C68
"Lady Mia. Perhaps, could you give me a handkerchief?" Diery Orge said in an awkward tone.
The place where Mia volunteered was right near the headquarters of the Black Knights, so he came to visit her personally during her break.
"A handkerchief?"
"Well, I'm going to participate in the jousting tournament that takes place every year on the birthday of the first emperor..."
While Mia looked at him with big, clear eyes, Diery rubbed his neck and dragged out the words.
He, who had devoted himself solely to swords, wasn't good at talking to women. It was even more awkward because he was in front of a lady, who gave him a good impression for the first time.
"I only have this handkerchief at the moment."
"Ah..."
Mia, who held the blood-stained handkerchief of the patient, applauded while thinking of a good idea.
"Can I give it to you on the day of the match? I'll prepare a clean handkerchief."
"You can do that."
As soon as he received the promise, Diery disappeared with a resolute expression, and Mia reported what had happened today to Madame Ophelia.
In fact, there was a new handkerchief inside her skirt, but she didn't give it to him on purpose.
"Diery Orge is a strong candidate for the jousting tournament, so it would be better to give him the handkerchief directly on the day of the match."
Madame Ophelia praised her after a long time.
It's going well as planned.
Mia had been making some effort lately, as if she had been stimulated after the Spring Flower Festival.
But it only felt good for a while, and the news that reached her ears that night through Madame Ophelia shocked her fiercely.
"Did you say that Deborah Seymour took first place as a student at the Academy?"
The top-ranking at the Academy would make an official announcement at the end of the holidays and the start of the new semester, but if you wanted to know who got it, you could find out at any time.
And Ophelia had surely hoped that the top student would be Mia Binoche.
"Why in the world?"
How could this happen?
I tried my hardest to make Mia's divine power known to everyone!
They even went out to display their healing powers the moment the head bishop came out for missionary work.
And in that way, let the temple recognize Mia.
She thought her reputation and ability were far ahead of Deborah Seymour, so she couldn't believe it.
"Deborah Seymour has half a cent, and she doesn't even know how to handle mana, so how did she become the best in the magic department? Did she get special treatment because she's a Seymour?"
As she frowned, she wiped the blood off her fingertips with a handkerchief and clenched her teeth.
-----------------
Meanwhile, Duke Seymour was also surprised to learn that Deborah was the best.
"Really?"
"That's right. Last night, a letter arrived from the Academy president to the princess, and I heard it from the professor."
"Hm."
"Congratulations. Both young masters also took first place before. Seymour's prestige is increasing day by day."
Duke Seymour, who was listening to the assistant's report, suddenly tilted his head.
"But why didn't that girl inform me of this immediately? She can be proud of it."
The assistant hesitated for a moment at the duke's murmur and then spoke.
"Your Excellency. Lately, the princess has been showing outstanding achievements."
"True."
"I heard that, despite the situation she could be proud of, she doesn't boast to others. Instead, she's sharing knowledge with the mages in a modest yet proud manner."
"Mmm... You mean that girl is showing me the virtues of humility right now, isn't she?"
"That's correct."
Not using vanity and boasting to others means that she has gained a lot of self-confidence.
Deborah's insignificant behavior was exaggerated to the maximum, and the Duke rubbed his chin with a serious expression.
"Certainly, that girl hasn't given me any worries recently. She also knows how to move her limbs and has become intelligent."
Duke Seymour thought that his daughter's biggest weakness was her human network.
Despite being the princess of Seymour, she didn't have other people who believed in her and followed her.
However, recently, her long-standing convictions have wavered.
She gave her subordinates selected from the academy a chance to showcase their abilities, and she even displayed the ability to put her limbs in key positions with excellent ideas.
As expected, she has grown. If it were before, she would have asked for rare jewels and an extraordinarily expensive dress.
Looking further ahead instead of the reward in front of you.
"She's growing differently every day."
Duke Seymour smiled vaguely; however, Deborah might have hit the floor if she had heard it.
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"Aren't we going to reach 10 billion soon at this rate?"
Wearing a robe and looking around Armand, I couldn't help but be amazed at Isidor's influence.
"It has exceeded expectations."
The aristocratic men holding a cup while crossing their legs on the square fountain bench suddenly began to continuously increase.
There was a time when they made me frown, but now they were ugly guys who helped me in my business.
Moreover, they all seemed to have some money and were very interested in social trends.
"I intended to do it, but I didn't know they would actually imitate it."
But why are there also women following me?
There were women who often walked around the fountain with smoothies, so I felt strange.
"Ah, I see. It's the Isidor halo effect!"
I looked around and admired his influence, then entered the carriage after exploring the surroundings.
"I think it was a success to do a light demonstration."
Since drinks can be sold without space limitations, I definitely wanted this item to be a success.
In my previous life, when I worked part-time at a café about the same size as Armand, it was confirmed that takeaway sales were either similar to in-store sales or increased from 6 to 4.
If presented well, it was the only commercial item that could more than double sales.
Due to the good weather and the abundance of green gardens and parks, people in the Empire often enjoyed picnics.
Hence, the takeaway snack and cake packaging service was common.
"There's nothing that can't be packaged, not even drinks."
Wouldn't it be more convenient to take out a simple meal than carry a heavy tea cup and teapot in a basket?
That was the idea that came to my mind when I first thought about the café business.
So, when I was writing a contract with Arin Ossolt the other day, I included a clause asking her to study water-related resistance magic, specifically the "waterproof" function.
This was because there was a fairly large paper factory in the Khorun district, and the problem of takeaway containers was easily solved by using waterproof magic on the paper.
Arin Ossolt is a mage with transformation attributes who can apply preservation and aroma amplification magic to flowers, so I assumed she could also perform waterproof magic, and it was just as I expected.
I recalled the conversation with Arin.
"I think it's possible. To prevent the famous sword from rusting, I've seen in the library that a type of magic attribute similar to what the Princess mentioned is applied."
Arin said seriously.
"You'll need a lot of mana, right?"
"If it's an item that doesn't need long-lasting sustainability, it won't cost much mana. However, time is the biggest problem."
It was a disposable paper cup, so there was no need to maintain the waterproof function for a long time.
That day, I felt the need to hug her and run, but I couldn't do that to maintain my dignity.
"The princess is here!"
"Yes."
When I appeared with a solemn face, Arin, who was immersed in her research, approached with a pleased look.
I allowed her to use the space inside the mansion building where Seymour's subordinates reside for her research.
A pile of magic stones and paper cups rolled on the desk, and the research results were written on paper.
It's somehow impressive.
The smoothie was also a great success, so I thought I should give her more bonuses, but I saw a beautiful handkerchief on the desk and suppressed a smile inside.
I guess there's also a knight whom Arin is cheering for in the jousting tournament.
I'm a little curious to know who that is.
"Oh, please sit here. Tea, I have to serve tea."
I was in a hurry...
"No need for tea. I'll just check the research contents and leave."
She seemed uncomfortable being alone with her employer, so I predicted a sensibly quick exit.
"You must be busy lately because of the Tower lectures."
Suddenly, her large eyes welled up, so I was surprised.
"What, did I make a mistake?"
"Please take care of your health."
"Yes."
In the face of her heavy gaze, I mumbled and toyed with my cold, sweaty hand.
"Oh, and thank you very much for trying to have me officially hired as the librarian for the Seymour family."
"You showed so much affection for books that my father recognized your ability."
"Hehe. I'm very happy because I feel like I've truly become the princess's subordinate. Oh! I have to show you the results of my research, please wait a moment."
She brought dozens of paper cups and a board with the experiment results.
"This cup has the most spectacular mana-saving attribute."