by Hiro Ainana
Curious, I tried turning a small amount of it into blue and making a single Holy Arrow. To my surprise, it came out three times stronger than the ones I’d made previously.
If they were too strong, I would have fewer opportunities to use them, but I could probably manage that by adjusting the amount of blue.
While I was at it, I mass-produced a thousand bullets with the combination of Magic Mold and Forge. Then I hollowed out a few of those with a Holy Sword and made a bullet version of the Holy Arrows.
I planned to launch these with the Shooter spell.
Next, I carved screw-shaped holes in a few of them. If I screwed arrow shafts into these, I could use them as Holy Arrows, too. I figured shooting them with a Magic Bow might be more powerful than firing them with the Shooter spell.
While I was at it, I made some Magic Bullets with blue made out of normal monster cores, too.
Firing bullets with Shooter proved less accurate than I expected, so I decided to work on a better version of the spell.
I was hoping I could improve their accuracy by adding a lateral rotation vector to their trajectory when fired, like bullets in my old world.
The rest of my scrolls should be ready for pickup in five days or so, so I intended to finish the spell by then.
As for the dragon claw spearhead that I would use to upgrade Liza’s spear, I was concerned about whether I could connect it securely, so I decided to do a little more planning before I attempted anything.
The next day, I was summoned to the duke’s castle regarding the black dragon incident, where the hero and I both received the Ougoch Duchy Dragon Conquering Medal.
This seemed to be a rare medal in a different way from the Ougoch Duchy Sapphire Medal I’d previously received.
With this, I’d be treated almost as well as the head of an upper noble family anywhere in the duchy.
Not that this mattered much, since I already received excessive hospitality as it was.
We also received words of praise from the king’s body double, who was present at the time.
We were also told we could receive medals from the kingdom at the Great Audience Ceremony, where nobles gathered in the old capital to celebrate the New Year.
Then, when I parted ways with the hero, Princess Menea, and the others at the duke’s castle and returned to the mansion where we were staying, the butler informed me that a guest was waiting for me.
“I’m terribly sorry to keep you waiting.”
“Hey, Sir Satou! Nah, I’m the one who showed up without any prior warning.”
Tolma stood up from the sofa, greeting me casually.
He’d done a lot for me, from giving me information on other nobles to introducing me to the scroll workshop run by his family member Viscount Siemmen, so I wasn’t about to give him a hard time for a minor breach of etiquette.
The bigger problem was the unwell-looking man standing behind him.
I’d met him at the duke’s dinner party, but I couldn’t remember his name until I saw it in the AR display.
“I believe you’ve met, but this is Viscount Kirk Emerin, head of the Emerin family.”
“Yes, we were briefly introduced at the dinner party.”
Tolma was usually pretty oblivious, so it was a bit surprising that he actually introduced the man.
If I remembered right, this family managed an expansive orchard and had moved primarily into trade since he’d succeeded the title of viscount.
What did an upper-ranking noble like him want with me?
As far as I could tell from my memos, our only prior connection was that I shared a single dance with his second daughter at the duke’s ball.
“He says he wants your help with something.”
“My help?”
So I guess this wasn’t just an angry father coming to grump at me, then.
If anything, he looked more tired than angry.
“See, the trade fleet he organized with the help of various investors got wiped out near the Seadragon Islands, so—”
“Tolma, you didn’t have to tell him that part.”
Tolma’s cheerful explanation was cut short by a rather sullen Viscount Emerin.
Still, the Seadragon Islands sounded like a pretty exciting place. I quietly added them to my list of tourist destinations.
“What I want to ask you about, Sir Pendragon, is this fruit.”
Viscount Emerin called to a servant standing by the wall, who placed a pile of oddly colored, uneven fruit on the table.
According to my AR, it was called Lulu Fruit.
But the resemblance to my adorable party member Lulu ended there.
The fruit’s skin was the color of mulberry, with mottled gray patches. It had blackish discolored areas, too, like sugar spots on bananas.
It also emitted a nauseating stench like a bunch of thick perfumes all mixed together.
“That’s a very unique fruit you have there.”
My “Poker Face” skill helped me keep a businesslike smile as I made the most harmless remark I could muster.
“I’ve prepared tea, sir.”
“Thank you.”
For some reason, it was Lulu, not a maid, who came over with a tray.
I could see a few familiar young faces poking out beyond the doorway, like Arisa and Pochi, so she was probably sent in as a scout.
“With your cooking skills, would you be able to make some kind of confection that would help sell this fruit?”
That sounded pretty unlikely.
But maybe it actually tasted delicious despite the smell, like durian.
“Well, I can’t say for sure unless I know what it tastes like.”
“Have a taste, then.”
Viscount Emerin’s servant sliced up the fruit with a small knife and lined up a few small, sealed pots on the table.
The fruit was bright ultramarine in color, making me question whether it could even be eaten. The pots, meanwhile, contained the fruit pickled in various liquids.
I tried each one in turn.
Sour! It was a hundred times more acidic than a lemon. And after the sourness, it left a bitter aftertaste, too.
After trying the raw lulu fruit, I tasted it pickled in vinegar and miso, made into jam, dried, and so on, but every one of them was equally gross.
Its grossness rivaled the gabo fruit bread I ate back in Seiryuu City.
Not even sugar or honey would be enough to save this awful flavor.
I washed down the taste with the tea Lulu gave me.
“This is certainly a challenge.”
“I had hoped that a miracle chef like yourself might be able to find another use for this lulu fruit besides feed for livestock.”
“Feed for livestock…,” Lulu repeated gloomily under her breath.
It was enough to make me want to curse out Viscount Emerin, but this was my own fault for not getting Lulu out of the room in time, too.
“Wait a moment. This ‘lulu’ has a lot of potential.”
Though I was facing Viscount Emerin, I was really addressing Lulu.
She raised her downcast eyes to look at me.
“If you give me a few days, I promise you, I can awaken the true splendor of this fruit!”
My bold statement brightened Lulu’s expression ever so slightly.
Perhaps her inferiority complex was improving, little by little.
“A-are you quite certain?”
“Yes, just leave it to me.”
Viscount Emerin clasped my hand as if hanging on to his last hope for salvation.
For him, giving this fruit a higher commercial value was probably the only way to protect his family name.
When Viscount Emerin left with Tolma, the light of hope had returned to his eyes.
Now I just had to make good on my promise.
“That was rather unlike you, master.”
“Was it?”
I responded absently to Arisa’s words as I opened the memo pad from my networking menu and st
arted working on a plan for Operation Lulu Fruit.
She was right, though. The truth was, I’d made the reckless agreement because I couldn’t stand to let this fruit with the same name as Lulu be so unfortunate.
“Do you have a plan?”
“Of course.”
The taste of the lulu fruit really was awful, but depending on how it was treated, its four main points of “sourness,” “bitterness,” “pungency,” and “stench” could be turned into strengths.
Certain forms, like the cooked jam and the dried fruit, even made it a little sweet.
Since Tama and Pochi had strong senses of taste, I recruited them to help with my testing. I wanted to surprise Lulu with the finished product, so I had her work on cooking sponge cakes with Liza.
Getting caught up in the experimental nature of the process, I tried boiling and steaming it at various temperatures, writing the results in my memo pad.
“Oopsie?”
“I-it’s very strong, sir. Makes me want some whale jerky to cleanse my palate, sir.”
At first, the two of them weren’t thrilled with the samples, but after a while…
“Pochiii?”
“Tama!”
…They were morosely whimpering each other’s names as they popped the samples into their mouths.
We’d gone through only half my ideas so far, but I didn’t want to traumatize them, so I let them off the hook for now and continued tasting on my own.
My “Self-Healing” skill managed to heal my paralyzed taste buds, so I could continue the tasting easily enough.
Thanks to that, I was able to come up with an ideal preparation method by the following morning.
“What do you think?”
“I-it’s delicious…”
Lulu, the first to taste the new samples, was speechless.
“Is this really the same fruit from yesterday? The color and smell are both completely different…”
The ultramarine color turned a vivid red in the process, so it was barely recognizable.
“Of course,” I said gently. “I told you, didn’t I? This ‘lulu’ has a lot of potential.”
Lulu looked like she was about to cry.
“…I’ll do my best, too.”
It looked like what I was really trying to say reached her. Lulu smiled through the tears in her eyes.
In Lulu’s case, she had more than just potential—she was already beautiful, but she’d be even more so if she gained some self-confidence.
Though if she got much more charming, the universe itself might be thrown out of balance.
“I told her ‘The Ugly Duckling’ as a bedtime story last night,” Arisa remarked helpfully behind me.
I couldn’t help but praise her for that, so I patted her head approvingly.
Once Lulu had calmed down a little, I offered samples to the rest of the group, who were already gathered around us.
“Go ahead—try it.”
“No thaaanks?”
“Pochi’s tummy is full, sir.”
After helping me yesterday, Tama and Pochi seemed leery of the fruit.
As soon as I held it out to them, their ears flattened and their tails hid between their legs.
I didn’t want to force them, so I offered it to the other kids instead.
“Mmmm! What is this? It’s so good I could scream!”
Arisa chewed on the sample with a look of happy surprise.
“Yum.”
“Master, it is sweet and delicious, I commend.”
“This iced version has a certain sweetness as well, with a wonderfully smooth texture.”
Mia, Nana, and Liza also gave it rave reviews.
Processing it in different ways seemed to have a major effect on its flavor and texture, so it would probably be worth investigating further.
“Yummyyy?”
“Is it really, sir?”
Drawn in by everyone else’s reactions, Pochi and Tama cautiously reached for the fruit as well.
“Mm-mm!”
Tama’s eyes sparkled as she chewed on the sample.
“It’s delicious, sir! You really are amazing, sir!”
Last but not least, Pochi wagged her tail and smiled brightly.
Lulu joined in with the rest of the group, sampling the different varieties.
Everyone always looked best with a smile.
I’d been up for three nights straight since the black dragon incident, so I needed a little rest before I put together a report on my lulu fruit findings.
After my nap, I received a response to the meeting request I’d sent to Viscount Emerin, so I had the butler prepare a carriage, and I set off.
“Huh? Why are you…?”
In the entrance hall of Viscount Emerin’s home, I ran into a noble young lady in her early teens.
I’d danced with her at the duke’s dinner party. If I remembered correctly, her name was…
“It’s a pleasure to see you again, Lady Rina.”
“Mello, Hister—M-Mr. Knight.”
The viscount’s daughter, Lady Rina Emerin, turned bright red. She sort of reminded me of Miss Karina.
I managed to remember her name because she was also the first person I’d danced with at the ball.
“Sir Knight, the viscount awaits you.”
“I’m sorry; I’ll be right there. If you’ll excuse me, Lady Rina.”
Viscount Emerin’s butler led me into the drawing room.
For an upper-ranked noble’s manor, the decor seemed rather unimpressive. I was no art expert, but my “Estimation” skill did tell me the market price of each piece.
“Since you asked to meet so suddenly, can I assume you wish to discuss your payment? As you may have already heard, our financial state is precarious at present, and so I cannot repay you with money. However…”
As he offered me a seat, Viscount Emerin was already in the middle of a long speech.
“Your Excellency. A wagonload of the fruit in question would be more than enough payment for me.”
That might sound like a lot, but when I checked out the viscount’s orchard on my map, I discovered that it was an enormous place enclosed with barrier posts.
Given the climate in the duchy, they could probably harvest about twice a year, so my request was a small one in comparison.
“More importantly, please taste these samples first.”
I took out a container of processed lulu fruits. I’d chosen to bring three varieties this time.
“…Samples? You’ve already made samples in just one day?!”
“My lord, please wait a moment.”
The viscount reached toward the samples, but his butler stopped him, ordering the young maid who’d just brought in tea to test the samples for poison.
Apparently, no one in the mansion had any item-analyzing skills.
“Can I really?! Oh, hooray! I get to taste the legendary Sir Pendragon’s sweets!”
“…Salana.”
“I—I apologize… I got overexcited.”
The butler scowled at the maid, who looked ready to throw up her tray in excitement.
“Mm! It goes great with this fluffy white stuff! This one’s great, too, and this one… I’m so happy it’s almost scary!”
Seeing her intense joy at eating my food, I couldn’t help feeling a little pleased myself.
Once the maid cleared all suspicions of poison, the viscount and his family gathered to taste the samples as well.
“I-is this really the same fruit?”
“But why is the color so different?”
“It changes during the cooking process.”
The viscount and his wife were especially fond of the sourness-free sweet version.
“Mm, delicious! I’d like to bring these out at my next tea party.”
The viscount’s eldest daughter, who was around high school age, seemed to like the slightly sour one best.
And Miss Rina loved the lulu fruitcake so much that she stuffed her cheeks with
it like a chipmunk.
I’d made it into a cake to help soften the sourness and bitterness with cream.
This third variety was the most difficult to make. Right now, I was the only one who could pull it off, because I could see the temperature in my AR display.
“Do you like them?”
“My goodness! We should have no trouble at all selling these. No wonder they call you a miracle chef!”
“If you would permit it, Your Highness, I would like to present this lulu fruitcake at Lord Tisrado’s wedding. Would that be all right?”
“What’s this?! The young lord’s wedding, you say?! Why, that is more than we could have ever hoped for. I’m the one who should be asking you!”
Great. With the viscount’s permission, I could make the lulu fruitcake as the wedding cake.
That would be a perfect way to popularize the lulu fruit.
I presented him with the recipes for the three products and the report on my research.
“I-incredible… All this research in just one night?”
I couldn’t help but grin at the viscount’s surprise. The secret was that I used thirty-two portable stove magic tools at once to get all this done, but I wasn’t going to tell him that.
“I am glad that I was able to fulfill your request satisfactorily, Your Excellency.”
“Please, Sir Satou, call me Kirk. But your earlier request is not nearly enough of a reward. Since you are unmarried, Sir Satou, allow me to give you the hand of one of our extended family’s daughters as your wife.”
“W-wife?!”
Miss Rina jumped to her feet, fork still in hand.
“What is it, Rina?”
“O-oh, no… It’s—it’s n-nothing.”
Miss Rina dropped back down to her seat like a puppet whose strings had been cut. Maybe it was my imagination, but she looked a little pale.
At any rate, her outburst was enough to derail the conversation, so I managed to get out of the topic of the marriage proposal.
“Prettyyyy?”
“Sir!”
We could see the wedding parade proceeding through the streets from the roof of the duke’s mansion.
Today was the wedding of Tisrado, Ringrande’s younger brother, who was also the duke’s grandson and eventual successor, and the granddaughter of Marquis Eluette, whose territory was on the western edge of the Shiga Kingdom.
