Chapter 162
“Ryoumsama!” [Arone]
Sponsored Content
After somehow suppressing the tumult in the adventurers guild, I returned to the residence of the duke’s family . Arone-san called out to me with a frightfully serious face .
“…What’s the matter?” [Ryouma]
“There’s something I would like to talk to you regarding Rurunez’ wedding… I’m sorry to ask this of you when you’ve just returned, but could you spare me some of your time?” [Arone]
“If I can be of help, then sure . ” [Ryouma]
I don’t know what happened, but I decided to follow Arone-san for the time being .
Before long, I heard the women coming from across the halls .
“—Ra! —Desu!” [???]
“No! Nez—!” [???]
“? —nez’ hair—” [???]
…It feels like they’re arguing about something…
“I apologize on behalf of the younger maids . This is not proper behavior at all for a maid . ” [Arone]
As Arone-san said that she swung opened the door from which the voices were coming from .
“You girls! What foolishness is this!? We can hear your voices all the way from the halls!” [Arone]
Suddenly, the voices froze .
But at the same time, Arone-san’s expression also stiffened .
“Madam! You were here?” [Arone]
Apparently, without her knowing, the madam had joined in on the maids .
“Good day~
Oh, Ryoumkun! You’re back, I see . ” [Elize]
Sponsored Content
“Thank you for your hard work . I was informed there was something I was needed for regarding the wedding ceremony . Is now a good time?” [Ryouma]
“Of course . Please enter . ” [Elize]
“I’ll prepare a seat for you . ” [Maid 1]
“I’ll pour you some tea . ” [Maid 2]
“And I’ll get some sweets . ” [Maid 3]
The maids moved about in a hurry and the atmosphere became vaguely delicate . Before long, the meeting was started once again .
“Arone-san, you said you had something you wanted to talk to me about . ” [Ryouma]
“It’s about the venue for the wedding ceremony . Specifically, these things…” [Arone]
What she showed me were five familiar sheets of paper .
They were the designs I drew in the meeting last night .
I myself was never married, but most of my cowokers, who were nearing 40, were .
Invitations and photos of the ceremonies were frequently sent out .
I thought they were relatively appreciative of the designs, but…
“A lot of people have been inspired by those drawings of yours and have started giving out ideas . ” [Arone]
Next, I was handed a list on which was written what changes people wanted to implement . Some of the contents on the list read: ‘I want this part done like this’ ‘I think it would be better if we did it more like this’… and so on and so forth .
“As a final check, I would like to get your opinion to know which ones are possible and which ones aren’t . ” [Arone]
“I understand!” [Ryouma]
Use a bell tower for the wedding bells… If there’s room, then it should be fine .
Lay a stone pavement for the venue… This is also possible .
Sponsored Content
Decorations on the walls and pillars… Possible, but depending on what kind of decorations and how many, they might make it hard to see the ceremony .
…
“…There . I’m done, Arone-san . ” [Ryouma]
“Thank you very much . We’ll use this as a reference to finalize the requests for the venue . ” [Arone]
There were a lot of questions but the essence was the same .
At this rate, we can start construction as soon as tomorrow .
“Thank you for your efforts, Ryoumkun . ” [Elize]
“Thank you too . …?” [Ryouma]
Checking that list took a lot more time than I expected .
Most of the servants in the room had changed from when I first came in .
The only ones still here from earlier were Arone-san and the madam .
“How much time did I take?” [Ryouma]
“About 2 hours, I think? Want to eat something?” [Elize]
“Thank you very much . But I already had some sweets while I was working on the list . ” [Ryouma]
Actually, why is the madam here?
When I asked that, the madam’s smile broke . It was rare to see her not smiling .
“A guest I don’t want to meet suddenly came, so I made myself scarce . ” [Elize]
“…So there are people like that too, huh . ” [Ryouma]
“That’s right~…” [Elize]
I’m curious what kind of person it is, but the madam seems unhappy, so I’ll just change the topic .
“…That sounds tough . Do you get tired having to deal with so many guests every day?” [Ryouma]
“Yes, but it’s part of my work . It can’t be helped . I sure would love to go to a hot spring, though . ” [Elize]
“Do you love hot springs?” [Ryouma]
“Do you know that father-in-law owns a territory in the Fire Dragon Mountains?” [Elize]
“Ah, I heard from Branch Head Taylor… That after forming a contract with a divine beast he gained various rewards and authorities . ” [Ryouma]
“That’s right . One of the rewards he received was a territory in the Fire Dragon Mountains, where a Hot Spring Town currently is . We visited it a lot in the past . The hot spring there can wash away one’s fatigue and improve one’s health . ” [Elize]
“Wow… I’d love to go once . I wonder how the quality of the water is there . ” [Ryouma]
She’s piqued my interest a little . I wonder if there’s some kind of fantasy-element mixed in .
“I don’t know about the quality of the water, but it’s bubbly and hot, and if you take a dip, your body will be warmed up and your skin will turn red . ” [Elize]
Bubbly? So a carbonated spring? Doesn’t seem like there’s any magical or special effects .
That’s a bit of a let down, but maybe I can help ease her fatigue if I make her a bath bomb .
…Let’s suggest it .
“You can prepare hot spring water?” [Elize]
The madam was more interested than I’d thought . Her eyes were sparkling .
“I can make a bathing agent that makes the water closer to that of hot spring water, provided I have the ingredients . ” [Ryouma]
The necessary ingredients to make a bath bomb are baking soda and citric acid . Add some potato starch or corn starch to it and mix, lightly moisten it with a spray, and then dry in a mold and your done . Perfumed oil can be added too, but just baking soda and citric acid are enough to generate carbon dioxide .
For baking soda, I could make it using salt or the caustic soda that some of the acid slimes waiting for evolution are feeding on . Citric acid can also be extracted from some random fruit with alchemy . (To ensure safety, I’ll limit the ingredients used to just food items . )
“…Right . I should be able to make it as long as I have the ingredients . ” [Ryouma]
“Is this ‘bath bomb’ that secret medicine that possesses beautifying effects that you mentioned yesterday?” [Elize]
Secret medicine? Calling a bath bomb a secret medicine sounds nice and all, but I’m afraid what others might think if I actually called it that .
“It’s not that amazing… Although it’s plenty good in its own right . ” [Ryouma]
“What do you need? If it’s something I can prepare, I’ll get them ready . ” [Elize]
“In that case, can you get a basket full of lamon (lemon-like fruit) brought to the room? As well as ‘mumitou’ used in making bread? If you can also provide a good-quality vegetable oil that won’t cause the skin to break out, then I can make another thing called ‘Sugar Scrub’ . ” [Ryouma]
“Very well . I’ll get them prepared immediately . Arone . ” [Elize]
“Understood . A basket full of lamon, mumitou, and vegetable oil, yes? I should be able to gather everything with a trip to the kitchen . Ryoumsama, please wait at your room . ” [Arone]
“How long will it take to make them?” [Elize]
“Sugar Scrubs are made with a ratio of 1:1, so I’ll be able to make them immediately . But for the bath bombs, I have to test them out first to ensure that they’re safe, but even then it should only take about 30 minutes at most . ” [Ryouma]
“Very well . I’ll look forward to it . ” [Elize]
And like that, I ended up making bath bombs and sugar scrubs purely out of good will .
But…
“…Hey, did you hear?” [Maid 4]
“Did you hear? Did you hear? Apparently, he’s making a secret medicine that will turn you into a beauty . ” [Maid 5]
As soon as I left the room, the maids started gossiping .
It’s really not so big of a deal for it to be called a secret medicine…
Thinking that, I just ignored the gossiping maids . Unbeknownst to me, however, a small uproar started brewing within the residence of the duke’s family .