Chapter 117

Granting a Title (2)
"Princess, we'll arrive at the royal capital in about ten minutes... Are you alright?"

We were set to reach the capital about four days after leaving the village, but in that time, an overwhelming volume of paperwork had been thrust upon me. I felt like I might work myself to death.

"... I’m fine… Just a little more… A little more and… Ah, another one just came in."

More documents, mercilessly sent my way. Why were there so many? Well, it’s because we’d established a new organization. The Air Force had already been completely revamped from its previous iteration, and with that came an avalanche of documents.

"This one has calculation errors, that budget report reeks of embezzlement... What's going on here? And the format is completely wrong.

Oh, and this? The required amounts for mithril and orichalcum are over ten times what they should be."

It was a mountain of errors upon errors. Once I got back, I’d demote any useless bureaucrats. Why were they making mistakes when the required figures and documents had already been provided? The correct answers were right in front of them.

I marked the errors and signs of embezzlement in red and sent them back to the Prime Minister with a note saying, "Handle this as you see fit." That was the extent of my involvement.

"So, what is it? I'm really busy right now.”

Alicia snapped back to attention with a sharp "Ah!"

"Oh, right, we’ll arrive in about ten minutes."

"Alright. Once we’re there, escort Chief Marza to Perl’s shop to have formal attire made. Also, we need to address the attendants’ appearances—otherwise, they’ll be laughed at."

We had acquaintances there, and the Maids—formerly known as the Maid Trio—had likely already sent word. That old man’s skills were reliable, so it should be fine. So, it will be Baronet Marza from now on, huh? No, he’d probably go by his surname since that was being recognized.

“Ugh.”

A weird sound escaped me as I skimmed through a few documents.

"That’s not very ladylike. Where are you even pulling those strange noises from?"

Alicia scolded me, but it seemed the people from the Bureau of Technological Development were waiting for me once we returned to the capital. With a mountain of questions, no less.

Apparently, they’d realized the importance of magic formulas—not just completed spells, but the very foundations of magic.

In this world, the primary focus of magic is learning the spells themselves, leaving little room for improving the magic formulas. Each school of magic tweaks its formulas, but they never share them with outsiders. This has led to a mess of inefficient spells. Each school hides its formulas by adding extra layers, and later magicians, in turn, add even more. It’s almost laughable. Even just sorting through this would improve magic consumption and control.

And it seemed they’d finally reached that conclusion.

"But they’re so inconsiderate, interrupting when I’m already this busy."

"Magicians typically don’t care about such things. Their own research always comes first. You’re no different, Princess, so please exercise some restraint."

Why would they wait during such a hectic time? Me? Oh, I’m a lady—I’d never do something so unbecoming. Besides, I get a free pass.

The airship arrived at the royal capital’s docking station. Anchors were fired into the ground from the rear of the ship, pulling it slowly into a landing with wound cables. Dock workers moved portable stairs to connect to the ship.

"Princess, we’ve been waiting for you!"

"Hold on, I was here first."

"Please attend the budget meeting. No one has any idea what’s going on."

"What’s the purpose of this formula? It’s linked to this other one, but we can’t figure out why."

About twenty officials, nobles, and magicians awaited my return with bloodshot eyes. Maybe I should head back to the village. But behind me, a line of passengers was waiting to disembark. I’d just get in the way if I turned back.

"Alright, alright, just line up. Civil servants first."

Magicians would have to wait. Their questions required detailed explanations, and that took time.

I couldn’t attend the budget meeting—it was too much. Instead, I asked them to gather materials from the department handling magic tools. It would’ve been best if I explained it myself, but they needed to figure it out on their own. I’d handed out a few communication devices, letting them know they could contact me for anything they absolutely couldn’t understand.

Other tasks, like purchasing materials, calculating required quantities, deciding on storage locations, and mapping out transport routes using airships, ate up another forty minutes.

"So, what is this formula supposed to do? If we remove it, we can’t perform consecutive casts of the same spell."

"It’s a formula for maintaining consistent output while casting the same spell repeatedly. Removing it would make that impossible. But good job noticing."

It wasn’t a particularly large or obvious formula. With so many other things to check, I thought they’d take much longer to find it.

"Does this mean that this technique allows the continuous use of other spells as well? Oh, yes! If we continuously cast this spell… marvelous!"

Hopper, the magician, seemed to have thought of a magic tool utilizing that technique, and he began dancing in delight.

"Yes, that’s right. Also, I’ve developed agricultural tools. I believe there’s a small experimental field in one of the other departments, isn’t there? It should be vacant at this time of year, so please check it out. I’ll bring the actual equipment and specifications there later."

"More innovations! Amazing. It seems I’ll have no time to sleep with all this excellent work ahead of us. No problem at all. If it means directly witnessing the things Your Highness has created, everyone will gladly participate."

A little too high-energy, aren’t they? And "everyone"—are they planning to abandon their posts? I hope they don’t get scolded for that… oh, wait, I’m their superior. Hmm. Well, research departments are inherently uncontrollable anyway, and I have the bad habit of immediately creating something as soon as I think of it, so even if I warn them, it would just come back like a boomerang.

In the end, it took two hours to finally leave the airship terminal after arriving.

Still, I was surprised. The researchers' abilities had begun to grow rapidly. Arland is a backward nation in terms of magic—its technology and knowledge are insufficient. I had planned to collaborate with Eibon to strengthen magician training efforts, but it seems that concern was unfounded.

These individuals have the passion to improve themselves; they simply lacked opportunities. The same applies to the Air Force. With this potential, they might exceed expectations. I need to reflect on my earlier underestimation of them.

Our next destination was the Perl Clothing Shop—the finest clothing store in the royal capital. The shopkeeper and craftsman, Perl, is someone I know personally. He also tailored Alicia’s formal attire here.

"I’m here~"

"Welcome, Your Highness. Everything is prepared. All that’s left are minor adjustments."

Out came an elderly man with white hair. He must be 80 years old this year. Although he carried a cane and his hands trembled slightly, he remained an active artisan and a preferred tailor for the nobility.

"I’ll leave it to you, then."

"I will prepare the finest attire."

The moment he let go of his cane, there was a *whoosh!* He swiftly pulled out measuring tools, needles, and thread, taking Marza’s measurements in an instant. Even he looked bewildered at his speed. He then grabbed Marza’s outfit from a mannequin and began making adjustments. Truly, a godlike display of craftsmanship. His skill is so fascinating that even the nobility hold him in high regard.

"Whew. That was excellent work. Would you also like an outfit for the lady accompanying him? Naturally, I’ll have another staff member handle the measurements."

"Yes, please. Also, the men with them need gentlemanly attire. They’d be laughed at if they entered the castle as they are."

The wife, though wearing something that could pass as clothing, and the attendants—future retainers—were dressed like barbarians. Letting them into the castle like this would invite who-knows-what kind of comments and raise doubts about the nation’s dignity. It’s time for them to look like gentlemen. To clarify, their personalities aren’t savage; it’s just their appearance.

"Me, too? Is it really okay for me to wear something from a store like this…?"

"We’re just lumps of muscle, though."

Marza’s wife, Lyrica, is very down-to-earth but a beauty who rivals my mother. Their son, Luke, is two years old and being carried by Lyrica.

The villagers we brought along were the equivalent of the village security team, so they had the most robust builds—physiques like my father’s. They seemed well aware of their muscle-bound appearances.

"It’s not an issue, madam. You are about to become the wife of a noble, so you must wear attire befitting your status, or you risk being looked down upon. The same applies to your escorts. Here, we also craft clothing for His Majesty, so we are fully equipped to accommodate physiques like yours."

Implied between the lines was, "Her father is also a muscle man." Well, it’s true. Regular clothes would just get distorted by their enormous pecs.

"But, what about the money…?"

"That’s not a concern. Everything has been arranged. Now then, my wife will handle the measurements, so please come this way."

Lyrica was escorted to a separate room.

The guards seemed to be fine with off-the-shelf items and were discussing combinations with the other staff.

"Is this really okay?"

As he watched the guards select their outfits, Marza asked hesitantly, realizing I had covered the expenses.

"It’s no problem. In fact, it would be a huge issue to bring you as you are."

After thanking me, Marza glanced toward the room where Lyrica had entered, clearly excited to see her dressed in beautiful attire.

But something else caught my eye.

In the shop’s most prominent display spot was a dress. And it looked like it was tailored to my size.

I felt like they were up to something. Noble attire is typically custom-made, and ready-made dresses are rare. There was no reason to place it in such a conspicuous spot.

Then, I felt a firm hand on my shoulder, preventing me from escaping. Turning around, I saw Alicia smiling brilliantly.

"We’ve prepared a new dress for you, Princess."

With those words, an anti-teleportation barrier enveloped the shop.