Chapter 671

The Culprit’s True Identity
The students in the magic tool course couldn’t hide their confusion at the sudden appearance (or so it seemed) of Prince Kaldor, but the man himself paid them no mind as he scrutinized the magic tool device that had caused the argument, observing it from every possible angle as if licking it with his eyes.

“Umm, who might this person be...?”

The upperclassman from earlier asked this of Crown Prince Raymond, whom he had guided here.

Well, that makes sense.
There’s this foreign-looking man staring intently at the magic tool device they’re developing, after all.

“This guest is an ambassador from the Kingdom of Samonar. Apologize for your earlier rudeness and answer his questions.”

At Crown Prince Raymond’s words, the students scrambled to their feet and bowed.

“Th-Thank you for visiting. We apologize for the disgraceful scene earlier...”

Just as the student who had spoken earlier tried to continue with greetings and apologies, Prince Kaldor raised a hand to stop him.

“Ah, no need to worry. I understand that craftsmen and engineers each have their own fixations and aesthetics. Conflicts that arise in the pursuit of better results are inevitable, and entirely welcome. If you’re going to do it, you might as well go all out.”

Wait—did he just say he’s totally fine with fighting? Isn’t that kinda dangerous?

“However, a clash that consists of nothing but denial of the other’s ideas will not yield good results. You’re all intelligent; I’m sure you can think of many ways to resolve such disputes, and among them, you’ll be able to choose the best solution. Isn’t that right?”

“... Y-Yes, sir!”
“I have high hopes for the magic tool engineers of the future. Now then, keep up the good work.”

With a gentle smile from Prince Kaldor, the students returned to their seats with renewed enthusiasm and got back to work.

Uwahhh... I’ve mostly seen Prince Kaldor in what I’d call his natural mode until now, so seeing him act like a proper prince feels super weird??

But still, it suits him. He’s got that exotic good looks thing going on, so to others, he probably gives off that royal aura.

These students just got their efforts acknowledged and even cheered on by someone like that—of course they’d get motivated.

I mean, there were students who just a moment ago looked like dead fish, and now they’re brimming with energy as they work again...

He’s really good at inspiring people, or maybe he’s just used to being in a leadership position.
Come to think of it, despite being so young, Prince Kaldor is a lord. No wonder he’s used to it.

“By the way, what kind of magic tool device is this thing that caused the argument?”

As I was nodding along, convinced, Prince Kaldor had returned to inspecting the offending magic tool device from every possible angle.

“Ah, that’s a device commissioned by a café operating on campus for processing Lars. But we’ve been having trouble with the adjustments…”
“Eh—”
“Huh?”
“P-Processing Lars?!”

Processing Lars? That’s... a rice polisher, right?
The head chef said it hadn’t hit the market yet... Wait, hold on, a commission from a campus café... Isn’t the client totally obvious?!

“U-Um, y-yes. It’s a tool for processing Lars.”

Startled by our group of observers suddenly getting all excited, the student in charge began to explain, though clearly flustered.

“You insert the Lars here and channel magic power to operate it. It scrapes off the brown outer skin, then blows air to separate the inner grain from the removed skin like this...”

Ooooooh!
What he held up were polished rice grains and rice bran!
Whoa, these magic tool students are amazing!
To have developed this much on their own—amazing!

“Because there’s inconsistency in the scraping, we need to adjust the magic circles for more precise movement, and we also have to further miniaturize it so it can be installed in a kitchen...”

Yeah, I mean, it’s smaller than the coin-operated rice polishers from the countryside in my past life, but it’s still about the size of a large refrigerator. Definitely too bulky for a kitchen.

“Hm, yes, I see what you mean. The one at Duke Ellisfeed’s house was smaller and looked much more practical.”

Prince Kaldor said this absentmindedly, seemingly reminded by the explanation.

“Eh?”
“Duke Ellisfeed’s house…!? Of course—the territory that promoted the Lars-based diet... It wouldn’t be surprising if they’d already developed something.”

Now the students started to buzz with excitement, and they finally noticed me and my brother.

“So they already have it at Duke Ellisfeed’s...?! Norman-sama! Is that true?!”

The student in charge rushed up to my brother.
He noticed me too, but the intimidating presence of Kurogane and Mashiro standing behind me stopped him from approaching.
Sorry about my monochrome guard duo.

“Um... I wonder. I don’t really know much about what goes on in the kitchen. If you’re curious, I can ask back home.”
“Please do—”
“Miss Cristea!”
“!?”

Just as my brother tried to dodge the hassle and offer to provide info later, the focus suddenly shifted to me.

Looking toward the voice, I saw Ronnie-sama striding briskly toward me.

Seeing this, Kurogane and Mashiro quickly stepped in front of me and blocked his path.

“...!? C-Could you move aside, please? I have something I need to say to Miss Cristea!”

Even though his legs were visibly trembling from the intimidation, Ronnie-sama glared firmly at the two and declared his intent.
Eek... the guy’s got guts.

“You shall not approach my lord so casually. Stand down.”
“If you get all chummy with Cristea, we won’t go easy on you!”

Hey, hey, you two, stop intimidating the poor boy!!

What do you think about this chapter?