Chapter 38

"Are you acquainted with Prince Gaius, Bernardo-san?"

"No, I only had the chance to see his face when I delivered the catalyst to the castle."

When Ricardo looked puzzled, Bernardo smiled wryly.

"Of course, it's not as if we can meet immediately. However, the other day, when I met General Samuele, he said that the prince seemed to be very fond of the magic gun. Depending on how the conversation goes, we might be able to arrange a meeting with the prince."

Since Bernardo said this with confidence, Ricardo decided to leave it to him.

Leaving Bernardo's shop, Ricardo went to the Magician's Guild. Today was the day to teach the servants, Robson and the others, their studies. Excluding the periods when he had returned to Unius Village or was investigating the underground passage, he had been going to the servants' quarters every three days or so in the evening to teach them.

"Welcome, Master Ricardo."

Robson called out. Since Ricardo had become a magician, he was now being addressed as 'Master' by the young servants. Ricardo, who was not used to being called this way, felt a bit uncomfortable.

"I've told you, you don't need to call me 'Master.'"

"That won't do. It's a rule for young servants to address magicians as 'Master.'"

When it was put that way, there was nothing Ricardo could do.

Ricardo made a textbook for the servants' studies. Ricardo himself had studied magic based on the three books known as the 'Magic Textbooks,' but these textbooks were difficult to understand.

These textbooks were compiled by famous magicians. To put it bluntly, they were made by amateurs in terms of book editing, so they could not be considered well-made textbooks.

Ricardo, who had the spirit of Kantou, a teacher with many years of experience, was able to read the theories hidden between the lines of the textbooks and learn magic through self-study, but it would be difficult for ordinary people.

The young servants, who had neither the time nor the basic knowledge, would not be able to self-study from those textbooks. Therefore, he decided to make a textbook for the servants.

With the help of Robson and Sydney, he wrote a magic textbook titled 'Self-Study Magic Textbook.' This textbook was written with the aim of teaching basic knowledge and theories of magic, the basics of catalyst theory, and the foundational magic language.

It also included a little of the theory Ricardo had developed on his own, making it a well-rounded textbook.

By reading this textbook and practicing according to the training methods written in it, one could learn basic magic.

While Robson and Sydney had already learned basic magic and did not need it, they helped in making it for the other young servants. It was helpful to have their assistance, as Ricardo alone would not have known which parts were lacking in explanation.

Ricardo also made a textbook for arithmetic, not just magic. This one was relatively easy to create and was titled 'Self-Study Arithmetic Textbook.'

The author of these two self-study textbooks was listed as 'Kimeru Matou.' Kimeru is an old term meaning 'disciple,' and it was intended to be a pen name.

The self-study textbooks first became popular at the Magician's Guild, then spread throughout the capital, and finally became known even in foreign countries.

Thanks to this, people began to believe that a person named Kimeru Matou actually existed, and magicians who wanted to learn from him started to visit the capital.

Robson, Sydney, Nicola, and Domenico, the four who had already learned basic magic, were trying out Ricardo's unique magic control training method. This method involved releasing magic power from various parts of the body, not just the hands.

Those who practiced this method seemed to be able to control their magic power not just in one direction but freely.

In addition, Ricardo taught them the method of probe meditation. Of course, since the source gate did not exist in the depths of Robson and the others' minds, they could not draw power from it.

However, it seemed to have the effect of increasing the recovery rate of magic power by keeping the mind stable.

When Ricardo learned that meditation was effective for magic power recovery, he made Robson and the others perform magic control training and meditation first thing in the morning and again before going to bed.

This was a practice to increase both the control and the amount of magic power.

"I want to practice magic, but I don't have the money to buy catalysts."

Sydney said with a serious face.

It would be easy for Ricardo to buy them, but he did not have the means to buy catalysts for all the young servants.

"Hmm, what should we do?"

Robson asked.

"What did you do, Master Ricardo?"

"As I said before, I went to the nearby mixed forest and defeated magic beasts to obtain catalysts."

Robson and the others looked surprised.

"To get catalysts, you did something so dangerous?"

"There were only weak magic beasts like the Masked Rat and the Headbutt Rabbit in the nearby mixed forest, so it was actually quite safe."

"Did you defeat them with magic?"

"Of course not. If I used magic, I would consume the catalysts. I defeated them with weapons."

The young servants were impressed by this.

Ricardo started thinking about the education expenses for the young servants. Unlike Ricardo, they had work as servants and could not go to the mixed forest to hunt.

Then he remembered that the magic craftsman Emilia had said she needed someone to make parts for the catalyst cartridges.

The parts for the catalyst cartridges were thin circular plates made from the roots of the magic tree, used for the bottom and lid. These plates, about two centimeters in diameter, needed to be magic-coated to increase the magic conduction rate by about thirty percent.

Since the parts were small, magic-coating them was easy. However, since the catalyst cartridges were produced in large quantities, a large number of parts were needed. It seemed that it cost four copper coins to have a magic craftsman magic-coat one plate.

Ricardo thought about whether the young servants could do the magic-coating as a side job.

Robson and the others had the ability to learn how to do magic-coating. When he had them practice magic-coating with fragments from the branches of the magic tree Trill, they mastered it in three days.

With this result, he negotiated with the magic craftsman Emilia, and she agreed.

"Really, you can get two copper coins for each one you make?"

Sydney asked, looking incredulous. A young servant only received one silver coin for a week's work.

To get two copper coins, which is one-fifth of a silver coin, for making a small part was unbelievable.

"Magic craftsmen get four copper coins for each part. Since you are not real craftsmen, you get half. Think about what that means."

Robson tilted his head, not understanding.

"The parts you make will be strictly inspected by real magic craftsmen to ensure they function properly. That's why you get half."

Ricardo told them that if many parts were rejected during the inspection, they would lose their job.

In one week, Robson made twenty-four parts, earning four silver coins and eight copper coins. The other young servants made about the same number.

After receiving their payment, Sydney and Domenico became so engrossed in the side job that they cut into their sleep time, so Ricardo stopped them.

The side job was a means to obtain the catalysts needed to learn magic, and if it caused their magic studies to stagnate, it would be counterproductive.

With the funds obtained, Robson and the others started practicing intermediate magic.

Around this time, the audience with the prince was arranged.

The meeting place was the Unius breeding facility. Since the prince would be the patron of this business, it was necessary for him to know what kind of business it was. The prince would visit under the pretext of touring the breeding facility.

The problem was that the prince was coming at noon in three days, and a meal would need to be served.

Bernardo said he would take care of the meal, but Ricardo felt it would be irresponsible to leave it all to him, so he told him he would prepare one or two dishes.

He had something he wanted to eat himself, and he intended to recommend it to the prince.

When he was Japanese, he would sometimes crave anman (sweet bean buns) or nikuman (meat buns) and go to a convenience store to buy them.

Even now, as Ricardo, he sometimes longed for the white-skinned buns.

He decided to make them himself. For the dough, he needed flour and natural yeast. He knew from a TV program that natural yeast could be made by fermenting finely chopped fruit, so he tried it.

After trying various fruits, he found that the yeast made from a fruit similar to an apple and a fruit similar to a grape worked well.

The yeast made from grapes was suitable for bread, while the yeast made from apples was good for the dough of nikuman.

For the filling, he decided to use pumpkin and sweet potato instead of red beans, which he could not find.

Incidentally, the fruits and vegetables similar to apples, grapes, pumpkins, and sweet potatoes were called by different names in this country. For example, apples were called 'Pormo.' However, Ricardo used the familiar names in his mind to avoid confusion.

He decided to have his mother, Julia, help him make the anman and nikuman.

Serge, Pamela, and Monta were watching with interest.

"These two need to be boiled, right?"

Julia said, holding the pumpkin and sweet potato.

"Yes. Boil them until they're soft, then mash them."

While boiling the pumpkin and sweet potato, he mixed flour, sugar, a little salt, and yeast with warm water and kneaded the dough. After kneading it well, he added a little oil and kneaded it again to let it rise.

The boiled pumpkin and sweet potato were mashed and mixed to make the filling. He added a little sugar and salt to the pumpkin filling, as it lacked sweetness.

For the meat filling, he used the meat of the Tedon pig, which was raised by farmers. The Tedon pig had a long nose like an elephant. Its meat was almost the same as regular pork and was not considered a high-end ingredient, but it was more expensive than the meat of the Headbutt Rabbit.

He minced the pork with a knife. He also finely chopped the vegetables to mix with the minced meat. The vegetables were a type of onion and a root vegetable similar to lotus root.

The lotus root-like vegetable added a pleasant texture. He would have preferred bamboo shoots, but he could not get them.

He seasoned the filling and the dough was ready.

After the dough had risen to about twice its size, he divided it into small pieces, stretched them, and wrapped the fillings.

Serge and Pamela also joined in this task. Pamela was making anman with a high-pitched voice, looking very happy.

Finally, they needed to steam them, but there seemed to be no steamer in this world. He had a craftsman make a steamer.

He steamed them and tried them.

He blew on the steaming hot nikuman to cool it down before taking a bite. The chewy texture was followed by a sweet meat juice that filled his mouth. When he chewed, the flavors of the skin and the filling combined, giving him the taste of nikuman.

Ricardo's face broke into a broad smile.

"Hey, Ricardo, is it good?"

Serge asked.

"It's good. You can have one, but be careful, it's hot."

Serge grabbed a nikuman and put it in his mouth.

"Ah!"

"I told you to be careful, it's hot."

Despite the heat, Serge started munching. The other family members also tried them.

The family members who ate the nikuman smiled.

The pumpkin and sweet potato anman was also sweet and delicious.

All three types seemed to go well with a strong tea. Since the nikuman and anman were well-received by the family, he decided to serve them to the prince.

On the day of the meeting, Ricardo and Bernardo were waiting for Prince Gaius at the Unius breeding facility when a luxurious carriage appeared. General Samuele and the royal guards were riding horses beside it.

The carriage stopped, and the prince got out.

Ricardo froze when he saw the prince's face. Each feature was well-defined, but the placement of his eyes, nose, and mouth made him look like a villain.

His expression was cold and his blue eyes looked harsh. His physique was lean and muscular, giving him a sharp overall appearance.

"Prince Gaius, it is an honor to meet you."

Bernardo greeted him. Ricardo followed with a greeting and stood behind Bernardo. He intended to leave the negotiations to Bernardo, who was better at it.

"I heard from the general that you were the ones who presented the magic gun."

"That's right. I'm glad you liked it."

"Hmm, I did. The power is a bit lacking, but it's easy to use."

General Samuele nodded and asked Bernardo.

"If we could mass-produce this, we could equip the royal guards with it, but would that be difficult?"

"Yes, it's made of special materials, so we can only make it when we get those materials."

"That's a shame."

Prince Gaius looked around.

"What kind of place is this?"

"This is the Unius breeding facility, where we breed magic trees."

"I heard a little from the general, but why do you breed magic trees?"

"I'll explain while we tour the facility."

Bernardo led Prince Gaius and General Samuele to the first area. The magic tree Kumiri inside ran around in surprise. The prince watched with interest.

"Kumiri... Not uncommon in the magic realm..."

"But did you know that this Kumiri has the ability to turn the land where it nests into fertile soil?"

"What... Really?"

The prince picked up some soil to examine it.

"The color is different from the surrounding soil... I see, it doesn't contain salt crystals."

"Yes, it seems that the Kumiri absorbs the salt."

"Then, do you plan to turn the fertile land into a farm?"

"No, we plan to cultivate crops, but our main goal is the catalyst. In the future, we aim to breed the magic tree Trill and steadily obtain the [Fire] catalyst."

"I see, interesting. Is the same true for the other areas?"

Bernardo denied and led them to the second area.

The prince tilted his head slightly when he saw the magic tree inside.

"This magic tree seems a bit different from the Kumiri we saw earlier."

"Yes, the upper part is like the branches of a Sazami. We harvested it for the first time and got a lot of fruit."

The prince looked surprised.

Then, when he saw the apricot magic tree in the third area, the prince and the general widened their eyes.

"Are you saying that the fruit of the Shuramu tree will be available soon?"

"Yes, we have already harvested it once and processed it into a catalyst."

General Samuele smiled.

"That's good. The military always lacks [Life] catalysts."

The military consumes a large amount of [Life] catalysts due to injuries during training.

"Was it this person who came up with this idea?"

Bernardo denied and looked at Ricardo.

"The person who came up with the idea is this Ricardo. He is an excellent magician."

The prince looked at Ricardo as if evaluating him. It felt like he was being glared at by a villain, and the pressure was intense. Ricardo almost apologized but managed to hold it in.

"Remarkable for someone so young."

"Thank you for your kind words."

Finally, they were led to the fourth area.

There, a hundred magic trees Kumiri were running around.

"Haha... It's like the magic realm. Is there a risk of them escaping?"

The prince seemed to be concerned about the danger of the magic trees escaping.

"Unless someone intentionally lets them out from the outside, the Kumiri cannot escape on their own. Besides, the Kumiri itself is not a threat. It can be defeated by a child."

Ricardo denied.

"Hmm, the problem will be after we start breeding the magic tree Trill. If we take sufficient measures, it should be fine... Then why are you asking me for patronage?"

Bernardo told him about the suspicious person.

"I see, a business rival is a threat."

Prince Gaius agreed to support Ricardo and Bernardo's business.

When Ricardo and Bernardo left to prepare lunch, the prince asked the general.

"What did you think of those two?"

"Bernardo is a born merchant. He seems polite and easy to get along with, but he's probably calculating the profits in his head. However, he seems to be the type who values trust, so I think it's fine to trust him."

"Hmm, what about the young magician?"

"Ricardo might be a kind of genius. Considering that he came up with the idea of the magic gun and breeding magic trees at his age, I think we should try to make him an ally."

"It's rare for the general to recommend someone so highly. But don't you think he's too young? The idea of the magic gun and breeding magic trees might have been a lucky guess. Let's try him out and see."

The prince, who looked like a villain, smiled. Despite his capable and responsible nature, he was not easily trusting and sometimes tested people, which made him disliked by some.