The Sleeping Devil

A few days later, the merchant mentioned by Didier arrived.

"Good to see you, Rainer."

When Rainer raised his head, his gaze remained fixed on Sheriel's head, turning into stone. Not knowing what to do, Sheriel froze as well, and Didier spoke with a more insinuating voice than usual.

"Surprised? Don't speak a word about this to anyone. If you leak it, I'll erase not only you but also your family, friends, and even your hometown."

"What does my brother think of me?"

Perhaps taken aback by her slightly sullen voice, Rainer regained his composure and straightened his posture.

"My apologies for the delayed greeting. I am Rainer, a merchant operating within the Beriard territory. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

"Sheriel, haven't you learned from Margot-sensei? Noble children are supposed to conceal their existence from anyone who is not intimately acquainted with nobility until they undergo baptism. Commoners are entirely excluded. And not just because of your hair color."

Since she rarely interacted with servants who would be surprised by her hair color, Sheriel had forgotten about it.

Come to think of it, my hair color isn't found in this country.

Rainer's surprise and Didier's wariness might be understandable.

Finally taking their seats, their first transaction began.

"Didier-sama, what kind of goods are you seeking today?"

"It's Sheriel who has something she wants. Please listen to the request of my adorable little sister."

A servant standing behind Rainer began to unfold a wooden box containing dolls and dresses.

"What I want today is not for myself. Please put that aside."

"I understand. Then, what about..."

"I heard that Rainer also deals in essential oils. And that they rival the best quality in Beriard. Where do you produce them?"

"We produce them in our workshop. Nowadays, essential oils have become a specialty of Beriard."

According to Rainer, the Beriard Marquisate doesn't have anything particularly famous as its territory specialty.

From his carefully chosen words, it became apparent that Beriard's ever-changing policies and the relationship between the resilient inhabitants in the unstable territory played a role.

During Sergio's reign, the merchants thrived due to Dior's hobbies (or rather, her obsession with beauty).

This is fortunate. If that's the case, she might be able to obtain it sooner than expected.

"In that case, how do you refine the essential oils?"

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"Well..."

So it's treated as a trade secret.

Rainer wiped the sweat from his forehead and clenched his fist tightly. He was weighing the profits of the trade company against the anger of the nobility.

"Do you soak the herbs in vegetable oil? Or do you refine essential oils and mix them with the oil... or is there another method?"

"Why are you... S-Seiyu, you mean...?"

Rainer's eyes widened, and he leaned forward, placing his hands on the table. If Didier hadn't lightly restrained him, he seemed like he would have jumped all the way to Sheriel.

"I also have some knowledge about it. Judging from the situation, is it soaking? I'll teach you how to make essential oils, so try that method. And be sure to save the byproduct that can be obtained during the process."

While explaining and drawing a diagram on paper, the shrinking demeanor from earlier seemed to have vanished somewhere, and Rainer's eyes sparkled as he stared at it with childlike fascination.

It's hard to tell who is the child in this situation.

"Distillation might be done in a sake brewery or something similar, and the mechanism itself isn't that difficult. Be careful not to touch the finished essential oils directly."

"A sake brewery?! Even though it's oil... No, essential oils, essential oils are amazing. In that case, the oil..."

Rainer's shoulders trembled, and his pupils were fully dilated.

"Oh, dear brother..."

"Hehe, isn't it interesting? When it comes to business, even a commoner like you gets all fired up."

Didier smiled as if he were observing a rare beast, and his gaze finally met Rainer's after he regained his composure.

"My apologies. I will prepare it immediately."

"I will teach you how to use the essential oils next time, so don't use them recklessly."

As a precaution, he added some insurance so that they wouldn't be stolen.

"By the way, wouldn't I be able to do something like this myself? Is it really necessary to go through the trading company?"

"If it catches your mother's interest, dear brother, you will be completely absorbed in it all day long, won't you? Besides, it's a good thing for the people to prosper, isn't it?"

Rainer's complexion alternated between pale and bright red, showing signs of unease.

Having thoroughly studied the ways of the nobility, Sheriel deliberately entrusted the request to the trading company.

It's not because she finds it troublesome to make it herself. Absolutely not.

After purchasing several items from Didier, Rainer left with flushed cheeks.

Afterward, the two of them headed straight to the kitchen.

Since Sheriel had been taught the recipe for sweet potatoes, the kitchen had become a playground.

It took some effort to find the sweet potatoes, but the method itself was not difficult, so recently, sweet potato and meringue were made as a set.

"So, what are you going to do with that oil? Is it to be used as massage oil?"

"I'm going to make shampoo... a hair cleanser. It's similar to cooking."

Soap in this world doesn't lather well.

However, since it's similar to homemade soap seen on video-sharing websites, it should work. Probably.

Just finely chop the soap, dissolve it in hot water, and add the oil. It should be able to remove dirt that can't be washed off with just water and also control hair dryness.

But, however.

The soap won't dissolve... why?

As Sheriel kept stirring relentlessly, Mary, feeling sorry for her, finally spoke up.

"Miss, ordinary soap doesn't dissolve in regular well water, you know?"

"Then how do you do laundry and washing dishes?"

"We use magic. Soap lathers well with water produced by magic."

Oh? Such a secret technique... Hmm?

"Does that mean only nobles can use soap?"

"I wonder? I've never thought about it."

"Dear brother, could you bring some water here?"

"Of course."

Draw

Water flowed out from the tip of the wand he pulled out from somewhere, accompanied by an incantation. He heated the water just like before.

"Your spells are short, dear brother. I thought spells were very long."

"These are spells. Beginners use short spells, intermediate spells are a bit longer. When it comes to advanced and special-grade spells, they become more like rituals with invocations."

"Oh, I see." Sheriel admired while the soap dissolved well in the heated water.

She added a few drops of fragrance oil to the liquid soap and stirred again. The scent didn't come out as much as she expected, and it had a unique smell.

Soaps in this world had a slightly unpleasant odor. It seemed she had to wait for the finished product of the essential oils.

"Today, I want you to wash my hair with this. Is that okay? Mary, can you also bring some water?"

"Yes, of course. Since we don't have enough magical power to heat the water, let's gather it in a bucket and heat it up."

"Thank you, Mary. Oh, by the way, dear brother, could you pour some water into this cup again?"

The water poured into the cup didn't seem different from ordinary water.

"Is it safe to drink this?"

"Yeah, it's fine. I only drink water that I conjure myself."

She took a sip and it was just normal water. Yes, ordinary water. The water they usually drank was heavy and tasteless, even though it didn't have any flavor.

It seemed this difference was related to the lathering of soap.

As she pondered over this, she continued modifying other items that Dior had made, went to observe them, and made various preparations.

"By the way, is everything going well with your studies, Didier?"

"I finished in the morning. How about Sheriel?"

"The amount of studying is different between you and me, dear brother."

"Not really. Sheriel is trying to catch up on everything until the age of three. There should be some more room for relaxation."

"That's how it was. But I've heard that the content of your studies has become quite difficult, and you're busier than me with swordsmanship and magic..."

As she witnessed Didier's genius, she began to feel anxious about the future progress of Beriard's education according to his standards.

Defective, incompetent, useless.

An unexpected memory flashed back, and my blood drained from my face in an instant.

It felt like all the blood in my head was rushing towards my heart, making my chest tight.

But soon, a warm hand descended upon my head, and a gentle warmth spread through my chilled mind.

"No, Sheriel."

"Dear... brother?"

"Did something hurt you just now? Don't hurt your heart without me shaking it."

What was that...

While I was astonished by Didier's sharp insight as always, I couldn't help but find it somewhat amusing.

"Hehe, I was despairing at your genius, dear brother."

"Well, if that's the case."

Perhaps it was Didier's way of showing kindness.

Although I hadn't been actively studying much until now, I decided that I would study properly once I returned to my room.

And with that thought, Sheriel moved forward.