Today,
I was about to hold my hand up to the door and channel Magic Power to open up the hidden room in the orphanage director's room for the Plantan Company, when I realized something terrible.
...Oh no!
The only Attendants who knew about my relationship with Benno and the others from the lower town days and wouldn't compromise themselves by dropping their guard were Gil and Fran.
However, Fran seemed to have very bad memories regarding the hidden room, and his face would stiffen whenever he got close to it. If I told him "I really need you to come along," he would grant my request with a look of someone prepared to die, but I didn't want to force him like that.
"Lady
Having stopped in my tracks just as I was about to head there, Fran asked me with a puzzled look. I faltered for a moment, then gave a sheepish smile to deflect.
"I was thinking... maybe we could talk here today instead."
"...Since Gil isn't here, I'll accompany you."
"I appreciate your concern, Fran, but there's no need to push yourself."
When I shook my head, Fran put on a calm expression that barely concealed his strain and said, "Lady Rozemyne, please excuse the imposition, but I'd like your help in overcoming my weakness."
"Since you're making an effort as the Lord's adoptive daughter, I cannot remain stuck in the same place as the Head Attendant. I want to overcome my weak spots too."
If Fran were to dig his heels in and insist, I could tell him he didn't have to, but when he asked for my cooperation, I couldn't refuse.
"...Alright, I'll cooperate, but if you start feeling unwell, tell me immediately, okay? We can talk here if we need to, and there's no reason to push yourself."
"Understood."
Behind Fran, who nodded with a wry smile, Nicola giggled, "This is kind of the opposite of usual."
I had documents and tea prepared on the table on the second floor so as not to get in the way of the hidden room cleaning. I would sip my tea and glance back to check on the hidden room's progress.
First, Monica threw open the hidden room's door wide, went inside, and began cleaning. Nicola followed in the same way.
After the two of them, Fran stood before the door. As expected, his complexion wasn't good.
As I fidgeted, watching Fran's state, he seemed to sense my gaze and turned around. When our eyes met, Fran gave a small smile.
"I seem to be alright, Lady Rozemyne."
When he had first stepped into the hidden room, his expression had been pale and tense, but after going in and coming back out, Fran had returned to his normal face. He moved around calmly, cleaning and preparing tea without any sign of distress.
Fran was good at hiding his emotions, so I leaned forward in my chair, watching as he cleaned and carried snacks, wondering if he was desperately masking his discomfort.
The next time our eyes met, Fran had an expression like he was suppressing laughter.
"Really, I'm quite alright."
...Hmph, I wonder if he's actually pushing himself?
As I watched Fran with suspicious eyes,
After exchanging noble greetings, we entered the hidden room.
When I instinctively turned my head to check on Fran, he lightly pressed my shoulder. "You must not look away," he said — classic Fran.
...Seems like he really is okay?
Inside the hidden room, Fran served tea to Benno and the others without any change in his complexion. I also drank the tea Fran had brewed. There was not a trace of agitation or tension — it tasted like it always did.
"So, what's the business this time? I heard the new paper is done..."
Benno, who had been enjoying his tea, cut to the chase. At the same moment, Fran smoothly placed the new paper and the letters from
"Benno, this is the new paper that arrived from Ilgner. According to the letters from Lutz and Gil, it has a smooth texture, and they want you to check whether ink will adhere to it. Please pass it on to
"Understood."
I muttered that I wanted to research it too, and Benno glared at me.
"Everyone has their own territory. Ink research isn't work for the Lord's adoptive daughter. Focus on managing your health so you don't collapse, and build your influence in noble society. Make sure the printing industry doesn't get wiped out by squabbles among the nobles."
"Yes, yes..."
Making paper was more fun than dealing with nobles, but Benno had a point. Since I'd started this, I had to see it through and protect the printing industry.
"...Still, this is quite stiff. How are you going to use this paper?"
"I'd like to make playing cards with it. They'd be much easier to handle."
The Chief Priest had taken a liking to this paper as material for harisen, but I didn't want to get smacked on the head with one of those again.
"Let's figure out pricing after we confirm that ink adheres to it. It's useless if it doesn't work."
"Fair enough."
"Oh, by the way, Benno. How's Turi doing? Is she working hard?"
I asked Benno about Turi's situation.
Once she turned ten, her work was no longer every other day — she had to go every day. That meant she had almost no opportunity to come to the orphanage.
On top of that, with Lutz away on a long-term assignment in Ilgner, there was no one to deliver letters from the family, and I couldn't hear about what was going on. Every day, I walked around feeling dejected, with letters I'd written but couldn't send.
"Is there any way to get letters to Turi through you, Benno?"
"In principle, the Plantan Company and the
If Lutz picked them up here and delivered them directly, the letters would barely be seen by anyone else. But if they went through Benno, then Corina, then Turi, the chances of someone seeing them increased dramatically.
"Especially having Corina hand them to Turi would be conspicuous. What she received, what was written — it would become the center of attention. Don't go leaking information on your own like that."
"...Right. I guess I'll have to endure until the Harvest Festival. That's lonely."
It seemed best to give up on any communication until Lutz returned.
"Rozemyne, what about this year's Harvest Festival? Are there any priest transfers? Should I prepare a carriage?"
"Yes, please. There are transfers both from Ehrenfest to
I could see Mark immediately jotting things down on his writing board.
"Lady Rozemyne, we'll handle the arrangements for the carriage and provisions. In that case, would it be alright if we sent a letter to the Gate again requesting an escort?"
"Leave it to me."
I felt a bit of energy return, thinking about one of the few chances I'd get to see my father. I'd need to write a letter to the Gate right away.
"Also, regarding Winter Preparations — do the orphanage's the same as last year, jointly with the Gilberta Company. I want to keep a connection with the Mine Workshop over there too."
"Understood. Oh, if you want to maintain that connection, could we ask Turi to guide them when they go to buy secondhand clothes? You can tell her we'll buy her clothes as her bonus. If we don't make her go, she'd happily wear clothes even if they're a bit too small. I'm sure she'd really stand out at the workshop."
Corina's workshop had mostly children from wealthy families. Since only people with connections that Corina, a big store's daughter, could introduce would be admitted, it naturally attracted the affluent. Turi, the only one from a poor background, would definitely stand out at Corina's workshop.
"But Turi learned to clean herself up with self-made rinse, she's cute, she's honest and has a great personality, and she contributes reliably to sales through the hair ornaments. So if she had proper clothes, it shouldn't be a problem. Please make sure Corina and
Benno raised a hand casually and said, "Got it. But I'm telling you, you really do love Turi," with a small smile. Turi was my angel, so naturally.
"Then, there's one more thing. This is a message from
"Huh? A prototype? Not just blueprints?"
I blinked, and Benno stroked his chin, looking around as if trying to recall Zack's words.
"He apparently built one using the principle you described, but since he wasn't sure if it would actually draw water, he made a prototype. I heard it's already been installed at the well in Zack's workshop and improved several times."
"If there's already a prototype, could it spread quickly? I want the hand pump's blueprints to be managed by the Crafters' Guild so that any blacksmith can make one. The profit from a single workshop monopolizing this is too great, and everyone who struggles to draw water is in the same boat. I want to spread it as quickly as possible."
I had asked Zack to make the hand pump as simple a design as possible. There were some delicate parts that only Johan could make, but unless it was something many people could produce in a short time, it wouldn't spread.
"There you go again... Think about profits!"
"I am, actually. Even though I'll entrust blueprint management to the Crafters' Guild, I'm not planning to distribute the hand pump for free. Every time one is made, I intend to set up a contract with the Crafters' Guild so that money flows to me as the original proposer and to Zack as the designer."
"Oh, I see."
"So, Benno. Would you mind handling the Contract Magic? Of course, I'll pay for it."
When I came to the main request about Contract Magic, Benno furrowed his brow in confusion. He raised his hand toward me as if to say he had a headache.
"Hold on. It doesn't make sense for me, someone unrelated, to mediate this."
"But I don't know anyone else who can use Contract Magic, other than you."
All the contracts I'd personally entered into had been managed by Benno. For business-related Contract Magic, there was no one else I could ask.
"...Ask your adoptive father instead."
"My adoptive father?"
"If you're going to perform Contract Magic, you'll need to register it with the Lord anyway. If you want to popularize a new invention, you'd do well to present a hand pump to curry favor with Zack and the Crafters' Guild. Besides, new inventions are better spread from the top down, right? If that's the case, you should use a noble Contract Magic that can expand across the territory, not just a merchant contract for the city."
When Plant Paper had been developed, Benno had also reported it via Contract Magic and presented it as a new product.
"If that's the merchant's way of doing things, I should follow suit. Then, please tell Zack to make a hand pump to present to the Lord. Also, if an audience is arranged, it would help if you could arrange for the president of the Crafters' Guild to accompany us to the castle for the contract. Could you pass that along? I'll request an audience through the Chief Priest."
When Benno relayed this to Zack and Johan, and they began making a pump with tears in their eyes at the thought of "a hand pump to present to the Lord!?," I was being scolded by the Chief Priest for not having told him about it sooner.
Holding my head where I'd been hit with the confiscated-and-still-not-returned harisen, I made my report to the Chief Priest.
"I had planned to tell you once the blueprints were ready, but I was informed that the prototype was already complete. It's a tool to make drawing water easier, so while it may not directly concern the nobility, I believe the commoners would be very pleased."
I also reported on the profit structure and Contract Magic I'd discussed with Benno, and requested that an audience be arranged.
"Benno suggested that to spread it quickly, it would be better to use a noble Contract Magic that can expand across the entire territory rather than just a merchant one. So I'd like you to arrange an audience with my adoptive father. The four people I have in mind are myself and my guardian the Chief Priest, the designer Zack, and the president of the Crafters' Guild who will hold the blueprints."
"I can see that just hearing about it already sounds large-scale. However, before I speak to the Lord, I want to confirm what this product actually is. First, have the Crafters' Guild show it to me."
"Understood."
Then, through Benno, the Chief Priest's request was relayed. As a result, the second prototype, which had been intended for the well at Johan's workshop, was brought to the
"Please install it in this well."
At my words, the several blacksmiths who had been brought along began silently installing the hand pump at the Temple's well, looking too afraid to even speak.
I quietly slipped an arm through Johan's as he was about to sneak into the group of craftsmen, and took Zack's hand — still clutching the blueprints, frozen stiff with tension.
"Chief Priest, these two are my
The Chief Priest looked down at the two, whose eyes were slightly wide and whose agitation and confusion were plain on their faces, with a very sympathetic expression, and let out a soft sigh.
"...It's going to be difficult going forward too, but do your best."
"Y-yes!"
"You said you have blueprints? Show me."
Zack, stiff with tension, unrolled the blueprints and began explaining the principle of the hand pump to the Chief Priest. Trying hard to use polite language, he stumbled and stuttered here and there, but he gave it his all.
Glancing sideways at this, Johan — never one for words — quietly joined the group of craftsmen and silently began the installation work.
"...Oh my. So when this is moved, that moves and the valve opens. Why does it work this way?"
The Chief Priest, who had a researcher's temperament, seemed to come alive in the face of new tools and principles he hadn't known before. He didn't even care about Zack's awkward speech and kept firing questions, but Zack was already at his wit's end.
"Um, well... you need to create a vacuum state?... I was told by Lady Rozemyne's explanation that I should... make it as simple as possible in design!... For the principles, please ask Lady Rozemyne."
Finally, Zack passed the buck to me. But I didn't have enough knowledge to withstand the Chief Priest's barrage of questions either.
"Lady Rozemyne, it's complete."
"Then, add the priming water. Please try operating it."
Johan splashed in the priming water and pumped the handle vigorously. After pumping a few times, water gushed from the spout into the bucket with a satisfying glugging sound.
"Oh..."
"It's much easier to draw water now than before. ...Since we're at it, shall we have a girl try? Monica, please operate the pump."
"Y-yes."
Monica, who had been called on, stood in front of the pump with a tense face under everyone's gaze and reached for the handle. She exerted her strength — "Hnn!" — and pushed the handle. Water came out immediately.
Surprised by the sudden gush of water, Monica let go of the handle and looked wide-eyed between the bucket of water, her own hands, and the pump, one after another.
She then turned admiring glances toward the craftsmen who had installed it.
"Water comes out this easily... It's amazing. Drawing water is going to be so much easier."
The Chief Priest, who had been watching Monica's movements, nodded approvingly.
"I see. A splendid piece of work. This definitely warrants a report to the Lord. Let's arrange an audience. Make something worthy of presenting to the Lord."
Zack and Johan, whose faces had gone pale — the Chief Priest's words of praise seemed far less impactful than the pressure he'd applied — nodded repeatedly and took their leave from the Temple.
"Once the audience date is set, please come to the Temple after the second bell rings and the workshop opens. Since the Chief Priest and I will be there, you may be nervous, but you won't be confronted by unreasonable attendants. Please relay that they have nothing to worry about."
The message conveyed through Benno had apparently reached them properly, because on the day of the audience, Zack and another middle-aged man arrived at the Temple wearing Festive Clothing, their faces taut with tension. The craftsmen who were to install the presented hand pump also all wore stiff expressions.
"The pump is large, so it would be difficult to transport by carriage. Shall I use my fey beast?"
"...Normally, a fey beast isn't meant for carrying cargo, but there's no point in arguing with you. This time it's a presentation piece for the Aub Ehrenfest, so fine."
The Chief Priest had no room to talk, considering he'd casually loaded cargo onto my fey beast before.
Since I had permission, I summoned my lesser bus and had the hand pump loaded on.
Then I had all the craftsmen board as well. They eyed the lesser bus with extreme suspicion and climbed on with fearful expressions.
...Riding together with a noble must be scary, but please bear with it.
Fran went around showing everyone how to fasten the seat belts, then dismounted from the lesser bus.
"Please take care, Lady Rozemyne, Chief Priest. We await your swift return."
With
"We're here for an audience with Aub Ehrenfest. And this is the presentation piece. Please have it installed at the well closest to the office."
The Chief Priest addressed an attendant in the room just inside the entrance. Since the Chief Priest, who was the Lord's half-brother, had handled the procedures, we were immediately ushered to the waiting room, and the craftsmen were led by an attendant toward the well.
"During the audience, the two of you please kneel quietly. We — myself and
"Understood."
Zack and the president of the Crafters' Guild let out a relieved sigh and pressed their hands to their chests. Craftspeople — even big merchants — had no opportunity to meet the Lord face to face. I understood why the two blacksmiths were rigid with tension, but there was no avoiding it for the sake of the Contract Magic. We couldn't exactly summon the Lord to the lower town.
...Just endure it for a little while.
We weren't kept waiting long before being led to my adoptive father's office.
My adoptive father greeted us with a dignified expression befitting a Lord, but the gleam of excitement and curiosity in his novelty-loving eyes was, I was certain, not my imagination.
"I heard you have something to present?"
"Yes. It's called a hand pump — a tool that makes it easier to draw water from a well. It's being installed in the well right here."
The Chief Priest also explained in a serious, courteous manner. Since it had already been filed as a proposal, this exchange was merely a confirmation.
"We would like to spread it across Ehrenfest, so rather than a merchant Contract Magic, we would like to use the Aub Ehrenfest's Contract Magic."
"...Even if it is at your request, I must first see it with my own eyes before I can make any judgment."
He put on a slightly difficult expression as if to say that even family couldn't receive special treatment, and while his words were pompous, his eyes eloquently said, "Come on, let me see it quickly."
...I don't really mind, personally.
Normally, having the Lord go to a well was truly rude. The basement level was where servants worked, not where nobles walked. It might seem irrelevant to my adoptive father, who had gone to the forest in the lower town before, but there were important things like a Lord's dignity and appearances to maintain.
I glanced briefly at the Chief Priest. He had an expression that said "I expected this," gave a slight nod, and spoke.
"If you could see it in person, I believe you would understand why Contract Magic is necessary. I humbly request that you make the trip to the well. I know it is terribly rude of us to ask this of the Aub Ehrenfest."
"If you go that far, then I shall judge with my own eyes. Lead the way."
He wore an expression of "I really don't want to, but I have no choice," but his steps were brisk. Escorting a procession of guard knights and attendants, we made our way to the well.
"Here it is."
At the indicated well, the craftsmen appeared to have finished installation. A servant was using the pump and exclaiming in surprise. The moment they saw us, the servants scattered like spiders' threads.
Standing before the kneeling craftsmen, the Lord looked at the pump.
"...This is it?"
"Yes. Zack, please demonstrate how it's used."
My adoptive father watched Zack's demonstration with rapt attention. He probably wanted to try it himself. But I couldn't very well have the Lord doing manual labor like drawing water. Coming here was already a sufficient concession.
He knew this, so while he wore a dissatisfied expression, he didn't say "I want to try."
"...As you say, if this is to be spread, Contract Magic would be necessary. Have it expanded across the territory."
My adoptive father's dissatisfied expression could pass for a thoughtful, deeply contemplative one, making him look like a prudent Lord at first glance. Zack and the president of the Crafters' Guild seemed deeply moved, but they were being completely deceived.
While Zack and the others were being properly duped, the Contract Magic was performed.
My adoptive father and I only needed to sign with a magic-powered pen and that was that, but Zack and the president of the Crafters' Guild had to sign with the same ink used for merchant Contract Magic and press a Blood Seal.
"Whoa!?"
The moment Zack pressed his Blood Seal, the contract was enveloped in golden flames and vanished. Zack's eyes shot wide open, and he hurriedly pressed his hand to his mouth.
"With this, the Contract Magic is complete. It will be wonderful once the hand pump spreads and everyone can draw water with ease."
From that day on, any pump that was made somehow bore the names of myself and Zack as the designers, engraved upon it.
The research on the new paper has been handed over to Heidi. And the hand pump is complete. The grey priests are overjoyed. Next is the Harvest Festival.