Chapter 73

From ancient times, the residences of the nobility were often built with high ceilings, and they frequently used space lavishly.

The room we are in now is no exception, with a ceiling easily more than two adults tall.

The chandelier hanging from there was, of course, out of reach.

When Lady Kate gave a signal, one of the servants inserted a hand into a small hole in the wall.

The sound of metal scraping was heard, and the chandelier slowly descended.

This was the result of activating a mechanism built into the walls and ceiling, used to light the candles.

The chain suspending the chandelier extended, bringing it down to just above our heads.

"Oh, this is...?"

"Up close, it seems a bit more opaque than glass, doesn't it?"

In response to the guest's question, I decided to answer.

"This chandelier is primarily made of salt."

"A chandelier made of salt...?"

Lady Sienna repeated my words, looking puzzled.

"I've never seen anything like it..."

"It exists right here, right now. If you doubt it, touch the chandelier and lick your finger."

"Such an indecent act, I couldn't possibly—"

"Wow, it's salty!!"

A child's cry rang out.

The voice belonged to Lord Galon's young son, Lady Kate's younger brother.

Though only about ten years old, he had been behaving admirably among the adults, but perhaps he was bored inside.

Seizing the opportunity to satisfy his curiosity, his reaction seemed to resonate with the emotionally rich Lady Kate.

Noticing the attention he had drawn, the young boy looked embarrassed and hung his head.

"Indeed, as he said, this chandelier is made of salt. It tastes salty if you lick it. The central base connected to the chain is metal, but everything else, including the outer parts and the teardrop-shaped decorations hanging down, is made entirely of salt. Lady Kate is, of course, aware of this."

I nodded to Lady Kate, signaling her to continue.

"As Lady Letitia said, this chandelier is made of salt. Originally, in our territory, we used to process blocks of rock salt and finish them like sculptures. Inspired by this, with the help of Lady Letitia's magic, we created this beautiful salt chandelier."

"Magic to create salt...?"

I decided to demonstrate clearly to Lady Sienna, who looked skeptical.

I took a fist-sized lump of rock salt wrapped in cloth from my dress pocket and held it up for everyone to see.

I closed my eyes for a moment, focused, and channeled my magic while reciting a spell. A key-shaped object, resembling frosted glass, formed.

The technique I used, 'Refinement,' is one I have relied on the most since awakening my memories from my previous life.

'Refinement' is generally known as a method to freely change the shape of materials like soil and minerals.

――If the target is soil or minerals, and rock salt is a mineral, shouldn't it work?

This idea came to me when I saw a large lump of rock salt given to me by Lady Kate.

As the name suggests, rock salt looks like rock or crystal.

So, I thought, 'Refinement' might work.

To my surprise, it did when I tried it out of curiosity.

...Magic is truly profound.

Later, I tried 'Refinement' on lumps of meat and vegetables, but as expected, it failed.

Perhaps it doesn't work on substances primarily composed of organic materials like meat and plants?

Or maybe it worked because I perceived the salt as rock?

I don't understand the exact principles or boundaries, but it's certain that 'Refinement' works on salt.

Right now, a key transformed from rock salt sits in my palm.

The guests' expressions of surprise, similar to mine when I first succeeded with salt 'Refinement,' were somewhat amusing.

"I've heard that the Manila rock salt mine was discovered because a certain girl dropped a key. Today is the anniversary of the discovery of the Manila rock salt mine, so I made a key out of salt."

I handed the salt key to a maid, who delivered it to Lord Galon.

Lord Galon examined the key and nodded quietly.

"As Lady Letitia said, this is indeed made from a block of salt. I've heard that Lady Letitia demonstrated excellent 'Refinement' skills at the King's birthday celebration, so it's not surprising that she could create a whole chandelier."

Lord Galon's words seemed to convince the other guests.

While many beastmen are often unfamiliar with magic, Lord Galon, as the head of a ducal family, was clearly well-informed.

"I am honored by your praise. This chandelier is a gift to Lady Kate in return for the rock salt she gave me. Unfortunately, my salt 'Refinement' is still immature, so it will only maintain its shape for about a month. However, I hope it will delight everyone's eyes during that time, and afterward, you can use it as salt."

As I concluded, Lady Kate took over.

"The material for this chandelier is salt produced in our territory. Currently, this is the only chandelier created by Lady Letitia's magic, but our territory has a wealth of salt processing techniques. In the future, we may be able to train craftsmen and establish a technique to produce salt chandeliers as a specialty product. Manila Day is a time to express gratitude for the salt that blesses us and to explore better ways to use it. Don't you think this chandelier is fitting for Manila Day?"

Lady Kate directed her gaze at Lady Sienna.

It seemed like a subtle retort to Lady Sienna, who had earlier said, "This chandelier is not suitable for Manila Day."

The guests, having heard Lady Kate's explanation, began to praise the chandelier.

Today's guests, aside from myself and the princess candidates, were mostly members of Lady Kate's family.

The salt-baked dishes and the salt chandelier.

The evaluation of Lady Kate, who demonstrated new possibilities for salt, a specialty of her hometown, seemed to be very positive.