A Little Something to Look Forward To
“Maria, aren’t there too many straw huts?”
“I actually reduced the number.”
Apparently, from the many types of clay available, she narrowed it down to two. For the heat-conductive stones, three types. Two of the huts are built by laying clay directly on the ground. The other six have both the clay and the three types of stones layered between the ground and the clay. In total, there are eight straw huts.
“Lord Ignart said, ‘If it works well, it could become a local specialty, so give it a try.’ He also mentioned this area will be the center of the town.”
So this hot spring source area will become a plaza. I’ll have to ask Grandfather about his plans for the town later.
To the two people silently listening behind Maria, I asked while looking at them,
“Hey, are Raul and Natalia acting as your guards and assistants?”
“Yes. Mr. Raziel thought familiar faces would be more reassuring, and when considering people with farming experience and physical strength, these two immediately came to mind.”
… Or maybe Raziel just wanted to take it easy?
With these two, he wouldn’t need to run background checks, they already know our household’s inner workings to some degree, and they’re loyal to House Westland. Less chance of betrayal.
“Raul, Natalia, you’ll be going back and forth between the capital and the hot spring town for a while. Is it alright that you won’t be able to return to the village for a bit?”
“It’s fine. More than half of the crops have already been harvested, and thanks to the troll magic stone payment, we’ve secured all the supplies we need to get through the winter. We’re living far more comfortably than we ever could in our old country.”
“When we were offered this job, people in the village were envious. We get to enjoy the hot springs, learn magic from actual mages if we have time, and the mansion’s food is delicious.”
Well, if they’re fine with it, then I have no complaints.
They were looking behind me, so I turned around.
“Oh, the woman next to Brother Gerald is Diana Southcourt. She’s currently staying at our mansion with her grandmother.”
Upon my introduction, Miss Diana stepped forward.
“I saw you during the mock battles at the Knights Order. Your speed, your incredible jumping ability, the force of your swings—everything was amazing. I truly understood just how powerful the blessing of the War God can be.”
“I also watched your sparring with the female knights. Everyone said there’s no way to reach that level without training from a very young age.”
“Thank you very much,” she said with a bright smile.
Unlike how she was in Southcourt, Miss Diana has been spending her days quite freely at our place.
Her expression has softened more and more—changing from a distant beauty to a captivating woman you can’t take your eyes off.
Brother Gerald, you’d better confess soon or you’ll have more competition vying for her hand.
Before I forgot, I asked where the hot spring channel flowing into Grandfather’s mansion was, and Maria guided me.
Immediately, I opened a section of the channel’s lid, took out a long bamboo basket with a bamboo lid from my magic bag, and submerged it into the hot spring. Then I closed the lid back over it.
To keep the basket from drifting away, I tied a string to it and pinned the string under the lid.
“Hardt, what are you doing?”
“You’ll see. It’s a surprise.”
While waiting for the surprise to be ready, we inspected the straw huts.
Inside, some were only lightly white, while others were fully coated in white—there was quite a variety.
“I didn’t expect such differences. Testing all this really is necessary.”
“Yes. We’ll observe over the course of a month, compare results, tweak the better ones, and eventually find the most efficient setup. Also, I got an idea for a magic tool that will help us make bath additives more quickly after observing this area. I’m excited to compare the effects of naturally-made versus magically-enhanced ones too.”
I’ll just leave all the details to Maria. If it goes well, she’ll let me know.
After about 40 minutes, I went back to check the bamboo basket.
Opening the lid, I took out one egg.
It still looked like a normal white egg on the outside.
I was hoping it might turn black like the famous ones from my past life, but no such luck.
Peeling the shell, the white was a little softer than a typical boiled egg. I popped it in my mouth and found it surprisingly tasty even without salt—actually better than a regular boiled egg.
I was still lost in thought, thinking, Maybe boiled eggs are better for this area since they’re ready to eat right away, when I felt several intense gazes. I looked up—everyone was staring, clearly wanting a bite.
I’d put in 15 eggs. Should be enough.
After counting, there was exactly one per person, so I handed one out to each.
For Atre and the White Dragon, I peeled the shells myself, split the eggs in half, and gently fed them.
Since it was one per person, I repeated the process for each of them.
Ripka was being fed by Brother Gerald—he tore it into smaller pieces to make it easier for him to eat.
I thought Miss Diana might hesitate to eat it straight, but she boldly bit into the peeled egg I handed her.
“Oh, even without any salt, it’s delicious. Though the white is a little softer than usual,” she commented.
Just after she finished her egg, Maria approached me.
“Young Master Reinhardt, let’s make this boiled egg a specialty of the town. I think it’ll sell. And wouldn’t it be fun if people could watch them being boiled on-site?”
“Maria, if we’re going to sell them, I think it’d be better if the whites were firmer.”
“Understood. I’ll test different locations to see which results in an egg as firm as a regular one. I’ll run the tests along with the bath additives.”
She was already talking to Raul and Natalia about how to proceed.
Maria’s passion for her research really is impressive.
I told her, I’ll leave it to you—just let me know when it works out, and headed off toward Grandfather’s place.
What do you think about this chapter?
