Kays Translations

Chapter 293: Additional Stationery

“I see. So it was Daniela who suggested it.”

“That's right. So don't be mad at Julius-chan. It's originally Alex's fault for refusing to take a bath together.”

Sister-in-law Daniela was clearly holding a grudge because Brother Alex had refused her invitation. Apparently, being unable to bathe together was a sore point for her. Perhaps she simply disliked being alone in such a large bath.

“I am not angry. But Julius is a boy, you know.”

Brother Alex glanced at me. What was he imagining? There was no chance I would make a move on Sister-in-law Daniela, especially when she was a princess. If anything happened, I would lose my head immediately.

“Brother Alex, is your imagination not running a little wild? I would never do anything like that. Besides, I am only ten years old.”

“Y-yeah, you're right, hahaha…”

Brother Alex laughed awkwardly, the corner of his mouth twitching. Sister-in-law Daniela glared at him through narrowed eyes. She was plainly displeased. Frightening. Brother Alex was definitely going to receive a lecture from her later.

That was what he deserved for setting a trap for me. Serves him right.

After saying goodnight to Brother Alex and Sister-in-law Daniela, I returned to my room. For some reason, the three I had chased out earlier were still there.

“Why are you still here?”

“We thought you might make something else, so we waited.”

How had they known? What expression was I supposed to make in this situation? I forced a smile while searching for a way to send them away.

“We are finished for today. You have just taken a bath, so it would be a shame to get dirty again. Speaking of which, Rosalia, your hands are pitch-black.”

“I was making pencils with erasers.”

“Stop it right now.”

I had completely forgotten that Rosalia had just left the bath. By teaching her such troublesome things, I had managed to get her dirty again. Not in any improper sense, of course.

I quickly asked Nero to bring a cloth. I thought it would be enough to clean her hands, but the dirt would not come off completely.

“Rosalia, your clothes are dirty too. Change them when you return to your room.”

“Huh? Oh no, what should I do!”

She had apparently failed to notice the stains until I pointed them out. Rosalia's eyes immediately filled with tears. The clothes could be washed by tomorrow, and they were only ordinary nightclothes; she should have had plenty of replacements.

“If Mother sees, she'll be mad.”

“Then go get scolded.”

“Ugh…”

Rosalia was on the verge of tears. She was clearly frightened of Mother. If so, she should have been more careful. I was not frightened, so naturally I had no intention of being careful.

“Oh, very well. Let this be a lesson: only craft things while wearing clothes that may safely become dirty. Clean!”

Soft light enveloped Rosalia, and an instant later her stained clothes looked freshly laundered.

Rosalia stared at them in a daze, unable to understand what had happened.

The magic had been useful for cleaning dirty equipment in the game. Its graphics were highly detailed, and grime accumulated on equipment over time. The spell restored an item to its original, spotless condition.

“Now return to your room. If you dirty your clothes again, I shall pretend not to notice.”

“Amazing! Brother Julius, what was that magic!?”

Oh no. Now she was interested in the spell. To avoid creating yet another problem, I needed to keep it quiet.

“Listen, Rosalia. I used that spell only to save you from Mother's scolding, so keep it secret. The rest of you understand as well, yes?”

I put a little pressure into my voice. All four of them turned pale and nodded silently. Good. They had seen nothing, and I had done nothing. Understood?

After finally getting Rosalia and the others out of the room, I could breathe again.

“Alright then…”

With that, I took wood, cloth, iron and brass from my desk. Nero watched as though he wanted to object, but ultimately remained silent. He was probably thinking that speaking up would be pointless. He was right, though I was not doing anything bad.

First, I would make a pencil case. Cloth would cushion the pencils and prevent them from breaking if the case were dropped. I would use a zipper for the opening, which explained the brass. While I was at it, I would also make metal pencil caps.

I reproduced the zipper from memory. Even where I did not fully understand the mechanism, the “Craft” skill allowed me to force the pieces into a working design.

“Finished. Look, Nero. This is a pencil case for holding the pencils, and these are pencil caps to keep the leads from breaking.”

When I handed them over, Nero wore the same endearing look of surprise as always. I had confirmed that he was not a girl, but he certainly looked like one. Since he seemed self-conscious about it, I tried not to mention the matter.

“May I truly have these? Thank you. As expected of you, Lord Julius. Everything fits as though you measured it in advance. How does the case open?”

“Oh, right. Like this.”

I took hold of the small metal pull and opened the case with a soft zipping sound. Nero's eyes widened. I closed it again, then silently handed it to him.

Nero immediately began opening and closing the pencil case over and over.

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