Kays Translations

Chapter 315: Everyone Sits Up Straight

After finishing my account of the snowy-mountain investigation for Giles and Christopher, I left the training ground. Brother Cain and Sister-in-law Meeka invited me to train with them, but I declined.

With no senior knights around to stop us and only a few onlookers, it would be troublesome if I defeated Brother Cain in a sword match. Brother Cain pouted, but I ignored him.

Nero said nothing. Could he possibly doubt that I would defeat Brother Cain? That was troubling.

"Lord Julius, what are your plans now?"

"I want to inspect the greenhouse and check the cultivation of the ingredients for the basic stamina-recovery potions. If necessary, I’ll increase the amount being grown."

Nero’s smile became strained. He had shown interest in the basic stamina-recovery potions earlier, so perhaps he felt guilty. I did not mind him using them, provided everyone did not consume the entire stock.

I arrived at the greenhouse. Even in winter, it was warm, and lush plants were in full bloom.

"The greenhouse seems to be functioning properly. I’ll inspect the magic tools as a precaution."

“The warmth here is amazing even in winter.”

“Yeah. I think it performs better than the greenhouse in the royal castle.”

Maintaining the greenhouse was not solely my responsibility; Rosalia also looked after it. She had little interest in magic potions, but she loved flowers and often included the greenhouse—where flowers bloomed throughout the year—in her walks.

"The magic tools all seem to be working. There is nothing to repair. As for the crops… increasing the quantity slightly might be wise."

It was time to use my ‘Cultivation’ and ‘Transplantation’ skills again. With plant nutrients available, the new crops should grow quickly and soon be ready for harvest. I planted them in the remaining space, watered them with magic and applied the nutrients. All done. Grow well.

“This greenhouse is starting to feel a bit cramped.”

"Lord Julius, you know how to farm as well?"

“Of course. If you want good materials, it's quickest to grow them yourself.”

I gave Nero a broad smile, but his own became strained. Was it strange for a noble to get covered in soil while farming? I thought maintaining a connection with the earth was important.

Considering whether the greenhouse needed further expansion, I returned to the mansion with the ingredients I had gathered. I would use them to make additional basic stamina-recovery potions. The mansion was barely functioning that morning anyway.

With Nero’s help, I produced a large batch of basic stamina-recovery potions in the compounding room. Naturally, we sampled the finished product together—quality checks were important. Yes, refreshing and invigorating!

I took some of the completed potions to the kitchen, naturally for everyone to use.

"Chef, I’ve brought additional potions. Although now that I’m here, do you have anywhere to store them?"

"Thank you, Lord Julius. There is no need to worry. House Heine’s food storehouses are quite spacious; we can easily accommodate this amount."

While I spoke with the head chef, the other cooks gathered and welcomed the delivery. According to them, everyone should be able to attend lunch. This was my chance to make the adults sit up straight and lecture them.

I went ahead to the dining room to wait. Brother Alex and Sister-in-law Daniela soon arrived, saw my expression and awkwardly averted their eyes.

"Good morning, Brother Alex, Sister-in-law Daniela."

“G-Good morning, Julius.”

“Good morning, Julius-chan.”

“It seems you had fun yesterday.”

When I smiled brightly, both of them produced strained smiles. They were normally the ones restraining everyone else, so seeing them in this position was unusual. Perhaps they had been under considerable stress. If so, their excess might partly have been my fault.

"Have the preparations for establishing the trading company been causing you stress? If so, I bear some responsibility. I’m sorry."

“Julius, it’s not like that. You always cause us other kinds of stress.”

Brother Alex was blunt, but I could not deny it. I would probably continue causing them stress, so perhaps I should prepare some stomach medicine as a precaution.

"Alex, that is not reassuring at all. We can finally see a clear path towards establishing the trading company, and the personnel are coming together. I reported the progress to Father yesterday, and I suppose I relaxed too much afterwards."

Sister-in-law Daniela spoke somewhat bashfully. That discussion must have occurred after we children left. Since she had reported it privately, she probably did not want the information made public yet.

If merchants learned that House Heine was establishing a trading company, they would probably arrive with proposals and sales pitches. The resulting work and complications could delay the company’s launch, so secrecy made sense. Postponing the sports-drink idea had been the right decision.

“So that’s how it is. Congratulations. I’m happy for you as well.”

“Thank you, Julius-chan.”

"Even so, that is a separate matter. Overindulgence in food and alcohol is unhealthy."

Both quickly looked away when I smiled. They clearly knew their behaviour had been inappropriate. A single lapse was understandable, but it would become a problem if every milestone for the trading company produced the same result.

“I’ll be careful next time, Julius-chan.”

"I’ll be careful too. Still, it would be convenient to have a potion that let you wake refreshed the next morning regardless of how much you ate or drank."

“…”

“There is one, isn’t there?”

“There is, Julius-chan.”

Such a potion did exist, but I was not certain that creating it would be wise. I hesitated.

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