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Time that seemed endless had finally passed.

Having finished sorting the magic tools, Catherine led the exhausted Karem and sulky Mary out of the storage room and back to the top floor of the tower, returning to her laboratory.

And there, Karem felt a very, how should I put it…

An indescribable feeling.

“Um, Sir Atanitas?”

“Shh, be still.”

Karem, who had been hesitating, pondered over what he was actually doing as Catherine warned him, standing like a scarecrow in the field with his gaze fixed straight ahead.

At first, he felt a chill run down his spine.

Could she be casting a spell out of nowhere?

But denying it, Catherine claimed to be a practical-minded person, and the intense yet small magic duels he had often witnessed between her and Olivier had left quite an impression on Karem in various ways.

However, what Catherine was doing seemed so simple that Karem wondered if this was really the right approach.

Karem stood at the center of the laboratory like a scarecrow while Catherine reached out to him, muttering something.

And every time she spoke, Mary would swap out the magic tools Karem was wearing.

That was all there was to it—a straightforward task.

Yet, unless there was some kind of visual change…

“Hmph, this isn’t it either. Mary.”

“I’ll switch to the next magic tool.”

With Karem unable to comprehend what was happening, his patience finally wore thin.

“No, Sir Atanitas. What on earth is going on?”

“Hm? What do you mean? I’m just checking the effectiveness of the magic tool.”

“It’s not even casting a spell, and here you are, just reaching out to me and muttering strange things while you’re ‘checking’?”

“Right. It may not be visible to your eyes, but still.”

Catherine kindly answered Karem’s question and reached out to him again.

The surrounding magical energy synchronized with Catherine’s, leading to the formation of observation magic and analysis magic.

Catherine was continuously stimulating Karem with her magical energy to observe the reactions of the magic tools.

“The flame magic defense effect is clear, but the effect is weak. Mary.”

“Understood, Contractor.”

Mary, who could also handle magical energy just like Catherine, approached Karem without any complaints, holding a silver-adorned gold necklace from her pocket.

“Well, if you have any complaints, you can handle magical energy yourself.”

“No, handling magical energy is a talent, isn’t it?”

“Sure, there are innate traits based on species, but fundamentally, it’s talent.”

“I simply can’t handle magical energy at all, you know?”

“Then, I guess you’ll have to look forward to your next life.”

“Is a person who can’t handle magical energy supposed to live with bitterness?”

“Well, I can’t relate.”

Thanks to being a house fairy, Mary was limited by house fairy magic but had been able to use magic naturally since birth.

In other words, there was only one person who couldn’t use magical energy in the Mage Tower.

That one person, the non-magical user Karem, was sulky about it.

Mary felt the same way, sulky as well.

From the day she learned about the storage room, she had been looking forward to the moment she could clean it, but that attempt had been thwarted right in front of her.

However, being sulky was one thing; a command was a command.

As a diligent house fairy, Mary removed the bracelet from Karem’s wrist, draped the necklace around him, and then returned to her original spot.

As she held the bracelet, it shimmered.

The sunlight that had risen reflected off it and flickered in Mary’s eyes.

‘It’s about time to prepare a snack.’

And it was also time for the wizards in the tower to clear the tableware from breakfast.

Mary hesitated as she was about to call the two attendants who were focused on their tasks.

She squinted her eyes.

‘This is an opportunity.’

An unusual chance to make Catherine’s snack in place of Karem.

In fact, it was practically the first of its kind.

She could regain control of the kitchen somehow, but Karem was still the chief cook in charge of most of the meals Catherine and Karem ate, along with whatever Mary would eat.

Of course, Karem’s cooking was delicious.

But that was that, and this was this.

To think a house fairy should have someone doing housework in their own home was unacceptable in her eyes. However, contracts were a solemn rule. Since Catherine had permitted it, Mary had no choice but to follow.

Naturally, Karem had offloaded troublesome tasks like whipping meringue, washing dishes, and cleaning up to Mary (tasks that she welcomed with open arms), but that was all.

Mary was dissatisfied.

So, she had always been on the lookout for a chance.

And today.

Finally, that chance had arrived.

The time it took to get there was just 0.2 seconds.

In any case, the only thing that changed was the look in her eyes, and even that was brief, but Catherine, who was focused on the effects of the magic tool and Karem, who was exhausted, didn’t notice a thing.

Mary returned with her usual natural expression and demeanor.

“Contractor. Excuse me for interrupting while you’re busy. May I step out for a moment?”

“Huh? Out of the blue, huh?”

“Yes. It’s about time to clear the tableware of those who have finished their breakfast.”

“Aah, I completely forgot. Go on and do it.”

“Yes, then. Karem, take care.”

Naturally.

Without any awkwardness.

A bow.

And a light step.

Mary, with a quick greeting and without turning to show her back, walked out of the laboratory, closing the door quietly.

Click.

“…Yes!”

Mary cheered softly.

*

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*

The housework was endless the more one delved into it.

It wasn’t just about sweeping and wiping dust; it involved cleaning dust stuck to wallpaper, furniture, and decorations, and stains had to be removed using various methods depending on their types.

Washing required different methods and detergents according to the fabric type.

Sweeping fallen leaves, tending to the garden, preparing meals, and organizing and washing dishes, you name it.

If the resident count exceeded dozens, then housework quite literally piled up like a mountain.

Realistically, it was impossible to handle it all alone.

Especially if the one wasn’t a house fairy.

Through the contract, regarding housework in the ‘house’ of the contractor, Mary could accomplish tasks that no one could rival. One could say she single-handedly supported the Mage Tower.

Collecting dishes and laundry while distributing sorted clothes.

The time it took to finish separating laundry by fabric type and clearing the dishes was less than 30 minutes.

“Phew, hehehe.”

Mary let out a sinister laugh as Catherine brought out ingredients from the warehouse to lay them out in the kitchen.

There was plenty of time.

The tasks she had just completed could have taken a bit longer.

However, Mary rushed through it all for this very moment.

The snacks for the other wizards were egg tarts that had been aged in the refrigerator for a day.

It was done once she distributed them with sweet whipped cream.

In other words, Mary was ready to reclaim the preparation of Catherine’s snacks.

After all, in the realm of confections and pastries, she excelled beyond Karem.

This was a fact acknowledged by both Karem and Zigmeser.

With enthusiasm, Mary completed her dough, set it aside, and took a wooden paddle and a bountiful oak barrel from the lower shelf.

“Karem, I’ll be excusing myself then.”

Had Karem known, he would have yelled that it was a betrayal.

But Mary felt no shame in her heart.

After all, Karem, the owner of the 100-fold magical barrel, had directly told her she could use it at any time and kept it in the kitchen. Hence, it was as if she had already received prior permission from her master.

If there had been any complaints, the person who allowed a poison clause should have understood it. Therefore, Mary cheerfully placed the dough bowl into the bountiful oak barrel and immediately took it out again.

“The dough’s maturation is perfect.”

She sprinkled flour over the table, took the dough out, kneaded it, and then placed in the butter, folding it repetitively in different directions before cutting it to size and sending it into the oven.

What Mary was creating was something she believed to be unprecedented in Europa—drawn from pastry that she used only to line pies or for getting them out intact.

She called it puff pastry.

When she secretly experimented in the dead of night when everyone was asleep, it felt like a continuation of soft and crispy layers, as if she had fried clouds with butter and air.

Of course, Mary didn’t think that with just this one attempt, she could topple Karem’s castle built up in less than a year.

Karem’s uniquely creative and fascinating dishes and desserts were simply too impressive.

Wasn’t it just empty words to say she was not confident in confections and pastries?

Soon, Mary self-rejected her own thoughts.

Thinking back, whenever Karem wanted to make a dessert, he often entrusted the dough to her or others.

Even then, he only prepared things that were difficult to fail like crepes or pancakes.

As she savored the rich aroma of butter blooming amidst the hot air from the oven.

Mary peered into the oven.

The flattened dough placed on the tray slowly puffed (puff) up, increasing to a size slightly smaller than an adult’s fist.

And just as it was about to explode from inflating too much—

“Oh no! Oof!”

As she pulled the tray, heated to temperatures that could be in the hundreds of degrees, from the oven with bare hands, Mary promptly set it down on one side of a clean table and immediately began tidying up.

The scattered flour and stuck dough remnants.

She also cleaned and wiped the bowl and utensils used for the dough, as well as the bountiful oak barrel, and finally faced the now somewhat cooled puff pastries.

First, assessing their appearance. The size was slightly smaller than an adult’s fist.

The lumpy, round figure that had puffed up in a pleasing shade of beige was something Mary could barely contain herself over.

But the smell.

The gentle aroma of warm puff pastry was sure to explode with butter flavor the moment it entered anyone’s mouth, enveloping their entire head.

Mary could assure it.

Because she had tasted it once before.

‘…Whoa. That was close.’

Mary barely retracted her hand, which was reaching toward the puff pastry. She almost caused an incident by reaching for the contractor’s snacks first.

Holding her breath in order to resist the temptation, Mary finally placed the tray with the puff pastries into the refrigerator and took out the egg tarts and cream that had been matured for a day.

Yeah. It was definitely easier to hold off on this.

The chilled egg tarts had no distinctive aroma.

‘I just need to finish quickly and prepare it.’

Mary was liberated from the desire for butter.

No, in truth, the temptation was still ongoing.

This time, it was with the egg tart and whipped cream.

The soft, sweet, and crispy combination.

Just imagining the taste was tantalizing her.

However, compared to the freshly baked aroma of the buttery pastries, well…

Mary, with unwavering concentration, combined the cream for the egg tarts and also prepared to fill the puff pastry with even more cream, vigorously beating in the sugar.

‘With one bite, no one will notice. Gah, hold on. Inner instinct, resist! I only got out of that the moment before.’

 

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