Chapter 24: A potato shaped container

　Mr. Henry made the connection between magic and my financial situation immediately after he learned that I could use magic. I screamed in my heart (hiiiii) at how quickly he did that, but at the same time, I reflected on it.

　Perhaps I had unconsciously underestimated the people of this world. Mr. Henry was probably far superior to what I thought he was.

　Not only him, but there will surely be people like Da Vinci, Galileo, and Einstein in this world. If I underestimate the people in this world, I’ll be in big trouble.

“You’re very perceptive, Henry-san.”

“I realized from the beginning that you weren’t making much profit. That number of seats, that quality of food, and those prices. There’s no way you could survive under normal circumstances.”

“Just to let you know, we are not in the red.”

“But I’m sure you’re not making a profit either. You’ll show your faithful assistant how to get money by magic, won’t you?”

“You want me to actually do it and show you, instead of just explaining it to you in words?”

“I want to see it with my own eyes. By all means!”

“I understand. I’m sure it won’t be a problem if you knew.”

　Mr. Henry stood up.

“Shall we go home then?”

“Already?　I want to look around some more. I want to do some shopping too.”

“Let’s come again on my next day off. Next time, I’ll show you around until you’re satisfied.”

　There was no sign of him giving in. Exciting stuff, isn’t it? I had no choice but to leave the store and get on my horse.

“What kind of people are the two who can perform spells without chanting?”

“There were two of them, Mr. Kyrias and his master, but at the moment it’s just Mr. Kyrias.”

“What?　When Kyrias-kun showed us how he set up the warding in my store, he was chanting, wasn’t he?”

“That was on purpose. He wanted you to see him cast a spell like a wizard.”

“Hmm.”

　There’s something that’s been bothering me for a while now.

“Henry-san, you’re a civil servant at the castle, so what if you don’t report me to the country and get charged with a crime?”

“Please don’t ask too much about that. I am not guilty of anything, but it’s not something to be praised for as a civil servant working at the castle. You don’t intend to work in the castle’s magic department, do you?”

“No.”

“Then I won’t report it. If anyone asks me anything I’ll say I didn’t know.”

We arrived at the “hideaway,” but before going inside, I decided to show him the thing.

“So, let’s go this way first.”

　Henry looked confused, with a “why we were going around to the backyard”, kind of look, so I led him there, saying, “This way.”

　I squatted down in front of Mr. Henry and placed my right hand on the ground. I gathered magic power in the palm of my hand and closed my eyes, imagining an opal. When I felt a tingling sensation in my palm, I opened my eyes and gently lifted my hand.

“Hmm?　Is that it?”

　Mr. Henry picked up the sphere with his fingertips. The opal I just made is much larger than the ones I made in Orb Village. Each of the three spheres was about two centimeters in diameter. Henry took out a handkerchief and wiped off the dirt.

“is this……”

“It’s an opal. The soil is perfect for producing opals.”

“Opals by magic?　And that from soil?　I’ve never heard of that from anyone in the magic department. But it really does look like an opal.”

“It’s real. I went around to jewelry stores and antique dealers and exchanged it for cash, and every store confirmed it was real. I sold the opals and opened the ‘hideaway’.”

“You sound like a legendary wizard.”

　Legendary wizards were not included in the vast knowledge I got from my grandmother. She left out almost everything except the knowledge of magic.

“What is a legendary wizard?”

“You don’t know, do you, Mai?”

　I entered the shop, and since it was already too late, I fire magic into the fireplace with my right hand in the shape of a pistol. The wood in the fireplace began to burn with a popping sound.

　I placed the opal on the table and brewed a pot of tea. It was a tea made by magically converting the appropriate tea leaves. I imagined Darjeeling tea in the other world. I’m sure that deep red black tea is also drunk among the nobility in this world.

“Ah, it smells so good. Beautiful color too. Fine tea leaves. …… Don’t tell me this one too?”

“Yes. Yes, by magic. So, what kind of person is this legendary wizard?”

“The legendary wizard lived a long time ago. He was active in this land when a wheat disease spread, causing starvation and poverty throughout the country.”

“Oh really?”

“It seems that they also made food with their magic, but because ‘even if I made food with the amount of magical power I have, I wouldn’t be able to save the people of the country,’ they made a lot of jewels and donated them to the country. The country was able to buy wheat and potatoes from other countries and overcome the famine.”

　I think to myself as I look at the potatoes in the crate. “If that happens, I’ll offer them up too. But I’ll have to go through Henry.”

“Just jewels?”

“It’s said there were also grains of gold and silver. Is that possible?”

“I’ve never tried gold and silver, but I can do this.”

　I went to the kitchen and pulled out the sweet potatoes from the wooden box. Underneath the real potatoes was a wooden container made to look just like a potato. I took out all five of them. I put them on a tray, carried them to the table, and twisted open the lids of the five potato-shaped containers in front of Mr. Henry.

　The containers were filled with diamonds made from charcoal. The shape is roughly brilliant cut. I don’t know much about them, so it’s really rough.

　Since I started living in this house, I have free access to charcoal. So I have been making diamonds whenever I feel like it. Mr. Henry looks at the diamonds with a suspicious look on his face.

“Are these diamonds?　Or is it crystal?”

“It’s a diamond. If I sell one, I won’t have to worry about money for a while, so I just keep piling them up.”

“Is this also from the ground?”

“No, this is from charcoal.”

“Charcoal. ……. Why charcoal?”

“I’ll explain in detail later. I’ll try to think of an easy-to-understand explanation. I’m not an expert on that sort of thing. You  can take some home with you if you want.”

“No, thank you. If I bring home such a large diamond with my salary, my adoptive mother will be worried that I was embezzling the government’s money.”

　Ah. That’s right. I just reflected on that.

“Also, it’s not a good idea to leave this amount of diamonds lying around in the kitchen. A container that looks like a potato is a good idea, but thieves look for them in places like that.”

　Mr. Henry put both elbows on the table and pressed his hands to his forehead.

“But where would you hide such a quantity? I can’t think of anywhere right off the top of my head.”

“It’s all charcoal in the first place anyway, so even if it gets stolen, I can just make it again…”

“That’s no good. You’re like a chicken that lays eggs called jewels, you know?　You will be targeted.”

“If I get attacked, I can just use magic to get out of it.”

Henry let out a deep sigh.

“There’s a magical tool that seals out magic. What if they use that on you?”

“Is there such a thing!”

“Yes, there is. But even so, ……. May I touch this?”

　I nodded, and Henry picked up one of the diamonds and looked at it carefully.

“I don’t know much about gemstones, but there’s not a trace of impurity. This is the most beautiful cut I’ve ever seen. This must’ve been calculated to reflect the light. You’ve made this much since you came over here?”

“To be precise, since I opened this store. I’ve been making it little by little.”

“How much can you make at a time?”

“I haven’t tested it to the limit,  but twenty diamonds like that won’t tire me out at all.”

　I feel a little taken aback.

“You’re far more unaware and defenseless than I expected. I’m glad I became your assistant. If I say so myself. It was a really good idea on my part. What else?　What else can you do?”

“Would you like to take a shower in a magically created cumulonimbus cloud?　A shower is a bathroom device that sends down hot water of just the right temperature as much as you want, just like rain.”

“What, a hot water bath?　Now?”

　Mr. Henry’s puzzled face immediately turned red. As I gazed at the precious blush of this beautiful man, I realized that I had been misunderstood.

“No, no, no. I’m not inviting you to stay the night, just to take a warm bath.”

“Yeah ……I thought that was strange. Please let me use this shower thing. I want to experience it.”

“Do you have any aversion to getting wet or anything like that?’”

“I’m human, and I’m not a furry right now.”

“Excuse me. I’ll go turn on the shower now. I’ll leave you a bathrobe and a bath towel to use after you get out of the bath. They’re soft.”

　Mr. Henry walked into the bathroom. Then he took a long shower on the forty-degree setting.

　When Mr. Henry came out, his complexion looked healthy and he seemed to enjoy the shower, bath towel and bathrobe.

“The shower is wonderful. And this fluffy fabric is wonderful too. Did everyone live such a luxurious life in your world, Mai-san?”

“It depends on the country, but in my country, showers and fluffy fabrics were common in most homes.”

　Henry takes a long look at the fabric of the bathrobe.

“If there are showers in a world without magic, then there must be plenty of waterways. How did they transport water to houses in high places? Also if you’re using water from lakes and rivers, you need facilities to filter it. And you have waterways all over the country. It’s a mind-boggling construction project.”

“Since this is a world without magic, perhaps that was rather a good thing for the development of technology.”

　Mr. Henry looked at me in surprise.

(Mr. Henry, I wonder who you are equivalent to in the other world. Maybe a bureaucrat who won’t leave his name in history, but who influences the course of a country.)

“Sorry, I don’t know much about it. I only have a child-level knowledge.”

“No. Still, it will be very helpful, so please let me hear it in detail at a later date. Mai-san, may I use your shower again sometime?”

“You are welcome to use the shower anytime. Next time, I will fill the bathtub with hot water and some nice-smelling bath salts.”

“I look forward to it. Well, I would like to thank you for letting me feel free to use the shower. Please think about what you would like.”

　I would have been compensated if he’d let me pet him when he’s a cat. But I couldn’t say that.

　When I dried his hair with the warm air of a small typhoon instead of a hair dryer, he looked enraptured and said, “It feels so good. I never knew such magic existed,” as he rubbed his cheek against the bath towel.

　It was a very cat-like gesture.

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