Chapter 37: The Grand Duke's Decree

"There it is."

Guided by Rick, they arrived at a secluded place at the far end of the Invention Fair.

Natra, Rick's sister, is at the stall. She may be the store keeper, but it doesn't look like it's thriving and she is just sitting there looking bored.

"How can I say it, it's a delicate location. It doesn't look like it's thriving."

"I'm a kid who doesn't have any connections. It's difficult to secure a good place."

"That's true."

Opening a booth at an invention fair itself is a simple procedure, but the location must be in accordance with the management's instructions. And it is not luck, but connections that are important to secure a good location.

As a result, Rick, as a child, must have been assigned a sensitive spot.

"Sister. I'm back."

“You’re late, Rick. It's your store, right…Ah, from that time?"

"Oh, do you remember me, Natra, right? I haven't seen you since the restaurant."

"Long time no see, sir!!"

As soon as Natra recognized Lute, she immediately changed her bored demeanor and bowed her head.

Fearful demeanor. I don't think it's because they are in the hospitality business. But even so, she is too intimidated.

Lute also had a question mark in his head for a moment, but he soon guessed why. Come to think of it, he wondered if he had lightly hinted at his identity during the previous trouble.

Since Rick didn't seem to care, Lute had completely forgotten about it.

"... why are you so frightened, sis?"

“Oh, you idiot! You must have forgotten what happened before!? With the customers that time…!”

“I am related to an important person in this city. But he wasn't even a party to it. It's no wonder it slipped his mind.”

"Eh... ah!? I'm sorry, sir!!"

When Lute lightly revealed his position, Rick bowed his head with great force. He didn't seem to notice, it's not that he didn't care.

"Don't worry about it. I don't deny that I'm in a pretty good position, but I was off duty then and I'm off duty today. I don't mean to make a show of my position. That thing before was an exception."

“...... By the way, may I ask what happened to those drunks?"

“Because it was troublesome, I threw it further down the line.....Hm, were they forced to work in the mines as criminals? I'm sure they didn't kill them."

"Hiiii..."

"Don't be so scared. As I said before, that was an exception. As long as it's not excessive, I'm not going to say anything about it. So don't worry too much about it, both of you."

After letting out a small sigh at the two who were starting to move awkwardly, Lute turned his gaze to the stall to change the topic.

Several items placed on a simple cloth. Many of them are not clear at a glance what purpose they are used for. However, one common characteristic of all of them is that they are all very solidly built. Regardless of the ideas behind them, the quality of the items seems to have surpassed the level of a child’s inventions.

"There are so many good quality products. Some of them are made of metal. Did you commission them from a workshop somewhere?"

"Ah, no. My sister can do metal processing and ore refining with magic. In small quantities."

"... huh. That's great. I don't know much about magic, but if you can do that well, you'd be a hot prospect in any workshop, wouldn't you?"

"... I don't want to work at another workshop. If I can help my brother, that's all I want to do....."

"Really"

Natra slurs her words with a look of not wanting to be so touchy-feely.

Lute also guessed that there was a hidden story with these two, so he returned to the invention without further pursuit.

"So, what exactly is here? Rick, please explain."

"Ah, yes! I recommend this! I think it will come in handy when camping."

Saying that, Rick chose an item that had a piece of metal and a metal rod connected with a string.

"What is this?"

"Oh, that's a high-performance flint that Rick asked me to prepare. If you rub the stick with the piece, you can easily make sparks."

"Sister!? Don't take my explanation!"

"You're annoying, you idiot. You should put yourself in my shoes, who was forced to do very tedious work and then made me make just a fine flint stone. How much do you think it would cost? Why don't you just buy a regular flint instead of this uselessly expensive one?”

"It's very convenient because it can be used even when wet!"

“Why don't you just buy a spare and store it so it doesn't get wet!"

Somehow, a quarrel between siblings broke out next to him, but he ignored it and rubbed his high-performance flint together. A very large spark was produced.

"... how did you make this?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. The question about the manufacturing method is a bit......"

“No, I asked the question the wrong way. Is it correct to say that these sticks and pieces were produced by Natra's magic, based on Rick's idea?"

"Yes, it was."

The brothers and sister nodded. Having confirmed this, Lute decided what he needed to do.

He uses magic to keep them unaware of his presence. Then he created an ice coin with the grand duke's family crest engraved on it.

"Both of you, I'm sorry, but please close the shop for today and refrain from participating in the invention fair after that."

"Eh, hey, what is it suddenly, sir?"

“I will give you this coin in exchange. Take it and visit the Duke de Gascoigne house in the next few days. I will arrange for you to enter the mansion.”

"... Eh, uh"

“That…what!?”

They finally understood the meaning of Lute's words. They are both amusingly flustered.

"What's your answer?"

"Yes, sir!!"

“I understand!"

Even so, they seem to have retained at least a minimum amount of rationality, as they followed Lute's words to the letter.

"Listen? Be sure to visit us in the near future. If you don't, I'll use my authority to take you away by force."

"Eh. Could it be as a criminal ......?"

"No way. But I'll just have to use the security forces, so at least people around me will think you're criminals."

"I will definitely visit you, so please bear with me!!"

"I'm not going to run away, please!!"

It's probably because of the fact that the drunks who got involved were sent to the mine. The two bowed their heads together with pale faces.

"Kuku. Anyway, you should definitely come. See you later."

With a nasty smile on his face at the sight of them, Lute left the place.

◇◇◇

After moving from Rick and his sister's store, Lute was looking for a certain someone.

"There you are. I've been looking for you."

“Huh? Wait…isn’t that you boy. What’s going on?”

"Wasn't there any other way to refer to me, you idiot?"

I found that person, one of my subordinates who was on guard duty, and conveyed the requirement to be casual as if chatting.

"... Well, okay. I have two things to tell you. Turn the other way."

"I understand that, but can I ask you a question? What the heck is that cloth? Did you buy it?"

"Yeah. It's an imported product. I bought it because it had a distinctive pattern."

"What are you going to do with all that stuff? ....... No, it's your money, so I don't mind. So, what's the message?"

"One thing. I invited a sister and brother who work at a place called Uminekotei to the mansion. I don't think so, but keep an eye on them just in case they back out.”

"...... what did these guys do?"

"Because he was a pleasant person. Well, this is not that important. The important thing is next."

"Haa..."

Then Lute tells him. He says this in a casual, yet whispery voice so that no one else can hear.

“──Do you remember the pattern I showed you just now? I'll leave the personnel. I want you to keep an eye out for anyone selling this cloth at the invention market. And anyone else involved. But don't be too obvious.”

He ordered it as a grand duke.

"... Yes sir"

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