Chapter 589: A Mysterious Sensation

We made our way back to the royal capital by way of the neighboring town. It hadn’t actually been that long since we’d left the royal castle of the Raven Kingdom, yet after everything that had happened, it somehow felt strangely nostalgic—as if we were returning after a far longer journey.

That hadn’t been my intention, of course… but in such a short span of time, I’d managed to cause quite a number of incidents.

Still, most of those “incidents” had conveniently been attributed to the Forest Spirit. From an outsider’s perspective, there was no reason to think I’d been involved at all.

Stepping into the guest room of the royal castle, I let out a long breath and sank into a moment of relief. The day’s travel had worn me down more than I’d realized. I decided to postpone checking on the magic stone crushing team and the gardeners until tomorrow.

It wasn’t just me—Fabienne, Nero, and the others must be just as tired.

After having Nero prepare some tea, Fabienne and I relaxed together on the sofa, letting the quiet comfort of the room settle over us. Lionel had apparently gone off to investigate what had happened in the capital while we were away.

When he got back, I’d have to treat him to tea as well.

As I flipped the switch on the gramophone, letting soft music fill the air, we began discussing what to do next.

“The purification of the tainted land is progressing smoothly, and the mountain’s greenery has started to return. I feel like I’ve done everything I needed to… what do you think?”

“Yes… I believe we’ve accomplished everything that His Majesty and Sophia-sama asked of us.”

Fabienne was right.

Technically, we could return home now. But our original plan had been to stay for a full month—and there was still time left.

If we left too early… would it seem disrespectful?

“I’m still curious about how the purification progresses. Let’s stay in the Raven Kingdom a little longer.”

I glanced at Fabienne. “What about you? Don’t you want to return home?”

“I’m perfectly fine here. After all, Julius-sama is here… as well as Nero and Lionel.”

I turned to Nero with a teasing smile. “Aren’t you lonely without seeing Lillie?”

“That may be true… but serving you, Julius-sama, is my greatest joy. I have no complaints.”

He said it with a sharp, unwavering expression.

His loyalty was as overwhelming as ever—honestly, it left me a bit at a loss.

When we returned to the Heine frontier count’s house, I’d have to give Nero plenty of free time.

…No, that wouldn’t work. He’d probably hold back out of consideration.

In that case, it would be better to arrange things so that Lillie could be nearby. Perhaps having her work together with Rosalia on magic tools would do the trick.

With that decided, I turned my attention to finishing the gramophone I planned to gift to Rosalia and Mira.

I resumed work on the outer casing, which I had left half-finished. This time, I poured my full effort into it—carefully carving intricate reliefs of a sacred dragon, stars, and flowers.

The dragon’s form was modeled after Mira as she is now.

I wanted to preserve the image of her as she was in her younger days.

“As expected of you, Julius-sama…”

Fabienne, who had been watching my work intently the entire time, let out a soft sigh of admiration. It seemed she was thoroughly taken with the design.

Well, I had put my heart into it. It was satisfying to see that effort recognized.

“If you like it that much, I’ll add the same relief to your gramophone as well.”

“Please do.”

Her face lit up with a radiant, almost sparkling smile.

Content with that reaction, I spent the rest of the day decorating the gramophone with various reliefs. It had been a long time since I’d been able to relax like this, losing myself in careful, creative work.

Later, I also listened to Lionel’s report after he returned to the room.

Of course, I made sure he had a proper cup of tea before he began speaking.

From what he said, nothing particularly noteworthy had occurred in the capital during our absence.

However, when the researchers—who had arrived at the castle ahead of us—reported to His Majesty, there had apparently been a small commotion. Lionel didn’t know the exact details, but it was likely because the purification efforts were progressing so well.

If I were in their position, I’d be overjoyed too.

The next day, I decided to finally visit the magic stone crushing site. It had been delayed again and again, but I remembered hearing that an orichalcum whetstone had been discovered.

I absolutely had to see it for myself.

With a hint of excitement in my step, I headed toward the indoor training grounds. It seemed word of our return had already spread, because everyone greeted us with great enthusiasm.

There were noticeably fewer people than before.

Apparently, this was thanks to the automatic magic stone crusher and the orichalcum whetstone. The improved efficiency meant they could now secure more than enough powdered magic stone.

A very good development indeed—crushing magic stones had been grueling labor.

“So this is the orichalcum whetstone… It looks like a lump of gold.”

“It’s beautiful… I can hardly believe this can turn magic stones into powder so easily.”

I felt the same way.

The surface looked perfectly smooth—almost too smooth. It didn’t seem like something capable of grinding anything down, let alone magic stones. The idea that it could even sharpen a sword’s edge was downright mysterious.

Perhaps noticing our curiosity, one of the knights stepped forward and handed us a small magic stone.

“Would you like to try it yourselves, Julius-sama, Fabienne-sama? I think you’ll be surprised.”

He wore a bright, knowing smile.

He must have been just as astonished the first time he tried it.

That only made me more eager.

Following his suggestion, I pressed the magic stone against the orichalcum whetstone.

“Ooooh… it turns into powder this easily?”

“Is it really that amazing?”

Fabienne’s eyes sparkled with anticipation as she tried it herself.

Even with her strength, the magic stone crumbled effortlessly into fine powder. No force was needed at all—just a light, smooth motion across the surface was enough.

It was incredible.

“Amazing… so this is the power of the orichalcum whetstone. Now I understand why you wanted it, Julius-sama.”

As she spoke, Fabienne continued grinding the stone into powder, clearly enjoying the sensation. It had a peculiar, almost slippery feel—like gliding across ice.

It really was an oddly satisfying texture.

With this, producing large amounts of magic stone powder would be easy. If they worked in shifts, they could generate an impressive quantity in a single day.

“With this, it seems there will no longer be any shortage of magic stone powder. It makes sense that the number of workers has decreased so much.”

“This is all thanks to you, Julius-sama. In fact, the magic stone crushing work has become incredibly popular. Every night, the ‘rock-paper-scissors tournament’ to decide who gets to do it the next day is always very lively.”

“S… I see.”

…Perhaps I should apologize to the captain of the Raven Kingdom’s knight order.

I never imagined that what was essentially supposed to be harsh, backbreaking labor would become popular.

Could it be because of the beginner-grade stamina recovery potions they’re given?

…Hmm. I honestly have no idea.