"This is wonderful. It's very educational. The skill of raising quality while minimizing the use of expensive materials and keeping Magic Power consumption down really shows how much experience matters."
When
"But the blending procedures have increased, and the number of required materials has gone up too, hasn't it?"
Ferdinand's improved recipe was a bit more labor-intensive. When I pointed out that my recipe could be done faster, Hartmut smiled wryly.
"Unlike you, Lady
Mass-producing the gold dust essential to my recipe took far too much time, and without a recovery potion, you couldn't move on to the next step. Because it required not only gold dust but also the ingredients and blending of recovery potions, my recipe couldn't realistically be made by anyone else.
"With your recipe, Lady Rozemyne, we can barely help at all, but with Lord Ferdinand's recipe, which carefully combines materials to supplement quality, even we can assist to some degree."
With Ferdinand's improved version, the Magic Power required for blending had finally reached a level where senior officials could pitch in here and there. I now understood just how much Magic Power my recipe consumed, and just what a tremendous burden Ferdinand had been shouldering.
"According to this recipe, Lord Ferdinand will be performing the final synthesis himself."
Clarissa said this as she peered over the recipe. Looking more closely, Ferdinand was asking for everything up to one step before the final synthesis—not three hundred sheets of the highest-quality magic paper, but the magic paper needed to make them.
"He must have judged that performing the final synthesis himself would be more efficient in terms of both Magic Power and materials. Could it be that he changed the instructions because he obtained a workshop through your recommendation, Lady Rozemyne?"
I nodded at Hartmut's words. Performing the final synthesis himself changed the amount of non-flammable paper required. Having obtained his own workshop in
"Non-flammable paper is expensive and rare, so naturally you'd want to reduce the amount used as much as possible to cut costs."
Clarissa said this while glancing at the non-flammable paper stored in the workshop. If they tried to make the amount Ferdinand had specified, what they currently had wouldn't be enough.
"All the non-flammable paper at the Plantan Workshop was purchased by you, Lady Rozemyne, wasn't it? What will you do about the shortfall?"
Clarissa murmured, "You bought up everything available at the Plantan Workshop, so how could she possibly get more?" I looked at her blankly.
"What do you mean, 'what will I do'? ...If there isn't any, I'll just make some."
"They say the materials are rare, though. What will you do?"
Clarissa asked with a look of surprise, but I simply smiled and shook my head. I had no intention of revealing everything here.
"It's still a secret for now, and I only intend to tell those who can keep a secret. More importantly, let's finish tidying up. We can't start blending until we have all the materials."
"Lady Rozemyne, these materials have been put away. What will you do after this?"
"I'll be returning to the
I couldn't stay away from the Temple for too long. I had Judit deliver the replies to the letters I had written in the hidden room to the castle, and arranged for the seasonings, spices, and Ahrensbach recipes to be brought to the Temple kitchen.
"Will you be coming up with new dishes using these seasonings?"
"Yes. I've only tasted them a bit so far, but it seems like I can create some new flavors."
If I mixed the spices, I could probably make something like a curry that was missing one ingredient. Figuring out what to use for that missing element would be a headache, but I was looking forward to it.
...If only I had the time to really think it through.
When I returned to the Temple, I called
"We need fifty more. Please gather plenty of Tau fruits with room to spare. Also, exclude the children who carry Magical Tools from the fruit-gathering expeditions. It would be troublesome if something happened in the forest."
If they went into the forest to pick Tau fruits and someone got hurt and started bleeding, it could turn into something terrible. Inside the Temple, where I could keep an eye on everything, was one thing, but if something happened in the forest, it would be a disaster.
"Then let's separate those who will do papermaking in the workshop from those who will go into the forest."
"Yes, please do. And when hunting nyokinyok trees, please don't send any of the noble children. I have no intention of letting information about nyokinyok trees spread widely."
"Understood."
...I would be accompanied by my name-sworn retainers.
Fritz was excellent, and the Tau fruits were ready three days after I had made the request. I brought my name-sworn guard knights
The sight of baskets packed with Tau fruits and gray priests at the center holding machete-like blades was nothing new to me, but for Matthias and Laurantz, the sight of gray priests carrying weapons was apparently quite unusual.
"Lady Rozemyne, what is this? What are they going to do?"
"These are the fruits of the nyokinyok tree, an ingredient for non-flammable paper. We're going to hunt for materials now... What you are about to see, and everything you learn here, must never be spoken of outside. This is an order."
When I issued the order of secrecy to my name-sworn retainers, all three of them twitched for an instant. I suspected there was some kind of magical binding at work. After confirming that all three nodded solemnly, I approached the gray priests.
"Fritz, are you ready?"
"Yes, Lady Rozemyne. The children are working in the orphanage, so they shouldn't come here."
At Fritz's words, I nodded with relief and looked up at Matthias and Laurantz, who were warily watching the surroundings full of people wielding blades.
"Then, Matthias and Laurantz, as soon as I throw this fruit, immediately grab me and retreat. Hartmut, you stay in the back—at least on the white stone pavement."
I asked the two guard knights to take turns carrying me and retreating, and stood with Laurantz at the border between the white stone pavement and the exposed dirt. If I threw from here, the Tau fruits would definitely land on the dirt. As long as I didn't throw them backward, there was no chance of failure.
With gray priests bearing blades and serious expressions all around, Laurantz looked quite tense as he scanned the surroundings. However, their gazes were all directed at the nyokinyok trees that were about to appear.
I reached into the prepared baskets and grasped one Tau fruit in each hand. I could feel the Magic Power being drained from me. The amount flowing seemed less than before—perhaps because my Magic Power had increased.
The once squishy fruits developed bumps as seeds formed inside them and grew hard. The moment I felt the faint heat of imminent germination, I threw the Tau fruits with all my might.
"Go, nyokinyok trees!"
"What!? Trombe!?"
The trombe hunting that had startled the three companions ended swiftly. With my increased stamina and Magic Power, germination was no great burden, and I obtained all the branches I needed.
"It's impossible for trombe to be hunted this easily."
"They say knights can only hunt them with black weapons..."
Matthias and Laurantz were shocked that a Commoner had defeated a Trombe so effortlessly, but all I had done was cut off the branches that were just starting to grow. It hardly warranted such shock.
"The only Trombe that knights hunt are the ones that Commoners can no longer handle, and once they've fully grown, they can only be defeated with black weapons. So there's no need to be so alarmed."
"Even so, Lady Rozemyne, why are you keeping this a secret?"
Laurantz tilted his head, unable to understand why this needed to be kept secret. He suggested that it might be better to inform the knight order about Tau fruits turning into Trombe and crush them while they were still safe.
"There's a festival where Commoners from the lower city go out in force to pick up Tau fruits and throw them at each other. As things stand, there's no great problem. It would be far more troublesome if knights rampaged through the lower city's forests trying to crush all the Tau fruits, or if the festival that everyone in the lower city looks forward to was abolished."
If the knights took over and the Star Festival throwing event was canceled, but then circumstances prevented the knights from going to collect them, the forest could end up overrun with Trombe. Things were working well as they were, so there was no need to meddle. The Tau fruits in the lower city's forests were collected by the lower city's people, so it was best to leave it to them.
"I believe there's no problem as long as the knight order only subdues the ones that Commoners missed and that weren't crushed by the forest's beasts before they could grow."
"But if there's a Self-Eating with a great deal of Magic Power, wouldn't there be a risk of a major disaster?"
I shook my head, dismissing Hartmut's concern.
"Germinating Tau fruits requires a great deal of Magic Power. Let's see... An adult who learned Magic Compression at the
Self-Eating with that much Magic Power usually died before reaching an age where they could participate in the festival, and as long as the fruits were being thrown around within the city, there was no particular danger.
"The current orphanage has many noble children, so there's a chance one of them could accidentally cause germination. Since it's dangerous, I don't plan to have nyokinyok tree hunting done at the orphanage after I'm gone. I'll simply spread the word through the Soldiers so that Soldiers and lower city residents know they can sell young branches obtained in the forest to the Plantan Workshop."
It would be convenient to harvest them at the orphanage since they were valuable goods, but safety came first. I intended to eliminate as many risks as possible. Besides, children who carried Magical Tools and aspired to become nobles needed to save their Magic Power for recharging their Magical Tools, even if it meant using recovery potions. This was no time to be spending Magic Power on trombe hunting.
Moreover, children who couldn't aim for nobility didn't have enough Magic Power to germinate them. This was evident from the fact that
Dirk, who had studied at the Royal Academy and returned to the Temple as a noble, might be able to do it, but he should not be in a position where he could use his Magic Power for trombe hunting.
The various things
"Then, Fritz. The orphanage's nyokinyok tree hunting ends today. From now on, we'll either hunt them when we happen to encounter them in the forest, or purchase them from people who happened to hunt some. I'd love to have more since they're a significant source of income, but safety comes first. ...Once paper made from these is ready, I'll purchase it through the Plantan Workshop, so please have it delivered to my room."
"Understood, Lady Rozemyne."
Once the trombe hunting within the Temple was finished, the Starbinding Ceremony was not far off. The morning portion would be held at the Temple, and in the afternoon I would have to go to the castle, so it was going to be a busy day.
On the morning of the ceremony, I changed into the High Priest's ceremonial vestments and performed the rite. When I entered the prayer room and ascended the dais, I spotted
According to information
When Zack would travel to other towns from spring through autumn, her parents had apparently given her an ultimatum: either settle down and get married, or break up cleanly and find someone else. Since Zack had no intention of parting with her, he immediately decided to marry, leading to today's ceremony.
...May happiness rain down upon Zack and his bride.
I had told myself to be restrained, restrained, but I ended up sending a bit more blessing than usual. It was still within the range of being forgivable. As I gazed up at the black and gold lights bursting near the ceiling, I broke into a cold sweat thinking about the next ceremony.
...The next ceremony is Turi's coming-of-age. Will she be all right?
In the afternoon, I would move to the Noble District for the Starbinding Ceremony. After the ceremony, there would be a banquet where unmarried adults searched for potential marriage partners. Since Brother
"Marriage is no longer possible for me, Lady Rozemyne."
Damuel murmured that he had never been able to find anyone in Ehrenfest all these years, and since there were almost no lower-ranking nobles in the central district, marriage was hopeless.
"What's wrong with being single? You can live just fine as long as you have books."
"You may be content with books alone, Lady Rozemyne, but I want a normal marriage. Everyone around me seems to be happily married, and I can't help feeling envious."
His closest retainers were all lovey-dovey, and his friends of the same age were apparently all married too. In just a few more years, the children of his close friends would be reaching their
...Hartmut!
"Besides, if I don't get married, I can't go to the central district."
"...If you want to get married that badly, your only option is to wait for
"Lady Rozemyne, Philine told me to my face that she has no intention of marrying me. Please stop trying to order her into it—that would be a pitiful thing to do."
He wore a stern expression, but Damuel's voice was tinged with dejection. He spoke as if convincing himself that looking up to a senior in a similar position was one thing, but considering her as a future partner was something else entirely.
"Was that when you brought up marriage as one of the ways to take in
"...Yes."
Damuel had apparently interpreted it as a rejection after all. When I had heard the story from Philine, I had thought Damuel was cool for being able to make all sorts of arrangements behind the scenes, but looking at him now, I was starting to worry about whether Philine's judgment was sound.
"Philine said she doesn't want to be in the position of a little sister sheltered by Damuel—she wants to become a full-fledged woman who can walk beside him. And when that time comes, she wants to be the one to propose to Damuel."
"What!? Philine is going to propose to me!? ...No, I won't be fooled. Not this time."
Damuel's face briefly lit up with hope, only to immediately turn guarded. I was starting to wonder if he had been tricked about marriage-related matters so often that it had made him this wary.
"I'm not lying. But Philine said she was taking inspiration from Clarissa, who proposed to Hartmut. In the future, you may receive a proposal involving a leg sweep and threats with a messer."
"Please tell me that's a lie!"
"I'm not lying."
"No way..." Damuel clutched his head and groaned, but I thought he seemed considerably more lively than when he had been moping in despair.
"Taking the initiative and proposing to her before she proposes to you might be a good idea, though."
If he was afraid of being proposed to with threats, he should just make the first move himself. As I said this with a small smile, Damuel watched my expression carefully and spoke.
"Lady Rozemyne... what would you like me to do?"
"What do you mean, 'what would I like'? You can accept Philine's proposal, or propose to Philine yourself—it's fine either way."
"That's not what I mean. I'm asking about my transfer. You asked
Damuel pressed, bringing up Rihyarda as his example.
"I can't tell whether I, as a lower-ranking knight, would actually be of use in the central district, or whether my presence would work against you, Lady Rozemyne. What do you want me to do?"
Even as the guard knight of the Lord's adopted daughter, Damuel had been subjected to all sorts of behind-the-back criticism. People said I kept him around because I was young and couldn't let go of someone I'd known for so long, but by the time we went to the central district, my appearance would be that of a young woman of marriageable age. Bringing a single lower-ranking knight from my homeland and giving him a position of importance could invite unpleasant rumors, apparently.
"If I were married, it would be different, but in my current state, I believe my presence could bring about unfavorable consequences for you, Lady Rozemyne. Would it be of any use for me to accompany you to the central district?"
Damuel said this with slumped shoulders.
"My retainers work better with Damuel around. I value your talent for finding traces of faint Magic Power, and the fact that you're skilled at paperwork despite being a knight is also a merit. ...Besides, you're the one I've worked with the longest among my retainers, so having you with me gives me strength."
"I-I see... Thank you very much."
Damuel scratched his cheek, looking a bit embarrassed. I wished he'd stop, because it was making me embarrassed too, but I pressed on.
"However, I'll be leaving Philine in Ehrenfest until she comes of age, and the Temple-related matters, with their short handover period, are a source of great concern. I'm also anxious about whether the printing-related work will continue smoothly with the lower city residents after my absence. That's part of why I want you there, Damuel."
When I considered that he had received Ferdinand's training at the Temple longer than anyone else, that he could advise
"I intend to protect everyone as much as I can, but whether you come to the central district or stay in Ehrenfest, neither option will be easy for you, Damuel. That's why I'm leaving the choice to you. Whichever you choose, I'll be happy."
Damuel pondered for a while, then raised his head just before we reached the castle. His gray eyes held a clear look of resolve.
"Lady Rozemyne, I will stay in Ehrenfest."
If Philine truly did propose to him, he would move to the central district together with the coming-of-age Philine. If they couldn't marry, he would prioritize my reputation and remain in Ehrenfest as he was.
"I'm glad you've made your decision. ...But you know, Damuel, instead of waiting for a proposal, taking the initiative to propose and win Philine's heart—that would be more manly, or rather, more cool, don't you think?"
Damuel had been cool when he pushed aside all restraint to perform Magic Compression for
"I think that would make both Philine and her mother happier."
"One time is enough for being the subject of Lady
The secret nyokinyok tree hunting was now over for good.
I left the non-flammable paper production to the workshop and focused on the Starbinding Ceremony.
Zack was successfully married. It was a love marriage.
I hope Damuel's story also ends up as a happy ending in a book.
Next is Turi's coming-of-age ceremony and the Aub's interview.