Ah, what?
Lord Exus, are you kinder than I thought?
I, Margaret Gardner, am a female mage serving as Lord Exus’s tutor.
I was threatened terribly the other day, so I was afraid that something awful would happen, but nothing in particular did.
I was just listened to.
“So, this Count of Carranheit is more concerned with preparing for the ‘Adon Magocracy’ in the northeast rather than guarding against the monsters of the magic forest?”
“Yes, I’ve never been there myself, so I don’t know, but the magical technology of the Adon Magocracy is remarkable. The Calenheit borderlands, which would be the first battlefield if we were to become hostile, are secretly preparing.”
“I see. Do you know anything else about the Adon Magocracy?”
“Well… as the name ‘magocracy’ suggests, it’s a mage-first society, and they wouldn’t hesitate to commit incest to secure talented mages.”
“Hmm… anything else?”
“The culture of magical tools is advanced, and they are imported into our country… and it’s a very cold country, that’s all…”
“I see. Thank you, that was informative.”
Setting aside the overwhelming intelligence and knowledge that makes me doubt he’s really a nine-year-old child, nothing particularly terrible happens, right?
I was prepared to be beaten…
At lunchtime, I was served a country-style black bread and bean soup.
It was terrible.
I shuddered at how far poverty in the countryside could go.
Even though I’m a noble, is this it?
This is it? City craftsmen eat three times better than this.
And what’s with the small amount of food for a guest?
It’s normal for a noble’s table to be filled with more food than can be eaten, assuming there will be leftovers.
That’s how they show off, saying, “I can gather more food than I can eat.”
The leftovers are eaten by the servants.
It’s normally a shame not to be able to feed a guest properly…
On the other hand, Lord Exus gave most of his portion to his younger brother and sister and left the table early.
Lord Exus signaled me with his eyes to follow him, so I did.
Then, I was led into the forest.
There, a beautiful blonde girl, unsuitable for the countryside, was waiting.
“Lord Exus!”
When the girl saw Lord Exus, she hugged him with a smile.
Is she his lover…?
“Not particularly.”
“What?!”
Stop reading my mind!
“This is Ada, the baker’s daughter. She has a talent for magic, so I’m teaching her various things.”
I see, she’s his apprentice.
“So, why are we in the forest…?”
“Well… first, I want to apologize.”
“Eh?”
“About the meal. Nobles are obligated to entertain guests, right?”
“Eh… yes, well, yes. Normally, it’s unthinkable to let a guest go hungry, yes.”
“I thought so! Teach me about that culture too.”
“Yes, yes.”
“And, well, what. I was thinking of preparing the meal myself.”
“…Eh?”
In the forest?
A meal?
Sure, there’s a small stone oven and a tent…
…But where’s the food?
“Just wait… ‘Unzip File [Fermented Bread Starter]’”
Suddenly, a bread starter appeared in front of Lord Exus.
“What, what…?!”
“Ada, bake this.”
“Okay!”
“Alright… ‘Unzip File [Stew Vegetables] [Broccoli] [Chicken Breast] [White Wine] [Consommé Powder] [Flour] [Milk]’”
Ingredients lined up on the stone cooking counter in front of me.
“Hey, can you drink milk?”
“Huh…? Oh, yes, I can.”
“Good. ‘Auto-Cooking Run’”
Then, the ingredients moved on their own and started cooking automatically…
And after a quarter of an hour…
“It’s ready!”
“Eh?!”
A mysterious woman’s voice echoed from the void.
“Oh, it’s ready. Let’s eat.”
“Eh, what was that just now?! And more importantly, this… what is this?!”
“What…? If you ask me, it’s magic. The voice is an electronic voice… no, I’m not using electronics, am I? What should I call that?”
“Magic?!! How?!!”
This is already in the realm of divine miracles or fairy secret arts!!!
“Eh? Oh, that’s strange… Well, let’s talk about that later. For now, let’s eat.”
What was handed to me was white bread made of wheat and a white stew with unfamiliar vegetables.
“Yay! Milk stew!”
Ada, the girl, happily slurped the stew.
Well, since Lord Exus’s apprentice is eating it, it must not be poisoned…
I took a spoonful.
“…Mmm! Delicious!”
I’ve never seen a stew made with milk before, but it’s so delicious!
The thick, sweet, and mellow soup clings to the soft vegetables, and it’s very tasty!
The soup is infused with the scent of vegetables and the fat of chicken meat, spreading softly in my mouth…!
This white bread is amazing too!
It’s fluffy like a cloud and chewy like a baby’s skin…!
I ended up eating it all at once.
“…Teacher, there’s more if you want?”
“Ah… thank you…”
Oh, I’ve done something unladylike…
“So, isn’t this what magic is like?”
“Not at all.”
“Can’t you do it?”
“I can’t.”
Hmmmm!
What is this?!
What’s going on?!
Turn my common-sense upside down!
What about the theory of the four major elements of magic? The incantations?!
My common sense!!!
“Huh, so that’s how it is. So, this is heresy.”
“Yes! It’s heresy!”
I taught him earnestly about the basics of magic.
Magic is divided into four major elements, and you can only use one of them.
It’s mostly for fighting, and there’s definitely no magic for cooking.
There’s no magic to store things in the void…
“…Could it be that mages aren’t that great?”
“That is…”
“Isn’t there any great magic?”
“There isn’t…”
“So, for example… collapsing space itself?”
“Space… collapse, you say?”
How do you do that? Split the earth?
“Or rewinding time?”
“Time…? Not even a god can do that.”
First of all, how can you think of such a presumptuous idea to control time, an absolute law?!
“Or extracting only the heart of a living creature?”
“Scary…”
That’s… creepy?! What kind of thinking is that?!
“Hmmmm, then, what about dropping a meteorite?”
“…What did you say?”
Could it be… why would you think of that?!
“Huh? Is there such magic? To drop a meteorite?”
“…There is. A forbidden spell, ‘Meteor Swarm.’ Why do you know about it?”
“No, I’m just guessing. What’s a forbidden spell?”
I don’t understand… does a demon live inside this person’s head…?
