit of keeping a diary, intending to use it to improve her ability to organize written language.

Unfortunately, most of Alice's diary consisted of simple sentences such as, "Today, lost." and "Tomorrow, win!"

As well as some... abstract doodles.

For example, a sword drawn fairly well, and a "strange humanoid figure" that she had drawn beyond recognition, seemingly made up of countless twisted lines.

Only much later did Cui Ciyou learn that the strange humanoid figure was him.

Finally came the field Alice loved most: swordsmanship.

There, her talent became even more evident, blooming with dazzling brilliance.

She was full of enthusiasm for swordsmanship lessons and even actively sought out Ghislaine for extra training afterward, without stopping even on rest days.

This red-haired young lady seemed born for the Sword God Style. Her basic movements—footwork, slashes, blocks, and the like—were already quite well-structured.

Her refusal to admit defeat and beastlike battle instincts perfectly matched the Sword God Style's philosophy of extreme offense. Her rate of improvement made even Ghislaine, a Sword King, praise her astonishing talent many times.

All in all, Alice's tutoring had finally begun to get on the right track.

Cui Ciyou's life consequently became more comfortable as well.

He thoroughly enjoyed the excellent conditions provided by the Boreas Greyrat Family:

A generous monthly salary of two Asla Kingdom gold coins, exquisite meals three times a day, comfortable and spacious lodging, and a vast library whose books he could browse freely.

The beastfolk maids in the estate were also exceptionally warm and friendly toward Cui Ciyou.

They took the initiative to care about his daily needs, and some of the bolder ones would even subtly test whether he needed certain "physical" comforts when they brought him late-night snacks. Cui Ciyou always politely declined.

The butler, Alphonse, and the manservant, Thomas, treated him with courtesy, while Lord Philip consistently maintained the politeness expected of a noble.

The only person who made Cui Ciyou feel somewhat on edge was the mistress of the house, Lady Hilda.

Whenever this full-figured woman looked at him, her gaze always carried an intense meaning, as though she wanted to swallow him whole.

It always reminded Cui Ciyou of Hanamichi Sakuragi's ultimate technique, "killing you with his eyes," from a basketball anime he had watched in his previous life.

This lady is really petty! So what if I beat up Alice once? She's still holding a grudge over it.

After exchanging looks with Lady Hilda on one occasion, Cui Ciyou sighed inwardly.

Within this enormous Boreas estate, aside from Alice, that energetic little girl who loved to shout at the drop of a hat, there was another person who matched her perfectly.

That was Alice's grandfather—Sauros Boreas.

One afternoon, Cui Ciyou was taking a walk in the courtyard when a thunderous roar suddenly came from the direction of the main residence:

"Philip, you useless bastard..."

The voice was so loud that even the windows buzzed.

In this estate, the only ones who could shout so recklessly at such volume are probably that grandfather and granddaughter pair, whose personalities are equally rough.

Cui Ciyou smiled knowingly.

Still, the anime seemed to mention that Alice's carefree personality was largely spoiled into her by her grandfather, Sauros.