I was Reincarnated as an Ant! Vol.2

Chapter 4.5.5: Divinity of the OverSighters

Nobility lessons and ceremonies, coupled with dance lessons and discussions on clothing style, were part of the training, alongside determining the duration I could maintain my humanoid form. Astonishingly, it boiled down to whether I drew skills from Jan or simply gained the physical aspect. With the latter, I could hold it for a week, with a cool down stain of a month afterwards, which seemed too perfect for the upcoming events.

One day, in my humanoid form, I escaped from the lessons for a moment and stumbled upon the young prince, melancholically painting by himself, accompanied only by his caretaker maid. She had been quietly observing him as I timidly strolled in.

She glanced at me as I stood there, ready to interact, but suddenly I was awestruck by the response from the young prince, "He's welcomed in here, rightfully so. Come in, Master Aed."

"Eh, how? How did you know it's me Vanis?" I asked, taken aback by his recognition. He gave a distant gaze towards me, revealing he had gone through something during the recent times, akin to Jan's reluctance to engage further. "Master Aed is red, and has antennas. There's no other Demi-human of such a kind from the records I've read or heard about. I deduced it must be you," he explained calmly.

He continued to paint as the maid sat back quietly. "Master Aed, do you wish ill against me too?"

"I-I see. My mistake regarding the ownership, I didn't know better at the time," I said in a regrettable manner as he continued to paint, seemingly indifferent to my mood. "Oh, I see. Master Aed, you can do anything, why don't you take it back and give it to me?" he suggested casually.

"I think you're not young enough to be fooled anymore, so I'll tell you this, I don't have that skill," I said carefully as I walked in, feeling a sense of fear for some reason. He glanced at me, "Yes, Master Aed, I'm not. However, I've heard you can attain any skill much faster than anyone, especially from what I heard, you've already attained noble skills now, for my brother, right?"

I didn't appreciate the indirectness of his narrative. I walked over to him, "Vanis, I may seem that way, but I am not. To both you, like your father—"

"Please, stop. I'm tired, Weller, take me to my quarters," he interrupted me, asking to be taken away. What had Jan done or said? I didn't like this foreboding narrative. Vanis had started to drift away into the darkness of solitude, and I knew I had to act. Revealing my Status screen to him, intent on making a binding vow, I said, "I vow to you, Vanis, I'll heed three commands of non-ill-willed actions, to appease you."

The maid clasped her hands to her mouth, halting with him, as I kneeled, motioning for him to stop moving. I felt the bind within me, as the system accepted this conditional state, as Nih had explained other forms of binding and how they worked. "Vanis, I'm granting you such a merit that none have. This is my act of kindness, my duty, my loyalty, my responsibility for my mistake to you. Fair?"

I saw tears forming in his eyes as he asked the Weller, or maid, to continue to take him away. However, a slight light arose in his eyes, indicating he wasn't alone, no matter how isolated he felt. I stood with both of them, resolved to beat some sense into Jan!

**

Recently, Jan and I had been at odds about his children, with Yeshia acting as a peacemaker between us. Jan had been belligerent and neglecting his children over work, but his approach was rooted in old-fashioned values. Unlike me, coming from Earth, my views on parenting were very different. We clashed.

Besides the occasional internally argumentative conversations between us, I noticed Nih avoiding me whenever I was training nobly in my human form. Yet, he was the one who pushed me into it. I felt the world differently in my human form, and I had been told, "You're a whole different person, one too emotionally connected and sensitive."