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Catherine’s prediction was spot on.

No, in some ways, it exceeded my expectations.

“What the heck, why is the effect so good?”

“Leader. What should we do?”

“What do you mean ‘what should we do’? Just buy everything we can!”

Simply put, demand was outpacing supply.

Gordon was thrilled that Flora was excitedly making things to help him.

Of course, this was somewhat expected.

The people of Arms Town clearly witnessed the fairies suddenly flocking together from all directions to one place.

Every time a pair of unidentified duo sprinkled their light green glowing powder, fairies would eat it, be overjoyed, then explode, leaving only materials behind.

The reason why people hesitate to try new products is due to a lack of trust in them.

Could this really be more effective than the previous version?

Would this product actually be worth the price?

It seemed like the performance was exaggerated too much.

However, everyone in Arms Town intuitively understood the effects of the powder sprinkled by the duo.

Of course, despite whatever was happening outside, people inside didn’t believe it.

Fairies, like they were under some hypnosis, would eat the mysterious powder and explode right on the spot, leaving just materials?

And only after seeing that amazing powder did the skeptics finally regain their faith.

Whoosh—! Whoosh—!

“Kiieeeek—!”

“Kiieee!”

“Wagu wagu wagu—Kieeeei!”

Boom!

“Now, this is something. What do you think?”

“…Where in the world would you buy that?”

Thanks to that, the village chiefs who received consignment sales orders from the producers saw even more customers flooding in.

Of course, the price of the fairy-special powder wasn’t cheap.

It was exactly double the price merchants paid for Fairy Dust.

However, the convenience of just sprinkling it to attract fairies combined with its impressive cost-performance was still reasonable enough.

During an era where the main modes of transport were walking, wagons, and riding, human greed transcended time and age.

It took less than three days for all the village chiefs in Baron Bolton’s Territory, who caught the scent of profit, to sing praises of Gordon’s name while selling the powder on behalf.

Naturally, there were also bold individuals trying to protest this monopoly, seize opportunities, or steal secrets.

Creeeak— Chukchuk—

“Ugh, wait. Kyaaaa!?”

Those guys couldn’t even get past the Tree Spirits that Flora ordered to guard Armsport.

Fairies exploding after eating powder and losing their lives.

Happy adventurers and merchants with more Fairy Dust.

Adventurers focusing on monster hunting as competitors dwindled.

Village chiefs excitedly expecting their pockets to swell with profits.

Robelio, glad to see the territory’s finances finally in the black.

Everyone in Baron Bolton’s Territory was happy.

“…Robelio. Didn’t it seem like the paperwork just doubled? It must be my imagination, right?”

“It’s not your imagination. It really has increased. Thanks to the Duchess.”

“What the heck. I’m outta here—”

“Duchess? Please, I beg you.”

“Porong♥!”

“Where in the world did that come from!?”

Except for Gordon and the intruders being squeezed dry nightly due to the increased paperwork from the miraculous powder sales.

“I’ll need stamina potions.”

“I would need a whole box.”

Anyway, those on top only need to bear their obligations, so it’s not a problem.

Karem agreed with Catherine’s assertion.

Nothing had changed.

They could just enjoy their vacation until returning to Winterhome.

“Atanitas, take this.”

Out of nowhere, Shen appeared and handed over a vintage letter.

“Hm?”

As Catherine and her companions enjoyed brownies made with Amadeus and vanilla ice cream, as well as Alraune’s Tear, they blinked at the delivered letter.

Hooororok— Clack—

“You come back after days, and your role is a delivery person?”

“Well, ‘delivery person’ isn’t wrong.”

“Um? Are you admitting that?”

Surprisingly, Catherine flinched when she reached for her teacup again.

“Here. It’s an invitation.”

Shen rotated the envelope in front of Catherine, who raised one eyebrow, then slid it toward her. When she took it and broke the seal, Karem peered over casually.

“I don’t mind being seen openly.”

“Ah, um. Is it really okay?”

“It’s not like you’ll be able to decipher it anyway.”

Once she broke the seal, the envelope burst into bright flames and disappeared. Catherine unfolded the letter casually, as if nothing happened.

“Hmm? There’s nothing written—oh.”

As soon as the part Catherine held was touched, the ink began to blur as if it was wet. However, it was in ancient letters resembling ornate runes, which she couldn’t read.

“How fascinating. Is this really an invitation?”

“Yup. It’s an invitation to the conference.”

“A conference… the Magic Conference?”

“Yup. Indeed, the time has been approaching.”

Catherine scratched her temple, annoyed, then flipped the letter upside down.

“Of all places, it has to be in the Iberian colonies. Not even the countless tiny nations caught in between, but Iberia?”

“Is there a problem?”

“Iberia is a land of barbarism, just like beyond the mountains.”

Indeed, inviting someone to a place that looks like nothing but snow and ice from Afterglow Fortress would be irritating. However, looking at Catherine’s reaction, it seemed like she had no choice but to go.

“Nonetheless, it’s located below Bersengzeto, so it’s warm all year round.”

“So there might be a colony there.”

Though the other side of the mountain was dangerous, the biggest problem was the relentless fierce cold and snow and ice all year round. Being warm without those three elements didn’t seem to make it impossible for colonization.

“But why in the world is the conference being held in such a place?”

“I might not know either.”

Shen also looked puzzled, fiddling with the small vine flower dangling from his ear.

“Then why personally—”

“Anyway, I’ve delivered the letter, so I’ll be going now. Oh dear. So busy! So busy!”

Before there was even a chance to respond, Shen got up, stuffed a few brownies in his mouth, and dashed out.

“…Hah!”

No wonder he was so fidgety. However, Catherine ignored Shen and gestured to Mary. Following the contractor’s wishes, Mary presented a brownie piece piled high with vanilla ice cream, which Catherine devoured.

A brownie piece the size of a thumb, completely covered in a mound of vanilla ice cream.

The sweetness of the vanilla ice cream was the first to be felt on her tongue and nose.

A softness and subtle aroma that no fruit or honey could replicate filled her mouth.

As the taste and scent of vanilla and cream gradually spread, it was met by the overwhelmingly dense Amadeus that was hidden underneath.

This brownie was different from any dessert Catherine had eaten before.

The closest match might have been bread pudding or pound cake, but even that was entirely different in flavor.

Though brownies are known for their density, this one was even denser than pound cake, yet chewy, and soft like bread pudding, yet sticky.

Rich sweetness of Amadeus combined with sugar.

Chewy and soft richness of butter.

The mixture of these two flavors released a little bit each time she chewed.

The overpowering aroma of Amadeus rushing in from below, which she experienced before, paired very well with the soft vanilla ice cream. It was breath-taking.

The chocolate’s and Amadeus’s rushing scent threatened to take over her mouth, while the ice cream, not to be outdone even with its sticky feels and taste, melted even more vigorously and claimed its reputation.

As the harmony of the two different sweet flavors grew intense, the following richness of butter incited both battles.

Hooororok—

Catherine washed her mouth with the bitter liquid infused with the alluring scent of Alraune’s Tear.

The dispute inside her mouth came to a standstill.

This time, Catherine only ate the brownie.

With just a small piece, the harmonious blend of Amadeus and butter felt rich and sticky.

And Catherine felt very regretful.

Her constitution only allowed for such a tiny piece.

“However, there’s one thing I don’t understand.”

“I think the same. Contractor.”

Mary, who put down Catherine’s fork, took a big, square piece of brownie topped with a lot of vanilla ice cream and popped it into her mouth.

“Wha—what’s this?”

“Guess you understood, so just eat it.”

It seemed she was bothered by the overlap of the race name and the title. Karem glanced at Catherine. She seemed a bit bothered too, listening closely.

“First off, the spelling is entirely different. The brownie gets its name from its brown color. The official name is chocolate brownie.”

“Chocolate brown… so that just means it overlapped with words from my previous life?”

“Exactly.”

With that confident answer, Catherine’s sharp gaze softened a bit.

“Were you concerned because I attached Mary’s race name?”

“…Who said that? Who?”

Muttering softly, it seemed to strike a chord. However, Karem took Catherine’s weak warning to not dig deeper seriously and turned the conversation’s direction.

As it happened, he had something to ask as well.

“So, does Lord Arvern need to deliver a letter to Catherine yet forget it here because he was so emotional seeing Flora?”

“That fits since he’s an Elf in Bersengzeto and a Druid.”

“Ah, I see.”

Now Catherine could realize the cause of the cold sweat she’d unintentionally shed when she previously served food.

Catherine rejects even the Duke’s requests for troublesome matters. Seeing her grumbling but unwilling to say she wouldn’t go, it seems the wizard values the conference highly.

“So when will the conference be held?”

“I heard it will be next summer.”

“A year from now.”

Mary swallowed the piece of brownie topped with her dedicated vanilla ice cream.

“Swallow— I’ll need to prepare from winter.”

“Didn’t you say it’s right below Bersengzeto? Does it take that long?”

“Just the fuss about that guy.”

Catherine shook her head as if saying she couldn’t deal with it.

“Even departing from Obsidian Berry wouldn’t take a month.”

“They say it’s a place almost on par with the other side of the mountain, but there must be ships going there.”

“It’s thanks to the Kingdom of Adobice’s ships passing through Iberia’s coastline that they enter the intermediate sea.”

As she spoke, she moved a pile of letters, and the intermediate sea Catherine described resembled a pocket surrounded by Iberia, Bersengzeto, and Servianus above, and the Kingdom of Adobice below.

“Is it the Mediterranean…?”

“Hm? Mediterranean?”

“No, there was a sea similar to this in my previous life.”

Karem vaguely mumbled and tried to re-sort the disordered pile of letters when—

Thud—

“Hm? What’s this?”

“What is it?”

When he flipped the letter, the unexpected name was written as the sender.

“Elder Iona?”

“This morning, a messenger urgently requested that letter be delivered to the contractor with the others as quickly as possible.”

“And this letter was buried here?”

“Lord Arvern joined midway, so there was no time to deliver it.”

Plus, it could also be guaranteed that he was distracted by the brownies and vanilla ice cream. Thinking that, Karem handed the letter directly to Catherine.

“…It seems the conference is not an urgent matter.”

“Catherine?”

“A bit exaggerated, but I hear the Duchess is pregnant.”

As soon as those words hit their ears, silence enveloped the room.

This is indeed a celebratory event, but as a priority?

“If we leave right now, it should take about two months?”

“That’s a joyous occasion… but is it really necessary to leave immediately?”

“It says here that she refuses meat, seafood, and anything other than vegetables, fruits, and flour.”

…She can’t eat meat?

It seems she also refuses seafood.

Oh dear.

By the standard of Sephone, that’s a critically serious matter.

 

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