To Keep an Eye on Me
As I was reading a book on the sofa in the greenhouse, as usual, Georges approached me.
“Young master Hardt, would you like some tea?”
“That’s perfect timing. Thanks. By the way, how do you get the hot water?”
“I fetch it from the kitchen.”
In that case, I told him to wait a little while, as I wanted to practice using water magic to produce hot water.
Georges looked puzzled, but I didn’t notice and focused on pouring hot water into the prepared cup.
Since I have a large amount of mana, I struggle to control the amount of water I produce.
Commander Arcland told me that this is something I can only improve through practice.
I thought this would be a good opportunity to work on it.
I had once wished I could be like the protagonists of the light novels from my past life, who could do things effortlessly, but if I wanted a slow life, it was better not to draw attention.
Focusing intently, I managed to produce a small trickle of hot water from my fingertips.
“I did it!” I rejoiced—only for a sudden gush of hot water to spill out, soaking the table.
Oh no! I quickly stepped away to avoid burns.
“Sorry, Georges! I messed up.”
“Young master Hardt… why are you able to produce hot water with magic?” He asked in disbelief.
Oh. I did it again…
***
“Young master Reinhardt, I heard you produced hot water with water magic. How exactly did you do that?”
The Arcland Mage Corps Commander asked me this before our practical magic session began.
I honestly told him that I just willed the hot water to come out while imagining warm water.
Because that’s exactly what I did. There was no complicated technique involved.
“In that case, I should be able to do it too. Let me try.”
Canal immediately started practicing.
Ever since the first day of magic practice, he had been training seriously. His learning speed was impressive, and he was apparently quite talented.
Since I’ve only ever practiced with Canal, I had no sense of how fast we were progressing compared to others.
I just wanted to master Water Shot as soon as possible so I could go to the Great Forest.
I was told that I couldn’t practice healing magic unless I could properly control my mana output.
So, I just had to keep practicing.
***
Since then, I continued practicing producing hot water in teacups.
One day, while training in my room, I suddenly wondered if tea bags existed here.
When I asked Georges, he said they didn’t.
That made me want them even more.
They’d be really useful when traveling to the Great Forest.
“Hey, is there a shop that carries a wide variety of paper products? If not a paper wholesaler, then a stationery store.”
I asked Georges to find out if there was a paper wholesaler in the city.
If there was, I wanted to go there.
***
“Why are you here, Raziel?”
When I went to get into the carriage, Raziel was already sitting inside.
“Of course, to keep an eye on you, Young master Reinhardt.” He replied with a smile—but his eyes weren’t smiling.
It was unusual for anyone other than family to board the carriage before me.
He’s definitely angry about something.
He had been relatively quiet recently, though…
“It seems you don’t understand, so let me ask—what did you talk to Brother Gerald about?”
“Oh, about Ripka’s perch. But that’s necessary, and it’s not something to get mad about, right?”
“Have you forgotten that you told him to ask Maria for help?”
Hmm… What did I say to Brother Gerald?
“Oh… the deodorizing sheet? Or was it deodorizing agents?”
Apparently, neither deodorizing sheets nor agents existed in this world, so Maria had enthusiastically created them.
Up until now, the only method available was to use wind magic to disperse odors.
She figured there would be demand from pet owners and shopkeepers, so it could be sold as a product.
I casually suggested that shops could sell versions with light scents like roses, lavender, or citrus.
“I am trying to scold you, and yet you keep coming up with new ideas. Worse, they’re actually viable. Have you forgotten that I told you to consult me before speaking to Maria?”
I had forgotten.
I apologized sincerely.
Apparently, they were really short-staffed.
“If you keep coming up with new products, we’ll have you help with the work.” He threatened.
Ugh. That’s impossible. I’m only eight years old!
… Though, I guess what I’m doing isn’t very eight-year-old-like.
… I’ll reflect on this.
What do you think about this chapter?
