CH 165

Chapter 165: I Was Invited to a Tea Party!

“…So well, as you can hear, Damsel Scarlet seems to possess the same memories as I do. However, she’s perfectly playing the part of being a young lady of the Ducal House Chaudgal.”

“Makes sense. Most would be compelled to do so if born as a daughter of a ducal family.”

I was speaking with Sword through the wireless transmitter, bringing him up to date on what happened earlier.

“I’d love to have a long, nice chat with her, so I want to invite her to Char, but would that be okay with you?”

“Sure. Want me to stay away?”

“Why?”

Sword laughed, “‘Kay, then I’ll sit in.”

＊

First I accepted her invitation to a tea party. Since I had been invited on a public occasion, I received a written invitation, before I visited.

“Damsel Scarlet, you have my deepest gratitude for inviting me on this fine day,” I lightly kissed the back of her hand.

I’m a woman, but…it can’t be helped since I’m visiting as a guy. Normally you’d have a maid – or a valet if it’s a man – bring a present for her, but I’m a commoner.

When I considered asking Sword to play that role, Swannyboy said, “I must become someone’s valet in due time, so how about I help you as part of my training?”

So I asked him to take care of that part. His manners were clumsy at best, but he was unexpectedly suitable for being a valet.

＊

“Here you go. …I somehow managed to reproduce some sweets. Though there existed some ingredients I couldn’t get my hands on,” she explained and encouraged me to try her sweets.

Hmm.

“Milk can be procured in a town called Gheenie. However, it’s only consumed in Gheenie because of the lacking means of transport. Malt sugar and honey are the only sweeteners I’m aware of. For nobles it should be simple to obtain honey. Malt sugar is easy enough to produce, but it’s a source of income for me, so I cannot sell the production method.”

Damsel Scarlet widened her eyes.

“…Milk is…I see. It does make sense, doesn’t it? I mean, its shelf life is rather short. Still, malt sugar…even now that you mention it, I can only recall it as a vague memory that something like this might have existed… …The cheat is strong in you, isn’t it, young man?”

“I’m not a man. Call me Ms. Indra, if you have to add any titles at all.”

Why does she insist on treating me as a guy despite me denying it with all I have?

“Do you know anything about ［Baking Powder］?”

“It’s not that I can’t make it. If you want to keep it simple, it’d be a mixture of carbonated water and citrus juice, right? As a noble daughter of a ducal family it should be simple enough to procure natural, carbonated water, no? But, carefully creating it in a workshop would be more comfortable on top of better-tasting.”

“Yeah… I did bake yeast-based bread in the past, but I never went as far dabbling with sweets. I liked the process of making sweets, however.”

Her articulation was gradually becoming more casual.

“I used to be crazy about fermentation. I made all kinds of stuff in that direction. As for ［Baking Powder］, I was curious why something such as ［Aluminum-free］ had appeared on the market, and investigated it further. As a result I found out that it used the creation of carbon dioxide through a chemical reaction between alkali and acid. That’s why it’s fine to use anything as long as it foams. Carbonated water will work as well.”

“Heeh!!”

Hey, a young noble lady doesn’t go “Heeh!!”, right? Your maids are surprised (despite remaining expressionless).

“…Umm, if your cheat works to such an extent, there’s another question I want to ask. ……Did you create ［Soap］?”

“Of course.”

“For reaaaaal!?”

Hey, your maids have started to become unable to keep up their poker faces!

“Calm down. I brought it with me as a gift. ［Curry Powder］, too.”

“H-H-H-How d-d-did yo-you m-m-m-manage t-to m-m-m-make s-s-s-s-soap!?”

“Ahh, I’m the type who explores everything. At some point I also researched how to make ［Caustic Soda］. I recreated that by using magic. …It might be possible to produce it normally if you build the necessary tools and equipment, but magic will be indispensable for most parts of it. After all, you need electrolysis. By the way, it’s also a truly strong poison.”

Hearing that, Damsel Scarlet was dejected.

“……Would it work with lightning magic?”

“No, it wouldn’t. The lightning magic in this world is no electricity. And it’s pointless if you don’t use magical electricity.”

She let her head hang, crestfallen.

“Now, now, I’m planning to build the facilities and teach workers for selling ［Soap］ in the near future. I’ll share my own soap with you until then, so don’t be disappointed. I guess I’ll pass you ［Caustic Soda］, if you can make it yourself. It’s very poisonous, though.”

“……If you have finished ［Soap］, I’d like to request that. To be honest, I never made ［Soap］ before.”

I see. I suppose you normally wouldn’t make soap yourself.

＊

When I tasted the black tea, I was slightly surprised.

“Hmm… This is quite good,” I blurted out unintentionally.

Well, it was tasty enough to make me do that.

“If you like, you can have some black tea as my thanks for the ［Soap］. It’s a black tea I had cultivated while using the full power of a ducal house.”

In short, Damsel Scarlet acts as supervisor, huh?

“Thanks. …As might be expected, I haven’t gone as far as getting involved with black tea. Our place is all about making liquor. All my servants love their booze, and thus they’re brewing while even growing the raw materials.”

After looking astonished for a moment, Damsel Scarlet giggled, “…Somehow you don’t seem to be a commoner at all. If I had to say, it reminds me of my chats with Prince Elias.”

Mmh? Why does she bring up the crybaby-prince here?

“…I’ll tell you the rest at our next meeting,” Damsel Scarlet said with a meaningful smile.