《Frontier Magic Pharmacist》


 CH 1

    As usual, I fired up my favorite VR game that I play every day.


    What shall I make today? It looks like the stock of magic potion will run out soon, so should I mass-produce it?


    Magic potions are consumable. No matter how many you make, they sell more and more.


    I was thinking about this, but the start screen never appeared. Instead, a blank screen was displayed as if the game had frozen.


    What the hell is this? There should have been no emergency maintenance information.


    At that moment, a woman appeared in front of me. She has a long white cloth wrapped around her body like a goddess in Greek mythology. Was there a character like this in the game?


    ¡°I have a request to ask of you today, and had no choice but to meddle with you.¡±


    ¡°Request? Interference ¡­¡­It¡¯s not gentle.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I had no choice but to do this. Please forgive me.¡±


    Saying that, the woman in front of me lowered her head. I feel a little sorry for such a beautiful woman to bow her head.


    The reason I can keep my cool like this is probably because I¡¯ve been immersed in the swamp of VR. Some games fought elaborate zombies that were indistinguishable from reality, and others had me fighting jellyfish-like aliens. The boundary between reality and games is definitely disappearing.


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind. Raise your head. So, what do you want me to do by interfering?¡±


    From the looks of it, the other party must be a god or something. If the management side of the game I just activated was interfering with us, the character in front of me would be displaying a red, glaring aura. Because that¡¯s what happened to the GMs I encountered before.


    ¡°I have seen your gameplay information. It appears that you are fond of production jobs. Especially when it comes to the production of magic potions, you are unmatched by other players. Am I wrong?¡±


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s right, I think.¡±


    I don¡¯t know if I was unrivaled by other players, but I was always at the top. What¡¯s wrong with that?


    ¡°I have a favor to ask of you. Please, will you come to the world I have created and help me develop magic potions?¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help but let out a bare voice. I wondered if this was an invitation to reincarnate in another world, and when had VR technology developed to that level? In a way, it¡¯s wonderful.


    ¡°I am sorry, I have not explained myself well enough. If you accept, I will reincarnate you into my world with the knowledge and skills of the game. Is this far enough?¡±


    ¡°Um, is my game knowledge and skills useful?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it is. Every item made in this game can be reproduced in the world you are about to visit.¡±


    Oops, I haven¡¯t replied yet, but I¡¯m already supposed to be reincarnated. It seems that she has already noticed that his heart is shaking. As expected of a god.


    ¡°If I go to the world you created, what will happen to me in this world? Will I die?¡±


    ¡°No, you need not worry about that. I am handling your existence, and when you die in my world, you will return to your present state.¡±


    ¡°So does that mean that when I die, I¡¯ll be back to normal?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Your memory will be back to normal. You will not remember having contact with me in this way.¡±


    Then I don¡¯t know if I¡¯m willing to take it on separately. It doesn¡¯t seem like there¡¯s any risk to me. Rather, it means I can test my in-game strength in another world and live twice my life. It could be interesting.


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll accept it.¡±


    The god breathed a sigh of relief. Apparently she¡¯s in such dire straits. Is the situation really that bad? I¡¯m getting a little worried.


    ¡°Thank you very much. I believe that your success will save the world from the clutches of the evil one.¡±


    ¡°Ah, wait!?¡±


    In the next moment, everything in front of my eyes turned white. I couldn¡¯t keep my eyes open because it¡¯s so bright.


    Didn¡¯t that god make a bombshell statement at the end? Save the world or something¡­


    Suddenly, a floating sensation hit my body. It was as if someone had lifted me up. I was also bobbing up and down. This was probably the feeling of a baby being lifted up and down. ¡­¡­


    She said I would be reincarnated, but it seems that I will start as a baby, whether I expected it or not.


    I can¡¯t see well and I don¡¯t know what to say. Have I ever felt so anxious? There is one thing you can do to get rid of that anxiety. It is to raise the first cry.


    For the time being, I cried ¡°Ogya¡±. There were obviously more cheers from the surroundings than before.


    Have we now completed the baby¡¯s first role? Now it¡¯s time to suck mommy¡¯s tit to grow ¡­¡­ squishy. Very embarrassing, but I had to do it to survive.


    Thus, I was reincarnated in another world and made a new start.

 CH 2

    Time passed and I turned three years old. Until now, I¡¯ve been busy learning how to walk and learning words.


    Thanks to the fact that I didn¡¯t receive the cheat ability to speak the language from the start, I think I grew up like a normal child.


    This meant that my family was never suspicious of me.


    Over the course of three years, I found out a few things. My name is Julius. I¡¯m quite a handsome boy with dark brown hair, which is my father¡¯s heritage, and dark eyes, which are my mother¡¯s.


    The family he was born in is Margrave Heine Frontier. It was a large house with a military role, defending the north of the Kingdom of Spencer. It is somewhat similar to the civilisations of European countries.


    I was born the third son of Margrave Heine Frontier. I have one younger sister.


    There were a lot of servants in the mansion, and although my father took over, my grandparents also lived with us.


    And his grandmother is, to his surprise, a Potions Master. Is this luck, or is it better to say that it was set up by the godess to happen from the very beginning?


    Anyway, it was convenient for developing magic potions.


    ¡°Grandmother, what are you making?¡±


    ¡°Oh, Julius, are you interested? Here, you see, I¡¯m making a restorative.¡±


    Grandmother gives a gentle smile. A murky green liquid is simmering in her hand.


    I desperately held back my desire to scream.


    The gunk! If you cook it so hard, the herbs will release a terrible bitterness. Stop it!


    But whether she knew that or not, the old lady cooked it further. If heated for a long time, the restorative effect diminishes. Drying, pulverising and then quickly extracting it with hot water is the basis for making a highly effective recovery medicine.


    Oh, it¡¯s messed up.


    ¡°Grandma, it¡¯s not good to boil it down so much, is it?¡±


    ¡°Hohoho, what an interesting thing to say. Restorative medicine is made like this.¡±


    What is that, and who taught it to you? I want to question whoever taught it to her for an hour or so.


    Hmmm, I still don¡¯t think the child¡¯s opinion is going to be listened to so easily. I guess I¡¯ll just have to wait until I¡¯m a bit older. I had to reluctantly withdraw.


    If recovery potions made in that way were available in the world, there would be no one left to use magic potions.


    Perhaps the gods felt the same as I did. That¡¯s why she asked me to do it. Along with an ominous prophecy¡­¡­.


    From that day onwards I decided to start reading books on magic potions. As my grandmother was a potion master, there were many books on potions in the Margrave Heine Frontier¡¯s magnificent library.


    However, I soon ran into a problem.


    ¡°It¡¯s too difficult to read¡­¡±


    There are many words that I don¡¯t know exactly. As might be expected, children¡¯s picture books alone do not seem to be sufficient for language knowledge.


    Worse still, those books have no illustrations at all. They have black text that seems to fill the pages. I lost all interest in reading them.


    You can tell at a glance. This is probably saying, ¡°Don¡¯t read this book.¡±


    ¡°I wish there was a magic potion book for beginners.¡±


    I looked for it with faint hopes, but could not find it immediately.


    One day, at the dinner table, my mother asked me with a smile.


    ¡°Julius, it looks like you are looking for a book.¡±


    The servants must have heard that I was doing something in the storeroom. Maybe they think I have a promising future. After all, I¡¯ve never seen my brothers using it. Maybe they have teachers and don¡¯t need to read books.


    ¡°Yes. I¡¯m looking for a book on potions that even I can understand. ¡­¡­¡±


    When I said that, my mother¡¯s face tightened. It was not only his mother¡¯s face. Father¡¯s face and grandfather¡¯s face were also tight. Only Grandma was smiling.


    What is this reaction? It is as if a taboo has been touched.


    ¡°Yes, I see. Julius, it¡¯s good that you¡¯re so studious, but you need to have lots of fun now. And don¡¯t read books about Potions without permission. You have to be a Potions Master to read them.¡±


    She told me to stop, as if to admonish me with a serious look on her face. Apparently, my mother is afraid that I will take an interest in potions.


    ¡°Julius, I will teach you how to make magic potions when you grow up, so you have to endure until then.¡±


    The old lady said with a smile on her face. Grandmother seems to be in favour of it. But other than that, it¡¯s the opposite. But the rest of them are against it. This must mean that magic potions have some kind of problem. This needs to be investigated.


    What on earth is going on with magic potions in this world? Come to think of it, I¡¯ve never seen any magic potions. Is it all put together somewhere?

 CH 3

    The magic medicine that the old lady was making at that time was probably an elementary recovery medicine. And if there is a scene where recovery medicine is used, it is definitely the knight order of Margrave Heine. There should be a magic potion there. If I look at it, I might be able to find out something about the magic potions in this world.


    In order to find out the truth, I infiltrated the knight order.


    Come to think of it, just recently, it was mentioned that they were going to subjugate the monsters that inhabit the demonic frontier. As I recall, that mission should have been over by now. Did they get injured during that mission? Maybe that¡¯s why the old lady was making extra magic potions. It¡¯s very possible.


    ¡°Hello¡±


    ¡°This is Young Julius. Why are you in a place like this?¡±


    ¡°The other day, I heard that you went to subdue monsters. I¡¯m here to thank you for your efforts.¡±


    ¡°What¡­! I, Lionel, am unworthy, I¡¯m deeply moved!¡±


    The Knight Commander is in tears. Sheesh. It¡¯s hard to say now that I had other intentions. So I went around to the knights and wizards who had participated in the defeat and offered words of thanks.


    ¡°Now it¡¯s on to the wounded soldiers.¡±


    ¡°¡­ Eh? Young Julius, do you intend to go there?¡±


    ¡°Of course. That¡¯s where I have to go, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°¡­ With all due respect, but I can¡¯t let you in there.¡±


    The Knight Commander who flatly denied it. I¡¯m sure there¡¯s a scene there that he doesn¡¯t want me to see. However, I cannot back down now. I came all the way here to find out the effects of the magic potion and where we stand.


    ¡°Lionel, please.¡±


    I looked up at the Knight Commendator with an upward glance. Fafafa¡­ how much more can he endure the begging of a child? It¡¯s a sight to see.


    The Knight Commander averted his gaze. I instantly entered his gaze. I won¡¯t let you get away!


    After a long time of such attack and defense, the knight commander finally broke. Phew, it¡¯s no joke.


    ¡°I understand. But what you see there must never be spoken of.¡±


    ¡°Okay, I get it.¡±


    The Knight Commander¡¯s face is scary. It must be a scene that he doesn¡¯t want me to see so much. I¡¯m getting scared even after all this time. What if there is a scene that cannot be shown to the public?


    I was brought to the innermost room of the lodgings by the Knight Commander. From inside, I hear groans.


    The Knight Commander opens the door. There were people who were exhausted, people who were dazed, and people who were completely unconscious.


    But the scene was not as splattering as one might have imagined.


    One of them spotted my presence. His eyes are filled with fear. What¡¯s the matter? What¡¯s wrong with you, you adorable three-year-old?


    ¡°Oh, help me~! I can¡¯t take that medicine anymore! Rather, kill me!¡±


    ¡°Again! Do I have to drink that again! It¡¯s hell, this is hell!¡±


    Starting with the words of one person, the surrounding suddenly began to make a fuss. They let out a roar of terror.


    Yeah, I kind of figured it out. It¡¯s a gathering of victims who drank the recovery medicine made by that old lady. And this is the result.


    From what I can see, there are no seriously injured people on the verge of death. But they seem to be seriously injured in their hearts. I don¡¯t want to drink that stuff either.


    Could it be that the recovery medicine that the old lady was making wasn¡¯t an elementary recovery medicine, but an advanced recovery medicine? If so, I don¡¯t want to imagine the taste.


    The advanced recovery potion must have contained a number of ingredients that would have gone horribly wrong if the processing had been even slightly mishandled. From the way the old lady made it, I don¡¯t think it was processed properly.


    For the time being, it seems to be effective as a recovery medicine, but it will probably be traumatic. No, it already is¡­¡­


    I silently left the room with the Knight Commander.


    ¡°Do you understand?¡±


    ¡°I understand perfectly. Lionel, could you show me the recovery medicine?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind that, but I would advise against taking it. If you really want to take it, I would recommend an elementary recovery medicine. You can still take that one¡­¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t drink that stuff!¡±


    I came to the magic potion storage with the Knight Commander. Several medics were busy working there.


    ¡°Thank you for your hard work¡±


    ¡°This is Julius-sama! What¡¯s wrong? Are you injured? Then take this¡­.¡±


    Then he brought something blackish green. Whoops.


    ¡°No, no, I¡¯m not injured! I wanted you to show me the magic medicine that Grandma made. Can you show it to me?¡±


    ¡°Of course that¡¯s true, but?¡±


    With a question mark in his head, he brought me some magic potions. I stared at the magic potions on the table.


    When that god reincarnated me into this world, she said that she would reincarnate me with knowledge and skills. And those techniques are ¡®skills¡¯, and I had the ¡®Appraisal¡¯ skill.


    The results of the appraisal are displayed. The result was¡­the three musketeers of ¡°lowest quality¡±, ¡°grotesque¡± , and ¡°poisonous¡±, held up their swords. I definitely don¡¯t want to use this kind of magic potion.


    I silently returned it to the medic.


    Rather, it deserves respect for being able to have such a terrible effect at the same time. Why not make this a failure? It would be a failure no matter how you look at it. I wonder if anyone will get stuck?


    In the meantime, it seems to have a sympathetic restorative effect¡­¡­

 CH 4

    The medic stares at the magic potion that has returned to his hand.


    I have a bad feeling about this.


    ¡°Julius-sama, since we are here, shall we open one?¡±


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t need that kind of service.¡±


    ¡°However, if you experience just the smell of it, you will feel more confident when it comes time to use it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to use it!¡±


    Let¡¯s have Lionel say a few words here. That should bring this medic back to his senses. I¡¯m counting on you, Lionel. Zzzt.


    Lionel noticed my gaze. He nodded once. As expected of the Knight Commander. He can read the mood.


    ¡°I see. You have come all the way here, and you are even interested in magic potions. It will be a good experience.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t! Stop him, Lionel!¡±


    ¡°Well, well, don¡¯t say it like that.¡±


    Lionel laughs. This is that. It¡¯s total harassment. The medic, who was given permission, opened the lid of the elementary recovery drug on the spot. It may have been a warmhearted gesture by the medic to give me a beginner-level recovery drug.


    Suspicious smoke leaked out from inside. It was the first time I had ever seen such a sight.


    ¡­¡­ Ugh! It smells like vomiting! I¡¯m starting to feel sick.


    The medic saw me go pale and closed the lid. Lionel and the medic looked unconcerned.


    This is the day-to-day life of the Knights¡­How much scent power does the advanced recovery medicine have that a knight trained in that scent would dislike it so much?


    ¡°Lionel, please answer me honestly. Is my grandmother a bad Potions Master?¡±


    ¡°No, sir, not at all! She¡¯s one of the five most talented people on this continent.¡±


    That was one of the five best! And on this continent! No way.


    Lionel, who saw me in surprise, closed his eyes and continued his words while shaking his head.


    ¡°Recovery medicines made by other magic pharmacists are even worse. As for advanced recovery medicines, at best half of them will survive after taking them. On the other hand, the advanced recovery potion made by the former Countess Margaret will make you suffer to the point of death, but you will not die.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that just poison!?¡±


    ¡°It seems that orders from other countries are pouring in for advanced recovery medicine made by the former Margrave¡¯s wife.¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s not good, won¡¯t this turn into a diplomatic issue? Because they¡¯re sending poison!?¡±


    ¡°I have heard that there is no end to the number of people who take a chance and take it, even if it is a high-level recovery medicine that they don¡¯t know who made it. Thank goodness the former Countess of the Frontier made it.¡±


    ¡°Hey, someone needs to stop it!¡±


    I didn¡¯t expect things to be so bad. It would have been nice if there had been some other means to cure people¡¯s injuries and illnesses, but it seemed that medical care was not so well developed thanks to the half-developed magical medicine.


    And to make matters worse, even though there is offensive magic, recovery magic doesn¡¯t exist.


    This is the reality of this world. It¡¯s worse than expected. No wonder that god is so worried.


    Faced with reality, I shut myself in my room. What should I do? I must free as many people as possible from the torments of hell as soon as possible. But I am just a three-year-old boy. There is little I can do.


    Would I advise Grandma? And would she listen to it? If I said, ¡°the gods asked me to do this,¡± she might just treat me like a strange child. And if I keep saying things like that, she will probably send me to church sooner or later.


    I have to somehow change the way magic potions are made. But why aren¡¯t there more decent ways of making magic potions on the market?


    The history of magic potions must have a certain amount of history. So why is it that such low quality magic potions are being sold with such a nonchalant look on their faces?


    Let¡¯s pretend to be an innocent child and ask the old lady.


    ¡°Grandmother, where did you learn how to make potions?¡±


    ¡°Oh, it seems you¡¯re really curious about magic potions. I learned the basics in school, and then from my master.¡±


    ¡°From the master? Are there other people who were taught together?¡±


    ¡°No. I was excellent, so they made a special effort to teach me.¡±


    She laughs. Apparently, advanced magic potions are handed down from one generation to the next. Perhaps that is how they increase their scarcity value. And it seems that half-hearted imitations of these medicines, which look like poison, are being sold in the market.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to make new magic potions?¡±


    ¡°Only high-ranking potions masters are allowed to create new potions.¡±


    ¡°Then Grandmother can make a new magic potion!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right¡­ but I¡¯m not going to make something like that.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    I tilt my head slightly and ask. I know very well that everyone in the mansion is vulnerable to this gesture.


    Grandmother¡¯s face collapsed. She picks me up and puts me on her lap.


    ¡°Because I don¡¯t want to destroy the house¡­¡±


    I think I have some idea of what is going on.


    Perhaps there was a time in the past when there was competition to develop new magic potions. At that time, a major incident occurred that shook the country. Since then, only selected people are allowed to develop magic potions.


    Then it makes sense that existing magic potions won¡¯t be improved. Everyone is afraid and no one would touch it. Even if the potion is ineffective and grotesque.


    I have come to the conclusion that it is difficult to guide the old lady to improve the magic potion when I see what is going on. Will I just have to keep my fingers crossed and wait until I become an adult? I¡¯m already a three-year-old, so I really don¡¯t have my fingers crossed.

 CH 5

    From that day onwards, when I secretly went to the archives, I continued to read the books on potions without being discovered. As a result, it was discovered that the unreadable language was a code. Perhaps the Potions Master who wrote it was trying to keep the production of the potion a secret.


    As a result, no one seems to understand. It¡¯s a complete disaster. In other words, the books on magic potions in that storeroom were as good as rubbish. No wonder they¡¯re just sitting there.


    I was disappointed when I found out the truth, but there were some happy moments.


    The ban on studying magic was finally lifted. I¡¯ve been waiting for this moment!


    Is it okay to let a three-year-old learn magic? There may be voices saying that, but it is natural for nobles with power to be able to use magic. Therefore, the race to make them learn magic at the earliest possible stage became heated, and finally the age was accelerated to three years old.


    As a result, there are many accidents, and when magic becomes available, side servants are assigned. This is, of course, for monitoring purposes.


    ¡°Julius-sama, do you know me?¡±


    ¡°Uncle Kernel!¡±


    ¡°Hmm, in a way you¡¯re right, but I¡¯m a magic teacher. Please call me teacher from now on.¡±


    ¡°Understood. Uncle Kernel!¡±


    ¡°Hmm!¡±


    A three-year-old teasing an adult. The person being made fun of must not like it. But I¡¯ve been waiting for this day for so long that I¡¯ve been making fun of adults. Finally, I can use magic. It must be exciting to actually see magic in front of your own eyes.


    ¡°Then, Julius-sama, let¡¯s start with safe water magic first.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m counting on you. Kernel-sensei!¡±


    ¡°Hmm! Leave it to me. First, please touch the water in this bucket.¡±


    A bucket filled to the brim with water is prepared in front of him. It appears that the intention is to let the children actually touch the water and learn how it feels before teaching them magic.


    You can use it without doing that. But if you do that, you become a child prodigy.


    It would be a shame if that triggered a family feud. Like a normal child here, let¡¯s take it easy. It¡¯s still not the time to panic.


    I failed many times and ended the day by pretending I couldn¡¯t do it. In fact, I used it as a test when I put my hand in the tub so that I wouldn¡¯t be found out. I was able to trigger it without any problems.


    Uncle Kernel doesn¡¯t know that.


    ¡°Master Julius, don¡¯t be discouraged. Only a great mage can do that from day one.¡±


    ¡°Teacher, how long does it usually take to be able to use it?¡±


    ¡°Well, it takes two weeks for talented people, and a few years for the slow ones.¡±


    ¡°How long did Brother Alex and Brother Cain become able to use it?¡±


    ¡°Alex is one month, Cain is one month and one week.¡±


    Brother Cain, could it be that you read the atmosphere? So I¡¯ll make it a month and two weeks. No, would Brother Alex find out if I do that? In that case, I¡¯ll just set it to three months or something.


    ¡°Thank you very much for today. I look forward to seeing you next time.¡±


    ¡°Hmm! Julius-sama is very polite. Let¡¯s give you a flower ball!¡±


    ¡°Oh, thank you very much¡±


    Well, I got nothing, though.


    Three months later, I¡¯m finally able to use magic publicly. Of course, I practise it in my room so that I don¡¯t get caught. I have a feeling that the servants attached to me are becoming suspicious.


    ¡°Well done. With this, Julius-sama has joined the ranks of magicians. From now on, we will move on to learning elementary magic. It is only natural that you should be able to do this much as a person with magical powers.¡±


    ¡°Yes, thank you very much.¡±


    After that, I took my time and mastered the elementary magic of the four major attributes, water, fire, earth, and wind. Apparently, he didn¡¯t notice that I was cutting corners, and he judged my magic talent to be normal.


    Good grief, it looks like I¡¯ll be able to stay away from the family turmoil. I have no intention of succeeding as Margrave. I have a mission to bring about a revolution in magic potions.


    By successfully learning magic, I was able to make two friends of the same age. In other words, they are two minions.


    ¡°I¡¯m Gyre!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Christopher!¡±


    Two slightly overweight, or rather fit, for three-year-olds became his minions. Gyre is the third son of the Knight Commander and Christopher is the third son of the Steward. This was the formation of the trio of three sons of the Margrave of the Heine frontier.


    Hmm, this is a normal three-year-old child. It might be better for me to act more like a child. I feel like I¡¯m doing a little too much. Let¡¯s be careful.


    By the way, they can¡¯t use magic. There aren¡¯t that many humans with magical powers.


    After that, somehow, the three of us started to be together. The three of us do bad things together. And the three of us get angry at together.


    I would go to the kitchen and eat snacks, skip my studies and run away, and play with my sister¡¯s horse.


    In the meantime, I turned seven. There was slow progress in matters relating to Potions. Nevertheless, little by little there were changes.

 CH 6

    At the age of seven, martial arts training began. Until then, he had spent his free time running around the large garden of the mansion, but from now on that time would be his training time. And once he had a certain amount of time to train, he would be able to go out on the streets.


    I¡¯ve been to town before with my parents and grandparents. But that didn¡¯t get me where I wanted to go. Now I will finally be able to go wherever I want. This meant a lot to me.


    ¡°Then let¡¯s start with the practice swing. Today you will swing until you fall over.¡±


    ¡°Lionel is a demon.¡±


    ¡°It would be nice if your father could have cut corners a little.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s suddenly hard¡­.¡±


    Under the guidance of Lionel, the Knight Commander, the bare knuckle swinging began. Of course, before that, Gyre was given a beating. It seems that he has an educational policy of showing no mercy to his own son. I¡¯m glad I¡¯m not a Knight Commander¡¯s kid.


    He swung his wooden sword with a buzzing sound. His occupation in the game was a wizard, but he also had a taste for swords and spears so that he could use them when his magic power was depleted or against opponents who were ineffective with magic. As such, he had a certain amount of skill.


    ¡°Oh, Master Julius, you have a good streak. That should be enough for you to join the Knights Order.¡±


    Thank you¡±


    But I had no intention of joining the Knights. If I joined the Knights and got injured, they would make me drink that recovery medicine. It was a definite no.


    After a number of days of such pretences, I finally got permission to go out. Of course, I was escorted, but it was wonderful to be able to go where I wanted.


    ¡°Then let¡¯s go to a nearby forest today.¡±


    ¡°Not the city, the forest?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    The two of them who thought we were definitely going to the city had their eyes blank at my unexpected remark. Of course there is a reason.


    ¡°I¡¯m looking for medicinal herbs in the forest. Maybe we¡¯ll find anti-poisoning herbs and magic herbs.¡±


    ¡°What are you going to do when you find something like that?¡±


    Christopher asked, nodding his head, if he was getting interested.


    ¡°That¡¯s a really good question. I¡¯m thinking of taking it home and planting it in my garden.¡±


    ¡°Planting it in a garden?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I¡¯m thinking of planting it in my garden and cultivating it.¡±


    ¡°Can you do that?¡±


    ¡°Maybe¡±


    I somehow cheated. I have ¡®cultivation¡¯ skills, so I definitely think I can grow it, but I didn¡¯t want to assert it. I am very uncomfortable when people ask me where I got such knowledge.


    Because these two guys are connected to their parents. Even if they are my minions, I can¡¯t let my guard down. It would be a disaster if I were to be exposed and worshipped as a child prodigy.


    I jumped into the carriage that was prepared for me and headed for the nearby forest without taking a detour.


    It was located just outside the city, and the territory¡¯s inhabitants could be seen. That¡¯s how safe it is. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t have been able to get permission.


    ¡°Are there any monsters around?¡±


    Gyre said, with a sense of excitement. For the time being, each of them has a wooden sword for self-defence.


    ¡°Well, are there monsters here? That¡¯s a bit scary.¡±


    Christopher, on the other hand, seems worried. This one seems more cautious. Gyre seems to be more suited to attack, while Christopher is more suited to defence. You have to be very careful with them.


    ¡°There are, but only slime will come out. Besides, even if you meet a monster, the escort will clean it up immediately.¡±


    ¡°¡®Yes, of course!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s boring.¡±


    A relieved Christopher. A disappointed Gyre. They were opposites, but they got on well.


    While we were talking, we arrived at a nearby forest. From here we are on foot. We can¡¯t find medicinal herbs from inside the carriage.


    As I got off the carriage, I could smell the scent of fresh greenery. The air seems to be clearer. Perhaps it was just my imagination. The two people who had gone down before us were also very curious and looked to the left and right.


    ¡°Then let¡¯s get going.¡±


    ¡°Oh!¡±


    ¡°Ha, yes!¡±


    Two people stood in front of me. Yeah, they seem to have a good understanding of their position. Watch your step. There could be valuable material in there.


    We walked through the forest for about an hour. When we were much further into the forest, we finally found some medicinal herbs.


    ¡°I knew I had to go deep to get it.¡±


    ¡°Is this a medicinal herb? It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve seen it.¡±


    ¡°It just looks like grass to me.¡±


    Gyre doesn¡¯t seem interested. I don¡¯t mind that, but I¡¯d like them to be able to tell the difference.


    ¡°Bring me a jute bag. I¡¯ll dig it up so don¡¯t touch it.¡±


    ¡°Yes!? I will do it.¡±


    ¡°No, Christopher can¡¯t do it yet. Let¡¯s just accept his feelings.¡±


    Christopher is a wimp, but if he does it, he will definitely fail. That¡¯s how delicate transplanting medicinal herbs is. I have the ¡®transplanting¡¯ skills, so I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll succeed, but it wouldn¡¯t be the same for anyone else.


    That¡¯s how I got some medicinal herb seedlings. and¨C.


    ¡°This is anti-poison weed! I finally found it. I must take this home with me.¡±


    I went deep into the forest, but I could only find medicinal herbs. Just when I was about to give up on the idea that they do not grow in this forest, a distinctive yellow leaf caught my eye.


    At that moment, the nearby bushes moved with a  rustle.

 CH 7

    A bush that sways with an eerie rustling sound. Tension runs through Gyre and Christopher¡¯s faces. And then it showed itself.


    ¡°It¡¯s a slime!¡±


    ¡°Hiee!¡±


    Gyre screamed and Christopher was frightened.


    ¡°Calm down. Aim for the core! It shouldn¡¯t be moving fast!¡±


    It was a slime, one of the small fry monster representatives. I think it¡¯s probably no big deal. As evidence of that, the escorts are also watching the situation without putting their hands on it. They were probably trying to give us a taste of combat.


    ¡°Can I beat it with a wooden sword?¡±


    ¡°You can do it if you crush the core. It¡¯s not that hard, is it?¡±


    ¡°Gyre, you¡¯ve got to take it down now!¡±


    Gyre readied his wooden sword at my advice. It was a thrusting posture. He seemed to intend to make a thrust at the core. Christopher and I stepped back.


    ¡°chest!¡±


    Gyre thrusts at the slime with determination. It hit the core of the slime without missing a beat. You¡¯re good, Gyre. You are indeed the son of a knight commander. If a seven-year-old boy can do this well, it¡¯s enough.


    With its core destroyed, the slime lost its shape and finally stopped moving. It was a complete victory.


    ¡°Well done, Gyre. You did a great job.¡±


    ¡°Thank you!¡±


    ¡°As expected of Gyre!¡±


    They both look happy. The escort knights were looking at us with warm eyes.


    We had a bit of trouble, but we had to get the poisonous weed plants. Carefully dig around it with a shovel and collect it so as not to damage the roots.


    Yeah, it worked. I really wanted some magic grass, but I couldn¡¯t spend any more time here. Soon we were back at the mansion.


    With that foot, I visited my mother, who was in the sunniest salon at the Margrave Heine¡¯s residence.


    ¡°Mother, I would like to grow flowers just like you. Can I grow them in your garden?¡±


    ¡°Oh dear, is Julius interested too? I don¡¯t mind. Feel free to do it.¡±


    The mother smiled smugly. Gardening is a widespread hobby of the nobility. His mother is one of them. She had created a magnificent rose garden in one corner of the courtyard. I thought that if I stimulated that area, I would get permission.


    ¡°Thank you! I¡¯ll get right on building my flower beds.¡±


    ¡°Oooh, I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡±


    Well, it¡¯s a flower bed, but it¡¯s a medicinal herb garden. Uh-huh.


    After receiving permission, I headed to a corner of the garden with Gyre and Christopher.


    The garden of the Margrave Heine family is large. That should be it. Just because he is a Margrave, the Heine Margrave family has a house in a remote area. The land is therefore large, but only in vain. I could have said, ¡°Everything from here onwards is my land!¡± It was safe to say.


    If it is too close to the mansion, it cannot be expanded later. With that in mind, I decided to make a medicinal herb garden some distance away.


    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s do it around here.¡±


    ¡°Julius-sama, there are nothing but weeds around here. Perhaps you intend to turn this area into a flower bed now?¡±


    ¡°Hi-yee.¡±


    The two screamed. It would be so. After all, the only tool I have is the shovel in my hand. But there¡¯s nothing wrong with that.


    ¡°Just watch and wait.¡±


    I concentrated my magical power and used earth magic to create a flower bed in no time. The soil composition has already been improved to make it suitable for growing medicinal herbs. Magic is amazing. A skill not from the previous life that I¡¯m glad to have. I used the ¡®cultivate soil¡¯ skill to create fertile land.


    ¡°Okay, all that¡¯s left now is to plant the seedlings we brought home.¡±


    ¡°Wow, that¡¯s amazing! This is magic.¡±


    ¡°Hi-yee!¡± (Yeees)


    Christopher has been saying nothing but ¡°hi-yee¡± for a while now, but is it a habit?¡¡Oh well. I planted the medicinal herbs and the poison-eliminating herbs while using my ¡®dividing the plants¡¯ skill. I also planted the herbs I found along with them. This is to repel insects.


    That¡¯s it. Now all that¡¯s left is a shower of water using the water magic method and you¡¯re done.


    The water produced by the water magic method contains magic power, and this water promotes the growth of plants. If you come to water the plants every day, you will be able to harvest them faster.


    ¡°This is the end of today¡¯s work. Let¡¯s go back.¡±


    ¡°It all happened so fast.¡±


    ¡°Julius-sama¡¯s magic is amazing!¡±


    ¡°No, no, anyone who can use magic can do it. It¡¯s not uncommon at all.¡±


    ¡°Really¡­¡­¡±


    Of course it is a lie. Probably no ordinary wizard could do the same. It would have to be someone who knows a lot about growing fields. I can use this magic because I grew plant materials in the game.


    While appeasing Christopher, who looked a little disappointed, we returned to the mansion and disbanded on the spot. When I returned to my room, I ordered the servants to refrain from entering and smiled.


    I have in my pocket the medicinal herbs I have just obtained. There¡¯s no way I won¡¯t use this.


    ¡°It¡¯s been a long time, four years. The day has finally come.¡±


    I was thinking of using the medicinal herbs I obtained to create a magic potion.

 CH 8

    I¡¯ve been secretly preparing for this day for a long time.


    I sneak into the room that my grandmother always uses to make magic potions, and I borrow some jars of magic potions. I intend to return them one of these days, so it¡¯s not stealing.


    At that time, I also wanted to obtain materials such as medicinal herbs, but I couldn¡¯t obtain them because they were strictly stored in a safe.


    But is it safe to store it that way? It doesn¡¯t look like a safe that can maintain a constant temperature.


    Well, it doesn¡¯t matter to me. I have freshly picked medicinal herbs at hand. They are very fresh. However, the quality is average. But it¡¯s a wild herb, so it can¡¯t be helped.


    Had it grown in more fertile soil, it might have been of even higher quality.


    The only tools were bottles. None of the other specialised tools were available.


    Normally I would not be able to make magic potions. But I had ¡®laboratory¡¯ skills.


    This skill can create a special magical space by continuously consuming magical power. Inside that space is a mysterious space that is ¡®free from all restrictions¡¯.


    In other words, if you use that space, you can ignore all the various tools you would normally have to use to produce it. However, it uses magical power to death.


    ¡°I should be able to do it if I just make an elementary recovery potion. You can do it, you can do it, you can definitely do it. It¡¯s just a matter of feeling.¡±


    I took a big breath in, regulated my breathing and used my ¡®Laboratory¡¯ skill.


    I can feel the strength slowly draining from my body. I can¡¯t be too nonchalant about it.


    When the magically created water was put into the magical space, it evaporated at once. The vapour is then immediately transformed into water.


    This could eliminate the magic contained in the water. If impurities were mixed in, they could also be removed. In this way, high-quality water could be produced.


    I stared at the finished water.


    Distilled water: best quality


    The order of quality is highest, high, normal, low, lowest. In other words, it is impossible to make water of higher quality.


    ¡°Okay, so far as planned. Next is¡­¡±


    I threw the medicinal herbs I got earlier into the magic space. Using the ¡°Dry¡± skill to dry it like a dry flower, it was crushed finely as if it had been ground in a mortar.


    When it is mixed with the water from earlier, it heats up quickly.


    When the water was clear and green, impurities were removed as if by filtering. The resulting clear green liquid is transferred to a bottle.


    A total of three primary recovery potions were made.


    ¡°The quality is¡­ high quality. Fairly okay.¡±


    The quality of the medicinal herbs was average, but I managed to complete an elementary recovery potion of the second best quality from the top. I found myself sweating profusely. My body felt extremely heavy. I was concentrating so hard that I didn¡¯t realise it until just now.


    ¡°But now I know that I can use the ¡®Laboratory¡¯ skill. With this, I can somehow make magic potions on my own.¡±


    Still, once a day seems to be the limit for now. I¡¯m looking forward to it, when I grow and the amount of magic power increases. If I make magic potions like this, it might come in handy someday.


    I try to smell the freshly made elementary recovery medicine. Yeah, I knew it, but it¡¯s odourless. How could they make it smell that bad?


    Despite these doubts, I carefully put away the elementary recovery medicine in a locked drawer. My next goal is to improve my herb garden. As expected, I can¡¯t make anything without materials. I want to be able to make an ¡®antidote¡¯ from poison-eliminating herbs as soon as possible. You never know what might happen.


    After that, I went to the herb garden every day. There are rainy days and windy days. That¡¯s how I expanded my herb garden little by little, and became able to obtain medicinal herbs and anti-poisoning herbs on my own.


    One day, I learned that Margrave Heine¡¯s knights were once again on their way to subdue monsters.


    This is my chance to test the magic potion I¡¯ve created!¡¡Worst case scenario, I was just about to cut off my own finger to test it, but it looks like I¡¯m going to get a good group of test subjects. I have ten bottles of high-quality recovery potion and one bottle of antidote, also of high quality. That¡¯s enough to test its effectiveness.


    During the meal, I asked my father about the subjugation, confirmed that the knights had headed for subjugation, and asked Lionel, the Knight Commander, during the daily training. While doing so, I received the news that the demon subjugation was over and the knights had returned.


    As if in anticipation, I headed for the accommodation I had visited earlier. Of course, I stuffed as many magic potions as I could in my bag.


    My sudden visit was greeted by the medic from that day.


    ¡°Julius-sama!? What happened all of a sudden? Someone! Someone call the captain immediately!¡±


    Someone ran off in a flurry. Just in time. It would be better to let Lionel know.


    ¡°I was a little worried about the wounded soldiers, and I¡¯ve come to say a few words of thanks.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s going to be hell inside soon, but are you ready mentally?¡±


    ¡°Umm, yeah, I¡¯m fine.¡±


    The medic confirmed this with a sorrowful look on his face. It¡¯s a bit scary when they look that bad. But I can¡¯t back down here. If you were a man, take it in stride. A great man said so.

 CH 9

    About 30 people were injured in this monster subjugation. Among them, it is said that there are about ten people who need medical treatment.


    Oh, it¡¯s about the same number as the recovery medicine I brought. Exactly the best match! It¡¯s just asking me to experiment.


    It should be noted that the ten of them also refused to undergo treatment at length, saying that they would heal naturally and did not need treatment. However, the wounds were so severe that they were ordered by the Commander to receive treatment.


    Therefore, it seems that the next room is currently in a wake-up state. Very quiet.


    ¡°Julius-sama! You¡¯re here again!¡±


    Lionel, the Knight Commander, arrived in a flurry. His normally neat hair was a mess, and he seemed to have come in a great hurry.


    ¡°Hi, Lionel. Thought I¡¯d let you come along to my experiment today, eh?¡±


    ¡°Experiment¡­ you say?¡±


    Lionel raises one eyebrow suspiciously. The medic sitting in front of him also has his eyebrows curled up. Could it be that the feudal lord¡¯s child has acted unreasonably? Well, normally you would think so.


    ¡°I want you to see this¡±


    I took out the magic potion from the bag. When they saw it, they stopped moving.


    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡±


    ¡°The green one is an elementary recovery pill and the yellow one is an antidote.¡±


    The two of them pick it up and confirm it as if it was a lie. Finally, the medic brought the appraisal magic tool. And then he suddenly appraises it. Well, that¡¯s a natural reaction. It¡¯s not like any magic potion they saw before. It would be necessary to check whether it is genuine or not.


    Only the name of the magic potion was displayed on the appraisal magic tool. Other than that, nothing else was displayed. It did not even show what effect the magic potion had.


    What exactly are you appraising, and how? I¡¯m really curious. In the game, I accepted it as ¡°that kind of thing¡±.


    ¡°¡­ It¡¯s really an elementary recovery medicine and an antidote.¡±


    ¡°No way¡­¡±


    Lionel was speechless. It was written on his face that he had never seen such a magic potion. I¡¯d better move cautiously here. This reaction could lead to an uproar.


    ¡°This experiment of mine is a secret between us. Do not divulge it to anyone else.¡±


    ¡°Even the palace?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right¡±


    ¡°Was this made by Julius-sama?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I made it.¡±


    ¡°how?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a secret¡±


    Lionel was silent. As a servant of my father, it would be unacceptable. But the potion in front of him would appear to be a beacon of hope for his friends. ¡®You know clearly that this is not your usual magic potion. One more push?


    ¡°You both should smell the Elementary Recovery Potion.¡±


    I thought I heard a gulp and a spit-sniffing sound. They fearfully opened the lid of the elementary recovery medicine and sniffed it.


    ¡°No smell¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s ridiculous ¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°I think that alone makes it easier to drink.¡±


    Of course, it¡¯s not only easy to drink, it¡¯s also highly effective. After all, it¡¯s made by me!¡¡Ahem. All right, all right, I¡¯m feeling much better.


    ¡°What are you going to do? If you can¡¯t promise me, I¡¯ll just take it all back with me.¡±


    ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll issue a gag order to the entire Order, including myself.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a promise. Then let¡¯s treat the wounded.¡±


    Thus we went to the defendants awaiting sentencing.


    ¡°¡­ That¡¯s what I¡¯m saying. Do not reveal anything about what will happen in the future. Only those who can promise that will be given the magic potion that Julius-sama made.¡±


    ¡°I promise.¡±


    The answer was immediate for everyone present. Even though they had not yet seen the actual effect or tasted it, the mere smell of it filled everyone¡¯s eyes with hope.


    ¡°Well then, let¡¯s start with the treatment of Evans who was poisoned by the Killer Spider.¡±


    Mr. Evans returns a nod. His body has already become partially paralyzed by the poison. The situation seems to be getting worse and worse. Until now, antidotes could not completely remove the killer spider¡¯s poison, and it was all they could do to save their lives.


    An antidote was put into Evans¡¯ mouth by a medic. Change came quickly. His hands and feet, which hadn¡¯t even twitched until just now, began to move. More than that¡­


    ¡°Sweet! Is there such a thing as a sweet potion!?¡±


    Mr. Evans, who suddenly regained his energy, let out a scream. The wounds on his body gradually closed. A medic noticed this.


    ¡°Is Mr. Evans healed from his injuries?¡±


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s true! What the heck is this!?¡±


    ¡°The antidote contains medicinal herbs, after all. It also helps to heal wounds, albeit slightly.¡±


    ¡°This is a little bit? Isn¡¯t this magic potion the secret of the Goddess!?¡±


    ¡°No. It¡¯s just a quality antidote.¡±


    ¡°High quality antidote?¡±


    Oops, did I talk too much? But the gag order has been enforced, so is it okay to talk? If I don¡¯t build up a little bit of trust now, it might hinder future human trials ¡­¡­ or even future checks on the effectiveness of the system.


    ¡°Actually, I know the quality of magic potions.¡±


    ¡°I see, so that¡¯s why you asked us to show you the potions at the time.¡±


    Lionel nodded as if he was convinced. The medic heard this and couldn¡¯t resist asking.


    ¡°So what were the results then?¡±


    ¡°¡­ all the lowest quality¡±


    ¡°Jeez!¡±


    Except for me, everyone who was there shouted that and looked up at the sky. When I first saw it, I wanted to look up at the sky as well. And I wanted to turn away from reality.

 CH 10

    The wounded soldiers were looking at me like they were clinging to me. I am sure they are looking forward to the elementary recovery medicine I am going to use. I sweetened the antidote because it would inevitably taste bitter if left as is. So I made some modifications so that even children could drink it.


    On the other hand, I haven¡¯t messed with the taste of the primary recovery medicine. Still, it¡¯s tasteless and odorless, so I think you can drink it just like water. I don¡¯t know, though, because I haven¡¯t actually drunk it.


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll give you a basic recovery medicine. Perhaps it will be easier to take than the previous potions.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s enough for me!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have to taste that hellish pain anymore. With this magic potion, he too can ¡­¡­¡±


    There are some ominous stories out there. As I recall, there were no deaths from the magic potion made by the old lady. ¡­¡­ Are there any members of the squad who quit because they couldn¡¯t keep up?


    When I handed it to each person, I was asked for a handshake for some reason. Why not.


    Once everyone had received the primary recovery medicine, it was up to me or them to make a toast. Why not.


    ¡°Well then, everyone, are you ready? Drink it all at once. Cheers!¡±


    ¡°cheers!¡±


    ¡°Cheers!¡±


    Lionel and the medic, who didn¡¯t need to drink, also kept me company with water. And soon a change comes.


    ¡°I can drink, I can drink!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not bad! This is water!¡±


    ¡°Amazing! The wounds are closing up to the extent that it¡¯s disgusting.¡±


    ¡°Oh! The wounds that I thought wouldn¡¯t heal unless I took that advanced recovery medicine are now closing up nicely¡­ Are you a god?¡±


    The former wounded soldiers who shed tears naturally kneeled in front of me. What is this state of affairs? Lionel and the medic are also kneeling with tears in their eyes.


    ¡°Oh, well, I¡¯m glad everyone¡¯s wounds have healed safely. You¡¯re an important force for Margrave Heine. I look forward to your continued success!¡±


    ¡°As you wish!¡±


    Everyone in the room raised their voices in unison. I wonder what it is, I feel like the loyalty of the knight order has risen tremendously. Anyway, I was able to achieve my goal, so let¡¯s say it¡¯s okay.


    ¡°Julius-sama, can I ask for additional magic potions? I still have friends who are suffering from the killer spider¡¯s poison.¡±


    ¡°Of course. As soon as I make a new primary recovery medicine and antidote, I¡¯ll bring it to you secretly.¡±


    I said emphasizing the ¡°in secret¡± part. Lionel nodded deeply.


    ¡°Can¡¯t you make an intermediate level recovery medicine yet?¡±


    A medic asked a simple question. If you have an intermediate recovery medicine, you can deal with more severe injuries.


    ¡°Yeah. I just didn¡¯t have enough of the materials I needed.¡±


    ¡°¡­.. By the way, where did you get the material for this one?¡±


    Lionel timidly asked. Maybe he thought I was sneaking around my grandmother¡¯s place.


    ¡°Did you know I¡¯m making flower beds?¡±


    ¡°Of course. I have heard the Mistress talk about it. If you could ¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. That flower bed is actually a medicinal herb garden. I grow medicinal herbs and poison-clearing herbs there.¡±


    ¡°What!¡±


    Hearing this, the noise of the knights grew louder and louder. Among them, some could be heard saying, ¡®We must defend it to the death at all costs¡¯. It¡¯s true that the place is necessary for making magic potions, but at worst, we can find it by going foraging in the forest.


    ¡°Julius-sama, from now on, I would like to strengthen the security of Julius-sama¡¯s medicinal herb garden.¡±


    ¡°Huh? You don¡¯t have to go that far.¡±


    ¡°What would you do if they were eaten by a wild animal? We will definitely protect it.¡±


    ¡°Uh, yeah. My pleasure.¡±


    Losing to the glaring eyes of everyone present, I couldn¡¯t refuse. Hmm, it looks good. What would my mother think if she found out? I¡¯m a little worried.


    Thus, an iron rule was bound between me and the Knights. I thought security was only available during the daytime, but apparently it¡¯s also available at night.


    They must have really disliked the magic potions so far. ¡­¡­


    Then Lionel was assigned to escort me when I went out of town. He is determined not to let me lift a finger. The other knights were still looking at me.


    As soon as the materials were gathered, I created and delivered the primary recovery medicine and antidote. Only one of either could be made per day, but even so, more and more people gradually returned to the Knights Order.


    ¡°Lionel, can¡¯t we go to the forest where monsters live?¡±


    ¡°Julius-sama, I think it¡¯s really dangerous, but¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. What would you do if something happened?¡±


    Gyre also seems to disagree. Christopher is silent. But his face said he did not want to go.


    ¡°I¡¯m actually thinking of getting some magic grass.¡±


    ¡°Magic grass¡­ is it okay for us to pick it up?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m thinking of planting it in my herb garden. So I want the whole soil around it so I don¡¯t damage the magic grass, but I know that¡¯s going to be difficult.¡±


    ¡°So you want to go collect it yourself¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes¡±


    Lionel put his hand to his chin and thought. The reason I can¡¯t make new magic potions is simply because I don¡¯t have the materials.


    Conveniently, there is a forest where monsters live not far from the city. There must be a lot of materials lying around there. There was no way not to use it.


    ¡°Okay, I understand. Let¡¯s plan something.¡±


    ¡°Please take care of me.¡±


    ¡°As you wish!¡±


    Lionel was kneeling. Gyre and Christopher saw this and hurriedly learnt from it. I feel like I¡¯m the master of the Order of the Knights.

 CH 11

    Generally, forests with monsters are off-limits. The only exceptions to this rule are adventurers belonging to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.


    They enter places inhabited by monsters at the request of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, without regard for the dangers involved.


    Monsters are different from wild animals in that when they die, part of their bodies turn into magic stones. This magic stone has always been in demand because it functions like a battery to power magic tools.


    Many adventurers went to the magical lands, partly because it was a stable source of income for them.


    People other than adventurers enter the monster¡¯s nest only when nobles who have a place where monsters inhabit their territory carry out ¡°monster subjugation¡± to prevent monsters from increasing too much.


    In other words, in order for me to enter the monster¡¯s nest, I must either become an adventurer, participate in the subjugation of monsters, or enter secretly so as not to be found out.


    ¡°Julius-sama, this is the area where we subjugated the monsters the other day.¡±


    This is the office of the Order of the Knights. The room was filled with Lionel, the Knight Commander, as well as the captains and vice-captains of the various units. Of course, there are also the faces of the medics.


    Lionel¡¯s choice was to ¡®sneak in¡¯. And to increase safety, he seems to have decided to go to the place where the monsters had been defeated. Certainly that would increase safety.


    But is it okay? I think they would be very angry if they found out. I¡¯ve asked for it myself.


    ¡°Soon, the lord and the others will be leaving for the royal capital¡¯s social gathering.¡±


    Lionel lowered his voice. It is completely devious. Although he is guarding the frontier, the Margrave of Heine is also an aristocrat. During the social season, he has to go to the royal capital to gather a certain amount of information and deepen his connections.


    And this social season is also attended by Grandma, a high-ranking Potions Master. Of course, Grandfather is with her. The Heine family is therefore deserted during this period.


    This year, the two older brothers should be heading to the royal capital together. Only me and my sister remain in the mansion. It was an increasingly convenient period.


    ¡°I see. Are you aiming for that opening to enter the forest where monsters inhabit? But Lionel will be escorting Father and the others to the royal capital, won¡¯t he?¡±


    ¡°Normally that would be the case, but this time only Julius and Rosalia are in the house. I have decided to stay behind as a precautionary measure.¡±


    So that¡¯s it. It seems that Lionel was good at convincing father there.


    But he¡¯s not wrong. There might be someone who is trying to do something while they¡¯re away. The more people you can rely on, the better.


    ¡°Very well. Then, while my father and the others are in the capital, we¡¯ll go to the Monster Forest to collect the ingredients for the magic potion. But what if the servants find out?¡±


    ¡°As usual, I will tell them that Julius-sama will head to the city for an inspection.¡±


    ¡°I see. Lionel, you¡¯re a badass too.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not as good as Julius-sama.¡±


    Everyone in the room has a grin and a bad smile on their face. This is a unique opportunity of a thousand opportunities. This opportunity must not be missed.


    We quickly got into the planning stages.


    A monster forest came into view in front of me.


    It has been a few days since Father left for the Royal Capital. The day finally came to carry out the plan. My sister Rosalia has always said she would come with me, but it¡¯s impossible for me to take her with me. After all, Rosalia thinks I¡¯m going to the city. But I¡¯m going to the Monster Forest now.


    ¡°Julius-sama~, my stomach is starting to hurt~¡±


    ¡°What, Christopher, are you scared?¡±


    Gyre is provoking Christopher, who has been shaking for some time now.


    Christopher probably didn¡¯t want to go. But we are counted as a group of three. If even one person is missing, there is a risk of suspicion. I want him to give up thinking that he was unlucky.


    And there are so many escorts. There¡¯s no way they can¡¯t be taken out. Besides, I brought a primary recovery medicine and an antidote. Injuries and poisons can be treated on the spot.


    ¡°Christopher, if you don¡¯t like it, you can wait in this carriage, you know? Because as long as you¡¯re here, you won¡¯t be suspected of anything.¡±


    ¡°Oh, no ¨C of course I¡¯ll go with you.¡±


    Apparently, Christopher¡¯s loyalty is strong. But this should be a confidence booster for Christopher. He¡¯s a bit of a wimp. Even though he has the ability.


    ¡°I see. Let¡¯s get going then.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha! It seems that Julius-sama is not afraid.¡±


    ¡°Well, yeah. I have my magic.¡±


    Hahaha, Lionel laughed again. I¡¯m not joking. The main job in the game was ¡°Wizard¡±. I didn¡¯t only work in production. Sometimes I had to go into dangerous areas to get rare materials. Therefore, I can fight to a certain extent.


    A group of 30 armed men entered the monster forest. They formed a circle to protect us in the center. The scouts were already ahead and were always on full alert.


    ¡°Be careful where you step. Try not to step on plants. You never know where valuable material might fall.¡±


    A seemingly suspicious group entered the depths of the forest.

 CH 12

    ¡°Stop. This is a numb mushroom. They can be used for pain relief!¡±


    ¡°Oh! I¡¯ll collect it right away!¡±


    The knights immediately collect mushrooms according to my instructions. If you have painkillers, they can laugh their way to the field hospital in the rear if they are injured. Of course, they also help with headaches and menstrual cramps.


    ¡°As expected of you, Julius-sama. You know your stuff.¡±


    ¡°No, look, I can appraise¡­¡±


    ¡°I see, that was it.¡±


    I sneak up and talk to Lionel. Only the Knights Order knows that I can appraise. I feel bad, but Gyre and Christopher don¡¯t know either.


    They are both seven-year-olds like me. They are still children. There¡¯s a chance they¡¯ll say something out loud.


    ¡°Julius-sama, what about that unfamiliar grass?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s just weed.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this grass a medicinal herb?¡±


    Gyre seems to be getting more comfortable and together they start looking for material. Christopher, on the other hand, is impatiently checking left and right.


    ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right. I could take it home with me, but I don¡¯t have any magical equipment to preserve it. Yes, let¡¯s say, at this point, I¡¯ll make a preserving container grimoire.¡±


    ¡°Can you make magic tools, Julius-sama?¡±


    ¡°Of course, Lionel-kun. I¡¯ll need a magic stone for that.¡±


    ¡°We need magic stones! Someone go hunt some monsters!¡±


    To Lionel¡¯s instructions, there was a wild reply, ¡°Hah!¡± The clattering sound of armor clashing fades away. Is it fine? It¡¯s all right, isn¡¯t it? Our knights are strong.


    As proof of that, for a long time, there had been no deaths from subjugating monsters. Even if there was an advanced recovery potion made by Grandma, it wouldn¡¯t be effective if they died.


    We then proceeded to collect medicinal herbs, poison-eliminating herbs, numb mushrooms and dust mushrooms. And I finally found it.


    ¡°It¡¯s magic grass! I was finally able to find it. I didn¡¯t think it would be this hard to find.¡±


    ¡°Magic grass can be sold at a high price even at the adventurer¡¯s guild. Adventurers are probably the top priority for collecting it.¡±


    ¡°I see. It seems that the cultivation method is not established.¡±


    ¡°On the contrary, we haven¡¯t even established a method for growing medicinal herbs.¡±


    ¡°Oh dear. By any chance, I¡¯m pretty amazing as a cultivator, aren¡¯t I?¡±


    ¡°¡­ Could it be that you didn¡¯t notice?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­yes¡±


    Lionel is looking at me like he¡¯s looking at someone unfortunate, but it doesn¡¯t matter. I retrieved the seedlings of the magic grass without paying any heed to such stares. Thanks to my ¡®transplant¡¯ skill, I was able to successfully retrieve the seedlings. I¡¯d like to get a few more plants if possible.


    After that, I went around the forest and managed to get a total of three seedlings of magic grass. I wanted about ten plants if possible, but it can¡¯t be helped.


    ¡°Commander! Another goblin.¡±


    ¡°Again? Intercept!¡±


    ¡°Roger that!¡±


    Since entering the Demon Forest, we seem to encounter goblins on a regular basis. Lionel nods his head and says, ¡°Not again¡±. Well, goblins are weak monsters when they are alone, so they are no match for the Knights.


    ¡°As expected of a monster forest, there are a lot of goblins.¡±


    Christopher, who has finally gotten used to the monster forest, said while being wary of his surroundings.


    ¡°Goblins are small fry among small fry. Maybe Christopher should take one down and see what the response is?¡±


    Gyre, who had just defeated a goblin, said in a good mood. I guess he thought he could win. I had weakened it a lot, though. Otherwise, even if it was a goblin, there was no way a seven-year-old could defeat it unscathed.


    But it¡¯s strange.


    ¡°Lionel, isn¡¯t this area where you subjugated the monsters the other day? And why are there so many goblins?¡±


    ¡°¡­Certainly, something is strange. Normally, not only goblins but also other monsters should not appear for a while. Otherwise, we would have to take down the monsters more often.¡±


    ¡°I have a bad feeling. A group of goblins is trying to migrate to this forest from somewhere, or maybe they¡¯ve already migrated.¡±


    Lionel folded his arms and closed his eyes. The members of the knight order are looking at the situation with anxiety. Apparently, it seems to be a habit when Lionel thinks.


    ¡°We will subjugate the monsters, and the goblins will migrate to the place where there are no foreign enemies. It¡¯s a possible story. Let¡¯s call the scouts back immediately and have them investigate.¡±


    ¡°Yes. Please do so.¡±


    There was a reaction to my ¡®Search¡¯ skill. This density of goblins must be building a village. Where did they come from?


    Goblins have a strong reproductive power, so it¡¯s better to crush them as soon as possible. However, if I guessed the place, there would be a fuss about ¡°How did you know?¡±


    For the knights, the ¡®exploration¡¯ skill is a skill that they would like to have at their disposal. Because the security and the amount of information are different. If they find out about it, they might say, ¡®By all means, join the Knight Order!¡¯ But I¡¯m not sure I¡¯d be able to do that.


    I have to become a magic pharmacist, not a knight.


    There was a rustling sound and the rustling of grass and trees, and a scout brought back information. His face showed signs of impatience.


    ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°Captain, the goblins are building a settlement.¡±


    ¡°As expected. Julius-sama, what do you think?¡±


    ¡°It depends on the number of goblins. If we can deal with it, we¡¯ll crush them.¡±


    Lionel looked at us and nodded. Gyre and Christopher¡¯s faces turned pale.


    ¡°How many?¡±


    ¡°About thirty.¡±


    ¡°Good. We will destroy the goblin settlement. All hands begin preparations.¡±


    ¡°Hah!¡±


    Lionel¡¯s order was quickly followed by an equipment check and a strategy was decided upon. It was decided to hit them head-on, with a few omissions being unavoidable. It would have been better if we could have gone around them, but we didn¡¯t have enough time.


    The sun is already starting to set. It was time to go back or the sun would set on us. And the monsters are goblins after all. The number of people here is the same. We couldn¡¯t lose.


    ¡°Then let the operation begin!¡±

 CH 13

    At Lionel¡¯s command, the knights charged into the goblin settlement. The sudden appearance of the knights, who were hardened by their stiff equipment, plunged the settlement into a state of panic. The knights seized the opportunity and took out the goblins one after another.


    I could have just watched, but since I¡¯m here, I decided to attack them with magic. In order to survive in this world, there will be times when you have to kill monsters. I thought I needed to get used to it so that I wouldn¡¯t hesitate to kill them when the time came.


    ¡°Wind Sword!¡±


    Cut the carotid artery of a goblin trying to escape from the goblin settlement. I was a little skeptical, but the green liquid didn¡¯t pop out, and it quickly disappeared into a speck of light. It probably turned into a magic stone.


    ¡°That¡¯s exactly the game. It seems to have substance, but it doesn¡¯t. ¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Julius-sama, is something wrong?¡±


    ¡°No, nothing, Christopher.¡±


    Christopher, who picked up on my mumbling, asked me about it, but didn¡¯t seem particularly suspicious.


    After defeating some goblins that were trying to escape, the battle ended. That was a lot quicker than I thought it would be.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s truly amazing. I never thought that Julius-sama would be able to use magic so freely.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve used it in an actual battle, but I¡¯m glad it went well.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe it was your very first time.¡±


    As expected of the Knight Commander Lionel. He¡¯s very perceptive. But he¡¯ll never get to the bottom of it. If he asks, ¡°Did you use it in a game?¡±, it is obvious that he would also be a member of the same group.


    ¡°Captain, the collection of magic stones is over.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for your efforts. Now let¡¯s get back before dark.¡±


    Under Lionel¡¯s instructions, we headed home.


    In the carriage on the way home, I talked to Lionel about things that bothered me.


    ¡°I wonder where those goblins came from?¡±


    ¡°I think it¡¯s probably from the depths of the monster forest.¡±


    ¡°Then, is there a larger settlement deep inside the monster forest? They¡¯ve outgrown it there, so they came outside in search of a new place.¡±


    I stared at Lionel. Lionel closes his eyes with a furrow on his brow. Lionel seems to have reached that possibility as well. And that means trouble.


    ¡°Maybe so. How about it?¡±


    Lionel finally opened his eyes and asked with a sharp look. Hearing this, Gyre and Christopher¡¯s faces turned a little pale.


    ¡°It will be two months before your father comes back. If we wait until then, the situation may be even worse. Julius-sama, please write to your father. As soon as I get permission, I will ask adventurers to investigate the forest of Monsters.¡±


    We could use scouts from the Order of Knights, but it would be better to ask adventurers to help us maintain our relationship with the Adventurers¡¯ Guild. Besides, they are familiar with the monster forests.


    ¡°How shall I write it?¡±


    ¡°I was passing by the monster forest on my own accord and saw several goblins in the area where the monsters were subjugated. I was suspicious and followed them and found a village, so I destroyed it. There may be more settlements, so I want to investigate. What do you think?¡±


    If they had no choice but to go near the demon forest because of my selfishness, the guards would not have caused offense.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it going to hurt Julius-sama¡¯s reputation?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care how much my reputation is damaged, as long as the damage to my people is kept to a minimum.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­ I understand. As you wish.¡±


    ¡°You got it, Lionel.¡±


    Lionel, who seems to be reluctant to do so. I hope I didn¡¯t do anything unnecessary¡­¡­We need to act quickly on this one. If an army of goblins were to come into a town or village all at once, it would be no joke.


    As soon as we returned to the mansion, we planted the magic grass seedlings. Everything was ready for this day. I was covered in mud, but managed to finish planting all the seedlings by nightfall.


    And when the servants saw me covered in mud, they were furious.


    Julius apparently sent a letter to his father in the Royal Capital that day. And the next day, he asked the Adventurers¡¯ Guild for a request to investigate the Monster Forest.


    When asked what he would do about the money, he said that his father kept some money that he could use freely. Apparently, he used the money to commission adventurers.


    In that case, wouldn¡¯t it have been better to report to father after the results of the investigation request came out? No, if that¡¯s the case, will it go backwards? It¡¯s difficult to judge the situation accurately. I wish I could have been a smart tactician at a time like this.


    It will take at least three days for the letter to return from the royal capital. On top of that, it may take more than three days to get the results of the investigation from the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.


    In the meantime, I¡¯m thinking of making a magic tool. It¡¯s a magic tool for long-term storage of materials for magic potions that have been collected.


    ¡°Take this money and go buy me a steel plate. Also, some magic ink.¡±


    ¡°Understood¡±


    The servant bows his head and leaves the room.


    I should have everything I need now. If my knowledge of the game is still intact, I should be able to encapsulate any magic I want in a magic circle drawn with magic ink.


    Each one has the drawback that I have to contain the magic, but that makes it more versatile. Hopefully it works.


    After all, it¡¯s my first time making magic tools in this world. I¡¯m a little worried.


    ¡°Brother!¡±


    A voice can be heard along with a small knocking sound. It¡¯s my sister, Rosalia. ¡°I have to give her a lot of attention today because I didn¡¯t give her any yesterday,¡± she said. I don¡¯t want my cute little sister to hate me.

 CH 14

    The next day, while I spent the morning watering the herb garden and acting as my sister¡¯s horse, a servant bought me an item I had ordered.


    A steel plate and magic ink. These are all the materials needed to make a simple container to store medicinal herbs and other materials in their fresh state.


    After eating lunch and putting my sister to bed, I immediately got to work. If I worked too hard, it would be noisy and annoying, and the servants might question me about what I was doing.


    Therefore, the work began after the room was enchanted with the magic of soundproofing.


    The ¡°Craft¡± skill is used to bend steel plates. With this skill, you can bend metal shapes at will. However, it consumes magic power. It is not possible to do detailed work, but if you just want to make a rough shape, this skill is enough.


    Without much difficulty, a steel container measuring 30 cm square was completed. The height is about 20 centimeters. The lid opens with a snap. This way, the contents could be seen at a glance and could be easily taken out.


    ¡°All right, all right, so far it¡¯s going well. After that, if we incorporate a magic circle into the lid¡­¡±


    I draw geometric patterns on the back of the lid with magic ink. I¡¯ve drawn it so many times in games that my mind remembers it perfectly. If I wanted to, I could draw it with my eyes closed. If I make a mistake, it¡¯s too much trouble, so I don¡¯t do it.


    Yeah, it¡¯s so-so. I estimated the dexterity of a seven-year-old too high. My hands don¡¯t move like I thought they would. I need to practice this. After I finish making this magical tool, I¡¯ll incorporate it into my daily practice.


    I think this will be useful somehow.


    ¡°All that¡¯s left is to seal the magic of preservation. Will it work?¡±


    A few minutes of chanting the magic of preservation. Is this impossible? Just when I thought it was, the magic of preservation finally penetrated the magic circle. I had consumed a lot of magic power.


    ¡°If you put the magic stones in the box properly, the magic power will be transmitted through the iron and it should work somehow. We¡¯ll see if it works.¡±


    That is why I put the materials for the magic potion that I collected yesterday into the freshly made preservation container. I intend to use these materials on a priority basis, so even if the magic items don¡¯t work well, I will be able to get by.


    The next thing I knew, the sun was setting all around me. I rushed to get my sister in a good mood.


    ¡°What have you been doing all this time alone, brother!¡±


    At the dinner table I was being blamed by my sister. Apparently, Rosalia had been planning to play with me all afternoon. She had been waiting in the salon for a long time when I didn¡¯t show up at all. ¡°I¡¯ve done a bad thing,¡± she said.


    No, I didn¡¯t promise to play in the afternoon in the first place.


    ¡°Sorry, sorry. I just got a little too enthusiastic about studying.¡±


    ¡°What are you studying?¡±


    The way she tilted her head a little was so cute that I couldn¡¯t help but shrug it off.


    ¡°I¡¯m studying magic tools.¡±


    ¡°Does brother make magic tools?¡±


    A question of pure curiosity. The servants around me seemed to be listening to what was going on. This is a situation where you have to play it fast and loose.


    ¡°I tried to make a new magic tool and become rich, but it didn¡¯t work out.¡±


    ¡°Is it difficult?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s difficult.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡±


    Saying that, my sister resumed eating. Was she convinced? But she seemed to lose interest. We then continued our conversation, which was nothing special.


    After the meal, it¡¯s time for a bath. I was supposed to be able to relax at this time.


    ¡°Brother¡±


    My sister broke in. Normally, my sister would never come into the bath I was taking because of the two big stoppers, my mother and grandmother. I was completely caught off guard.


    However, I couldn¡¯t kick her out now, so we had to take a bath together.


    ¡°Rosalia, don¡¯t tell everyone.¡±


    ¡°Okay¡±


    I wonder if she really know what she¡¯s doing. I¡¯m very worried. I¡¯m glad I¡¯m a seven year old. Usually a servant would come in and wash my body, but she didn¡¯t seem to come in, perhaps out of concern. I have no choice but to pull my sister out of the bathtub and wash her body.


    ¡°Oniisama, I have a magic tool that I want.¡±


    ¡°Hee, what kind of magic tool is it?¡±


    Apparently, they were not done talking about magical tools. Rosalia was looking at me with a twinkle in her eye. It seems that I have given her a lot of expectations because of what I said about magical tools.


    ¡°I want a magic tool that can create stars!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll make you a star.¡±


    In short, you want a planetarium. If it were that simple, could I make one quickly?¡¡I think it can be done easily by making numerous small holes in a steel plate and securing a light source with the magic circle used in the lamp¡¯s magical tool.


    ¡°Can you make it?¡±


    ¡°Hmmm, let¡¯s give it a shot, shall we?¡±


    ¡°Really?! Thank you, Oniisama!¡±


    She hugged me naked as she was. Well, this is the case. I¡¯m glad no one saw it.


    After getting out of the bath, I immediately began to create the planetarium¡¯s magical equipment. I made countless holes in a steel plate and formed it into a sphere. I then drew a magic circle inside the sphere that would be the source of light.


    The magic stone, which is the source of energy, was placed directly inside. When I rolled it, I heard a clattering sound.


    Oops, I forgot the switch. I built a magic circle on the outside that toggles on and off with each touch. When I touched it, a light came on in the center of the sphere.


    Yeah, it looks okay. I took the finished magic tool and headed to my sister¡¯s room.


    ¡°Rosalia, I brought you an apology from yesterday and today.¡±


    ¡°An apology item?¡±


    A cute younger sister who tilts her head. Rosalia¡¯s exclusive servant was waiting in the room. As expected, we cannot eliminate her, so I¡¯m sorry to ask her to become a wallflower as it is.


    ¡°Yes. This is it.¡±


    I held out the planetarium magical tool I had just created. Rosalia looked at it with a curious expression.


    ¡°Can you turn off the light?¡±


    She hesitated at my command, but turned off the lights. I manipulated the magical tool in Rosalia¡¯s hand and generated a starry sky in the room.


    ¡°Wow! It¡¯s a star!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. It¡¯s a star.¡±


    It was projected not only on the ceiling, but also on the four walls.


    Of course, I didn¡¯t reproduce the starry sky of this world, I just made small holes randomly. Even so, at a first glance, it looked like the starry sky of some other world.


    ¡°Oniisama, thank you!¡±


    Her face was too dark to see, but her voice was resounding. I hope this helped to distract you a little from the loneliness of your mother¡¯s absence.

 CH 15

    However, that was not the case.


    The magic tool for the planetarium I made was named ¡°the starry sky magic tool¡± by Rosalia, and it was decided to show off the splendid starry sky in my room every night.


    And just like that, Rosalia falls asleep in my bed with a happy face.


    Of course, Rosalia¡¯s personal servant is also with her. Is it my imagination that I have been feeling tired for the past few days?


    One day, when I was wondering how I could get her to sleep in her own room, I received a letter from my father in the Royal Capital.


    No doubt, this was in response to the letter Lionel had reported the other day. But my name was on it, not Lionel¡¯s.


    Did this come to me, not Lionel?


    I received a paper knife from the servant and cut the seal.


    ¡°What the hell is this? What kind of report did Lionel send? What do you mean by ¡®leave everything to Julius? Are you entrusting me with full authority? I¡¯m only seven years old.¡±


    ¡°Brother, what¡¯s wrong?¡±


    Rosalia, who was eating breakfast next to me, asked me worriedly. After patting Rosalia on the head, I tried to speak to her in a gentle tone.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I just got an unexpected reply. If I talk to Lionel, it will be resolved immediately.¡±


    I wasn¡¯t sure if she was convinced or not, but she didn¡¯t ask any more questions. Sometimes I¡¯m afraid I don¡¯t know what my sister is thinking. She has a good memory and she¡¯s more clever than I thought.


    As soon as breakfast is over,I go to the herb garden and water it. At that time, I tell the group guarding the herb garden that I am going to visit Lionel.


    I could have gone without contacting them, but perhaps the adventurer¡¯s guild might have some kind of report. I thought I should be ready for that.


    Upon arriving at the knight¡¯s quarters, he went straight to the office of the knight¡¯s commander. In the office, there were all the captains and vice-captains of each unit, including the head knight. There were fewer of them than last time because they had to escort the Margrave Heine family who were staying in the royal capital.


    ¡°Julius-sama, is there something wrong?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. This letter came to me today.¡±


    Saying that, I put the letter in front of Lionel. Lionel checks the letter.


    He doesn¡¯t say anything in particular, he¡¯s silent. Rather, he has a face like ¡°What is this about?¡±


    ¡°Lionel, what kind of letter did you send to my father?¡±


    ¡°I wrote it exactly as Julius-sama told me, but¡­ of course, it was a suggestion from Julius-sama.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s it! Why are you putting my name on it? You¡¯re putting me in command! Lionel is going to put a seven-year-old in command?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, well¡­ I think you¡¯re qualified.¡±


    ¡°Why!¡±


    Apparently I was the only one who thought so, and everyone in the room was constantly scratching their heads.


    ¡­¡­ Don¡¯t you guys think nothing of being commanded by a seven year old? In all likelihood, shouldn¡¯t Lionel, the Knight Commander, be in command?


    Ah, I see. Do you want me to appoint Lionel as commander with my authority? In that case, the Heine Margrave family took the lead and wielded their power. From the people of the territory, ¡°Margrave Heine is amazing! You can rely on him!¡±


    And if it fails, will you blame Lionel? ¡­this can¡¯t go wrong. That said, I can¡¯t stand in the lead and command.


    ¡°Lionel, I am appointing you Acting Commander in Chief in the event of an emergency. From now on, Lionel¡¯s orders are my orders. Everyone, be ready for that.¡±


    ¡°Yeah! Why don¡¯t you just lead it as it is, Julius-sama? Everyone will follow.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡±


    I looked around and everyone was looking at me with expectant eyes. Stop, don¡¯t look at me like that.


    ¡°No, no, no. You have to deal with the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, don¡¯t you? I need Lionel¡¯s help to make that go smoothly. Besides, you see, I have the important job of taking care of my sister. Plus, I have to make magic potions, right?¡±


    Through my desperate persuasion, Lionel and the others agreed, albeit reluctantly. Why do you people look at a seven-year-old like that? Is it bullying? Could it be a new kind of bullying?


    After transitioning to the new system, I thought I could finally take a breather, but that didn¡¯t happen. After lunch was over and I had put my sister to bed, I received an urgent call from the Knight Commander. Apparently, a report had come in from the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.


    I hurriedly headed to the Knights Commander¡¯s office.


    There were members of the squad with stern faces.


    ¡°Lionel, please report.¡±


    I have a bad feeling about this, but I have to ask. And we must decide on a policy.


    ¡°According to reports from the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, there is a large goblin settlement at this point in the Monster Forest. There are 300 goblins.¡±


    ¡°S-three hundred!?¡±


    ¡°Yes. And among them, the existence of higher species of goblins has been confirmed. According to the guild master, there may be goblin kings and goblin lords.¡±


    That would be a dark look. This can¡¯t be done by the Knights alone. We need to call in the troops. Even though I¡¯ve been entrusted with full authority, if I¡¯m going to move soldiers, I need to formalize it.


    We have to report to the government, and we also need to get the word out to the surrounding territories. If the goblin army comes out of the forest before then, it will cause tremendous damage.


    ¡°How should we proceed?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s ask the Adventurer¡¯s Guild for reinforcements. The Heine Margrave Knights and the Adventurer¡¯s Guild will deal with the matter together. Even if annihilation is impossible, if we can reduce the number, we can at least buy time. If we can do that, we can call up troops in the meantime. As long as we can do that, we won¡¯t lose.¡±


    ¡°That would leave the adventurers as pawns to be discarded¡­¡±


    ¡°I guess so. What¡¯s wrong ¡­¡­¡±


    Hmmm, everyone present pondered.


    If I could just hit them with my annihilation magic, that would be the end of it. I don¡¯t know what to do.

 CH 16

    Knights and adventurers gathered in the village closest to the forest where monsters live. The village is the closest to the goblin settlement discovered by the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.


    A simple fence made of wood had already been built around the village in case of emergency.


    ¡°Once again, I will explain the plan: adventurers of rank B or higher and the Knights will enter the goblin settlement and, at the same time, throw the ¡°Numb Ball¡± magic potion, which was kept in the possession of the Margrave Heine Knights, into the position where the goblins are densely concentrated.¡±


    Lionel was standing on a platform, explaining the situation to the knights and adventurers. Lionel was going to let me explain, but I convinced him, ¡°As expected, no one takes a seven-year-old boy¡¯s talk seriously.


    I may be trusted by the Knights Order, but that is only among my people.


    ¡°The effect is as I confirmed yesterday. Immediately, the ¡°numbness ball¡± will burst and the goblins around it will be incapacitated.¡±


    As a precaution, a demonstration of the Numb Ball was given yesterday. The effect was outstanding; even A-rank adventurers had been slowed down. Seeing this, no one doubted the effectiveness of the numbing balls.


    ¡°After confirming that the goblins are incapacitated, we and you will attack the higher species of goblins.¡±


    The people who seemed to be B-ranked or higher adventurers, dressed in more splendid equipment than other adventurers, nodded.


    ¡°Remaining adventurers, please wipe out all the goblins that have become incapacitated.¡±


    Everyone present nodded their heads.


    For the final check, Lionel and the others confirmed the position to throw the ¡°numbness ball¡±.


    The strategy is simple. Paralyze the goblins and annihilate them in the meantime.


    As I was thinking about minimizing the damage to us and destroying the goblin army, I had an epiphany. Come to think of it, I had harvested numb mushrooms and dust mushrooms the other day when I went to the monster forest.


    With these two types of mushrooms, they could have created an item that bursts upon impact, spreading an anomaly that slows their movement.


    I immediately told Lionel about it and had the entire knighthood working to collect the mushrooms.


    Thanks to that, I was able to collect quite a few materials. The problem is how to make it¡­ but the current situation of the Margrave Heine family helped me.


    Grandmother is in the royal capital. If that is the case, could we use the room and equipment that Grandma uses to make magic potions?


    Lionel was surprised at first, but he soon followed my opinion. The room was soon filled with mushrooms and I spent the rest of the day making numb balls.


    As a seven-year-old child, I fell into a lack of magical power. However, I managed to overcome it with the ¡°Elementary Magic Recovery Medicine¡± using the magic grass that was finally harvested.


    That¡¯s how I set up this strategy based on the completed numbness ball.


    The village is surrounded by wooden fences in case of failure. This is to evacuate the residents while being besieged.


    Well, if that happens, I¡¯m going to clean it all up with magic. I can only see the future when I¡¯m called ¡°Margrave Heine¡¯s child prodigy¡± and cause family troubles, but I can¡¯t make sacrifices to the people of the territory.


    ¡°Julius-sama, is everything all right?¡±


    As I was seeing off the departing ¡°goblin extermination team,¡± Christopher, who was standing next to me, asked me with a tremble in his voice.


    ¡°It¡¯ll work out¡±


    ¡°As expected of Julius-sama.¡±


    Gyre¡¯s voice is bouncing. This one seems to have a lot of leeway. Well, even if we miss, we¡¯ll have done a lot of damage to them, and I think we can handle it.


    There were birds flying away from the forest of monsters, gaping and screaming.


    Has it been two hours since then? The knight scouts have returned. His face is bright.


    ¡°Julius-sama, I report! The operation was a success! We are now rescuing the wounded and recovering the magic stones. The goblin army had a goblin lord, but the knights and adventurers worked together to take him out! There were some wounded, but not a single death.¡±


    Wow! And the villagers cheered. The village chief and the knights, who remained on guard, raised their voices together and exchanged high fives.


    ¡°Well done. Tell them to spare no expense in providing the magic potions.¡±


    ¡°As you wish!¡±


    After saying that, he bowed his head and immediately returned to the forest. We were very lucky that no one died. My stomach had been in knots since yesterday because I thought there would be some casualties.


    Well, I think I can finally feel at ease now. His legs were weak and he sat down on the chair.


    ¡°Julius-sama!?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s all right, Gyre. I¡¯ve just loosened up a bit, that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll bring you a drink right away!¡±


    Christopher rushed out. I wish he didn¡¯t have to worry so much. But you two are watching me very closely. As expected of my subordinates, isn¡¯t it?


    ¡°Julius-sama, how should I express my gratitude¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Village chief, as I said yesterday, this village is not at fault. We cleaned up the situation before it happened. Didn¡¯t we?¡±


    ¡°Certainly, if you just look at the facts, what would have happened to this village in the future if Julius-sama hadn¡¯t noticed¡­¡±


    ¡°No, it wasn¡¯t me who noticed, it was Lionel.¡±


    ¡°Even if you say so, everyone says it¡¯s all thanks to Julius-sama.¡±


    How did this happen? Who gave you that information? Lionel?¡¡It¡¯s Lionel, isn¡¯t it?¡¡Although he should take credit for it, he¡¯s a law-abiding man in a weird way. He¡¯s probably looked up to by his people as a stubborn old man. He¡¯s a troubled guy.

 CH 17

    The village was already in a festive mood.


    I don¡¯t understand that feeling. A wooden fence was suddenly built around the village, and all the villagers waited at home. Adventurers gather one after another. And the threat of the goblin army corps is announced.


    All those things have been resolved. The threat to the village has gone. That¡¯s a lot of festivities. But they haven¡¯t come back yet.


    Good grief, the villagers were already preparing for the feast ahead of time. I wonder if this is okay¡­


    ¡°Julius-sama, the knights have returned!¡±


    Gyre, who was watching the monster forest from the top of the haystack, raised his voice. When he looked, he saw a small group in the distance. The group carried the banner of Margrave Heine. There seems to be no doubt about it.


    ¡°Julius-sama, I have just returned.¡±


    ¡°Lionel, thanks for your hard work. I will hear the detailed report later. Now rest with everyone else. Thank you, Mister Abel.¡±


    ¡°Thanks to the Knight Order¡¯s treasured numbness ball, I was able to have a lot of fun. As expected, it didn¡¯t work against the Goblin lord, but I was able to slow down the movement of the goblin generals who were its entourage.¡±


    Mr. Abel is an A-rank adventurer active in the Heine Margrave territory. He was asked to lead the adventurers in this operation. He is just over 20 years old, but he is calm, collected and very reliable.


    ¡°It didn¡¯t work on the goblin lord, did it? Monsters with high resistance are really troublesome.¡±


    ¡°If it works that much, it¡¯s enough. I¡¯d love to see it sold to stabilise the hunt for monsters, though.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s something Grandma developed in secret. It might be difficult.¡±


    Of course it is a lie. I made the Numb Ball. It¡¯s not too difficult to make. But they are too effective. If I put them on the market in the absence of a proper antidote, they would surely be used in crimes and wars. I can¡¯t take that risk.


    ¡°And what, by the way, was that elementary recovery potion the Knights had? It¡¯s very effective for recovery and they were drinking it like it was nothing but water. When I asked my injured comrades, they said, ¡®It¡¯s just like water. So what was all that bad elementary recovery medicine before?¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s another magic potion the old lady is developing. Hopefully we can get a steady supply?¡±


    ¡°No, that one is already finished. You should put it up for sale now. I would buy it for three, even five times the price.¡±


    ¡°Five times!?¡±


    Apparently, it has turned out to be of considerable value. I have a desire to publish and expand the recipe for the benefit of the adventurers and the territory, but I¡¯m not old enough yet. At the very least, I need to graduate from the academy.


    But five times, I think I can make money. Some of the elementary recovery medicines that we provide to the Knights are being offered to adventurers¡­ no no no. Strengthening the Knights¡¯ strength is the top priority. After all, it is the Knights that protect our Margrave Heine.


    While Abel and I were talking, Lionel was thanking the adventurers for this operation. Applause can also be heard from the adventurers.


    ¡°Julius-sama, is there anything you would like to say?¡±


    Lionel spoke up. The eyes of the adventurers are focused on me. I don¡¯t have anything to say, but I think it¡¯s better to make the reward clear.


    ¡°All the magic stones obtained from this subjugation operation will be provided to the adventurers. From the sales price of the magic stones, the adventurer¡¯s guild will give you a solid reward according to the degree of danger and contribution to the mission. Apart from that, there are also commission rewards from Margrave Heine. Don¡¯t forget to receive it.¡±


    Wow! And there were louder voices and applause than before. They probably thought that the magic stones would be confiscated. But we won¡¯t do that. Rather than that, having connections with the adventurer¡¯s guild and adventurers is definitely more valuable.


    We don¡¯t want them to be unable to help us if something similar happens again.


    The members of the Knight Order may be dissatisfied. However, if you belong to the knight order, you can receive a fixed amount of money every month. It¡¯s not a flashy amount, but it will surely warm your pocket.


    ¡°Finally, one more thing. I¡¯ll give this to Mister Abel. When you return to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild in the capital, I want you to use it to cover your drinking expenses.¡±


    Saying that, I hand over the bag containing the money that I prepared in advance to Mr. Abel. Abel-san, who received it without thinking, panicked.


    ¡°No way! Julius-sama, it¡¯s too much for a reward!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. It¡¯s not a reward. It¡¯s a feeling of gratitude from me. It¡¯s money that came out of my pocket, so I want you to use it without worrying about it.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s just too much trouble!¡±


    ¡°Hey, Abel-dono, everyone expects you to pay for their drinks, don¡¯t they?¡±


    We saw adventurers looking at us. The majority of the adventurers have eyes full of anticipation. Mr Abel was grunting.


    ¡°I understand. Thank you very much.¡±


    Abel-san broke down, and the cheers went up again.


    ¡°Are you sure, Julius-sama? Is it okay if you use the military funds entrusted to you by the palace?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, Lionel. Better still, make sure you pay the people in the village who provided this meal for us.¡±


    ¡°¡­ Do you think they¡¯ll receive it?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve got to get on with it. If you spend that money in the territory, it will go round and round to generate tax revenue for the Heine frontier territory.¡±


    ¡°I understand. We¡¯ll see what we can do.¡±


    I¡¯ve put Lionel through a lot of hardship. And the members of the Knights have also helped us a lot, from gathering in the monster forest, to setting up the fence around the village, to the campaign to defeat the goblins. When we return to the mansion, I¡¯ll serve them some of Father¡¯s treasured sake and have a banquet.


    My father might be angry with me, but after all, I have full authority. What belongs to the Heine frontier count¡¯s family belongs to me. What belongs to me belongs to everyone. You should know what happens when you put all authority in my hands.


    My sister Rosalia must be worried, so I have to go home as soon as possible.

 CH 18

    After returning to the mansion, I immediately ordered the knights to rest for a few days. As expected, I can¡¯t let them all rest at the same time, so they¡¯ll have to take turns. Even so, they should be able to rest longer than usual.


    ¡°Is Julius-sama not resting?¡±


    ¡°Ah. Because nobles don¡¯t have holidays. It¡¯s like they¡¯re on holiday every day.¡±


    ¡°You won¡¯t get punished if you rest for a while, right?¡±


    In answer to Christopher¡¯s question, Gyre opened his mouth to vent.


    ¡°Of course, you guys can take a break. We¡¯re also taking a break from city inspections for a while. In the meantime, there¡¯s nothing special to do.¡±


    They make subtle faces at my words. They have not played an active role in this operation, and they must have mixed feelings about it. They are both seven-year-olds, so they should be happy to go and play, but they are strangely reserved.


    ¡°Julius-sama, you wanted to see me?¡±


    ¡°Oh, Lionel. Sorry about everything.¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about? We knights are Julius-sama¡¯s pawns. Please don¡¯t worry about it.¡±


    ¡°I see. Then I¡¯m going to hold a celebration party, so please inform all the Knights. The place is a dance hall. Also, there is no dress code. Come in your normal clothes.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡±


    ¡°Of course. I¡¯ve already told the chef.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    Lionel bowed his head and went back. Hmph, you¡¯d be surprised. After all, father¡¯s treasured sake is lined up there. Since it¡¯s a big deal, let¡¯s have the servants and the cooks in the mansion also participate. It¡¯s because of them that the Heine Margrave territory was protected. Rude, rude.


    Thus began the victory celebrations. As I had said, everyone was dressed comfortably. This way we don¡¯t have to worry about each other.


    The food and drinks went on and on. I also ate while feeding my sister, putting my manners aside.


    ¡°Oniisama, eating together is so much fun!¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. Meals are more fun when everyone eats together. See, are Gyre and Christopher eating too?¡±


    ¡°of course¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s kind of like a dream!¡±


    They both seem happy. Savoring the fine wine of victory should be a great experience.


    While the children were having fun being children in this way, a slightly pale Lionel came along.


    ¡°Julius-sama, where did this liquor come from?¡±


    ¡°Hmm? This? This is from my father¡¯s cellar.¡±


    ¡°I knew it.¡±


    Lionel looked up at the sky. On his face was written, ¡°No wonder it¡¯s so good.¡± But it¡¯s already open. Once you open it, the quality gets worse and worse, so you have to drink it.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t the head chef stop you?¡±


    ¡°They stopped me, but I told them I had permission and they complied.¡±


    ¡°Permission, you say?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ve got total authority.¡±


    Oh, Lionel shook his head left and right as he put his hand on his face. As expected, his father would never have expected him to do such a thing. Then he should have written, ¡°Except for the treasured liquor¡±.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, Lionel. Tomorrow is fine, you can give Father a report on this time.¡±


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be better if Julius-sama did it?¡±


    ¡°No one is going to be happy to see my writing that looks like a worm slithering about.¡±


    ¡°¡­ I understand.¡±


    Lionel sighed. I¡¯ve caused Lionel a lot of trouble, haven¡¯t I? Should I get him something else for later?¡¡Should it be my father¡¯s treasured liquor?¡¡But I wonder if he would indeed accept it. What should I do?


    The celebration continued late into the night.


    The next day, when I went to the medicinal herb garden, which was my morning routine, the knight was already watching the surroundings with sharp eyes.


    ¡°Good morning. Sorry about everything.¡±


    ¡°Good morning, Julius-sama! This herb garden is our lifeline. It deserves to be defended to the death!¡±


    Somehow, it¡¯s become a very important place. It was like a sacred place. My face felt a little tight.


    ¡°Yes, is there something needed other than magic potions?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ I have trouble with insect bites during the expedition. I can¡¯t take off my armor even if it¡¯s itchy, so my concentration gets distracted.¡±


    ¡°I see. Then you need an anti-itch, no, you should have some insect repellent spray.¡±


    ¡°Bug repellent spray?¡±


    ¡°Ah, no, it¡¯s just a story. Thank you for your valuable opinion. It was helpful.¡±


    ¡°No, not at all!¡±


    A knight saluting with a stiff salute. I don¡¯t have insect repellent spray, but I do have ¡°insect repellent incense¡±. There is also an anti-itch ointment. In the game they were just items for delivery quests, but when you think about it, they are useful in real life.


    There may be a lot of items I¡¯m missing. All the magic potions I had in mind were items that were useful in battle. Maybe I should consider promoting magic potions from a commoner¡¯s perspective.


    The ingredients needed to make insect repellents and anti-itch products happen to be grown in this medicinal herb garden as well. I was actually thinking of making herbal tea, but now I have another use for it.


    This is getting too cramped in the current medicinal herb garden. I won¡¯t be able to leave the mansion for a while, so let¡¯s work on expanding the medicinal herb garden.


    If there are materials I need, I¡¯ll ask the Adventurers¡¯ Guild for them. This time, we¡¯ve developed a deeper relationship with them in many ways, and I think I can ask them for help a little more easily. It turned out to be a subjugation strategy that was fruitful in various ways.

 CH 19

    Until my family came back from the royal capital, I had an idea to borrow the old lady¡¯s workshop and make magic potions. However, if I move the tools in the workshop any further, the old lady might get suspicious.


    I¡¯m going to return the tools I¡¯ve used so far to the same place exactly. But there was a great possibility that they might have shifted a little.


    Therefore, I decided that it would be dangerous to work here any longer, and after the goblin subjugation operation was over, I didn¡¯t enter at all. Of course, I¡¯m feeling a bit backward. I wish I had another room. No, wait.


    I headed to the lodgings of the Knight Order, which I often visit recently.


    ¡°Oh, Lionel, I have a question, can I build my workshop in a corner of the lodge?¡±


    ¡°Julius-sama, we have discussed the subject between us. We have come to the conclusion that it would be impossible.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because there are no Potions Masters in the Knights. Without a Potions Master, we can¡¯t get the tools we need. And then we wouldn¡¯t have room.¡±


    ¡°If you put it that way, yes. If you don¡¯t have the qualifications, you can¡¯t buy the tools¡±


    ¡°Yes¡±


    Shame. It seems that I can¡¯t have my own workshop until I finish school. I have no choice, so I will have to make do with the ¡®Laboratory¡¯ skill as before.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. I brought you a new potion.¡±


    I handed Lionel some ¡®insect repellent incense¡¯ and ¡®anti-itch ointment¡¯. He was pleased when I told him about the benefits and how to use them.


    ¡°This is a great help. We were all in trouble. Let¡¯s have them use it immediately on the next expedition¡­Julius-sama, is this also a secret?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Or did my grandmother ever make the same thing?¡±


    ¡°¡­I don¡¯t think so.¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s that then.¡±


    ¡°At your service.¡±


    Lionel looks very sad. Maybe he¡¯s unhappy that my achievements aren¡¯t being publicised. I don¡¯t care about that at all.


    After graduating from school safely and becoming a high-ranking magic pharmacist, I won¡¯t hold back.


    It seems that the magic potion I gave was used immediately, and there were already requests such as ¡°It was the best¡± and ¡°I want more¡±.


    I feel like I have more magical power these days, probably because I have been squeezing it to the limit every day. I¡¯ve obviously been able to maintain my ¡®laboratory¡¯ skills for longer than before, so I¡¯ve been able to make a few more. But it¡¯s just that one has turned into two or three.


    As I continued to make magic potions like that, I received news that my family was coming back from the royal capital.


    Before that, there was a letter from my father regarding the goblin subjugation. There was just one phrase written on it: ¡°Well-done.¡± ¡­¡­I¡¯m kind of scared.


    As I waited at the entrance with my heart pounding, I saw a family that hadn¡¯t changed at all from when they left for the royal capital.


    ¡°Julius, Rosalia, you look the same.¡±


    ¡°Welcome, home¡±


    ¡°Welcome, home!¡±


    When I greeted my father, my mother¡¯s favourite Rosalia flew to my mother. Oh dear, now my part in this is finally over. The days of sleeping with Rosalia every night are over. From today onwards, I will be able to sleep peacefully.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, I have a souvenir for the two of you who were good children.¡±


    ¡°Thank you¡±


    ¡°Thank you¡±


    Somehow later, the servants were carrying a lot of boxes into the mansion. This will be the talk of the royal capital for a while.


    There was a time when I thought so, but to be honest, I also had it. Right now, I¡¯m being called to my father¡¯s office. Lionel was waiting next to me.


    Is this that, or a scolding for having shared my father¡¯s treasured liquor?


    ¡°Julius, sit down there. Then everyone except Lionel, get out.¡±


    Oops, someone paid. This might have really pissed my father off. I¡¯ve never been scolded by my father before, but what kind of feeling will it be? I¡¯m a little excited.


    ¡°Julius, Lionel has told me some of the story. But I want you to tell me the details. Lionel told me that you are making potions.¡±


    Ghee! You betrayed me, Lionel! Lionel lowered his eyes apologetically.


    ¡°Julius, don¡¯t blame Lionel. As Margrave Heine, I need to know everything. Otherwise I wouldn¡¯t be able to cover for you if something happened to you, would I?¡±


    ¡°¡­Aren¡¯t you angry?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m inclined to be angry. But I am sure that if Julius had not provided the magic potion, the damage would have been much worse. I have to admit that.¡±


    ¡°What of the sharing of father¡¯s treasured liquor?¡±


    ¡°¡­I gave you, Julius, full authority. Of course, no question.¡±


    He said with a bitter look on his face. Apparently, he is responding to a great deal of it.


    Is there anything I can do about the things that have been found out? If my father will be my backing, it would be better to rely on him without hesitation. He trusted me so much that he entrusted me with full authority. I should repay that trust.


    I told my father and Lionel what had happened so far.


    ¡°Honestly, I can¡¯t believe it. But it¡¯s actually there. So I have to believe it.¡±


    ¡°Julius-sama, I swear I will never reveal this to anyone.¡±


    But hey, Lionel, you¡¯ve already told on me. I guess Lionel also acted thinking about me and the Heine Margrave family. I admit that. But I think it would be nice to have some advice. There¡¯s something to be prepared for here too.


    Father let out a deep sigh.


    ¡°Julius, do you think my mother would accept this?¡±


    ¡°What about the old lady? ¡­¡­ I think it¡¯s difficult. When I asked her once if she wouldn¡¯t make new potions, she said, ¡®I don¡¯t want to ruin my house¡¯.¡±


    ¡°I see. Because quite a few houses were purged at that time. ¡­¡­¡±


    I don¡¯t know what happened, but it seems that there was something important about the potions when Grandma was young. I¡¯ll have a sneak peek at it later.


    ¡°Julius, for the time being, please use your own method to provide the knights with magic potions.The sale price can be whatever amount you wish.¡±


    ¡°Then it¡¯s free of charge. After all, I¡¯m a human experimenter.¡±


    ¡°I see, that¡¯s a good excuse.¡­¡­you¡¯re not greedy at all. It¡¯s more troublesome than I thought.¡±


    ¡°Of course that¡¯s true. Because I¡¯m father¡¯s child.¡±


    Father sighed deeply again, and Lionel smiled wryly.

 CH 20

    The secret talk is over. In the end, I don¡¯t think it was a bad result.


    I was able to get the reassuring backing of my father, and it became easier to consult with Lionel. It became easier for me to consult with Lionel, which means that it became easier to obtain materials for magic potions.


    ¡°Lionel, please secure materials for the Numbness Ball.¡±


    I approached Lionel on my way to the salon with Father and the others. I hadn¡¯t made a number of them, thinking that once Father returned, they wouldn¡¯t be used on a large scale any more.


    It became possible to use it because it was accepted by my father. Then we need them in numbers.


    ¡°Can¡¯t you grow it?¡±


    ¡°I can do it, but I need logs. And there are no logs.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, it seems that the magic potion called ¡®Numbness Ball¡¯ was very effective, right? Julius, don¡¯t hesitate. You can grow them in your garden.¡±


    Father seemed to appreciate the magic potion that nullified the goblins and weakened the higher-ranked goblin generals.


    In that case, I also asked Lionel to secure the logs. If you can get materials in a stable manner, the production of magic potions will also progress.


    ¡°Brother!¡±


    ¡°Excuse me, Julius, I need to have a word with you.¡±


    At the salon, my mother and my sister Rosalia were waiting for me. In Rosalia¡¯s hand is the ¡®star magic tool¡¯ I made. Did I perhaps do something again?


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    Father and I sat in the same seat. Lionel is in the back. When I glanced at my father, he had a face that said, ¡°You¡¯re still doing other things? There¡¯s nothing I can do about this¡±.


    ¡°I heard you made this magic tool?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but¡­¡±


    ¡°I hear it seems to be a magic tool that can show the starry sky.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    As if impressed, Father raised his voice. Now it seems that Father has accepted that I can not only make magic potions, but also magical tools.


    ¡°Rosalia was so proud of it. She said this magical tool gave her lots of stories before she went to bed.¡±


    Oh sure. We talked about the constellations that I made up on the spot. Rosalia was happy when I made up a suitable constellation and made up a story like that using a story from a picture book.


    ¡°Is that so¡±


    ¡°Yes, I know. So, you know, would you mind performing for us tonight?¡±


    Is this it, is this something that I have to do in front of everyone? This is getting bigger and bigger. It was supposed to be a little present for Rosalia.


    ¡°I understand¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll look forward to it. By the way, Julius, who taught you how to make it?¡±


    ¡°Ah, er, I had an idea when I took apart the lamp¡¯s magic circle. I wondered if I could use this light-emitting magic circle to project a starry sky on the ceiling and walls at night.¡±


    ¡°Really? you have a habit of joining hands when you lie, right?¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    I looked at my hands without thinking. Yeah, I¡¯m not joining hands. Because not long ago, I had my hands on my knees.


    ¡°Of course it¡¯s a lie.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°So what¡¯s really going on?¡±


    Shit! I¡¯ve been framed! You¡¯re usually calm, but why are you sharp only at times like this? So you¡¯re not playing the wife of Margrave Heine?


    ¡°Amelia, I¡¯ll talk about that later.¡±


    ¡°Father.¡±


    ¡°It would be better for Julius too. It¡¯s better to have a lot of reliable collaborators after all.¡±


    I nodded silently. Mother probably guessed it too, so she didn¡¯t say anything more. However, perhaps because she felt a disturbing atmosphere, Rosalia began to tremble. She must have noticed that the magic tools she boasted about were progressing in a bad direction. She is a smart girl.


    Rosalia held the ¡®star magic tool¡¯ as if to hide it. She is already teary-eyed.


    ¡°Oh, Rosalia! No, no. I¡¯m not picking on Julius.¡±


    In a hurry, mother joins the follow-up. Rosalia is the only girl among her own children. She must be cute. She began to soothe Rosalia, who was beginning to falter.


    ¡°Julius, do you have any other magic tools you made?¡±


    ¡°I made a magic tool for material preservation.¡±


    ¡°I see. Show me later.¡±


    ¡°I understand¡±


    Not only have they found out that I¡¯m making magic potions, but that I¡¯m also making magical tools. Now that we¡¯ve come this far, the rest is just going to have to happen.


    ¡°Julius, there you are.¡±


    ¡°Brother Alex, Brother Cain! How was the royal capital?¡±


    ¡°Ah, it was really crowded. Compared to the royal capital, our territorial capital has a long way to go.¡±


    The two who came to the salon sat down in an empty seat. What a bold statement in the presence of your father. It may be true, but it¡¯s a bit frightening. Look, your father is smiling wryly at you.


    ¡°Alex, there is no capital in this country that is better than the royal capital.¡±


    ¡°Maybe so, but that doesn¡¯t mean you should give up. If you take advantage of the unique characteristics of our capital, you should be able to come close.¡±


    ¡°Huh? What exactly are you going to do about it?¡±


    ¡°That is¡­¡­¡±


    Brother Alex stuttered. Well, you can talk about ideals all you want. And without concrete proposals, nothing will change. I think my father wanted to point that out.


    ¡°What about Cain? Do you have any ideas on how we can make this capital city more lively?¡±


    Brother Alex is now twelve years old. He will be attending a school in the Royal Capital next year. Brother Cain, on the other hand, is ten years old. It is probably time for him to put more effort into his studies instead of just playing around.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s right, especially¡­¡±


    Brother Cain¡¯s face said, ¡°Brother Alex got me in trouble!¡± A little cute. I feel a bit sorry for him. Don¡¯t lose, Brother Cain. It¡¯s your job to assist your brother Alex.


    ¡°How about you then, Julius?¡±


    What? Me? Why do you ask me who hasn¡¯t been to the Royal Capital?

 CH 21

    Not only my father¡¯s gaze, but also my mother¡¯s gaze is facing this way. It seems that my mother has also locked on to me regarding the magic tool I mentioned earlier. I didn¡¯t hear that.


    ¡°Well, I think a strong knight order is necessary to strengthen the defense of the Margrave Heine territory. So, how about a martial arts tournament?¡±


    ¡°A martial arts tournament, huh? If that¡¯s the case, there¡¯s a big tournament going on in the Royal Capital. People might not come all the way down here.¡±


    Father is thinking with his hand on his chin. Does he think there might be a chance of that?¡¡But he said it lacks a definitive answer.


    ¡°Then¡­ how about horse racing?¡±


    ¡°Horse racing?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure horse breeding is popular around here, isn¡¯t it? Horses that are proudly bred in various places are run in races. And people who come to see them bet on which horse will come out on top.¡±


    ¡°Bet?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. The money that everyone bets on it is split between the people who win the best horse in the competition. And we make our money from the entry fee.¡±


    ¡°What a surprise.¡±


    ¡°Oh dear.¡±


    It¡¯s only a single win, but in a world where entertainment is scarce, it can be a good deal of fun, can¡¯t it? Heine Margrave territory still has surplus land. Turning that corner into a racetrack would be a simple matter.


    My father and mother began to worry about my thoughts.


    ¡°It looks like it¡¯s going to be quite interesting. Along with providing entertainment to the people of the territory, the horses in the territory will be appealing. If the quality of the horses improves, it will also increase our strength. Maybe we could even get purchases from other territories.¡±


    Lionel has a happy face. Come to think of it, Lionel¡¯s hobby was horseback riding. I guess he thinks he might get a good horse.


    I¡¯m just thinking that if horse racing becomes famous people will come.


    ¡°Right. Let¡¯s try it as one of the knights¡¯ entertainment first.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. It¡¯s also training for horseback riding, so it won¡¯t be wasted.¡±


    Thus, the horse race I proposed was held. First of all, we have to set a firm rule here. Ah, if you put out a stall, it might be crowded.


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll leave the rule-making and administration to Julius. He seems to be working well with the Knights.¡±


    That is certainly true. I probably have the best relationship with the knights. I might be the right man for the job. But what about my two older brothers? They might have a rivalry with me. Besides, would you let a cute seven-year-old do that?


    ¡°Uh¡­¡±


    ¡°Of course you will have a guardian. Lionel, can you do that for me?¡±


    ¡°Of course¡±


    ¡°Now, let¡¯s get on with it.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­I understand¡±


    If Lionel is behind it, good. They¡¯ll decide that it¡¯s an event led by Lionel, not me, a seven-year-old. The people of the territory will.


    I don¡¯t think the members of the Knights order will be able to cheat. In fact, they¡¯re going to do their best to promote it. We have to make the first move and keep them quiet.


    I looked at my two older brothers, but they were dumbfounded as if they weren¡¯t able to comprehend the situation. You¡¯ll find out soon enough when it actually starts working.


    ¡°Alex oniisama, you went to the academy as well, didn¡¯t you? How was the academy in the royal capital?¡±


    It was quite unreasonable, but I blatantly changed the subject. If I continue this conversation any longer, I might get ragged. It would be safer not to mention it.


    ¡°Huh? Oh, it was really big. Was it more than three times the size of our capital¡¯s school? There was even a church on the school grounds.¡±


    ¡°A church? The campus has become like a town.¡±


    ¡°Yes. Julius is not wrong. There was even a shop on campus.¡±


    This isn¡¯t like another town, it¡¯s one town. Large scale. The scale is huge. As you¡¯d expect from a place where talented students and heirs of noble families gather from all over the country. I¡¯m the third son, so I go to school in the territorial capital, but I thought it looked a bit interesting.


    ¡°You¡¯re going to commute from the school dormitory, right? What was the dormitory like?¡±


    ¡°Fufufu, Julius seems to be worried about the dormitory as well. Cain asked me a lot about it.¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m curious. Julius and I won¡¯t be able to experience dorm life.¡±


    My brother Cain interjected as if he was out of his mind. The reason Brother Cain went to the Royal Capital this time was to see what it was like. By the way, I have never been to the Royal Capital yet. I guess that means it¡¯s still too early for me.


    ¡°The dormitory room was smaller than my room here at home?¡¡But they were all furnished with desks, chairs and beds. That seems to be the same for everyone.¡±


    ¡°Is it to eliminate the difference in status?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. That¡¯s why the princess seems to have the same conditions.¡±


    ¡°Princess!¡±


    I raised my voice unintentionally. I knew that, but are there really princesses in this world? Since I¡¯ve come all the way to another world, I¡¯d like to see her at least once.


    Oh, Rosalia is a bit bloated.


    ¡°I would have liked to have seen her once, but I guess I¡¯ll have to wait until next year.¡±


    ¡°Next year? Could it be that she is in the same grade as Alex Oniisama?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right. Maybe I can become friends with the princess.¡±


    Oh, that¡¯s a dream come true. If you can get along with the royal family, you¡¯ll be able to sip delicious juice. I have to ask my brother to do his best.


    ¡°Julius seems to have a thing for princesses.¡±


    ¡°Yes. Hopefully I can make a lot of money.¡±


    ¡°I see, money. Julius seems to be the type to pursue reality, not dreams.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s it. Dreams don¡¯t make your stomach growl.¡±


    Everyone laughed at my statement. It felt like my family was finally back.

 CH 22

    Due to the flow of the story, I ended up hosting a horse race, so I spent a busy day working out ideas while making magic potions.


    The unveiling of the ¡°starry magical tool¡± that took place afterwards, before bedtime, was a bit of a hot topic of conversation for some time.


    The first time mother and the female servants saw it, they liked it very much. And finally I started getting orders for those magical tools. As expected, I had no intention of becoming a magic tool maker, so I immediately made a blueprint and sold it to the mage in charge of the Margrave Heine household.


    It seems that the magic tool master¡¯s workshop is now mass-producing and selling them. Demand seems to be higher than expected. I¡¯m getting a portion of the sales. I don¡¯t know why, but I have a source of income.


    ¡°No~, you get more money than you spend.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t have to collect the money for the drink at that time?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind. I was just watching. I need to contribute at least a little.¡±


    Right now, I came to inspect the racetrack with the sweets I bought in the territorial capital. The location is right outside the capital. They had carved out an untouched wilderness and built a racetrack.


    This plan, which at first seemed foolhardy, was being carried out as I taught the wizards of the Knights Order the magic of levelling the ground and shattering stones and stumps in the way, so that a flat clearing was being formed.


    The trees that used to grow there have been reused as benches and fences. The track is oval-shaped and can be run for long distances. Even now, the knights are diligently driving stakes into the ground. At first I was going to hire someone to help them, but due to the passionate requests of the knights, they are now helping us.


    The magic is also unlimited, so it is finished at a much faster efficiency.


    ¡°Julius-sama, at this pace, the racecourse will be completed by the middle of next week.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a lot faster than I thought. I thought it would take more than a month, but it¡¯s amazing that you could get it done in a little over two weeks.¡±


    ¡°No, this is also because Julius-sama taught me some useful magic.¡±


    ¡°Everyone was honest and helpful¡±


    Apparently, the knights¡¯ loyalty to me is extremely high. It¡¯s probably because I¡¯m holding the knight order¡¯s magic potion. If I turn my back on them, they¡¯ll have to drink that ghoulish magic potion again.


    After giving the knights working at the racetrack a supply of food, they headed straight for the territorial capital. These days, the pattern of his behaviour is to stroll around the city after inspecting the racetrack.


    The time is about three in the afternoon, but the streets are busy and full of activity. I was told that the Royal Capital is even more amazing, but for me, this is about right. Not too many, not too few.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that you, Julius-sama!¡±


    ¡°Well, well, well. Isn¡¯t it Abel-dono?¡±


    While I was choosing fruits as souvenirs for Rosalia, Abel, an A-rank adventurer, came over. If he¡¯s in town at this hour, does that mean he¡¯s not working as an adventurer today?


    His companions, Gyre and Christopher, also greet him. Their eyes are shining, probably because of their admiration for A-rank adventurers.


    ¡°I heard. Sounds like you¡¯ve started something interesting.¡±


    ¡°Interesting things? Horse racing? Who the hell told you that?¡±


    ¡°The other day, when I was doing a request in the monster forest, I asked a knight who had come to gather materials. Something about running horses and trying to place bets?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s certainly not wrong, though. I just thought I¡¯d offer a bit of entertainment to the Knights Order, which has always looked after me.¡±


    I wonder why. Abel¡¯s eyes are shining on me. Is he interested?¡¡But I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going to happen yet.


    ¡°Is it impossible for public participants to join the horse race?¡±


    I knew it. What do we do?¡¡If we allow the general public to participate, it could end up being a massive event. If we do that without any know-how, I can only see a future of failure.


    But on the other hand, I also want opinions from people other than the Knights. It is better to keep the available data.


    ¡°Well, it may be possible if it¡¯s limited to adventurers. Still, I¡¯d have to ask my father to see what would happen.¡±


    ¡°Really! Well, let me tell you. We¡¯re starved for entertainment too. We have cards and other betting games, but that¡¯s all we do, we get bored.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, it seems that there is still a lack of entertainment in the capital. Maybe it would have been better if we had theatre and concerts like in the royal capital. ¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°I think it¡¯s impossible for adventurers to attend plays and concerts¡­¡±


    Abel gave me a subtle look. After all, it seems that those kinds of things are still seen as aristocratic games. If that¡¯s the case, do we need to create a recreation that is more acceptable to the masses?


    It¡¯s troublesome to instil the rules of chess and shogi, so why not make up some easy-looking darts? It could also be used to improve the skills of adventurers.


    Having somehow decided on my next course of action, I parted ways with Abel-san and returned home in high spirits.


    The day of the first race has arrived. Due to a prior arrangement with his father, only adventurers were allowed to participate. Initially, it was planned that only the knights would participate, but the servants who serve the Margrave Heine family also decided to take part at short notice. They were still hungry for entertainment.


    Admission is free this time. Anyway, the problem is whether the stakes can be deposited and properly distributed. Unless we get through this situation well, we won¡¯t be able to run horse racing.


    Information on the horses was compiled in advance by the knights¡¯ horse-riding enthusiast members. In order to be equally fast, as a handicap, the faster horses were to be ridden by knights in armour.


    The horse¡¯s performance, the rider¡¯s performance and the armour. We all make predictions based on this information.


    ¡°Now, what will happen?¡±


    ¡°The top jockey will get a reward. Everyone is serious about it.¡±


    Lionel looks happy. No, it¡¯s not just Lionel. Everyone here was getting into a festive mood for the first time. Of course, we asked for stalls. The shops that were invited seemed to be busy.


    ¡°Then, we will hold the first Heine Margrave horse race to commemorate!¡±


    A voice, magnified by magic, rang out. This man was a great horse enthusiast and took the role of a horse race promoter


    Horses walk through the paddock. While watching the situation, they determine which horse is in good condition. Some people had a serious look on their face, while others had already purchased their betting tickets, perhaps on intuition. Each betting ticket is sold for one small silver coin.


    After a while, the dividend will be announced. As for the first rail, the three-frame ¡°White Horse¡± seems to be popular. By the way, I was the one who suggested naming the horses. It would be more fun that way.


    The White Horse took first place, as expected. And for each ticket purchased, two small silver coins and six copper coins were refunded. Laughter and screams were heard from everywhere.


    But they all had happy smiles on their faces. Is it ok for the time being?

 CH 23

    The highest payout in the first Margrave Heine horse race was six small silver coins per betting ticket. In other words, it was six times the maximum.


    It was the first time and it was a single win, so that¡¯s about it. Still, everyone seemed to enjoy it. As soon as we started, we heard that we were already inundated with inquiries asking when the next horse race would be held.


    ¡°It¡¯s more crowded than I thought it would be, Father.¡±


    ¡°Julius, this is a project led by my clan.¡±


    ¡°Is that all?¡±


    ¡°Yes. If we expand the scale, we will be able to attract customers from other territories.¡±


    If you can attract customers from other territories, you will be able to sell the products of the territorial capital. In that case, the tax revenue will also increase, so he must be very grateful as Margrave Heine. If distribution improves, the roads will be improved, which is a good thing.


    ¡°In that case, from now on, you, father, should be the center of this business, not me.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure? I¡¯m going to have to steal some of the credit for your work. ¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°If a seven-year-old was the organizer, other people would laugh at him.¡±


    ¡°Maybe so.¡±


    Even though I said that, my father didn¡¯t seem convinced. You don¡¯t have to worry about taking credit for my work. From my point of view, it¡¯s a big help because I don¡¯t have to do any more unnecessary work.


    In this way, I was able to successfully hand over full authority to my father.


    After that, the scale gradually increased, and horse racing spread not only to the Spencer Kingdom but also to other countries.


    When the new year began, the Margrave Heine family became busy. In the spring, his eldest son, Alex, will enter the academy in the royal capital. At the moment, they were busy preparing for this.


    At the academy, everyone lives in dormitories. That means they have to do everything themselves.


    ¡°Good morning, Brother Alex. Your tie is a bit crooked.¡±


    ¡°Oh, thank you Julius. It¡¯s not easy getting used to doing it all by myself.¡±


    When he fixed his necktie, Alex-oniisama had his eyebrows curled up. There is still time until the entrance ceremony. He just needs to be able to do it on his own by then.


    ¡°I think you better have another look in the mirror before you leave the room.¡±


    ¡°I do, I look in the mirror, but I just can¡¯t help but miss it.¡±


    ¡°Then it¡¯s pointing and calling.¡±


    ¡°Pointing and calling?¡±


    ¡°Yes. You go up to the mirror and say, from the top, ¡®Good haircut, good complexion, good tie, good belt, good footwear, be safe!¡¯ ¡® and pointing in the mirror to make sure they are safe.¡±


    ¡°Is it the last safe thing you¡¯re doing? Well, okay, now that Julius has suggested it, let¡¯s give it a go.¡±


    It is important to be conscious and check everything. In order to avoid getting into a rut, it is better to actually move your body instead of just thinking about it in your head.


    Perhaps my suggestion worked, because since then, Brother Alex¡¯s clothes have never been out of place.


    ¡°A tea party?¡±


    When the snow melted and the cold began to loosen, my mother approached me about a tea party. As the new year approaches, I will also be eight years old. At that age, all the children attend a ¡®tea party¡¯ together, which is one step before their social debut.


    Personally, I don¡¯t want to go there because I think it¡¯s a waste of time, but I had no choice but to go because I¡¯m the most powerful person in the area. Well, I don¡¯t mind, because I¡¯m with both my brothers, Alex and Cain.


    Incidentally, my sister Rosalia is staying at home. She is not yet ready as a five-year-old.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. It will be held at the Viscount Riordan¡¯s house next door. It¡¯s very close to our family, and I think it¡¯s the perfect place for you to attend for the first time.¡±


    ¡°I understand. It¡¯ll be my pleasure.¡±


    ¡°I was hoping you would say that.¡±


    After saying that, my mother gave me a kiss on the cheek. I wonder which clothes I¡¯ll wear from now on. For mothers, children are like moving dolls.


    I¡¯ll have to play the part of a normal kid at the tea party. I wish Gyre and Christopher could have been there, but neither of them is a noble, so they can¡¯t.


    It may be time for me to make friends with nobles.


    The day of the tea party arrived. I got into the carriage with my brother Alex and my brother Cain and we headed for the Viscount Riordan¡¯s house. Would this be the last tea party for Alex oniisama?


    By the time he graduates from school, Alex-oniisama should be 15 years old. And from the age of fifteen, he is considered an adult and should then be able to attend adult social events.


    ¡°You seem nervous, Julius.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true. I don¡¯t have any friends other than Gyre and Christopher.¡±


    Hearing that, Brother Alex and Brother Cain are laughing.


    ¡°Come to think of it, Julius didn¡¯t have any girl friends either.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right, but¡­ could it be that you both have them!?¡±


    ¡°Of course. I hope Julius finds a nice girl at this tea party.¡±


    This is the margin as the last son. It¡¯s kind of very frustrating. If this happens, I¡¯ll find a girlfriend and show her off.


    I thought so, but the reality was harsh.


    The cause was the ¡°Magic Tool of the Stars¡± for which I sold the blueprint to the magic tools maker. Wherever it leaked from, it was spreading that I was the designer..


    It made the girls gather around me. I was completely taken back by their ferociousness, as if they were enjoying the hunt. Women are scary.

 CH 24

    After escaping from the beast-like group of women, I managed to retreat and eat some sweets when my two brothers arrived.


    ¡°It seems like it was a mess.¡±


    ¡°Dear brother Alex! As you may have guessed ¡­¡­. This won¡¯t help me make friends, or girl friends for that matter.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s tough being popular~¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not the time to laugh, brother Cain! Please do something.¡±


    ¡°Even if you say so.¡±


    The boy participants showed obvious hostility when they saw the girls swarming around me. That¡¯s right. If almost all the girls were coming to me, they¡¯d have to be jealous. Thoho. I wanted to make friends with the nobility.


    ¡°Hmm? That child seems to be alone.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Isn¡¯t that girl, I believe, Baroness Fabienne d¡¯Ambert?¡±


    ¡°You are very detailed, Alex brother.¡±


    ¡°I check all the girls around my age.¡±


    ¡°¡­ be careful not to get stabbed from behind at school.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like that.¡±


    Even as he said that, his face was tense. It¡¯s all right for you to be a playboy, but make sure you keep yourself safe. There are no guards or servants at the academy.


    ¡°We might get on well together, one against the other. I¡¯m off for a bit.¡±


    ¡°That girl doesn¡¯t talk much, so be patient.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for the valuable information¡±


    After thanking Alex onii-sama, I headed to Baron Ambert¡¯s daughter. She looked up as if she noticed me approaching. However, her bangs are long and I can¡¯t see her face well.


    ¡°Hello. I¡¯m Julius, the third son of Margrave Heine. Excuse me, but you must be Baroness Fabienne of Ambert?¡±


    ¡°W-why did you do that¡­¡±


    Surprised, she raised her voice like a trembling kitten. I don¡¯t know what it is, but I¡¯m intrigued by the desire to protect it. Is it because she looks like a small animal?


    ¡°I was taught by Alex Oniisama. Would you like to talk to me if you don¡¯t mind?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s, uh¡­ ah, I¡¯m Fabienne Ambert.¡±


    Well, what do you want to talk about? Well, according to my brother¡¯s advice, I¡¯ll have to take the lead. Yes, let¡¯s talk about the plants I grow in my garden. These days I grow not only ingredients for magic potions, but also ordinary flowers for camouflage. I¡¯m sure girls would be interested in that.


    This strategy seems to have succeeded, and Miss Fabienne has taken a bite.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. During the winter, I was only able to grow turnips, so I can¡¯t wait for spring to come. Turnips are nice, but I¡¯d really like to have some flowers.¡±


    ¡°Oh, turnips? You grow some very nice things.¡±


    ¡°What did Julius-sama grow during the winter?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­¡±


    You talk a lot, this girl. It¡¯s not quite what I expected. But, well, that¡¯s okay. It¡¯s a lot better than looking gloomy.


    ¡°White mint and vanilla sage during the winter.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of either plant. What kind of plants are they?¡±


    ¡°These two were collected in the monster forest. They make a good flavour when mixed with sweets.¡±


    ¡°So it¡¯s a scented plant. It looks interesting. I¡¯ll have to try growing some next time.¡±


    Of course it can be used to flavour sweets, but I use it as an ingredient in potions. It is mainly used to mask the strong smell of the potion, but even so it makes a big difference. White mint also has a refreshing effect, making it perfect for mixing into ointments.


    Oh dear. I¡¯ve managed to play a minimal role now. It would be great if I could make one more male friend, but that might be a bit tough.


    As I was thinking this, a boy approached me.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you the son of Margrave Julius Heine?¡±


    A sparkling handsome boy spoke to me. The guy seemed to know me, but I didn¡¯t know who he was.


    ¡°Yes, but what about you?¡±


    ¡°My apologies for the delay. I¡¯m Edward Yumel. Let¡¯s get to know each other.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re from the Viscount Yumel family. I¡¯m Julius. This is Baroness Fabienne Ambert.¡±


    ¡°Uh, I¡¯m Fabienne.¡±


    Edward took Miss Fabienne¡¯s hand and kissed it. He¡¯s a very cheeky guy. Maybe that¡¯s why he¡¯s a botch.


    ¡°Even so, I was surprised. There was someone other than me who attracted the attention of girls.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m a bit famous for the ¡®Magic Tool of the Star¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Magic tool of the stars! I wanted one too, but I couldn¡¯t buy it because it was expensive.¡±


    ¡°What! Even though the necessary materials are cheap and easy to make!?¡±


    Come on, what the hell kind of price are you selling it for? Are you ripping us off?¡¡You¡¯re going to lose your customers¡¯ trust.


    ¡°Is the rumour that Julius-sama developed it true?¡±


    ¡°Is that so!?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, well¡­¡±


    I guess this is how rumours spread. I had to look away.


    Secrets will be found out one day. I guess they¡¯ll eventually find out that I¡¯m making magic potions, too. I don¡¯t want to think about that just yet.


    ¡°I¡¯m also interested in magic tools. Do you have any tips for developing them?¡±


    ¡°Here¡¯s the trick. For now, it¡¯s good to start by disassembling the lamp magic tool.¡±


    ¡°Disassembling the lamp magic tool?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. First, try to make a lamp magic tool. That¡¯s the first step. The ¡®star magic tool¡¯ was also inspired by lamp magic tools.¡±


    ¡°I see. I¡¯ll try to disassemble it as soon as I get home.¡±


    Edward takes it honestly. Apparently he¡¯s a narcissist, but he doesn¡¯t seem like a bad guy. I thought he had something against me, but it seems he was simply interested.


    ¡°Can I make one too?¡±


    ¡°I think it¡¯s probably fine, but¡­ by any chance, do you have the qualifications to make magic tools?¡±


    ¡°What do you think? It¡¯s only necessary when selling it. You need a qualification just to make magic potions, though. Magical tools aren¡¯t that dangerous.¡±


    Are potions considered dangerous goods? Certainly, in a sense, the magic medicine that the old lady makes is poison. Since this is the case with high-level magic pharmacists, beginners who know nothing can only make poison.


    ¡°If you¡¯re interested, why don¡¯t you try making one? You can get the iron plates, magic ink, and magic stones needed for magic tools in town.¡±


    That¡¯s how I got my second friend. I want to pat myself on the back for a job well done.

 CH 25

    After returning from the tea party, I wanted to give my first aristocratic friend something as a gift. For Fabienne, let¡¯s make it a ¡°Magic Tool of the Stars¡±. What would be good for Edward? He seems to be interested in magic tools, so I¡¯ll probably give him the three sacred tools for making magic tools: an iron plate, a magic stone and magic ink.


    While I was in my room making magical tools, my sister Rosalia came to me.


    ¡°Oniisama, are you making new magic tools?¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m making the ¡®Magic Tool of the Stars¡¯ that I gave to Rosalia before.¡±


    ¡°¡­ Who are you giving it to? A woman?¡±


    Eh, what¡¯s this feeling? Did I do something wrong?¡¡Rosalia¡¯s giving me a half-glazed stare.


    ¡°I thought I¡¯d give it to Miss Fabienne, who became my friend at today¡¯s tea party.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, do you like her, that person?¡±


    Rosalia is puffed up. Oh no, this girl is jealous! I don¡¯t know why.


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t. I don¡¯t have many friends. I have to take care of them. Besides, I¡¯m going to give a present to Mister Edouard, too. And not just Miss Fabienne.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nice, it¡¯s a present from my brother.¡±


    Rosalia pouts like a goose. It¡¯s not an atmosphere that he can say that he gave Rosalia a ¡°star magic tool¡± as a gift.


    ¡°Ah, I¡¯ll think of a present for you.¡±


    ¡°Really? I¡¯m looking forward to it!¡±


    She¡¯s innocent, my sister. And even though she¡¯s five years old, she¡¯s jealous. Well, what should I do as a present for my sister? I might even make a stuffed bear. I have sewing skills, so it would be an easy win. Well then, I need to bring me the ingredients.


    After completing the magic tool, I immediately started making stuffed animals. Soft fabric is sewn together and stuffed with cotton inside. The eyes are made of buttons. The hands and feet were also sewn on with buttons so that they could move. In order to make sure that the threads do not break easily, I used ¡®Muscle Spider¡¯s Tough Thread¡¯, which I created using the ¡®Thread Creation¡¯ skill.


    The colour is brown so that the dirt does not stand out. I have never seen a bear from this world, so the motif is based on a bear from a picture book I read when I was little. My sister loved those picture books, so I probably didn¡¯t miss her taste.


    ¡°Okay, it¡¯s finished. This should be enough to keep my little sister in good spirits. Now then, I have to write a letter to Miss Fabienne and Edward. If I send them out of the blue, they might wonder what¡¯s going on.¡±


    As soon as I sat down at my desk, I started writing letters. Writing a letter can be a hassle later on. Better do it all at once before it happens.


    When he finished writing the letter, he asked his servant to deliver the items.


    After dinner, I immediately went to deliver the stuffed bear to Rosalia. At this time, she and her mother would be waiting for her bath to be ready in the salon.


    I knocked on the salon door and only let the bear¡¯s face peek out.


    ¡°Mother, bear!¡±


    ¡°Oh my goodness, what a cute little bear.¡±


    I heard Rosalia¡¯s happy voice and mother¡¯s calm voice. I waved at the teddy bear and entered the salon with it in my arms.


    ¡°Rosalia, I brought you a present as promised.¡±


    ¡°Wow! Brother, thank you!¡±


    When I handed the teddy bear to Rosalia, she started loving it with all her might. She was about to give it a name. When I sat down in an open seat, a servant brought me a cup of herbal tea.


    This herbal tea is made from herbs I grew in a corner of my herb garden. They say everything smells good.


    ¡°Good for you ¨C Rosalia. By the way, Julius, I wonder if your mother has any?¡±


    Nicely, my mother is smiling at me. I can¡¯t tell if she¡¯s serious or joking. I have to ask her directly here.


    ¡°Do you want one too, mother?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I want one. My age doesn¡¯t stop me from being a sucker for pretty things.''¡±


    Come to think of it, I do remember that my mother¡¯s room was decorated with stuffed animals and cute accessories. This was a mistake. I should have made one for my mother too.


    A hot gaze from my mother is pouring down on me. I didn¡¯t mean to discriminate against her.


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll make a stuffed animal for you right away. Is it okay if it¡¯s the same one?¡±


    ¡°Thank you. Please do. I never thought I¡¯d see the day when I¡¯d get one of those stuffed animals my son made for me.¡±


    A happy mother. Seeing my mother like that makes me want to make another one! Next time, I¡¯ll make a stuffed cat. Including Rosalia¡¯s, I¡¯ll have to make three stuffed animals, but I¡¯m sure I can do it.


    I immediately returned to my room and started making stuffed animals. I asked for more fabric, as I was short of it. In the end, I continued making stuffed animals that day until I was about to go to bed. When I saw the happy faces of Rosalia and my mother, I completely lost sight of where to stop.


    The next morning, after breakfast, I took the stuffed animals I made last night and headed over to Mother and Rosalia.


    ¡°Well, you¡¯ve already done it. Julius has a talent for making stuffed animals!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re amazing, brother! Thank you! I have more friends. Way to go, little bear.¡±


    They seemed to like it. They were constantly checking the comfort of the hug. They were happy with it, so that¡¯s good.


    A few days later, I received a thank you letter from Miss Fabienne and Edward.


    Miss Fabienne¡¯s letter said that the ¡®star magic tool¡¯ was more amazing than she thought, and that the whole family was fighting over it¡­¡­I wonder, could it be that I handed over something sinful?


    On the other hand, in a letter from Edward-dono, it was written that ¡°I immediately disassembled the magic tool and tried to imitate the magic circle that was drawn on it, but it did not work¡±.


    Perhaps there is a mistake in the magic circle. The smaller you try to draw it, the more it connects with neighbouring patterns and the less effective it becomes.


    So I wrote in the letter and sent it back, saying, ¡°First, draw big.¡± If you can make even one magic tool with your own power, it will lead to great self-confidence.

 CH 26

    When the snow had completely melted and greenery began to appear on the surface of the earth, the day finally came for Alex-oniisama to leave for the royal capital.


    Only Alex-oniisama and a few escorts are heading to the royal capital. His luggage consists of four large bags.


    Personally, I don¡¯t think there is much to take. Everyone wears uniforms at the school, and I don¡¯t think they need that many clothes even if they go out on holidays. Rather, it will press the room and make it feel cramped.


    ¡°Alex, please be careful. As a member of the Heine Margrave family, do not be ashamed.¡±


    ¡°Be careful. You must write letters properly.¡±


    ¡°Of course, father, mother.¡±


    Alex oniisama answered with a confident face. He was looking forward to going to the academy. He was always teaching me and my brother Cain trivia about the academy. Thanks to that, Brother Cain also wants to go to the school in the royal capital.


    ¡°Oniisama, I¡¯m looking forward to your souvenir story!¡±


    ¡°Of course, Cain. I¡¯ll make sure I write it down in my diary so I don¡¯t forget.¡±


    ¡°Brother Alex, this is a gift from me.¡±


    I held out the bag. Brother Alex checks the contents.


    ¡°This is¡­ a recovery medicine and an antidote?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. You never know what¡¯s going to happen at school. With that, you should be fine even if you get stabbed in the back or have your food poisoned!¡±


    ¡°Ah, thank you, Julius. I¡¯ll try to be as indebted to this as possible.¡±


    Father and mother looked at Alex oniisama like that with suspiciously narrowed eyes. Apparently, they seem to know that Alex oniisama is a playboy.


    I think that personality is probably similar to our father, but maybe not?


    ¡°Oniisama, go ahead! Don¡¯t be tricked by the bad girls, okay?¡±


    ¡°Uh, yeah. I¡¯ll be careful. Thank you, Rosalia.¡±


    Alex Oniisama¡¯s face was completely drawn. As expected of Rosalia. She has a cute face, but what she says is straightforward.


    A carriage with such a delicate face departed for the royal capital. If he goes from now on, he will definitely be in time for the royal capital¡¯s entrance ceremony. On the contrary, he arrives at the academy early, so he may enjoy his freedom once he arrives.


    I think it might be fun to go to the academy in the royal capital, given the fact that I won¡¯t have parental supervision. I¡¯m going to go to the academy in the territorial capital, but I thought it might be kind of nice. I think I can understand why my brother Cain wants to go there.


    A year has passed since then. In the meantime, preparations for the grass horse race were steadily being made in the Heine Margrave territory.


    After all, I am the originator for the grassroots horse racing, and the person in charge. With the increasing popularity of horse racing, I was busy. Somebody please replace me.


    Then one day.


    ¡°Julius-sama, you have been very quiet lately.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by that? Lionel.¡±


    ¡°The Lady told me to keep a close watch on Julius-sama. I just wondered if you were doing anything behind that quietness.¡±


    Lionel said it like it was nothing. But it¡¯s a bit hurtful to be told that. Apparently they think I¡¯m a troublemaker. Even though I didn¡¯t mean it that way at all.


    In fact, on the contrary, I¡¯ve done nothing but good.


    ¡°Nothing special. I haven¡¯t gotten any new materials, so I can¡¯t make new magic potions. When it comes to magic tools, I have no intention of becoming a magic tool master.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a pity. Everyone is expecting that Julius-sama will create a new industry.¡±


    ¡°Give me a break. I was almost turned into a stuffed animal craftsman.¡±


    It seems that the stuffed animal I gave to Mother and Rosalia caused a bit of a ruckus. The cause is that the mother boasted about her stuffed toy to the wives who came to the tea party at the Margrave Heine household.


    Someone came along who wanted one, and his mother asked him to make several. And when the number of them had gradually increased, he gave the blueprints for the plush toys to a clothing store of the Margrave Heine household.


    Shortly after, clothing stores started making stuffed animals, but apparently the stuffed animals I made were better. So much so that even now they ask me to make it for them. Of course, I have refused.


    ¡°Hahaha, Julius-sama is truly a man of many talents. If you are that talented, it seems you will have no trouble making money in the future.¡±


    ¡°Yes. But I plan to become a magic pharmacist in the future. Everything else is a bonus.¡±


    ¡°As the Lady says, Julius-sama really doesn¡¯t have any greed.¡±


    Lionel laughed amusedly again. Even if it¡¯s called greed. Even if I had money, I don¡¯t have any use for it. We have very little entertainment.


    Hm? Entertainment?


    ¡°Lionel, I have something I want to make. Is there any leftover wood somewhere?¡±


    ¡°If you want wood, you can find it in the knights¡¯ quarters as a material.  If you want to use it, I can have it brought to you¡­.¡±


    ¡°No, you don¡¯t have to. I¡¯ll go there. Lead the way.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡±

 CH 27

    ¡°This is Julius-sama! Salute to Julius-sama!¡±


    ¡°Welcome, Julius-sama!¡±


    A member of the Knight Order saluting with a stifling salute. I had completely become someone who was worshipped by the Knights Order. I had no intention of doing so.


    ¡°I need a bit of wood to share, is that alright?¡¯


    ¡°Of course. Feel free to use it.¡±


    ¡°Thank you¡±


    After saying that, I use wind magic to cut a suitable size log into round slices. At times like this, wind magic comes in handy. Tools such as saws are not necessary if you just want to cut wood. However, it is not suitable for detailed work.


    The surface of a flat piece of wood, cut in a circular shape and about three centimetres thick, is polished clean. Then, using a borrowed brush, a circle is added to it. The work is completed when the number of points is written on it.


    ¡°It¡¯s ready.¡±


    ¡°What is this?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s darts. Throw knives here and compete for points.¡±


    ¡°Throwing knives¡­I see.¡±


    Lionel nods his head as he understands what the tool does. The other knights are also curious.


    ¡°Well then, who wants to give it a try?¡±


    ¡°In that case, I would like to be presumptuous.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like to try it too.¡±


    This is how the darts tournament started. While selecting the distance to the target and the knife to use, the rules were decided.


    Eventually it was decided to use a less lethal knife, a knife to cut the rope, and the distance to the target was five paces.


    And the game was heated.


    Knights who came to look for Lionel, the leader of the Knights, who never came back, participated in it, and one after another, the mummies became mummies.


    Finally, father, who came in looking disappointed, was also swamped, and eventually the day ended with everyone being scolded by mother.


    Of course, darts were soon produced, and they quickly spread among adventurers and the people of the territory. And I was called the ¡°god of entertainment¡± by members of the knight order, by adventurers, and by the people of the territory.


    Yeah, well, I was the one who made it, but they didn¡¯t let me participate because it was dangerous for an eight-year-old. It¡¯s not my entertainment. It doesn¡¯t make sense.


    I have to think of entertainment that even children can play separately.


    There are playing cards, and chess and shogi are not suitable for children because the rules are complicated. Reversi is likely to lose its pieces quickly. Then why not make a¡­..Sugoroku? We don¡¯t have dice, so I¡¯d have to make it from there, but it wouldn¡¯t be much trouble.


    ¡°Hey, Julius-sama!¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it Abel-dono? What¡¯s the matter, at this hour?¡±


    It¡¯s about ten o¡¯clock in the morning.  I didn¡¯t have any training today, so I was here with Gyre and Christopher for a visit to the territorial capital, which was called an inspection.


    It¡¯s strange that A-rank adventurer Abel-san is wandering around town at this hour. Is something wrong?


    ¡°That¡¯s the thing, there¡¯s a darts tournament coming up at the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.¡±


    ¡°Zuko!¡±


    I fell down like a Showa-era comedian. Gyre and Christopher were surprised to see me, and Mr Abel was holding his stomach and laughing.


    ¡°Sorry, sorry, I didn¡¯t expect such a good response.¡±


    ¡°No, that¡¯s fine, but¡­ Should I apologise to the guild master?¡±


    ¡°Hmm? You don¡¯t have to worry about it, do you? Because the guild master will also participate.¡±


    ¡°Apparently, I should apologise to everyone in the territory¡­¡±


    Oh my god. Darts, built for entertainment, are getting in the way of the work of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.


    From now on, let¡¯s create entertainment for children, not entertainment for adults.


    It might be a good idea to make karuta cards to help people learn the characters. If it is made into a local karuta, tourists will buy it.


    Having suffered psychological damage like that, I immediately made Sugoroku and Karuta. Both are super easy ones. The concept was a toy that I could play with my sister.


    To see the results of my efforts, I invited not only Gyre and Christopher but also Miss Fabienne and Sir Edward to the Count of Heine¡¯s frontier house. To deepen our friendship, I invited them to stay with me.


    ¡°Um, is it really okay for me to come to a place like this?¡±


    Miss Fabienne is stiffening her face, but she shouldn¡¯t worry about it. She tries her best to speak with a bright expression.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Today, I¡¯d like to ask you to accompany me with the newly developed play, and if it¡¯s okay, I¡¯d like to hear your impressions.¡±


    ¡°Haa¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Miss Fabienne, because I¡¯m with you. I, Edward Humel!¡±


    ¡°Julius-sama, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s quite right for me and Christopher to be here.¡­¡±


    I have never seen Gyre looking so anxious. It is probably because he is surrounded by aristocratic children. Even Christopher is completely silent and pale.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Gyre and Christopher are going to follow me in the future, right? Then you¡¯ll have to deal with situations like this a lot. Just think of it as practice for then.¡±


    ¡°Well, that may be true, but¡­¡±


    ¡°Onii-sama! Let¡¯s play quickly! Bear and Cat are waiting for you!¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s a cute stuffed animal. Where did you get it?¡±


    ¡°This one, my brother made it for me!¡±


    ¡°No way Julius-sama!?¡±


    Miss Fabienne is looking at me with a surprised face. And it¡¯s written on her face that she wants it!


    Ah, well, that¡¯s why the dark game hasn¡¯t started anytime soon¡­¡­Did I pick the wrong people? Should I have called them in individually and addressed them?

 CH 28

    After I promised to make a stuffed animal for Miss Fabienne, the commotion finally subsided. Now you can check the quality of the new toys.


    ¡°First of all, I will explain from Sugoroku. You roll these dice and you can only go forward as far as the number of eyes that come up.¡±


    ¡°So you go through this square.¡±


    ¡°Yes, and you must obey what is written where you stop.¡±


    The rules shouldn¡¯t be too difficult. They all seemed to understand them to some extent, so I decided to teach them the rest of the game as we played it. Each person is asked to choose a card of their favourite character.


    ¡°Julius-sama, did you draw this picture too?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°Julius-sama is so versatile.¡±


    Miss Fabienne is impressed. However, it wasn¡¯t my natural talent, it was due to my skill in the game. That¡¯s why I feel a little guilty when I¡¯m looked at like that.


    The pictures drawn on the guard are heroes and wizards. This was the so-called ¡°Demon King Subjugation Sugoroku¡±. The story of a hero defeating a demon king is a motif often depicted in picture books. That is why it was also used in Sugoroku.


    ¡°So the first person to reach the final destination, Demon King¡¯s Castle, wins. I see, that¡¯s brilliant. That¡¯s exactly what I¡¯m looking for.¡±


    Edward was drunk with himself. Don¡¯t shake. He¡¯s not a bad boy.


    That¡¯s how it started. Roll the dice. The number that comes up is three.


    ¡°One, two, three. Um, stay at the inn and take one break!?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s unfortunate, Julius-sama. In the meantime, I¡¯ll go on ahead of you.¡±


    Gyre rolled the dice. The number that came up was one.


    ¡°Um, I got killed by a monster. I¡¯m going back to the village where I started.¡±


    ¡°Ah.¡±


    ¡°Gyre, cheer up.¡±


    Christopher, currently in the lead, nudged Gyre. Yeah, he seems to be enjoying himself, for what it¡¯s worth.


    ¡°Hmmm, it looks like the only tough part is at the beginning where you get sent back to the village where it all started.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. If you get hit by that close to the finish line, you¡¯ll lose your motivation, won¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Huh, that¡¯s true. It¡¯s well thought out. This is interesting.¡±


    It¡¯s okay if you just praise me, Edward. It seemed that the girls were also enjoying it, and it seemed to be quite heated.


    After several rounds, it was my sister Rosalia who had the most upsides. Is it a triumph of selflessness or just good luck?


    Once the feel of Sugoroku had been confirmed to some extent, they now began to play karuta.


    ¡°There is one reader, and the other members take the card with this picture on it. The letters in this circle are the same as the first letters the reader reads. ¡°


    ¡°Does this painting mean anything?¡±


    ¡°Good question, Miss Fabienne. The picture is a picture of the card read by the reader.¡±


    ¡°Then this picture of roses tells a story about roses.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the way it is.¡±


    I was supposed to be the first reader. I don¡¯t know yet. Just like Sugoroku, the rules of karuta aren¡¯t that difficult, so I think they¡¯ll be able to figure it out quickly.


    ¡°That¡¯s it. Aim for the nucleus. Your opponent is a slime. They move slowly.¡±


    ¡°Ka, ka, ka, ka, ka!¡±


    ¡°Slime, slime¡­ there it is!¡±


    Rosalia who found the slime got the first one. She proudly holds it up in the sky. This changed the colour of everyone¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Julius-sama, next!¡±


    ¡°Sorry, but I¡¯ll take the next one.¡±


    ¡°Er, so next, lots of blooms, roses all over the garden.¡±


    ¡°fur!¡±


    Miss Fabienne dives. She was probably aiming for it. Ah, my cards are all messed up¡­


    Despite these problems, the karuta continued. It too seems to have been well received.


    After playing for a while, we decided to take a break. Everyone sits around the table. The servants had already prepared it for us while we were fussing.


    ¡°Oniisama, it was fun. I still want to play.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good to hear. You two are staying the night and we¡¯ll play again.¡±


    ¡°Next time, let¡¯s call father, mother, and brother Cain!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right.¡±


    Do I think it¡¯s safe to do it with that group of people?¡¡I think it¡¯s going to be difficult, mainly for Miss Fabienne and Mr Edward¡¯s state of mind. See, they¡¯re both looking very delicate.


    ¡°Julius-sama, are you going to sell this game?¡±


    ¡°Hmm? Why, Gyre?¡±


    ¡°Um, I thought I¡¯d like to play with my family.¡±


    Come to think of it, Gyre has a younger brother and sister. They may want to play together. Sugoroku and karuta are both made to support language learning. It should be good for children¡¯s education.


    ¡°All right. I¡¯ll look into putting it up for sale as a commodity.¡±


    ¡°So this is how you commercialised that ¡®star magic tool¡¯. That¡¯s amazing.¡±


    ¡°By chance, by chance¡±


    I would like it to be that way. Otherwise, I would feel a bit guilty. I wonder if people feel the same way when reincarnated people use their knowledge from their previous lives to make things.


    ¡°Have you developed any new magical tools recently?¡±


    ¡°Not at the moment, no. I haven¡¯t really come up with a good idea.¡±


    Edward-kun seems to be as curious about magic tools as ever. He said that the previous advice to draw it big was a good idea and that he was able to recreate the lamp¡¯s magic tool, although it was a little bigger.


    He looks a bit disappointed. A new magic tool, eh? What¡¯s up with that?

 CH 29

    When he presented this game to his father and mother, they took to it with great enthusiasm. Apparently, more and more children wanted to play horse racing and darts, and it was becoming a bit of a problem.


    It seems that these games were what my parents wanted because they could turn it into a form of learning.  My proposal was a godsend. And it was soon commercialised.


    When I suggested, ¡°Why don¡¯t you make a local karuta game or a sugoroku game?¡±, horse racing sugoroku was born. Sales are said to be brisk. They really love horse racing.


    In this way, the money steadily increased in my pocket, but to be honest, I have nothing to buy. It would have been nice if the materials for the magic potions could be purchased around there, but that wasn¡¯t the case.


    The ingredients for the magic potion have to be purchased from specialised shops.


    There are many magic pharmacists in the capital, so of course there are specialty stores. The old lady, a high-ranking magic pharmacist, could buy as many ingredients as she wanted there, but I, who was not qualified, could not buy any of them.


    In that case, I had no choice but to search for the ingredients for the magic potion on my own.


    ¡°Lionel, I¡¯d like to go to the Tradel River to collect some materials.¡±


    When he found Lionel at the knights¡¯ lodgings, he immediately approached him for advice.


    ¡°Would you mind if I ask what your purpose is?¡±


    ¡°I want the antlers of the river elk that you often see on the Tradel River. This is the time of year when the antlers are replaced by new ones, so the old ones must have fallen off.¡±


    ¡°Then why don¡¯t we just get it for you?¡±


    ¡°That said, I think there¡¯s probably a collection request from the Adventurers¡¯ Guild as well.¡±


    ¡°I see, so it¡¯s not good for us and adventurers to fight.¡±


    ¡°Exactly¡±


    River elk antlers sell for a high price. They are a valuable source of income for adventurers. It would be a problem if the Knights, with their numbers, were to take them away. That is why it is necessary to give off an aura of ¡°we are not here to collect such things¡± by going out there yourself.


    ¡°What are you going to do with the antlers of the river elk?¡±


    ¡°River elk antlers can be used as materials for intermediate recovery potions.¡±


    ¡°Then we must secure it by all means.¡±


    It was thus decided to go to the Tradel River. There are few monsters in the vicinity of the Tradel River and it is a relatively safe place.


    A few days later I came to the Tradel River with Gyre and Christopher, as usual. This river flows through the granary near the territorial capital and is a very important river. If this river were to dry up, the food situation in the Kingdom of Spencer would deteriorate rapidly.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been here several times, but it¡¯s a beautiful river.¡±


    ¡°This river is fed by melted snow from the Cassius Mountains, which is a place of great spiritual significance. It doesn¡¯t attract monsters either.¡±


    Hmm, it¡¯s a strange water that monsters don¡¯t come near. Does it have any special effects? Curious, I checked it out with the ¡®Appraisal¡¯ skill.


    Cassius water: normal.


    So that¡¯s it. Apparently it¡¯s not just water. I decided to take some home with me because I might be able to use it for something. That was an unexpected harvest.


    ¡°Can it be used for anything?¡±


    Lionel asked as if he was interested.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Maybe it can be used as material for something. I won¡¯t know until I try various things.¡±


    Having said that, I found myself a bit excited. I got a material that was not in the game. This material has unlimited possibilities. When I thought about that, I couldn¡¯t help but get excited.


    ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡±


    ¡°Leave it to me. Come on, let¡¯s walk along the river and look for the corner.¡±


    Thus began the search for river elk antlers. We encountered some adventurers on the way. Perhaps they were after the same prey.


    We greeted them with a ¡®we¡¯re just out for a walk¡¯ kind of look so they wouldn¡¯t notice us.


    ¡°They¡¯re hard to find.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. River elk don¡¯t shed their antlers every year, they just regrow young ones.¡±


    ¡°I see. That¡¯s why it¡¯s so valuable.¡±


    We continued to walk around but could not find any. I did see a number of river elk, though.


    ¡°Julius-sama, can¡¯t we cut off the horns after catching the river elk?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the thing, Gyre. It¡¯s like when you do that, some ingredient seems to fall out of the cut, so you can¡¯t use it as a material.¡±


    ¡°What is that ingredient?¡±


    ¡°Well? I wonder.¡±


    For reasons unknown, the antlers that were forcibly cut off did not help. Otherwise, the river elk would have been extinct by now. This may be another survival strategy.


    Is it impossible to get river elk horns anymore? Just when I thought that, it seems that the knight who went ahead found something.


    ¡°Julius-sama! I found an animal¡¯s horn!¡±


    ¡°Oh, please secure it. I¡¯ll be right over.¡±


    Have we finally found one? I¡¯ve walked so far, I¡¯d like to have at least one. I hurried towards it and found a fine river elk antler.


    ¡°These are definitely river elk antlers. Well done.¡±


    ¡°We did it. Now we can go home.¡±


    Gyre sounded happy, as if he had reached the limit of his fatigue. I wonder if it¡¯s good to say that. Your father Lionel is just around the corner, you know?


    ¡°Gyre, how dare you make such a noise on a stroll of this magnitude? Look at Julius-sama. He doesn¡¯t look tired at all. You still haven¡¯t trained enough. When we get back, we¡¯ll do ten laps around the training grounds!¡±


    Gyre gets teary-eyed at Lionel¡¯s words. I know how you feel, but you should choose the right time and place for what you say.

 CH 30

    This was the only river elk antler we could find on the Tradel River. River elk bulls use lightning magic by putting magic into these antlers. This is why when they grow back, they always grow back one by one.


    There was a rumor on the game bulletin board that the thing that fell out when the corner was forcibly cut was magical power. That opinion may not have been far off the mark.


    By the time they got home safely, the sun was beginning to set.


    ¡°Brother, where have you been all this time?¡±


    ¡°I went down to the Tradel River for a bit.¡±


    ¡°What were you doing?¡±


    ¡°To see the river elk, maybe?¡±


    ¡°River elk?¡±


    I told my cute little sister who was tilting her head, what kind of creature a river elk is and what kind of ecology it has. She said she wanted to go and see them with me, so I will take her with me next time I go.


    River elk¡¯s antlers can only be harvested this spring. I planned to go looking for them more than once, so it wouldn¡¯t be a problem once in a while. I played with my sister and waited for dinner.


    After dinner and a bath, I retired to my room as soon as possible. The time from here on is magic potion-making time. This time we have river elk antlers. With this I should be able to make an intermediate level recovery potion.


    As usual, my room didn¡¯t have any of the tools necessary to create magic potions. In other words, father and mother wanted to hide ¡°that I can make magic potions¡±.


    Making magic potions might be a very sensitive issue for this country, no, maybe for this world.


    Unfortunately, there were no books about the history of magic potions in the Heine Margrave¡¯s library. I looked for a bookshop in the territorial capital, but this one did not even have a book on the magic potion, let alone a book on the history of magic potions.


    Apparently, it seems to be put aside until I go to school. I had the option of asking the old woman, but I¡¯m afraid that she might get suspicious.


    As an obedient magic pharmacist, the old lady will report to the country if she finds out that I have talent. As a result, it is impossible to predict what will happen.


    Magic potions have a dark history that I don¡¯t know about. Depending on the content, there is a good chance that I will be disposed of.


    Even though I can get back to normal if I die, I¡¯m still afraid of dying and I want to avoid it if I can. That¡¯s why I decided to use my ¡®Laboratory¡¯ skill to make magic potions today.


    ¡°That¡¯s a moderately fine river elk antler. With this, I should be able to make about forty intermediate-level restorative medicines with one of them. As expected, I don¡¯t have enough herbs to make them all at once, but I could still make about ten right now.¡±


    I activated my ¡®Laboratory¡¯ skill. A mysterious round space, drawn in a geometric pattern, appeared in front of me. Within this magical space, I can nullify all kinds of restrictions.


    ¡°Come to think of it, I¡¯ve got this mysterious water called ¡®Cassius Water¡¯. Let¡¯s try using this water as a trial. As expected, I¡¯m afraid to use it with intermediate level recovery medicine, so let¡¯s try it with beginner level recovery medicine.¡±


    When the Cassius water was put into the magic space, it was turned into vapour and then back into water, as it is always done. As a result, the Cassius water was of high quality.


    ¡°That¡¯s strange. If it was water, it would be of the highest quality. Maybe some other condition is needed. Oh well.¡±


    Next, add dried and finely crushed medicinal herbs to the Cassius water and heat it. When the liquid is just boiling or not, stop heating and filter the liquid.


    The elementary recovery potion that was created in that way was the usual green transparent liquid mixed with glittering light.


    ¡°What is this? It¡¯s not poison, is it?¡±


    With this in mind, he activated his ¡®Appraisal¡¯ skill.


    Elementary elixirs: high quality. Heals wounds and restores magic power. Effect (small). Bitter.


    Whoa, this is the first magic potion of this type I¡¯ve ever seen!¡¡In the game, there were no magic potions that could restore both strength and magic at the same time. That¡¯s why potion masters made a lot of money selling both kinds of magic potions. This elementary elixir has both effects.


    The advantage of recovery medicine, which has both effects, is that it allows you to carry less luggage. In this world, there are no convenience items that allow you to carry an almost unlimited amount of stuff, as is the case in games.


    Therefore, if you are going on a long trip, you will need to bring a lot of luggage with you. Life-or-death recovery medicine is a must-have item for long trips. And in case of emergency, magic power recovery medicine is also essential. If it¡¯s a magic potion that has both, the demand will be high. Astringent though.


    ¡°I¡¯m kind of holding off on using Cassius water. We need to do something about the bitterness. But I don¡¯t have the time or the materials to spare to find a way to do that.¡±


    There are few materials available on hand. I¡¯ll have to improve them another time. I put my beginner¡¯s elixir carefully away in a storage container.


    Well, next time, next time. This time I¡¯ll make intermediate recovery potions.


    The preparation process is almost the same as for elementary recovery medicines. All you have to do is mix the powdered river elk antler into the ingredients. The river elk antler we obtained this time was of high quality, perhaps because it had not been out for so long. With this, it should be possible to make an intermediate level recovery medicine that is of high quality or better.


    Thus I used my ¡®Laboratory¡¯ skill to create an intermediate level recovery potion. The quality is high quality. A transparent orange liquid was produced.


    ¡°Hmm, it¡¯s a long way to the highest quality. If the ¡®laboratory¡¯ doesn¡¯t work, the only way is to improve the quality of the ingredients. I hope I can harvest the highest quality herbs soon.¡±


    You can¡¯t help what you don¡¯t have. I made 10 medium-grade recovery potions and collapsed due to running out of mana. I never thought that I would use this much magical power to make an intermediate magic potion.


    I was thinking of checking the effects of the beginner elixir, but decided against it.


    Because I was afraid of the bitter taste. I have to experiment with someone.

 CH 31

    In order to keep the promise I made to my sister, we are now on our way to the Tradel River with our family.


    But I would like to say something. How did it come to this?


    I had planned to take only my sister to Tradel River, but my mother objected, saying that it would be dangerous to take her along.


    The only girl in the Margrave Heine family is Rosalia, my younger sister. She is an important princess for both my mother and the Margrave Heine family.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Rosalia. That¡¯s why I can¡¯t take you with me.¡±


    ¡°Eh! No fair, no fair, no fair!¡±


    My sister went berserk. She was more furious than ever before. I had no idea why she was acting so violently, but mother intervened and stopped her.


    ¡°All right, Rosalia. Then mother will go with you. That would be good, wouldn¡¯t it?¡±


    But then it was father who objected. And so, like a hot potato, brother Cain also joined us, and in the end, the whole family decided to go on a picnic to the Tradel River.


    That is that. Let¡¯s give up the antlers of the river elk.


    The Tradel River was cool and beautiful today. The season may be a little longer before summer, but it will be pleasant to visit at that time.


    The carriage was going slowly and leisurely while looking at the river. It might be nice to spend a leisurely day like this once in a while.


    However, such a pleasant time was ended by a knight¡¯s shout.


    ¡°Report! There is an injured person ahead. It seems to be an adventurer.¡±


    ¡°An injured adventurer? There shouldn¡¯t be any dangerous animals around here. ¡­¡­ Hurry up and take him some recovery medicine!¡±


    Lionel heard this and gave instructions. As Lionel said, there are no animals that attack people in this area. Of course, there are no monsters either.


    Although there might be the occasional river elk that might get a little crispy when you mess with them.


    The carriage we rode in continued forward and reached the injured adventurer. His injuries seemed to have been healed with recovery medicine, but his leather gear had been torn wide open across his chest.


    Had he been attacked by a bear?¡¡It seemed too big for that.


    ¡°My Lord, we are in trouble. It seems that a wyvern attacked him in the vicinity.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re listening to the details right now, but I¡¯m pretty sure it¡¯s a wyvern. ¡­¡­¡±


    Father and mother¡¯s faces turned pale. Brother Cain and sister Rosalia, who don¡¯t know what a wyvern is, are a bit dumbfounded. I, on the other hand,¡­¡­, was thinking about how to get through this.


    I can defeat a wyvern or so, even in my current state as a child. But is it a good idea to do it? Probably not; it would be bad if a nine-year-old child did that, even though this is a case where an A-rank adventurer would have to come out and do it. mother might have a stroke.


    ¡°We¡¯d better hurry and turn back. Someone contact the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.


    If the wyvern is on the ground, the current number of guards should be enough to take it down. The question was how to drag him down. Unfortunately, there were only two wizards in the escort.


    ¡°Father, it might be a bad idea to move the carriage. It stands out.¡±


    ¡°Julius ¡­¡­ that might be true¡±


    With so many people moving around, it would be noticeable. And the carriage is very conspicuous. After all, this carriage is made to show off the presence of the Margrave Heine family.


    ¡°What shall we do, Your Highness?¡±


    ¡°We should wait for the adventurers to come. ¡­¡­ But conveniently, will there be any A- rank adventurers? It will be difficult.¡±


    It would be dangerous to spend the night like this. We have no food.


    ¡°Hmmm. It¡¯s dangerous, but we¡¯ll have no choice but to go back.¡±


    Finally realizing the danger of their current situation, Rosalia clung to mother. Brother Cain¡¯s face is also turning blue. Lionel¡¯s face was tense.


    And so, under father¡¯s direction, we turned back the way we had come.


    I¡¯d never heard of a wyvern appearing in the Tradel River. Where in the world did it come from and for what purpose? The mystery only deepens. Is it a lost wyvern?


    Well, dragons, which are said to be natural disasters, also appear without warning, so it would not be surprising if a wyvern of the same dragon species behaved in a similar manner.


    We turn back the way we came. But, unfortunately, it seemed to have found us. We heard a loud cry from the sky above us.


    ¡°Did it find us already!? Put the carriage under the tree!¡±


    The carriage enters the shade of a nearby tree under father¡¯s direction. The knights surround it. I wonder if wyverns think humans are delicious food? I don¡¯t think so. If they did, they would frequently appear in towns and villages, and the adventurers we saw earlier would have been eaten. Was it an eyesore?


    At any rate, all I have to do now is protect my family. For that, I am willing to use my power. I got out of the carriage. I can¡¯t see the wyvern well from inside the carriage.


    ¡°Julius, what are you doing?!¡¡It¡¯s dangerous, get back!¡±


    I shut the door, pretending not to hear my father¡¯s words. I could hear Rosalia crying. I pretended not to hear that, too.


    Ahead, a wyvern was descending toward us.


    ¡°Julius-sama, it¡¯s dangerous!¡±


    ¡°Lionel, tell the two wizards to aim for the wing on the right. I¡¯ll take the other side.¡±


    ¡°Julius-sama! Did you hear that! Aim for the wing on the right side of the wyvern!¡±


    The wyvern flies in, over the surface of the river while shaking it greatly. The same eerie gurgling sound is also heard. It¡¯s so much more powerful than in the game.


    As the wyverns approached, a magic spell was released. A fireball and a rock flew out of the way, but the fireball was dodged. But the rock hit it and damaged its wing. The wyvern¡¯s stance was shaken.


    ¡°Windblade!¡±


    The windblade was an enhanced version of the windsword I had used before. A long, sharp blade of wind cuts through the opponent. The wind blade I released completely ripped off the wyvern¡¯s wing. The wyvern, which has lost one of its wings, crash-lands on the ground.


    Waah!¡¡ cheers rose from the knights.


    ¡°Don¡¯t let your guard down until the end!¡¡You¡¯re up against a dragon species, after all!¡¡Go carefully!¡±


    At my proclamation, the knights with their spears headed toward the rampaging wyvern.


    I wonder if I should have cut it in half after all? But I¡¯m not sure.

 CH 32

    The battle between the wyvern and the knights was extremely fierce. Wyverns do not breathe fire or other breath from their mouths, but their wings and claws are sharp enough to pierce metal. Then it bent it¡¯s flexible tail like a whip and strikes.


    Some of the knights were wounded. I knew I should have cast the spell with the intention of killing it from the start. I bit my lip, feeling truly ashamed of my decision to save my own skin.


    Isn¡¯t it too late?¡¡But would the knights around me follow my instructions obediently? In the first place, would they take me to the wyvern?


    Lionel, the leader of the knights, is in front of me, using his strong body as a shield. He probably won¡¯t let me go in front of him.


    How much time has passed? It seemed like a very long time to me, but finally the wyvern¡¯s movements slowed down. To finish him off, a large knight with a big battle-axe cut off the wyvern¡¯s head.


    A loud cheer went up. The wyvern could not scream, but convulsed and vanished in a particle of light.


    ¡°Come on, Lionel. Tend to the wounded. Bring all the recovery medicine you can.¡±


    ¡°Julius-sama! It¡¯s still dangerous!¡±


    I shook off Lionel¡¯s restrain, and went to the wounded soldiers. Fortunately, no one seemed to have died, but there were several who were badly wounded. Apparently, they were not missing their body parts. As expected, recovery medicine could not heal that much. To heal them, we needed a full recovery medicine.


    ¡°Lionel,  an intermediate recovery medicine. You have it with you, right?¡±


    ¡°Ha ha!¡¡Immediately!¡±


    Several knights were checking the surroundings of the carriage in which the family was riding to ensure safety. They¡¯ve reported the wyvern¡¯s defeat, and it seems to be calm now. Will my sister be angry with me when I go back?


    ¡®Look, recovery medicine! It¡¯s an intermediate level recovery medicine made by Julius-sama. Drink it without worry!¡±


    The knight, who had lost consciousness, perhaps because he had lost too much blood, still managed to drink the recovery medicine. In no time at all, the deep wounds were healed. The knights gathered around him were wide-eyed at the sight.


    ¡°Mmmm, tangerine flavor!¡±


    ¡°I improved it so that it¡¯s easier to drink.¡±


    When I gave a thumbs-up, the fallen knight cheerfully returned the same pose. Then he grasped the current situation and hastily stiffened up.


    ¡°Julius-sama, I¡¯m terribly sorry for my rudeness. ¡­¡­¡±


    ¡®No problem, I don¡¯t mind. I¡¯m sorry about that.¡±


    ¡°Why are you apologizing, Julius-sama? There is no need for that!¡±


    But, yeah, I don¡¯t know. I can¡¯t say any more. It would be shocking if I told them that their injuries didn¡¯t  have to happen.


    The intermediate level recovery medicine I made was distributed one after another, and one by one, people were recovering.


    ¡°Let me tell you, you¡¯ve only healed the wounds, not restored the blood supply. Give a hand to those who have lost too much. And rest for the time being.¡±


    There were shouts of ¡°I understand¡± from all over the place. It seems that we managed to get through the crisis without any deaths.


    Well, I have to go get scolded off now, can someone please change places with me?


    My legs are heavy, my body is heavy. I drag myself back to the carriage. Lionel is with me, but I wonder if he will be able to help me.


    ¡°I¡¯m back.¡±


    ¡°Julius, what do you have to say?¡±


    Before father, my mother calls out to me, her voice sharp as a spear. When you make someone who doesn¡¯t usually get angry mad, it¡¯s incredibly scary.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for my irresponsible behavior.¡±


    ¡°Big brother!¡±


    Rosalia, whose face was dripping liquid from all over the place, jumped at me. Oh, my clothes!¡¡My clothes!¡¡But there was no way to avoid it. Looking closely, my mother¡¯s clothes were also covered in Rosalia¡¯s liquid.


    ¡­¡­can you be mad at such a person?


    ¡°Julius, report back to me.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir. A wyvern appeared. The knights fought it off. The injured knights have already been treated. There is no problem in moving immediately.¡±


    ¡°Was anyone badly injured?¡±


    ¡°We used an intermediate recovery medicine, so there is no problem.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    Father put one hand under his chin and closed his eyes. This gesture is similar to Lionel¡¯s. Could it be that Lionel¡¯s habit has been transferred to father?


    I am sure that father is thinking about what to do with me. Even from the carriage window, he would have seen that my magic had clipped one of the wyvern¡¯s wings.


    A nine-year-old boy who can use magic that works on wyverns. Maybe he¡¯s having trouble handling it. It was also inconvenient that the magic cast by the knights¡¯ magicians wasn¡¯t very effective. My accomplishments stand out too much.


    ¡°Julius¡±


    ¡°yes¡±


    ¡°You did well this time. But in the future, please try to refrain from any behavior that might cause concern.¡±


    ¡°I understand¡±


    Apparently, he didn¡¯t get too angry. Now all that¡¯s left is mother. ¡­¡­ I think this one might take a while. Together with my sister Rosalia. Brother Cain seems to want to say something, but doesn¡¯t seem to know what to say.


    It is fortunate that Alex was not here. If Alex were to develop a rivalry with me, it could lead to a family feud in the Margrave Heine family.


    On the other hand, since Cain is not the heir to the Heine family like me, he would not see me as a rival to that extent.


    With my sister clinging to my lap, the carriage of the Margrave Heine family hurried on its way home. On the way, we met up with a group of adventurers who were on their way here, and asked them to investigate where the wyvern had come from and whether there were any others.


    Thus ended the wyvern ruckus at the Tradel River.

 CH 33

    Several days had passed since we were attacked by a wyvern at the Tradel River. During that time, we sent a request to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild to investigate where the wyvern had come from.


    The wyvern was investigated in detail for future reference, but in the end they concluded that the wyvern had probably come here by chance.


    Dragon species sometimes suddenly move from their roosts to live in other places. It was probably just a coincidence that the wyvern was in the area.


    No way, it can¡¯t be that there are too many wyverns somewhere and they¡¯re going to fly to where people live all at once, right?


    Out of curiosity, I asked my father about it, and he told me that something similar had happened a long time ago and the town had disappeared.


    It was a horrible thought, but he told me, ¡°There is nothing we can do against it.¡± This might be a good time to set up an evacuation route for the territory¡¯s residents, just in case. Then we would have to have an evacuation drill.


    I quietly suggested to my father that we hold an evacuation drill.


    The wyvern itself was turned into magic stone, but the head and one wing, which had been separated from the body, remained as materials. Wyvern materials are very valuable. Rumor has it that it fetched a very high price.


    The details are unknown, however, since it was the Knights who received the money.


    The months passed without incident. Unfortunately, I haven¡¯t been able to go to the Tradel River since the wyvern attack, and I ended up only getting one river elk antler this season.


    I wanted to prepare as many as possible for the Knights, but I have no choice. We would just have to make do with the recovery medicine the old lady had made.


    When I said this in the knights¡¯ lodgings, the expressions on everyone¡¯s faces fell, and they became like a Noh mask. Don¡¯t make that face in front of the old lady, by mistake. She may look like that, but she¡¯s a high-ranking magic pharmacist.


    After that, I continued to make additional stuffed animals and create new local karuta and board games, and we were approaching the midsummer season.


    During this season, many people come to the Heine Margrave Territory, located north of the Royal Capital, to avoid the summer heat.


    Our territory is famous as a summer resort. After all, the royal family sometimes come. And from this year on, we have a lot of entertainment. Even during normal times, the regular horse races attract a large crowd. This summer is going to be a busy one.


    ¡°Master Alex has returned.¡±


    While we were having tea in the salon, a servant came to call us. Today was the day that Alex-oniisama, who had been attending school in the Royal Capital was coming back. At this time of the year, the school in the Royal Capital is on summer vacation.


    As expected, there were no air conditioners in this world yet. This made it difficult to teach in the classrooms in the heat of the day. And these are children of aristocrats. They must not be able to stand it.


    There may be a way to deal with it by using ice magic, but magic power is finite. As expected, there was a limit. It might be possible if you swallowed a magic potion to restore magic power, but there was probably no one with a mind of steel who could swallow such a tasteless-looking magic potion.


    When I headed for the entrance, my brother Alex had already arrived.


    ¡°Brother Alex, welcome back.


    ¡°Welcome back, Brother Alex!¡±


    Rosalia, our sister, ran up to him and hugged him. he was able to lift her up without any difficulty. he is indeed 14 years old. He is also very fit, just like his father. He was tall and sturdy for a 14-year-old.


    ¡°I¡¯m home. I¡¯m so relieved to see you all looking well. When I got the letter saying that a Wyvern had appeared, I was worried.¡±


    Hahaha, I chuckled on the spot. Apparently, brother Alex had heard about the wyvern riot as well. I wonder what else he knows about it? I¡¯m starting to get a little nervous.


    We headed to the salon with Alex.  A new tea set was already prepared in the salon. The fresh aroma of herbal tea cooled the hot sun shining in through the window.


    ¡°it¡¯s much cooler at home. It doesn¡¯t compare to the school.¡±


    ¡°Is it really that hot?¡±


    ¡°Oh, yes, of course. Is it twice as hot as here?¡±


    Of course it is not, but I guess it is still hot. I wonder how the common people in the royal capital spend their summers. It sounds tough.


    ¡°Brother, please tell us about your school life.¡±


    Brother Cain seemed to be very interested in the academy. I think he would like to attend the school. He has to decide on a career path by the end of this year, and he may be desperate to convince father.


    ¡°Well, come to think of it, ¡°The Star Magic Tool¡± is a bit of a hot topic at the school. It all started when the Marquis Mulan¡¯s daughter brought it to the school.¡±


    ¡°Alex, you are good friends with the daughter of Marquis Mulan?


    ¡°That¡¯s right. We¡¯re in the same class. We¡¯re about the same status, and I don¡¯t mind talking to her.¡±


    Hmmm¡­hmmm.  Could it be that Alex is aiming for Marquis Mulan¡¯s daughter?  But it¡¯s still too early to judge. I have to keep an eye on my playboy brother¡¯s movements. I have a feeling that it might explode on us as well.


    ¡°The daughter of the Marquis Mulan showed off the magic tool, where anyone can freely use them. It was amazing. The girls were especially happy. Everyone wanted one. But it seems they are hard to find in the capital.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡¡The blueprints are open to the public, so it seems like they should be more widely available.¡±


    That¡¯s strange. It¡¯s not like the blueprints are exclusively for the magic tool masters in the capital. Is there something behind it? I hope it¡¯s not something bad.

 CH 34

    ¡°That¡¯s right, it seems that the blueprints that Julius published are only open to the magic tool masters of the Margrave Heine territory.¡±


    ¡°What?¡¡I haven¡¯t heard anything about that.¡±


    ¡°I see. If Julius doesn¡¯t know about it, it could be that father is working behind the scenes, or it could be that the guild in the capital is doing something about it.¡±


    I only sold him the blueprints for the magic tools. I had no idea what happened after that.


    Maybe that¡¯s why Miss Fabienne said, ¡°It¡¯s hard to get the ¡®star magic tool¡¯¡±. Should I have looked into it better at that time?


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know that was the case. I thought there would be a similar product soon, but it seems that¡¯s not the case.¡¯


    ¡°Perhaps they got a monopoly on the product in conjunction with the headquarters of the Magical tools Guild in the Royal Capital?¡±


    ¡®So you¡¯re saying that they¡¯re putting profit first.¡±


    I¡¯m a little disappointed. I didn¡¯t think they would do that. Then it won¡¯t spread among the general public as much as I thought. If that happens, fewer people will be able to benefit from it. That would hinder the development of magical tools.


    ¡°By the way, the stuffed animal that Rosalia is carrying is also becoming popular in the Royal Capital. I¡¯ve seen all kinds, but the one Rosalia has looks the best.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true. Because they are stuffed animals that Julius-oniisama made. There are also dogs and sheep!¡±


    Rosalia proudly boasted. This is exactly the image of a sister bragging about her brother. Oh, brother Alex is a little bit surprised.


    But still, I have to stop Rosalia from carrying a different stuffed animal every time.


    When the stuffed animals get dirty, it¡¯s my role to clean it up. Rosalia probably thinks I¡¯m a ¡°stuffed animal cleaner¡± or something. It¡¯s fine to clean them up, but I can¡¯t always use the ¡°laboratory¡± skill freely.


    ¡°Julius is really handy, isn¡¯t he?¡±


    ¡°When Rosalia asked me to do something, I couldn¡¯t say no. ¡­¡­¡±


    I said that and managed to muddle the waters.


    After that, I was eagerly listening to how the class was going and what they were teaching him. He told me that the cafeteria serves local dishes made in various territories, and that they are hit or miss, and that it¡¯s fun.


    Eating the dishes that are not included in the menu will be a memorable experience for all the students. It sounds like a lot of fun.


    On his days off, he goes out with his friends to the shops in the school and eats the popular sweets. They always invite a girl to go with them, and it seems that there is a lot of interaction between men and women.


    In the first semester, making friends and networking seemed to be a priority. Therefore, there were no major events other than the entrance ceremony. However, in the second semester, there will be school festivals, martial arts competitions, and a dance competition.


    Brother Cain, who heard it, was enthusiastic about doing more dance practice.


    He is good at martial arts. Now all he needs is good manners and dancing and he is good to go. I guess he has found what he needs to do.


    I, on the other hand, had no intention of going to the Royal academy, so I didn¡¯t have to work that hard. If it¡¯s a school in the capital, I should be allowed to do whatever I want. If I had the time, I would like to improve the medicinal herb garden in my garden.


    Shortly before Alex-oniisama¡¯s return, I felt that the number of people visiting the Heine Margrave territory was gradually increasing. The knights have also been sent out to guard the place, and since we are inevitably short at this time of year, we have hired extra guards.


    This year, we have made friends with the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, so we have been able to get some manpower from them. The adventurers have been trained well from the beginning, so it seems that they can be used immediately as an asset.


    I have heard Father tell Lionel ¡°I want to do the same next year¡±.


    Abel told us that this is one of the most popular requests, partly because it provides a steady income for the adventurers.


    The other day, when I told him about the wyvern riot, he lamented, ¡°I wanted to defeat it.¡± Did he want to foil it as an adventurer?


    At the dinner table, reports were made of nobles who had visited the Margrave Heine territory. Many nobles have summer resorts in this region. When a major noble among them came for a summer retreat, it was necessary for him to go to greet them as the Margrave  of the Heine territory.


    ¡°I see. So the Royal family is coming this year. The purpose is probably horse racing. Apparently it seems to be quite popular in the royal capital.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, My lord. It seems that there is now a growing movement to imitate the horse race that our Margrave Heine family devised. It is truly deplorable.¡±


    One of the servants reporting to  father said. ¡°Good ideas are easily imitated.¡± It can¡¯t be helped. But if we market ourselves as the originator and head family, I think we can fight our way out of it. i wonder if we can fight as it is?


    Besides, there is no other environment where quality horses are bred like in the Heine territory. Since the start of horse racing, the competition has accelerated even further, producing more and better horses. As a result, some horses were beginning to be bought and sold for considerable sums of money.


    When the people living in the territory make money, naturally the Margrave Heine also makes money. It is a win-win situation. I hope they will continue to do so in the future.


    ¡°There is a member of the royal family here. Actually, Marquis Mulan also expressed an interest in visiting our territory during the summer.¡±


    ¡°What?¡¡The Marquis Mulan family?¡¡I see. This might make things a little busier. As usual, the Dukes of Valletta will be there, as well as Count Robben.¡±


    ¡°Oh, dear, it¡¯s going to be very busy.¡±


    Mother¡¯s eyebrows are lowered into a c-shape. She may have already sensed that she was going to be busier than she expected.


    I wish I didn¡¯t have anything to do with it. I¡¯m sure big brother Alex will take care of it.

 CH 35

    It¡¯s been a few days since brother Alex returned to the Margrave Heine household for his summer vacation. The Marquise Mullan has come to the Heine territory. Of course, the purpose of their visit was not only for a summer vacation, but they also came to see what kind of territory it is.


    The Marquis Mullan family is located in the eastern part of the royal capital. Because it is a key point for distribution to the east, it is a golden location where merchants are constantly coming and going, and tax revenues come in even if they do nothing in particular. Nice.


    For this reason, many eastern nobles want to get close to daughters of Marquis Mullan, and they can be said to be an important trump card. And yet, it seems that brother Alex and the daughter of Marquis Mullan seem to be on good terms.


    It seems to me that there is no benefit in being friends with the Margrave of the Northern Frontier, though.


    And so, Marquis Mullan¡¯s daughters came to the Margrave Heine household. Blonde and equipped with vertical rolls, ¡°The Lady¡± appeared from beyond the front door. One of her servants stood behind her. Next to her was another little girl. I guessed she was about my age. She was quite frightened.


    Her appearance reminded me of Miss Fabienne, whom I had just met.


    ¡°I am Hilda Mullan. Dear Alex, I have come to visit you as promised! This is my sister Carolina.¡±


    ¡°Hey, I¡¯m Carolina Mullan.¡±


    Hmmm, just as I saw!¡¡It is a composition of a large animal-like older sister and a small animal who had been pushed around by the older sister and had become completely deflated. I kept a social smile on my face, but Brother Cain and Rosalia¡¯s faces were drawn.


    Miss Hilda is not the type of person you see around here. I could understand why they had that look on their faces. But as an aristocrat, you can¡¯t do that.


    Brother Alex, who seemed to be already accustomed to Miss Hilda, greeted them with a natural smile.


    Welcome, Miss Hilda and Miss Carolina. Please take your time. This is the second Son, Cain, and next to him is our third Son, Julius. And this is the eldest daughter, Rosalia.¡±


    After being introduced by Alex, we each exchanged greetings. In the middle of the introduction, Miss Hilda noticed a stuffed animal that Rosalia was holding.


    ¡°Rosalia-chan, you have a very high quality stuffed animal. Where did you buy it?¡±


    ¡°This stuffed cat was made for me by my brother Julius.¡±


    She hugged the stuffed animal tightly, as if she thought it could be taken away. At Rosalia¡¯s comment, Miss Hilda¡¯s gaze turned toward us. Her eyes were like she was judging me. I don¡¯t feel very good about it.


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. You are the ¡®slightly strange brother¡¯ that Alex-sama was talking about, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    What?¡¡Did Alex-sama say such a thing at the school?¡¡I feel a little bad about such rumors in places I don¡¯t know about. I looked at my brother without thinking, and he quickly averted his eyes.


    I¡¯ll have to question him about this for a little while later.


    That¡¯s how our first contact with the daughters of Marquis Mullan began. Rosalia was wary, and brother Cain was bewildered by the type of girl he had never seen before. And I was already on their radar.


    What was Alex¡¯s intention when he called Miss Hilda? Does he have a pulse? Hmmm, I don¡¯t know.


    For the time being, we decided to have tea together at the salon. By that time, Father and mother came to say hello. They seemed to be accustomed to dealing with the children of nobles of the same rank and handled it with ease. They were very good.


    And soon left. As expected. They may have sensed an air of troublesomeness.


    Only the children were left in the salon. I heard that she was a friend of brother Alex, so I couldn¡¯t begrudge her. Should I talk to them about something?¡¡The man in question, Alex, is drinking tea in an elegant manner.


    No, no, he doesn¡¯t have time for that. Do something about this delicate atmosphere as soon as possible.


    ¡°Rosalia-chan, do you have any other stuffed animals?¡±


    Miss Hilda looked again at the stuffed animal that Rosalia was holding, as if she was really interested in the stuffed animal. Rosalia¡¯s face became tense. This is not good.


    ¡°Rosalia, Miss Hilda won¡¯t take your stuffed animal. She¡¯s just curious, so why don¡¯t you tell her?¡±


    Brother Alex said gently to Rosalia. I wonder if Miss Hilda is the type of person who is easily misunderstood.


    ¡®Big brother ¡­¡­¡±


    Rosalia, sitting next to me, looked up at me. She looks  anxious. I¡¯m sure she wouldn¡¯t behave in such a cavalier manner, though. I smiled at her and she reluctantly listed the names of the stuffed animals one after the other.


    ¡°A bear, a cat, a dog, a sheep, a rabbit, and a guinea pig.¡±


    ¡°Yes, there are so many of them. ¡­¡­ Um, would you mind showing me a few?¡±


    The tone of Hilda¡¯s voice has lowered considerably. She must have noticed that Rosalia was frightened. It¡¯s like she¡¯s checking on her.


    Rosalia does not reply. What should I do?


    ¡°See, would you like to see them too, Carolina?¡±


    ¡°Ha, yes. I want to see it too.¡±


    The younger sister, who seemed to be obedient to her older sister, immediately agreed. she was looking at the stuffed toy that Rosalia was holding, so she might be curious.


    No, perhaps it is the other way around?¡¡Maybe her sister, Miss Carolina, is concerned about them, so her sister, Miss Hilda, is giving her a helping hand.


    ¡°That¡¯s good, Rosalia. Why don¡¯t you introduce your feline friend to everyone?¡±


    ¡°Okay. I will do that.¡±


    When I said that, Rosalia finally seemed to be convinced. Rosalia told the servant to bring a stuffed animal from her room. My sister, who is obedient to my opinion, seems to be growing up  to be a fine ¡®black¡¯ woman.¡±


    ¡­¡­I think it¡¯s time to let her stand on her own, or she¡¯ll be in trouble later on. What should I do?


    The stuffed animals brought by the servants were laid out on the open sofa. Miss Hilda and Miss Carolina both looked at them and shouted with delight.


    It seemed that both of them had been curious about the stuffed animals. Really, stuffed animals are very popular with the girls.

 CH 36

    Miss Hilda and Miss Carolina had to look at the stuffed animals with reluctance because my sister Rosalia had issued a no-touching order. After looking at the stuffed animals while we ignored them, they returned to their seats and said,


    ¡°It¡¯s not fair.¡±


    Her sister, Miss Carolina, was also silent, but nodded her head. Why not? How can you come to that conclusion? It¡¯s only natural for me to give my sister special treatment. Why should I be called unfair for that?


    Unreasonably, I looked at my brother Alex. But his face was smiling.


    What is this feeling? Did he already know this was going to happen? Did he know what was going to happen and invite the two of them to the Margrave Heine¡¯s house?


    If so, there is only one answer that can be drawn. It means that I will end up making stuffed animals for the two of them.


    I¡¯m not a stuffed animal maker. ¡­¡­ I admit that I was so happy to make Rosalia happy that I made her a series of stuffed animals.


    ¡°Julius, can you do me a favor?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­ only one per person, sir.¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll have a bear!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll have a bunny.¡±


    ¡°I want a capybara, brother!¡±


    Why is my sister mixed in there?¡¡It¡¯s okay though, because I can¡¯t say no to just Rosalia now.


    After all that, we got to know each other and played card games, karuta and sugoroku together.


    Brother Alex said, ¡°When did you start playing these games ¡­¡­?¡± He was surprised. I thought it would be troublesome if he found out that I was the one who had developed those games, so I decided to keep quiet about it.


    However, Rosalia revealed everything and got all snippy. Brother Alex and Miss Hilda looked at me like, ¡°It was you after all.¡±


    I don¡¯t know if this is a bad thing in more ways than one.


    After Miss Hilda and Miss Carolina left, I got to work on making stuffed toys. As soon as dinner was over, I started working on my needlework, and Mother said, ¡°Why don¡¯t you become a stuffed animal maker already?¡± She suggested, in a tone that made it hard to tell whether she was joking or serious.


    When I looked at her ambiguously, my mother, who knew about the situation, added more work, saying, ¡°Then I¡¯ll have a capybara too.¡± Why are you trying to compete with your own daughter, you!


    I don¡¯t make stuffed animals for fun!


    After two days of diligent needlework, I finally finished the stuffed animals. I asked my brother Alex to deliver it to them, and he suggested that we invite the Marquis Mulan¡¯s daughters to the Margrave Heine household.


    I firmly refused, but they said they wanted to pick it up in person when it was finished.


    Brother Alex, when did you start dating Miss Hilda? We didn¡¯t talk about that the other day, did we? Brother Cain also noticed it and looked at him with half-lidded eyes.


    In the afternoon, Marquis Mulan¡¯s daughters visited the Heine family again. They seemed to have some kind of tea cakes in their hands. Without so much as greeting each other, we immediately went to the salon.


    There they found the stuffed animal they had asked for sitting on a chair.


    ¡°It¡¯s really done already!¡¡I love the feel of this, it¡¯s wonderful!


    ¡°The bunny is so fluffy!¡±


    They both seemed pleased. Of course, my sister Rosalia is holding the capybara in her arms. Still, Miss Hilda seems to have lost her ladylike component today. Isn¡¯t it always better that way?


    Over tea cakes brought by the daughters of Marquis Mulan, we got into a conversation about recent events.


    ¡°It seems that some very noble cousins have come to this Margrave Heine territory.¡±


    ¡°Yes, it seems so. Father and mother were hurriedly preparing to welcome them.¡±


    Miss Hilda and brother Alex were sipping tea as they checked. Come to think of it, he mentioned that there is a princess enrolled in the same grade as him. Maybe they are both acquainted with the princess.


    ¡°Who are these noble cousins, Alex?¡±


    Rosalia tugged at my sleeve and asked.


    ¡°By ¡°cousins,¡± she meant kings and princesses.¡±


    ¡°The king and the princess are coming?!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. But it¡¯s a secret, and you mustn¡¯t tell anyone.¡±


    Rosalia put her hands over her mouth and nodded her head. Cute. Miss Carolina nodded with a similar pose. Come to think of it, how old is Miss Carolina?¡¡Could it be that she is the same age as my sister?


    While I was thinking about that, I started to hear some noise near the front door. No way. ¡­¡­. I looked at the faces of my brother Alex and Miss Hilda and they looked like ¡°No way¡±. I probably would have had the same look on my face. My eyes met theirs.


    There was a knock at the salon door and The servant came in in a flurry.


    ¡°Master Alex, Countess Daniela Crystal is here. The lady wants you to come and pick her up.¡±


    ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll be right there.¡±


    Hearing this, the servant bowed and left.


    ¡°Brother Alex, ¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°The Count Crystal is the status of the queen¡¯s family. She probably calls herself a count in order to hide her identity.¡±


    After saying this, Alex stood up from his seat. Hilda was staring at him.


    This is it. I have a feeling that brother Alex will be stabbed in the near future. I have a premonition that this is going to end in shambles.


    After a while, I heard voices coming from the other side of the door. And it was for two people. I have a bad feeling about this.


    The servant opened the door and two girls came in with brother Alex. One of them must be a princess who is a classmate of brother Alex. And the other was a girl about the same age as me, Rosalia, and Miss Carolina.

 CH 37

    Although additional chairs were quickly prepared in the salon, it was indeed impossible for everyone to sit at the same table. Therefore, me, Rosalia, and brother Cain moved to another sofa seat.


    No, in this case, it might be better to say that we evacuated. Probably, they had come to the territory  because of brother Alex. Alex-oniisama should take responsibility. We are innocent. I feel sorry for Miss Carolina who got involved, but she will probably come here sooner or later.


    ¡°I¡¯m Daniela Crystal. This is my sister Chloe. Please take care of me and my sister.¡±


    ¡° I¡¯m Chloe. Nice to meet you!¡±


    Chloe answered cheerfully. I got the impression that Daniela is a graceful girl and Chloe was a mischievous girl. Probably right.


    After they had greeted each other and taken their seats, Miss Chloe immediately noticed them.


    ¡°Oh, they all have cute stuffed animals!¡¡Sister, I¡¯ve never seen those stuffed animals before.¡±


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s true. It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve seen it.. And it is very well made. Which workshop is it from?¡±


    Once again, the stuffed animals are attracting attention. It¡¯s a true girl magnet. I¡¯ll have to warn Rosalia not to carry stuffed animals with her when she goes out from now on. If they give me any more work, I won¡¯t have time to make magic potions.


    ¡°This wasn¡¯t made in the workshop, it was made by my brother Julius.¡±


    And then, Brother Alex, who is quick to expose me. Well, it is not hard to understand that the to highest authority he cannot lie or cheat, but he could at least try a little harder. At least talk to them when I¡¯m not around.


    I might end up making stuffed animals again.


    While I was breaking into a cold sweat from her gaze, She and Miss Chloe came over to me.


    ¡°You¡¯re amazing, aren¡¯t you? That stuffed animal is very nice. I was wondering if you could make one for me?¡±


    She leaned forward on the table, looking up at me and asking me to make her one. Damn, she¡¯s cute.


    ¡°That¡¯s fine, but what kind of stuffed animal would you like ¡­¡­?¡±


    As you can imagine, I can¡¯t afford to be rude to the highest authority. In other words, I have no choice but to accept the request.


    ¡°Anything? A cat, I want a kitty!¡±


    ¡°I understand. I will make you a stuffed cat.¡±


    Miss Chloe nodded in satisfaction. Behind her, miss Daniela is looking at me with eyes that seem to want one too. I looked over to Alex and he seemed to sense it.


    ¡°Would you like to join us, Miss Daniela?¡¡As you can see, it has become a tradition in our family to give stuffed animals as gifts.¡±


    ¡°Oh, really?¡¡If so, I¡¯d like a stuffed cat, too. ¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°I understand. Julius, will you take care of it?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    I wondered when such a custom came into our family, but it is true that I give a stuffed animal to every girl with whom I have gotten involved with. When did this happen?


    Then Miss Chloe sat down on the sofa at our table. Maybe she read the atmosphere over there.


    If this continues, Miss Carolina will be in danger. Thinking so, I asked her, ¡°Would you like to join us, Miss Carolina?¡± I asked her to join me. Perhaps she was waiting for the right moment, but soon after, Miss Carolina arrived here. Her face was somewhat relieved.


    ¡°Brother Cain, is everything all right at that table over there?¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t look too okay, but I think it¡¯s best not to get too involved.¡±


    ¡°I agree.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen my sister smile like that before.¡±


    Miss Chloe is trembling slightly. What kind of smile did she see? I am afraid to ask.  Miss Carolina¡¯s face is tense when she heard that. I Wonder if she saw it?¡¡It seems that Miss Daniela and Miss Hilda consider each other as rivals.


    Otherwise, Miss Daniela would not have bothered to visit when Miss Hilda was here. I can only think that this good timing was aimed. No matter how much she hides her identity, there should have at least been a warning when the royal family was coming.


    ¡°Chloe-sama, had you been planning your visit to the Margrave Heine family for some time?¡±


    ¡°No, it was suddenly decided this morning. We said that we would go and greet our friends. The servants in the villa were in a panic. Julius-sama, you may call me Chloe.¡±


    ¡°Ha-ha-ha. Then you may call me Julius as well.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I will. Julius.¡±


    What is this feeling? Maybe hitting me with Miss Chloe was part of Miss Daniela¡¯s strategy? ¡¡And how is it that she forgives me, but not Brother Cain in particular? I think Brother Cain should cry.


    Brother Cain, on the other hand, looked relieved for some reason. Does he think he got away with it?¡¡I think that¡¯s probably the right idea. This is a pattern I¡¯m totally caught up in.


    ¡° Julius-sama, ¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°What is it, Miss Carolina?¡±


    I already have a bad feeling about this. Rosalia, who¡¯s sitting next to me, holds my left arm tightly. Stop it. I only have one body.


    ¡°Um, could you please call me Caro?¡¡You see, Carolina is a long name, and it¡¯s hard to call it, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡° okay. Caro, ¡­¡­ sama?¡¡You can call me Julius as well.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to use the ¡°sama¡± Julius ¡­¡­?¡±


    What is this feeling? I¡¯m feeling sick for some reason. And my left arm is tightening up.


    I thought the table with brother  Alex was going to be in shambles, but before I knew it, this table was also in shambles too. I don¡¯t know what I¡¯m talking about, but I feel like I¡¯ve realized how scary women are.

 CH 38

    As the atmosphere at this table was starting to turn into shambles, the table on the other side of the room seemed to even more tense.


    ¡°Hilda-sama, I see that you came to the Margrave Heine territory quite early.  I thought your schedule before the summer vacation was much later?¡±


    ¡°The schedule has changed. Father¡¯s work was going to take a little longer, so I thought I would come first.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I hope that didn¡¯t inconvenience you too much, Alex-sama.¡±


    ¡°No need to worry, Daniela. Alex-sama has welcomed us with open arms. Isn¡¯t that right,  Alex-sama?¡±


    ¡°huh? Ummm, yes, I guess so. ¡­¡­¡±


    The two are smiling at each other, but everyone present knows that their smiles are fake.


    Miss Daniela, who appeared to be a gentle girl, seemed to be angry at her rival miss Hilda¡¯s deceitful behavior.


    Maybe they had an agreement before the summer vacation?¡¡Like a strict no-running policy. But Miss Hilda has violated it. That¡¯s why she is angry. It seems likely. Alex is caught in the middle of it, and he¡¯s getting a little tense.


    If he learns from this, he¡¯d better change his playboy nature. My guess is that the second and third Miss Daniela and Miss Hilda will appear in the near future.


    ¡°Brother Julius. Which one is brother Alex going to marry?¡±


    Rosalia asked in a small voice, perhaps thinking it was a simple question. Children are scary. I would have been too afraid to ask such a question. The gazes of the members of the sofa group focused on me.


    Oh, do you feel like you have to say this?


    ¡°Yes. Basically, aristocrats cannot marry for love. I guess we¡¯re supposed to have a marriage that benefits both of our houses, right?¡±


    ¡°Julius has no dreams.¡±


    ¡°Then, What do you think, brother Cain?¡±


    Alright, I¡¯ve managed to put the blame on Brother Cain. It¡¯s too late to make a face and say, ¡°Oh, no.¡± He is already looking at you. All eyes are already on you.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, older brother likes those with big breasts ¡­¡­¡±


    The answer was easy to understand. But that is dangerous. Not only Chloe and Caro, but also our sister Rosalia, are putting their hands on their own breasts like chopping boards.


    Glancing at Miss Daniela and Miss Hilda, it seems that Miss Daniela has the upper hand.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s dangerous to make a decision based on that alone, Brother Cain. ¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right.¡±


    He must have sensed the discomfort. The tone of Cain¡¯s voice had clearly dropped. Perhaps it is Brother Cain¡¯s preference for larger breasts. You boob maniac.


    ¡°What do you think then, Julius?¡±


    Chloe now asked me. Oh shit. I just followed Brother Cain and this happened.


    ¡°Well, ¡­¡­ Miss Hilda¡¯s family, the Marquis Mullan family, controls distribution in the east. We are located in the north, far from the Marquis Mullan, so there is little merit in joining forces with the Margrave Heine family. Even if you were to rely on the strength of the Margrave Heine, there are Margraves in the east as well. It would be closer and more dependable to rely on them.¡±


    ¡°That is certainly true. We¡¯re on good terms with the Margrave Draken Frontier in the east, and we go back and forth between each other¡¯s homes. There are no demon-infested areas nearby, so I don¡¯t think we need the helping force.¡±


    Caro adds an additional supplement. It seems that Caro also thinks that her sister Hilda has romantic feelings for brother Alex.


    ¡°I think Miss Daniela¡¯s would be effective in strengthening the power of the royal family. If she strengthens her ties with the Margrave Heine family, who are in charge of national defense, we will be a powerful force if something goes wrong. And it would also serve as a deterrent.¡±


    ¡°Brother, what is that?¡±


    ¡°A coup or a war.¡±


    Rosalia¡¯s face hardened, but it could go either way. We should not deceive, we should not turn away, we should teach them well.


    ¡°Can such a thing really happen?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just talking about a hypothetical situation. For now, we don¡¯t have to worry about that, but we can¡¯t say that it won¡¯t happen in the future. That is why we have to be prepared.¡±


    Chloe¡¯s complexion was clearly pale. She probably hadn¡¯t thought about such things much. Chloe is also a member of the royal family, so I think she needs to look at the big picture a little more before acting in the future.


    ¡°So, does that mean that Daniela has the upper hand?¡±


    ¡°Not necessarily. If there is a more advantageous place for her to marry than our house, there is a great possibility that she will go there.¡±


    ¡°I wish I had been born a commoner instead of an aristocrat.¡±


    Chloe pouts. Caro is nodding her head in agreement. But you know what? It¡¯s not easy being a commoner.


    ¡°Common people can marry relatively freely, but they can¡¯t live the way we do now. Many of them are just trying to make it through the day.¡±


    Dreaming is fine. But you should look at reality as well.


    At the next table, Miss Daniela and Miss Hilda were still going at it. As one would expect, you couldn¡¯t behave disrespectfully toward  royalty, so Miss Hilda¡¯s side seemed to have the worst of it. Alex, who was caught in between the two, was trying his best to contain the situation.


    I think I should be careful not to be like that, but in my case, I am the third son. In that case, I am usually treated as a commoner when I leave home. It would be a different story if I were to receive a knighthood in recognition of my achievements. The odds of that happening are extremely low.


    It is the same for brother Cain. Perhaps Brother Cain will join the Knights of Margrave Heine. Knowing that, Cain trained especially in martial arts.


    And I had no particular place to fit in. Therefore, in a sense, I am the most free.


    For now, my goal is to leave home and become a high-ranking potions master. If I become a potion master, I will have no trouble making money. I will be able to live a life of freedom. Thinking about that, I am looking forward to it.

 CH 39

    The chaos at the next table was not going to stop for a while, so we decided to play a board game here and there.


    They were surprised to see that the game had finally made it into the Royal Capital and that it was already in the Margrave Heine territory, but again, Rosalia boasted that her brother Julius had made the game, which caused a bit of a stir.


    And I noticed that the color of Chloe and Caro¡¯s eyes had clearly changed when they looked at me. It was as if they were the eyes of a predator on the hunt. I, on the other hand, was a weak sheep. Brother Cain seemed relieved that the fire didn¡¯t fall on him.


    As we were all playing together, I didn¡¯t care about the table next to us. It seems I¡¯m not the only one, and everyone¡¯s faces light up.


    We¡¯re still kids, and we need to play hard now.


    The sun began to set and we called it a day. The four playmates head for the front door together. It seems that they are still in rivalry with each other. Personally, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good idea for them to be fighting each other since it¡¯s their parents who decide on their marriages.


    ¡°Chloe, I¡¯ll have the stuffed animal delivered as soon as it¡¯s finished.¡±


    ¡°No, I want you to send me a letter. Then I¡¯ll come and get it.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Since we forced you to make it for us, it¡¯s only right that we come and get it.¡±


    Miss Daniela is smiling. Miss Hilda is looking at her with a drawn-out smile. I wonder if these two aren¡¯t on good terms at school. I¡¯ll check with brother Alex after they leave.


    And so the storm passed in the form of time running out. But I wonder if they will come back together again.


    At the dinner table, I asked my brother Alex, who was already exhausted, about their relationship at the school. He had a very vacant look in his eyes, but I had to reevaluate my relationship with Chloe and Caro because it seems that getting involved with the two of them will cause trouble.


    ¡°They are good friends at the school. I never thought this would happen. ¡­¡­¡±


    Apparently, this was unexpected for brother Alex. He probably simply thought that two good friends of his had come together to have fun. But the reality was cruel.


    Father and mother must have thought it was strange, because they started asking Alex a lot of questions, starting with my question.


    It is brother Alex who is at fault. He would have to give up and confess everything. If he doesn¡¯t, father won¡¯t be able to decide whom he should marry.


    The age of adulthood is 15 years old when you graduate from school. It is customary in this country to have a fianc¨¦e, even if only temporarily, decided by then. Therefore, it is necessary to decide on Alex Onii-sama¡¯s fianc¨¦e. It¡¯s a lot of work for father, too.


    When the stuffed animals are finished, he will call Miss Daniela and Chloe. And if he doesn¡¯t call Miss Hilda and Caro at that time, I think that will be a problem. I wonder what I should do.


    When I talked to my father about this, he suggested that when we hand over the stuffed animals, we should invite not only the four of them, but also the Countess Crystal and the Marquis Mullan to come and watch the horse race together.


    It was getting to be a big deal, but I guess he decided that it would be better not to meet with only Miss Daniela and Miss Hilda.


    As for father, he would be able to communicate with the parents. It would be more profitable for him.


    I didn¡¯t like the awkward atmosphere, so I agreed with him. All that was left was to make the stuffed animals for the day the horse race was to be held. I¡¯m starting to feel a little more relaxed now.


    On the day of the horse race, we finished our preparations and gathered in front of the entrance. Since the meeting place was set at the racetrack, it was just the Margrave  Heine family.


    Even  father seemed nervous about meeting His Majesty the King and Her Royal Highness the Queen.


    ¡°Everyone seems ready to go. I just want to remind you all to behave properly.¡±


    Everyone nodded silently. If anything were to happen, we would be in big trouble. Moreover, the members of the royal family are here on a personal visit. If they were discovered, there would be an uproar. We had better be careful.


    The carriage carrying us soon arrived at the racetrack. It had been improved many times since it was first built, and has become like an amusement park. The stores that used to be stalls were now housed in solid buildings.


    The betting ticket booth, which had no ceiling, now has a splendid covered reception counter with many receptionists lined up. Some of the observation seats were also covered. It means that they are making money from horse racing.


    Naturally, we were the first to arrive at the meeting place. We couldn¡¯t make our guests wait. We waited in the waiting room, and soon after, Marquis Mullan¡¯s party soon showed up.


    After exchanging greetings with our parents, they immediately began talking about the future.


    ¡°I never thought that His Majesty the King and Her Highness the Queen would be here¡­¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect them either. They must be very interested in horse racing.¡±


    ¡°As I recall, His Majesty the King was a big fan of horseback riding. That may be the reason.¡±


    I heard the grown-ups talking about such things. The children surrounding the sweets were also silent. Even Miss Hilda, as expected, is quiet as a borrowed cat because His Majesty the King and Her Royal Highness the Queen are coming.


    I wondered where her energy from the other day went, but I guess that¡¯s how mature she is.


    ¡°A visitor has arrived.¡±


    The servant announced that a new visitor had arrived. The room was filled with tension.

 CH 40

    A servant brought in a party led by armed knights. They were dressed in clothes that were several grades lower than their usual dignified attire, but they still had an unmistakable power. It was His Majesty the King.


    I was amazed that the people around me did not recognize him.


    Next to him was Her Royal Highness the Queen, and Miss Daniela and Chloe. They were dressed in the same modest attire as the last time they visited our home, and Her Royal Highness was wearing clothes similar to mother¡¯s. This makes them look a bit like high-ranking nobles. Way to go.


    Even father, who must have had an audience with His Majesty the King many times, looked nervous  as he greeted the guests. And it was the same for Marquis Mullan.


    Because it was such a state, we, the children, were also very nervous. We greeted each other awkwardly.


    It was the first time for me to see His Majesty the King in person, but he has the aura of someone who stands on top. He seemed to be restraining himself as much as possible.


    As soon as the greetings were over, Chloe came over to us. Her goal, of course, was probably a stuffed animal.


    ¡°Julius!¡±


    ¡°I have prepared what I promised you, Chloe-sama.¡±


    ¡°Oh, my, you¡¯re so stiff. You can call me as usual.¡±


    No, even if Chloe is fine, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good idea to call her out here. While I was wondering what to do, I made eye contact with His Majesty the King.


    ¡°This is not a public occasion. You can continue to socialize with us as you have in the past.¡±


    ¡°Ha!¡¡As you wish.¡±


    I bowed my head. If it¡¯s an order from His Majesty the King, it can¡¯t be helped. The other people who heard this should also follow suit. If I was too modest, I might be considered an insolent person who does not obey the king¡¯s order.


    ¡°Chloe, here¡¯s the stuffed cat I promised you. I made it the same as Lady Daniela¡¯s so you wouldn¡¯t fight.¡±


    I handed two stuffed animals to Chloe. Chloe hugged them and looked at both of them with wanting eyes. She seemed to really like cats. Perhaps she liked it.


    ¡°Can you give me both of them?¡±


    ¡°No, please give one to Daniela-sama.¡±


    I¡¯m going to get in trouble. You don¡¯t think the two sisters would get into a fight, do you? As I was feeling uneasy, Miss Daniela came over to me. For some reason, Her Royal Highness also followed along. No way.¡­¡­


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s a really adorable stuffed animal. Daniela was right. I¡¯m starting to want one too.¡±


    She looked enviously at the stuffed animal that Chloe was holding as she said so. This is the pattern that Her Royal Highness wants one too.


    Even when Chloe handed the stuffed animal to Miss Daniela, she just stared at it.


    ¡°Hey mother, it¡¯s your bad habit to have an eye for cute things. If you look at me with such covetous eyes, I¡¯ll feel guilty somehow.¡±


    Miss Daniela said so in dismay. Both Chloe and miss Daniela were holding the stuffed animal tightly. So Her Royal Highness likes cute things, huh? This is the first time I¡¯ve heard this information.


    ¡°Oh, dear, a little bit of it is fine. It¡¯s not something that will diminish. I heard that Julius-chan made this stuffed animal, is it true?¡±


    ¡°Eh, yes, it¡¯s true. It was made by an amateur, so I can¡¯t sell it¡­¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not true. The stuffed animals made by Julius are the best. I want a bunny now!¡±


    Hey, wait a minute, Chloe. What are you trying to order a new stuffed animal? Look, the queen looks like she wants one, too. This is not good.


    I looked to my father for help.


    ¡°©¤ Then I think it is time for me to show you the racetrack. I will show you the best horses that are being raised in our Heine Margrave territory.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m looking forward to it. You will show us around, won¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°of course.¡±


    Nice, father. Now we¡¯ve managed to save the day. If I manage to cover it up, I would be able to make it go away.


    That¡¯s what I thought, but the pressure from the girls was stronger than I expected. For some reason, not only my sister Rosalia, but also Chloe and Caro were following me around. Alex brother, of course, was accompanied by miss Daniela and Miss Hilda. My brother Cain, who is a bit of a recluse, looks a bit lonely.


    If I could take his place, I would.


    ¡°He¡¯s got a great shine, doesn¡¯t he? That horse is not only fast, but also has a very high endurance. The brown horse over there is very strong. It is suitable for pulling a carriage.¡±


    Father is selling the horses in our territory to His Majesty the King. If His Majesty the King likes the horse and buys it, it will be a foil for the horses in the Margrave Heine territory . If that happens, more and more people from other territories will come to buy horses.


    Meanwhile, the time for the first race of the day was approaching. People were lined up at the ticket booth. Some of them look like servants. Perhaps the nobles have sent them to buy tickets.


    ¡°Hey, can we buy betting tickets too?¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately, we can¡¯t until we come of age.¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡±


    ¡°To avoid getting involved in crime.¡±


    Chloe seemed to be satisfied with my answer for the time being. I checked the condition of the horses in the first race while ¡°appraising¡± them. It seemed that the horse in the fourth slot was in good shape.


    It seems that His Majesty the King and his family also buy tickets for horses. Do they like to gamble?¡¡I hope they see it as just a form of entertainment.


    The race has started. Horses ran past right in front of my eyes. No matter how many times I see it, the power of the race always thrilled me. It would be a great feeling to be able to ride a horse. I was not allowed to ride a horse because I was still a child. I was envious when I saw my brother Cain practicing horseback riding.


    ¡°It¡¯s so powerful. It was so fast.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s amazing, isn¡¯t it? You don¡¯t usually see horses sprinting like this. Everyone who sees it for the first time are always amazed.¡±


    Caro¡¯s eyes were black and white, and she looked so cute. Her initial frightened look had completely disappeared.

 CH 41

    In the first race, the horse in the fourth slot finishes first, just as I predicted. The crowd cheered loudly. It seems he has guessed it right, judging from His Majesty the King¡¯s delight.


    The horse race had been held many times since that day, but there was still only a single winner. There were two reasons. One is that the calculations are tedious, and the other is that it is difficult to determine the ranking when the race is close.


    It would have been nice if we could have used photo judging, but we don¡¯t have that yet. Depending on the decision, it could cause a big problem. Therefore, at the present time, when a horse¡¯s first place could not be determined by any means, the race was declared invalid.


    ¡°I can¡¯t buy a ticket even though my prediction was right. Too bad.¡±


    Chloe sighed deeply. Did she really want to gamble that badly? It seems that Chloe has inherited His Majesty the King¡¯s love of gambling. His Majesty, who won the race just now, seems to be buying a betting ticket for the next race as well.


    The horses for the next race pass in front of my eyes one after another. This time, the second horse seems to be the better choice.


    ¡°Julius, which horse do you think will come first in the next race?¡±


    Chloe asked with a smile. Both Rosalia and Caro are looking at me. Are they curious about my prediction?¡¡I don¡¯t think I¡¯m going to buy a ticket, so there¡¯s no problem if I answer.


    ¡°I would have to say, The horse in the second slot seems to be in good shape. If it were me, I would buy a ticket for the second horse.¡±


    ¡°Oh, what a coincidence. I think the horse in the second slot will be the best.¡±


    Coincidence, huh? Maybe Chloe has the¡ºAppraisal¡»skill. Or maybe she can see the future?


    ¡°Then it looks like the horse in the second frame is definitely the one.¡±


    I answered with a smile, but this doesn¡¯t sound very good, if at all, does it?¡¡Because people with skills will definitely have an advantage. It is not impossible to win first place in every race.


    Maybe we should adopt some kind of countermeasure for this. I don¡¯t think we should show the horses before the race. Let¡¯s show them after the betting ticket purchase is over.


    While I was thinking about this, the second race started. As Chloe and I had predicted, the horse with the second slot came in first. His Majesty the King seemed to have guessed again.


    Huh?¡¡Could it be that His Majesty the King can see something too?


    ¡°That¡¯s great, brother!¡¡You¡¯ve guessed it.¡±


    ¡°Thank you. That horse had a good coat. I had a feeling he was in good shape.¡±


    ¡°Oh, really?¡¡I thought I was ¡­¡­¡±


    Everyone¡¯s eyes focused on Chloe. She looked uncomfortable.


    ¡°Oh, nothing!¡±


    Chloe looked away with a ¡°pout¡±. This is definitely a sign that she is seeing something.


    The race went on despite Chloe¡¯s suspicious behavior. It seemed that every time a horse passed in front of his eyes, father introduced the horse to His Majesty the King. Hearing this, His Majesty the King nodded his head repeatedly. Marquis Mullan, who was nearby, was nodding his head in the same way.


    It seemed that they were doing a good job of selling the horses. If the horses produced by Margrave Heine  are of a quality that His Majesty the King would approve of, they will sell even more. The day may soon come when the Margrave Heine territory will become the birthplace of the best horses in the Kingdom of Spencer.


    Just as the sun was reaching its peak and I was thinking that it was time for lunch, something went wrong. We were not particularly panicking, as this happens often at the racetracks. When father gave the order, the security guards saluted and left.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    Caro asked me with an anxious look on her face. She was pinching my sleeve. She had lost much of her frightened look, but she seemed to revert to her timid nature as soon as she encounters some kind of trouble. This is the kind of person who needs to be reassured.


    ¡°It¡¯s no big deal. It happens often when we hold horse races. It¡¯s probably just a bunch of people who missed their tickets.¡±


    ¡°Is that all right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s all right. That¡¯s what the guards are for, you know. We train them on a regular basis.¡±


    ¡°Oh, so it¡¯s okay if I go watch then?¡±


    I don¡¯t know if Chloe has the guts to be an onlooker, but she has a twinkle in her eye. I am sure she has never seen a rougher scene before. Perhaps she is thrilled at the prospect of seeing something she has only read about in books.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want anything to happen to you. It would be better not to.¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. It¡¯s dangerous.¡±


    Caro seems to be against it. Rosalia was also against it. She was sticking to my arm like an octopus, perhaps remembering the time she was attacked by a wyvern.


    But the commotion, which I had thought would be resolved quickly, was growing louder and louder.


    ¡°Lionel, what happened?¡±


    It seems that father indeed thought something was wrong. While evacuating His Majesty the King and others, he is ordering a reconfirmation of the situation. I was also curious and looked toward the direction of the commotion.


    Apparently, it was not just one man, but multiple men are acting violently.


    If it was just one man, it would be easy to catch him. But when there are several, it becomes more difficult. Moreover, they seemed to be nobles. The guards were cautious to touch him.


    The pressure on both my arms became stronger. I looked at the younger sisters, Rosalia and Caro, and saw that they looked pale. On the other hand, Chloe, on the other hand, was staring at him with wide eyes. She looked as if she wanted to see them more closely. I need to do something soon.


    In this case, let¡¯s use ¡°hold¡± magic to subdue that nobleman. If I use it without chanting, I should be undetected. If I could contain the movement of that nobleman, the rest should be fine.


    I watched the movements of the guards and  timed my move. Now!


    ¡°!? Julius¡­?¡±


    The magic of the hold held the nobleman without missing a beat. Taking advantage of this, the guards restrained the men who were making noise one after another. But apparently, Caro noticed that I secretly used magic.


    Could it be that Caro can see the flow of magic? As I recall, there was a ¡°magic power sensing¡± skill in the scout¡¯s skill set. In the game, you would have been able to follow the traces of it to find out where the area boss was.


    This could have been exposed. I need to keep Caro¡¯s mouth shut to avoid making a big deal out of it.


    I put my index finger to my lips and looked at Caro. Caro nodded her head silently. This should probably be fine ¡­¡­, right?

 CH 42

    Those who were seized were led inside by the guards. Anyone who causes trouble is banned for the time being, even if he or she is a nobleman. This was possible because of the reasonably high status of Margrave Heine.


    Given that, maybe the territories where horse races can be held are limited. Perhaps there could be some cooperation with powerful nobles, but unless they are on good terms with each other, it is likely to be a source of trouble.


    There¡¯s a chance this won¡¯t be as much of a rivalry as we thought. If that happens, we will make a lot of money.


    ¡°Julius, what was that?¡±


    Caro asked stealthily. She seemed to be curious about what kind of magic I had used. It would be better to tell her and keep her quiet.


    ¡°I used a ¡®hold¡¯ magic earlier.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of that magic.¡±


    Caro nodded her head. Could it be a magic that doesn¡¯t exist in this world?¡¡I don¡¯t think so.


    ¡°It¡¯s a very special kind of magic, so it¡¯s not surprising that you don¡¯t know about it.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    she seemed to be convinced somehow. Is this going to be all right? She¡¯s still clinging to my arm, though. Maybe she¡¯s still scared, she¡¯s shaking a little.  Let¡¯s stay like this for a while.


    By the way, I¡¯m glad Caro¡¯s breasts are flat. I would have been in trouble if she had a bulge. Ah, father is bowing to His Majesty the King. I¡¯m sure he¡¯s apologizing for the commotion. If it¡¯s too unsafe, he might have it banned.


    But I don¡¯t think His Majesty the King, who seems to like gambling, would ban it. ¡­¡­ Rather, I feel that the nobleman who was just taken would suffer tremendous damage. I don¡¯t think they would expect His Majesty the King to be here. Even in the territory of Margrave Heine, only a few people know that His Majesty the King was coming.


    With the commotion subsided, Chloe¡¯s attention seemed to have wandered away from the brawl. Chloe turned around and stopped moving.


    ¡°Hey, you two, what are you trying to pull!¡±


    ¡°eeeh!¡±


    It¡¯s a complete misunderstanding. The two people who are clinging to my arms are doing so simply out of fear, but for some reason, Chloe seems to see it differently. Somehow it reminds me of the relationship between brother Alex , Miss Daniela and Miss Hilda. No way.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Julius?¡¡Well, well, well, Julius can¡¯t be left out of the loop.¡±


    Perhaps he heard my screams, Alex came to my rescue. Of course, both Miss Daniela and Miss Hilda are attached to his arms. Ah, could it be that I¡¯m in a three-way?


    Since my sister is my relative, it can¡¯t be helped, but will it be like two people fighting for the remaining one arm?


    ¡°Brother Alex, it¡¯s not like that. Rosalia and Caro are just scared because of the brawl earlier.¡±


    ¡°Oh, really?¡±


    Chloe¡¯s voice returned to normal from the low voice she had used earlier. It seems that she realized that she was mistaken. Thank God.


    ¡°I see, Julius is very dependable. I wish I could have seen Julius defeat the wyvern.¡±


    ¡°Wyvern?¡±


    Chloe raises her voice. Rosalia, who was clinging to my arm, freaked out.


    ¡°Brother Alex, please don¡¯t go any further because Rosalia is scared.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    Alex-oniisama raises one hand and apologizes as if he didn¡¯t mean any harm.


    That was probably on purpose. Maybe he¡¯s trying to get me and Caro or Chloe to hook up. He¡¯s trying to get more of his own people to join him. That¡¯s not fair, brother. Don¡¯t drag me into this.


    ¡°Julius, a Wyvern ¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Uh, Chloe, we¡¯ll talk about it later. Look, the next race is starting.¡±


    In this way, I managed to divert the conversation. But it was useless after returning to the mansion.


    After returning to the mansion, we separated to our respective salons.


    Father took His Majesty to the salon with the best view in the Margrave¡¯s house. And then Alex and his companions were in the next highest grade salon.


    As usual, Miss Daniela and Miss Hilda were smiling and glaring at each other so much that you could have heard a bee stinging sound, and I was not very interested in entering that room. So we, the children, took refuge in a suitable open salon.


    ¡°I know it must be hard for you too, Brother Alex.¡±


    I drank a glass of cold juice offered by a servant and felt a little cooler. I was glad that this was a summer resort. It is thanks to this that I am able to stay this cool in the middle of summer.


    ¡°Is Julius really going to say that?¡±


    Brother Cain is smiling bitterly. I think he might be right. I¡¯m starting to envy Brother Cain.


    ¡°Hey, tell me about the wyvern story.¡±


    ¡°Chloe, that¡¯s fine, but I think some people don¡¯t want to hear about it.¡±


    I glanced at Rosalia and Caro. Rosalia has a blue face, but Caro did not. No, she looked rather like she wanted to listen.


    ¡°Julius, you should talk to them.¡±


    Saying that, brother Cain took Rosalia to a sofa at a little distance away. Rosalia probably didn¡¯t want to listen either. Without saying a word, she followed brother Cain.


    When there were only three of us left at the table, I talked about the wyvern attack.


    ¡°Windblade!?¡¡How could you use such high-level magic? I¡¯m amazed.¡±


    Chloe shook her head and sighed. Caro, on the other hand, was unresponsive. Since I used magic that Caro didn¡¯t know about without chanting, so she may have taken that as a matter of course.


    ¡°Hey, can you do any other awesome magic?¡±


    ¡°Amazing magic huh ¡­¡­ what kind of magic for example?¡±


    Oh, shit. I should have researched more about magic if this was going to happen. For better or worse, since I was only thinking about magic potions, I completely neglected to gather any other information. From now on, I might as well look into both magic and magical tools.


    ¡°Well, what about things like ¡­¡­ fireballs?¡±


    ¡°Probably¡­ I don¡¯t know what kind of magic I can use myself!¡±


    ¡°I have a magic teacher, but I only learned elementary level magic.  He said, ¡®You have to be able to use elementary magic in a flowing way.¡±


    I threw my hands up in the air as if to say, ¡°I can¡¯t help it¡±. I was not lying. The teacher really said that and made me use elementary magic.


    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s the same everywhere. Me too.¡±


    ¡°What?¡¡Is it the same in the royal family?¡±


    ¡°It seems that by using elementary magic enough times, you will get better at controlling magic. If you can¡¯t do that, they can¡¯t teach you intermediate magic.¡±


    I see. It is true that if a child uses more powerful intermediate-level magic and mishandles it, there could be tremendous damage.


    ¡°So how did you learn high-level magic? I¡¯m sure Caro¡¯s curious too, right?¡±


    Ugh, Chloe looks bad!¡¡She¡¯s trying to get Caro on her side, isn¡¯t she?


    ¡°Huh?¡¡I¡¯m certainly curious, but I wonder if ¡­¡­ Julius has secrets he can¡¯t tell anyone?¡±


    Caro glances at me. On her face, it was clearly written, ¡°It¡¯s a secret between the two of us¡±. This is the one who has completely grasped my weakness.

 CH 43

    A wrinkle formed between Chloe¡¯s eyebrows. Her eyes became suspiciously jittery. I felt like Chloe¡¯s face had ¡°suspicious¡± written on it.


    ¡°Hmm, I see. I want to know Julius¡¯ secret.¡±


    ¡°I think everyone has a few secrets that they can¡¯t tell anyone. Maybe Chloe has them too?¡±


    Chloe ponders my words with a ¡°hmmm.¡± Even royalty may have a secret or two that they can¡¯t tell.


    ¡°Yes, there might be. But aren¡¯t you guys hiding something from me?¡±


    ¡°So, at least one or two secrets. ¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°I mean, do you share any secrets between you two?¡±


    Ugh, so sharp! Why are girls so perceptive? What should I do. I looked at Caro unintentionally and our eyes met. Chloe sensed the scene.


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that you guys kissed without my knowledge?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t!¡±


    You have a very rich imagination, don¡¯t you? No, it¡¯s too rich. I can¡¯t help but wonder if Chloe thinks about that kind of thing all the time.


    ¡°Big brother?¡±


    Perhaps hearing Chloe¡¯s comment, my younger sister Rosalia flew over. Her eyes were already shut. ¡°You¡¯ve got it all wrong!¡±


    ¡°I really didn¡¯t do that. How could I kiss her in a place full of people like that?¡±


    ¡°Hmmm¡­ Then, would you have kissed her in a place where there were no people?¡±


    ¡°Brother!¡±


    Oh, no. This is a pattern of not being able to communicate at all. I¡¯m completely turned off. Caro is slumped over with a bright red face, perhaps imagining the scene.


    Caro, that¡¯s like saying you did it!


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I¡¯m saying. There¡¯s no way I could do that to someone who isn¡¯t my fianc¨¦e. Even Chloe  wouldn¡¯t do such a sloppy thing, would she?¡±


    ¡°Maybe ¡­¡­, depending on who you¡¯re with?¡±


    ¡°Chloe, you¡¯ve been reading too many romance novels. I suggest you read a wider variety of books.¡±


    Who recommended all those books to Chloe? ¡­¡­ Miss Daniela?¡¡It¡¯s possible.


    The royal family is basically a political marriage. So it may be natural to yearn for romance, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good idea to believe what you read in romance novels.


    Chloe looks down, as if I had hit the bull¡¯s-eye. I feel a little sorry for her, but it is much better than creating an unintended misunderstanding. When did Caro and I get into such a relationship? If rumors spread that Caro and I had been in a relationship, both of us will be in trouble.


    In aristocratic society, not only rumors about adults, but also rumors about children spread at a great pace. The relationship between brother Alex, Miss Daniela, and Miss Hilda should soon also spread quickly. No, the fact that their parents had visited the Margrave of Heine might mean that it had already spread.


    Just as things were getting awkward, the parents of each of them came to pick us up. We saw them off straight to the front door.


    The dining room at dinner was filled with tired faces. Even my parents looked tired. Everyone was eating dinner in silence.


    ¡°It¡¯s been a long time since you came here, and you look pretty tired.¡±


    ¡°Yes, if His Majesty the King is here, I will have to attend to him.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha, you still don¡¯t have enough experience.¡±


    Grandfather is laughing. The current head of  Margrave Heine territory is my father.  grandfather, who had given up the reigns, was living an elegant life with grandmother in the annex. Perhaps he retired a little early because he wanted to get away from his many ties. He was a bold old man.


    ¡°Has Alex found a girl he¡¯s interested in?¡±


    Brother Alex coughed and coughed at Grandpa¡¯s sudden gesture. Apparently, he didn¡¯t want to be prodded too much.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s, that¡­¡±


    ¡°Ha ha ha!¡¡That¡¯s a terse reply. Well, don¡¯t be in a hurry. It is not so easy to find your destined partner, and even if you do, there is often nothing you can do about it.¡±


    Basically, the eldest son is a political marriage. Brother Alex would follow suit. And I don¡¯t know what will happen to the second son and below.


    ¡°What about Cain and Julius?¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t ¡­¡­ yet.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not ready either.¡±


    I said it clearly to my brother Cain, who laughed bitterly. If I falter here, Rosalia will get jealous again. If that happens, I don¡¯t know what she will do.


    Would she storm into my bath?¡¡Or will she try to sneak into my futon?¡¡Either way, it¡¯s very difficult to handle Rosalia.


    ¡°Huh? Doesn¡¯t Julius have a girl he¡¯s interested in?¡±


    Brother Alex grinning. Why are you bringing me into this? Do you have something against me?¡¡I¡¯m not going to let you get away with this!


    ¡°No, no, I can¡¯t compare to Brother Alex. Brother Alex has flowers on both hands, I envy you. Which one are you going to choose?¡±


    ¡°Nah, what are you talking about, Julius? It¡¯s outrageous to say that I choose. I¡¯m not the one who gets to choose.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡¡My grandson can¡¯t choose only one woman?¡±


    The laughing grandfather suddenly stopped laughing.  I felt as if the air around me had dropped to subzero.


    It was grandma. She¡¯s looking at Grandpa with needle-thin eyes!


    ¡°oh, what the heck, that ¡­¡­ is a good way to make sure you know who you¡¯re dealing with. You¡¯d better choose someone solid and dependable, like my wife. Especially Alex, who will be the future heir of the Margrave of Heine. It is better to choose a wife who can support you both.¡±


    Grandfather glanced at Grandmother. Grandmother¡¯s coldness weakened. It seemed that he had managed to get a passing grade.


    Women of all ages are scary. The men are shivering, and it is probably not only because of the cold.

 CH 44

    After eating, I took a bath. After that, all I have to do is go to bed.


    I was exhausted today. I didn¡¯t think that the presence of His Majesty the King alone would be so nerve-wracking.


    Speaking of nerve-wracking, the relationship between Chloe and Caro is the same. I don¡¯t know what they both think of me, but thankfully, they don¡¯t seem to dislike me. In fact, on the contrary, I think they like me. That¡¯s what makes it all the more troubling.


    In my grandiose vision of the future, if I were to get married, it would be to a commoner. In the first place, I myself will become a commoner when I come of age, and to avoid that, I have no intention of going to the only daughter of a noble to be adopted as a son-in-law.


    In other words, since I will be a commoner, if I marry, it will be a commoner. Then I would not marry Chloe of the royal family or Caro of the marquise family. I don¡¯t see how the two of them can live the life of commoners.


    ¡°Big brother!¡±


    I hear a knocking sound. It is my sister Rosalia. I opened the door and she came in and sat on the bed.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Rosalia?¡±


    ¡°Did you kiss Miss Caro, brother?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t.¡±


    I looked up at her. Apparently, my sister also has a vivid imagination. No, this might be Chloe¡¯s fault. Oh, boy.


    ¡°As I said before, I would never do such a slutty thing to someone who wasn¡¯t even my fianc¨¦e.¡±


    ¡°How about your sister, then?¡±


    ¡°huh?¡±


    What are you talking about, my sister? Well, surely a family member would at least give you a kiss on the cheek, right? I have never seen father and mother do it. But surely, in novels, they do it as a greeting on the cheek.


    ¡°Yes, I wonder?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen it in picture books.¡±


    ¡°Oh, is that so?¡±


    Was there such a picture book? A scene of exchanging greeting kisses. It¡¯s jumbled up with my old memories, so It¡¯s not clear.


    ¡° father and mother also kissed each other goodnight.¡±


    ¡°Uh, sure.¡±


    I remember when I was still little and sleeping in the same room as my parents, I think they used to do that. After that, the bed would start creaking, so I rushed under the covers.


    ¡°So it¡¯s okay!¡±


    Rosalia looked at me with a face full of confidence. She¡¯s my family, she¡¯s my sister, I don¡¯t know if she¡¯s going to be okay.


    ¡°All right, fine. Good night, Rosalia.¡±


    Saying that, I lightly kissed Rosalia¡¯s plump cheek. Rosalia held her cheeks with both hands. She¡¯s kind of cute. She is indeed my sister.


    ¡°I¡¯ll do it for you too!¡±


    Without waiting for my reply, Rosalia kisses my cheek.


    We¡¯re siblings, so it¡¯s okay, right?


    The days after that were spent with Chloe coming to visit and Caro coming to play.


    Of course, when they didn¡¯t come, I would take Giles and Christopher around town and socialize with Miss Fabienne and Mr. Edward.


    Edward-kun was envious of me, but when I told him that I was the third son and that the other party would have a hard time, he looked at me and said, ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Edward, you are in a similar situation to me. If you don¡¯t make your own achievements, you can¡¯t make your marriage partner happy.


    In the meantime, the summer vacation season came to an end. Once summer is over, it¡¯s time for the social season. The aristocrats who had visited the Margrave Heine territory for a summer retreat returned to their own territories as quickly as possible.


    Naturally, Chloe and Caro also returned to their own homes. The two, who had become friends for some reason or another, seemed reluctant to part, but it seems that Caro will go to the royal capital with her during the social season. Chloe was happy to know that they would see each other again.


    ¡°Julius is coming to the royal capital too, right?¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m not going.¡±


    ¡°Why not?!¡±


    ¡°Even if you ask me why, ¡­¡­ in the Margrave Heine family, there are certain people who go to the royal capital. I wouldn¡¯t go to the royal capital if I didn¡¯t have any particular business there.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you just say you¡¯re going to see me?¡±


    ¡°No, that¡¯s not quite right.¡±


    ¡°Why are you refusing!?¡±


    Chloe squealed, but that is indeed impossible. It would be seen as if Chloe and I had such a relationship. Even so, Chloe¡¯s sister, Miss Daniela, is a strong candidate for brother Alex¡¯s fianc¨¦e. If Chloe and I were to become engaged, the relationship between the Margrave Heine family and the royal family would be too close.


    Besides, for both the royal family and the Margrave Heine family, one pair is enough to make a match. They would want to use the other pieces for other purposes. Especially the royal family.


    But it would be too pitiful to tell this to Chloe. As you can imagine, I can¡¯t tell her.


    ¡°My sister Rosalia is staying in the family territory. I can¡¯t leave her alone.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you bring Rosalia with you?¡±


    ¡°Rosalia is only six years old. she can¡¯t go to the Royal Capital and have nothing to do. If that¡¯s the case, it¡¯s better for her to stay in the territory, where she can study and have friends.¡±


    Naturally, Rosalia also has people like Giles and Christopher who are with me. There is also interaction with the children. There is a lot to do when you are in the territory, like playing together and studying together.


    ¡°I see. That¡¯s too bad.¡±


    I¡¯m sorry to disappoint Chloe, but I don¡¯t have much interest in the royal capital. Rather, if I go to the royal capital, I think Chloe will call me to the royal castle. Maybe Chloe would do that.


    So, I managed to avoid going to the royal capital, and decided to remain in the Margrave Heine territory with my sister, Rosalia.


    As for my brother Cain, he is going to the royal capital with father and others.


    It seems that my father has allowed him to attend an academy in the royal capital starting next year. When did this happen?


    When I asked him about the details, he told me that it seems that the horse race I proposed is making a lot of money. The number of visitors to the Margrave Heine territory has increased, and money has started to flow into the territory. As a result, tax revenues are at an all-time high.


    That is why we can now afford to spend more money. Because of this, Brother Cain was allowed to attend the school in the royal capital. Of course, Brother Cain thanked me.


    He said, ¡°At this rate, Julius will also be able to enroll in the Royal Academy.¡±¡¡But I politely declined.


    There is no need to go to the royal academy. The academy in the capital also teaches magic potions.


    Even if I went to the academy in The Royal Capital, the lessons on magic potions would not be much different. If that is the case, there is no need to go to the trouble of paying high tuition fees.


    Brother Cain seems to be longing to live alone in the Royal Capital, but I¡¯ve already experienced it. And from that experience, I came to the conclusion that it is easier to have someone else take care of things for me. I have no complaints about my current situation.


    If I ask, they will buy things for me, clean my room, etc. If I go to the salon, they will even prepare tea for me. Isn¡¯t that great? Why don¡¯t they want this?


    Besides, in the future I will have to do everything by myself. Until then, I want to enjoy my life to the fullest.

 CH 45

    The members of the Margrave Heine family, who are heading to the royal capital, gathered in front of the entrance. This year, just like last year, everyone except me and my sister Rosalia will be heading to the royal capital.


    Of course, Grandma, who is an authority on magic potions, is also heading to the capital to interact with other magic potion practitioners. I heard that she has a disciple in The Royal Capital. I only found out about it recently.


    It was sad to say goodbye to my family, but it was my duty as an aristocrat, so I had no choice. After exchanging greetings, the parents left for the capital.


    ¡°I did it! I¡¯m free now!¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help but exclaim with joy. The summer vacation season was really busy. There was little time to research magic potions or develop new magical tools.


    Besides, this year¡¯s social season is different from last year.


    Until now, the only special room where Grandma made her magic potions was in the main building of the Margrave Heine . However, my father, who was concerned about me, prepared the same room in the annex where Grandmother usually lives.


    As a result, the room for making magic potions in the main building is almost unused. Of course, the various tools were still there. In other words, as long as no one is watching, the room can be used freely.


    This means that during the social season, I can work on my potion research. It would only be for a few months, but it would be better than nothing. That was one of the reasons I refused to go to the royal capital.


    I tried to shut myself up in the room from the next day. But Rosalia would have none of it.


    ¡°Brother, what are you sneaking around for?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sneaking around, okay?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a lie.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not lying.¡±


    Rosalia, sensing something through her woman¡¯s intuition, followed me around. Hmmm, there¡¯s nothing I can do about this. Wouldn¡¯t it be better to just reveal it to my sister and ask her to keep it a secret?


    Even if I work while my sister isn¡¯t there, it would be too inefficient to do so while being scared that she might attack at any moment.


    I discussed this with Lionel, the Commander of the knights.


    ¡°So, ¡­¡­. What do you think?¡±


    ¡°If Rosalia-sama is going to find out sooner or later, I don¡¯t think it would hurt to tell her. Rosalia-sama is already six years old. I think it is possible to keep it a secret.¡±


    Lionel¡¯s opinion seems to be the same as mine. Then can I tell her?¡¡The one who would be most troubled if she found out is grandma. She is a high-ranking potion master, so she must be more strict about the rules of being a potion master than anyone else.


    This is evident from the fact that she didn¡¯t take the advice I gave her when I was a little boy as if I didn¡¯t know what I was doing.


    I called Rosalia into the salon. Of course, I asked the servants to leave. Rosalia¡¯s pretty face hardened at my unusual mood.


    ¡°I need to talk to you about something, I want you to keep secret.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    Thus I told Rosalia that I was secretly making and supplying magic potions to the Knights and that I wanted to do research on magic potions during the social season.


    ¡°How about it?¡¡Can you  keep it a secret?¡±


    ¡°Of course. But I have one request. May I watch as brother makes a magic potion?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine. Might not be as much fun, though.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not true.¡±


    Thus, a secret contract was made with Rosalia. With this, I will finally be able to make magic potions. So I immediately set about creating the magic potion with Rosalia.


    I brought a container for preservation to the room where I was going to make the potion, and began to prepare it.


    ¡°So this is going to be a magic potion?¡±


    Rosalia was looking at the ingredients in the container curiously. It seems she is seeing it for the first time. Then it seems she¡¯s never seen the old lady making magic potions.


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. This one is a medicinal herb, this one is a poison-dissipating herb, and that one is a magic herb.¡±


    ¡°Onii-sama, you are very knowledgeable!¡±


    ¡°This much is in the botanical illustrated book. If you¡¯re curious, you can go to the library.¡±


    She reads picture books, but I don¡¯t think she reads illustrated books. There are quite a few illustrated books that even children can enjoy, such as the illustrated book of demons and the illustrated book of magic. She seems to be interested in them, so I¡¯ll take Her with me next time.


    While talking, I quickly prepare the tools. The first step is to grind the material with a mortar. It has already been dried. As expected, I can¡¯t use my ¡°Drying¡± skill in front of Rosalia.


    It would be very bad if she asked me how I did it.


    ¡°Brother, where did you find this leaf?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the thing, there¡¯s a secret flower garden in our yard.¡±


    ¡°I want to go there too!¡±


    ¡°I see. Well, I¡¯ll take you there some other time, but that place is also a secret, okay?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s a secret!¡±


    Saying that, she put her index finger on her little mouth. Yeah, my sister is cute today, too.


    I watched my sister with a smiling expression on her face as I grind it into a powder with a mortar and pestle. Magic is faster, but if you do it manually, you can conserve your magic power.


    When I have ground the material into powder, I bring water. This is just water pumped from a well, so the quality is normal. To upgrade it, I assembled a distillation unit.


    ¡°Good, good, that should do the trick.¡±


    ¡°Brother, what¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°This is a tool for cleaning water.¡±


    ¡°Could you clean the water?¡±


    says the cute little sister, cocking her head a little.


    ¡°Yes, watch this.¡±


    With that, I heated the water from the well. The heat source was the burner of the magical tool. It is small, but it can produce a flame with high firepower. It is a special magic tool for making magic potions and should not be sold to the general public.


    I¡¯ve never seen it in a magic tool store when I went to town. Besides, I don¡¯t see any other use for it. The flame is too small for cooking or attacking monsters.


    After a while, the water that had turned into steam became water again and gradually accumulated in the container prepared next to it. Rosalia was staring at the scene. She seemed to be quite interested in it.


    ¡°Is this different from magic?¡±


    ¡°Yes, this is a physical phenomenon.¡±


    ¡°A physical phenomenon?¡±


    ¡°Hmmm, Rosalia is still too young to understand it. I will teach you when you are older.¡±


    Rosalia was miffed, perhaps thinking she was being treated like a child. I patted her head.


    ¡°promise¡±


    ¡°I promise.¡±


    Somehow, her mood seemed to have returned to normal. Rosalia stared at the situation without getting tired.

 CH 46

    I checked the finished distilled water with the ¡°Appraisal¡± skill.


    Distilled water: top quality


    Hm, it seems that the performance of this distillation equipment is fine. However, the efficiency is not so good because the part where the cooling pipe is originally located is not present. I did not expect it to take this long to produce a glass of distilled water.


    I somehow understood why this distillation apparatus was covered with dust in its disassembled state. Perhaps it had not been used. The old lady must have been using the ordinary quality water from the well as it is, as an ingredient for her magic potion.


    Probably, whether she used distilled water or well water, the finished potion would have been of the lowest quality. If the result is the same, there is no need to take the time to prepare distilled water.


    ¡°Huh, this means I need to improve the distillation equipment.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡¡Did it fail?¡±


    ¡° No, it worked. I just thought I could make it more powerful.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re going to make a new magic tool. Please teach me how to make a magic tool too!¡±


    Rosalia looks at me with a twinkle in her eye. It seems that she became interested in magic tools after I gave her the ¡°star magic tool¡±.


    Since she¡¯s interested, is it okay if I at least teach her a thing or two? But first, I have to finish the task at hand.


    ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll make a special effort to teach Rosalia how to make magic tools.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, brother!¡¡I love you, big brother!¡±


    Saying that, Rosalia hugged me. Yeah, this is good. I¡¯m going to be a sis-con. After patting Rosalia on the head for a while, I started my next task.


    Let¡¯s start with the recovery medicine. Then, proceed to the next step while continuing to work on the distillation equipment.


    i put distilled water in a one-handed pot and brought it to a boil, then added new distilled water to it and lowered the temperature a little. Once it has dropped, I added the herbs that were crushed earlier and heated, being careful not to boil them.


    The solution gradually takes on a greenish color.


    ¡°Brother, what are you making?¡±


    ¡°This is, you see, an elementary recovery medicine. It heals not only abrasions, but also deep wounds.¡±


    ¡°Does it taste good?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, do you want to taste it?¡±


    ¡°Then it¡¯s better to be delicious!¡±


    I see. I see. You want it to taste good? In that case, I¡¯ll add a little effort to make it like an easy-to-drink soft drink. The color is a bit off, though.


    Once the heat is turned off, I filter the water to remove impurities.


    Then put it back in the one-handed pot again and add a little bit of hackberry while keeping the heat on low. Then I add sugar and salt to taste for sweetness.


    I tasted it many times and adjusted the taste carefully.


    ¡°Okay, that should do the trick.¡±


    Elementary recovery medicine: high quality, refreshing, slightly sweet.


    The Appraisal results also looked good. Now we will decide whether to adopt it in earnest after hearing the evaluation of the knights who drank it.


    ¡°Brother, I¡¯d like to taste it too.¡±


    ¡°Just a little bit.¡±


    I let her take a sip with a spoon. It would be an indirect kiss, but Rosalia probably doesn¡¯t mind. It¡¯s okay, right?


    ¡°It¡¯s kind of refreshing.¡±


    ¡°Was it easy to drink?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Hm, it seems that we have created an elementary recovery medicine that even children can easily take. It might be a good idea to market it for children in the future.


    The next step was to make a new magic potion. The ingredients were various spices procured at the kitchen. There are also ingredients that can be used as ingredients for magic potions.


    The one I am planning to make this time is a stamina recovery potion. In the game, it was an essential item, but it seems that it is not available in this world.


    When I asked Lionel about it, he said, ¡°I have never heard of such a magic potion.¡± It would be so convenient if there were. That¡¯s why, this time, I¡¯m going to make that magic potion and have the knights try it out.


    I put distilled water in a one-handed pot, added chili pepper, garlic, and medicinal herbs, and simmered them. A pungent odor emanated from the one-handed pot, and Rosalia¡¯s face contorted.


    ¡°Rosalia, you don¡¯t need to force yourself to observe. Stay away a little.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Rosalia obeyed me. It seemed that she had been overreacting. She was a child, so she didn¡¯t need to worry about that. After confirming that Rosalia had moved away, I began the rest of the work.


    Incidentally, my eyes were starting to hurt too, so I was using water magic to protect my eyes as I worked.


    I think I¡¯ll make protective glasses before the next time I make it. This is hard. Maybe that¡¯s why they stopped making stamina recovery potions? And if the stamina recovery potions that I worked so hard to make is of the lowest quality, and it¡¯s already like poison¡­ that¡¯s probably poison, isn¡¯t it?


    The red liquid that was somehow created is filtered and divided into smaller bottles. I Examine the small portion of clear red liquid with the ¡°Appraisal¡± skill.


    Elementary Stamina recovery potion: high quality, musty


    The magic potion is completed as planned, but is it ¡°musty¡±? Is there anything I can do about this? Let¡¯s give it a taste. Yes, it is drinkable. But if you ask me if I like to drink it, I will have to think about it a bit.


    For the time being, I have completed the planned amount of magic medicine for today. All I have to do now is deliver it to the Knights and see how they react. I wonder if there is anyone who would be willing to be my test subject.


    ¡°Rosalia, I¡¯m done making magic potions for today. Let¡¯s go back to the salon and have tea.¡±


    ¡°Yes, brother!¡±


    When I walked out into the hallway with the crate of finished potions in my arms, Lionel was standing there. He seemed to be watching to make sure no one came in.


    Lionel immediately took the crate I was carrying. I have to admit, that was a big help. Rosalia wanted to hold my hand.


    ¡°Julius-sama, what¡¯s inside this wooden box?¡±


    ¡°of course, it¡¯s a gift for the Knights. I will explain after tea time, so please don¡¯t drink until then.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡±


    Lionel walked us to the salon and then carried the crate toward the knights¡¯ quarters.

 CH 47

    I have tea with my sister Rosalia in the salon. Outside, summer is over and autumn is rapidly approaching. It is already the season for warm herbal tea. This herbal tea was picked from my herb garden, and was of a much better quality than the local herbs.


    ¡°Onii-sama can do anything!¡±


    Apparently, the sight of me making magic potions earlier left a deep impression on her.


    ¡°Hm?¡¡Yes, I can. I¡¯m a little confident when it comes to making things, aren¡¯t I?¡±


    Rosalia¡¯s expectant eyes made me feel a little bullish. I¡¯m confident in my ability to make magic potions because I have God¡¯s approval. But for other things, such as magic tools, I think there are people who are better than me.


    It is quite possible that there are people like me who came to this world because they were asked by God to ¡°develop magical tools.¡± Because I am the magic potion version of that.


    Yeah, it¡¯s not good to get carried away. Let¡¯s be careful.


    ¡°Can I come with you?¡±


    ¡°To the Knights¡¯ quarters? It¡¯s probably okay, but it¡¯s not a very interesting place, is it?¡±


    I wonder if all the knights will be angry with me for saying this.¡¡But for Rosalia, who is mostly in the main building of the Margrave Heine family, the knights¡¯ quarters are not pretty and I don¡¯t think there is anything to see.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine because I have you.¡±


    Hmmm, an awfully high level of trust in me. My presence won¡¯t add to the sights. But if she says she¡¯ll follow me, I guess it can¡¯t be helped. I think it¡¯s time to show Rosalia the reality of the outside world.


    After tea time was over, I headed immediately to the knight¡¯s quarters. When I went to the office as usual, Lionel was already waiting for me. The wooden box from earlier is placed on the amber table.


    There was also a medic there. When he saw us coming in, his eyes widened slightly.


    ¡°This is Julius-sama and Rosalia-sama. Welcome to our abode.¡±


    He also seemed surprised that we had come together. Lionel, on the other hand, did not seem particularly concerned. Perhaps he had expected her to come with me.


    ¡°Welcome, Julius-sama, Rosalia-sama. Please sit down. Could you tell me what¡¯s inside this box?¡±


    Lionel said in a gentle tone. He¡¯s probably trying not to scare Rosalia, whom he doesn¡¯t know very well. No matter how much Lionel has a stern face, he doesn¡¯t want to be feared unconditionally.


    ¡°Of course. Lionel, I want you to see this.¡±


    Saying that, I took out a green magic potion and a red magic potion from the box.


    ¡°This is a ¡­¡­ elementary recovery potion. What is this red potion?¡±


    ¡°Rosalia wanted me to change the flavor of the elementary level recovery potion so that it would be easier to take. This red one is an elementary level stamina restorative. Due to the ingredients, It may be a little bit tough to drink.¡±


    ¡°Elementary Stamina  recovery medicine¡­¡±


    Lionel and the medic picked up the medicine and looked at it carefully.


    It must be the first time they see the magic potion.They were probably concerned about the effects. The medic¡¯s face was a complex mixture of anticipation and anxiety.


    ¡°So, is there anyone who would be willing to be a test subject ¡­or rather, try it out?¡±


    ¡°Hm, if it¡¯s an elementary recovery potion, I¡¯m currently conducting combat training, so I think we¡¯ll have a chance to use it. What are the ¡­¡­ effects of the elementary Stamina  recovery medicine?¡±


    ¡°Oops, that¡¯s right. If you take the Elementary stamina Recovery Potion, it will restore your strength and make you feel better. So I¡¯m hoping someone who is tired will give it a try.¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case¡­¡­.¡±


    Lionel then turned to the medic. The medic¡¯s eyes widened as he realized what Lionel was about to say.


    ¡°Yes!¡¡Is it me?¡¡Well, um¡­¡±


    He wants to say no, but he can¡¯t. He was clearly flustered.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been blabbering every day lately about how tired you are, haven¡¯t you?¡¡Well, this seems to help, so why don¡¯t you give it a try?¡±


    ¡°I understand. ¡­¡­¡±


    He reluctantly picked up the bottle containing the red liquid. I heard a gulp and a spitting sound.


    The medic fearfully unsealed the bottle and sniffed it. His face contorted a little, but it should be much better than the previous magic potion. I guess the Odor resistance helped me in an unexpected way.


    ¡°Then, I¡¯ll have some.¡±


    He stiffened his arms, and then  closed his eyes and gulped it down in one gulp. His face contorted.


    ¡°It¡¯s so bitter!¡¡But it¡¯s not undrinkable. What is it?¡¡My body feels somewhat refreshed,¡­¡­ and my head feels clear as if the clouds have cleared!¡¡Hooooooooooo!¡±


    The medic began to make a strange yell. His complexion is clearly better than before. I don¡¯t know what it is, but his eyes are sparkling.


    ¡°Commander!¡¡You should drink this!¡¡You said so yourself, didn¡¯t you?¡¡It¡¯s getting harder to get rid of fatigue these days because of my age. Here, take a drink, Commander, come on!¡±


    The medic started to push the medicine to Lionel. It seems that the tension has risen along with him. He was in a state of complete and utter disrespect.


    ¡°Okay, okay, calm down!¡¡I didn¡¯t expect you to change so much. ¡­¡­ Then I¡¯ll give it a try too.¡±


    Saying that, Lionel made the same face as the medic  earlier and drank down the elementary stamina recovery medicine.


    ¡°¡­¡­this is!¡±


    Lionel began to come alive, so much so that I thought he was getting younger. It seemed that Lionel had also been accumulating fatigue on a regular basis. He may not have been mistaken when he said he was tired because of his age.


    The two men, now in high spirits, began to engage in lively discussions.


    ¡°This is wonderful. If we have this magic potion when we need to encamp for days on a mission, we can carry out the mission without damaging the morale of the Knights.¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. If the knights who have fallen behind in the ranks due to physical exhaustion are given this potion, they will be able to reach their destination without disrupting the ranks.¡±


    The two men nodded to each other. It looks like there¡¯s a good chance we¡¯ll be able to use the stamina recovery medicine. The ingredients are easy to obtain, and it wouldn¡¯t hurt to make some.


    ¡°But there might be some people who don¡¯t like the taste.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s true. There¡¯s no need for it to be compared to the previous magic potion, but it might be better if it were a little easier to take.¡¯


    It seems that the only problem is the taste. If so, we can try to extract only the flavor component.¡¡If it works, I should be able to get rid of the flavor. How about making it into a carbonated drink that is energetic and refreshing?¡¡It would be refreshing, so why not have a bottle of it?¡¡It might be easy to drink it

 CH 48

    After we left the office, we came to the training ground where the actual combat training was in progress. Since we were going to the trouble, I decided to observe the training with my sister Rosalia.


    We sat down on a small, covered observation seat in the training area and looked down.


    There were a number of knights engaged in a group battle, and there was dust clouds and angry shouts flying about. It was a scene just like a battlefield. Rosalia saw this and clung to my arm.


    ¡°Are you scared?¡¡Rosalia, the knights of the Heine territory sometimes fight like this. Not only do they fight monsters, but they also fight humans like this.¡±


    ¡°Why are humans fighting each other?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because, you know, humans are greedy. We want this, we want that. I want that person to do what I say, I want money. When greed like that gets too strong, it causes people to fight each other.¡±


    I wasn¡¯t sure if Rosalia got the message, but she watched the training with a serious expression on her face.


    After a while, they seemed to take a break. They returned to their resting place in pieces. Some of them made their way to the infirmary.


    This is my chance to try the new flavor of elementary recovery medicine.


    ¡°Rosalia, I¡¯m going to the infirmary.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go with you.¡±


    She grabbed my arm and didn¡¯t seem to want to let go, so I decided to take her with me. No one seemed to be badly hurt, and there would be no traumatic scene for Rosalia.


    We reached the infirmary. It smelled a bit musty. It was not very pleasant. Rosalia is also frowning.


    Lionel and the medic were already in the room.


    ¡°I knew you would be here,  Julius-sama.¡±


    ¡°Julius-sama, we are always ready for you.¡±


    The knights in the room are tilting their heads and looking at each other when they see the two men in very high spirits.


    The medic took out the new flavor elementary recovery medicine from a box.


    ¡°This is a flavored elementary recovery potion newly developed by Julius-sama!¡¡I can¡¯t wait to see what it tastes like!¡±


    ¡°I have no doubt it will be effective, so let me know what you think of the taste. Depending on that, we will continue to employ them in the Knights order. I¡¯m really looking forward to it!¡±


    The knights received the elementary recovery medicine with fake smiles on their faces, wondering what happened to the two of them.


    Rosalia stares at them without blinking, seemingly curious about what changes will occur after they drinks the elementary recovery potion.


    The knights opened the lid and smelled it.


    ¡°It¡¯s a refreshing aroma. This alone seems to be enough to relax the weary spirit.¡±


    ¡°It certainly does. Now let¡¯s have a taste¡­ this is!¡±


    The knight who took the first sip was astonished and drank it down. The other knights also nodded at each other.


    ¡°It is slightly sweet and makes me feel refreshed. I feel as if the heat inside my body is quenched.¡±


    ¡°It is really easy to drink. Even the tasteless elementary recovery medicine I have taken so far was easy enough to take, but once I get to know this taste, I don¡¯t think I will be able to go back to it.¡±


    ¡°I agree with you. This is easy to drink. It seems to linger.¡±


    Laughter echoed through the infirmary. It seemed to be well received. If this is the case, I think I will switch to this flavor of elementary recovery medicine from now on. If it is easy to swallow, you¡¯ll probably be able to use the magic potion even for minor injuries. If we can treat injuries as soon as possible, we can certainly reduce the number of casualties.


    ¡°Julius-sama, it seems to be well received. I¡¯d like to try it myself, but I¡¯ll save that for when I¡¯m injured.¡±


    Lionel is saying something rather frightening. The only time a Knight Commander would get injured would be if he was being pushed too hard. I would prefer not to come on such a day.


    ¡°That¡¯s amazing, brother!¡¡If you drink the elementary recovery medicine, your injuries will be healed immediately. So this is magic medicine!¡±


    Rosalia is excited to see the effect of the elementary level recovery medicine for the first time. The Elementary Stamina Recovery Medicine that Lionel and the medic used earlier was a little hard to understand its effects, you know.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. That¡¯s the beauty of magic potions.¡±


    I patted Rosalia on the head as I said this. Rosalia was looking at me with a respectful gaze. I was a little embarrassed.


    ¡°I¡¯ll let you guys try this one out as well. This is a magic potion called an ¡°elementary stamina recovery potion¡±. Of course, it was made by Julius-sama, so its effectiveness is guaranteed. We took it ourselves, and as you can see, we¡¯re fine!¡±


    ¡°Elementary stamina recovery potion.?¡±


    The knights stared at the red potion with a wry look on their faces. They took it in their hands, as if they couldn¡¯t refuse it. I don¡¯t mind if you say that you don¡¯t like it, but ¡­¡­it seems that there is a way to use it, even if it¡¯s not right now.


    ¡°It will take all your fatigue away. But it¡¯s still in the prototype stage, and it tastes bad.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s disgusting ¡­¡­.¡±


    They hesitated for a moment, but then gulped it down. Their faces contorted just like Lionel¡¯s and the medic¡¯s earlier.


    ¡°It sure tastes bad.¡±


    ¡°I can drink it with no problem, but Compared to the taste of elementary recovery potion I just drank, it¡¯s a bit ¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°The taste will be improved from now on, so please look forward to it.¡±


    For the time being, I put in a follow-up. I don¡¯t know if it will work. And soon a change came to the knights.


    ¡°Wha, what is this!¡¡I¡¯m so excited!¡±


    ¡°Hooooooooooooo!¡¡Power, power seems to be overflowing!¡±


    ¡°Mmm! It¡¯s wonderful!¡±


    The knights who drank it are in a strange state of tension. It may be better to stop giving this for a while. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s addictive like drugs, but it¡¯s kind of scary.


    Rosalia is clearly frightened when she sees the shiny knights. She clung tightly to my arm.


    ¡°Yes. Julius-sama, this elementary stamina recovery potion is also a wonderful magic potion!¡±


    ¡°Ah, ah. Thank you, Lionel.¡±


    I had to smile delicately. When I tasted it, it wasn¡¯t so bad, but maybe if you take it when you are tired, the effects will show up stronger?¡¡I better try a lot of things before I offer this one.

 CH 49

    Both the new flavor of elementary recovery potion and the new magic potion, elementary physical strength recovery potion, were adopted by the knights. When a knight, who had been gloomily saying that he had been feeling tired lately and was feeling ¡­¡­ tired, became crisp and full of vitality after taking the elementary level restorative, I wondered if it was really safe to offer this magic potion to him.


    The only drawback of the potion, its ¡°harshness,¡± seemed to be a deterrent, and I was fortunate that people did not say they would try it. Perhaps it is intentionally tart to deter people from trying it?


    I think I¡¯ll make the improved version taste better, but with a slightly weaker effect. As you can imagine, that group of hustlers looks like a group of people on a dubious drug. I¡¯m glad I tried it.


    ¡°Brother, it doesn¡¯t smell good in here.¡±


    My sister Rosalia had wrinkles on her eyebrows. I¡¯m already used to it, but it seems to be tough on the little lady Rosalia. But, as Rosaria certainly says, the coolness of her training ground is very bad.


    Even now, the water from the well is poured over my head to purify my body. I wouldn¡¯t say that the well water is dirty, but since it wasn¡¯t meant to wash the body, it seemed that the smell and dirt could only be removed in its own way.


    ¡°It¡¯s as Rosaria says. Well then, let¡¯s make a magic tool that will make the knights feel refreshed.¡±


    ¡°Brother, can I have a look?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine, but¡­¡±


    What should I do. It¡¯s really bad to use the ¡°Craft¡± skill, isn¡¯t it? In that case, there is no choice but to make it steadily by hitting it with a hammer.


    After deciding what to do next, I greeted Lionel and the others and returned to the mansion.


    Until dinner time, it¡¯s magic tool creation time. The magic tool I¡¯m going to make from now on is a shower, a magic tool that makes water come out of countless small holes.


    Let¡¯s start with the blueprint. If you don¡¯t have this, you can¡¯t get someone to make it for you.


    My policy is ¡°make as much as you need and leave the rest to someone else¡±. For that, we need a blueprint. If you say, ¡°Take it apart yourself and check it out,¡± then you don¡¯t know when that magic tool will be mass-produced. In the meantime, I¡¯m sorry if I keep making it.


    The shower magic tool I¡¯m trying to make this time is also a magic tool that didn¡¯t exist in the game, just like the ¡°star magic tool¡± I made last time. It turns out that even magic tools that don¡¯t exist in the game can be made if you have the inspiration, so I¡¯m thinking of making a magic tool that everyone will be happy with.


    As I was writing the blueprints on my desk, Rosalia peered in. She didn¡¯t say a word, probably because she thought it would be bad if she disturbed me. Come to think of it, Rosalia was also interested in magic tools. Should she make a simple lamp magic tool?


    ¡°Would you like to make something for yourself too?¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡±


    ¡°Of course. Then let¡¯s start with the most basic lamp magic tool.¡±


    ¡°Yes, thank you very much!¡±


    I stroked the head of Rosalia, who had a bright smile on her face, and prepared the necessary tools. Lately I¡¯ve had a habit of unconsciously stroking Rosalia¡¯s head. If I¡¯m not careful, I might be told, ¡°Don¡¯t treat me like a child.¡±


    ¡°This is magic ink and this is the magic stone that will be used as fuel. And this is the iron plate to make the container.¡±


    Rosalia is watching with her eyes sparkling. It sounds like you¡¯ve been interested in this for a long time. Was she taught that it wasn¡¯t a hobby for ladies? I wonder if I don¡¯t have to worry about such things because I¡¯m not originally a resident of this world.


    ¡°Listen, Rosalia. Draw the same pattern on this board as it is on this paper.¡±


    ¡°I understand!¡±


    After answering cheerfully, he immediately began to fight with the pattern. Unless you can draw this, you can¡¯t make magic tools. I¡¯ll do my best. In the meantime, I¡¯ll finish drawing the shower blueprints.


    When the blueprints were starting to take shape, a servant came calling to say, ¡°Dinner is ready.¡±


    The normally lively dinner will be just the two of us for a while from today. The empty dining room feels wider than usual. Rosalia, who was sitting in front of me, was also silently pecking at her meal.


    What am I going to do here, immersed in sorrow? The social season has just started. I told myself so.


    ¡°Rosalia, do you think you can draw the magic circle well?¡±


    ¡°It will be completed in a little while. Can you take a look at it then?¡±


    ¡°Of course.


    ¡°Yes. How about you brother?¡±


    ¡°The blueprint will be ready soon. But I wonder if it will be made from tomorrow? It¡¯s going to be a little noisy.¡±


    I was actually thinking of making a magic tool by secretly using the ¡®Craft¡¯ skill at night, but I thought Rosalia would be disappointed if I did that, so I stopped. I¡¯m sure Rosalia would like to see how I make it.


    And once the magic circle Rosalia draws is complete, you can make a lamp magic tool. If you teach her how to use a hammer while you¡¯re at it, it¡¯s killing two birds with one stone.


    After that, the two continued eating while talking about magic tools.


    The servant was a bit taken aback, but he watched over us without saying anything.


    When the meal is over, it is bedtime from bath time. When I was playing with Rosaria at the salon until my stomach was healed, I was told that the bath was ready.


    ¡°Onii-sama, let¡¯s take a bath together.¡±


    ¡°Okay¡±


    Yeah, I thought it would. We are nine and six years old. I wonder if we¡¯re barely old enough to take a bath together? But if this becomes known to Chloe and Caro, it might become troublesome.


    It¡¯s fine if you look at me with strange eyes, but they might say that I¡¯m going to take a bath with you. As expected, that¡¯s bad

 CH 50

    I take a bath with my sister Rosalia. At that time, I suddenly had a thought.


    Come to think of it, is there such a thing as a magic circle that produces water?¡¡it¡¯s a magic circle that¡¯s essential for making showers. What if It doesn¡¯t exist in this world?


    I asked the servant who was accompanying us to help us with our bath.


    ¡°How do you store the water for this bath?¡±


    ¡°We use a magic tool that produces hot water for the bath.¡±


    ¡°There is such a thing. Is it an expensive magical tool?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it is. I don¡¯t think there are that many families among the nobility that have them.¡±


    It exists, but it is not common. When we get out of the bath, let¡¯s see the magic tool. If they let me take it apart and look at the contents, I should be able to get a general idea of what the gist is.


    Depending on what I find out, I might have to reconsider the design of the shower tool.


    ¡°What is it, brother?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I just had an epiphany about the magic tool.¡±


    ¡°Ufufu, Oniisama really likes magic tools.¡±


    ¡°I guess so. ¡­¡­¡±


    I¡¯m stumped. Personally, I prefer to make magic potions over magic tools. There are a few materials I haven¡¯t tried yet, and there are a few I didn¡¯t know about in the magic potion material encyclopedia. I can¡¯t wait to get them and try them out.


    After washing our bodies and getting warm enough, we got out of the bath together. After wiping myself with a towel, I changed into my nightclothes and was immediately shown the magic tool that produces hot water. Of course, Rosalia came with me.


    ¡°This is the magic tool that fills the bath with hot water!¡¡It¡¯s huge.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know there were magic tools this big. It¡¯s amazing!¡±


    It¡¯s certainly amazing, but it¡¯s not portable, and to be frank, I think it¡¯s a nuisance. But it was nice to see this beforehand. If it had been constructed with hot water coming directly from the shower head as originally planned, it would have been revolutionary.


    This is something I should look into more about the magic tools of this world. I had thought that since my main job was to make magic potions, I wouldn¡¯t need much knowledge about this world¡¯s magic tools, but apparently that¡¯s not the case.


    A magical tool made on a whim could become the source of a great commotion. I underestimated the in-game knowledge. I almost made a mistake.


    ¡°May I open the inside for a moment?¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡¡That¡¯s a bit ¡­¡­¡±


    The servant hesitated. That¡¯s right. If a nine-year-old kid wants to disassemble an expensive magic tool, that¡¯s what he¡¯s going to do. But I had to persuade him somehow.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, all you have to do is remove the steel plate that covers the outside of the device. I¡¯ve made a ¡®magic star tool¡¯. I know more about magic tools than the average magic tool masters.¡±


    ¡° I understand, but please don¡¯t break it.¡±


    I managed to get permission, albeit reluctantly. I quickly removed the steel plate surrounding the outside and peeked inside.


    Hmmm¡­I see¡­I see. I wondered if the slowly increasing water was a magic circle that produced water? It looks like they are using a magic circle that heats the water there to make hot water.


    But the speed of hot water generation seems to be slow, and it seems that hot water needs to be stored in a large tank. Is that why it is so huge?


    After analyzing the magic tool, I put the steel plates back in place.


    ¡°Thank you. that was very helpful.¡±


    It was over so quickly that the servant looked at me with a puzzled look on his face. I didn¡¯t need to go into the details of the structure. All I needed to know was what kind of magic circle was used. Rosalia, who peeked in with me, looked at me curiously. I guess she still doesn¡¯t get it.


    I returned to my room and decided to rewrite the blueprint. I decided to change it to a method of storing water somewhere, just like the magical tool I had just seen. Yes, I¡¯ll have a pool built in one corner of the training ground. I would have them store well water there and heat it up only when needed.


    Then the magic circle that heats the water would be enough and the fire power could be increased so it could be turned into hot water quickly.


    Instead of directly heating the water with a shower head, prepare a smaller tank one step before the shower head, and build a heating magic circle into the tank to turn the water into hot water.


    It would be a slightly large facility, but it would be fine for use by the Knights. We also need a magical tool that acts like a pump to send water to various places. Let¡¯s say we make a magical tool that spins a blade with the power of wind and sends water out. This is turning out to be a lot more work than I thought.


    ¡°You seem somewhat happy, brother.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡¡I think I¡¯m going to be a little busy.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll help you, too.¡±


    I patted Rosalia on the head. I can¡¯t help it. I know I shouldn¡¯t, but I just can¡¯t help it. As I looked at the smiling Rosalia, I realized that my own cheeks were loosening too. My sister really is cute.


    ¡°Big brother, it¡¯s done.¡±


    my younger sister, who had been eagerly drawing the magic circle on the steel plate from a while ago, looked up. Her face was a mixture of anticipation and anxiety.


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s see¡­ ¡­¡­Yeah, this looks fine. Let¡¯s try to get a light on it.¡±


    ¡°Can you do that?¡±


    ¡°Yes. even if it is not in the shape of a lamp, you can make it glow.¡±


    After saying that, I took out a small magic stone and placed it on the iron plate with the magic circle drawn on it. After a while, the magic circle began to glow slightly.


    ¡°Wow!¡¡It glowed, brother!¡±


    Rosalia clapped her hands and started jumping up and down. Rosalia¡¯s personal servants in the room also looked on with wide eyes and hands over their mouths.


    The precision of the magic circle and the small size of the magic stone make the light intensity weak, but it is still a fine ¡°lamp magic tool.


    ¡°You did a great job, Rosalia. The lamp magic tool is an improved version of this magic circle, devised to be easier to use.¡±


    ¡°I see. Then, the ¡®star magic tool¡¯ as well?¡±


    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s just that we made it more luminous than this magic circle and put it in a container that makes the star pattern appear in the dark.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s amazing that magic tools can do such things.¡±


    Magic tools can be made in a variety of ways, depending on how you think about it. That may be the interesting part. It¡¯s the same with magic potions.


    It was hard to calm Rosalia, who was still excited, but I managed to get her to fall asleep.


    Of course, Rosalia was sleeping in my bed. It seemed that she had decided to sleep with me while everyone else was away in the royal capital.


    I have a feeling my parents would be furious if they found out, but I wonder if it would be okay.

 CH 51

    The next day, I immediately started taking action to improve the sanitary environment of the Knights¡¯ training grounds. Of course, Rosalia was with me. I told her not to come because it was dirty and boring work, but she still said it was okay and followed me.


    ¡°Lionel, look at this.¡±


    ¡°What is this ¡­¡­?¡±


    Lionel twisted his head when he saw the blueprints on the table.


    ¡°I¡¯m thinking of building a place on the training grounds where people can wash themselves.¡±


    ¡°I see. Can¡¯t we just use well water to wash?¡±


    ¡°Not necessarily, but I thought it would be better to make it a little cleaner.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    He nodded his head, but did not seem very convinced. Well, it is true that it is not always necessary, and they may not understand it.


    ¡°The training ground smells bad. Shouldn¡¯t you clean it up a little more?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s ¡­¡­.¡±


    Lionel smiles wryly at Rosalia¡¯s straight words. I think he probably meant to say ¡°all knight orders are the same.¡± However, as expected, it must have been hard for him to bear what Rosalia said, and he approved the installation of a shower room.


    The location is right near the well in the training area. Here, well water can be pumped up and immediately sent to the water tank. I would have them build a solid building for me later, but I think I¡¯ll  build the water tank by myself.


    All I have to do is dig a hole, so I should be able to do that quickly with earth magic. I dug a hole with my magic, and then I compacted the surrounding soil into a concrete-like structure to prevent water from leaking. This is good.


    All that was left was to set up a sloping channel for the water to flow from the well to the reservoir.


    ¡°Okay, the first step is complete.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great.  brother is good at magic too.¡±


    ¡°am I?¡±


    I have seen magicians digging holes in the training grounds, so it shouldn¡¯t be an uncommon magic, but was this the first time for Rosalia to see it?¡¡I¡¯m sure Rosalia has had some training in magic, and it might be a good idea to teach her.


    Now that I have successfully created a water reservoir, the next step is to create the magic tools. I¡¯ll start with a magic tool to heat the water. Make a square iron container of appropriate size. The sound of hammers pounding on the steel plate echoed through the training hall.


    The knights came over to see what was going on, but they seemed to have guessed it when they saw me making something. No one interrupted me. Do they understand me, or do they just think, ¡°Oh, no, not again.¡± I¡¯m a little curious.


    It was just a square container to make, so it was quickly completed. On the inside of it, I drew in a magic circle for heating. Rosalia was watching the process as if she were devouring it. After confirming that the magic circle was OK, a temperature control switch was attached to the outside. The prototype was now complete.


    I immediately filled it with water and checked its operation.


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s warming up nicely. At this speed, it should be useful enough as long as we don¡¯t try to make the water too hot.¡±


    ¡°The water is warm. It¡¯s amazing how easy it is to make a magic tool like this, brother.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that amazing, though, since it¡¯s based on a magic tool that already exists.¡±


    Rosalia was watching with a look of respect. A little embarrassed by her gaze, I started to make the next magical tool for pumping water. I had planned to attach a propeller to each end of the shaft and rotate one end using a magic circle that would blow wind, but there were no gaskets in this world.


    As it was, the water would leak. So instead of using a propeller to send water, I decided to send it directly by blowing wind. Water and air would pass through the piping, but there would be no harm done. The water would only pass through the top half of the piping.


    However, if that is all, the air pressure might eventually cause the pipe to burst. So I made some small chimneys along the way to vent the air. When I tried it, it made a hissing sound, and it was a bit noisy. I¡¯ll have to ask them to be patient. Good thing it was outdoors.


    The piping, water pump, and shower head were completed. All that remains is to put them together and see how they work. But I haven¡¯t finished the building yet. Let¡¯s get some of the wood we have stockpiled and have them build a shower stand.


    I talked to the knights and they immediately helped me. Apparently, my credibility in the knighthood has grown considerably.


    It seems that I am grabbing the knights¡¯ magic potion as if I were grabbing their stomachs.


    In no time at all, the shower stand was ready. That¡¯s what I¡¯d expect from people who train to build defensive fences on a regular basis. They¡¯re very good with wood. It would not be surprising if they had some woodworking skills.


    The metal piping, water pump, and shower head were quickly installed. The shower head is fixed. If I had a resin material, I would have made a type that could be moved freely, but I don¡¯t have that yet. It would be very convenient in many ways if there was. It made me realize once again how amazing modern science is. The person who developed the resin material is amazing.


    ¡°It¡¯s finished. Can someone please try it out?¡±


    ¡°Then let me, with all due respect.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to working with you. Please feel free to give me your opinions. I¡¯ll make improvements based on them.¡±


    ¡°Yes, please. Leave it to us!¡±


    The members who had been helping me build the shower stand came forward. He tried the shower. Hot water came out of the shower head as planned.


    ¡°Is this hot water?!¡¡This is good. I It can be used even in winter. I¡¯ll be glad to have it in the coming season.¡±


    ¡°If you turn this knob, you can change the force with which the hot water comes out.¡±


    ¡°Is this it? Oh! This feels good!¡±


    When he turned up the power, he applied it to his arm muscles and shoulders.


    ¡° it could be a massage. Does it help stiff shoulders?¡±


    ¡°This works. It¡¯s a wonderful magical tool.¡±


    ¡°Since my hands are free, I think I can use the soap to wash myself.


    I handed him the soap and he happily started washing. From the way he was so happy, I wondered if soap was precious.¡¡I didn¡¯t pay attention to it because I use it all the time.

 CH 52

    While we were having a good time at our newly completed simple shower stand, a group of female knights heard us and came over to our place. There are a few female knights in the Margrave Heine Knight Order.


    ¡°What in the world is this!?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me this is some kind of body-washing facility?¡±


    ¡°Yes! It looks a little different from the bath ¡­¡­.¡±


    The gathered  women looked at us with an air of interest. The men who were refreshed looked good.


    ¡°Julius-sama, what is this?¡±


    ¡° This is a shower to wash off the sweat from the training and to make all the members of the knight order clean.¡±


    ¡°Tell us more about it.¡±


    The women came up to me. Apparently, the smell had been bothering them for some time. The men may have thought nothing of just damping their heads with well water, but the women did.


    When I explained to them how to use it, they said, ¡°We would love to use it ourselves. But, you know, we don¡¯t have an enclosure.¡± What should I do? What can I do?


    ¡°All right. Wait a minute.¡±


    I used earth magic to build a wall around the shower stand. This way, no one would be able to see in from the outside. I had them put an improvised wooden door at the entrance.


    ¡°That should do it.¡±


    ¡°How dexterous ¡­¡­ you are.¡±


    ¡°To be able to use earth magic with such precision, it¡¯s as expected of Julius-sama.¡±


    Despite the rustling of the knights, I handed the girls the soap and asked them to use it immediately.


    The plan was to create two shower rooms, one for men and one for women. It would be nice to hear from the women here.


    From within the earthen walls, I could hear the voices of the women overflowing with joy.


    ¡°Julius-sama, are you done already?¡±


    Lionel, who had heard the commotion, came over. Lionel, who had heard the commotion, came in, looking slightly disappointed.


    ¡°It¡¯s still in the prototype stage. I thought I¡¯d have people try it out and see what improvements can be made.¡±


    ¡°This is a wonderful facility, Captain.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a great facility, Captain. All we need now is soap. ¡­¡­¡±


    Soap? If it is not of high quality, it is easy to make. It¡¯s just for use in the Order, so as long as it gets rid of dirt, will it be alright?


    ¡°I could teach you how to make soap?¡±


    ¡°Can you make it, by any chance?¡±


    ¡°Ummm, yes. It¡¯s not that difficult, is it?¡±


    What¡¯s the matter? All you have to do is mix lye with oil and fat. I showed him how to make it, and he immediately started gathering materials. The ingredients came out of nowhere.


    By the time the women came out of the shower with refreshed expressions on their faces, a suspicious group was already making something suspicious.


    ¡°¡®Um, ¡­¡­ what are you making?¡±


    ¡°Soap. It seemed to be hard to find, so I decided to make some.¡±


    ¡°Make soap?¡±


    She had a question mark in his mind, but she seemed to be curious about the process of making it and observed it intently. I mixed the ingredients, heated them, and poured them into a square mold.


    ¡°Once this hardens, the soap is ready.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s so easy to make?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. it will remove dirt, but it won¡¯t smell as good as the soap I just gave you. If you want it to smell good, it¡¯s going to cost you some money.¡±


    ¡° It¡¯s enough to get the dirt off. I¡¯m looking forward to seeing it finished.¡±


    The knights carried the soap they had poured into the molds back to their lodgings with great care. They were becoming more and more of a strange group.


    ¡°I wonder if you could tell me how the shower works?¡±


    Based on the information thus gathered, it was decided that improvements would be made.


    As a result, it was decided that a shower would be sufficient to quickly remove sweat and dirt after training, but that they would like to  soak in a bath at the end of the day.


    So it was decided to set up a large public bath that anyone could use, separate from the shower rooms. Of course, the men and women are separated.  I was wondering what to do for the magic tool to heat the water, but decided on a type of magic tool that would be installed directly inside the bath.


    This way, the temperature can be freely adjusted by the people in the bath, and there is no need to store the hot water in a separate tank somewhere.


    Now that the general plan had been decided, it was time to redraw the plans. It was going to be quite a large construction project, but the morale of the knights was high. It seems that they will cooperate fully with me, so it will be completed sooner than expected.


    Until it is completed, they will have to put up with a simple shower room. The one I set up for the test wasn¡¯t enough, so I made three more just like it for the time being.


    I was just going to let them try it out and see what they thought, but I had to drastically change my plans. It¡¯s not enough to just think about it in my head. The best and quickest way is to go to the site and ask the people who will actually use it.


    By the time we got back to the mansion, it was already almost dark. Moreover, my clothes were suitably soiled. The servants were naturally angry with me. I shuddered to think what would have happened if mother had been there.


    As expected, I was told that it would be bad to have dinner while still dirty, so I decided to take a bath first. Just like yesterday, Rosalia is with me.


    Rosalia was always saying, ¡°I want to use the shower, too,¡± so I hastily built a shower that uses the hot water from the bathtub.


    Thanks to that, Rosalia was very happy.


    ¡°Brother, this will make washing my hair so much easier.¡±


    Rosalia laughed as she poured hot water on her hair. So far, she¡¯s had to repeatedly pour hot water over Her head and put her hair on Her head, which seems like a lot of work.


    ¡°Sure, that¡¯s true. Then should I modify it so that it can be installed in the bath as it is?¡±


    ¡°That would be good. I am sure mother will be pleased.¡±


    Perhaps mother would be pleased, but would she be offended if I modified the bathtub without her permission? I think I¡¯ll start with a portable type of shower stand.


    I don¡¯t have the courage to set it up all of a sudden, yet.

 CH 53

    After getting out of the bath, it was time for dinner. We ate dinner in the smaller dining room for breakfast instead of the usual large dining table.


    Here we could eat dinner side by side.


    There is something lonely about two people eating across from each other. Rosalia seemed to think the same thing and was pleased.


    Besides, Rosalia¡¯s hair was wet because she had taken a bath before dinner. She seemed to have dried it with a towel and wind magic, but it still didn¡¯t seem to be completely dry.


    If we were to eat dinner in the dining room as usual, there might be stains on the expensive chairs. With that fear in mind, I chose this room.


    ¡°It¡¯s hard to dry long hair, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°It is, but I don¡¯t want to shorten it.¡±


    It is natural for women in this world to grow their hair long. They seem to treat it as a symbol of femininity.  For this reason, female knights also have long hair. Only a handful of them kept their hair short.


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, it can¡¯t be helped. At the very least, it would be nice if there was some kind of magic that could dry your hair more quickly.¡±


    ¡°I have them dry my hair with wind magic, but it takes a long time. And it seems to be difficult to keep the weak wind going, so sometimes it comes with a whirr, a whirr.¡±


    Apparently there are times when the wind is quite powerful. The fact that Rosalia says it twice must mean that she is quite uncomfortable. Does it make a mess in the room?


    It takes a fairly advanced magic manipulation technique to keep emitting weakly powerful magic. As one would expect, even in the Margrave Heine household, there were no servants who possessed that skill.


    I can do it, but if I were to do it, I¡¯ll be drying Rosalia¡¯s and my mother¡¯s and grandmother¡¯s hair every time. I¡¯m kind of sorry about that. I don¡¯t want to lose precious evening time.


    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. You should try it when you practice magic, Rosalia. You¡¯ll soon see how difficult it is to use weak magic.¡±


    ¡°Can you do that, brother?¡±


    Rosalia turned her bright, hopeful eyes toward me.


    Ugh, I don¡¯t want to betray my sister¡¯s expectations. But I don¡¯t want to say, ¡°Of course I can do it.¡± If I said that, I would have to dry Rosalia¡¯s hair every time. My becoming a siscon  will accelerate. Even though My parents already think so.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡¡I might be able to do it with a lot of practice.¡±


    ¡°Then, brother, you need to practice really hard!¡±


    ¡°No, that¡¯s a little ¡­¡­ rather than that, wouldn¡¯t it be better to make a magic tool to dry your hair?¡±


    ¡°A magic tool for drying hair?¡¡Oniisama, please make it immediately!¡±


    Rosalia started to make a fuss. I warned her that she was misbehaving, but she wouldn¡¯t listen to me.


    I thought she wanted it very much. I had no choice but to make a hair dryer. The magic circle that sends out the wind and the magic circle that warms the air have already been used to set up the shower, so it¡¯s not impossible to make one. However, it¡¯s still not possible to make one that is large enough to be carried in one hand.


    Because the size of the magic circle is too large. If we unveil a small magic circle here, it could cause a revolution in this world. I think that would indeed be a bad idea.


    After we finished eating, I immediately started drawing a blueprint  for the hair dryer-like magic tool.  The square-shaped body of the hair dryer would generate wind and heat it. The wind would be blown out from a tube attached to the body.


    If the metal could be made into a bellows shape, the tip of the tube could be moved freely, but unfortunately, we do not yet have the technology to do so. It is possible to make it by using the ¡°Craft¡± skill, but then others can¡¯t reproduce it.


    No matter how  skilled I am, I think it would be tough  to hammer an iron plate into a bellows. Is there any other way?¡¡Making a tube out of the monster¡¯s tough hide ¡­¡­ it¡¯s impossible. It would smell bad.


    After thinking about it, I decided to make it in the shape of a fan without blades. The shape was also changed to a cylinder. At the bottom of the cylinder, I set up a magic circle to generate wind and heat so that the wind would go upward.


    On the side of the top of the cylinder, there is a circular hole through which warm air is blown out.


    If you attach a knob to adjust the strength of the wind and the temperature, you can use it as a fan in summer. It is truly a nice magic tool that kills two birds with one stone.


    Oh, and let¡¯s make sure it can also let out cold air. With this, we have created a revolutionary magical tool that kills three birds with one stone. My dreams are expanding.


    ¡°Brother, did something good happen?¡±


    ¡°I think I can make a good magic tool. The structure is a little complicated, but I think I can handle it. Oh, the consumption of the magic stone seems to be great, too. What should I do?


    ¡°Please tell me what kind of magic tool it is.¡±


    Rosalia snuggled up to my back. After a pat on the head, I told Rosalia what kind of magical tool I was going to make.


    Rosalia seemed to like it and was hopping around, flabbergasted.


    Rosalia¡¯s servant reprimanded her, but she didn¡¯t listen at all. I¡¯m not sure if this is the kind of thing that will be reported to mother later on. Would this make her angry too? I hope not.


    The next day, I immediately started developing a new magic tool. However, I couldn¡¯t just keep on doing that. I want to tour the territory with Gyre and Christopher, and I also need to improve the elementary stamina recovery medicine.


    I also need to deepen my relationship with my friends. Fabienne and Edward, who have become a bit estranged recently. Friends are important. In the future, when I go to school in the capital, I must do everything I can to avoid a situation where ¡°I have no friends at all!¡± I must do everything in my power to avoid such a situation.


    The other thing I need to do is to expand the facilities of the training ground. Even though I¡¯ve entrusted the Knights with the majority of the work, I can¡¯t just sit back and do nothing. At the very least, I will have to check on them every day.


    This is going to keep me busy. Still, it¡¯s much better than having nothing at all.

 CH 54

    The next morning, after I finished my daily routine of watering the herb garden with my sister Rosalia, I wrote a letter. I wrote a letter to Miss Fabienne and Edward.


    ¡°Would you like to have a tea party at the Margrave Heine house next time?¡± The letter also contained the following words: ¡°You can bring your friends along with you.¡±


    If this works out, I¡¯ll even make some new friends!¡¡I¡¯m going to use the two of you to make a lot of friends like a sack of potatoes. The more friends I make in the Margrave Heine Territory, the more they will surely help me in the future when I become independent.


    I can¡¯t take over the territory, so I have to develop the strength to survive on my own. I have decided to live as a magician, but I still have to earn money by selling magic potions.


    After writing the letter, it¡¯s time to inspect the Knights. There might be a problem with the simple shower room we set up yesterday. As the creator, I can¡¯t leave that to chance.


    Rosalia is studying with a tutor this morning. This made it difficult for her to leave the mansion. Needless to say, Rosalia began to say, ¡°I¡¯m going with you.¡±


    I managed to get her to agree to stay by saying, ¡°I¡¯ll teach you how to make magic tools in the afternoon, so study hard in the morning,¡± but it¡¯s going to be tough if this keeps up. I¡¯ll ask the teacher if they can adjust Rosalia¡¯s study time to the same time as mine.


    I know it will be a burden on the teacher, but if it will motivate Rosalia, she will do something about it.


    When I went to the knight¡¯s training grounds, I was immediately greeted by a voice.


    ¡°Good morning, Julius-sama.¡±


    ¡°Good morning. How is the shower room?¡±


    ¡°Yes, everything is fine. Everyone is happy to use it. The soap seems to have hardened a bit. The mages suggested that we dry it with magic. ¡­¡­¡±


    You want soap that fast? Then I should have taught you how to make it earlier.


    ¡°I¡¯ll allow it. But only on the condition that it must be done in such a way that it doesn¡¯t interfere with your training, that it doesn¡¯t strain your body.¡±


    ¡°Ha!¡¡Thank you!¡¡I¡¯ll be sure to let them know that.¡±


    The knight replied with a smile. Yeah, yeah, that¡¯s a good answer. It would be a shame if the soap made you neglect your primary mission.


    After that, I inspected the shower stand, inspected the construction site that was being done at a rapid pace, and added a word of advice, ¡°Don¡¯t overdo it.¡±


    Because the building was pretty much finished yesterday. Aren¡¯t you pushing yourself too hard?¡¡I think so, don¡¯t you?


    In the afternoon, I started working on the magic tools. I promised Rosalia that I would. The place was a sunny salon. The warm sunlight comes in here, and the temperature is just right.


    I checked the blueprint I drew last night and completed it, making corrections as I went. Once I had enough for my own use, I plan to sell the blueprints to the usual magic tools store, so I need to make sure that everyone can see them.


    While I was working on the plans, Rosalia was working on the outer part of the ¡°lamp magic tool¡±. It is a process of forming a shape by hitting a steel plate with a hammer. It is a simple but important task. If you can¡¯t do this, you can¡¯t make a magic tool. This time, it was the simplest type, a square box shape.


    ¡°Brother, it¡¯s done!¡±


    ¡°Yes, you did very well. Now we just need to set the magic circle we made yesterday in this box. ¡­¡­¡±


    Put the magic stone in the square box as the foundation, and draw a line with magic ink to connect it to the magic circle, and you are done. But first, we need a switch.


    ¡°Rosalia, let¡¯s make a switch. Draw this magic circle on this iron plate.¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡±


    Rosalia immediately started working on the table. Her eyes were shining and she looked very happy. Rosalia may become a magician in the future.


    With my sister by my side, I started to draw a magic circle on the table. I already have the shape and pattern of the magic circle in my head. All I had to do was to reproduce them on the iron plate, so it was not that difficult.


    I finished the drawing in no time and started working on the main body. Since the shape is a cylinder, it is relatively easy to make. All I had to do was to roll up the steel plate and join them together. The shape is formed by rounding it little by little with a hammer. The joints were melted and fused together with fire magic. This makes it durable.


    On the bottom part, I set up a place to put the magic stone and switches according to the blueprints. Of course, round holes are drilled on the top side. A wire mesh was also installed with the cut surface rounded off to prevent injury and to prevent dust from getting in.


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s about right. Let¡¯s try it out and see how it starts.¡±


    ¡°Brother, you¡¯ve already finished it?!¡±


    Rosalia looked up and her eyes were black and white. It seems that she was so focused on her own work that she didn¡¯t notice that I was working on various things. The magic circle for the switches in Rosalia¡¯s hand looks like it¡¯s almost finished.


    ¡°¡®It¡¯s not completely done, though. I can at least move it around to test it out.¡±


    ¡°As expected of you, brother.¡±


    The design is very metallic and rugged, but Rosalia doesn¡¯t seem to mind. Since we are here, let¡¯s try it out while explaining it to Rosalia, shall we?


    ¡°This is the knob to adjust the amount of airflow. I think I¡¯ll set it to medium at first.¡±


    ¡°What is this knob over here?¡±


    ¡°That one controls the temperature of the airflow.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a red arrow and a blue arrow.¡±


    ¡°If you turn it in the direction of the red arrow, you will get warm air, and if you turn it in the direction of the blue arrow, you will get cold air.¡±


    ¡°Cold wind. ¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. I thought maybe you could use it in the summer.¡±


    Hearing this, Rosalia nodded her head. She is only six years old, but she seems to have a good understanding of what is going on. Smart Rosalia.


    ¡°I think I¡¯ll try blowing out a little warm air this time. Rosalia, turn the knob slightly in the direction of the red arrow.¡±


    ¡°I understand.¡±


    Rosalia turns the knob as she is told. Is the air volume as it should be?¡¡It¡¯s an intermediate air volume.


    ¡°Then press this button. Then the air should come out.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll press it then!¡±


    When Rosalia pressed the button, wind came out immediately with a small whoosh sound. The wind became warmer and warmer.


    ¡°Amazing!¡¡It¡¯s a warm breeze.¡±


    ¡°I wonder if I can dry my hair with it?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you can. give it a try tonight!¡±


    Rosalia laughed with a really nice smile. Yes, I did a good job.

 CH 55

    The cold/warm air blower that I test ran seemed to have no problems. Can I start finishing work on this? Just when I was thinking that I could start the finishing work, a problem occurred.


    ¡°Atz!¡±


    Brother!?¡±


    ¡°Rosalia, don¡¯t touch this magic tool!¡±


    Oh my god. I had forgotten all about heat conduction. The body of the device is getting hot due to the magic circle to warm the wind. The upper part of the main unit is still fine, but the steel plate near the magic circle of the heat source was very hot.


    This heat even though the temperature was not raised to the limit. I¡¯ll have to do something about this. The material that could be used for insulation in this world is ¡­¡­ wood. Wood is readily available.


    Then it is very bad that the shape of the body is cylindrical. This is because it is very difficult to paste wood into a cylindrical shape.


    ¡°We have to rethink the design and make it a square box shape.¡±


    ¡°Is it a failure, brother?¡±


    ¡° Yes, it is a failure. I guess you¡¯ll have to wait until another time before you can dry your hair.¡±


    Rosalia¡¯s shoulders drooped in disappointment. It seems that she was looking forward to it. I have done this badly. I hurriedly asked one of the servants to get some mahogany planks for me.


    Rosalia¡¯s first magic tool  was completed. It is a lamp magic tool. It is simple  to make, but it serves its purpose well. Rosalia created two magic circles, one to brighten the lamp and the other to switch it on and off, as well as the main body of the lamp.


    It was a simple lamp magic tool, but Rosalia was happy to hold it in her arms as if it were precious to her. Of course, I was happy, too. A little magician was born. I¡¯m sure everyone will be surprised when they come home.


    The lamp was placed in the center of the table during dinner time as well. Looking at the lamp, she said that next time she would like to make her own ¡°cold/heat blower¡± magic tool, which I had been making, so I asked her to help me. It would surely be a good learning experience.


    After getting out of the bath, Rosalia showed me how she had her hair dried by a servant. Perhaps I could get some new hints. I thought so, but as Rosalia had said before, the output of the wind magic did not seem to be well adjusted, and it kept suddenly getting stronger and weaker.


    Each time it happened, her hair was disheveled and things in the room were rattling and shaking. Moreover, it seemed that only a mere breeze was being sent and no heat was being added. This looks cold in winter. Perhaps it was no wonder that Rosalia made a subtle face.


    ¡°Big brother¡­¡­¡±


    Finally it was over, the servant quietly left my sister¡¯s room. I ruffled Rosalia¡¯s hair with a half smile, not knowing what kind of face to make. Half-dried!


    Rosalia¡¯s long, beautiful hair was dry on the surface, but still damp inside.


    It couldn¡¯t be helped. I felt sorry for Rosalia, who looked up at me with a pissed-off expression. I didn¡¯t really want to do it, but she¡¯ll have to be patient until I finish the ¡°cold/warm air blower¡± magic tool.


    ¡°Rosalia, turn around.¡±


    Rosalia obediently complied. I immediately used magic to create a breeze that was neither cold nor hot, but just right, and I used it to dry Rosalia¡¯s hair.


    She must have immediately noticed the difference. Rosalia squealed with delight.


    ¡°brother, you are so good at this!¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s because I use it to dry my own hair.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s not fair, just you.¡±


    ¡°Haha ¡­¡­ When the cold/warm air blower is finished, you can use this wind to dry your hair whenever you want.¡±


    I said that, but Rosalia seemed to like the breeze I created, which was like a hair dryer, and even though it was dry, she begged for more and more. I had no choice but to stay with Rosalia until she was satisfied.


    After that, of course, she fell asleep on the bed in my room, snuggled up against me. I was beginning to worry about whether Rosalia would be able to stay away from her brother.


    The next day, I decided to improve the ¡°elementary stamina recovery medicine. I really wanted to complete the ¡°cold/heat blower,¡± but as expected, I couldn¡¯t get the wood yesterday. It would have to wait until tomorrow or later.


    Then I would have to dry Rosalia¡¯s hair again today. No, the possibility remains that she won¡¯t wash her hair today.


    If I can¡¯t finish the magic tool, I should improve the magic potion at this time in the morning. That way, I can offer it to them during my afternoon inspection of the training grounds. It is never because I want to experiment on human bodies.


    Rosalia did not follow me, perhaps having learned her lesson from the last time I created a magic potion. She hates them, Potions. I holed up in the room where I was going to make the magic potion and got right to work.


    ¡°well then, we¡¯ll start with the extraction of the pungent ingredient. Um, I should still extract it into another liquid, right? Then I¡¯ll try using ¡­¡­ tabnol solution. It¡¯s tasteless, odorless, and has a proven safety record.¡±


    The physical strength recovery effect may fade, but that¡¯s okay. I think the last one was too effective and I don¡¯t want it to be addictive. I¡¯d like to keep the effect to something like, ¡°Would you like to take one of these when you¡¯re tired?¡±


    I put the elementary stamina Recovery  into a separatory funnel and add a small amount of Tabernol. Hold the lid firmly with your hand to prevent the liquid from spilling out, and shake the funnel well to mix it.


    After shaking the mixture and allowing it to stand, it separated into two layers. The lower layer is the elementary Stamina recovery potion. The upper layer, a slightly red liquid, should contain the extracted ingredients.


    This extraction strategy seemed to have worked well, and the ¡°sticky¡± ingredient was gone. The effect was lessened by that. It was just as I had calculated. The color seemed to be lighter than before.


    I tried drinking it, but it had neither smell nor taste. Of course, there was no refreshing sensation.


    ¡°I think it works, but I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s because I haven¡¯t lost my strength. And I don¡¯t like the way it makes me thirsty. When it comes to energy drinks, it¡¯s all about the thirst, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    I took out a carbonate stone from the shelf where the ingredients for magic potions are kept. I threw it into the separated lower layer of liquid. Immediately, a shrieking, bubbling sound began to emerge. Yes, this is just a material to make carbonated water. Of course, there are other uses as well.


    Then, to sweeten it, a large amount of sugar is thrown in. The sugar will immediately nourish the brain, and we can expect the brain to be revitalized.


    Beginner¡¯s Stamina Recovery potion : High quality. Restores physical strength. Effect (small). Carbonic acid. Sweet. Vigor and vitality.


    ¡°It¡¯s done. It¡¯s not yellow in color, but ¡­¡­ and what¡¯s that last word?¡±


    There was a red liquid in front of me that made a shrieking sound. I drank it down in one gulp.


    ¡°Pfft! This is it, this is it. Now if only it were cold, that would be even better.¡±


    I packed it in a magic potion bottle and sealed it tightly To prevent the carbonation from draining out, and took it with me to the knight training ground.

 CH 56

    In the afternoon, I headed to the Knights¡¯ training grounds as planned. Rosalia is going to her friend¡¯s place for a play called a tea party. She was carrying the lamp magic tool she made yesterday with her own power, so she must be going to show it to them.


    I arrived at the training ground with a clanking sound while carrying the elementary stamina recovery potion in a wooden box. It seemed that they were having a mock battle, and I could hear a lot of loud voices coming from far away. It was indeed a powerful scene.


    I thought it would not be good to disturb them, so I headed ahead to the building where they were building the shower room.


    Oh, the outside of the building was already completed. That¡¯s pretty fast. I talked to the workers.


    ¡°Thank you very much for your hard work. It looks like construction is progressing very quickly.¡±


    ¡°Good day to you, Julius-sama. The knights are urging me to do so. They want us to build it as soon as possible.¡±


    The master is smiling bitterly. I am sorry, master. Our knights have been asking too much of you. I was thinking of offering him some elementary Stamina recovery medicine, but I don¡¯t want this magic medicine to spread outside from there. I¡¯m sorry, but maybe another time.


    After that, he showed me the inside and we talked about where to put the magic tools. The master was quite surprised when I told him that I was the one who made the magic tools.


    He seemed interested in the shower room, so I asked him to use it when it was finished.


    If word of the shower room spread from the master, showers might spread throughout the territory. If this happens, the territory will become cleaner and less prone to epidemics. Improving hygiene is very important.


    On the way back to the training site, I looked around at the place where the soap was drying. The drying process is progressing well, and by the time the shower rooms are completed, the soap will be ready as well. If this goes well, maybe we can try to expand this to the common people? No, if I do that, will I get scolded by the people who make soap? That¡¯s a bit of a hold up.


    When I reached the training grounds, it was time for a break. Even though autumn was deepening, everyone is drenched in sweat.  They might catch a cold if I didn¡¯t do something. I was getting worried.


    I knew I had to finish the shower room as soon as possible so they could wash their bodies after training, wash off the sweat, and change into fresh clothes.


    ¡°Julius-sama, you¡¯re here. I am sorry I didn¡¯t notice you.¡±


    One of the knights who was taking a break noticed me and called out to me.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I had a look at the shower room building and the soap first. It looks like they¡¯re both coming along much faster than expected.¡±


    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s what everyone here has been praying for.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re overreacting. Don¡¯t put too much pressure on the masters. If they get hurt in the rush, it would be a disaster. I think the soap will be ready to use soon. Don¡¯t overdo it over there, either, and don¡¯t rush to dry them with magic.¡±


    The knights around us smiled wryly.


    I didn¡¯t think that the shower room and soap were that eagerly awaited. If I had noticed it earlier, I could have at least taught them how to make soap right away.


    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right. I brought you something.¡±


    ¡°Brought us something?¡±


    The knights were puzzled. I took a red bottle out of the wooden box, and they seemed to notice what it was.


    ¡°That¡¯s an elementary stamina recovery medicine, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. but it¡¯s a little different from the one I brought last time. It¡¯s less effective, but easier to take. How about it?¡¡Would you like a bottle?¡±


    I offered them a bottle of the elementary stamina recovery potion to restore their strength. The knights took it without hesitation. It seemed that no one doubted the magic potion I had made. Is this all right?¡¡Shouldn¡¯t They be a little wary?


    The knights open the lid. Pop!¡¡The sound echoed in the autumn sky.


    ¡°Then, ¡°Bon app¨¦tit!¡±


    Hands on hips, stirring all at once. The knights¡¯ faces were filled with smiles as they smacked their mouths.


    ¡°Koo~, I feel so energetic and full of vitality!¡±


    ¡°This is good.  My tiredness has blown away.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to be able to do all the cleaning up I have to do in one fell swoop!¡±


    The knights were making a lot of noise. The tension is clearly rising.  Although it is a more refreshing tension than last time.


    The knights who heard the commotion came over, drank as well, and became equally energized.


    ¡°This seems to be all right, doesn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Julius-sama, it¡¯s okay to drink this every day. Rather, I want to drink it every day at the end of every mission.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t drink alcohol while on duty. On that note, I think this will be fine.¡±


    Apparently, the product has a good reputation. If this can prevent the loss of concentration during the mission, we will be able to carry out the mission more safely. It¡¯s not that hard to make, can I?¡¡Consuming a lot of sugar is a bit of a problem. Sugar costs a certain amount of money.


    ¡°Then, I will make some of these elementary stamina recovery potions for you to use when you go on long-distance mission.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t I buy them individually?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if I can mass-produce it that much.¡¡I¡¯ll have to make other potions as well.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to hear that.¡±


    The knights are down. Was it that good? I wish I could somehow live up to that expectation, but I can¡¯t right now. When I graduate from the academy and am recognized as a full-fledged magic potion maker, I may be able to mass produce it. Of course, it won¡¯t be me who will be making them, but some other potion-making company.


    I plan to sell more and more recipes for magic potions, just like the blueprints for magical tools. If we want to spread magic potions around the world as quickly as possible, it would be quicker to do so. I must reform the world¡¯s magic potions as quickly as possible. That is my mission.

 CH 57

    When I returned to the mansion, a servant immediately prepared tea for me. While I was relaxing and drinking tea in the salon, a servant brought me a letter. The sender was Miss Fabienne. I used the paper knife she brought with the letter to  cut open the envelope.


    The letter said that she wanted to attend the tea party and that she would bring a friend.  It looks like I¡¯ve made a new friend without knowing it. That¡¯s good.


    It¡¯s a good thing, too, because Chloe made a female friend named Caro. It is a pity that we can not meet.


    I haven¡¯t heard back from Edward-kun yet, but I guess it¡¯s safe to start getting ready. I called the servants and asked them to prepare for the tea party.


    Since we¡¯re going to be there, I might as well show off my new magical tool, the cold/warm air blower. If that¡¯s the case, it would be better to have the tea party indoors. I¡¯ll ask my sister Rosalia to join us. I¡¯m sure she will make new friends.


    While I was preparing the invitations for the tea party, I received the news that the wood for the boards had arrived. It was sooner than I had expected. They must have prepared it in a hurry. I would thank them later.


    I immediately headed for the warehouse on the first floor. There I found a magnificent mahogany plank.


    ¡°This is a nice piece of wood. If I polish it, it will look like a fine piece of amber-colored furniture. With this, the magic tool of the ¡°cold/warm air blower¡± might look a bit like an interior decoration.


    With this, even if you use it in the guest room, it won¡¯t be rude. It would be perfect for advertising the cold/warm air blower. With a grin on my face, I returned to the salon with the board in my arms.


    Would Rosalia get angry if I worked on it now? Ah, but I could at least turn the cylindrical shape into a rectangular one. Yeah, let¡¯s do that. Rosalia isn¡¯t here, and if I use my ¡°Craft¡± skill, it won¡¯t take long.


    I brought the failed ¡°cold/warm air blower¡± from my room and used my ¡°Craft¡± skill to transform it into a rectangular cylinder in a few seconds.  After all, the ¡ºCraft¡» skill is convenient for rough processing.


    In the same way, I also process the mahogany planks I had just obtained. I cut it to the required size and polished it so that the surface would be smooth. I thought about doing a little work on the surface, but the grain of the wood was so beautiful that I decided to use it as is.


    ¡°Brother!¡±


    ¡°Welcome home, Rosalia.¡±


    The door of the salon opened with a bang, and Rosalia came running in. Rosalia, it is bad manners not to knock, even though the salon is a place where anyone can enter.


    When I looked at the servant behind Rosalia, who was accompanying her, she gave me a slight bow.  I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll make sure to remind her of that later.


    ¡°Did you enjoy the tea party?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I did!¡¡Everyone was surprised when I showed them the magic tools I had made.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad to hear that. Then we¡¯ll have to make a ¡®lamp magic tool¡¯ in Rosalia¡¯s original form next time.¡±


    Rosalia, who was smiling at me, suddenly opened her eyes. She is looking at the ¡°cold and hot blower¡± that is placed beside me.


    ¡°Brother?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve been waiting for Rosalia to come back. All that¡¯s left is to install these planks of wood and we¡¯re done.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s so smooth.¡±


    Rosalia stroked the mahogany planks I had just processed. She seems to like it so much that she stroked it again and again.


    ¡°Then, let¡¯s put it on this. Will you help me, Rosalia?¡±


    ¡°Of course!¡±


    Thus, the two of us stuck the planks together, and soon the ¡°cold/warm air blower¡± was completed. It looks like just a square wooden pillar. The top surface was carefully designed so that the annual rings could be seen. The bottom has four short, thick legs to prevent heat from being transferred directly to the floor. This should make it hard to fall over.


    ¡°It¡¯s done.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s ready. I can¡¯t wait to use it!¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s try it out then. This time, we¡¯ll test it thoroughly, since it is a finished product.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    We started the test together. It seems that word spread throughout the house that we were making some kind of magic tool in the salon, and I noticed that several servants had gathered. Most of them were women.


    I see, they must have noticed that Rosalia had been talking about her hair since a while ago. That this was made to dry her hair.


    The heat problem was solved. Even at maximum heat, the sides of the hair dryer are only slightly warm. And I was able to confirm that at maximum heat, it can heat up a room. This is perfect for the coming season. The fireplace is perfect for the coming season, because there is no need to light the fireplace every time. It also reduces the consumption of firewood.


    We also checked the cooling effect of the room. However, it turned out that this is not the time to do it. It was too cold to see the effect. Everyone looked cold, so I stopped it immediately. I¡¯ll do it secretly in my room later.


    ¡°No problem. Rosalia, you can start using it today.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡¡Will  brother not dry my hair for me?¡±


    Rosalia was obviously pissed off. She is looking at me with her upper eyes. And her eyes are moist. Where did you learn such a technique, Rosalia?


    ¡°No, well, let¡¯s see¡­how about I do the finishing touches?¡±


    ¡°Thank you very much!¡±


    Rosalia, smiling brightly, hugged me. Yeah, it¡¯s okay, this is fine. Probably.


    ¡°Oh, yeah, you guys should try this. Can you let me know what you think of it later?¡±


    I said this to the assembled servants. They looked at each other in confusion.


    ¡°Are you sure?¡±


    ¡°oh. Yes, please do. I want to hear your thoughts on it. I¡¯ll listen to it and improve it to make it easier to use.¡±


    The cold/warm air blower was well received for its ability to quickly dry hair. And since one unit wasn¡¯t enough, they asked for several more. So I and Rosalia decided to make as many as they needed. Rosalia was very happy to be able to help.


    Thus, a new magical tool was completed.

 CH 58

    The next day, I took Giles and Christopher and headed to the capital for the first time in a while. Since the summer vacation season began, royalty and marquises have visited the capital in turn, so we have not had time to take our time to inspect the capital.


    So today, for the first time in a long time, we plan to go around the capital. I met with Giles and Christopher from time to time, but only for a short time in each case. As one would expect from the arrival of a high-ranking aristocrat, both of them seemed to be reserved.


    ¡°It¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve spent time with you two.¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. It¡¯s been hard, I hear?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it has, Christopher. it was hard.¡±


    I told them both how hard it had been for me during the carriage ride. Of course I listened to them both. Apparently, they had spent the summer vacation season swimming in the lake and catching bugs in the mountains. I was envious.


    ¡°I wish I could have gone swimming too.¡±


    ¡°Julius-sama, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good idea for a nobleman to go swimming.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s all right. If you can swim, I¡¯ll drop that title, Giles.¡±


    Giled bent his eyebrows into a c-shape as if he was troubled. He knows it¡¯s a joke, but he doesn¡¯t know how to respond. It¡¯s okay to let it slide, though.


    I didn¡¯t see any particular change in the capital. Adventurers were still coming and going as usual, and papers with the dates of the next horse races were posted all over the place.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t look any different, does it?¡±


    ¡°Yes. There were rumors for a while that a wyvern had appeared, but that seems to have subsided.¡±


    ¡°Father says there has been no unusual activity in the forest since then.¡±


    Christopher and Giles reported in turn. It seemed that the disturbances of the monsters had subsided. What was that all about? Was it just a coincidence that the Monsters became more active?¡¡I can¡¯t figure it out.


    We were curious, so we went to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild. We were warmly welcomed by the guild master and the guild staff.


    ¡°So you are saying that there is nothing particularly suspicious about the monster¡¯s movements?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. We¡¯ve been talking to a lot of adventurers since then, but there doesn¡¯t seem to be anything out of the ordinary.¡±


    The guild master also seemed concerned about the goblin army and the wyverns¡¯ appearance at the  Toradel River. That¡¯s how much he thinks something doesn¡¯t add up.


    ¡°Yes, I wonder if something similar is happening in other territories?¡±


    ¡°Best regards, Please look into it. It might be just a small incident, but it could be the same thing happening all over the place. I hope not.¡±


    My thoughts made Giles and Christopher pale. I have a bad feeling if similar phenomenon¡¯s are happening all over the country. There may be an activation of monster activity in the country, or even around the world. What that means is ¡­¡­.


    Well, I don¡¯t know what to think any more. After all, we haven¡¯t received any information yet. There is a good chance that it was just a coincidence that nothing happened in other regions. It is not a good idea to worry more than necessary.


    With a gloomy expression on our faces, I took the two of them to a caf¨¦ that had recently become popular. It is said that the fruit-filled tarts at this caf¨¦ are very popular in the capital. Since we were going to the trouble, I was thinking of buying one for my sister Rosalia as well.


    ¡°There are a lot of women here.¡±


    ¡°Are you nervous, Christopher?¡±


    ¡°Oh, no, not at all. Giles seems used to it, but maybe he¡¯s been here with a girl before?¡±


    ¡°No, you idiot, that¡¯s not true!¡±


    There you have it, Giles. I don¡¯t blame you, so tell me more about it.


    But still, I believe this restaurant was a new caf¨¦ that had just opened in the Royal Capital. And now it has already expanded into the Margrave Heine territory.


    It seems that our territory capital is attracting a lot of the most advanced products in the Royal Capital. It¡¯s a good thing indeed.


    After getting A souvenir for Rosalia wrapped, We got into the carriage. In the shaking carriage, I suddenly noticed something.


    Now that people have started to flow in, shouldn¡¯t the streets be better maintained?


    The current territorial capital has only a portion of the main street paved with cobblestones. The rest of the streets are bumpy dirt roads. They are well trodden because many wagons and people come and go, but when moving with a wagon, the wheels get caught in holes and sway from side to side.


    If it were flattened out a bit more, people and their luggage would be able to come and go more easily and quickly. It would be easy enough to use magic to flatten and harden the road. Let¡¯s give it a try when we get back to the mansion.


    After that, of course, we had to ask who Giles partner was, and it turned out to be a beautiful eighteen-year-old sister who lived in the neighborhood!


    Gile-kun, I think it¡¯s still too early for us eight year olds.


    As soon as I returned to the mansion, I was greeted by the younger sister. It seems that today they practiced writing letters and studied calculations. She said she wrote a letter to me and it will be delivered tomorrow.


    No, is it okay if I hand it over to her today? I thanked Rosalia and handed her a souvenir fruit tart. It was just about time for a snack, so as usual, we settled down in the incredibly sunny salon for tea.


    The only time you can freely use this salon is when mother isn¡¯t around. This is a great opportunity. I must make the most of it.


    I am thinking of holding the next tea party here. I am sure everyone will be pleased. I am looking forward to it.

 CH 59

    The next day, I received a letter from my sister Rosalia. On her bright green stationery, the words ¡°thank you¡± and ¡°I love you¡± were spelled out over and over in Rosalia¡¯s handwriting. I carefully put it in my desk drawer and thanked Rosalia at the breakfast table.


    ¡°I got your letter. Thank you, Rosalia. You have improved your handwriting a lot.¡±


    ¡°Thank you very much. I have been practicing a lot. Because I need it to draw the magic circle.¡±


    Rosalia answered cheerfully. I see, so you are practicing in order to draw the magic circle used in magic tools well? And it also improves my handwriting, so two birds with one stone, you might say.


    ¡®¡¯Today, we will practice magic together in the morning, and in the afternoon we will have time to do whatever we want to do.¡±


    ¡°What do you plan to do in the afternoon, brother?¡±


    ¡°In the afternoon I¡¯m going to go see the training grounds. From the looks of it, the shower room and the soap may be finished.¡±


    ¡°Can I go with you?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    A delighted Rosalia began to eat her breakfast in a good mood.


    Yes, let¡¯s try the magic to flatten the ground when we practice magic. If it works, we¡¯ll be able to improve the roads in the capital. When fathers come back, he¡¯ll surely be surprised.


    I was gloating to myself, even though it still wasn¡¯t going to work, when Rosalia gave me a look as if she were looking at a strange person. I hurriedly ate my breakfast.


    After finishing breakfast, Rosalia and I were playing with stuffed animals when the news came that the magic teacher had arrived.


    The two of us headed for the knight¡¯s magic training hall together. We greeted our teacher, who was waiting for us there, and immediately began training in magic.


    ¡°Carnell-sensei, is there any magic that can flatten the ground?¡±


    ¡°Flatten the ground?¡¡Hmmm, I have never heard of it.¡±


    ¡°Brother, do you want to level the ground?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I thought that if I could flatten the ground, I could level the road.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­leveling the road. ¡­¡­¡±


    Carnell-sensei crossed his arms and began to think. It seems that there is no magic to level the road. We have magic for digging holes and building mud walls, so I thought there would be.


    Well, digging holes and building mud walls are more for military use, aren¡¯t they?


    The magic we learn is only magic suitable for battle. Perhaps magic is only considered for offensive purposes. Maybe that¡¯s why there is no healing magic or auxiliary magic.


    ¡°Unfortunately, I don¡¯t think such magic exists. At least, I don¡¯t know of any.¡±


    ¡°I see. What a pity.¡±


    Then I guess I¡¯ll have to develop it myself. Let¡¯s say I research the magic of ¡°Gaia Control (provisional),¡± a magic that can change the terrain of the ground at will. I¡¯ll figure it out eventually.


    And so the time for magic training passed.


    In the afternoon, as planned, I went to check on the training grounds. As before, we went first to the place where they were building the shower room, so as not to disturb anyone.


    ¡°Oh, I think it¡¯s safe to say this is finished.¡±


    ¡°Is this the shower room you were talking about?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it is. Shall we go closer and take a look?¡±


    As we approached, the craftsmen seemed to notice. They immediately called the master.


    ¡°Welcome, Julius-sama.¡±


    ¡°Thank you very much, master. It looks like it¡¯s finished.¡±


    ¡°Yes, thanks to you. Now all that remains is to install the magic tool that Julius-sama made.¡±


    ¡°Right. I¡¯ll help you with that. After all, it¡¯s a magical tool I made.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll help you, too!¡±


    Thus, together with Rosalia, I set up the shower magic tool and the other attached magic tools. The masters helped with the plumbing. Finally, the shower room was completed.


    In the room next to the shower room, A bathtub is installed, where one can take a bath.


    ¡°It would be best to have someone use it to try it out. ¡­¡­ Yes, I¡¯ll go check on the soap for a bit first. If the soap is finished, they can try it out for themselves.¡±


    I quickly made my way to the quarters where the soap was being made. There I found a knight on high alert. Was it really that important,  soap ¡­¡­?


    ¡°Is the soap ready?¡±


    ¡° Julius-sama. It¡¯s probably finished,¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Well, it seems to have dried well ¡­¡­.yeah, It¡¯s ready to use as a soap. Now that the shower room is finished, I would like to use some of the soap during the trial run. Would you mind sharing some with me?¡±


    ¡°Of course. Would you like me to cut it into pieces?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s fine.¡±


    The soap we made here was bar-shaped. I I plan to cut it into pieces of any size and use it. From there, I asked him to cut it into pieces about three centimeters thick. When I returned to the shower room with it, I found that female knights had already gathered there, perhaps having heard the rumors. Of course, there were also male knights.


    ¡°Julius-sama, I heard that the shower room was completed?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it is finished. The soap was also completed, so you can use it if you like.¡±


    I handed the soap to the female knight. The knight checks it carefully. Her eyes were wide open.


    ¡°This is the soap we made.¡±


    ¡°It would have been nice if I could have added undiluted perfume or something. I hope you¡¯ll forgive me for that this time.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s outrageous to say I forgive you! We¡¯ll put it to good use right away.¡±


    The female knights went into the shower room while cackling, and came out with smooth skin not too long after. The men waiting outside were stunned.


    ¡° Julius-sama, both the shower room and this soap are great. I had no idea it could remove so much dirt.¡±


    ¡°And with the shower room, I can wash my body in a short time. This is a wonderful facility.¡±


    The women were raving about the shower room. The men, who had gone into the men¡¯s shower room, also came out refreshed. It was as if the mud and sweat they had been covered in earlier in the day was a lie.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t think much of it before, but I can¡¯t go back to just covering my head with well water.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I know. I can¡¯t go back. I need soap.¡±


    ¡°Me, too.¡±


    Apparently, the soap was quite popular among the men as well. When I asked the masters to use the soap as well, the good-looking men appeared refreshed. How absurd. And they liked it very much.


    The masters and craftsmen gave their stamp of approval, saying, ¡° there would surely be aristocrats and merchants who would want this equipment.¡±


    At this rate, they will be talking about it all over the place. While we¡¯re at it, let¡¯s sell off the blueprints for the magical tools I used to build the shower room. I¡¯ll leave the rest to them.

 CH 60

    I can say that the shower room and soap are fine. Now I can go with my sister Rosalia to inspect the training grounds without her making a bad face.


    When I was teaching the masters how to make soap, Rosalia said, ¡°I want to try making soap, too.¡± We decided to make the soap together after returning to the house. Since we were going to the trouble of making soap, we decided to make scented soap.


    When I left the knights and returned to the mansion, a servant brought me a letter. It seemed that Edward had written back to me.


    ¡°Well, it seems that Edward-kun is all right, too. Well then, I¡¯ll send him an invitation to the tea party immediately.¡±


    ¡°Can I join you, brother?¡±


    ¡°Of course you can. you can invite your friends too.¡±


    Thus the preparations for the tea party went without a hitch. Since this time, it will be held at the my house, I Plan to invite Giles and Christopher. It would be good to meet everyone.


    After that, Rosalia and I spent time making rose-scented soap.


    The finished soap was wonderful. I used my mother¡¯s perfume without permission, so I hope she doesn¡¯t get angry at me.


    A few days later, the day of the tea party arrived. As soon as breakfast was over, I started getting ready.


    In the salon with the most sunshine in the Margrave Heine family, the servants were busy coming and going. To keep the servants¡¯ hands free as much as possible, I went to help Rosalia prepare as soon as I finished My own preparations.


    When I entered Rosalia¡¯s room, I noticed that it smelled good. ¡®This scent smells like roses,¡¯.


    ¡°Rosalia, you smell good. Did you use rose-scented soap?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I did. I washed my face and hands with it.¡±


    ¡°I see. Mother might be happy with this.¡±


    I decided to secretly prepare one for my mother. I¡¯m not sure if the other ladies will want this one. It might be a good idea to consider it for sale as well.


    With this in mind, I helped Rosalia get dressed.


    Rosalia¡¯s hair was done by a servant. I couldn¡¯t do that, so I helped her tie the ribbons on her clothes, put on her shoes and tie the laces.


    As one would expect from a dress for a tea party, she was really into it. Just tying the ribbons is a lot of work.


    When Rosalia was finally ready, a servant told us that the guests had arrived. I hurried to the entrance.


    It¡¯s my first time hosting a tea party, but it¡¯s a lot harder than I thought it would be. From now on, I¡¯ll do it when mother is around.


    ¡°Welcome, Edward-dono. This is the first time meeting you two. I am Julius Heine.¡±


    ¡°Julius-sama, it¡¯s been a long time. Let me introduce you. This is Baron Billy Stanfield and Baron Platon Arkhipov. Sometimes the three of us get together to develop magic tools.¡±


    ¡°Nice to meet you, please call me Billy.¡±


    ¡°Edward told me about you. I am Plato. It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you.¡±


    Billy and Plato bowed. It seems you guys are both lovers of magical tools like Edward-kun. looks like we¡¯ll get along well.


    I took the three of them to the salon and introduced my sister Rosalia.


    I was soon informed that Giles and Christopher had arrived, so I asked them to escort me to the salon. They soon arrived and I introduced them to each other.


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard from my father that Julius-sama is making magical tools, but I¡¯ve never seen him actually working on them.¡±


    ¡°Oh, really?¡¡It¡¯s not like I¡¯m keeping it a secret.¡±


    Gile said this, perhaps because he is interested in magic tools, even if he doesn¡¯t have one. Maybe I can show you how I make them sometime.¡¡Ah, Christopher is looking at me with eyes that seem interested too. After all, I knew that gadgets like magical tools are very popular with boys.


    Rosalia, who is happily listening to the Conversation about the development of magic tools, seems to be completely swamped into magical tools. A servant came to Rosalia. Apparently, Rosalia¡¯s friend had arrived. I went with her to the front door to meet her.


    ¡°How do you do, I¡¯m Melissa Blythe.¡±


    ¡°Nice to meet you. I am Julius, Rosalia¡¯s brother. Welcome to our home.¡±


    ¡°Melissa is my best friend.¡±


    Rosalia answered proudly. Melissa seemed happy too. I¡¯m relieved to see that she had made a good friend.


    While I was greeting her at the entrance, Miss Fabienne came in just in time.


    ¡°Welcome, Miss Fabienne.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for inviting me here today. This is my friend, Baroness Nathalie Caron.¡±


    ¡°Nice to meet you. I¡¯m Julius Heine.¡±


    ¡°Nathalie Caron. Nice to meet you today.¡±


    ¡°Please come, I hope you enjoy yourself too.¡±


    I took the three of them to the salon, where we introduced ourselves to each other again. There were six men and four women. It was a bit unbalanced, but I didn¡¯t mind.


    At first, we talked about nothing out of the ordinary, but soon we were talking about the summer vacation season.


    ¡°Then, Julius-sama, the rumor that the royal family was here was true.¡±


    ¡°Yes, it was, Edward-kun. It¡¯s been a hard time.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to hear that ¡­¡­ and that¡¯s why you couldn¡¯t see me during the summer vacation season.¡±


    Everyone seemed to have guessed what I was talking about, and their faces were austere. Oops, not a good idea to make it a dark tea party. After that, I asked around about how everyone had been spending their time.


    As a result, it seemed that Gile and Christopher were the only ones who swam in the lake, and the others told me that, ¡°Although they are children, it¡¯s a bit too much for aristocrats to swim.¡± Too bad, because I would have loved to swim.

 CH 61

    Miss Fabienne seemed to enjoy gardening as usual. And it seemed that Nathalie is Miss Fabienne¡¯s gardening companion. She seemed to know a lot about flowers and herbs.


    Of course, I, with my reputation for creating medicinal herb gardens, joined them. When I introduced her to a new type of herbal tea, she took a liking to it.


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right. I was just about to show off my recently developed magic tool.¡±


    ¡°Julius-sama, what kind of Magic tool have you created this time?¡±


    Billy and Plato were looking at me with shining eyes. Edward also leaned forward. A servant immediately brought the ¡°cold/warm air blower¡± that had been warming the room for a long time.


    ¡°This is it. It¡¯s a Magic tool named ¡®Cold and Warm air Blower¡¯.¡±


    ¡°I thought it was an interior decoration in the shape of a tree, but I was wrong.¡±


    Miss Fabienne was staring intently at a magic tool that looked like a wooden object.


    ¡°¡®This is a magical tool that sends out warm or cold air.¡±


    ¡°I see, so it is a magic tool that can change the temperature of the room.¡±


    Edward-kun nodded with a look of understanding.


    ¡°Well, is that the half of it?¡±


    ¡°Half?¡±


    This time Mistress Natalie tilted her head. Natalie¡¯s appearance reminds me of a rabbit.


    ¡°I made this magic tool for the purpose of drying hair.¡±


    ¡°¡±¡°It¡¯s able to dry hair!¡±¡±¡±


    Miss Fabienne, Miss Nathalie, and Melissa-chan all screamed. Apparently, the women of the world have had hair problems for a long time.


    This is good. This looks like just the thing to sell.


    ¡°Right now it sends out air at a reasonably high temperature to warm up the room, but it can send out air at a much lower temperature.¡±


    As I said this, I turned the knob, and a warmer breeze blew out, just right for drying hair. The women leaned forward. Their eyes were shining like shiitake mushrooms as they varied the air flow.


    ¡°This is how I always dry my hair.¡±


    Saying this, Rosalia made a gesture of drying her hair in front of the cold/warm blower. She had been using it for several days, so she was indeed very skillful.


    ¡°I made several of the same things with my brother, and the servants use them too.¡±


    When Rosalia spoke proudly, the men were surprised at Rosalia¡¯s ¡°we made them together¡± remark. Then they took an interest out of the cold/warm air blower magic tool.


    ¡°Julius-sama, I would like to make one myself¡­¡±


    Edward, you and the others are looking at me with a twinkle in your eyes. It¡¯s not even patented, so I guess it won¡¯t be a problem to show my friends how to make one.


    ¡°That¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll give you a copy of the blueprints, but I need some time.¡±


    ¡°Julius-sama, I too would like to have a  cold and warm air blower¡­¡±


    This time, Miss Fabienne and her friends were looking at me with wide-eyed amazement. Yeah. It¡¯s good, right? If word spreads about this magical tool from everyone, the demand for it in the territory will increase.


    If that happens, the magic tool masters planning to sell the blueprints will make a lot of them, and they will make more and more profits.


    The tax money would then come back to the Heine family. There is no need for me to go to the trouble of making them by hand. In the long run, it would be more profitable.


    ¡°Alright . I¡¯ll make one for everyone. However, is it okay if it¡¯s for one person at a time?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±.


    The three of them said in unison. Rosalia should be able to help me make the Magic tool, then I wouldn¡¯t keep them waiting that long.


    After that, when we were talking about trendy shops in the capital, Melissa-chan noticed.


    ¡°A little while ago, Rosaria-sama gave off a nice scent. Is it perfume?¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not. It¡¯s probably the scent of soap.¡±


    Rosalia took out a small bag from her pocket. Inside was a small bar of rose-scented soap. It was not a whole piece, as one would expect, but a small piece. I see. So this is one way to use it.


    ¡°It smells so good. I have never seen soap like this before.¡±


    ¡°Of course. This soap was made by me and my brother.¡±


    ¡°What?¡¡You made the soap?!¡±


    From that point on, the ladies were all over the soap-making process. When I showed them how to make it, they said they would make it as soon as they got home. Since it was not that difficult to make, I gave them the recipe as well. If soap-making spreads throughout the territory, the habit of hand-washing may spread.


    If the demand for soap increases in the territory, merchants will bring in large quantities of soap. If this were to happen, the unit price of soap would drop, and people would be able to buy it without making it themselves.


    ¡°Um, Julius-sama, is it all right for you to teach me so many things?¡¡I feel like I could make money if I sold any of them. ¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, Miss Fabienne. If they are sold and bought in the territory and money is moved around, that money will come into the Margrave Heine household  in the form of taxes.¡±


    Even though she¡¯s eight years old like me, Miss Fabienne is really strong. I didn¡¯t expect her to worry about money.


    I thought she was an innocent child bragging about her new toy, but perhaps I should think a little more carefully before providing information.


    ¡°I¡¯m surprised to hear that. That¡¯s a relief.¡±


    The horse racing business is quite lucrative now, and even without it, the business would have been profitable to begin with.


    After all, Grandma is a high-ranking magic pharmacist. Even just the profits from the sale of the magic potions she made should be making a lot of money.


    After the conversation about the soap was settled, today¡¯s tea party was over. After seeing everyone off at the entrance, I set to work on duplicating the blueprints and creating an additional cold/warm air blower.


    I left the salon to the servants to clean up, and asked for additional materials for the magic tools.


    Rosalia immediately began to make the magical tools with the materials she had on hand. With that by my side, I ran a pen on a piece of paper.

 CH 62

    I sent the blueprints to Edward and the others, and built a cold/warm air blower for Miss Fabienne and the others. After arranging to have the completed blower delivered to Miss Fabienne and the others, I immediately sold the blueprints to the magic tool masters.


    The magic tool masters of the Margrave Heine household were delighted. In addition, I also sold the shower-related Magic tools. These probably won¡¯t have the same explosive power as the cold/warm air blowers, but they should sell slowly and steadily.


    With this, I can finally catch my breath. It may be time to resume development of magic potions. But the problem is the ingredients for the magic potion. Since they can¡¯t be purchased in town, the number of magic potions I can make is limited. The magic potions I can make on hand are at best intermediate level recovery potions.


    If only I had the materials, I could make something better.


    ¡°Julius-sama, a letter has arrived  from master.¡±


    ¡°From father? I wonder what it is.¡±


    When I had finished my lunch, a servant brought me a letter. I regularly send letters to my family in the royal capital. It was strange to receive letters from the Royal Capital in succession, since I was planning to write a reply to the letter that came from There last time today.


    I had a bad feeling about this. My sister Rosalia, who is sitting next to me, is also looking at my face as if she is wondering what I am thinking. I received a paper knife from the servant and checked the letter inside.


    My blood boiled.


    ¡°Grandfather and Grandmother have collapsed, ¡­¡­?¡±


    ¡°Brother!¡±


    Rosalia picked up my voice as I mumbled unintentionally. I patted Rosalia on the head to reassure her and read the rest of the letter.


    According to the letter, it seems that the food served at a certain restaurant in the royal capital was mixed with poison. And it seems that grandfather and grandmother who happened to be eating there fell ill from the poison.


    They are currently undergoing medical treatment, but they wanted me and Rosalia to come to the royal capital too, just in case.


    ¡­¡­ Was it really a ¡°fluke¡±? Is it possible that they were after Grandpa, or even Grandma? Grandma is one of the highest ranking magical Potion masters in this country. If Grandma were to disappear, it would have a great impact on our country. What does that mean?


    ¡°Brother?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry, Rosalia. We¡¯re going to have to hurry to the royal capital from now on. I¡¯ve heard that the road to the royal capital  won¡¯t be easy, so be prepared for that. I¡¯m going to go talk to Lionel.¡±


    Saying this, I handed the letter to Rosalia. Rosalia read it and came clinging to me with a small scream.


    After somehow stroking Rosaria¡¯s head to calm her down, I left the rest to the servants and hurried to the Knights¡¯ quarters.


    When I arrived at the dorm, it seemed that it was just time for a break. I found Lionel in his office at just the right moment.


    ¡°Lionel, something bad happened. Grandma was poisoned.¡±


    ¡°What?¡¡Margaret-sama!?¡¡How is she?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. All it said was that she collapsed together with grandfather. But I believe her condition is urgent. The letter said to come to the royal capital as soon as possible.¡±


    ¡°We will prepare to leave immediately.¡±


    Lionel and the knights present moved in a flurry. Can we make it in time?¡¡But we have to do it.


    ¡°Lionel, I need to use Grandma¡¯s mixing room.¡±


    ¡°Julius-sama¡­¡±


    ¡°There might be the materials I want over there. I¡¯ll make a ¡®panacea¡¯ that can neutralize any kind of poison. Perhaps I may be able to get it in time.¡±


    ¡°I understand ¡­¡­. But I will take all the responsibility if something goes wrong. I will not allow you to use it unless you agree to that.¡±


    Lionel looked at me with strong eyes. Those eyes. I know those eyes, the eyes of determination, of never backing down.


    ¡°Okay. I promise you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll bring you the keys right away.¡±.


    Lionel ran out. I went back to my room, filled my bag with as much of the elementary magic recovery potion I had hidden away, and hurried to the annex where the old lady was staying.


    As long as I have the ingredients, I can make the elixir. There was no need to worry about failure. I¡¯ve made it many times before, and the success rate is 100 percent. Have confidence.


    ¡°Julius-sama, I have the key for you.¡±


    ¡°Thank you. I hope I get away with just a slap on the wrist from father. ¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go with you.¡±


    We arrived at the concoction room on the third floor of the annex. The door is locked tight. Lionel opened it with a careful hand.


    When he opened the door, I smelled the unpleasant odor of an elementary  recovery medicine that I had smelled once before.


    ¡°So this is grandmother¡¯s new studio. Is that the box with the materials in it ¡­¡­ that?¡±


    I found a metal box placed in the room. It too was locked. Lionel checked and unlocked it with a clank.


    ¡°The lock opened. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s in there, so please check carefully.¡±


    ¡°All right, Lionel. I¡¯ll be fine from here. Hurry up and prepare to head to the royal Capital.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir. I will leave the keys here.¡±**


    Lionel must have realized that I didn¡¯t want him to see me making the potion. Lionel complied meekly. That¡¯s Lionel. I was going to use my ¡°laboratory¡± skills, so that helped a lot, to be honest.


    After making sure Lionel left the room, I opened the box. There were some materials mixed in that I had never seen before, but most of them I had seen before.


    ¡°I think I can make an advanced recovery potion. A strong antidote would work too. The leaves of the World Tree¡­¡­There is one. It¡¯s not well-preserved, but it¡¯ll have to do.¡±


    I laid out the necessary materials on the table. They are all precious materials. I thought I wouldn¡¯t be able to make a few. ¡­¡­


    ¡°This is only just barely enough material for one. I can only save one person. ¡­¡­?¡±


    What do I do?¡¡Gather the materials now?¡¡No, that¡¯s impossible. I can¡¯t buy the ingredients for the potion. And they are rare. They won¡¯t be so easy to get.


    I can only make one bottle, but I¡¯ll still make it. I¡¯ll think about who to use it for when I get to the royal capital.


    I used my ¡°Laboratory¡± skill.

 CH 63

    The first step is to make an advanced recovery potion. The ingredients are medicinal herbs, careless grass, forest elk antlers, and purple slime powder. The careless grass is very shriveled. Perhaps it is more difficult to obtain than I thought.


    I used my ¡°Laboratory¡± skill to process each material into a powder. I carefully weighed the amount of the powdered material. If the quantity is even slightly different, the quality will drop drastically. This increases the difficulty of making advanced recovery medicine.


    This delicate process may be difficult with the Scales used in this world. It might be possible if we could make accurate weights, but it seems impossible at the moment.


    I put the separated ingredients into the distilled water I had prepared and mixed them well while warming them. It gradually turned purple.


    When the water has turned a uniform purple color, I stop heating it and remove the impurities. This completes the advanced recovery potion. The finished product is divided into a potion bottle. A clear purple liquid is now ready.


    Advanced healing potion: normal. Heals wounds. Effect (large)


    The Quality is average. It looks like the material is pretty damaged. It can¡¯t be helped. Maybe I should be happy that I was able to bring it up to normal quality.


    I immediately set to work creating the next strong antidote.


    I used poison-eliminating grass, careless grass, gumbo shells, and marc berries. Except for the poison-eliminating grass, none of the other ingredients are of good quality. But this is the only way to make it. I throw the ingredients into the laboratory and grind them into a powder as before.


    Now mix it with tabernol. Shake the solution thoroughly, until the color turns yellowish green.


    Remove the impurities from the solution and place it in a bottle.  Air is forced into the bottle to dry it. Due to the high volatility of tabnol, only a small amount of the thick yellow-green liquid remained.


    All that remains is to dilute the liquid with distilled water. Finally, a yellow-green transparent liquid was obtained.


    Strong Antidote: Normal. Neutralize poison. Effect (large)


    ¡°Normal? Maybe it can¡¯t be helped, but I can¡¯t help feeling that I¡¯m not good enough. No, no, no. Now is not the time to be depressed. I have to make a panacea.¡±


    Is it all going well so far¡­? I¡¯m concerned about the quality, but let¡¯s say it¡¯s going well. The problem starts here. There is only enough material for one dose of the panacea. There is no room for error.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. I can do it. I¡¯m a top-ranked potion maker. I can do it, I can do it, I can do it.¡±


    I took out the leaves of the World Tree and the dragon¡¯s blood, both of which were kept in a box. Both are of the lowest quality. It¡¯s better to have them. I am afraid to calculate how much the success rate will drop.


    I Put the advanced recovery medicine, strong antidote, leaf of the world tree, and dragon¡¯s blood in the ¡°laboratory¡±. I Heat them little by little while applying pressure.


    Normally, it is necessary to keep them in that state for about three days, but with the ¡°laboratory¡± skill, it is a different story.


    The time inside the ¡°laboratory¡± is concentrated all at once, and it takes only three minutes to finish. I can feel the magic power being scraped away. My head is starting to feel dizzy. Still, I endure it while guzzling the elementary magic recovery potion I have on hand.


    Finally, the seven-colored magic potion is complete.


    Panacea: Low quality. Neutralizes all poisons. Concentrated forest flavor. Unpleasant aroma.


    So poor was the quality that I almost fell to my knees. I tried my best. ¡­¡­. Still, I should be happy that it turned out okay.


    Closing and locking the box that contained the materials as they had been, I walked out of the room with unsteady steps.


    Outside, Lionel was waiting for me.


    ¡°Julius-sama!¡¡Please get a hold of yourself!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s all right, Lionel. The elixir is ready.¡±


    I showed Lionel the bottle of the elixir containing the seven-colored liquid. Lionel shook his head.


    ¡°I am not worried about whether the elixir is ready or not. It¡¯s about Julius-sama¡¯s health.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, too. I just used a little too much magic. I¡¯ll get back to normal after I sleep. But more importantly, take this.¡±


    Lionel did not accept the elixir that I offered him.


    ¡°That is something you should keep, Julius-sama. It is too heavy a load for me.¡±


    ¡°Well, ¡­¡­ I understand. More importantly, are we ready to leave?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­ It will take a little more time. We¡¯ll probably leave tomorrow morning.¡±


    Lionel is lying.


    It¡¯s an emergency in the Margrave Heine family. Preparations should have already been made. That is why Lionel was waiting here.


    But even if I told him that, he would not be leaving for the royal capital today. It¡¯s probably my fault.


    The next day, I left for the Royal Capital early in the morning. Naturally, Lionel comes along as well. The office work of the Margrave Heine family would not be delayed, but if something were to happen, it will be very troublesome. The remaining servants have no decision-making authority.


    Perhaps this is an opportunity for father to consider appointing a deputy to take his place.


    Normally, Grandfather should play that role, but ¡­¡­ worried Grandfather followed Grandmother to the Royal Capital. He could never have imagined that this would happen.


    It would take at least four days to reach the royal capital. However, since Rosalia is with us this time, they had planned a five- to six-day itinerary to give us more time.


    ¡°With this schedule, there is no need to sleep in the field on the way¡­huh?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. We can¡¯t let Rosalia-sama, who is still young, sleep in the fields.¡±


    Lionel said as he looked at the plan in his hand. Even though it was an emergency, it seemed that he had also firmly secured a place to stay. Impressive.


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind staying outdoors, you know?¡±


    ¡°Rosalia, do you know what it¡¯s like to sleep outdoors?¡¡There are a lot of bugs, you know?¡¡Like bugs with lots of legs, or bugs hanging from the ceiling. ¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Hiccup!¡±


    Apparently, we are not prepared enough. Despite the dropping temperatures, the creatures of this world are tough. There are many insects that will not stop working until, or even after, the snow closes in.


    Thanks to this, insect repellent incense and anti-itch ointments sell well even in winter.


    ¡°Can¡¯t you do something about it with your powers, brother?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, it is indeed difficult ¡­¡­ isn¡¯t there anything we can do about it?¡±


    If I make a warding magic tool that is set up so that not only demons but also insects cannot enter the area ¡­¡­.


    ¡°Brother!?¡±


    ¡°No, no, indeed, even I can¡¯t do it. I can¡¯t, I can¡¯t.¡±


    Rosalia was looking at me with an aha smile.

 CH 64

    On the first day, we arrived at our planned town without any problems. However, as the name ¡°frontier county¡± implies, the town becomes smaller as soon as we get a little farther away from the capital.


    The place where we will stay today is still on the larger side. From here on, we will be staying in a town or village for a while. Even so, it is much better to stay in a town or a village since we are not staying in the open.


    It was dusk when we arrived at the town. We went straight to the inn without looking around the town. The owner of the inn seemed to have already known that we were coming, and he immediately welcomed us.


    Rosalia, my sister, still looked fine. Perhaps it was a good thing that I had prepared a fluffy cushion for her so that she wouldn¡¯t get a sore bottom. Thanks to that, my bottom still looks okay too.


    I ask Lionel over dinner. We all eat together during the trip, as you would expect.


    ¡°Lionel, do you have any news of any monster outbreaks or bandit activity up ahead¡±


    ¡°None at the moment, sir. Of course, we¡¯ve sent out scouts and are moving on, so there¡¯s nothing to worry about.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    We eat our meals in silence.


    This is an important time of year before winter arrives. On the road to the royal capital, there are many wagons carrying food for the winter and daily necessities.


    Thieves would appear here and there to take advantage of these wagons.


    As expected, the road leading to the royal capital is well-defined and the lords along the road dispatch soldiers to patrol the road. Therefore, the road we are on is relatively safe, but we cannot let our guard down.


    Incidentally, this town is in our territory, the Margrave Heine territory, so the soldiers patrolling the roads are dispatched by Margrave Heine.


    If there had been an infestation of bandits in this area, I would have had to lecture the patrolling soldiers.


    However, from the next town, we will be in neighboring territory. I am a little worried, but he is a lord who is in charge of the roadside. I would like to think that he will be fine.


    After the meal, I wiped my body and went to bed. There is nothing else to do but sleep. I can¡¯t make magic potions, and I can¡¯t practice magic. I had no choice but to sleep in bed with Rosalia.


    Rosalia, who was sleeping next to me, looked pale. She must be worried. I was worried, too. But I can¡¯t show weakness here. If I became weak, Rosalia would worry more and more.


    The next morning, after eating breakfast, we set out immediately. The weather was fine. I¡¯d like to get as far as I could before the weather turns sour.


    The road gradually became worse and worse. Many times the carriage shook with a loud thump.


    ¡°Rosalia, are you all right?¡±


    ¡°Brother ¡­¡­, I don¡¯t feel so good.¡±


    It seemed that Rosalia had been intoxicated by the carriage. This is not good. We still have a long way to go to the capital. Let¡¯s use that thing we prepared.


    ¡°I made some ¡®anti-sickness medicine¡¯ just in case something like this happens.¡±


    ¡°Anti-sickness?¡±


    ¡°Yes. If you drink this, you won¡¯t feel sick.¡±


    The carriage was stopped and we decided to take a short rest. I magically filled a glass with water and handed it along with the motion sickness medicine.


    ¡°It¡¯s sweet, but don¡¯t chew it. It¡¯s bitter if you chew it. Gulp it down with a glass of water.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    Rosalia obeyed me. Lionel was watching her intently.


    Rosalia was soon revived and rode in the rocking carriage in a good mood after that. I was getting sicker and sicker, so I took some anti-sickness medicine too.


    We arrived at the town as planned, and Lionel asked me if I was ready to go.


    ¡°Julius-sama, what was that medicine that you and Rosalia-sama were taking just now?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡¡That¡¯s an ¡®anti-sickness¡¯. Don¡¯t you know?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I have never seen it before. So, if I take that ¡°anti-sickness medicine,¡± will it possibly stop me from getting coach-sick?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. That¡¯s right. Of course, there may be some people for whom it does not work.¡±


    Ah, is it possible that there is no anti-sickness medicine in this world yet? As I recall, the motion sickness medicine in the game was one of the items delivered by the magic medicine guild. So I thought it was generally sold, but it seems I was wrong.


    ¡°Julius-sama, if you don¡¯t mind, could you also prepare that ¡°anti-sickness medicine¡± as a regular medicine for the knights? Some of the knights inevitably get carriage sickness.¡±


    ¡°Okay. I will prepare it. Well, if there is any other medicine that would be good to have, please let me know.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll ask again, but what I need most right now is a medicine to suppress stomach upset.¡±


    ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll get it ready for you, along with the anti-sickness medicine.¡±


    I see. There is no anti-diarrhea medicine? I¡¯ll make some. I should also make some athlete¡¯s foot medicine. You¡¯ll probably need it. Then again, it¡¯s a pain that I can¡¯t buy the ingredients for magic potions. I wish I could do something about that.


    The fourth day of traveling smoothly. On the fourth day, we were stranded in a village. Lionel was told  that the Great Big Boar had appeared in the vicinity of this village. it was dangerous to leave now because it was a very dangerous monster.


    ¡°Apparently, it was seen this morning.¡±


    ¡°This is a very bad time. Now what to do?¡±


    Lionel reported. This is a problem. I don¡¯t know when it will be resolved. It seems that word has already gone out to the neighboring towns and villages, but it seems that it had crossed paths with us.


    The usual way to deal with such a situation would be to ask the nearby adventurers¡¯ guild to have adventurers take them down. However, we did not know how long that would take.


    ¡°If we ask the adventurers to do it now, it will take at least three days to solve the problem. If not, I don¡¯t know how long it will take.¡±


    ¡°I guess so. We can¡¯t stay in this village for that long, can we? All right, let¡¯s leave this village tomorrow as planned.¡±


    The knights were startled by my declaration. Rosalia also clung to my arm anxiously. Hearing this, Lionel, who had been pondering for some time, opened his mouth.


    ¡°With all due respect, isn¡¯t it dangerous?¡±


    ¡°Lionel, which is more dangerous, the wyvern or the Great Big Boar?¡±


    Lionel nodded approvingly.


    ¡°As you say.¡±

 CH 65

    The next morning we left the village. Well, we would not encounter the Great Big Boar. I had not heard that the Great Big Boar had fled in the direction of the Royal Capital. If he had fled in the other direction, we would never have met him.


    When they heard that we were leaving the village, the merchants, who had been undecided about whether or not to stay in the village, also left with us. We asked them about it, and They told us that they were apparently carrying a large amount of perishable foodstuffs, and it seems that the more time passes, the more trouble they will have.


    Therefore, they said they would go ahead even if it was a little risky. I was thinking that they were relying on our strength, but then they brought us gold In secret. I felt like a bad cop.


    ¡°Lionel, what do I do with this?¡±


    ¡°Julius, we are part of the Margrave Heine family. it is unacceptable to for them to ask us to protect Them while we are at it. But Julius-sama will allow it, won¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I intend to do so.¡±


    ¡°Then you should take it. Otherwise, that trader won¡¯t be able to keep up with us.¡±


    The merchants, of course, seems to have some guards, but here there are many knights in armor. Moreover, all the knights train hard every day. We are probably far superior in terms of strength. Then, is it any wonder that they are relying on us.


    I gave up and decided to accept the money. Besides, I didn¡¯t have time to stop here. I had to get to the capital as soon as possible.


    When I get to the capital, I will give the elixir to the old lady. Then I would tell her everything and ask her to help me gather the ingredients for the elixir. If I could make more elixirs with them, I would be able to save many people.


    Suppressing my enthusiasm, I let the carriage go on its way. Today¡¯s weather was a light overcast. Autumn has deepened considerably, and it feels very cold without the sunshine. When I closed the window of the carriage, the coldness eased a little.


    ¡°I might be able to reduce the size of the cold/warm air blower so that it could be installed in the carriage.¡±


    ¡°Brother, can you make that one smaller?¡±


    ¡°If I could place it in a position where it doesn¡¯t directly touch the body, I wouldn¡¯t need the wooden outer frame. I think we could get away with putting it under the couch.¡±


    It would warm up the sofa, too, wouldn¡¯t it? Well, I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s okay to modify the carriage without permission. Will the company that makes the carriage get angry?


    Since they started horse racing, horse sales have been brisk. I hear that sales of horse-drawn carriages have been brisk as well.


    This is where the horse-drawn carriages, complete with magical equipment that can adjust the temperature inside the car, come in. I have a feeling it will sell well.


    As I was dreaming of such a thing, there was a response to my ¡°Search¡± skill. A big rock-like reaction. It¡¯s the Great Big Boar. Why am I supposed to collect the flag? I don¡¯t understand it.


    ¡°Lionel, it¡¯s the Great Big Boar. It¡¯s coming at us from the left side of the road.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡¡Prepare to intercept it immediately.¡±


    Saying this, Lionel immediately stopped the carriage. The knights rushed into action. It seems that the caravan coming from behind were also contacted.


    ¡°Brother, is everything alright ?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, no problem. Rosalia,  wait quietly in this carriage.¡±


    Rosalia nodded, holding her favorite stuffed animal. It¡¯s heartbreaking to leave my teary-eyed sister behind, but it¡¯s best that I go myself so that there will be no damage. Don¡¯t make the same mistake twice. This is the ironclad rule of gamers.


    As soon as I got off the carriage, Lionel arrived.


    ¡°We will be ready to intercept it soon. Perhaps we were targeted because of the cargo carried by the traders.¡±


    ¡°You mean they were attracted by the smell of food?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. Even Monsters need food for the winter as well.¡±


    Is that so? Is the Great Big Boar going to take the food back to its den? No, this is different. ¡­¡­


    ¡°Lionel, it looks like there are other smaller monsters besides the Great Big Boar.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me, are there others?¡¡I see, it is certainly possible. And how do you know that, Julius-sama?¡±


    Lionel turned his probing eyes toward me. This is not good. I¡¯d like to keep my skills a secret if possible. I¡¯ll just have to cover it up.


    ¡°Lionel, get into position. There are six big boars.¡±


    ¡°Six!¡¡Now!¡±


    Lionel ran. Phew, I¡¯m so glad I did that. I managed to deflect the conversation. Well, more big boars aren¡¯t much of a problem. They¡¯re not that strong monsters, so we should be able to defeat them easily.


    I headed to where the knights were preparing for battle. The caravan guards seemed to be on the lookout for a perimeter to protect their convoy. It would probably be useless to tell them there was nothing on that side. It is only because the knights believe in me, or rather, blindly trust me, that they are able to take this intercepting posture.


    ¡°I see them!¡¡The lead is the Great Big Boar!¡¡And it¡¯s huge!¡±


    The scouts in the trees shouted. The sound of footsteps could be heard in the distance, and soon after, the sound grew louder and louder.


    ¡°There are six big boars in the rear!¡±


    The knights, who knew this beforehand, were not disturbed. The guards behind the caravan panicked. For some reason, they were scurrying around the convoy in a panic.


    The scouts began to hold them back with their bows and arrows. It probably won¡¯t do much damage to the Great Big Boar.


    The Great Big Boar leaped out, knocking down trees.


    When I first encountered the Great Big Boar, I was overwhelmed by its power, even though I knew it was in a game. I soon got used to it, though, as I had to defeat it many times.


    The Great Big Boar can be a tearjerker. Everyone was hunting it.


    ¡°Windblade!¡±


    The Great Big Boar split in two, leaving a large magic stone in its place. Unaware that the Great Big Boar had been killed so quickly, his henchmen, the Big Boars, leaped forward.


    ¡°Earth Needle!¡±


    All at once, several needles made of hard stone protruded from the ground. In the blink of an eye, the big boars were skewered, leaving only magic stones behind.


    ¡°Yeah. Well, I guess that¡¯s about it. Please Collect the magic stones. I might use it to make new Magic tools.¡±

 CH 66

    Okay, okay, this time we¡¯ve got zero damage. It¡¯s nothing if you put your mind to it. That¡¯s what I¡¯m talking about. The knights were picking up the magic stone with dubious looks on their faces.


    ¡°Julius-sama, a moment.¡±


    I was about to return to the carriage when Lionel stopped me. Your eyes are kind of squinty. I know those eyes. I¡¯ve seen those eyes before, It¡¯s the look of someone who has given up.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Lionel?¡¡We¡¯re leaving as soon as we finish collecting the magic stones.¡±


    ¡° of course, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good idea for Julius-sama to lead the fight. If something were to happen, we would be at our wit¡¯s end.¡±


    Oops, it seems he is angry because I took over his job. If he didn¡¯t have a place to play an active part, would he say something like, ¡°you don¡¯t need an escort.¡± I didn¡¯t mean to imply that at all.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m not going to fall behind any of those Monsters. I even defeated a dragon, remember?¡±


    Lionel sighed deeply. At the same time, he shook his head from side to side. I wonder, Lionel, have you aged a little?


    ¡°Maybe so, but you still shouldn¡¯t get involved in anything dangerous.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll take care of it.¡±


    ¡°No, not good. Please don¡¯t do this.¡±


    ¡°Oh, oh, all right. I won¡¯t.¡±


    Lionel¡¯s extraordinary spirit pushed me over the edge. He really wants me to stop. From now on, I¡¯d have to make sure Lionel wasn¡¯t around before I did anything.


    When I returned to the carriage, my sister Rosalia jumped on me.


    ¡°Brother, you¡¯ve gone quiet, what¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s all taken care of. The carriage should be leaving soon.¡±


    I put Rosalia on my lap, patted her head, and waited. After that, the carriage proceeded without any problems and arrived at the next town.


    As soon as it arrived at the next town, the merchant again presented me with a gold coin. It was not a threat.


    When we entered the inn, We were treated to a little alcohol. Of course, the source of the money was the gold coin given to us by the merchant.


    During the trip, everyone ate dinner together. Rosalia seemed to like this and seemed to be enjoying it. I enjoy it too. I wish we could do the same at the mansion.


    ¡°Julius-sama never ceases to amaze me.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. He can defeat the great big boar with a single sword.¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes. He also beat all the big boars in no time at all. I honestly wondered if we needed to be there.¡±


    The knights, a little drunk and talkative, were talking in an amusing manner. Rosalia was listening attentively to the conversation. I don¡¯t know, I feel like she¡¯s going to tell my father and mother about it later.


    ¡°Brother, what kind of magic did you use?¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡¡What was it~ I can¡¯t remember. Didn¡¯t Lionel and the others defeat them?¡±


    Rosalia is glaring at me with a ¡°liar¡± look. Stop it, don¡¯t look at me like that. I was wondering how to cover it up when Lionel, who was sitting next to me, spoke up instead of me.


    ¡°Rosalia-sama, Julius-sama used the magic called ¡®Wind Blade¡¯ and ¡®Earth Needle¡¯. Do you know this magic, Rosalia-sama?¡±


    Ah, Lionel had planted unnecessary knowledge in Rosalia¡¯s mind!¡¡Rosalia is nodding her head a little. Oh, how adorable.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of either. Did brother¡¯s teacher teach you  that magic?¡±


    Oh no, what should I do? If I said yes, Rosalia might ask Kernel-sensei about that magic next time. The answer would be, ¡°I didn¡¯t teach him that magic.¡±


    Should I pretend that I read about it in a book?¡¡No, she might ask to see the book later.


    ¡°Yu, I saw it in a dream. In a dream. Well, it seems I have a talent for magic.¡±


    I stuck out my tongue and showed it to them. Rosalia and Lionel are looking at me with mousy eyes. Damn It, can¡¯t I fool them?


    ¡°Speaking of which, how did Julius-sama know the monsters were coming?¡±


    The gazes of the knights who were supposed to be making a fuss around me suddenly gathered on me. How to get through this place, how to get through this place¡­


    ¡°It¡¯s a hunch, a hunch. I seem to have an excellent sixth sense. I can feel the reactions of the monsters around me like I can feel them in my hand. ahahaha¡­¡­¡±


    Thin ¡­¡­ and the place goes quiet. No one laughs. They¡¯re supposed to laugh here. Well, I guess I¡¯ll just have to use my back hand then.


    ¡°Oh, no one¡¯s laughing.. Maybe I should stop offering magic potions?¡±


    I glanced at the knights and saw that their faces had clearly gone pale. Once you¡¯ve had a taste of honey, there¡¯s no going back. Do you understand?


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right!¡¡As expected of Julius-sama!¡±


    ¡°Julius-sama¡¯s sixth sense is really half-baked!¡±


    ¡°As expected of Julius-sama!¡¡That¡¯s what I admire about him!¡±


    The knights suddenly began to make a commotion. Seeing this, Lionel, as expected, stopped pursuing the matter any further. Only one person, Rosalia, was puffed up.


    But that, too, seemed to have been managed by just patting and pampering her.


    Despite the unexpected accident of encountering the Great Big Boar, the rest of the trip went smoothly. As we approached the royal capital, the roads became well paved.


    ¡°Rosalia, it looks like we will be arriving at the capital soon.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t realize how hard the carriage ride would be. My buttocks hurt.¡±


    It seems that even the soft cushions had their limits. It would have been better if the carriage had been a little less shaky. I wonder if the technology in that area hasn¡¯t developed yet.¡¡Since there are magic tools, it would seem that at least springs should have been developed.


    ¡°Then, we need to make a magic tool that doesn¡¯t hurt your buttocks.¡±


    ¡°Can you make such a magical tool?¡±


    ¡°Hmmm, I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s possible.¡±


    ¡°Mwah!¡±


    Apparently, she realized that I was teasing her. Rosalia puffed up her cheeks like a squirrel. As I poked at it and let the air out, Lionel called out to me.


    ¡°Julius-sama, Rosalia-sama, the royal city is in sight!¡±


    As the two of us leaned out of the carriage window, we could see a large walled city ahead of us. Is that ¡®Spencer¡¯, the royal capital of the Kingdom of Spencer? Looking closely, it seemed that the city continued outside the wall. Further around the city, fields continued to spread out.

 CH 67

    We arrived at the big wall. The town on the way to this point was also quite busy. The streets were well paved, and many people were dressed neatly. Of course, from a distance, I could see places that looked like slums. It seems to me that they are intentionally set up there and were keeping a watchful eye on that place. It was like ¡°the darkness of the Royal City.¡±


    It seemed that we had to go through a procedure in order to get to the other side of the wall. There were already many people in line. The current time is about three o¡¯clock, snack time. At this rate, we might not be able to get in before dark.


    ¡°Lionel, do you think this is safe?¡¡Shouldn¡¯t we stay at an inn outside the walls today and come back tomorrow morning?¡±


    ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary, sir. That place where many people are lined up is the entrance for the common people. On the other side, there is an entrance for nobles only.¡±


    ¡°I see. It¡¯s a tough world.¡±


    It seems that there is a clear distinction between the two. It is not discrimination. Of course, we headed for the entrance reserved for nobles.


    This entrance was better than the one we had just entered.


    ¡°There are many carriages lined up.¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. It looks like everyone is going inside.¡±


    Rosalia leaned out of the window of the carriage to observe the outside. While supporting her body so that she would not fall off, we observed the outside together. As Rosalia said, there were carriages everywhere. It was as if there were carriages instead of people.


    ¡°It¡¯s strange. It¡¯s not even the beginning of the social season, but I¡¯ve never seen so many carriages lined up.¡±


    Lionel nodded his head. Apparently, there are usually even fewer.


    ¡°Is there something that aristocrats would gather together?¡±


    I have a bad feeling about this. I hope my fears were unfounded.


    It wasn¡¯t long before our turn came. Lionel was representing us. I went next to Lionel and asked him to show me the procedure for the future reference.


    It seems that a certificate signed by a nobleman is required. I showed it to the soldier, and if he confirmed it, he would let me through. The procedure seemed to have been completed without incident, and the soldier saluted me.


    I got into the carriage, and it started moving immediately.


    After passing through a dimly lit stone tunnel, I saw a large cobblestone street. Rosalia was cheering at the beautifully arranged sight.


    I had thought that the Margrave Heine territory was no less beautiful than the royal city, but this sight made me think that it was still not enough.


    ¡°Julius-sama, it will be a while before we reach the residence.¡±


    ¡°I understand. Just keep going, don¡¯t pull people away, and don¡¯t be in a hurry.¡±


    The streets of the royal city seem to be either set for people and carriages to pass through. It may be easier to understand if we say that the streets are divided into sidewalks and lanes. People are passing on the sidewalks and sometimes overhang the roadways.


    The bad traffic manners are the same everywhere. The royal city is especially crowded. If you don¡¯t drive your carriage with care, you might actually pull someone over.


    Are there many commoners¡¯ houses around here? Small, cozy houses stand side by side.


    Further in, it seems to be a commercial area. The number of people has increased even more than before. The speed of the carriages slowed down accordingly. The view from the window also showed a succession of goods lined up in front of the stores.


    ¡°Brother, I¡¯d like to go to that store over there.¡±


    Rosalia pointed to a store specializing in magical tools. It seems that my cute little sister is steadily on her way to becoming a magic tool master. Girls of this age would be more interested in flowers and stuffed toys.


    ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll ask father and mother to take you there sometime.¡±


    Unfortunately, we don¡¯t have time to go now. If everything is settled and we have time, we might be able to go. But sooner than that, we need to get to the townhouse of the Margrave Heine family.


    After passing through the commercial district, the surroundings became quieter and quieter. The number of people on the street was much smaller than before, and the number of horse-drawn carriages was increasing. It seemed that we had entered a district where many aristocrats lived.


    ¡°Julius-sama, Rosalia-sama, we will be arriving at the mansion shortly.¡±


    Before I knew it, the view from the window had somehow changed to a landscape of magnificent houses. Some had gardens, some did not. Since land in the royal capital is limited, it is probably only a few high-ranking nobles who can have a garden.


    The carriage stopped in front of a mansion with a garden.  It seems that this is the townhouse of Margrave Heine family. One of the knights went inside. He must have gone to report our arrival. Meanwhile, we got off the carriage.


    ¡°It¡¯s smaller than the townhouse in the capital, but it¡¯s bigger than the other houses in the area.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s adorable and lovely.¡±


    Rosalia seemed to like it. Lionel and the others led us to the entrance. The carriage that came in headed toward the garden. It seemed that there was a place to put the carriage over there.


    We waited for a while in front of the entrance. The door opened and we entered the house. There, we could already see our father, mother, brother Alex and brother Cain. I didn¡¯t expect to see brother Alex, let alone brother Cain. I thought he was supposed to be at school this time of year.


    ¡°Well done, I¡¯m surprised you made it here in one piece. Must have been a hard trip in the carriage, huh?¡±


    His father¡¯s voice was listless as he laughed. He was not the only one. Everyone else in the family was also listless.


    ¡°Yeah, it was quite difficult, but¡­ Father, how are Grandma and Grandpa doing?¡±


    Father closed his eyes and shook his head from side to side. mother and the others also kept their faces down.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but both of them have already passed away. The funerals have already taken place.¡±


    Apparently, not only did we not make it in time, they had already passed away by the time the letter reached us. That¡¯s why it was ¡°as soon as possible,¡± not ¡° hurry¡±. No matter how much we hurried, we wouldn¡¯t make it in time anyway.


    Hearing this, Rosalia was crying wanly in mother¡¯s arms.


    ¡°So it was. I wish I could have attended the funeral, at least.¡±


    ¡°Then you should attend the funeral being held at the royal castle. Your grandmother was a high-ranking potion master. I heard that people from all over who once were taken care of by her will gather there.¡±


    ¡°I understand. I will do so.¡±


    The reason why there were many carriages of nobles near the entrance to the royal city was because people who were going to attend the funeral of the grandmother had gathered there. That must be how many people Grandma¡¯s magic medicine had saved. I could only mourn her untimely death.

 CH 68

    We are going to the royal castle tomorrow. As expected, dusk is already approaching. If we go there now, I will not be able to say goodbye slowly.


    ¡°Father, how many people have died?¡±


    I asked when I had finally settled down after putting my luggage away in my room. The place was the townhouse saloon overlooking the garden. Only my father and I were in the saloon. It seems that mother and my two brothers are accompanying Rosalia.


    ¡°Forty-three people in all. All of them had eaten at the same restaurant. It¡¯s a famous restaurant frequented by many aristocrats. We had been there before.¡±


    ¡°So it was indiscriminate.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the way it¡¯s supposed to be.¡±


    Apparently, father understood what I was trying to say. I think the old lady was targeted. He seems to be of the same opinion.


    ¡°Do you know who did it?¡±


    ¡°It seems it was an employee of that restaurant. He committed suicide after the crime, so we still don¡¯t know what the purpose was. Did he have a grudge, or did someone ask him to do it?¡±


    Father answered languidly. Does the average person have a poison against which the ordinary antidotes do not work? No, they don¡¯t. That means someone is behind it. And father is aware of that, too.


    Who could have done this, and for what purpose? A poison that has no antidote. The only thing that can nullify the poison may be the panacea I have in my possession at the moment.


    ¡°Have you found out anything about the poison that was used?¡±


    ¡°It seems that they are currently investigating. the Potions Guild in the Royal Capital is working on it, but since my mother has passed away. They¡¯ve lost the most knowledgeable and skilled potions master in the country, and in spite of this situation, there is a conflict within the Potions Guild over who should take her place.¡±


    Even at a time like this, they are only trying to benefit themselves? Maybe the Potions Guild doesn¡¯t have much hope either. It will be some time before a new antidote is created.


    I¡¯m beginning to worry that the other party will take advantage of it and commit more crimes


    ¡°That¡¯s right, there was something that my mother asked me to give to Julius. Just a moment, please.¡±


    Saying this, father excused himself. Grandmother to me? Apparently, the old lady had been alive for some time after the poison had been passed around. It seems that the poison used this time was not immediately effective. If that¡¯s the case, I would at least had time to take a remedy.


    While I was thinking about that, father came back with a thick book. That book must be the one. It looked very old and tattered.


    ¡°Julius, take it. It is a present for you, who aspires to become a potion master.¡±


    What he handed me was a recipe book of magic potions. probably the best-kept secret of all. Apparently, Grandmother had decided to entrust me with everything she had at the moment of her death.


    From the way it was in tatters, it might have been passed down to me from her mentor.


    ¡°I will take good care of it.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯d better keep quiet about that book for a while. There will be many potions masters who will want it.¡±


    ¡°I understand. I will.¡±


    I stopped checking the inside at this point and returned to my room


    It would be a bad idea to leave this book with the rest of my luggage. I didn¡¯t want to do it, but I decided to keep it in subspace.


    The magic to open subspace consumes a lot of physical strength and magical power. So I really don¡¯t want to do it too much. Even in the game, I could only use it in safe places.


    It¡¯s convenient, but you can¡¯t take out the items you put in the subspace when you need it. Basically, the skill was to store only items that were important but rarely used.


    Before putting it away in the subspace, I decided to take a quick peek inside the book.


    I flipped through the book. It seemed to contain instructions on how to make various magic potions, but they were all ones that I already knew. Moreover, many of the ingredients were the same, but the methods for making them were all bullshit. This is just a bunch of grotesque magic potions. I wondered if this was done on purpose.¡¡There were many things that made me think, ¡°Was this done on purpose?¡±


    However, there were some things I gained. Some of the magic potions were unknown to me, and I also discovered some unknown materials. With these unknown materials, I might be able to make a new magic potion that no one knows about. I¡¯m getting a little excited.


    I¡¯ll read more about it when I get back to Heine¡¯s house. I used the ¡°Subspace¡± skill. The next moment, I felt a jolt of strength leave my body and I fell to my knees. This is not something I can use in public. If someone saw me like this, they would be worried. Besides, there are too many gaps.


    I carefully put away the old lady¡¯s book and the elixir in the opened subspace, and immediately closed the subspace. Good, no one saw me.


    By the time the servants came to call me to tell me that dinner was ready, I managed to walk properly. I wish I had at least an elementary stamina recovery potion, but I had used it all the other day when I was making the elixir.


    I¡¯ll have to steadily collect magic herbs again. The medicinal herb garden called ¡°flower bed¡± may need to be expanded more. Would that be too conspicuous? What should I do?


    Mother and Rosalia were already in the dining room. Perhaps spoiled by mother, whom she hadn¡¯t seen in a long time, Rosalia was clinging to her tightly. I envy her. I want to hug her, too.


    ¡°Julius, you don¡¯t look well. Come here.¡±


    You¡¯re very perceptive, Mother. I obeyed without hesitation so as not to arouse her suspicions that I was draining my strength and magic.


    When I went to my mother¡¯s side, she hugged me tightly. I felt the soft touch of my mother spread throughout my body.


    ¡°You are not the only one who is sad. We¡¯re all in this together. So you, too, can be more indulgent without holding back.¡±


    There seems to be a slight misunderstanding, but I am sure that I am sad because of the sudden loss of my grandfather and grandmother. I decided to let myself be pampered until everyone gathered in the dining room.

 CH 69

    It was the first time in a long time that we had a meal together as a family. Grandpa and Grandma were not there, but We were all happy to see each other again


    ¡°Brother Alex, are you taking some time off from school?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but even though  he committed suicide, they found the murderer. It should be reopening soon.¡±


    ¡°Is everything all right?¡±


    At my question, brother Alex bent his eyebrows into a c-shape and laughed with a troubled look on his face.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be coming back here instead of the dorms for a while. I¡¯ll even bring my own lunch. I think most of the nobles who have townhouses in the Royal Capital do that.¡¡The academy approves of It.¡±


    ¡°That sounds very reassuring.¡±


    Not only my brother, but also the people living in the Royal Capital must be anxious. If we could at least find out who the real culprits are, we might be able to figure out what they¡¯re after.


    ¡°We have asked Julius and Rosalia to come all the way to the royal capital, but I cannot let you eat outside. I know it will be inconvenient for you, but make sure you follow through.¡±


    ¡°I understand.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    In the royal capital, there must have been a number of stores selling sweets that could not be seen in the Margrave Heine territory. It¡¯s a shame that you can¡¯t enjoy them. However, the timing was bad. I guess I¡¯ll have to wait until things settle down in the Royal Capital.


    ¡°How long are you planning to hold the funeral for grandmother, father?¡±


    ¡°Probably for the rest of the season.¡±


    ¡°So that¡¯s how important  grandmother was to this country. ¡­¡­¡­¡­Is it true that the culprit was aiming after the old lady?¡±


    The place fell silent at my question. I am not the only one who is curious about this.  father put down his knife and fork.


    ¡°Because the most important person among those who died was your mother. It is quite possible. Mother never took on an apprentice. She never disclosed the wisdom and skill of her magic potions. Perhaps someone had a grudge somewhere because of that.¡±


    ¡°Did Grandmother ever say anything about anyone holding a grudge against her?¡±


    Father shook his head from side to side. Does that mean he doesn¡¯t remember anything about it? Killing the old lady would not give him the wisdom and skill of magic potions. The old lady¡¯s status might be obtainable, but you can become a ¡­¡­ high-ranking potions master on your own merit, and the only thing you can get is a position in the Potions Guild, if you can get one.


    ¡°Did Grandmother have a high position in the Potions Guild?¡±


    ¡°She was vice president of the Potions Guild, though only in name. However, since she was not based in the royal capital, but rather in our territory on the Heine frontier, so I would say that she had little connection with the guild.¡±


    ¡°Was he after the vice presidency of the guild?¡±


    ¡°The investigation seems to be along those lines at the moment. I don¡¯t know if the people in the Potions Guild know that they are being investigated along that line.¡±


    He said this with a deep sigh. He was clearly displeased. I¡¯d better not talk about this any more. It would spoil our family dinner, which we had not had together for a long time. I had to change the subject.


    ¡°Today¡¯s dinner is delicious. The food we ate in the towns and villages on the way to the capital was also delicious, but the food in the capital is indeed different. I feel that it is seasoned well.¡±


    ¡°In the capital, you can get all kinds of spices. There might be spices that Julius doesn¡¯t know about.¡±


    Brother Alex took advantage of my blatant change of subject. He is indeed a dependable older brother. And it seems that there are spices in the royal capital that I haven¡¯t seen yet. Many spices can be used as ingredients for magic potions. Even salt is an excellent ingredient for magic potions.


    ¡°I¡¯m curious about that. I¡¯d love to see it while I¡¯m in the royal capital.¡±


    ¡°I think most of the spices are available in the kitchens, but it might be a good idea to visit a store that actually sells spices. There seem to be a lot of weird spices there.¡±


    Smiling, brother Alex told me. It seems that he knows a lot about the city. I wonder if he walks around the Royal Capital on his days off from school. I¡¯m a little envious.


    ¡°If I can¡¯t eat food, I¡¯d at least like to look around other stores.¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll take you there. The academy doesn¡¯t reopen tomorrow either.¡±


    ¡°Brother Alex, I¡¯d like to go with you.¡±


    ¡°Oh, really?¡¡Then why don¡¯t we go with  Rosalia?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    Rosalia replied happily. Mother is watching it with a smile.


    ¡°Rosalia seems to have grown quite fond of Julius. Is there something else going on that we don¡¯t know about?¡±


    Oh, something about mother¡¯s smile scares me. Father is also looking at me with one eyebrow raised. This is the one they suspect.


    I did nothing ¡­¡­ wrong, right? I made some magical tools and killed the Great Big Boar that appeared along the way. This is not good. I have to somehow seal Rosalia¡¯s mouth. No, even if I sealed her up, would she find out sooner or later?


    ¡°Together with brother, I made a lot of ¡°cold and warm air blower¡± magical tools to dry my hair. In addition, brother also built baths in the training grounds and defeated the monsters that attacked us!¡±


    ¡°Rosalia, could you tell more about that story to your mother?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    Thus began Rosalia¡¯s saga. I was the hero. The story was somewhat a little dramatized in some places, but it was mostly true. Mother¡¯s face was drawn when she told the story of the subjugation of the Great Big Boar.


    Father seemed to have heard the story from Lionel and was looking up to the heavens with his hand on his forehead. Apparently, he had planned to tell  mother after some time had passed so as not to worry her.


    ¡°Julius, Lionel has told me most of what happened. But from now on, if you need anything, be sure to send me a letter. Is that clear?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­ yes.¡±


    I¡¯ve gotten myself in an awkward situation in some other way. I was just trying to improve the atmosphere of the place, but before I knew it I find myself in an awkward situation again. Mostly around me.


    Of course, after that, I had to make one of those cold/warm blower magical devices. I think I¡¯ll probably end up making several.

 CH 70

    As expected, the townhouse had neither the tools nor the materials for making magic tools. Therefore, the making of the cold/hot air blower magical tool had been postponed until tomorrow. They said they would have everything ready for me by then. My sister Rosalia was happy.


    It would have been nice if Rosalia could have made it on her own, but as expected, that was still impossible. Still, she is able to make most of them, which is a great help. I am grateful for that.


    On the other hand, she shows no interest in magic potions, so this one seems to be a no-go. It would be great if there was one more person who could be an asset.


    The next day, as soon as breakfast was over, we started preparing to go to the royal castle. It seemed that the whole family was heading there. When I asked my father about it, he replied, ¡°It¡¯s not every day, but we all go together on different days.¡±


    This time, since Rosalia and I were going to be attending the funeral, so it seems that everyone will be going together. When everything was ready, we got into the carriage.


    After a while, I could see a white castle with many spires in front of us. I got a little excited when I saw this world¡¯s castle for the first time.


    ¡°Look, Rosalia! I can see the castle!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s true!¡¡It¡¯s even bigger than I read in the books.¡±


    Rosalia¡¯s eyes widened as she watched the castle gradually get bigger and bigger. It really is big. It seems to be built on top of a small hill in the royal city, and if you climb up to the highest tower, you will surely have a panoramic view of the city. I would love to see the view from there.


    ¡°Cain had a similar reaction when he first arrived.¡±


    Brother Alex is smiling at Brother Cain. He must have recalled the scene from that time.


    ¡°Oh, then Alex had the same look on his face.¡±


    Mother smiled at Alex. Apparently, everyone has the same look on their face. It is such a magnificent and beautiful castle. I can understand why big brother Cain wants to go to the school in the royal capital.


    The carriage soon arrived at the royal castle. As expected, security was tight because of the poisoning incident in the Royal Capital. The carriage in which we were riding was repeatedly searched by soldiers.


    ¡°Just getting into the castle is  hard work.¡±


    ¡°Yes, it is. I¡¯ve gotten used to it, but the problem is that it takes too long.¡±


    Father was right, it took us almost an hour to get there. It usually takes only a few minutes to finish. I should have brought some item to pass the time with. The only thing I can do in the carriage is to play ¡­¡­ card games.


    The large door that is open has a pattern of an eagle carved on it, perhaps the national bird. There is also a shield-like pattern with what appears to be the national flag and a picture of a sword and a dragon. Then there is a vine-like pattern that I can¡¯t quite make out. What are those?


    In the meantime, we were finally let into the castle. If we had gone there yesterday, it would have been late at night when we returned.


    After getting off the carriage at the stop, my father and mother took me inside the building.


    Apparently, this was not the main body of the royal castle, but one of the surrounding buildings. There were a good number of people around. I wondered if everyone present was going to attend grandmother¡¯s funeral?


    There was a magnificent altar set up inside the building. The coffin on the other side of it was probably where Grandpa and Grandma were sleeping. Seeing them side by side like this, it seems that grandfather and grandmother were well-known as a married couple. I guess you could say that They were together until the end of their lives. In fact, they died at the same time.


    After we offered flowers, it seemed to be time for prayer. Each of us sat down and the priest was praying. Everyone followed suit, and the hall fell silent.


    When the prayer was over and we were about to leave, a voice called out to me.


    ¡°Julius!¡¡I missed you so much.¡±


    I turned around and there stood Chloe and her sister, Lady Daniela. Chloe rushes toward me. The people around me are buzzing at the sudden appearance of the royal family.


    ¡°Chloe-sama, what brings you here?¡±


    ¡°I told the gatekeeper to tell me when Julius came.¡±


    I see. So that¡¯s how she knew I was here. I didn¡¯t expect to see Chloe. But this is my chance. I had to get a moment alone with her.


    ¡°Hello, Miss Daniela. Are you here to see brother Alex?¡±


    ¡°Yes, well, I suppose you could say that.¡±


    Miss Daniela is puzzled by my straightforwardness. I¡¯m not sure if their relationship is progressing or not. But I have no choice but to take advantage of their relationship.


    ¡°Brother Alex, will you be spending time with Miss Daniela after this?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡¡Uh, oh, will I be?¡±


    Brother Alex  confirms with Daniela-sama with a glance. What¡¯s the matter? You¡¯re a bit unreliable. If you¡¯re a man, you should be more aggressive.


    ¡°Then may I stay with Chloe-sama?¡±


    ¡°huh? I think it¡¯s fine.¡±


    Brother Alex was getting a little confused. What¡¯s wrong, you didn¡¯t think it would turn out like this?¡¡Daniela-sama doesn¡¯t seem to be too happy about it either.


    ¡°I see. Well then, Alex, make sure you take Julius home with you. We¡¯ll go home first.¡±


    Father said. I thought that Rosalia might complain, but she read the atmosphere and followed his instructions without saying a word. Only me, brother Alex, Chloe, and miss Daniela were left.


    ¡°Well then, Julius, let me show you around the castle!¡±


    ¡°Thank you very much. My best regards.¡±


    I bowed. Good, just as I calculated!¡¡I¡¯ve done a bit of a bad thing to brother Alex, haven¡¯t I?¡¡I¡¯ll apologize later.


    Chloe took me to the main building of the castle.


    I left brother Alex and I immediately turned to Chloe. I don¡¯t know how much time we have left. I have to do what I need to do as soon as possible, even if it¡¯s a little aggressive.


    ¡°Chloe, I have something important to tell you. Can we talk alone?¡±


    At that moment, Chloe¡¯s face turned red. ¡­¡­Sorry Chloe. It¡¯s not what you¡¯re imagining. I¡¯m really sorry.


    Chloe, to my surprise, led me to her room. This is the kind of thing that would be bad if other people saw.


    My face seemed to turn pale at the unexpected turn of events, but I couldn¡¯t back out now. I made up my mind and entered Chloe¡¯s private room.

 CH 71

    When we are alone, Chloe began to get restless. I had to talk to her before she got the wrong idea.


    ¡°Chloe, of course you know that my grandmother was poisoned, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, of course.¡±


    Chloe looked puzzled by my unexpected comment. She recommended that I sit down at the table. When I use the ¡®Subspace¡¯ skill, it¡¯s a little bit difficult to move, but now no one but Chloe can see it, so it should be fine.


    ¡°Chloe, there is something I want you to keep between us.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what it is, but I understand.¡±


    A confused Chloe gave me a firm nod in return. Chloe is a good, honest girl, although her tone can be harsh. It shouldn¡¯t be a problem, and if Chloe leaks it, I won¡¯t hold it against her.


    I used my ¡°subspace¡± skill right in front of Chloe. It just looks like a black ball appears, but by putting my hand in it, I can move things in and out. Of course, this black ball can change size at will.


    ¡°W-what is that!? Julius, are you sure you want to put your hand in that thing?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s all right. It is a skill that allows me to store all kinds of things in it.¡±


    ¡°I have never heard of such a skill.¡±


    Chloe was puzzled. I don¡¯t care, I take out the panacea from inside. At that moment, I felt a jolt of strength drained out. But thanks to the fact that I was sitting on a chair, I didn¡¯t fall over.


    ¡°Julius, you don¡¯t look well. Are you all right?¡±


    You are very perceptive, Chloe. I was going to keep quiet so as not to worry her, but it seems that¡¯s not going to happen. I decided to be honest with Chloe in order to share my secret and increase my level of trust with her.


    ¡°This skill is very useful, but it does consume a lot of my strength and magic power when I move things in and out of it.¡±


    With that, I offered the elixir to Chloe, smiling as if to reassure her. Chloe stares at the bottle of the elixir containing the seven-colored liquid.


    ¡°What is this?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a panacea. With this elixir, any poison can be cured.¡±


    ¡°Any poison? Isn¡¯t this an amazing magic potion!?¡±


    ¡°Maybe so, but it tastes like ¡­¡­ concentrated forest and smells disgusting, so it can be tough to drink.¡±


    Chloe¡¯s face scrunched up when she heard that. Perhaps Chloe also knows how ghastly other magic potions are. She picked up the bottle and checked it fearfully.


    ¡°Lady Margaret was able to create such an amazing magic potion. If she had carried this with her, she would have been able to save her life. I wonder if there¡¯s only one of these elixirs?¡±


    Chloe, her face clouded, asked. Maybe Chloe has met the old lady before. Is that it? There¡¯s even a long funeral ceremony at the royal castle. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if there was quite a bit of interaction.


    ¡°I could only make one because I didn¡¯t have the materials.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ is that possible!?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I made that one.¡±


    Chloe¡¯s eyes became round. I am sure this is the kind of face a pigeon makes when it eats a peashooter. I couldn¡¯t help but burst out laughing at the expression on her face.


    ¡°Hey, Julius, it¡¯s not funny!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry, it¡¯s just that Chloe¡¯s face was so cute.¡±


    ¡°A, so cute!?¡±


    This time Chloe¡¯s face turned bright red like a boiled octopus. Chloe has a bit of a tight face. Has She never been told that she was cute?¡¡That¡¯s absurd.


    ¡°The only people who know that I made the elixir are probably our Knight Commander Lionel and my parents. The rest would be Chloe.¡±


    ¡°I never thought Julius could make a magic potion,¡­¡­, but is this real?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s only natural for Chloe to be suspicious. You can appraise it later. That way, you will feel more comfortable using it.¡±


    ¡°I-I¡¯m not accusing Julius of anything. It¡¯s just that I heard that only people who are qualified as potion-makers are allowed to make magic potions. ¡­¡­¡±


    Chloe looked embarrassed and depressed. She didn¡¯t have to look that way. Everything Chloe said was right. It would have been more dangerous not to doubt me at all just because it was me.


    ¡°You¡¯re right, Chloe. I¡¯m making magic potions illegally. If I get caught, I could end up on the guillotine.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t tell anyone.¡±


    Before I could finish, Chloe answered immediately. Her eyes are completely fixed. There was something indescribable about her. I was getting chills. I mustn¡¯t make Chloe angry. No, absolutely not.


    ¡°I wanted to give you this panacea. So I forced you to give me some time alone with you.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I see. I¡¯m a little disappointed, but why did you give it to me?¡±


    ¡°Just in case. The real culprit¡¯s real target might be the royal family. The only person who had a chance of making a magic potion that could neutralize the poison was the great potion-maker, Lady Margaret. Now that she¡¯s gone, ¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°they can poison my father: ¡­¡­¡±


    I gave Chloe a nod. Chloe¡¯s complexion turned pale, as if she hadn¡¯t imagined it. But I think it¡¯s quite possible.


    Perhaps not immediately. There is a good chance that they will commit the crime when the heat has cooled down and the Royal Capital has regained its composure again.


    ¡°Chloe, don¡¯t worry. It¡¯s a panacea for that. It just takes courage to take it.¡±


    Chloe laughed a little at my joke.


    ¡°Julius, after what you just did, you need to rest for a while, don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. Still, I¡¯ll be fine after a little rest.¡±


    Chloe smiled when she heard that. I don¡¯t know, but I smiled back at her.


    ¡°Then lie down on my bed. You should be able to recover faster that way.¡±


    Chloe suggested her own bed.

 CH 72

    I¡¯m in a tough spot right now.


    I was forced by Chloe to lie down on her bed. Chloe seems to be just worried about my body, which is fine.


    But, however, Chloe slid in next to me saying ¡°I¡¯ll sleep with you.¡± And now, Chloe is sleeping soundly.


    How did this happen? It would be very bad if anyone sees me here.


    My strength and magic power had recovered to some extent, so I have to wake Chloe up and get out of this room.


    I shook Chloe¡¯s body, thinking that it would be unbearable to wake her when she was sleeping so comfortably.


    ¡°Chloe, wake up. Chloe.¡±


    At that moment, I heard a knock at the door. My heart jumped. This is not good.


    ¡°Chloe, are you not there?¡¡I haven¡¯t seen Julius since a while ago, do you know where he is?¡±


    It was Chloe¡¯s sister, Daniela.


    It seems that a good amount of time has passed since we entered Chloe¡¯s room. Maybe I was a little asleep too.


    ¡°Chloe?¡¡I¡¯m coming in.¡±


    I met Daniela-sama¡¯s eyes as she opened the door with a clank.


    Miss Daniela quietly closed the door without saying a word. I heard Alex oniisama¡¯s voice coming from the other side of the door.


    ¡°Daniela, what¡¯s wrong?¡¡Wasn¡¯t Miss Chloe there?¡±


    Oh no. This is definitely a misunderstanding.


    ¡°Chloe, wake up!¡±


    I shook her body as hard as I could, whispering.


    ¡°Squishy?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not squishy. Daniela has come looking for us.¡±


    ¡°Sister ¡­¡­?¡¡Yes!¡±


    Chloe finally awoke and jumped out of bed. Looking at her groggily but quickly adjusting her hair, she seems to be a small but respectable lady.


    I helped her and hurriedly fixed her hair. I had often helped my sister Rosalia to do her hair, and this level of work was a piece of cake.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, sister?¡±


    Chloe quickly opened the door and spoke as if nothing had happened. She was acting like an Oscar-winning actress.


    ¡°huh?¡¡Chloe, are you all right?¡±


    ¡°What is it, sister?¡±


    The smiling Chloe is a little scary. Oh, Daniela-sama¡¯s face is drawn. It seems that Chloe is going to push through this as if nothing happened.


    Good luck, Chloe. You are the only one who can prove our innocence.


    ¡°Oh, no, that¡¯s all right, as long as nothing is wrong. It is almost time for Alex and the others to leave, so I have come to call you.¡±


    ¡°Oh, is it that time already?¡¡Julius, come back tomorrow. promise.¡±


    I was forced to let Chloe cut off my fingers. Brother Alex and Lady Daniela were looking at us with lukewarm eyes.


    As for Miss Daniela, I think she is completely suspicious of me. But when I looked at the fact that she did not pursue me, it might be because she thought it would be vulgar to talk about it.


    On the carriage ride home, I received a scolding from my brother Alex.


    ¡°Julius, what the hell is going on with you and Miss Chloe?¡±


    ¡°Nothing ¡­¡­ wrong with that, I think you were just surprised to see me in Chloe-sama¡¯s room, wasn¡¯t it? It seemed like I wasn¡¯t normally allowed in there.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s true, but there was something strange about Daniella-sama. She had this look in her eyes as if she had seen something she wasn¡¯t supposed to see.¡±


    He looked at me suspiciously, but I pretended not to notice. If I didn¡¯t confess, he would never know the truth. I¡¯ll just shut up and see what happens.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure miss Daniela must have misunderstood something.¡±


    Well, you are definitely mistaken. Isn¡¯t it indeed too imaginative to imagine that we have such a relationship just because we are lying together in bed? We¡¯re only eight years old, remember? I think it¡¯s indeed unreasonable.


    Brother Alex looked suspicious, but he didn¡¯t ask any more questions.


    I think I¡¯ll keep the fact that I entrusted Chloe with the panacea a secret for the time being. If  father find out that I¡¯m worried about the assassination of His Majesty the King, they will doubt that I am an eight-year-old child.


    Maybe it¡¯s too late now, since I feel like I¡¯ve already done a lot of things, but I still want to act like a kid like anyone else. I¡¯m just worried about my parents.


    When I returned to the townhouse, I reported to my parents that I had returned safely. Then I told them that I was going to the royal castle tomorrow as well.


    ¡°I see. You promised Lady Chloe, didn¡¯t you? All right, you may go.¡±


    Father kindly agreed. Somehow, I knew he wanted to bring Chloe and I together. Is the relationship between Alex-oniisama and Daniela-sama delicate? I don¡¯t understand.


    ¡°Brother, can I go with you?¡±


    ¡°Of course, Rosalia. Let¡¯s go together.¡±


    Chloe did say to come alone. So there should be no problem taking Rosalia with me. Tomorrow is the day she should be showing me around the royal castle, so it should be convenient for me to look around with Rosalia, who, like me, is in the royal capital for the first time.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Julius, the materials for the magic tools you asked for have arrived.¡±


    ¡°Thank you very much. I¡¯ll start working on the cold/hot air blower Magic tool right away.¡±


    ¡°There should be enough to make several of them. Could you please offer them to the royal family as well?¡±


    ¡°I understand. That would require some decoration. ¡­¡­¡±


    It would not look good if the magic tools to be presented to the royal family is the same as the ones sold around the area. It has to be a custom-made item for the royal family. Hopefully, we may be able to sell it in two versions, a popular version and a luxury version. If that happens, we can expect an increase in revenue.


    I immediately began working with Rosalia to create the magic tool. Alex and Cain were looking at me and Rosalia, who were making magical tools with a familiar hand, with great interest.


    Maybe the two of you will get into the swamp of magic tools, too.


    Maybe some of them will eventually go into magic potion¡¯s. ¡­¡­I¡¯m thinking Chloe.¡¡She already knows my secret, and wouldn¡¯t that be convenient? Oh, but she knows how ghastly the magic potion is. She might be wary.


    Maybe next time I¡¯ll give her some of the magic potion I made?¡¡I¡¯m sure the world of magic potions will expand.

 CH 73

    One cold/warm air blower magic tool was completed that day. The two of us had made quite a few cold/warm air blowers together, so it was indeed fast to make.


    The wood for the insulation had been processed just as I had requested, so a little polishing of the surface was all that was needed.


    The older brothers were impressed when they saw what we had done in no time at all.


    ¡°That¡¯s amazing, you two. You¡¯re already a great magic tool master.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m surprised. I didn¡¯t expect even Rosalia to be able to do that.¡±


    Rosalia, who was standing next to me, was very proud. She immediately gave the completed magical tool a test run. Even though there were no mistakes in the manufacturing process, it is important to check for safety. We have to be responsible until the very end.


    When I turned on the switch, the wind began to blow with a whirr.


    Strong wind, weak wind, warm wind, and cold wind. It seemed to work without any problem. While the older brothers were having fun switching the switch, mother came over.


    ¡°You seem to be having a lot of fun. It¡¯s always better when everyone is together. I wonder if ¡­¡­ has been completed yet?¡±


    ¡°Mother!¡¡That¡¯s right. The cold/warm air blower is ready!¡±


    Mother¡¯s favorite Rosalia, jumped on her. Holding Rosalia with both hands, Mother came closer to the magic tool.


    ¡°May I try this hair-drying magical tool ¡­¡­?¡±


    ¡°Of course you can. I will show you how to use it.¡±


    Being the creator, Rosalia¡¯s guidance was precise. She made sure to show that it could not only dry hair, but also warm the room or, conversely, cool it.


    Perhaps Rosalia is suited to demonstrate and sell magical tools.


    ¡°Julius, you made Rosalia learn something strange again.¡±


    ¡°Rosalia is just doing it because she likes it, Brother Alex. I didn¡¯t force her to learn it.¡±


    ¡°Maybe you¡¯re right, but I think you¡¯re taking it a little too far.¡±


    Even if you say that, ¡­¡­ I¡¯m on Rosalia¡¯s side, so I¡¯m willing to let her do whatever she wants to do. In a world where we can¡¯t do what we want to do, the value of living is reduced by half.


    The cold/warm air blower was used after the bath that day. Not only the women but also father and brother used it. I didn¡¯t think anything of it because I could dry my hair without it, but it seemed to have gained quite a reputation.


    ¡°Julius, when do you think you will be able to finish the cold/warm air blower for the dedication?¡±


    ¡°Well, I think it will be ready tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm. That is a good magical tool. I must present it to His Majesty the King.¡±


    It seems that the father liked the magic tool. It seems that it is not only women with long hair who have trouble drying their hair. Well, then, it may end up selling much more than I anticipated. I need to sell off the blueprints as soon as possible.


    On that day, I finished creating the main body.. All that remained was the exterior. If that¡¯s all, I should be able to finish it tomorrow morning.


    I thought I could relax a little after the funeral, but it looks like I¡¯m going to be busier than I expected.


    The next day, as soon as I finished breakfast, I started working on the magic tool. My appointment with Chloe was around ten o¡¯clock. The schedule was to have lunch together and return home before dark. It takes almost all day.


    I carved into the walnut wood used for insulation. While pretending to be using a knife, I was in fact using My ¡°craft¡± skills. The knife is a dummy. If I were to process it with a knife, it would take me all day.


    Rosalia, who didn¡¯t know that, looked at my hand and was impressed. I felt a great sense of guilt.


    I carved the sculpture in the shape of the national bird. I also incorporated the national flag and royal family crests into the design. I¡¯m glad I observed it yesterday when I went to the royal castle. Oh, yes. I¡¯ll put that mysterious vine pattern around it, too.


    The decorations were quickly completed as I was doing this kind of bogus processing using my ¡°Craft¡± skill. I attached it to the main body that I had made last night.


    Oh, it¡¯s turning out better than I thought it would. I apply a thin coat of varnish to make it shiny, and dry it quickly with the ¡°Dry¡± skill to finish.


    ¡°All right, I managed to get it done in time. We did a test run yesterday, but let¡¯s do it again just to be sure.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m impressed, brother. I hope you will engrave something on my magic tool as well.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll engrave something on the one in Rosalia¡¯s room when I get back. Think about what kind of picture you want me to carve on it.¡±


    ¡°okay!¡±


    No problem with the trial run. I could give it to the royal family without any problem.


    Just as I was taking a breather, a carriage from the royal family arrived to pick me up. I quickly prepared myself.


    ¡°Then let¡¯s go. I¡¯ve put the hot and cold Air blower magic tool for dedication over there.¡±


    ¡°I see that it has already been completed ¡­¡­. I¡¯ll be responsible for delivering it later. Be careful on your way.¡±


    father and mother saw me off as I departed the townhouse. Rosalia is riding next to me, of course. We arrived at the royal castle without any particular problems, and unlike yesterday, we were able to go inside right away.


    The place where the carriage arrived seemed to be a stop for royalty only. Only the carriage we were riding in rattled to a stop. As soon as we got off the carriage, a knight came to guide us and took us directly to the guest room.


    Surrounded by expensive-looking furniture, I sat down, restlessly, and soon Chloe arrived.


    ¡°Have I kept you waiting?¡¡Julius, Rosalia-chan.¡±


    ¡°No, not at all. Thank you for inviting me here today.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    We both took the vassal¡¯s bow. Chloe immediately stopped us.


    ¡°Stop it, both of you. It¡¯s like we don¡¯t even know each other. I¡¯ll show you around the castle today. So please just be your normal selves.¡±


    ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll do my best.¡±


    I can¡¯t be that rude in front of other people, but when it¡¯s just the three of us, it¡¯s not a problem. Chloe seems to want it that way.


    Thus began our royal castle date.

 CH 74

    The first place Chloe showed us was a small courtyard. It was very well maintained, and the plants and flowers were blooming like a work of art. There was a small fountain in the center.


    ¡°This is the courtyard that I take care of.¡±


    ¡°Huh Chloe? That¡¯s amazing. You definitely have a talent for growing plants. Oh, you grow medicinal herbs and herbs too. Herbal teas are delicious.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you know a lot.¡±


    ¡°Well, that might be true.¡±


    ¡° brother is building a flower bed in his garden.¡±


    Rosalia answered for me. To be precise, it is a medicinal herb garden in the name of flower bed. Chloe seemed to have guessed it when she heard that. She asked me secretly in my ear.


    ¡°Hey, could it be that you¡¯re growing ingredients for magic potions?¡±


    ¡°As expected of Chloe, you¡¯re very perceptive. You¡¯re right.¡±


    I answered in a normal voice, so she must have realized that Rosalia knew that I was making magic potions. Chloe¡¯s tone returned.


    ¡°Is it that easy to make magic potions?¡±


    Oh, Chloe is biting. This could be my chance. I¡¯m going to drag Chloe into the potion swamp.


    ¡°If you get used to it, you¡¯ll be able to make beginner level potions easily. By the way, I make a delicious potion.¡±


    ¡°Tasty?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Sweet, tangerine-flavored.¡±


    ¡°No way.¡±


    Chloe¡¯s eyes became round. I don¡¯t know why, but when I see this face of Chloe¡¯s, I think it¡¯s cute. Is it because her eyes, which are usually a little pinched, become softer?


    ¡°Cute.¡±


    ¡°Hey! You¡¯re kidding, right?¡±


    Chloe¡¯s face turned bright red. I¡¯m not joking.


    ¡°It¡¯s true. Would you Like to try it?¡±


    ¡°No, no, I don¡¯t think so. ¡­¡­¡±


    It seems that she has already experienced the ghastliness of the magic potion. This is not good. If I don¡¯t do something, Chloe will run away. If only she could try it once, she would understand.


    I wish I could have brought the magic potion to the royal castle, but it¡¯s impossible with the current state of alert. Then I can¡¯t call Chloe to the townhouse ¡­¡­, can we? Just because she¡¯s a child doesn¡¯t mean I can easily summon royalty.


    This time it was a request from Chloe, so I can meet Chloe at the royal castle. If it were normal, it would be impossible.


    ¡°I wonder if Rosalia-chan has ever taken the magic potion Julius made?¡±


    Oh, maybe she got away?¡¡But sweet, Chloe. That¡¯s Julius¡¯ trap.


    ¡°Of course I have. The elementary stamina recovery potion made by brother is sweet, squishy, and very invigorating.¡±


    ¡°Sweet and squishy?¡¡What does that mean?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll understand when you try it, Chloe.¡±


    ¡°Hi-hii!¡±


    I gently put my hand on Chloe¡¯s shoulder and she let out a little scream. Her face is contorted with great fear. That is still the perception of magic potions in this world. One day I¡¯m going to revolutionize that way of thinking.


    ¡°Well, I won¡¯t force you to try it. But if you¡¯re interested, give it a try. I can vouch for the taste and benefits. I can¡¯t bring it here, but I wonder if I could at least send it to you ¡­¡­?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s very wishy-washy of you. Well, I don¡¯t think I can do it now.¡±


    ¡°Right?¡±


    Next, we were taken to a corridor where portraits of the kings of the past are lined up. Is it okay for ordinary people to enter here?¡¡Rosalia is clinging to my arm. It¡¯s not popular, and it¡¯s a little scary.


    ¡°Watch, I¡¯ll show you something interesting!¡±


    Saying that, Chloe stopped in front of a portrait. I wondered what she was going to do, but Chloe started to turn the portrait clockwise. The next moment, a black hole appeared under the portrait. This can¡¯t be a hidden passageway!


    ¡°Hey, Chloe!¡±


    ¡°Surprised?¡¡Isn¡¯t it amazing?¡±


    No, no, Chloe, this is not the time to be smug with your chest out. Rosalia was delighted to see it.


    ¡°It¡¯s amazing! The stairs just appeared out of nowhere!¡¯


    As Rosalia said, a staircase leading downwards can be seen in the dark hole. I wonder if this leads to the sewers of the royal city.¡¡In case of emergency, we would probably escape from here.


    ¡°What lies beyond?¡±


    Rosalia tilts her head.


    ¡°Well?¡¡I haven¡¯t been there yet. Do you want to go?¡±


    ¡°No, no, no, no!¡¡Chloe, let¡¯s not do this. Quick, plug the hole. What if someone sees us!¡±


    ¡°What, you have no guts.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not the point.¡±


    Why is Chloe so naughty? Her sister Miss Daniela was much more ladylike. What¡¯s going on? Was she raised differently?¡¡Is that it?


    Chloe reluctantly put it back. I checked around, but no one seemed to have seen her.


    ¡°Chloe, you can¡¯t simply give away the royal family¡¯s emergency passageway. What are you going to do if you can¡¯t use it in case of emergency?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll use another passage then.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not the point!¡±


    Oh, my God, what am I going to do? Should I report this to Her Royal Highness the Queen and ask her to tell me what to do? I can¡¯t do it.


    ¡°There are other secret passageways like this one. That¡¯s amazing!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, Rosalia-chan. I¡¯m so proud of you that you can understand how amazing it is. I¡¯m sure there are still many more passages that I don¡¯t know about. Let¡¯s find them together!¡±


    ¡°Stop?¡±


    I did my best to stop her. How did this happen? It seemed that I had brought two people together who were not supposed to meet. I should write a letter to Her Royal Highness. It¡¯s not good if I don¡¯t do anything.


    Accompanied by a disgruntled Chloe, I finally escaped from the royal family¡¯s private space.


    When we came to this side, the number of people passing by had clearly increased. Many servants are busily coming and going. Chloe proceeds without paying attention to those people. She arrived at the library in the royal castle.


    ¡°Wow, so many books.¡±


    Please be quiet in the library. I tried to suppress the urge to yell out.


    ¡°Amazing, isn¡¯t it?¡¡This is a special place where only selected people can enter.¡±


    Bookshelves stretched from the walls to near the ceiling. In the reading area, several people who looked like scholars were staring at books. The books on the table were all very thick.


    ¡°How do I get in?¡¡Is there an exam or something?¡±


    ¡°Oh, do you want to enter freely too, Julius?¡¡I will ask permission later.¡±


    A connection!¡¡That¡¯s good, but..!


    ¡°Thank you very much.¡±


    I asked honestly .

 CH 75

    According to Chloe, this library has books collected not only from this country but also from other countries. Some of them are books written by unknown civilizations. Since we don¡¯t know what these books contain, they are forbidden.


    ¡°Forbidden books¡­ I kind of admire them.¡±


    ¡°What is it about books you can¡¯t read that you admire so much? Hidden passages are much more interesting.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­ Chloe, you didn¡¯t happen to use the hidden passageway to get out of the castle without telling anyone, did you?¡±


    Chloe refuses to make eye contact. I have a feeling she¡¯s already done this!¡¡I¡¯ll have to tip off Her Royal Highness immediately.


    ¡°Well, do you want to go to the place where the forbidden books are kept?¡±


    ¡°What?¡¡Is that okay?¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯ll probably be fine.¡±


    Chloe took us to the back of the library.


    I¡¯ll put the snitching on hold for the time being.


    We saw a no-trespassing rope. Chloe enters without paying attention to it. How should I put it, isn¡¯t the security too Lax?¡¡I felt that anyone could enter.


    As soon as I followed Chloe into the room,  a person who seemed to be a librarian flew in.


    ¡°Hey, you can¡¯t go in there!¡±


    It seems that there is a magical tool somewhere that acts as a sensor. Otherwise, they would not have been able to find out so quickly. I¡¯m sorry for thinking that the security was so lax!


    ¡°Oh, I was just showing them around.¡±


    ¡°Chloe-sama! You can¡¯t do that. This place is off-limits.¡±


    The librarian, even though she was royalty, was not taking a step back. She must be faithful to her duties. I looked at the covers of the books, at least, and found that I could read the titles of all the books.


    ¡°There seems to be a book on magic potions. I¡¯m a little curious.¡±


    ¡°Brother, do you have any books on magical tools?¡±


    ¡°Hmmm, it¡¯s not on magic tools, but it looks like there¡¯s a book on how machines work.¡±


    Why do they have a book about machines? What in the world does it say?


    ¡°Machines, is it?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Maybe, but I think it¡¯s something similar to a magic tool.¡±


    ¡°Hey, Julius, is there a book on summoning magic or something?¡±


    ¡° a book on summoning magic ¡­¡­? There is a book called ¡°Summoning Magic for Everyone: A Beginner¡¯s Guide. I¡¯d like to read it.¡±


    Summoning magic, huh? There was no such thing in the game. Is it like a pet?¡¡Or is it something that fights for you?


    ¡°grab that book, Julius!¡±


    ¡°No, I won¡¯t! Or maybe you can read the book here!¡±


    The librarian was surprised. Come to think of it, she said there are unknown books that no one can read. Is it because I am a reincarnated person that I can read them?


    ¡°I think I can read it, but I don¡¯t think I should. I¡¯d better not.¡±


    ¡°Why not, Julius? What a waste. I wanted a familiar. ¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s better to keep it just a story, Chloe-sama.¡±


    The unconvinced Chloe is pouting. She doesn¡¯t look very much like a princess at all. She is just an eight year old.


    The librarian saw us off and kicked us out the forbidden bookshelf section.


    ¡°Oh, God!¡¡Why are you so mean!¡±


    ¡°Even if you say that, We can¡¯t cause trouble in the castle, right? If We do that, we¡¯ll be banned.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t let you do that!¡±


    We were kicked out, and as we were fussing in front of the children¡¯s bookcase, a voice called out to us.


    ¡°What are you guys making a fuss about?¡±


    ¡°Mother! What are you doing here?¡±


    Oof, here comes Her Royal Highness. Chloe, who had just been shrieking like a newly protected cat, suddenly became quiet. I see, so she is wearing a cat¡¯s mask in front of Her Highness the Queen.


    ¡°I heard that you were making a fuss, Chloe.¡±


    Her Royal Highness smiles at me. I¡¯m scared. Ah, Chloe is shrinking. She seems to know what¡¯s going on. It seems that someone is secretly watching Chloe. Is that so? A royal can¡¯t be wandering around by herself, can she?


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Julius-kun. She seems to be happy and I think she¡¯s  a little excited. Chloe is not usually like this, you know?


    ¡°Mother!¡±


    Chloe shouted accusingly. I see, I¡¯m always so tight that when I don¡¯t have to be so uptight, the repercussions of that come out. I wonder if that means that I have become close to Chloe.


    If that helps Chloe relieve her stress, then I don¡¯t mind.


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t mind. More importantly, I¡¯m sorry for making a fuss.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Julius-kun, you don¡¯t  need to apologize. Chloe, you mustn¡¯t tell Julius-kun too many strange things. Things like the secret passageway in the royal castle.¡±


    The last part was a whisper. Chloe shrank. Apparently, she already knew about it without me having to report it. I guess this would be okay. Maybe she also knows about the fact that I gave Chloe the panacea.


    Seeing that they didn¡¯t say anything here, it seems that they are keeping it a secret.


    After that, I left the library in a huff. With Chloe in tow, I managed to get to the salon where no one was around. A servant appeared out of nowhere and brought tea and sweets.


    ¡°The library was amazing. If I had more time, I would have liked to take a longer look. It was a pity there weren¡¯t more books on magic potions.¡±


    ¡°There weren¡¯t many books on magical tools either.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure they¡¯re both kept secret. I know, right, Chloe?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    Oh, no. She was in shock, apparently. Maybe she is afraid of getting scolded afterwards. Well, it¡¯s  good medicine.


    It¡¯s almost lunch time. It¡¯s just in time, so I¡¯ll just relax here for now.


    ¡°Chloe-sama, Miss Carolina is here to see you.¡±


    ¡°Huh? Carol?¡±


    Why is Marquis Mulan¡¯s daughter Carol here?


    ¡°Yes, yes. We¡¯re supposed to show Julius around this afternoon together.¡±


    I didn¡¯t know. So Caro was coming to the royal capital too? Maybe they decided to meet together, I don¡¯t know. At this time of the day, we would be having lunch together. It looks like it will be a lively lunch.


    I hope Chloe¡¯s mood will be better.

 CH 76

    Chloe recovered quickly when Caro arrived at the salon. Then she began to complain.


    ¡°oh, God, listen to me, Caro. Julius is a wimp. We were so close to getting a ¡®familiar!¡±


    ¡°Ehhh!¡¡A familiar?¡±


    Caro rolled her eyes. In the meantime, dishes were being served one after another in front of us.


    It seems that we are going to have lunch in the salon.


    Chloe had told me that lunch would be served in the dining room in the royal family¡¯s private space,  but it seems that this was suddenly changed.


    You¡¯re going to get mad at me later, Chloe. Are you okay, Chloe? Maybe she¡¯s uncomfortable with the fact that her actions are being secretly watched.


    But, I think it can¡¯t be helped since Chloe belongs to the royal family. If by some chance, which is definitely not possible, what would they do if I messed with Chloe?


    ¡°Where did brother learn those letters?¡¡I couldn¡¯t read them at all. ¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Ah ¡­¡­.¡±


    Chloe¡¯s and Caro¡¯s gazes gathered at my sister Rosalia¡¯s words. That¡¯s right. I can read forbidden books that no one should be able to read. So they must be curious about it. What should I do?


    ¡°I don¡¯t know why, but I was able to read it. Maybe I¡¯m a reincarnation of someone else?¡±


    I¡¯ll say something like that. If I make a fool out of it, it might get even more complicated. Let¡¯s see how it goes.


    ¡°Reincarnation¡­¡­ Maybe you are the reincarnation of someone from the ancient times.¡¡Then it¡¯s not surprising that you can read.¡±


    Chloe shook her head. Come to think of it, in this world, there is a strong theory that there were ancient people who had a super civilization in the past. Some scholars claim that there must be ruins of an ancient civilization somewhere. However, no evidence of this has been found.


    ¡°I think Julius is the reincarnation of the ancient sage. If so, it wouldn¡¯t be surprising if he could read the ancient script.¡±


    Caro insisted. It is true that I once used a mysterious magic in front of Caro without telling anyone. It is not surprising that she would think so.


    ¡°brother must have been a great magic tool master!¡±


    Rosalia insisted. It has nothing to do with being able to read.


    Once the three of them had come to an agreement, each of them began to insist that their opinion was correct. They are making a fuss over lunch. If things continue like this, I¡¯m going to get in trouble again.


    ¡°Come on, you three, let¡¯s eat lunch first. It¡¯s going to ruin what could have been a nice hot meal.¡±


    ¡°Julius, don¡¯t you ever wonder who you are?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, there¡¯s no way to find out, and that¡¯s just for example.¡±


    Chloe seems displeased, but I know who I am. If I said something like ¡°I¡¯m an apostle of God¡± here, there would be a big fuss. I definitely can¡¯t.


    ¡°In the afternoon we¡¯ll go to the highest point of the castle.¡±


    Chloe declared loudly. She looks kind of happy. Is there something going on?


    ¡°We¡¯re going to climb up to the highest spire. I¡¯m looking forward to it. From there, I think I can see the whole royal capital.¡±


    I¡¯m lucky to be able to go to a place I¡¯ve always wanted to go up. I can¡¯t wait to see the view.


    ¡°Is there a princess trapped at the top of the tower?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so, Rosalia. Because the princess is here.¡±


    I looked over at Chloe. Here¡¯s a real princess, even if she is rotten. Now I¡¯d be surprised if there was a princess like in the story.


    ¡°Long ago, it seems that there was once a princess who got into trouble and  was imprisoned. She¡¯s not here now, though.¡±


    ¡°Wait, I¡¯m getting a little scared now.¡±


    Caro shuddered. I wonder if this will be Caro¡¯s first time going there? I see, so maybe that¡¯s why she invited Caro along on my tour of the castle.


    I grinned.


    ¡°Then Chloe might be able to get in there too~¡±


    ¡°No! That¡¯s not possible!¡±


    Chloe¡¯s face was drawn.   Perhaps she is remembering the look on Her Highness¡¯ face from earlier. Yes, Her Royal Highness could do that. Surprisingly, it might really come to that.


    Lunch was over, and the afternoon tour began. The first stop was a large dance hall.


    ¡°Wow, the ceiling is so high.¡±


    ¡°There are so many big paintings.¡±


    Several opulent chandeliers hung from the ceiling, and beyond them were paintings that seemed to depict the creation of this world.


    The walls are also decorated with paintings, as Rosalia said. One of them was larger than any I had ever seen. The walls are lined with regular rows of amber-colored wood. What kind of wood is that? I¡¯m curious about the material.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it amazing?¡¡This dance hall is where the last dance party before winter is held.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve been here when there were no people around. I didn¡¯t realize how big it was.¡±


    Caro was surprised. It seems that Caro has come to the royal capital in her own way. Was she attending Chloe¡¯s birthday party or something? It¡¯s a long way from the Heine territory to the royal capital, but it¡¯s probably closer from Caro¡¯s parents¡¯ territory, the Marquis Mulan.


    ¡°Usually there are so many people and things there that it might seem even smaller.¡±


    ¡°Yes, it does!¡¡Since we¡¯re here, let¡¯s dance!¡±


    ¡°Eh, what about music?¡±


    ¡°Clap your hands, clap your hands!¡¡Come on!¡±


    Saying that, Chloe took my hand. Chloe is a really bright, energetic, and positive girl. Seeing this, Caro and Rosalia started clapping. To the beat of the waltz, we slipped into the dance hall.


    I¡¯m an aristocrat, too, so I¡¯m learning to dance well with a teacher. And I had been practicing diligently, thinking that something like this might happen. It¡¯s also good exercise, killing two birds with one stone.


    Chloe seemed to be as good a dancer as she looked, and she was dancing happily and pulling me along.


    Chloe, shouldn¡¯t you be a little more restrained?¡¡I know it¡¯s fun, but ¡­¡­.


    After dancing with Chloe, I danced with Caro. Caro is a quiet girl. Just as she looks, she was the type of girl who waits to be led in dance. So this time, I pulled her along as we danced.


    Finally, I danced with Rosalia. We had practiced dancing together many times, so we both knew what we were capable of. Chloe and Caro looked at us dancing in perfect harmony and said in unison,


    ¡°It¡¯s not fair!¡±


    they said. I couldn¡¯t help it. That made me dance with them once more

 CH 77

    When Chloe and Caro opened their mouths to say that they were still going to dance, I waited for them.


    ¡°Come on, Chloe, at this rate we¡¯ll end up just dancing. I thought we were going to the highest point.¡±


    ¡°Gununu, that¡¯s right. Then tomorrow is a dance practice meeting.¡±*


    ¡°I¡¯ll be here tomorrow with my dancing clothes and shoes.¡±


    Gununu, ¡­¡­ Chloe was making a ¡°face a princess shouldn¡¯t make¡±. And why are you making plans for tomorrow without permission?


    Oh, so Caro is going to do it too. It seems I don¡¯t have the right to refuse, I understand.


    I feel like I¡¯m being pushed around by the two of them, or rather, the three of them including Rosalia. If I don¡¯t do something about it, I¡¯m going to end up on my ass in the future. I have to do something.


    As I was thinking this while following behind Chloe, we arrived at a restricted area. There were also guards.


    ¡°Hey, Chloe, is this okay?¡±


    It¡¯s okay. I¡¯ve got permission. Ufufu.¡±


    Why do you look so happy when you have permission? What are you up to? You¡¯re not thinking of bungee jumping from the top of the tower, are you?


    ¡°Caro, what do you think of Chloe?¡±


    ¡°You think she¡¯s up to something bad, don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°I think so, too. I think Chloe was a mischievous fairy in her previous life.¡±


    Caro let out a laugh. Chloe noticed this and turned around.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡¡I got permission to come in. Let¡¯s go!¡±


    We walked up to the guards, who saluted us and let us through.


    It was chilly as we made our way down the stone corridor. The only sound was our footsteps, eerily echoing.


    ¡°It¡¯s kind of creepy, isn¡¯t it?


    ¡°Scary.¡±


    Caro and Rosalia are walking with each other, clinging to each other.  Chloe is going forward without caring about such a thing. I¡¯m afraid of Chloe like that.


    ¡°Chloe, what are you thinking?¡±


    ¡°Ummm, this is a place that even I can rarely get into. Don¡¯t you think there¡¯s some secret?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s in there?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what we¡¯re going to find out right now!¡±


    I almost fell down. No guesses, huh? It seems that Chloe wants to create the Seven Wonders of the Royal Castle. Perhaps, ¡°In the highest tower of the castle, there is a treasure.¡±


    ¡°Hey, why are you looking at me with a dumbfounded look on your face? My guess is that there¡¯s something in the top room. Come on, let¡¯s go!¡±


    Chloe headed with great enthusiasm toward the dark spiral staircase.  As I climbed the stairs, the same view continued up the stairs. The light coming in through the windows in places eerily illuminated the staircase.


    Holding hands to prevent Rosalia from falling, we walked forward until we saw a door.


    ¡°This is the room on the top floor. Let¡¯s go in.¡±


    The door seemed to be unlocked. It opened with an eerie creaking sound. Inside, there was a bed, a table, and other furniture. The room seemed to have been cleaned regularly, and there was no dusty feeling.


    The windows were barred, so it seemed impossible to lean out of them.


    ¡°This is a great view. You can see the whole city.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s true. You can see such a long way.¡±


    ¡°Let me see it, brother!¡±


    Rosalia and I took turns looking out the window. It was said to be like a room for punishment, but it looks more comfortable than I expected.


    Meanwhile, Chloe was exploring the whole room. It wasn¡¯t that big a room, so it seemed to be over quickly.


    ¡°That¡¯s strange. I thought there was a secret way out.¡±


    ¡°What are you going to do with a room built in such a way that you can escape from it? It doesn¡¯t make sense, does it?¡±


    ¡°I guess you could say that. Then is there a secret in the ceiling? Julius, give me a lift on your shoulders.¡±


    What, on my shoulders?¡¡I¡¯m going to give the princess a ride on My shoulders?¡¡No, I can¡¯t do that. Chloe, is it a skirt?¡¡Calm down, calm down. Calm down, I¡¯m calm.


    ¡°Chloe, look up. Even if I were to carry you on My shoulders, you wouldn¡¯t reach the ceiling.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re probably right. If only we could fly. ¡­¡­¡±


    Chloe is mumbling. What is it that drives Chloe to such an extent? Is royalty really so cramped after all?


    ¡°Hey, Julius can fly, right?¡±


    Caro whispered close to my ear and asked.


    ¡°I can fly, but ¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°I knew it!¡±


    Caro looked happy. Well, I don¡¯t intend to fly at the moment. Chloe looked at us suspiciously.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, you two?¡±


    ¡°If there is a hidden passageway, isn¡¯t it the one we saw earlier, not the tower?¡±


    ¡°I agree with you!¡¡Let¡¯s go back!¡±


    It seemed that I had managed to fool the others. If Chloe had found out that I could fly, she would have definitely asked me to try it. Watch out, watch out, watch out.


    ¡°Brother, I¡¯d like to try flying too.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­maybe next time.¡±


    I had forgotten that there was one more person who would be a bad person to ask. Caro is also looking at me with expectant eyes. This is a pattern that I can¡¯t keep secret only from Chloe. boo-hoo


    Why did I answer Caro¡¯s question seriously? Did I want to meet Caro¡¯s expectations?¡¡Maybe I did. It¡¯s okay to want to show my good side to a girl. Because I¡¯m a boy.


    We followed Chloe down the stairs. As expected, it¡¯s not in that part of the spiral staircase. It¡¯s not that big. If there was, it would be in that passageway.


    When we returned to the passageway, Chloe immediately began to examine the wall.


    ¡°Come on, help everyone.¡±


    ¡°What should I do?¡±


    ¡°Check for anything suspicious, Caro.¡±


    Caro nodded her head and followed suit. Rosalia was also curiously touching the wall. I, on the other hand, was using my ¡­¡­ ¡°Search¡± skill to discover a suspicious place.


    I never thought it was really there. What should I do? It seems that the hidden passageway leads to another room. The room beyond that is a dead end. Moreover, there was some kind of reaction.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Julius?¡¡Did you find something, by any chance?¡±


    It caught everyone¡¯s attention.