Chapter 2
“Sei . ” I heard my name being called from outside the carriage, so I looked out the window and saw Captain-san riding a horse next to the window .
Captain-san looked ahead and said, “You can see it now . ”
I stuck my head out of the window and looked toward the front of the carriage . I saw a castle standing on top of a hill, a city was laying at the bottom of the castle and had walls surrounding it .
Our destination was the capital of Klaussner .
“Wow ~ . ”
It was early afternoon .
The sun shone on the tiled roofs on a tilted angle from the west and illuminated the orange roofs .
The castle and walls contrasted the city, the structures had a darker hue because they were made of stone .
However, the landscape looked like Europe, the place I wanted to visit but couldn’t, so I inadvertently shouted in joy .
Wasn’t the scenery here the same as the Royal Capital’s?
Sure it was, but Klaussner had a different charm from the Royal Capital .
So I was still impressed by it……
The carriage continued moving while I was impressed with the scenery .
The group I was with exited the forest and entered an open field .
Only a little more until our destination .
We mostly headed straight for Klaussner from the Royal Capital .
Of course, we hurried here because Klaussner was in a crisis .
However, there were lots of people on this expedition and we couldn’t rush .
It took many days to reach Klaussner, so we would sometimes stay in cities that we passed on the way here .
Many things happened during that time .
Klaussner wasn’t the only place that had problems, nobles from other fiefs have also petitioned the knights for help .
Therefore, whenever I stayed in a city for the night, the feudal lord would ask me to help them out with various things .
I wanted to help them, but we were in a rush, so I refused most of their requests .
Most of the feudal lords understood me when I gave them an explanation, but some were persistent……
It was all political, and I was really troubled because I couldn’t aid them without permission .
It was extremely painful to refuse them, and it happened several times . I was extremely worn out .
Captain-san tried not to let it show on his face, but he seemed frustrated .
Halfway through our journey, he adjusted our trip so that we wouldn’t be staying in anymore fief capital cities .
We passed through the open plains while I was thinking about this and finally reached the fortress gates .
The horse carriage slowed down probably because we entered the city .
We weren’t stopped at the fortress gate because a message about us arriving had been sent earlier and we proceeded to the castle where the feudal lord lived .
The city that I briefly saw looked snugger than the Royal Capital, but I thought it had flourished a lot .
Harvesting medicinal herbs was Klaussner’s main industry and I’ve heard that the increase in demons has affected their harvest, so I thought that the atmosphere around here would be gloomy but instead, the people looked cheerful .
Was it not as serious as I thought it was?
Or were the people of Klaussner mentally strong?
I thought and we arrived at the castle entrance .
The horse carriage stopped .
I took a deep breath to psych myself up .
I had to behave like a【Saint】from here on out .
I stayed in the carriage as I waited for the door to be opened from the outside like I was told to in the meeting .
Nobles mustn’t get out of the carriage by themselves .
I waited for a while and the carriage door opened, letting the light in .
I peeked outside of the door and saw Captain-san . He offered his hand to me as I was getting off .
I learnt this in my mannerism lectures, but I was still embarrassed since I wasn’t used to being escorted .
I couldn’t say anything because I had mixed feelings about being escorted and my face twitched .
Yup, let’s smile and play dumb .
I made sure that I wasn’t making a weird face, put my hand on his and got off the carriage .
As I looked up, I saw a lot of servants lined up at the entrance of the castle . While an elegantly dressed man stood in the middle .
He looked like he was in his late 50s .
His hair was streaked with grey hair and he was a little taller than me .
That’s Feudal Lord-sama, right?
I followed Captain-san’s lead to where that person was standing .
I stood next to Captain-san, who had stopped, and the man spoke, “Welcome . I am Daniel Klaussner, the person who governs these lands . ”
Klaussner-sama bowed gracefully after his greeting and the servants behind him also bowed at the same time .
The【Saint】had a higher position than a feudal lord .
So it couldn’t be helped that he was acting like this but such gestures made me feel uncomfortable .
I’ve always been a commoner, now and in the past .
Let’s end things like this quickly .
I tried not to twitch my face as I smiled and returned his greeting, “My name is Sei Tanakashi . I will be in your care for a while . ”
“I’m in charge of the 3rd Knight Order, Alberto Hawk . I’m counting on you . ” Captain-san introduced himself after me and Klaussner-sama raised his head .
Then Klaussner-sama introduced the butler and head maid who also looked like they were in their 50s .
The butler was slender and tall while the head maid was shorter than me, she was a plump woman .
It appears that I should talk to these two if something happens .
I was relieved because the two looked friendly and easy to talk to .
“You must be tired from your long journey . We will guide you to your room first . We can talk about the fief situation after you’ve rested a bit . ”
“Thank you for your concern . ”
I was shown my room immediately after the brief greetings .
We did rest during our journey but riding on a carriage all day was tiring, so I was thankful .
I followed after the head maid, who was my guide .
My allocated room seemed to be on the upper floor .
There was no elevator, so we were walking up the stairs .
I thought about how I got used to climbing up and down stairs in this past year as we climbed the stairs .
The Royal Palace had high ceilings so they also had long stairways .
Thanks to that, I’m easily able to climb the stairs even though I used elevators in Japan .
I thought as I walked and we arrived at the room .
The head maid opened the door .
The room that the head maid guided me to was a big room with plenty of sunlight .
The colour of the furniture was calming and I could feel its age .
Were they made from walnut?
The wallpaper and curtains were emerald green and the colours inside of the room complimented each other .
The room had a great atmosphere .
“Please use this room . ”
“Thank you . ”
The head maid was probably busy because she left as soon as she showed me where my room was .
I immediately sat down on the sofa as soon as I saw her off .
I leaned against the backrest and lazed around .
Please forgive my poor manners .
This is my first long trip and I’m feeling pretty tired .
“Will you change into your normal clothes?”
“Yes . Will I be meeting Klaussner-sama again?”
“This is what I’ve been told . ”
“Then, it’s fine if I don’t change, isn’t it?”
“You’ll be changing clothes again when you meet Klaussner-sama, so I thought you’d like to change into something more comfortable . ”
“I-is that so? Then I’ll go change . ”
The person who I was talking to was Marie-san, the maid who came with me from the Royal Capital .
She came with me because we might be staying here for a while .
I could manage just fine with doing things for myself .
Although, I did learn about noble society to some extent in my mannerism lectures, I still didn’t know much about it .
For example, I couldn’t remember what I should wear when I meet other people .
Therefore, Marie-san was helping me with the noble side of things .
There was also an external problem .
It was problematic for people at the Royal Palace if the 【Saint】didn’t have a single maid .
Another maid also came with me from the Royal Palace .
The other maid was sorting out my baggage while Marie-san shifted through it to get me clothes to wear .
I got off the sofa and took off my robe .
The gorgeous robe that I was wearing was the one that I received when I had my audience with the King .
I wore the same robe the court mages wore during the journey, but I changed into something more gorgeous because I was meeting Feudal Lord-sama .
It wasn’t tight fitting because it wasn’t a dress but I still got stiff shoulders from wearing it .
Hmm?
“Will I not be wearing these robes when I meet Feudal Lord-sama?”
“I will prepare another set of robes for you so please change into that . Or would you rather wear a dress?”
“No! I’ll wear a robe!”
“Understood . ”
I heard that I would be changing clothes before I go to meet Klaussner-sama, so I asked thinking that I would be wearing a dress, but it seemed like Marie-san would prepare a robe for me .
I was a little upset because I nearly brought unnecessary trouble to myself .
Marie-san and the maid chuckled when I refused politely . They knew that I didn’t like tight fitting dresses .
What can I do? I’m not used to wearing dresses .
Nope, I’ve never even thought about wearing them daily .
The maid showed me another robe while I was changing into casual wear .
It was also gorgeous .
It was light blue and had colourful embroidery on it .
According to Marie-san, they had brought many other dresses with them too .
Is it alright for them to only prepare gorgeous dresses……?
“It’s alright . This isn’t much if it’s something worn by 【Saint-sama】,” The maid said, she probably guessed what I was thinking .
“Are you sure?”
“Yes . This is just between us but……”
Then she dropped her voice and told me about Aira-chan .
“Aira-sama also has many dresses like this . ”
“Eh?”
“His Highness Kyle often gifted her with dresses . ”
Oh, the crown prince, huh .
I thought without saying it out loud and Marie-san was standing behind the maid with a scary look on her face .
“What are you saying?”
“Ahhh!”
The maid’s face fell as Marie-san called out to her and she realised that she’d messed up .
She was planning to talk to me in secret, but Marie-san could hear her .
She was scolded after this .
After I changed, I talked with the two while they sorted out my luggage and then someone knocked on the door .
Marie-san went to the door and it was the head maid from before .
She had brought tea .
“Thank you . ” I gave my thanks to the head maid as she set the tea set on the table in front of the sofa and returned her cheerful smile .
“It was my pleasure . Please take your time and rest . ”
Marie-san served the tea and the head maid left the room once again .
The tea that was poured into the cup was thin .
I held the tea cup and put it to my mouth, it was very distinctive .
It seemed like they prepared a fragrant herb tea for me .
As expected of a major medicinal herb production area .
I feel like I’ve drank this before in Japan . What kind of herbs did they use?
I thought and reached out to the apple that was served with my tea .
It wasn’t big like the ones I often saw in Japan, it was small .
I chewed it thoroughly and a refreshing acidity and sweet taste spread in my month .
Sweet things are good for when you’re tired, aren’t they?
Then the sky outside got darker as I spent time relaxing while talking with Marie-san and the other maid .
Huh? When am I meeting Klaussner-sama?
“Is it still not time for the meeting?”
“I haven’t heard when the meeting will be . Shall I go check?”
“Could you please?”
Just then, someone knocked on the door .
Marie-san opened it and it was the maid from this castle .
I faintly heard what Marie-san and the maid were talking about, but the thing that they were talking about was different from what I thought it would be .
I confirmed it with Marie-san, who had come back, and just like I’d thought, her errand wasn’t to fetch me for a meeting with Klaussner-sama .
“Having dinner with Klaussner-sama and his family?”
“Yes . It appears so . She didn’t say anything about a meeting . ”
“I see . ”
I thought that it was strange that it was different from the schedule, but he might talk about the situation over dinner .
Anyways, let’s get ready for dinner .
I thought and asked Marie-san to help me get ready .
◊♦◊♦◊♦◊
A maid from the castle showed me to the dining room .
After what happened before, we had a bit of a disagreement because I hadn’t expected a dinner invitation .
What on? The clothes of course .
I wanted to wear something different from what Marie-san and the maid had suggested .
Noble ladies usually wore dresses to dinner in this kingdom .
Therefore, Marie-san and the maid suggested that I wear a dress, but I wanted to wear the robe that we had decided on before .
The reason for this was because I was completely exhausted and didn’t want to wear a tight dress .
It wasn’t like I didn’t adore sparkly and fluttery things like dresses because I’m an unpopular woman .
The dresses that were popular in Slantania Kingdom were all too luxurious and it was a shame to wear them . Just looking at them made my heart flutter .
I liked looking at western clothing even when I was in Japan, but I didn’t think it would suit me so I didn’t wear them .
It wasn’t like I didn’t want to try them on, but it was embarrassing to try on things that wouldn’t suit me .
So, I did become a bit excited when I had to wear a dress after coming to this world .
It couldn’t be helped if an unpopular woman like me wore a dress because I had to and my embarrassment did diminish a little .
However after wearing it, I felt like my ideal was different from reality .
It was fine for me to look at dresses but wearing them for a day was harsh .
Especially when I had to wear a corset too .
It was painful to wear a corset normally so if I wore one now I would definitely collapse and I don’t think that dinner is something one should attend while their waist is being squeezed .
I’m glad I’m wearing a robe .
“Sei,” Captain-san called out to me when I got to the dining room .
“Hawk-sama . ”
Captain-san changed from his usual knight clothes .
“Is that a new robe?”
“Yes . The Royal Palace prepared it for me . ”
“Did they? It suits you . ”
“Huh? Ah, mm, thank you very much . ”
I swayed at the bomb he’d just thrown .
Because I always look the same, I don’t have any resistance when I get complimented like that .
I somehow managed to say thank you while my face was heating up .
On the other hand, Captain-san had a charming smile on as always .
It was polite to compliment a woman’s clothes, but should I also compliment him back?
Should I say something like, “You look handsome today too . ”
Nope, I can’t do it!
“Let’s go in . ”
“O-okay . ”
I was worried about what to do and Captain-san held his arm out .
It seemed like he wanted to escort me into the dining room .
I linked my arms with his while my heart was pounding in my chest .
The Klaussner family was already sitting in the dining room when we entered .
We were the last ones here .
Klaussner-sama greeted us when we took our seats and dinner began .
I remembered something unpleasant while we were exchanging our greetings .
I recalled the food situation in this world .
I had completely forgotten about this fact because I was used to the food at the Research Institute . The people of this kingdom thought that the taste of the raw ingredients were important .
In short, the food was tasteless .
Moreover, it was remarkable obvious in such high quality food .
Fruits were fine because they had natural acidity and sweetness but meat dishes were completely unsatisfactory .
I was extremely hungry but it was probably better to wear a dress for dinner .
It seemed that corsets can suppress hunger .
Dammit, I was regretting it and the food was brought into the room .
“This is……”
I was surprised by the food and looked Klaussner-sama; he smiled .
I looked at the food again .
The food was roast chicken; something that was often eaten in this kingdom and it was served with rosemary .
This combination was familiar to me .
The whole chicken was brought to the dining room and the butler cut it up .
A nice smell was drifting from the dish in front of me .
I brought the piece of chicken to my mouth and the taste of herbs other than rosemary spread throughout my mouth .
“Is it to your liking?”
“It’s very delicious . Is this a dish from Klaussner?”
“No . I overheard that dishes garnished with herbs were popular at the Royal Capital, so I tried to reproduce it . ”
That’s probably the food I make .
But I think that a lot of herbs were used in today’s dishes .
Did the chef add their own touch to the dish?
It was a medicinal herb production area so they probably knew the flavours of the herbs well .
I could feel the greatness of Klaussner now that I’ve had this after the herbal tea .
The recipe that I taught the Research Institute chefs were also taught to the chefs at the Royal Palace .
Because of that, there were rumours going around that the Royal Palace food had recently become delicious .
The rumour was spread to nobles all around from the people who could use the Royal Palace’s dining hall .
They might have also passed the recipe around .
I’ll probably be travelling to the other fiefs too, so I probably don’t have to worry about food, right?
I hope the food in the other fiefs have improved too .
Klaussner-sama taught me various things about his fief while I was having dinner .
He didn’t tell me about the current situation of Klaussner, but he did introduce his fief to me .
Klaussner’s main industry was medicinal herb cultivation, so naturally our conversation was centred on medicinal herbs .
We talked about interesting things such as the medicinal herbs cultivated in his fief and the kinds of medicinal herbs that could be harvested around this city .
I heard the name of a medicinal herb I didn’t know about and I thoroughly questioned him about it . He taught me various things without being annoyed .
“Do you also make potions, Sei-sama?”
“Yes . I usually make them at the Medicinal Herbs Research Institute at the Royal Capital . ”
“Is that so? Then, you’re also an excellent pharmacist . ”
“I don’t know if I’m excellent……”
“We also have an exclusive pharmacist here at the castle . ”
“You do?”
According to Klaussner-sama, the exclusive pharmacist of this castle was also the best pharmacist in this city .
This was called a sacred place for pharmacists, so I wonder how amazing this person is .
I suddenly remembered my talk with Liz . She had told me that secret recipes were passed down generations in pharmacist houses .
If that pharmacist is that amazing, then it’s highly probable that they’ll know a lot of secret potions as well .
It might be difficult for them to teach me the recipes, but I can get more details on common potions and herbs .
I thought and asked Klaussner-sama if I could meet his exclusive pharmacist and he readily agreed .
He had predicted that I would ask something like this .
We continued talking and it was decided that Klaussner-sama would introduce me to his exclusive pharmacist sometime during my stay .
Dinner came to a close with that promise .
I had a good time talking about various things .
Which reminds me, we didn’t talk about the current situation in Klaussner .
I completely forgot about it because I was so engrossed in the medicinal herb talks .
Let’s ask Klaussner-sama tomorrow, okay?
“What’s wrong?” On the way back to our rooms, Captain-san called out to me in a worried tone because I was thinking while walking .
We were sent back to our rooms after dinner so we left together .
“I just remembered that I forgot to ask him about the status of the demons here . ”
“Ah . That’s fine . I’ve already heard about it from Klaussner-dono . ”
“What?”
Captain-san said that he had talked to Klaussner-sama and the mercenaries that were employed here while I was lazing around in my room .
They were concerned that I was tired from my long journey since I wasn’t used to it and didn’t call me .
I’m thankful for their concern, but I feel so bad that I wasn’t able to participate in the meeting even though I’m working .
“Will we start the subjugation straight away tomorrow?”
“No, I’m thinking of doing a preliminary investigation of the surroundings for a few days . Stay on standby at the castle, Sei . ”
“Okay . ”
If the subjugation started tomorrow then I thought that I would need to provide support, so I asked Captain-san about it but it seemed that I wouldn’t need to .
As Captain-san said, they needed to check the terrain and what kind of demons appeared here . It was important for them to do a preliminary investigation .
If it’s fine for me to be on standby then I should go see if I could meet the exclusive pharmacist tomorrow .
Oh right .
I want to ask if I could also make potions here .
I brought some with me from the Royal Palace but it would be better if I could replenish my potions here as well .
There was a herb shortage at the Royal Capital but they might still have some here since it was a herb production area .
Let’s confirm the herb stock with Klaussner-sama .
Then, I talked to Captain-san about our schedule and returned to my room .
◊♦◊♦◊♦◊
The next morning .
I had breakfast with the Klaussner family in a smaller dining room than yesterday .
I confirmed my seat with Klaussner-sama and it was decided that I would meet the exclusive pharmacist immediately after breakfast .
Pharmacist-san worked full-time at the castle in a room called the distillation room .
The potions used at the castle were made in this distillation room .
I walked through the corridor guided by Klaussner-sama .
The distillation room was on the first floor .
Klaussner-sama knocked on the door when we arrived at our destination and it opened .
I went inside and the room had a faint smell of medicinal herbs .
There were several shelves fitted to the walls of the distillation room and the room was narrow . There were jars filled with medicinal herbs and tools for making potions on the shelves .
There was a table in the middle and there were tools laying on top of it .
There was another room at the back of the distillation room and I could see the entrance .
There were a few people in the room and they were all working .
Everyone noticed that Klaussner-sama had entered the room and nodded in greeting . Their hands never stopped working .
Klaussner-sama didn’t say anything either so this seemed to be their normal greeting .
I tilted my head as if asking where is the person I want to meet, and Klaussner-sama turned towards the back and called out, “Corinna . ”
“Oh my, isn’t it the Master . Something the matter?” A white haired old lady came out of the back room while answering Klaussner-sama .
Her back was slightly slouched and she was shorter than the head maid .
Because of that, while she wasn’t fat per se, she did give off the impression of being tiny and round .
But contrary to her impression, she was hale and hearty and felt like she would be strict to those who work for her .
“This is the【Saint】from the Royal Palace, Takanashi-sama . ”
“My name is Sei Takanashi . ”
“How polite, I am the pharmacist of this castle, Corinna . ”
It couldn’t be helped that I had mixed feelings about being introduced as the【Saint】 .
My feelings showed up on my face and I smiled awkwardly .
But Corinna-san didn’t seem like she minded it and returned my greeting .
Corinna-san looked at Klaussner-sama as if she was asking him what he wanted after we finished our greetings .
“Takanashi-sama also makes potions and she said she wanted to meet you when we were talking about you, so I brought her with me . ”
“Is that so?”
“Mhm, if it’s alright with you then could you please tell me about medicinal herbs and potions?”
“I don’t mind . I was just about to make today’s potions . Let’s talk while I’m making them . ”
“Thank you very much!”
Fortunately, Corrina-san was just about to make some potions .
I was happy that I could watch the best pharmacist at work .
I’ll definitely be able to learn something .
Klaussner-sama left after he introduced me because he had other work to attend to .
After he left, Corinna-san took medicinal herbs from the shelf and began working .
“Are you making Intermediate HP Potions?”
“Yes, I am . You’re very knowledgeable . ”
“No, I just memorised it by chance since I make a lot of Intermediate HP Potions myself . ”
I concluded this from the ingredients and it looks like I was right about her making Intermediate HP Potions .
However, did I imagine it when I saw Corinna-san’s eyes flash for a moment when I said I make it a lot?
It was just my imagination .
I stared at Corinna-san but she was busy making potions .
She was very skilful .
I wouldn’t expect anything less from her .
Corinna-sama talked about the medicinal herbs she was using and about potions while she worked . Her hands never stopped moving .
She continued making potions while talking and inhaled when she finished the fifth vial .
She looked tired .
Oh right, normal pharmacists could only make 10 vials of Intermediate Potions a day, right?
I had completely forgotten this fact because it was normal for me to make heaps of potions at once .
I thought . So, isn’t Corinna-san still quite an excellent pharmacist because she could make five consecutive potions?
“Would you also like to make potions, Takanashi-sama?” Corinna-san herself asked me if I wanted to make potions while I was thinking about her .
“Is it alright?”
Is it alright for me to use the workshop when I’ve just been introduced to her?
Maybe, she’ll teach me how to make potions?
Corinna-san nodded while smiling when I asked in confirmation .
My heart filled with expectations as I wondered what she would be teaching me and I started making potions like usual .
This time, it was Corinna-san’s turn to stare at my hands .
The first vial of potions, the second vial and then the third……
I made potions one by one but Corinna-san didn’t say a thing .
Is there nothing wrong with the way I make the potions?
If she won’t say anything then I won’t either, but I got a little worried .
The sixth vial, the seventh vial, the eighth vial……
She didn’t stop me so I thought it was fine and kept on making more and more potions .
Then her face crumbled when I began making the 10th potion .
“Are you still making more?” Corinna-san said as she looked at me in amazement .
She was really surprised since she even dropped honorifics .
“Yes . I always make twice this much . ” Corinna-san laughed in amazement when she heard what I had said .
“Hah . As expected of you . ”
Was it better for me to stop at the 5th vial?
I laughed back troubled and she said while smiling, “No, I heard that the【Saint-sama】liked to make potions, so I thought it was just an extension of your hobby, but it’s far from it . You’re quite good at it . ”
“Mhm…… Thank you very much . ”
“In that case, you’ll be able to follow the conversation even if I talk about things in more detail . ” Corinna-san said while smiling and my eyes sparkled .
Perhaps she’ll tell me about the secret potion?
I looked at Corinna-san with expectation and she guessed what I was thinking and dismissed it .
“Don’t be in a rush . We’re starting from the basics . ”
“Yes . ”
Corinna-san smiled wryly probably because she could tell that I was a bit disappointed from my expression .
“Well then Takanashi-sama, let’s start with the practical uses of Basic HP Potions . ”
“Yes . By the way, could you stop calling me Takanashi-sama? Just call me Sei, because you’re the one who would be teaching me . ”
“Is that fine? Then, I’ll call you that . ”
It was creepy to be called Takanashi-sama now that she’s dropped all honorifics .
Likewise about honorifics too, I wanted her to talk to me normally .
She was the one teaching me after all .
I asked Corinna-san to treat me the same as everyone else and she agreed because it was easier that way . After that we talked about a lot of things .
I helped Corinna-san with potion making while she taught me about herbs and potions on the day I didn’t have to go on subjugation .
Translator: Blushy
Editor: Sam
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