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Author:
すずの木くろ (Susunokikuro)
Translator:
Yukkuri Oniisan
Editor:
Online Grammar Editor
Chapter 95: The Scenery We SawThat Day
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It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession ofa good fortune, must be in want of a wife.
However little known the feelings or views of such a man may be on hisfirst entering a neighbourhood, this truth is so well fixed in the minds of thesurrounding families, that he is considered the rightful property of some oneor other of their daughters.
“My dear Mr. Nelson,” said his lady to him one day, “have you heard that GriseaVillage is let at last?”
Mr. Nelson replied that he had not.
“But it is,” returned she; “for Ms. Valetta has just been here, and shetold me all about it.”
Mr. Nelson made no answer.
“Do you not want to know who has taken it?” cried his wife impatiently.
“You want to tell me, and I have no objection to hearing it.”
This was invitation enough.
“Why, my dear, you must know, Ms. Valetta says that Grisea is taken by ayoung man of large fortune from the north of Japan; that he came down on Mondayin a chaise and four to see the place, and was so much delighted with it, thathe agreed with Mr. Valin immediately; that he is to take possession beforeMichaelmas, and some of his servants are to be in the house by the end of nextweek.”
“What is his name?”
“Kazura.”
“Is he married or single?”
“Oh! Single, my dear, to be sure! A single man of large fortune; four orfive thousand a year. What a fine thing for our girls!”
“How so? How can it affect them?”
“My dear Mr. Nelson,” replied his wife, “how can you be so tiresome! Youmust know that I am thinking of his marrying one of them.”
“Is that his design in settling here?”
“Design! Nonsense, how can you talk so! But it is very likely that he mayfall in love with one of them, and therefore you must visit him as soon as hecomes.”
“I see no occasion for that. You and the girls may go, or you may send themby themselves, which perhaps will be still better, for as you are as handsomeas any of them, Mr. Kazura may like you the best of the party.”
“My dear, you flatter me. I certainly have had my share of beauty, but I donot pretend to be anything extraordinary now. When a woman has five grown-updaughters, she ought to give over thinking of her own beauty.”
“In such cases, a woman has not often much beauty to think of.”
“But, my dear, you must indeed go and see Mr. Kazura when he comes into theneighbourhood.”
“It is more than I engage for, I assure you.”
“But consider your daughters. Only think what an establishment it would befor one of them. Sir Havel and Sir Nibel are determined to go, merely on thataccount, for in general, you know, they visit no newcomers. Indeed you must go,for it will be impossible for us to visit him if you do not.”
“You are over-scrupulous, surely. I dare say Mr. Kazura will be very gladto see you; and I will send a few lines by you to assure him of my heartyconsent to his marrying whichever he chooses of the girls; though I must throwin a good word for my little Lieze.”
“I desire you will do no such thing. Lieze is not a bit better than theothers; and I am sure she is not half so handsome as Jane, nor half sogood-humoured as Marie. But you are always giving her the preference.”
“They have none of them much to recommend them,” replied he; “they are allsilly and ignorant like other girls; but Lieze has something more of quicknessthan other girl.”
“Mr. Nelson, how can you abuse your own daughter in such a way? You takedelight in vexing me. You have no compassion for my poor nerves.”
“You mistake me, my dear. I have a high respect for your nerves. They aremy old friends. I have heard you mention them with consideration these lasttwenty years at least.”
“Ah, you do not know what I suffer.”
“But I hope you will get over it, and live to see many young men of fourthousand a year come into the neighbourhood.”
“It will be no use to us, if twenty such should come, since you will notvisit them.”
“Depend upon it, my dear, that when there are twenty, I will visit themall.”
Mr. Nelson was so odd a mixture of quick parts, sarcastic humour, reserve,and caprice, that the experience of three-and-twenty years had beeninsufficient to make his wife understand his character. Her mind was lessdifficult to develop. She was a woman of mean understanding, littleinformation, and uncertain temper. When she was discontented, she fanciedherself nervous. The business of her life was to get her daughters married; itssolace was visiting and news.
Mr. Nelson was among the earliest of those who waited on Mr. Kazura. He hadalways intended to visit him, though to the last always assuring his wife thathe should not go; and till the evening after the visit was paid she had noknowledge of it. It was then disclosed in the following manner. Observing hissecond daughter employed in trimming a hat, he suddenly addressed her with:
“I hope Mr. Kazura will like it, Lieze.”
“We are not in a way to know what Mr. Kazura likes,” said Zirconiaresentfully, “since we are not to visit.”
“But you forget, okaa-sama,” said Lieze, “that we shall meet him at theassemblies, and that Ms. Valetta promised to introduce him.”
“I do not believe Ms. Valetta will do any such thing. She has a thing for Mr.Kazura of her own. She is a selfish, hypocritical woman, and I have no opinionof her.”
“No more have I,” said Mr. Nelson; “and I am glad to find that you do notdepend on her serving you.”
Mrs. Zirconia deigned not to make any reply, but, unable to containherself, began scolding one of her daughters.
“Don't keep coughing so, Eira, for Heaven's sake! Have a little compassionon my nerves. You tear them to pieces.”
“Eira has no discretion in her coughs,” said Nelson; “she times them ill.”
“I do not cough for my own amusement,” replied Eira fretfully. “When isyour next ball to be, Lieze?”
“To-morrow fortnight.”
“Aye, so it is,” cried Zirconia, “and Ms. Valetta does not come back tillthe day before; so it will be impossible for her to introduce him, for she willnot know him herself.”
“Then, my dear, you may have the advantage of your friend, and introduceMr. Kazura to her.”
“Impossible, Mr. Nelson, impossible, when I am not acquainted with himmyself; how can you be so teasing?”
“I honour your circumspection. A fortnight's acquaintance is certainly verylittle. One cannot know what a man really is by the end of a fortnight. But ifwe do not venture somebody else will; and after all, Ms. Valetta and her niecesmust stand their chance; and, therefore, as she will think it an act of kindness,if you decline the office, I will take it on myself.”
The girls stared at their father. Mrs. Zirconia said only, “Nonsense,nonsense!”
“What can be the meaning of that emphatic exclamation?” cried he. “Do youconsider the forms of introduction, and the stress that is laid on them, asnonsense? I cannot quite agree with you there. What say you, Mary? For you area young lady of deep reflection, I know, and read great books and makeextracts.”
Mary wished to say something sensible, but knew not how.
“While Mary is adjusting her ideas,” he continued, “let us return to Mr. Kazura.”
“I am sick of Mr. Kazura,” cried his wife.
“I am sorry to hear that; but why did not you tell me that before? If I hadknown as much this morning I certainly would not have called on him. It is veryunlucky; but as I have actually paid the visit, we cannot escape theacquaintance now.”
The astonishment of the ladies was just what he wished; that of Mrs.Zirconia perhaps surpassing the rest; though, when the first tumult of joy wasover, she began to declare that it was what she had expected all the while.
It was the morning of the fourth day afterplanting the herbs.
In the garden of the village chief’sresidence, Kazura, who was wearing the same plain clothes as the othervillagers, was folding his arms and pondering while examining the pots wherepeppermint and lemongrass were planted.
It was because his prediction about theirgrowth was considerably different from what the results had shown.
By the way, the clothes that Kazura waswearing now were something that Valetta had finished sewing yesterday. Since the size was a perfect fit, it felt wonderful.
「Hmm, I thought it would end whenthey suddenly grew even more… Maybe this means that there’s no change on thefertilizer’s effect?」(Kazura)
The two types of herbs infront of Kazura, compared from the time when he bought them were indeed alittle bit bigger, however the rate of growth wasn’t that different from ifthey’d been raised in Japan.
As for the current condition ofthe seedlings that he had bought from Home Center, the Lemongrasses that didn’treceive the fertilizer displayed a normal growth, while the Peppermints thatreceive the fertilizer in their pot also had similar rate of growth.
Also, from the seeds that heand Valetta had planted together, only the Basils that germinated in largequantity, while the rest of the seeds, only two or three Arugula had germinated.
The seed that was planted inthe ground and the seed that was planted in the pot had the same germinationresult. The days needed for the germination was similar to the information thatwas written on the paper that he received in the shop.
When Kazura was grumbling ashe examining the herbs, Valetta turned up from the entrance of the residence.
「It’s different from the corpsin the village, the herbs didn’t get big immediately…….. Ah, the arugulahas germinated.」(Valetta)
Valetta discovered smallsprouts that weren’t there yesterday. She was immediately squatting down andtouching the small leaves with her finger while smiling.
Kazura couldn’t verify hisfirst prediction that the plants will have sudden growth, as for now the plantsseemed to have normal growth, so he decided to wait and see what will happen fora little longer.
On the spot where they plantedthe seed, there were several wooden board signs with the name of the seedswritten in katakana.
Although it was only writtenby Valetta using permanent marker, it was skillfully done.
「Hmm… Although I had expectedthat it would grow a bit faster. Well, even if they grow at normal speed,that’s still good.」(Kazura)
「It’s fine even if they grownormally. Let’s raise them with great care.」(Valetta)
Valetta smiled towards Kazura.After she once more tenderly brushed the arugula leaves, she then stood up.
「Since breakfast’s already beenprepared, let’s go back inside to eat. Since after when we eat we will assemblethe waterwheel, let’s do our best!」(Valetta)
Valetta clenched her fist infront of her chest to make a psyched gesture as she spoke.Kazura’s cheek naturally became softer and smiled.
Although it was regrettablethat the herbs didn’t achieve rapid growth, the vegetables that were planted inthe village’s fields continuously grew with amazing vigor.
Since that day, the potatoessize kept growing bigger, and the vegetables, that despite being planted lessthan 2 weeks ago, had already grown to such size that it wouldn’t be strange ifthey started to appear on the villagers’ dinner table in few more days.
The villagers were so filledwith vitality that it was hard to believe that this village was almost wipedout by the famine less than 4 weeks ago. Everyone was working diligentlytending on the fields or making the waterwheel merrily and with joy.
Compared to this, the matterof the herbs not achieving rapid growth was something trivial. Furthermore, sincehe originally brought the herb seedlings to this world to investigate thefeature of the change on the fertilizer he had brought from Japan, he didn’thave any intention to put the herbs into mass production.
Although he had some self-interestif the herb showed tremendous growth, but if assessing it from investigationpoint of view, he’d properly achieved his purpose.
「That’s true. Even if it couldturn a bit it will be good… I’m looking forward to it, but also so anxious…」(Kazura)
「If it can’t make a turn thenwe just need to review it. We can comfort ourselves by making hibiscus tea witha lot of honey.」(Valetta)
「Hmm, that looks attractive….eh, isn’tit only something thatValetta-san want to drink!」(Kazura)
「Ehehe」(Valetta)
Even since they returned fromIsteria, in observing the herbs or weeding the fields, in making waterwheelparts or studying after dinner, Kazura was always acting together with Valettafrom morning to evening, and the atmosphere between them had become even betterthan before.
The previous shyness inValetta’s attitude towards Kazura, was currently nowhere to be seen. It caneven be said that the frequency of a natural smile in her face had beenincreasing for the last several days.
Her previous concern in thematter of water and food shortage in the village that she had been hopeless for,had been completely resolved. Not to mention, she was able to realize her hopeto study that she previously couldn’t do, although it was very different fromthis world’s manner.
With her reason for concerngone and her wish fulfilled, for Valetta, her current daily life could be said tohave become extremely fulfilling.
「Everyone in the village was amazinglycareful in making the parts, so it will be able to turn. Besides, it’ssomething that Kazura-san designed so it will surely be alright!」(Valetta)
Because it was the first timehe designed a waterwheel, no matter how many “it will be alright”s he heardthere still some anxiety left behind, but it’s no use to think meaningless likethis.
For now, he decided to thinkoptimistically about finishing the installation of the assembled waterwheel,and if turn well then he could just remake some of the parts some way oranother.
「Yes, you’re right, it’s ablueprint that I and Valetta-san reviewed together, so surely it’ll be alright.」(Kazura)
「Yes, what you’re saying istrue, but I’m worried…..」(Valetta)
「It will be alright, don’t youagree?」(Kazura)
And just like this, Valetta wascleverly sharing a portion of Kazura’s responsibility, while both of themreturned to the residence to have their breakfast.
✦✧✦✧
After eating breakfast, Kazura and Valetta participated in the production of assembling waterwheelparts together with the other 10 villagers. With the pullcart had been fullyloaded with parts for waterwheel no. 2, they arrived at the river where theyhad previously installed the waterwheel from Japan.
The waterwheel that wasinstalled in top of wooden board reinforced waterway was even now continuallyturning and diligently sent water to the aqueducts that flowed towards Griseavillage.
Under the midsummer sun that wasshining incessantly, the floating water mist was twinkling as the waterwheelwas vigorously turning. Seeing that sight, someone among the villagers let outtheir honest impression.
「So beautiful.」(Villager)
「Then, we will assemble thewaterwheel. Everyone, I hope for your cooperation in this feat.」(Kazura)
Kazura called out thevillagers who were gazing at the waterwheel transporting the water. Thevillagers then immediately unloaded the parts from the pullcart and startassembling the parts while surrounding it.
Several days ago, when theywere assembling the waterwheel from Japan, they were assembling the partsfollowing the instruction sheet, but today they were assembling the parts for thewaterwheel that Kazura and villagers had made themselves.
Probably since the villagershad some understanding as they had made the parts, they knew which part fitwith which part, so it looked like their work had a splendid start.
「Then, Valetta-san and I will beginthe preparations to replace the previous waterwheel.」(Kazura)
「Yes, I will stop the water inthe waterway.」(Valetta)
From the pullcart Valetta tookout a 10 cm thick bulky wooden board and went to the waterway upstream entrance.Then she inserted the wooden board on the waterway entrance to block off thewater flow from the river.
The waterwheel that hadturning vigorously gradually stopped moving as water ceased to push its blade.
While Valetta was stopping thewaterway, from the pullcart Kazura took out two sheets of towels labeled「Shino Finework Company」. After confirming that the water had completely stopped, he turned thewaterwheel and dumped all the pumped water in the wooden basin.
「Since the sunlight is strong,even if we wipe it lightly, it’ll get dry quickly.」(Valetta)
Kazura gave a towel toValetta, who’d returned from stopping the waterway. Then she spoke while gentlypatting the waterwheel that was dripping with water.
「That’s true. But, let’s leavethe waterwheel exposed to the sun for a little longer. If our hand slip whilewe’re detaching it due to the moisture, it could be dangerous.」(Kazura)
To detaching the currentlyinstalled waterwheel, it only needed the cooperation from several people, butif their hand slipped because of the river water, it could cause a dangeroussituation like being crushed under the waterwheel.
Because of that it’s importantthat the waterwheel be dried. If they left it in the sun’s scorching heat itmight need about 30 minutes to dry it.
Though it was prolonged dryweather that had completely tormented the village until now, for this occasionit was a reliable ally.
While they were wiping dry thewaterwheel of water on the opposite side, Valetta noticed the letters on thetowel in her hand and then she stopped moving. She spread the towel open whileshe asked Kazura.
「Kazura-san, the letters 『shino finework company』that are written in his cloth,is it some kind of shop in Kazura-san’s country?」(Valetta)
「Aah, that’s the name of thecompany that my father runs.」(Kazura)
Kazura answered while wipingthe waterwheel, but Valetta was taken aback and changed her gaze from theletter on the towel back to Kazura.
「…… Kazura-san’s father?」
「Yes, that’s right. But, althoughit’s called a company it’s only a small workshop that’s only operated by myfather and mother.」
Kazura who was asked byValetta also stopped working and with his finger he pointed at the word 『Shino』 that was embroided on the towel that Valetta held.
「This 『Shino』 is my family name. That’s reminds me, even since I came to this place I’veonly introduced myself with my given name……. Is something wrong?」(Kazura)
Kazura was confused about Valettawho was looking at him with bewildered expression.
「No……. ano, Kazura-san,you……」(Valetta)
5 days later. Evening.
Kazura was on board a carriage with the armor-wearing Zirconia and was travelingthrough the Isterian farm fields while watching the passing scenery.
The carriage that both of them was boarding on was a stagecoach-type carriagewith covered roof.
At the front, Isaac and Havel were riding their Rata while guiding the carriage.
Following behind the carriage was the Second Corps of Noble Guards who werealso on Rata’s back.
「About the glass that you havegiven to us, the merchants had said that even the smallest one has a salesvalue of 20,000 Ar. If that many amounts of glass appear on the market, then itwill be inevitable that it will attract attention.」(Zirconia)
「Hmm…… Does the mined glass fromthe mine that rare?」(Kazura)
「The ones that similar to what Kazura-sanhad given to us are extremely rare. Although the northwest mountain region alsoyield obsidian, however, there are few finding of a beautiful one like Kazura-san’s.」(Zirconia)
A few days ago, Kazura handed several glass beads that he burned in hisroom to Zirconia and Nelson.
He had asked them to investigate the selling price and sales route, but asexpected, it will be inevitable that it will attract attention.
「Is that so…… Then, there are hardlyany means to sell it without attracting attention, is it?」(Kazura)
「I think that there is a way tosell it if it is not through a legitimate distribution. However, for a merchantwho can deal with that kind of amount…… It might be possible if they are merchantswho deal with stolen goods. But, since Isteria Province had severe crackdown ofthis activity, I believe that there hardly any merchants like these left in theProvince.」(Zirconia)
「Hm, I see. So this means thatshop will be quite important.」(Kazura)
「Do you have a place in mind?」(Zirconia)
Zirconia looked surprised at Kazura’s words.
It was unexpected that the always busy and moving around Kazura had thiskind of connection.
The fact that he had a connection with a store that sells stolenmerchandise itself was unthinkable considering his standing.
「Yes, I only know one store whoseemed to be that way. I think that perhaps we can make use of it.」(Kazura)
「Is that so. Then let's visit thatshop together. If you mention Istelle family name and order a transaction inexchange for their safety, that merchant will have no choice but to comply.」(Zirconia)
「Ah, no, if we pressured them toomuch, then it will cause them to run away or any bad idea, so let's do this in aquiet way.」(Kazura)
Zirconia proposed a high handed measure, so Kazura quickly proposed a counterproposal.
If he ordered the merchant to cooperate in exchange for their safety, theywill certainly be nodding on the spot.
But then there is a high possibility that they will go into hiding, or leakingeverything about the proposal to third party as an act of revenge.
「Since I am asking the otherparty to sell the glass in secret, I believed that unless we give some profitto them, they wouldn’t move like we wanted to. I believe that we need toprepare some reward.」(Kazura)
「I see, that is indeed true. I havenever done a tactical move like this……」(Zirconia)
Zirconia nodded as if she was convinced by Kazura’s proposal.
Rather than threatening them to obey, it is easier to give them bait sothat they are easy to handle in the future.
As long as we give them sweet juice to suck on[1],they would obey whatever we say.
However, they must be careful to not let the merchant get conceited by this.
「Anyway, how did Kazura getacquainted with such a person? I believe that Kazura-san usually don’t havemuch opportunity to go to the town by yourself.」(Zirconia)
「Umm…… Well, it’s a long story.」(Kazura)
While chatting about this topics, the carriage arrived at the planned farmingland outside the farmlands area.
A well had already been dug there. Its entire outer frame and its innersurface, too, were reinforced with wooden boards.
When Kazura and Zirconia alighted from the carriage, Isaac and Havel also dismountedfrom their Rata and ran towards them.
「Well, let's drill through the bedrockimmediately. Isaac-san, please hold this.」(Kazura)
Kazura took out the gasoline-powered engine rock breaker that was placed onthe corner of the carriage and handed it over to Isaac.
After that, he placed a gasoline-powered electric generator and an aircompressor that he had brought from the mansion beside the well.
He equipped the safety goggles and a respirator dust mask, while a yellowhelmet with the words 『Safety First』 was covering his head.
After he wore gloves and put cloth towel on his neck, his preparation wascomplete.[2]
「Take care, it will going to bequite loud.」(Kazura)
After Kazura gave a warning, he turned on the generator.
Instantly, the generator engine started to produce a loud sound that could evenvibrate one’s stomach.
Even when they heard the operating sound from the generator, the NobleGuards didn’t alter their expression at all.
Kazura thought that they would be surprised, even for a bit, but perhaps itwas because they were elite soldiers or something like that?
Kazura connected the air compressor with the generator and lowered the ventilationhose into the well.
The current well depth was about 7 meters so he shouldn’t worry aboutoxygen deficiency, but when the digging close to 10 meters deep, there might bea possibility of oxygen deficiency if he didn’t use the air compressor.
For a deep drilling work, the use of a ventilator is indispensable.
By the way, the hydro turbine generator in the mansion was already functioning.
Just this morning, the water channel and the aqueduct in front of Kazura’s roomwere finished, and so the power for the electric appliances that was used insidethe room had already been provided by the newly operating hydro turbine generator.
「Then, I will go down belowfirst. Afterward please lower this rock breaker with a rope.」(Kazura)
「I understand.」(Isaac)
「Please tie the rope tightly. Itwill be not funny if this falls into my head.」(Kazura)
While making sure Isaac understand, Kazura went down to the bottom of thewell, using the rope ladder hung on the well.
The bottom of the well had a combination of heated air from the blazing sunand the moisture from the soil, so it was considerably hot and humid.
Under his feet was the surface of the bedrock, but it was mixed with mud atseveral places.
「I will lower it down!」(Isaac)
「Please do it little by littleand slowly!」(Kazura)
Kazura received the rock breaker that had been slowly lowered and unravelthe rope binding it.
He pressed the rock breaker’s chisel against the bedrock and gripped thehandle firmly with both of his hands.
「Alright, let’s do this! Iwonder how long it will take……」(Kazura)
Kazura talked to himself while turning on the rock breaker.
✦✧✦✧✦
Four hours later.
After repeating putting the bedrock fragments and mud in the rope-attached bucketfor dozens of times, Kazura had dug he nearby bedrock for almost 2 meters deep.
The rock was very hard, and even to dig through it needs quite a lot of effort.
Although he had taken break several times midway, Kazura’s back was painfuland his fatigue had reached the limits from the unfamiliar work.
More than anything, due to the vibration of the rock breaker, he his handswent numb.
Just when he started to consider about stopping for today, he noticed thatcool air was rising from underneath him.
「Hmm? Somehow the air feelscool…… Perhaps water will soon appear.」(Kazura)
In the history book of well-digging he had brought from Japan, it waswritten that as one approach the water vein, the sound of the rock drillingmachine will suddenly change accompanied by a waft of cool air.
He didn’t notice it since he was half-dazed while drilling the rock, but whenhe tried to remember, he felt that there was indeed a slight change in thesound.
After he put his mind together, Kazura turned on the rock breaker again andresumed the rock drilling.
「Hmm…… Oh, it indeed becomescooler!」(Kazura)
As the rock drilling sound changed into a high-pitched sound, his surroundingsbecame cooler as if when opening the refrigerator door.
At the same time, water gradually seeped out from the bedrock.
Kazura, who saw the water, suddenly regained his energy and joyfully committinghimself in drilling the rock.
Soon, from the cracked bedrock spaces, a bluish fine sand layer could beseen.
Then, without delay, a trickle of water gushed forth above the sand layer.
「Oh, so this is the 『sea sand』. It is indeed looked like the sand on a beach.」(Kazura)
Then after he broken the rock and opening a 10 cm wide hole, water steadilygushed out.
Kazura turned off the rock breaker and breathed a sigh of relief, then he threwthe stone fragments scattered under his feet into the bucket.
✦✧✦✧✦
「Yes like that, lower it slowlyjust like that…… Alright, that's fine.」(Kazura)
Tens of minutes later.
Kazura, who came out from the well, ordered Isaac and Havel as they installeda hand pump above the well.
The wooden board base where the hand pump was placed was installed in suchway that it served as the well cover.
「Alright, after we fix it withbolts, it will be completed.」(Kazura)
Using an impact driver[3],the well’s frame and the base were firmly fixed with bolts.
Putting the primer water into the pump, he gripped the pump handle and movingit up and down repeatedly.
After he repeated this for a while, muddy water flowed out from the dischargepipe of the pump.
It seemed that for this depth, there will be no problem in drawing the waterup.
「Amazing…… If the water can be drawnthis easily, it will greatly ease the peasants’ work.」(Zirconia)
Zirconia shouted her admiration when she saw how the water was discharged withgreat force from the pump.
Since Zirconia had said that she was formerly a peasant, she shouldunderstand the painful labor of drawing water.
Even the Noble Guards, who were guarding the surroundings, leaked out asmall 「Wow」 at this sight.
It seemed that rather than the electric generators or the air compressors,the sight of water coming out from the hand pump was more astonishing.
「Since work efficiency istotally different from drawing the water from a well with a bucket. It also doesn’trequire much power, that even a woman can easily draw the water.」(Kazura)
「A-ano, could I also try it?」(Zirconia)
「Please do.」(Kazura)
Kazura gave the go-ahead to Zirconia who slowly moved to where Kazura wasstanding before and started to pull the handle.
At the same moment, water was vigorously flowed out from the discharge port.
Seeing how a large amount of water was flowing out from the pipe accordingto her hand movement, Zirconia leaked out a wow.
Her eyes were glistening like a child who had been given a toy they saw forthe first time and it seemed that she really enjoyed this.
「Oh, the mud in the water isgone…… Yup, this is fresh water.」(Kazura)
Kazura, who had been dripping with sweat due to rock drilling for a longtime, gulped the water with both of his hand and put his head under the water.
The water that came from underneath the bedrock was very cold, so it feltgood for Kazura’s hot body.
「Since we have this pump, everyonemight try playing with the water as well. The cold water feels nice.」(Kazura)
「Since I will pump it, everyoneelse can play.」(Zirconia)
「Zirconia-sama, I will do it. Therefore,Zirconia-sama, please have a try too.」(Isaac)
「Isaac-sama, I will pump it, soplease take a break first.」(Havel)
「No, Havel, you should be tiredtoo. I will do it, so play with water and take a rest ahead of me.」(Isaac)
「If it only pumping the pump, thenit isn’t tiring at all. Since I am in the lower position, please leave this tome.」(Havel)
「Isaac-sama, Havel-sama, wewill perform that duty, so please play with the water with everyone else. Now please,Zirconia-sama……」(Noble Guard)
「You do not need to be thatconcerned about me. I will do it, so please play with the water with everyoneelse.」(Zirconia)
「No, we can’t possibly let Zirconia-samaperform something like that.」(Isaac)
「Zirconia-sama, let me do it.」(Havel)
「No, I will.」(Noble Guard)
「That’s fine! Since I will bethe one who doing it!」(Zirconia)
「Won’t it be better if everyonepumps it in turn instead……?」(Kazura)
Kazura smiled wryly at the scene of Zirconia and the others, who startedscrambling for the handles for some reason, while being relieved that it was goodquality water that flowed from the pump.
“How good it was in you, my dear Mr. Nelson! But I knew I should persuadeyou at last. I was sure you loved your girls too well to neglect such anacquaintance. Well, how pleased I am! and it is such a good joke, too, that youshould have gone this morning and never said a word about it till now.”
“Now, Eira, you may cough as much as you choose,” said Mr. Nelson; and, ashe spoke, he left the room, fatigued with the raptures of his wife.
“What an excellent father you have, girls!” said she, when the door wasshut. “I do not know how you will ever make him amends for his kindness; or me,either, for that matter. At our time of life it is not so pleasant, I can tellyou, to be making new acquaintances every day; but for your sakes, we would doanything. Marie, my love, though you are the youngest, I dare say Mr. Kazurawill dance with you at the next ball.”
“Oh!” said Marie stoutly, “I am not afraid; for though I am the youngest,I'm the tallest.”
The rest of the evening was spent in conjecturing how soon he would returnMr. Nelson's visit, and determining when they should ask him to dinner.
Not all that Mrs. Zirconia, however, with the assistance of her fivedaughters, could ask on the subject, was sufficient to draw from her husbandany satisfactory description of Mr. Kazura. They attacked him in variousways—with barefaced questions, ingenious suppositions, and distant surmises;but he eluded the skill of them all, and they were at last obliged to acceptthe second-hand intelligence of their neighbour, Lady Lucas. Her report washighly favourable. Sir Havel had been delighted with him. He was quite young,wonderfully handsome, extremely agreeable, and, to crown the whole, he meant tobe at the next assembly with a large party. Nothing could be more delightful!To be fond of dancing was a certain step towards falling in love; and verylively hopes of Mr. Kazura's heart were entertained.
“If I can but see one of my daughters happily settled at Grisea,” said Mrs.Zirconia to her husband, “and all the others equally well married, I shall havenothing to wish for.”
In a few days Mr. Kazura returned Mr. Nelson's visit, and sat about tenminutes with him in his library. He had entertained hopes of being admitted toa sight of the young ladies, of whose beauty he had heard much; but he saw onlythe father. The ladies were somewhat more fortunate, for they had the advantageof ascertaining from an upper window that he wore a blue coat, and rode a blackhorse.
An invitation to dinner was soon afterwards dispatched; and already had Mrs.Zirconia planned the courses that were to do credit to her housekeeping, whenan answer arrived which deferred it all. Mr. Kazura was obliged to be in townthe following day, and, consequently, unable to accept the honour of theirinvitation, etc. Mrs. Zirconia was quite disconcerted. She could not imaginewhat business he could have in town so soon after his arrival in Hertfordshire;and she began to fear that he might be always flying about from one place toanother, and never settled at Grisea as he ought to be. Lady Lucas quieted herfears a little by starting the idea of his being gone to London only to get alarge party for the ball; and a report soon followed that Mr. Kazura was tobring twelve ladies and seven gentlemen with him to the assembly. The girlsgrieved over such a number of ladies, but were comforted the day before theball by hearing, that instead of twelve he brought only six with him fromLondon—his five sisters and a cousin. And when the party entered the assemblyroom it consisted of only five altogether—Mr. Kazura, his parent, and Mr. Kazura.
Mr. Kazura was good-looking and gentlemanlike; he had a pleasantcountenance, and easy, unaffected manners. His parents were fine person, withan air of decided fashion. His father, Mr. Shinji, merely looked the gentleman;but his friend Mr. Souma soon drew the attention of the room by his fine, tallperson, handsome features, noble mien, and the report which was in generalcirculation within five minutes after his entrance, of his having ten thousanda year. The gentlemen pronounced him to be a fine figure of a man, the ladiesdeclared he was much handsomer than Mr. Kazura, and he was looked at with greatadmiration for about half the evening, till his manners gave a disgust whichturned the tide of his popularity; for he was discovered to be proud; to beabove his company, and above being pleased; and not all his large estate in Elfriedencould then save him from having a most forbidding, disagreeable countenance,and being unworthy to be compared with his friend.
Mr. Kazura had soon made himself acquainted with all the principal peoplein the room; he was lively and unreserved, danced every dance, was angry thatthe ball closed so early, and talked of giving one himself at Grisea. Suchamiable qualities must speak for themselves. What a contrast between him andhis friend! Mr. Souma danced only once with Kazura’s Mother and once with Kazurahimself, declined being introduced to any other lady, and spent the rest of theevening in walking about the room, speaking occasionally to one of his ownparty. His character was decided. He was the proudest, most disagreeable man inthe world, and everybody hoped that he would never come there again. Amongstthe most violent against him was Mrs. Zirconia, whose dislike of his generalbehaviour was sharpened into particular resentment by his having slighted oneof her daughters.
Lieze had been obliged, by the scarcity of gentlemen, to sit down for twodances; and during part of that time, Mr. Souma had been standing near enoughfor her to hear a conversation between him and Mr. Kazura, who came from thedance for a few minutes, to press his friend to join it.
“Come, Souma,” said he, “I must have you dance. I hate to see you standingabout by yourself in this stupid manner. You had much better dance.”
“I certainly shall not. You know how I detest it, unless I am particularlyacquainted with my partner. At such an assembly as this it would beinsupportable. Your sisters are engaged, and there is not another woman in theroom whom it would not be a punishment to me to stand up with.”
“I would not be so fastidious as you are,” cried Mr. Kazura, “for akingdom! Upon my honour, I never met with so many pleasant girls in my life asI have this evening; and there are several of them you see uncommonly pretty.”
“You are dancing with the only handsome girl in the room,” said Mr. Souma,looking at the eldest Miss Nelson.
“Oh! She is the most beautiful creature I ever beheld! But there is one ofher sisters sitting down just behind you, who is very pretty, and I dare sayvery agreeable. Do let me ask my partner to introduce you.”
“Which do you mean?” and turning round he looked for a moment at Lieze,till catching her eye, he withdrew his own and coldly said: “She is tolerable,but not handsome enough to tempt me; I am in no humour at present to giveconsequence to young ladies who are slighted by other men. You had betterreturn to your partner and enjoy her smiles, for you are wasting your time withme.”
Mr. Kazura followed his advice. Mr. Souma walked off; and Lieze remainedwith no very cordial feelings toward him. She told the story, however, withgreat spirit among her friends; for she had a lively, playful disposition,which delighted in anything ridiculous.
The evening altogether passed off pleasantly to the whole family. Mrs.Zirconia had seen her eldest daughter much admired by the Grisea party. Mr. Kazurahad danced with her twice, and she had been distinguished by his sisters. Mutsumiwas as much gratified by this as Zirconia could be, though in a quieter way. Liezefelt Jane's pleasure. Shinji had heard herself mentioned to Miss Kazura as themost accomplished girl in the neighbourhood. They returned, therefore, in goodspirits to Gunma, the village where they lived, and of which they were theprincipal inhabitants. They found Mr. Nelson still up. With a book he wasregardless of time; and on the present occasion he had a good deal of curiosityas to the event of an evening which had raised such splendid expectations. Hehad rather hoped that his wife's views on the stranger would be disappointed;but he soon found out that he had a different story to hear.
“Oh! my dear Mr. Nelson,” as she entered the room, “we have had a mostdelightful evening, a most excellent ball. I wish you had been there. Jane wasso admired, nothing could be like it. Everybody said how well she looked; andMr. Kazura thought her quite beautiful, and danced with her twice! Only thinkof that, my dear; he actually danced with her twice! and she was the onlycreature in the room that he asked a second time. First of all, he asked MissLucas. I was so vexed to see him stand up with her! But, however, he did notadmire her at all; indeed, nobody can, you know; and he seemed quite struck withJane as she was going down the dance. So he inquired who she was, and gotintroduced, and asked her for the two next. Then the two third he danced withMiss King, and the two fourth with Maria Lucas, and the two fifth with Janeagain, and the two sixth with Lieze, and the Boulanger—”
“If he had had any compassion for me,” cried her husband impatiently, “hewould not have danced half so much! For God's sake, say no more of hispartners. Oh that he had sprained his ankle in the first dance!”
“Oh! my dear, I am quite delighted with him. He is so excessively handsome!And his sisters are charming women. I never in my life saw anything moreelegant than their dresses. I dare say the lace upon Mrs. Shino's gown—”
Here she was interrupted again. Mr. Nelson protested against anydescription of finery. She was therefore obliged to seek another branch of thesubject, and related, with much bitterness of spirit and some exaggeration, theshocking rudeness of Mr. Souma.
When Valetta was going to sayit, but Kazura suddenly turned his head back and noticed that the villagers hadfinished with assembling the parts near the pullcart, and so she leaked out asmall sigh in relief.
「Hm? What’s with me?」(Kazura)
Kazura asked Valetta back, butshe only made a small troubled smile and answered.
「Etto , let’s continue the talklater at evening….. Leaving that aside I just realized, but this waterwheelaxle is made from metal, while the new waterwheel had the axle and bearing wasmade from made from wood, will it be alright?」(Valetta)
She changed the topic.
Although Kazura was curiousabout what Valetta wanted to say, it wasn’t really necessary for him to stubbornlypursue her for it.
Since the topic had beenchanged, once again they were wiping the waterwheel as Kazura started to answerValetta’s question.
「Aah, I think it will be fine.The number of parts is a bit smaller than the waterwheel made from Japan, notto mention the amount of pumped water isn’t huge anyway, so the axle won’treceive too much of a burden. If we keep using it, it might get worn down, though,so we might need to buy copper or bronze from Isteria.」(Kazura)
While he thought that it mightnot happen, if the axle of waterwheel no. 2 really got worn out, then it mightbe necessary to detach it temporarily and remake the axle.
Thought it would betroublesome, they could once again go to Isteria to purchase copper or bronze,and manufacture the axle or bearing in the village.
Either way, because he expectedthe axle won’t became useless so soon, there would be no problem for it to turnby the time Nelson’s subordinate Isaac arrived.
When the necessity arose, theaxle could be made from whatever kind of wood, or the axle could be exchangedwith the one from waterwheel no. 1 or they could just leave the waterwheelaside.
「Bronze…. Could the villagesmelt that and make an axle from it?」(Kazura)
「It’ll be good if they are ableto, but it might be faster to request it from the blacksmith in Isteria…..Alright, I wonder if it’s adequately dry like this?」(Valetta)
They had wiped off a largeamount of water, Kazura looked at the waterwheel and took a short rest.
After this, they would assemblethe waterwheel no.2 while the currently installed waterwheel would be demounted,for that change it was necessary to dug out the wheel-bearing pillars.
Though it was very hard labor,since the villagers had been physically strengthened by the food that Kazurabrought, they seemed to carry out the task easily.
「Do we also need to help withassembling the waterwheel?」(Kazura)
「Yes….. However, it seemedthat they’ve already finished the assembling.」(Valetta)
Hearing Valetta’s answer,Kazura looked towards the villagers, they already finished assembling thewaterwheel.
As expected, since they hadmade the parts themselves, they could quickly assemble it.
「What? It’s true. Then, let’s takea break until the waterwheel get dry.」(Kazura)
「Yes, you’re right.」(Valetta)
Even if the new waterwheel hadbeen assembled, the old waterwheel needed some time for it to get dry.
Since there was no need to installit in hurry, they decided to take a break for a moment.
✦✧✦✧
After the villagers – who hadjust finished assembling the new waterwheel – took a break for 30 minutes and drankthe water from the river, they would detach the old waterwheel.
Kazura wanted to join in detachingthe waterwheel, but the villagers replied,
「If it just detaching it, wecan do it ourselves. Kazura-sama can take a rest.」(Villager)
Together with severalvillagers who weren’t participating and Valetta, Kazura watched the villagersperformed the task without a problem.
Thanks to the scorching sunthe waterwheel had become sufficiently dry, so they were able to safely removethe waterwheel from its bearing without their hands slipping.
They then dug up the bearingthat was fixed to the ground, because of their physical strength the villagers wereable to finish the task quickly, and they replaced it with a new bearing madefrom wood.
In the same way as thewaterwheel from Japan, because the pumped water was constantly flowing throughthe bearing, they could completely cool the heat generated from friction.
「Well then, let’s install thenew waterwheel.」(Villager)
The villagers who declinedKazura participation raised their voice as they lifted up the assembledwaterwheel that had been laid down in the ground.
「Finally the waterwheel that wehave put together will turn…… I’ll go and remove the board that blockadethe waterway.」(Valetta)
「Thank you very much….. Iwonder if it will turn properly….」(Kazura)
While Kazura was anxious aboutthe technicality, they had finished installing the waterwheel no. 2. After thisthey only needed to make the river water flow in the waterway.
When Valetta had confirmed thatthe waterwheel had been installed,
「I will now remove the board」(Valetta)
She declared to everyone andremoved the wooden board that blocked the waterway from the river.
The flowing river water pushedthe blade of the newly installed waterwheel no.2 and it slowly started to turn.
「Oh, it’s turning, it’sturning. The turning speed is irregular, though……」(Kazura)
The water wheel began to turn.Seeing this, the villagers clapped hands or bumped shoulders with each other toshow their joy, meanwhile Kazura was checking the waterwheel from the side withserious expression.
Valetta returned to Kazura’sside with a board in her hand.
「Kazura-san, how is it?」(Valetta)
「Hmm….. Yes, I think this isfine.」(Kazura)
Hearing Kazura’s reply, Valettashowed a smile of relief on her face and gazed at the aqueduct that flowed fromthe turning waterwheel to Grisea village.
Compared to the old installed waterwheel,the amount of water that was pumped was only about half, however waterwheel no.2 still properly sent river water to the village.
「Then, since we’ve finishedreplacing the waterwheel safely, let’s dismantle he old waterwheel now and thenreturn to the village.」(Kazura)
「Kazura-sama, can’t we justtake the old waterwheel back to the village just as it is?」(Villager)
Hearing Kazura’s words, one ofthe villagers that stood beside the detached waterwheel made a suggestion.
「Although it would be better ifwe transport it as is, but I think it would be too heavy to carry it to thevillage, right?」(Kazura)
Even though the separatewaterwheel parts were not that heavy by themselves, as a complete set theweight was about 400 kg.
Though it would be possiblefor them to transport it somehow if they took turns in carrying it, since thewaterwheel lacked places for good grip, it would be a difficult task.
「It will be alright, I thinkthat we can carry it in turns, right guys?」(Villager)
「Yea! We can just carry it justas it is!」(Villager)
As the villagers spoke that, 6people were holding the waterwheel that was lying on the ground – 2 people inthe front, 2 in the back, and 2 on the side. They then started to walk at asteady pace towards the village.
The two people on the sidewere only there to support the balance, so it ws only 4 people that were actuallylifting the waterwheel up.
The remaining villagers werealso walking behind the group carrying the waterwheel.
「Eee….. Surely each person needsto lift about 100 kg, but how can everyone still do it effortlessly…..」(Kazura)
「Kazura-san, let’s us also goback to the village.」(Valetta)
Kazura was standing still inshock, overwhelmed by this unexpected event that had unfolded before him, butthen he heard Valetta’s call and turned to her and looked at the lovely smilingValetta with his back drenched from sweat.
「A, ano, is something wrong?」(Valetta)
Valetta, who was intenselystared at by Kazura, became flushed red in embarrassment. Kazura also becameflustered and immediately dismissed his wild delusion of 『Valetta one-handedly crushing an apple』. Both of them start walking, following the villagers to the village.
✦✧✦✧
During that evening.
After finishing with dinner, asalways Kazura and Valetta sat side by side in front of the burning hearth andbegan their study lesson.
Today’s lesson subject wasabout the human body’s functions, they read the reference book and learnedabout human body’s anatomy and physiology.
Even though Kazura was alayman in this field, he still also studied it together with Valetta, butbecause it was obvious that Valetta was learning it swiftly, he felt slightlyoverwhelmed by her.
As of now, the lesson subjectthat was being taught to Valetta changed every day, it was a study method wherethey learn little by little each day.
From the 「classroom subjects」 like mathematics or physics to things like expert tea making or foodpreservation methods, Kazura taught various lessons from reference books orfirsthand materials and Valetta keenly absorbed everything, just like a drysponge, absolutely every little bit of the lessons she had received werecrammed into her head.
Not only she diligently takes notes,but it was also written in Japanese characters, as if she had already mastered thelanguage.
Both of them were reading thereference book, when Kazura listened to Valetta who read aloud the subject of 『If blood vessel is a river, then the red blood cells are the boats』 while he was frantically took a note, he remembered about that noon whenValetta had looked like she’d wanted to talk about something. After waitinguntil Valetta finished reading the reference book, Kazura asked her.
「Valetta-san, about this noon……」(Kazura)
「Kazura-san, plasma proteinis…. ah, yes, what is it?」(Valetta)
Valetta who wanted to askKazura about the meaning of a word she’d never seen before switched herconcentration from studying to listening to Kazura’s question.
「I remembered that this noonValetta-san wanted to ask me something, I’m curious about what you wanted toask……」(Kazura)
「Ah……」(Valetta)
At that question, Valetta’sface immediately showed a perplexed expression. She made some resolution in hermind and then looked at Kazura seriously.
Seeing Valetta’s seriousexpression, Kazura was wondering what kind of topic she wanted to broach and sohe readied himself.
「Kazura-san, you-…… youa-…… you are a human, right?」(Valetta)
✦✧✦✧✦
After that, everyone spent about 30 minutes merrying around the well and asthe sun began to descend, they decided to return to the city.
Starting with Kazura, everyone was playing with the water, so everyone issoaked from the top of the head to their foot toes.
Because there hadn’t been any rain, the air was pretty dry, so they shouldbe dried up before they arrived at the city.
「With this pace, we should beable to set water pump at one well each day. So on tomorrow too, let uscontinue this rock drilling operation for a while.」(Kazura)
They had asked well diggers to dig similar wells around the farmlandsregion.
Since Kazura knew that water will gush forth if he digs the bedrock to acertain depth, for the next time, he would just repeat what he had done today.
「However, since hand pump massproduction couldn’t be completed in time, let’s use a well pole until the mass production can begin.[4]The work efficiency is considerably lower compared with the hand pump, but it shouldbe far easier to draw water with it compared to a rope-tied bucket.」(Kazura)
A well pole or shaduf is a tool with a long pole in the center of a base, whichbrings up water from the well with a seesaw-like movement.
On the well-side of the rod, there is a rope and water bucket attached toit, while on the other end there was a counterweight.
Because of the counterweight, it was easier to pull the water bucket up, sothe burden on workers would be considerably reduced.
The hand pump installed earlier was removed from the base, retrieved, and onceagain placed on the corner of the carriage.
Kazura planned that the newly cultivated farmlands will use the hand pumpthat will be mass-produced in the future.
The two hand pumps he brought from Japan will be handed over to the craftsmenlater and will be used as a sample for analysis, and identifying how it works.
「If we can secure well water, thenyou can sow bread wheat or Rata wheat, right?」(Kazura)
「If we can use the well rodthat you informed us earlier, then the range of farming will be limited but wecan do it with a smaller number of people than before. Because of the watermill installed in the farmlands, we have a spare manpower, so we can put thesepeople to cultivate the new farmland.」(Zirconia)
While wiping her wet hair with a towel, Zirconia answered while smilinggently.
Although her mood was terribly high from the astonishment when saw the handpump performance earlier, right now it had returned to her usual calm demeanor.
Perhaps because the others felt that they were too get caught in the moment,when they moved away from the well they looked a bit embarrassed.
「That’s great. Then let’sexpand the farmland as much as possible for the moment. I will entrust theprocurement necessary manpower to you.」(Kazura)
「I understand. I will instructthe officials to make preparation.」(Zirconia)
「Also, from tomorrow, I willask Isaac-san and Havel-san to also help me and have them familiarize with the usageof the rock breaker that I had used. After we can entrust the well digging toboth of them, let us go to the northwest mountainous region to find a place tobuild a pond. Soon we have to start building the ice house.」(Kazura)
As with the development of new agricultural land, reservoir ponds and ice housesfor ice production also have to be built before winter comes.
Although he didn’t know how useful the ice house will be, considering thehistory of Japan's ice house, it should not be a useless attempt.
「I am familiar with thegeography of that area, so I can help you. On that day, I will be your guide.」(Zirconia)
「Oh, that is reassuring. Weneed a flat location near a river, so is there a location like that?」(Zirconia)
「Let’s see…… There is a villagehalfway up the mountain and not far from it there is a river. Because there arefarm fields no longer put in use there, we may be able to use it.」(Zirconia)
「That is a good location. Thenlet’s try to go look at it.」(Kazura)
If it was farm fields near the river, it should be a suitable location to transportthe water.
Even if they couldn’t dig canal directly, as long as they connected awaterwheel or hand pump to an aqueduct, they should be able to draw water intothe field.
「Also, I'm sorry to ask so alot of work from you, but I'd like you to gather 20 to 30 carpenters and blacksmithsby any means since I wanted to produce a machine for log sawing and metalforging that I had informed you before.」(Kazura)
「Do we need that large amountof people…… The craftsmen already had a mountain of tasks, so whether or not itis possible to gather them, is doubtful……」(Zirconia)
Zirconia frowned uneasily at the large number of people that Kazura asked.
Kazura also understood very well how the craftsmen’s busy situation, but asthings were at this point of time, they wouldn’t be able to work on producingmachine no matter how long they waited.
Though he felt sorry for the people who had put their orders on the craftsmen,for the future’s sake, he had no other choice but to prioritize employing the craftsmenbefore them.
「I think that the productionwill be temporarily delayed, but when those machines are completed, the productionefficiency should rise to the extent that it will be balanced out afterward. Evenif we have to put stop every other production, we have to put machineproduction as the highest priority.」(Kazura)
「…… I understand. I will try togather them one way or another. We should ask for Lieze’s cooperation too.」(Zirconia)
「That’s right. If we can gether help then it will go smoothly.」(Kazura)
For the past five days, Lieze was always at Kazura’s side and helped him inhis work.
He had visited the craftsmen's workshops a couple of times, but if he left thenegotiations to Lieze, the craftsmen will accept the job without making a reluctantface, which saved Kazura a lot of trouble.
Even in the negotiation that will be needed for this plan could progresswell if it is entrusted to her.
Today Lieze should have a schedule for lecture and meeting with visitingguests, so she was in the mansion.
At this point in time, she should be in the middle of receiving a visiting nobleor a wealthy merchant.
「Is Lieze that helpful?」(Zirconia)
「Yes, she helped me more than Icould imagine! She is popular, working her best in her task, and properly takenotice of her surroundings, there are no points to point fault at all. She is trulyexceptional.」(Kazura)
Hearing Kazura praised Lieze like this, Zirconia smiled happily.
「Thank you very much. That girlseems to admire Kazura-san, so please keep her at your side from now on.」(Zirconia)
「Eh…… sure…?」(Kazura)
Though he was somewhat curious at the Zirconia’s nuanced words, for themeantime, Kazura nodded at her words.
✦✧✦✧✦
「*sneeze*!」(Lieze)
「Oh, is it a cold? Even though itis summer, the evening will get cold…… hmm, your hands will get a little cold. So,move slightly closer to me ……」(???)
When Kazura and Zirconia were jolting around inside the carriage.
In the courtyard of Nelson’s mansion, Lieze was sitting on the benchalongside with a luxurious clothed middle-aged man.
The man's name is Nibel Ferdinand.
He was a merchant who came from the Gregorn territory.
「N-no, I’m fine…… Or rather, thesun already sinking, so you should return back to home soon……」(Lieze)
Lieze answered saying while releasing her hand from Nibel's with a slightlycramped smile. After that, Nibel pounded his hand.
「Oh, you’re right. Let's have adinner in a warm restaurant somewhere. The other day, I found a good place, solet’s head there today.」(Pedo)
「Uug-…… I mean, no, rather, pleaselet me treat you for today. We have hired an excellent chef, so they will quicklyprepare the meal.」(Lieze)
At Nibel’s remarks who completely disregarded the second-half of her words,Lieze felt the danger to her safety and then immediately propose acounterproposal.
She didn’t have a single inkling about what kind of shop he would take herto, but she didn’t want to know for what reason he was brazenly trying to makeher accompany him.
「No, no, until now, I have beentreated so many times by Lieze-sama, so please let me be the one who treats oncein a while. Now, let us go.」(Pedo)
「No need, because I will treatyou.」(Lieze)
「Please don’t say somethinglike that, please think of my position. To attend a dinner in this kind of attire,will be impolite.」(Pedo)
「Please don’t worry about it.Furthermore, the skill of the cook who we hired this year is truly amazing, soI wanted Nibel to eat the dish once again no matter what.」(Lieze)
「Oh, is that so? Then, pleaseinvite me to that feast next time. Now, let’s go.」(Pedo)
「No! Today’s ingredients arealso the best quality! So please let me prepare a feast for you‼」(Lieze)
「But……」(Pedo)
「Someone~! Please bring thechef here~‼」(Lieze)
After this, both of them continued this dispute for quite some time.
☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽
What a pushy guy.
[1]It’s aJapanese idiom meaning: To take an advantage on someone.
[2]Astereotypic worker looks. With towel on their neck.
[3]It’s ahand tool. Work like a drill, but it deliver the rotation like a hammer.
[4]