Chapter 29 – Flowers of the North Sea (1)

The Lavier Mountains, which stretched along the border between Penheim and the Demon World, were a natural fortress.
It’s a steep slope that even a hellhound can’t easily climb in a dense forest that rarely gets light even during the day.
Above the castle, the flags of the twelve knights and wizards who protect humanity’s forefront are flying.

Throughout its long history, demons and monsters, whose physical capabilities are far superior to those of humans, have only crossed this wall twice.

When the mountain range’s defense line was first breached, humanity was helplessly pushed back to Penheim’s capital, Thessalon, and Monarch’s capital, Luvier, and was driven to the brink of extinction.
When it was breached the second time, all the knights, soldiers, and residents who were there sacrificed their lives to prevent the heroes who had already crossed the front line and headed toward Helzeb.

Before and since then, the Ravier Mountains, where the Hooksclaw Knights are stationed, have never been in danger.
But recently, soldiers began complaining of strange symptoms.
As the number of casualties requiring treatment at the temple increased for stomachache, nausea, and mild diarrhea, Wivlett ordered an investigation.
He glared suspiciously at the demon statue placed on his desk.

‘Could it be because of this?’

A bizarre figure of a woman with horns sprouting from her forehead and even her eyelids.
But I couldn’t feel anything special about the demon statue.
Just as he was about to get up after deciding that there was no way a mass epidemic could be caused by this, his subordinate knocked on the door and entered the office.

“Excuse me, sir. “I think I’ve found the cause.”
“Okay? “What was the reason?”

It had been less than two days since I was asked to investigate, and the report was faster than expected.
However, the content of the report was not that simple.

“It’s because of the water. “It appears that the groundwater accumulating downstream of the Ravier Mountains is contaminated.”
“Groundwater is polluted? The reason is?”
“That is…”

The subordinate hesitated for a moment. Because the Ravier Mountains are at a high altitude, they are not easily polluted unless acid rain falls.
However, beneath the mountain range, the water that local residents use as a source of drinking water has a separate tributary created by the 〈 Grand Canal 〉 magic created by Terra during the Great War.
The fact that the water stream coming down from the Seine River to Lake Senrir was polluted gave Hublett a hypothesis.

“No way… “Roshiarga?”
“Yes, a report came to Sir Hans a little while ago that a piece of ice believed to be from Lake Senrir was discovered.”

As the lake containing many corpses of demons melted, poison spread.
The ice melted. That meant only one thing.

“You mean you’re going to move. What direction?”
“We have never been notified.”
“Is that really true?”
“Yes. “I sent a messenger to the royal capital to check, but there was no response after receiving a personal letter saying that the second daughter of the Roshoar family had won the battle against magic.”

Are you saying you want to go to Helzeb? But then why wait until now?
Rochear’s ice magic doubles in power in winter.
It is strange that they stay on the lake during the best time to perform their unique magic, but move around as the sun begins to warm up.

Didn’t the head of Rochear even say last time that she had no intention of melting the ice?
It means she has a reason to move on.

“First, contact the temple and have them dispatch purification water and a priest.”
“What about the demon’s corpse?”
“I have to get it out. If you leave it like this, all the water will rot. “Inform nearby residents of the fact and ask them to actively cooperate.”

The subordinate walked out with an expression that said, “I’m screwed.” We are already feeling weak due to the enormous amount of public support that will come in the future.
After he left, Hubblet sat down on the chair again, this time looking at the dark red land beyond the mountain range—— Helzeb.

If Esther Sylvester had moved during this period, she would not have gone there.
I don’t know why, but her destination was different.

‘If it’s not the demon world, then… North Sea?’

Addenbury. The territory of Count Rocheire and her hometown.
It was the city of Fenheim, surrounded by an archipelago, where house-sized waves crashed ceaselessly.

***

“Adella, why don’t you go eat together?”

After Adela found out about her bullying, Erzébet cared for her a little more than she did for others.
We were the same age, and there was no difference in social status.
In addition, the fact that we had more contacts than others because we were in the same grade played a role, but for now, it was a pure intention rather than a political calculation.

“Is that okay?”
“Sure. Please follow me. “I’m planning to go to a restaurant downtown today.”

Erzébet hoped that Adela would adapt well to life at her academy.
From what she observed, Adela was not the type of person who lacked basic culture or was incapable of taking care of herself.

She was accustomed to using a knife and fork from the outside.
She folded the napkin neatly and placed it on her lap.
Even though her clothes were not tidy, there was a faint scent in the air as she had been washing them regularly.
With her frivolous behavior, she did not cause trouble to others.
Even after finishing her meal, she paid exactly her share of the bill.

“Adela? “Why does that flower live?”
“I’m going to have honey for dessert.”

The problem was that she sometimes did things that were difficult to understand with common sense.

A bouquet I bought from a young girl who sold flowers in front of a restaurant.
Erzébet desperately tried to stop Adela from putting it in her mouth.

“Please, Adela! You could just buy honey instead! “Don’t ever do that next time.”
“Yes.”

The downtown of Parenzia was crowded with nobles who wanted to enjoy meals and entertainment outside the academy.
The two people came out to the side of the road through the crowd and looked around to catch a carriage.

Eventually, a carriage stopped, and the male students in front of the two naturally motioned to them.

“Please ride with me, princess. And a friend as beautiful as the flower you are holding.”

Since the carriage can seat four people, Erzsebet did not think much about it and wanted to ride along, showing her respect.
But when Adela saw both of their eyes directed to her own breasts, she took a step back.

“No, I do not want. “I don’t want to ride.”
“Yes… ?”
“Adella!?”

The other person clearly looked taken aback by the direct refusal, which was completely unsuited to the speaking style of an aristocrat.

“I’m sorry, we’re not going to go to the academy right away.”
“Pi—.”

Erzsebet, who had sent them away first with countless excuses, got into the next carriage with Adela.
She gave careful advice to Adela, who was staring out her window in the narrow, rattling room.

“Adella, it’s better to refrain from such rude behavior. “You could have refused more gently.”
“Sorry.”
“Why didn’t you get on? “It was an opportunity to build friendships with students from the same academy.”
“I don’t like stupid people.”

Adela said that without changing her expression.
Even Erzébet, who had lived in a royal castle full of intrigues since she was young, was unable to read her inner thoughts.
No, I just couldn’t understand it.

‘Is this extreme self-loathing? … ?’

At least this conclusion was the best.
To change the subject, she blushed again and continued her conversation.
This time it was a slightly more lenient topic.

“Miss Adela, what do you want to achieve at the Academy?”
“Me? “Marriage.”

It’s not a story about inherent magic or magic, but a conversation with oneself.
It was a somewhat bold statement for a freshman to make, but it was definitely understandable to the Rocheard family.
No, rather, since it was the Rocheard family, Erzébet also had no choice but to be interested in Adela’s marriage.

Goyomado is not a picture book for children sold only in bookstores.
It is nearly impossible to organize and pass down that vast knowledge and difficult theories to future generations.
In other words, in order to realize the unique magic, you must have the skills and talent of an archer.

Erzebet agreed with the old saying that there is no magic under a charm, but there has been no wizard in the history of the kingdom who has succeeded in transmitting unique magic to his children.

The only exception is Rochear.
A unique madoran that is passed down mainly through blood relatives. It is a characteristic that is shocking just to hear.
Of course, skill level will vary depending on the individual, but…

Anyway, that’s why Adela’s marriage meant more than simply finding a partner.
If two huge families merge, that alone will change the power structure of the kingdom.

Wouldn’t his political standing be further enhanced if he created some kind of debt by helping her get married, or if he arranged a marriage with a family friendly to the royal family?
Erzsebet’s head spun.

“You must be a nobleman with the rank of earl or higher.”
“Okay. Well, of course. “The flowers of the North Sea are so delicate that an informal person can look at them.”
“That’s right. “I don’t like stupid people.”
“Actually, I am like that too. However, each person has his or her own position and role.”

Now it seems like we’re making a little sense.
The moment when a kind smile appeared on Erzsebet’s face——

“So, princess.”
“Yes?”
“Mr. Lewis, can’t you make me count?”

Shake!

The carriage shook violently as it passed along a flat brick road with no hollows.

***

Construction is finally finished. The second store to be used as a cafe.

The interior decoration adds a sense of luxury, perhaps due to the use of red and dark wood.
However, like existing stores, the windows are large, allowing for good lighting, and there are plenty of lights so it is not too heavy.
Rather, it gave a cozy yet formal feel, which was a subtle touch of Darling’s taste.
Well, her aesthetic sense is quite trustworthy, so customers won’t stop coming just because it’s this bad.

“Tsk! “It took a long time.”

I hung up the sign one last time and swept and mopped the dirty floor.
Then I went over to the back door leading to the counter and put away the cleaning tools.

The maintenance of the capital has been completed, and the tea leaves and coffee beans brought in from the royal capital have been fully replenished——

Now all I had to do was open it, but there was one problem.

“Are you finished, boss? “Please help me with the calculations here.”

The number of customers in the canteen has increased more than usual, so Liv has no time to rest.
Even though it had been quite a while since she worked, she was at a somewhat gay level.

When I was sitting in the cafeteria all day, these people didn’t show their faces even once… Some students even said that they now knew about the existence of the cafeteria.
What are the rules? Don’t you read it?

‘Tsk, if this is going to happen, I should have hired a pretty part-time worker a long time ago.’

Income has increased noticeably, but this disrupts my original plan of having Liv work at the cafe and me taking charge of the cafeteria.
Moreover, if you expect more people to come in the early stages of opening, it will be difficult to cover with just two people.

How about being a little greedy and selecting one more person? I had a thought.
Okay. One day, we will build a store expansion comparable to the Yagurt Empire, but it is not a good thing for a ruler to worry about it as a short-term part-time job.

But do students really want to work in cafes? Even when we were looking for store employees, there were no applicants at all?
If it didn’t work out, I wrote another job posting and posted it, thinking I would just split the business hours and run myself.
To use a metaphor, it was the feeling of an angler fishing with lures without bait.

And immediately——

“I want to do it.”

Ugh.