Chapter 135 – Red Net (3)

“Guys, do you want to go for a walk?”

On a quiet afternoon, I went outside with my dogs.
Even though I forgot my name, I was still a law-abiding citizen with the awareness of being an Earthling.
In accordance with the Animal Protection Act, they were strictly wearing leashes and muzzles.
I don’t know if it will be very effective for these guys.

Perhaps because the festival was just around the corner, the number of stalls and temporary tents I had never seen before at the Academy had increased considerably.
Banners such as ‘Piercing the Target’ for the students of the Ministry of Magic and ‘1-on-1 Tournament Match’ for the Ministry of Magic were hung.
Students can also display their works or events during the festival period through the salon.
It was quite impressive to see students holding red flags handing out pamphlets that read ‘Parenzia Academy’s 1st Corruption Debate.’

“Crumbling… !”
“Kkkk!!”
“Uh——!?”

Just as I was about to smoothly pass through the front gate, the dogs suddenly cut off their leashes and started running somewhere.
As I hurriedly kept my balance and followed, what I saw in front of me was Darling, who was carefully examining the pamphlet he had received from the Red Flag Corps a little while ago.

“Hmm… “I guess I’ll have to get a panel.”
“Viscount?”
“Aren’t you the owner of the store? “The weather is nice today.”

The iron dogs naturally rub their bodies against her legs.
Darling took out something like a shiny cube from her pocket and put it in their mouths.

“It’s a big deal. “They don’t follow people very well.”
“That’s you…” … Nope. What’s going on?”
“I’m planning to go downtown for a while. “I have something to buy.”
“Because of the festival?”

I nodded.
Of course, just because it’s a festival, it doesn’t mean that the stalls can’t do business, but wouldn’t it be a shame to let it go like this?
There was a secret item that I had been thinking about for a long time for this day.
Darling listened to me, took out her pen and notebook, and began tracing her lines.

“Let’s go together.”
“You too, Viscount?”
“After that, there was no schedule… “No, there isn’t one.”
“Then the carriage…” …”
“Walk. “Didn’t you come out to take these guys for a walk?”

Darling naturally grabs the leash of one of the two and starts walking.
She got a lot of attention from her students as they walked with her.

‘Is there something planned?’
“There is no such thing. “In the case of a public debate attended by a jury, the formation of public opinion is very important.”

It must have been a question she hadn’t even said out loud, but I passed through the front door with her answering like a ghost.

A city that begins to come alive in cool weather.
Even the blocks on the ground, the trees along the road, and the neatly organized European-style buildings were all created through the efforts of the little girl next to me.
Darling’s humming sound, barely audible if she focused her attention, passed through her ears along with the wind.
The iron dogs subtly switched places so that their leashes formed an X.

“Where are we going?”

I quickly came to my senses and answered her question as I got close enough to touch her hands.

“First, let’s go to the blacksmith shop.”
“Smithy? “Do you want to buy a weapon?”
“No, a ladle.”
“?”

Yes, I have been planning to make and sell this for a very long time.
It’s Dalgona.
Due to the nature of the continent where sugar is more expensive than honey, if you make this and sell it, you will receive a ridiculous 100 gold per piece.
If you sell them in large quantities during festivals, you will earn enough gold to open another stall.

However, like with the microwave oven, the reason we couldn’t just have a plan and put it into practice was because there were two unexpected difficulties.
First, there is no way to obtain soda, or sodium bicarbonate.
This was a problem that could not be solved no matter how hard I tried.
How on earth can baking soda, the crystal of modern science, be made the same in another world?
Even if I were to find a skilled alchemist, it would be difficult to meet my request since he only knew the chemical formulas of a middle school student.

‘Still, there is a method I have in mind.’

If you ask Liv about this later, you will somehow find the answer.
There was also one more problem other than the production process, so I asked Darling.

“Has there been any talk of plans to create a video production platform led by the royal family?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I understand that there are no plans to distribute communication crystals to the civilian population because the amount of magic stones required to make them is horribly inefficient.”
“Thank god.”

It was this little Dalgona that brought down the Yagurt Empire, which had been unrivaled since its inception.
The squid rebels took advantage of the K-drama craze and gathered a resistance force to avoid the artificial intelligence Segway’s surveillance network.
If such a group were to appear on this continent, it would be quite troublesome.

***

“Hmm, you mean the ladle and the thin iron plate? “Take them for 1 gold each, and I’ll just give you the iron plates.”

A portable cooking utensil, a brass ladle, and several bags of sugar.
After visiting the blacksmith shop, general store, and grocery store, half a day passed by.
Since sugar is heavy, I told them to send it to the store, and now I headed to the fruit store for the last time.
And he pointed to a bright yellow lemon.

“Please give me five bags.”
“Store owner, aren’t you trying to manufacture and sell alcohol? No matter how much of a festival it is, alcohol requires a license and taxes.”
“I’m buying a lot because I’m going to do an experiment, but I’m not selling alcohol.”

Citric acid can be a substitute for baking soda.
It is a substance that can be extracted from lemon.
On the way back to the academy after finishing all the errands, I took the leash from Darling, who was clearly tired, and asked,

“What are you going to do during the festival, Viscount?”
“I’m thinking of staying at a hotel in Bayou Pavilion.”
“You’re staying there all day?”
“A lot of people will gather. If anything happens, problems can arise, so someone is needed to take care of the situation. “The chairman of the board will move around at any cost, so shouldn’t he at least stay in his place?”

It was Darling who spoke very adult words.
The sight of him making every effort to fulfill his duties as a lord despite his small stature always stimulated my protective instinct.

“Good job. “I will give you a dalgona as a gift.”
“Hmm? I don’t know what it is, but I get it. “There is an eve party on the last night of the festival, so enjoy it.”

Eve’s Eve.
It is said to be a kind of after-party event, and the fireworks that light up the sky are impressive.
This festival is hosted by Dube Magic Tower, so it is sure to be dazzlingly beautiful.

“By the way, store owner.”
“Yes?”

Before parting ways, Darling said something meaningful as he boarded the carriage that would take him to the mansion.

“Are you by any chance friendly with the saint?”
“Caroline? What… Yes.”

We exchanged cigarettes and recently had a meal together.
Recently, there were a few times when an evil spirit that I was sure had been exorcised tried to drag me into a secret room, saying it kept hanging around.

“Then she’ll be sad if something bad happens to her.”
“Maybe. But that won’t happen.”

If her Holy Kingdom or her Church tried to harm her, she would never sit idly by.
Even though I stole their sacred items, I don’t really avoid them.
I hid it because it was obvious that if it was discovered, it would be quite difficult to clean it up.
There is a right time for everything.

“… “I understand.”

Darling nodded his head with a serious expression.

“Remember that.”

The carriage disappeared from sight, kicking up a small cloud of dust.

***

“Beepee——!”
“Beepee——!”
“Beepee——!”

Ice ducks were taking over the concession stand while the iron dogs were out for a moment.
There were definitely only transparent white ones, but little by little, the colors seem to be becoming more colorful.
I thought it would be perfect as a replacement for an air conditioner in the summer as it gives off a cool vibe.

“Teacher!! “Are you here?”

And Adela, who had been depressed recently because I wasn’t around, came out of her cafe with a happy expression.
It looked like she was about to finish her work, so I made her sit next to me, saying I still had some work to do.

“What are you doing?”
“Let’s do a little experiment. Why did they change color?”
“I had a drink from a cafe. “It seems to have become quite famous, so customers are giving us fruit as well.”

I see, I heard sales are increasing explosively.
I wonder if related goods will be released soon.

I took out the cooking pot and started a fire.
When I dissolved the sugar in a ladle, it immediately took on a brown color.
Now it’s time to add citric acid and make it rise.
Let’s squeeze lemon juice into hot sugar and make it! There was a small explosion, but it melted to some extent.
She placed it on her small plate, which had slowly begun to puff up, and after waiting for it to cool off, she gave her a small piece.

“Try it once.”
“Click…” … ! Umm…”
“How is it?”

Since she enjoys everything, including pupa and mint chocolate, I thought she would say it was moderately delicious, but Adela just chewed the dalgona.
Then, after a while, he leaned his head on my shoulder.

“Now that I think about it, I made popcorn with the teacher during the magic competition.”
“I made it. “You ate.”
“He said he would teach me magic, so I called him teacher from then on.”

It was the first time I showed her my unique magic.
At that time, I was worried that if Adela grew up and realized her unique magic, my identity would be discovered.

“Then she also kissed the teacher… “Do you remember?”
“Okay.”

Aside from my old colleagues, there are only two people who know my identity to this day.
Liv and Lehel.
Even they don’t know exactly what a hero is.
I can only vaguely guess that he is stronger than anyone else.

“Do you want to do it one more time?”

So what about Adela now?
Does she, who has seen me closest and for a long time, have any doubts about who I am and what kind of life I have led?
Her hands, which smoothed the numerous scars on my body, have not touched anything since then.
Maybe he was afraid.
And I was also reluctant to tell her, who always smiled brightly, about her dark past.

“Huh…”

The second kiss, with the inner peel of a lemon chewed, was quite sour and sweet.
As soon as the soft lips parted, the distracting thoughts that had been confusing completely stopped, as if they had been frozen.

“Uh… “How was it?”

As she bit her lip, I thought deeply and answered.

“I think I added too much lemon juice. “Get dirty.”
“Right?”

Only then did Adella smile.

As I poured a spoonful of new sugar into the ladle, I started talking about the past.
Like adventurers sitting in front of a bonfire in the middle of the night and telling old stories.

“Adella, I used to be…”
“Teacher.”

Widely!
However, Adela’s hand blocked my actions.
From the chair across from me, blue eyes that do not waver even in the flickering lantern light stare at me.

“I don’t care if I don’t know who you are.”
“…”
“Even if the teacher is actually a really great person or a really bad person, I have the confidence to love you more than anyone else.”

She wasn’t afraid of the past my scars told me about.
It wasn’t something I forgot or buried in my memory as a past memory.
If Liv loved me even after knowing the truth about her father’s death.
Adella was saying that even if she knew nothing, she could still love me.

“I received all of this from my family. “Except for the Knights of the Blue Rose on the front lines, most of the land and interests are here.”

She showed me her letters, saying that she was the one who first taught her magic when she was abandoned by her family and no one cared about her.

“It was all given to me by the teacher. “Thanks to you, I, who was half a wizard, was able to come this far.”

And he handed it to me without hesitation.

Original magic, friends, family recognition, followers, and even an ice duck.
Everything surrounding Adela Sylvester changed in just half a year.

“I haven’t accumulated any karma yet…”

In the meantime, the only thing that hasn’t changed for her is ——

“Can I not go back to the dormitory today?”

It had to be love for me.