Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 261: An Unnecessary Word
After dinner, while I was relaxing in my room, Rosalia came in carrying a pillow. Mira was with her, of course. Lelie followed behind them with a pillow of her own. Surely she was not planning to sleep with me as well?
“Brother, I think Lelie wants to sleep in the same room as Nero.”
“That should be fine, shouldn’t it? Right, Nero?”
“Of course.”
Nero agreed with a smile. Sorry, Nero. I had dragged him into this as well. Lelie happily headed to Nero’s room.
What was I supposed to do now? I could not make liquid detergent in my bedroom. It was still early, but perhaps I should go to bed. Then again, I was not sleepy at all.
“Brother, what are you going to do with that dehumidifying magic tool? I feel as though it could still be useful.”
What a sharp eye. I thought I had concealed it by building it into the machine, but as expected of an aspiring magic-tool maker, Rosalia had noticed it.
“Yes, it would be nice to find another use for it.”
“Some things cannot be put in a washing machine. Couldn’t we use it to dry those after washing them?”
“Hmm. What else might it be useful for?”
“Lord Julius, how about using it to dry dishes after they have been washed?”
“That is a good idea, Nero. A dishwasher-dryer.”
Well done, Nero. Truly well done. This meant I would not have to be the one who proposed the idea. If Rosalia developed the dishwasher magic tool, she could receive the credit for it this time.
Washing dishes was hard work. Such a magic tool would be useful in noble households and restaurants.
“Brother, let’s draw up the blueprints!”
Rosalia moved from the bed to the table, while Nero quickly prepared paper and a pen. Lelie soon returned and made tea for us. Although she was the same age as Rosalia, she was a very considerate girl.
Mira seemed to sense that something interesting was happening and bounced around happily.
“We could also use it to make dried food.”
“Dried food?”
Rosalia immediately turned towards me. She was not the only one; Nero and Lelie did the same, while Mira tilted her head.
Oh no. Come to think of it, this world had no culture of preserving food by drying it. There had not been any dried food in the game either. What should I do?
“Let me see… Ah! I was thinking that we could try drying fruit to make dried fruit.”
“Dried fruit?”
Rosalia looked as though she wanted to ask why such an idea had occurred to me. She tilted her head and pressed a fist to her cheek. Nero and Lelie tilted their heads as well. Mira leaned so far to one side that she toppled over. What was she doing? It was adorable, though.
“That’s right. Removing some of the fruit’s water should concentrate its sweetness and make it taste even better. I think.”
“Perhaps…”
“Kyuu…”
“Y-you won’t know until you try it!”
Rosalia and Mira were giving me strangely cold looks. I had never imagined that they would look at me that way. Perhaps they thought it outrageous to do such a thing to fruit. Rosalia loved fruit, after all, and so did Mira.
This was serious. I had to put the idea into practice immediately and dispel their doubts. Otherwise, Rosalia and Mira might start to dislike me.
“Nero, please bring me some fruit.”
“Yes, Lord Julius. Right away.”
Nero quickly left the room. While he was gone, I gathered the materials I kept there and completed a magic tool for making dried fruit.
It was nothing special. I had simply incorporated a dehumidifying magic circle into a sealable metal box. It looked like an ordinary box and was not attractive in the slightest.
“L-Lord Julius is incredible.”
“Lelie?”
Lelie’s eyes nearly popped out when she saw the finished magic tool. Now that I thought about it, I had never made a magic tool or compounded a magic potion in front of her. If this was her first time seeing me work, her surprise was understandable.
“As expected of you, Brother.”
“Rosalia?”
“Kyuu.”
“Even you, Mira? What is going on?”
I did not think it was particularly surprising. I had merely placed a magic circle inside a box. Even Rosalia should have been able to make one with ease. I would hardly call this another of my blunders.
“Lord Julius, I brought the fruit.”
“Well done, Nero. Now, let’s begin…”
“Huh?”
“Brother, Lord Julius made this magic tool in no time at all.”
“What?”
Nero froze completely. Hmm. It seemed I had done it again. Well, what was done was done. I casually placed the cranberries, grapes and oranges he had brought into the magic tool.
Since I did not know how long the process would take, I opened the lid periodically to check.
“Is this how dried fruit is made?”
“Yes. Although I won’t know how long it takes until we try it. With a few adjustments, this could become a proper magic tool.”
I had no intention of doing that, however. I certainly was not planning to popularise dried fruit. This was merely a battle to regain Rosalia and Mira’s trust—nothing more and nothing less.
The dried fruit was ready while I helped Rosalia design the dishwasher-dryer magic tool she had proposed. It took about thirty minutes. Was that the appropriate amount of time for this quantity? Hmm.
If I designed it to sound an alert and stop automatically once the fruit inside the magic tool had fallen to a specified percentage of its original weight, it could make dried fruit without supervision—but what was I thinking? I was not going to develop it. Absolutely not.
“It’s ready.”
“So this is dried fruit… It’s beautiful!”
“It looks like jewels.”
“It’s amazing…”
“Kyuu…!”
Drawn by the concentrated sweet aroma, Mira began to drool. I wiped her mouth and popped a piece into it.
“Kyuu!”
Mira sprang into the air and held both cheeks in her paws. Did that mean it was so delicious that her cheeks might fall off? I thought she was exaggerating a little.
“Um, Brother, may I have some too?”
“Of course. Nero and Lelie, you should both taste it as well.”
“In that case, I shall.”
“Thank you.”
Needless to say, all three cried out in delight when they tasted the dried fruit.
Good grief. I had gone and made yet another plain, unglamorous invention.
Is this a victory or defeat?