Tensei Shite Inaka de Slowlife wo Okuritai - Chapter 565

The Ideal Hobbyist Aristocrat

"Now, we've seen that we can manipulate a puppet to perform basic human movements. The next step is to see how we can improve the quality of those movements and try to perform more difficult movements."

"yes"

　Now that we've praised Tickle's good points, the next step is to look at areas for improvement.

"Even if they just walk, the way they walk will change depending on the characteristics of the character. For example, this doll of an aristocrat's daughter--"

"It's Angela."

　When I tried to call it a doll, Gregor immediately corrected me, so I said it again.

"Excuse me. Angela is a noblewoman. As a noblewoman, she has to bow and walk in a manner befitting a noblewoman."

　I've explained this before using Thor and Asmo as examples, but Tickle's current movements are merely a reproduction of the movements of an average human, and do not at all reproduce the attributes that Angela possesses.

　They say it's a feminine movement, or the movement of a young lady.

　I used psychic powers on Angela to show her how it works.

　As her magical power seeps into her, she slowly stands up, picks up the edge of her skirt, and bows gracefully.

　After a bow, she walked out with graceful movements.

"Haa, as I thought, your movements are like night and day."

"Don't be discouraged, Tickle! Burn this move into your memory so you can replicate it!"

"Y-yes!"

　Daughters of the nobility rarely run around as it is considered indecent, but they still run with their skirts held up tightly to recreate the movements of a tickle.

　After running, she slowly lowered her skirt and smoothed it out to make sure it wasn't wrinkled, then sat down on a bench and placed her hands on her chest to calm her ragged breathing.

"As expected of Alfried!"

"Angela, you have better manners than I do!"

"...Rana-sama, that is not something to be proud of."

　When they finished manipulating the puppets, Tickle and Ra-chan clapped their hands.

　Loretta couldn't help but interject, but I'll pretend I didn't hear her.

"Would it be better to take etiquette lessons to master these graceful movements?"

"That's right. I think the best way to gain a deeper understanding is to actually wear it."

"Tickle, when we get back to the mansion, I'll ask my mother to teach you some manners."

"Y-Yes! I'd love to do that!"

"Another way to capture the atmosphere more easily is to walk with shorter strides and make each movement slower, which will make your movements more ladylike."

"Thank you! I'll try it!"

"Alright! I want to try moving a doll too!"

　As Tickle entered the practice room, Ra-chan leapt forward to assert her position.

"So, which doll should I get...?"

"Usappi is great!"

　As I was pondering over the colorful dolls in the room, Ra-chan pointed at Usappi.

　It would be difficult to control animals and monsters that we don't normally see, but if that's what Ra-chan is keen on then it's fine.

"Well then, let's try moving Usappi. Gregor, can I borrow Usappi?"

"Of course!"

"Can you psychic Usappi?"

"Yup! 'Psychic'."

　After getting permission from Gregor, Ra-chan cast psychic on Usappi.

"Try having it walk slowly, paying attention to each of its four legs."

"Yeah"

　Since Usappi is a monster that walks on all four legs, its center of gravity is different from that of a human, so making it walk is difficult.

　First of all, I need to break through that barrier and see if I can recreate the way Usappi walks.

　Ra-chan uses psychic powers to make Usappi walk slowly.

　The four legs moved slowly forward, but the rhythm of the movements seemed to have become disorganized, and the Usappi doll stumbled forward.

"Ahh! Usappi?!"

"My legs are all tangled up. Let's try again."

　He uses his psychic powers to lift it up and return it to its original state, then begins manipulating its magical energy to make it walk once more.

　However, this time Usappi's left front leg and left hind leg moved together, causing Usappi to lose balance and fall to the left.

"Hmm, this is difficult..."

"It's surprisingly difficult."

　She must have thought it would be easy. Ra-chan tried again with a determined look on her face.

　However, he fell the third, fourth and fifth time too, and the result was the same.

　Usappi hasn't been able to move forward at all from its original position.

"How can I make it work?"

"I need to regulate my magic more."

"How much?"

　It is difficult to quantify one's own magical power and that of others.

　The reason is that my magical power and Ra-chan's magical power have different outputs and amounts.

"Enough to move one leg smoothly."

　I used psychic powers on Usappi and controlled only its right front leg, moving it slowly forward in centimeters at a time. Just as slowly and smoothly as possible.

"Wow, that's detailed!"

"There's no need to go this far, but you have to manipulate the magic power in such detail."

　Right now, Ra-chan's magical manipulation precision is such that she can only move about five centimeters.

　This wouldn't be a problem if it was simply used to open doors or lift things, but manipulating a doll required more delicate magical manipulation.

　Because Usappi is unable to make delicate movements of just one or three centimeters, its legs move too widely, causing it to bump into each other or lose its balance.

　In order to improve this, Ra-chan needs to master delicate magical manipulation so that she can control smaller units.

"How can one master the delicate manipulation of magic?"

"You'll just have to steadily train yourself in mana manipulation. Try spreading a thin layer of magic across your entire body, wrapping magic around just your fingertips, or learning to cast psychic power on multiple objects."

"Did Tickle do it right the first time?"

"N-no! It took me a whole day to make the doll stand! After that, I completed the menu that Alfried-sama gave me, and after two months, I was finally able to make it walk."

"It's taking so long!"

"No, I don't have much talent for magic, so it takes time..."

"That's not true. I've gathered together a group of puppeteers, but I think Tickle is the one who is the most skilled and has improved the most quickly. There's no need to belittle yourself like that."

"Thank you. I'm glad to hear that, Mr. Gregor."

　Perhaps because I had told him to praise her earlier, Gregor immediately followed up with a compliment.

　It's not good to overdo it, but since Gregor is sometimes lacking in expression in these areas, it might be best to be a little conscious of it.

"Well, it's going to be a difficult journey, but do you want to give it a try?"

"I'll do it! I want to be able to control Usappi!"

"Okay. Then let's start by learning how to move ten objects with psychic powers."

"Let's give it a try!"

　There happened to be a cutlery box in the room, so I borrowed the spoons and forks from it.

　I handed them to Ra-chan, who then used psychic powers to levitate them in the air.

　Ten pieces of tableware are floating around Ra-chan.

"The two spoons in the top right and the fork in the bottom left are shaking. Please permeate them with enough magical power to keep them level."

"Hmm."

　When I pointed out the unstable parts, Ra-chan pouted a little but I permeated them with magical power and stabilized them.

"Now the spoon in the top left corner is shaking."

"Seriously!"

　If you focus on one, you will neglect the other.

　It's difficult to move multiple objects psychically.

　I asked Loretta to take over and check whether the dishes were level.

　When I sat down to take a break, Bastian brought me some freshly brewed tea.

　This is a relief as I was thirsty after talking about various things.

　Ra-chan was concentrating on maintaining her psychic powers while Tickle was slowly maneuvering Angela.

　While the other two were practicing seriously, only Gregor and I were free.

“I’m worried, even though it’s a little late now. Is it really okay for Gregor, your lord, to be moving around so much?”

　Although he is the one encouraging him, he can't help but worry about his territory as he becomes so absorbed in the puppet show business and travels all over the place.

"It's fine. Mother and Father are here, and I leave most of the domestic affairs to the governor."

　He immerses himself in his hobbies and leaves the troublesome internal affairs of his territory to his excellent subordinates.

　How wonderful. This is the ideal hobbyist aristocrat.

　I never thought that someone so close to me would embody my ideal of an aristocratic life.

"That's awesome."

“However, if I become too absorbed in my dolls and neglect my responsibilities as a noble, I will be scolded. I still perform the bare minimum of my duties and attend parties.”

　If I were to assist Silvio in Koriat Village, I would hire some excellent subordinates to do the more tedious work.

　While I was thinking this absentmindedly, Gregor began to get restless.

　I can't help but feel bothered when I see that big, intimidating looking man fidgeting.

"what happened?"

"If you have time, could you please control the puppets? I want to see the puppets moving in this inn!"

　When I asked him, Gregor's cheeks flushed and he asked me passionately.

　It's hard to refuse when asked so directly.

　Since I happened to have some free time, I did as Gregor told me and operated the doll to his satisfaction.