Chapter 497: Sparring Ticket

The very next day, I began making the abacus without delay. On the way to pick up Fabienne, I recounted the events of last night, and she laughed lightly, clearly amused.

“So the abacus will be officially registered as a new product, then. That’s wonderful. I’m excited to see what kind of tool it is.”

“I’m glad to hear you say that. It was a bit unexpected, though.”

“Unexpected?”

“Yeah. Even the servants who were there wanted one. That’s why it ended up being turned into a product.”

After that, the servants who had been watching from afar got incredibly excited. Before I knew it, we were moving forward with selling it. To teach people how to use the abacus, we decided to hold an “Abacus Class,” starting today with a few people in particular.

Ah, that means I’ll have less time with Fabienne. What should I do…? Wait, I can just teach her along with the others.

When I mentioned this to Fabienne, she nodded happily. Perfect.

Back at the mansion, while I taught Rosalia and the other craftsmen how to make the abacus, Fabienne was busy preparing magical potions. I had actually planned to start developing a new potion today, but this was entirely unexpected.

After finishing the morning’s work, I went to the salon to have tea with Fabienne, when a servant assigned to Sister-in-law Daniela arrived. Something must have come up.

“Julius-sama, in three days, Alex-sama and Daniela-sama will be traveling to the capital. They’ve asked me to convey that if there is anything you need there, you should let them know,” she said.

“Understood. Actually, could you also deliver a letter to Sister-in-law Mika?” 

“That shouldn’t be a problem. I’ll inform her.”

I suppose it’s because I managed to clear the piled-up documents from the Heine Trading Company yesterday. It’s a bit sudden, but it seems they’ve decided to head to the capital. I need to report the events in the Raven Kingdom. A letter alone won’t convey everything… mostly because of my own mistakes. My apologies, Sister-in-law Daniela. Please forgive me.

“All right, I need to quickly write a letter to Sister-in-law Mika. And I should also prepare the ‘Sparring Ticket.’ Oh, and as a gesture of apology, I’ll also send shampoo and conditioner.”

“You mean the ones you mentioned before? And a sparring ticket?”

“Yes. The sparring ticket. When she visits the Heine Territory’s household during summer break, it allows her to spar with me in swordsmanship.”

Fabienne nodded solemnly, as if understanding. Since she had been there the day Sister-in-law Mika returned to the capital, she probably remembered how disappointed Sister-in-law Mika had been.

“Well, we must hurry and develop the shampoo and conditioner.”

“Yes. Once our break is over, we’ll start immediately. It’s not a magical potion, but once we finalize the method, anyone should be able to make it.”

“Then many people will be able to use it.”

She was right. Even if not all commoners bathe daily, at least they wash their hair. Washing hair is simple enough with just a shower.

Now I’m curious how widely the shower magical tool has spread among commoners. Since I’ve left it entirely up to others, I have no idea. And now, the drawbacks of that hands-off approach are becoming apparent. Managing distribution must be difficult.

Lost in thought, I headed to the alchemy room. There, three royal palace alchemists, who had come to train from the capital, were working. Since they were busy, we exchanged a brief nod of greeting.

“This place is getting a bit cramped. Perhaps we should use the annex where Grandmother used to work?”

“I think that’s a good idea. We shouldn’t get in anyone’s way.”

“Oh, no need! If you need the space, we’ll vacate immediately.”

I quickly stopped Lila-san from moving to make room. Her loyalty was admirable, but prioritizing me over everything else wasn’t necessary. I’m not that strict. I couldn’t help but smile wryly as I gathered the ingredients in the available space.

We used herbs, blue slime mucus, magical herbs, and soap. Since it would be odorless as is, adding some fragrance would be nice—though I didn’t have any on hand. I’d have to consult Mother about that. For now, we’d make the first prototype.

Each ingredient was placed in a pot and simmered to extract its effects. We then mixed it with the detoxified blue slime mucus and soap, completing the product. Since the batch was small, it didn’t take long.

“Julius-sama, what is this?”

“This is for washing hair. It’s not a potion, you see? I’m planning to call it shampoo and conditioner.”

“Shampoo and conditioner…”

“The method was very similar to potion-making, though.”

Indeed, the line between potions and daily-use items is blurry. Potions produce dramatic effects when used, like healing or antidotes, while daily-use items are things people use regularly.

Since shampoo and conditioner are used every bath, they count as daily-use items. Well, I say it, so it’s settled: shampoo and conditioner are daily-use items. No arguments.

I wanted someone to try it immediately, but perhaps not today. They could use it tonight.

“I’d like to try it, Julius-sama.”

“Well, you’ll need to bathe… or at least take a shower.”

“In that case, let’s take a shower. My swimsuit is in the room prepared for me.”

It seemed Fabienne kept her swimsuit in her room at the Heine Territory’s household. Probably her clothes too. Truly, it’s better to be prepared than to worry later.

And so, we ended up taking a shower together in the middle of the day.