Chapter 639: Preparations Complete

Hot tea was brought in at once. It was perfect for cleansing the palate. Coffee would have been ideal at a time like this, but only tea was available in this world. Still, the tea was exceptionally good, so I had no complaints for now.

Brother Alex and Sister-in-law Daniela savoured their cake as they sipped their tea. Judging from their smiles, they had taken a liking to it.

Reassured, I ate my own cake. As expected of the head chef, it was wonderfully sweet and delicious.

“Julius, can this chocolate be mass-produced?”

“I have asked the head chef to make it regularly. Since the process has many steps, I intend to build a dedicated magic tool that will reduce the workload as much as possible.”

“Brother Julius, I shall help you build it!”

“Kyuu!”

Rosalia and Mira became excited when they learnt that they would be able to eat this cake again. Their portions had already disappeared, yet neither complained. Apparently, they had savoured every bite.

“In that case, I would like to sell it through the trading company. How much will it cost to produce?”

“It requires sugar, so it’ll probably be rather expensive. Once we establish mass production, the price should fall somewhat.”

“Sugar, hmm? If only we could purchase it cheaply somewhere.”

Brother Alex sank into thought. He probably wanted the people of the territory to taste it too. At first, however, chocolate would likely be a product for nobles. Once it spread through high society, its production method would disseminate across the kingdom and eventually become accessible to many more people.

“It was truly delicious. We simply must allow His Majesty and Her Majesty to taste it.”

Sister-in-law Daniela, who had been eating slowly and elegantly, spoke while gazing regretfully at her empty plate. Evidently, she believed the chocolate possessed that much value. Her voice held a powerful conviction. She was serious—she truly intended to spread chocolate throughout the kingdom.

“Chocolate is vulnerable to heat. I shall make arrangements so that we can send some to the royal capital while the weather remains cool.”

“That would be a great help. Leave everything after that to us.”

Sister-in-law Daniela nodded, and Brother Alex beside her did the same. They were telling me to leave the sales to them. Very well, I would gladly do so.

In return, we would take responsibility for production. I would establish a mass-production system that was certain to satisfy them.

The dessert was an enormous success. To spread the wonders of chocolate, we decided that everyone working at the estate would be given a sample in the near future.

In that case, we had to hurry and establish a supply of cacao fruit. It seemed that the afternoon would be busy.

We arrived at the clover field. Although we had planted it only the previous day, the clover was already beginning to spread thickly. Was that the power of Rapid Growth No. 2, or the Green Spirit’s influence?

Either way, the conditions had become extremely convenient for me.

“It has increased considerably.”

“Yes, though only in the areas treated with Rapid Growth No. 2.”

“Then we must hurry and apply it to the rest of the field.”

We divided the work and began by spreading Rapid Growth No. 2 throughout the field. At this growth rate, the clover field wouldn’t take long to complete.

I inspected the clover that had already grown, but no Holy Clover had appeared yet.

In the game, it grew according to a probability, so the ordinary clover already present shouldn’t transform into Holy Clover. In that case, our best course was to keep tending and expanding the field. This might be more difficult than I had expected.

Once we finished applying Rapid Growth No. 2, we all began taking and planting clover cuttings. This should allow us to propagate clover efficiently across the entire field.

After finishing the initial work, we took a break. It was almost time for our three o’clock snack.

“At last, we have finished tending the clover field. It shouldn’t be this difficult again from tomorrow. For now, thank you for your hard work.”

“Thank you as well, Lord Julius. The preparations for making Holy Droplets are now complete. Producing magic potions truly is demanding, isn’t it? I’ve always been on the receiving end of prepared ingredients, so I never properly appreciated that before.”

Obtaining materials from a medicinal-herb garden wasn’t particularly difficult, and purchasing them at a shop was easier still.

Even ingredients unavailable in shops were generally collected by adventurers at our request. It was rare for anyone to create a field on this scale.

“I could have asked the knights to help, but I thought doing the work ourselves would make it feel more special. And by gaining experience, we might learn something valuable.”

“That’s certainly true. I studied the clover carefully while choosing suitable cuttings, and I feel as though I’ve begun to see all sorts of things I couldn’t before.”

Lady Fabienne spoke with one hand resting against her lips. Apparently, her Appraisal skill was gradually improving. If so, our work creating the clover field hadn’t been wasted.