Ah, what?
Lord Exus, are you kinder than I thought?
I, Margaret Gardner, am a female mage serving as Lord Exusโs 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.
โSo, this Count of Carranheit is more concerned with preparing for the โAdon Magocracyโ in the northeast rather than guarding against the monsters of the magic forest?โ
โYes, Iโve never been there myself, so I donโt 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.โ
โI see. Do you know anything else about the Adon Magocracy?โ
โWellโฆ as the name โmagocracyโ suggests, itโs a mage-first society, and they wouldnโt hesitate to commit incest to secure talented mages.โ
โHmmโฆ anything else?โ
โThe culture of magical tools is advanced, and they are imported into our countryโฆ and itโs a very cold country, thatโs allโฆโ
โI see. Thank you, that was informative.โ
Setting aside the overwhelming intelligence and knowledge that makes me doubt heโs really a nine-year-old child, nothing particularly terrible happens, right?
I was prepared to be beatenโฆ
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 Iโm a noble, is this it?
This is it? City craftsmen eat three times better than this.
And whatโs with the small amount of food for a guest?
Itโs normal for a nobleโs table to be filled with more food than can be eaten, assuming there will be leftovers.
Thatโs how they show off, saying, โI can gather more food than I can eat.โ
The leftovers are eaten by the servants.
Itโs normally a shame not to be able to feed a guest properlyโฆ
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.
โLord Exus!โ
When the girl saw Lord Exus, she hugged him with a smile.
Is she his loverโฆ?
โNot particularly.โ
โWhat?!โ
Stop reading my mind!
โThis is Ada, the bakerโs daughter. She has a talent for magic, so Iโm teaching her various things.โ
I see, sheโs his apprentice.
โSo, why are we in the forestโฆ?โ
โWellโฆ first, I want to apologize.โ
โEh?โ
โAbout the meal. Nobles are obligated to entertain guests, right?โ
โEhโฆ yes, well, yes. Normally, itโs unthinkable to let a guest go hungry, yes.โ
โI thought so! Teach me about that culture too.โ
โYes, yes.โ
โAnd, well, what. I was thinking of preparing the meal myself.โ
โโฆEh?โ
In the forest?
A meal?
Sure, thereโs a small stone oven and a tentโฆ
โฆBut whereโs the food?
โJust waitโฆ โUnzip File [Fermented Bread Starter]โโ
Suddenly, a bread starter appeared in front of Lord Exus.
โWhat, whatโฆ?!โ
โAda, bake this.โ
โOkay!โ
โAlrightโฆ โUnzip File [Stew Vegetables] [Broccoli] [Chicken Breast] [White Wine] [Consommรฉ Powder] [Flour] [Milk]โโ
Ingredients lined up on the stone cooking counter in front of me.
โHey, can you drink milk?โ
โHuhโฆ? Oh, yes, I can.โ
โGood. โAuto-Cooking Runโโ
Then, the ingredients moved on their own and started cooking automaticallyโฆ
And after a quarter of an hourโฆ
โItโs ready!โ
โEh?!โ
A mysterious womanโs voice echoed from the void.
โOh, itโs ready. Letโs eat.โ
โEh, what was that just now?! And more importantly, thisโฆ what is this?!โ
โWhatโฆ? If you ask me, itโs magic. The voice is an electronic voiceโฆ no, Iโm not using electronics, am I? What should I call that?โ
โMagic?!! How?!!โ
This is already in the realm of divine miracles or fairy secret arts!!!
โEh? Oh, thatโs strangeโฆ Well, letโs talk about that later. For now, letโs eat.โ
What was handed to me was white bread made of wheat and a white stew with unfamiliar vegetables.
โYay! Milk stew!โ
Ada, the girl, happily slurped the stew.
Well, since Lord Exusโs apprentice is eating it, it must not be poisonedโฆ
I took a spoonful.
โโฆMmm! Delicious!โ
Iโve never seen a stew made with milk before, but itโs so delicious!
The thick, sweet, and mellow soup clings to the soft vegetables, and itโs very tasty!
The soup is infused with the scent of vegetables and the fat of chicken meat, spreading softly in my mouthโฆ!
This white bread is amazing too!
Itโs fluffy like a cloud and chewy like a babyโs skinโฆ!
I ended up eating it all at once.
โโฆTeacher, thereโs more if you want?โ
โAhโฆ thank youโฆโ
Oh, Iโve done something unladylikeโฆ
โSo, isnโt this what magic is like?โ
โNot at all.โ
โCanโt you do it?โ
โI canโt.โ
Hmmmm!
What is this?!
Whatโs going on?!
Turn my common-sense upside down!
What about the theory of the four major elements of magic? The incantations?!
My common sense!!!
โHuh, so thatโs how it is. So, this is heresy.โ
โYes! Itโs heresy!โ
I taught him earnestly about the basics of magic.
Magic is divided into four major elements, and you can only use one of them.
Itโs mostly for fighting, and thereโs definitely no magic for cooking.
Thereโs no magic to store things in the voidโฆ
โโฆCould it be that mages arenโt that great?โ
โThat isโฆโ
โIsnโt there any great magic?โ
โThere isnโtโฆโ
โSo, for exampleโฆ collapsing space itself?โ
โSpaceโฆ collapse, you say?โ
How do you do that? Split the earth?
โOr rewinding time?โ
โTimeโฆ? Not even a god can do that.โ
First of all, how can you think of such a presumptuous idea to control time, an absolute law?!
โOr extracting only the heart of a living creature?โ
โScaryโฆโ
Thatโsโฆ creepy?! What kind of thinking is that?!
โHmmmm, then, what about dropping a meteorite?โ
โโฆWhat did you say?โ
Could it beโฆ why would you think of that?!
โHuh? Is there such magic? To drop a meteorite?โ
โโฆThere is. A forbidden spell, โMeteor Swarm.โ Why do you know about it?โ
โNo, Iโm just guessing. Whatโs a forbidden spell?โ
I donโt understandโฆ does a demon live inside this personโs headโฆ?