A Noble Has Arrived

With everyone's help, the treehouse was complete.

That makes another one of my castles complete. However, this one is fixed in place, so it can't be moved or stored in my Item Box.

Only the cabin sitting on top can be stored in my Item Box.

"Yay!"

Anemone was frolicking around on the terrace. When I opened the door to the room, it was filled with nothing but a bed.

"We're only putting a bed in here?"

"That's right. It's a room just for sleeping, and I thought it might be nice to sleep here sometimes."

There was also a table and chairs on the terrace, so we could read here and do other things.

Treehouses like this usually end up full of insects, but this world had magic stones that repelled them.

Once I installed the magic stone I'd bought from the old woman, the insect problem was solved.

"Come to think of it, snakes can climb trees too, can't they?"

"Fnya?"

"Well, with Boss here, we'll probably be fine, nya?"

"It's true that I'm not afraid of snakes, but... I should probably put snake guards on the pillars later."

"That'd be better, nya!"

Myaree really did hate snakes.

To eat dinner in the completed treehouse, I cooked below and stored everything in my Item Box.

Time seemed to stop inside the Item Box, so things like this were possible.

Today, I made curry at everyone's request. I felt like we were always eating curry, though...

And since today was a celebration for completing the treehouse, I decided to make hamburger curry.

I still had some calf meat left from the one I'd processed recently.

I put the calf meat through the mincer, then mixed the ground meat thoroughly with an egg and flour as binders, finely chopped onions, and a little salt and pepper.

"All right, Anemone, mix this into a sloppy mess and knead it well. Primula, make sure you don't let the curry burn."

I would make a version without onions for Bell too.

"Okay!" "Yes."

"If you're going to make it into one patty when cooking, you don't have to chop it so finely, nya."

"It's delicious even when made with tough meat, and some people even prefer it to ordinary grilled meat, you know?"

"As always, your cooking is pretty elaborate, Boss."

I made a dent in the center of the kneaded meat and cooked it on an iron griddle.

"It smells wonderful, nya!"

"It's killing me!"

The beastfolk couldn't hold back any longer, and drool began trickling from their mouths.

By the time the hamburgers finished cooking, the rice had finished too. I was the only one besides Anemone who ate rice, though.

Once the cooking was done, we all climbed up to the treehouse.

There was only a ladder for getting up there, so it would have been quite difficult without my Item Box—but that wasn't a concern.

I arranged the finished dishes on the table set up on the terrace.

For Bell, I opened a can of cat food in addition to giving her the same hamburger we were eating. Her hamburger had less salt in it.

"Kenichi—I would like to try some of that white stuff too."

"The rice?"

Primula had apparently enjoyed eating red rice the other day, which had sparked her interest in rice.

"Mnya! The meat is tender and delicious, nya!"

"Ohh! Tough meat that you can't even chew through would probably be delicious if you did this to it. But we can't go to all that trouble every time we eat."

"You can't make delicious food without putting in a fair amount of time and effort. Even that thing you two like to eat—the stuff Bell is eating—has been carefully processed."

The thing I was referring to was cat food.

"I see... But if we kneaded meat ourselves, it would end up covered in fur."

"You don't have to use your hands. You can knead it with a wooden spatula too."

"Oh, right. That's true."

"But there are also stubborn men who say you'll grow weak if you eat nothing but tender meat, nya."

"Yeah, there are always people like that..."

Apparently, this was a common joke about beastfolk men. It was true that it would train their jaw strength and might make their bites stronger.

"But when an animal takes down prey, it eats the soft, nutritious organs first, you know?"

"Yeah, that's true."

While the beastfolk chatted and ate, Anemone and Primula quietly ate their curry.

"Anemone, you're quiet today."

"You have to savor delicious food! Two things this delicious have merged into one, so today must be special, right?!"

"Today is a celebration for completing the house."

"This grain goes perfectly with curry! It's very delicious. Now I understand why you always eat it, Kenichi."

Of course, rice wouldn't become a staple food if it tasted bad.

"I suppose it would probably be delicious with barley rice too..."

Had I ever eaten curry with barley rice? I couldn't remember.

"People in town could eat food this delicious too if they complained about the people hoarding spices and driving up the prices."

"That's right, nya!"

"But as Primula says, the people in town don't even know about such refined spice-based cuisine."

Primula was right.

"Boss said that not knowing you're unfortunate is a kind of happiness, didn't he?"

"I suppose so."

"But I've found out now, so I can't go back..."

"Me neither, nya..."

"Honestly, Boss's cooking is like some evil drug that captivates women."

"That makes me sound terrible."

I asked Primula how things were going in Santanka Village, and apparently production of dried fish and smoked salmon was proceeding smoothly.

It was only time-consuming, not particularly difficult. Even filleting fish didn't require any special technique.

Apparently, all the children and women in the village were working together to remove the bones with the tweezers I'd sold them.

As they became busier, they needed more hands. Even the previously isolationist village was recruiting new villagers now. They certainly didn't waste any time.

"It's a poor village, so once people realize there's new work and money to be made, some of them will change their minds."

"It's like giving a crying child a Linker and making it stop crying, nya."

Speaking of Linker, Linker wood could be used as smoking chips when making smoked salmon.

I was given some chips too and smelled them. They had an aroma very similar to apple chips, so they were more than suitable for smoking.

Dried fish and smoked salmon also seemed to be selling well. Since the lake was quite large, they probably wouldn't run out of fish.

------◇◇◇------

Primula's shop was doing well. The wholesale trade in Santanka's processed fish was thriving too. Peace reigned around the house—

Then, one afternoon, a boat came from the lake.

I took binoculars out of my Item Box and looked through them.

A woman in a white dress was aboard. Behind her were two knights. They wore nearly full suits of armor without helmets and had swords at their sides.

There was also a tall woman wearing a cape and showing her navel—

The long skirt seemed to have a slit in it, revealing a pale, shapely thigh.

In this world, showing one's navel or legs was considered immodest, and ordinary people didn't dress that way.

People who deliberately dressed like that were mages.

The woman sitting at the front—the white dress was plain, but it was clearly quite expensive, not something the people of the city could wear.

Besides, anyone with knights serving as guards clearly wasn't of ordinary status.

I could also see Primula and Nyamena aboard the boat behind them.

The woman in the dress appeared to be a noble.

When the boat reached the shore, I hurried over.

Even though I knew someone of high status had come, I couldn't simply ignore her.

Whatever the reason, she'd come all the way here.

Since Primula was with her, she was probably connected to the viscount who ruled this land.

I decided to welcome her, but when the boat reached the shore, Primula and Nyamena jumped into the water and hurried over to me.

"Um, Kenichi! About that..."

"Yeah, yeah, I understand. I can pretty much guess what happened."

Beside the boat, the two knights knelt in the water and became a human bridge, serving as stepping stones for the woman who appeared to be a noble.

Finally, led by the navel-baring woman who seemed to be a mage, the white bird stepped ashore.

She was elegant and alluring—she definitely gave off an air unlike that of an ordinary woman.

Her braided golden hair was gathered at the back, and her white dress, cut low across the chest, fluttered in the lakeside breeze.

It was probably a dress for going out, but it was finer than anything I'd ever seen in the city.

She stared intently at me with eyes the same color as the lake.

I approached the woman and knelt.

"Welcome to this place. I am Kenichi, a merchant and the head of this settlement. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Hmm—Kanan le Eupatorium, principal wife of Viscount Eupatorium. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

Ah, so she was the viscount's wife after all. What had brought her all the way out here?

As befitted a nobleman's wife, she was certainly beautiful. The profile I'd glimpsed looked very much like the portrait engraved on the cameo Primula had taken to her.

She looked to be in her early thirties—but was it my imagination, or did her beautiful eyes seem lonely?

For the time being, I led her to the front of the house and brought a table outside.

There was nothing inside but beds, after all.

"I apologize, but our house is small, and there is nothing inside but beds."

"I do not mind."

I offered her a chair, and the viscount's wife sat down.

To her right sat a blond knight with short hair and blue eyes. The other knight was a young man with red hair.

The mage-like woman whispered something in the viscount's wife's ear. Her wavy red hair reached her waist, while her ample chest and slender waist immediately stood out.

In the direction they were looking stood Anemone and Myaree, both wearing wary expressions.

"Hoho, she certainly seems to be an adorable little mage, but we have not come here looking for a fight."

"Anemone, go inside the house for a little while."

"..."

Anemone and Myaree went silently inside without relaxing their wary expressions and closed the door—or rather, they were peeking out through the gap.

I served the viscount's wife a drink. I hesitated a little, but decided on fruit milk. The usual ceramic cups wouldn't do for someone like her, after all.

I poured it into a simple glass tumbler and served it.

"May I ask what brings you all the way to such a remote place today?"

"Hmm—could it be that you possess an Item Box...? Kenichi...? An Item Box user named Kenichi? Could you be the mage who defeated Shaga's gang in Dalia?"

"I beg your pardon? I have no idea what you mean. In any case, what brings you here?"

For the moment, I pretended not to know what she was talking about.

"Hmm... We happened to be nearby. Besides, I hear you are involved with that splendid smoked fish."

So she'd traced the smoked salmon back here while investigating its source.

"Well, that is indeed the case."

"Furthermore, the villagers say they can hear the sound of huge explosions coming from here..."

Explosions carried surprisingly far. Maybe I'd been a little too flashy with them—there was no way to conceal this anymore.

"Ah, those were experiments with magic."

"Yours?"

"No, they were the magic of the little mage you saw earlier."

"What? That tiny child uses explosive magic?"

The mage beside the viscount's wife looked shocked.

"Yes. She possesses an extraordinary natural talent."

"Hmm..."

The beautiful viscount's wife fell deep into thought. Since a noble had asked, Primula must have been unable to refuse and had brought her here.

Primula herself was shrinking back behind me, with Nyamena beside her.

The viscount's wife thought for a while, but she seemed to decide she wanted to try the drink in front of her.

She picked up the fruit milk on the table and held it out to the blond knight beside her. The young man took a sip.

It was probably a taste test for poison.

"Hmm! This is delicious! Ah—my apologies."

"For you to lose yourself like that, it must indeed be delicious."

With that, the viscount's wife also took a sip of the fruit milk.

"I see. This is delicious indeed. What is it?"

"It is milk diluted with fruit juice."

"I see... It seems my instincts have not dulled. To encounter such a flavor in a place like this..."

The viscount's wife drained the fruit milk in one go, rose from her seat, and briskly headed toward the cliff, beginning to climb the gentle slope.

I stored the table and chairs in my Item Box and followed her. I really would have preferred it if she hadn't asked too many questions...

"What is this?"

The viscount's wife was pointing at a solar panel disguised with a camouflage net.

"That concerns a secret art of magecraft, so I cannot answer you."

"What?! You bastard!"

The knight put a hand on his sword and moved to confront me, but the viscount's wife stopped him.

"You—you are a mage after all, are you not?"

"I suppose you could say that."

The viscount's wife and the mage scrutinized me from head to toe. They clearly wanted to say that I didn't look like a mage at all.

The mage had apparently realized that Anemone could use magic too.

"I see..."

The viscount's wife came to the cliff. Naturally, there was scaffolding there for climbing to the top.

"W-what in the world is this?"

"It is scaffolding for climbing to the top of the cliff."

"Climb to the top of the cliff? I have never heard of such a thing."

"Have you never used wooden scaffolding or something similar to climb up?"

"Even if one spent money on such a thing, the return would be far too small. There are countless more important places to spend money."

"True enough. There is nothing up there but medicinal herbs and birds."

"Scaffolding made from iron pipes... To think you would make something so bizarre..."

The viscount's wife said she wanted to climb the scaffolding, so I took her hand and led her to the top.

Her hand was truly soft. Someone like her had probably never lifted anything heavier than a spoon.

Primula was a young lady too, but apparently she had helped load and unload goods at her family's business, so she had a fair amount of stamina.

The knight serving as her escort glared at me for holding the viscount's wife's hand—but what else could I do?

"Oh! To think we could climb so easily to such a high place! I can see all the way to the opposite shore of Lake Astilbe! I never imagined I would reach the Ageratum Highlands like this..."

Ageratum? Even the cliff had a name? And Lake Astilbe—so the area did have proper place names after all.

Well, a territorial lord should naturally know the territory well.

The viscount's wife was peering over the edge of the cliff.

"It is dangerous to go all the way to the edge."

"The cliff has collapsed..."

"That was an experiment with explosive magic."

"And what about the ground that has been dug up?"

That was obviously where I'd excavated using Ko○tsu-san.

"...That was my magic, so I cannot answer you."

"You bastard!"

The knight tried to pick a fight with me again, but I ignored him.

"Stop. If this man is not intimidated even by two knights and a mage, then he could probably kill us instantly if he wished."

"Tch!"

"It looks as though something with enormous claws dug this up... You seem to control some unknown thing."

"What keen insight you have."

"If you can use magic like that, would you help me—or rather, this viscount's territory?"

"Help you?"

"Yes, I beg of you."

Despite the knights' objections, the viscount's wife bowed her head. She must have been facing some very serious problem.

"Hmm... Since a noble has bowed her head to me, I cannot simply ignore her. Very well, I will hear you out."

I took another table and chairs out of my Item Box, had the viscount's wife sit down, and listened to her story.

From what she told me, the public works being carried out in the viscount's territory had fallen behind schedule, and things were looking bad.

It was a public project ordered by the king and being carried out jointly with other territories: the construction of an irrigation canal.

Apparently, they were building a vast irrigation network across the tangled boundaries between noble territories to increase the amount of farmland.

This was not some flimsy ditch like the gutters beside a road.

Because of that, while the other noble territories were completing their irrigation canals as planned, the fact that only this viscount's territory couldn't finish its work was becoming a matter of honor.

Well, that made sense. Of the other noble territories, the County of Asclepius, where Dalia was located, apparently wasn't participating in this project.

There was a large forest between them. Clearing it by hand without heavy machinery would be extremely difficult.

According to the viscount's wife, about three leagues (5 km) of construction remained. They had to complete it within a month.

I see. They were digging the irrigation canal by hand... How much distance could a large workforce dig in a single day?

If they could manage about fifty meters—then they would dig 1.5 kilometers in a month. That wouldn't be enough.

Even at a hundred meters a day, they would only manage three kilometers, so it would be difficult.

"Please, I beg of you! Is there nothing you can do?"

The viscount's wife bowed again. But if she wanted to discuss something like this, shouldn't the territorial lord—the viscount himself—have come?

"Where is Viscount Eupatorium during this crisis?"

"The viscount is away in the royal capital. He was summoned there unexpectedly."

If a noble was summoned, it was probably an order or request from the country—in other words, from the king.

It was strange for that to happen during such a busy period... Could he have been caught in some scheme?

According to the viscount's wife, there were also few useful retainers. It seemed that failing to cultivate talent had come back to haunt them.

I could easily imagine the viscount's wife struggling with no knowledge of public works while the viscount, who should have been leading from the front, was away.

"If you want a reward, name anything you wish. Even my body will do!"

The knights hurried to stop her. She must have been desperate enough not to care about appearances.

"That will not be necessary. Would it be possible for you to prepare something else as a reward besides gold coins?"

"What? You do not want my body... and you want something other than gold coins?"

The viscount's wife seemed shocked by my words and froze for a while, but then she appeared to think of something.

"If you are a mage too, you must be interested in grimoires, yes?"

"Oh? What sort of grimoire?"

"High Protection."

Naturally, it was a spell I'd never heard of before. But I heard Nyamena's voice from behind me.

"High Protection? Are you serious?"

"Nyamena, do you know it?"

I turned around to confirm with her.

"It was developed in the Empire, so there should be extremely few grimoires containing it. I once saw a Grand Magus from the royal capital use it when a great monster subjugation was carried out in neighboring Akimenes."

According to Nyamena, it was an advanced defensive spell that could supposedly even block a dragon's breath—though she didn't know whether that was true.

If that was true, it was an incredible treasure. I definitely wanted Anemone to use it.

Of course, that was assuming she possessed the talent for it. And a grimoire that rare would surely be worth a great deal.

In other words, it was a treasure.

But whether to accept the request or not—that was the question.