Kays Translations

Chapter 206: The Icehouse and High Society

After I finished installing the shower magic tool, Ijidol's parents brought out tea and sweets for us. They had gone to the trouble of preparing them for my visit, so I gratefully accepted.

“Is it really all right for us to receive such a valuable magic tool?”

“Of course. That's why I made it. I was the one who asked Ijidol to stay with me at the royal castle the other day, so think of it as my way of saying thank you.”

“This is a little too much for a simple thank-you.”

“Right?”

It seemed I had put his parents in an awkward position. Axel and Ijidol were wearing apologetic expressions too. In that case, perhaps it would be better to be completely honest about my motives.

“I'll have to attend social gatherings from now on, you see. It'll be difficult if I don't have any friends there. That's why I wanted to build a good relationship with Axel and Ijidol—and with both of your families.”

In other words, I was openly admitting that I had an ulterior motive. In noble society, that ought to make the gift easier to accept. I couldn't tell whether Ijidol's parents were completely convinced, but his father eventually gave me a nod.

“You've already taught Ijidol a great deal. We should be the ones thanking you. If our son can be of any help to you, Lord Julius, please feel free to make use of him.”

“My husband is right. The mana-control training using Light magic that you devised is very good training. We've started practising it as well.”

Ijidol's mother let out a light, high-pitched laugh as she said that.

Ijidol, have you been telling your parents what I taught you? What are you going to do if strange rumours start spreading from here?

“Mother! I told you to keep that to yourself.”

“Oh, it's fine if we're talking about it in front of Lord Julius, isn't it?”

Apparently Ijidol had kept his mouth shut outside his family, at least. I gave him a barely passing score. His parents watched our exchange with smiles on their faces.

“Still, it is a shame,” his father said. “The method you taught him is genuinely excellent. If it were spread more widely, many people would benefit from it.”

“If my name isn't mentioned, I don't mind if the method spreads…”

“That would be…”

Ijidol's father's expression clouded. It seemed he didn't like the idea of taking credit for someone else's work. I truly didn't mind, but for the time being, the Light-magic mana-control method would remain private.

Someone else would eventually discover the same principle. There was no need for me to give Brother Alex any more stomach aches. These days, I had to be even more careful, because I might start giving Princess Daniela stomach aches too.

“I think it's about time I returned to the royal castle. Thank you for the refreshments.”

“Not at all.”

“Thank you for taking the time to visit us.”

Before leaving Ijidol's home, I took another careful look at the building. Apparently, there was an excellent type of stone available around the royal capital. If we used it properly, perhaps we could build an icehouse that would last for a thousand years.

After dropping Axel off at home, I returned to the royal castle. Before lunch, I checked the state of the compounding room. There didn't seem to be any problems. At this rate, all three batches should be completed tomorrow without incident. If the three Panaceas were successfully finished, His Majesty the King should finally be able to rest easy.

After afternoon training, I went back to the compounding room and discovered that some of the materials for improving the icehouse had already arrived. As expected, the entire order wasn't there yet, but I was grateful nonetheless. Even a small amount of the wood I had worried we might not be able to obtain had been delivered.

“Thank you, Commander Giovanni. Now we can finally begin improving the icehouse.”

“There's no need to thank me. I managed to obtain some of the wood you requested. I had them send whatever they already had in stock, and the rest will be cut and delivered in a few days.”

Commander Giovanni answered with a smile. He must have been pleased that we had found a path towards improving the icehouse. I was pleased too. It looked as though we wouldn't have to postpone the work until next year.

“Was I asking for too much?”

“No, quite the opposite. The merchants were delighted. They had been struggling to find a use for that wood. Now they can actually make money from it.”

Was it really regarded as such a useless material? It had excellent heat-insulating and sound-insulating properties. It would be perfect for a soundproof room. Maybe this would become an opportunity to create a market for it.

“There is one more material I'd like to request. It's this stone. Do you think you could obtain it?”

“Hmm? Certainly. This is the most commonly used building stone in the royal capital. I can arrange it immediately.”

I hadn't known that. Perhaps the royal castle itself had been built with the same kind of stone. Or maybe I simply hadn't noticed it before. Once I returned to the territorial capital, I would have to investigate the stone used in our buildings too.

Axel and Ijidol were waiting outside the compounding room. They had learned their lesson from the smell last time and refused to come inside. They probably still caught a whiff whenever the door opened and closed, but apparently they simply held their breath for those few moments.

Now that some of the materials had arrived, I could start improving the icehouse straight away.

“Julius, what are you going to do now?” Axel asked.

“Some of the materials I need for the icehouse have arrived, so I'm going to use what we have and get started.”

“You only ordered them this morning and they're already here? That's fast.”

Axel seemed impressed by the speed of the delivery. He was right—it was remarkably quick. Commander Giovanni must have begun making arrangements the instant he received my request.

Maybe he had even gone around to the merchants himself.

…I just hoped it hadn't turned into the commander of the Royal Magic Pharmacists' Corps personally leaning on shopkeepers and suppliers. Please tell me it hadn't come to that.

The necessary materials had been placed in the room next to the icehouse. Commander Giovanni had told me I could use it as my work base. There was still plenty of open space at the moment, but once every material I had requested arrived, the room would become cramped. I needed to start using what was already here before that happened.

“I've seen this wood before,” Axel said. “It's that strange tree that becomes brittle as soon as it's cut down, right?”

“So it really does become brittle. Well, perhaps it can at least be used as firewood.”

“Don't you know, Julius? That wood doesn't burn.”

“Ah. Right. Now that you mention it, it's fire-resistant too.”

It had a great deal of potential, but it was clearly an extremely difficult material to use. The brittleness was especially fatal. It would work best as a buffer or insulating layer sealed between sturdier materials.

Of course, that kind of construction would make the overall cost higher. No wonder the wood was hardly ever used.

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