Kays Translations

Chapter 277: Magic Tools and Potions

We boarded the carriage and headed for our next destination, a magic-tool shop I had chosen. We also planned to visit a potion shop afterward, so I could not spend too long inspecting the magic tools.

I had been so busy lately that I had neglected to check the newest products. Keeping up with current trends was important.

We entered the largest magic-tool shop in the territorial capital. I properly escorted Lady Fabienne inside, then we made a circuit of the displays.

"Hmm. There does not seem to be anything especially new."

"I have heard that developing a new magic tool takes a very long time – at least a year, and sometimes nearly a decade."

"Oh, really?"

That deserved more than my casual response. I could make a magic tool in a month, and sometimes in a single day. My pace was completely abnormal, so comparing myself with ordinary magic-tool craftsmen – or even with Rosalia – would be unfair.

Of course, House Heine's wealth made experimentation much easier. Independent craftsmen could hardly keep investing in development without knowing whether a design would succeed. I already knew what I wanted to create, so I could proceed without hesitation.

Nero stared at me in surprise. Apparently, he had not known how long ordinary craftsmen required. By coincidence, neither had I.

"How long does it take for you to make magic tools, Lord Julius?"

"Hmm?"

Lady Fabienne tilted her head. Her eyes curved gently, but her smile carried a trace of suspicion.

"Well… perhaps six months?"

"Lord Julius, forgive my impertinence, but I believe you should give Lady Fabienne an accurate answer."

Was that really necessary? If we married and she later declared that I was nothing like the person she had expected, I would be devastated. I gathered my courage and decided to tell her the truth.

"This must remain strictly between us…"

"Of course, I'll keep it strictly between us."

I leaned close and whispered into Lady Fabienne's ear. Her earlobes turned faintly red. If I laughed now, she might actually punch me.

"Sometimes, I finish one the same day."

"The same day!?"

Lady Fabienne quickly covered her mouth, her eyes wide. So this was the normal reaction. I carefully filed away that adorable expression in my memory.

We returned to the carriage and continued to the largest potion shop in the territorial capital, a place both of us had wanted to visit. The territorial branch of the Magic Pharmacists' Guild stood beside it.

"I thought I already understood how extraordinary a magic-tool craftsman you were, Lord Julius, but there is still so much I do not know."

"Oh no, I'm really nothing special."

Lady Fabienne gave my modest reply a sceptical sidelong look. Everyone else did the same. Did I have no allies here?

"Did you create any new magic tools while you were in the royal capital?"

"I built an icehouse."

"An icehouse?"

"Yes. We needed to preserve potion ingredients for long periods. By cooling the room until ice forms, we can prevent the materials from deteriorating."

Lady Fabienne nodded, then rested a hand against her chin in thought. Perhaps she was imagining how useful one would be at House Ambert. Fresh ingredients were essential to any magic pharmacist.

"Would you like me to build a small one for House Ambert? A warehouse-sized icehouse would be excessive, but I could make one that fits inside a single room."

"Are you serious!?"

She raised her face with a brilliant smile. It was dazzling enough to make me feel like a vampire caught in sunlight. Was this the radiance of purification?

"Of course. I was already planning to make a smaller one for House Heine."

I returned her smile as calmly as I could, although my heart was pounding hard enough to burst. Nero, if I died here, I was counting on him to handle the rest.

On the way to the potion shop, I brought out some dried fruit that I hoped to introduce in the royal capital.

"Lady Fabienne, please have some."

"Is this dried fruit? I did not know there were so many varieties."

"Only a few varieties are available for sale at present. Once production expands, we hope people will be able to enjoy them more casually."

Lady Fabienne seemed to grasp the meaning behind my words. Her eyes widened briefly before her expression softened into a smile.

House Heine intended to establish a trading company and sell dried fruit as a speciality of the Heine Margraviate.

"Did you develop the dried fruit as well, Lord Julius?"

"How did you figure that out!?"

I had expected her to realise House Heine was selling it, but not that I had developed it. She was perceptive.

"It was only a feeling. After all, has not nearly everything famous in the territory been developed by Lord Julius?"

That might actually have been true. Giles and Christopher stared blankly, as though wondering what I was saying now, while Nero's eyes shone with pride.

There was little point hiding it after that. I explained how the dried fruit had been created. An excited Nero added that I had made the automatic dried-fruit-making magic tool in only a few minutes, leaving Lady Fabienne unsure how to respond.

The carriage stopped, and one of the escort knights came to report our arrival.

"Lord Julius, we have arrived."

"Thank you. Shall we go, Lady Fabienne?"

"Yes."

I escorted Lady Fabienne from the carriage with practised ease. She seemed less nervous now, which was reassuring.

A queue had formed outside the shop. It was not long enough to wind like a serpent, but the crowd resembled mothers gathering around a bargain counter.

"What's going on?"

"They appear to be waiting for a new shipment of potions."

"At this hour?"

It was already after three and approaching four. What kind of potion shipment arrived this late? Curious, I looked closer and saw a large sign: "Sweet Cold Remedy Now in Stock!"

So that was it. These people were waiting for the cold remedy Lady Fabienne had created. I glanced at her with a knowing smile. She noticed, blushed deeply and tightened her grip on my hand.

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