Chapter 121

On Monday afternoon, I have only elective courses for the Mage Course. The Mage Course is also buzzing with talk about the Knight Club being disbanded. But if anything, the prevailing opinion seems to be, “Serves them right!” Since the Magic Club suffered from their actions as well, I suppose that’s only natural.

“Oh, Lord Benjamin, didn’t you skip ahead past Alchemy 2?”

I came to the Alchemy 2 class after asking Professor Kubrick, since I wanted to make more magic lamps and Alchemy 3 couldn’t fit anywhere into my current schedule.

“Ah, I came here to pick you up, Patience. On Friday, I stayed right until closing time, trying to figure out a magic circle that could adjust brightness. I finally finished it, so I came to fetch you.”

“Eh, you finished it? But…”

As I hesitated, Professor Kubrick laughed and said, “Go on!”

“Patience has already passed Alchemy 2 anyway. Just don’t forget to take Alchemy 3 in the autumn term.”

With permission granted, I head to the Alchemy Club. Caesar was waiting for us.

“Hey, Patience, good to see you.”

Caesar really always seems to be at the Alchemy Club.

“President Caesar, don’t you need to attend classes?”

I’m getting worried about him. He even forgot to submit his registration form for mandatory dance class, after all.

“Ah, just so you know, Patience, I won’t be around on Monday and Wednesday mornings. I haven’t gotten my credits for Herbology and Pharmacology yet.”

Huh? Caesar is a fifth-year student, right?

“Do you mean Pharmacology 2 and Herbology 2?”

Benjamin laughs happily.

“Lord Caesar struggles with Pharmacology and Herbology, too.”

Caesar turns his head away with a “Hmph,” looking surprisingly young. That’s right, he’s only 14 or 15 years old. But since he’s lanky and tall, he doesn’t quite fit into the cute younger boy category.

“More importantly, look! I drew the magic circle for a lamp with adjustable brightness. Let’s test it out!”

We had already made the base and the glass cover during Friday’s Alchemy Club.

“Is this knob alright?”

“If it doesn’t work, we can just think of something else and remake it. I just want to know quickly if we can adjust the brightness properly with the magic circle.”

So he waited specifically for me. Alright, let’s assemble it.

“We place this magic circle on the base and set the knob. Let’s check if it turns on.”

“I know it will turn on, but the question is whether we can adjust the light. Try turning the knob.”

When I turned the knob all the way, it got bright. Now comes the real test.

“Turn the knob back a little at a time.”

When I turned the knob slightly in the opposite direction, it got a bit dimmer. And when I turned it a little more, it got even dimmer.

“Ah, this is a level of brightness that won’t disturb sleep!”

Caesar snorted, but he looked extremely happy. That part of him is pretty cute.

I attach the dome-shaped glass cover.

“It’s complete! Now Henry won’t be scared when he goes to sleep, either. When I was at home, I would go to put out the candle a little while after saying goodnight, but since I moved into the dorms, I was worried about him.”

President Caesar and Benjamin look at me with strange expressions.

“Isn’t that a nanny’s job?”

Benjamin asks in genuine curiosity. Well, he is a young master, after all.

“We don’t have a nanny at our house. My maid and I take care of my younger brothers.”

President Caesar seems to realize something, but he changes the subject.

“Patience, isn’t there anything else you want to make?”

“There are plenty of things I want to make, but I lack the knowledge of magic circles to create them. I need to take Magic Circles 3 in the autumn term to study up.”

Even this magic lamp was made mostly thanks to President Caesar.

“Are there really that many things you want to make? Tell us, Patience!”

President Caesar is starting to look like President Albert when he begs for new songs.

“That’s right! Patience is already a member of the Alchemy Club. If you have ideas for new magic items, isn’t creating them together the true essence of the Alchemy Club?!”

Wow, Benjamin’s hair is standing on end. He’s about to turn into a lion.

“Well, if you’re fine with things that I want…”

There are plenty of things I think would be convenient to have.

“That’s fine! Come on, tell us!”

This is practically extortion. Alright, I’ll list a whole bunch.

“I can use household magic, but most people can’t. That’s why I want a washing machine. And a vacuum cleaner, too. Ah, when making sweets, it’s easy for me to whip eggs or heavy cream, but I’d like a hand mixer. I also need a hair dryer. And that electric fan I saw at the Aoba Festival last year—I want a air cooler that adds a cold air feature to that. Also…”

Benjamin covers my mouth with his hand.

“Hold on a moment! Saying so many things all at once will only confuse us!”

President Caesar was completely bewildered, repeating, “What’s a washing machine? What does a vacuum cleaner do? A mixer? A hair dryer? Cold air?” but then he starts asking me questions one by one.

“A washing machine is a box where you put in water and detergent, mix it around, and wash off the dirt. Ah, couldn’t this mixing part be done by applying the mechanism of an electric fan?”

Since explaining it verbally seems hard to understand, I draw a picture.

“I see. This looks doable using the magic circle applied from the electric fan. But we’d also need a magic circle to supply water, and a drain, too.”

Ah, at this rate, the laundry would remain soaking wet. Um, if it’s a twin-tub washing machine—the kind before fully automatic ones—it could do the spin-drying, too, right?

“I just thought of a better washing machine! We add a spin-drying function to it. We separate it into a wash tub and a spin-dry tub.”

Both of them have faces that show they don’t understand at all. Ah, right—they’ve never done laundry, nor have they ever seen anyone do it.

“You at least know that laundry is done with water and detergent, right?”

They barely seem to know even that much. The two of them nod.

“It’s very hard physical labor. Besides, detergent is expensive, so a twin-tub design saves money.”

Ah, the point isn’t getting across at all. After that, I spent the time until Herbology class explaining how to use a twin-tub washing machine.

“I see. First, you wash the less dirty laundry in the larger wash tub with detergent. Then, you put it in the spin-dry tub to wring it out. In the meantime, you wash the dirtier laundry in the wash tub. After that, you take it out and drain the dirty soapy water. Next, you put the less dirty laundry back into the wash tub from the spin-dry tub and rinse it while running clean water. Once that’s done, you take the dirtier laundry out of the spin-dry tub and rinse it in the wash tub.”

Did I make a mistake by explaining the double-use method all at once?

“You forgot to put the less dirty laundry into the spin-dry tub after rinsing it. And the dirtier laundry also needs to be spin-dried in the spin-dry tub after being rinsed.”

The two of them let out a sigh.

“I had no idea doing laundry was so much work.”

“President Caesar, that’s not the end of it! You have to hang it up to dry. And if you don’t iron it, it’ll be all wrinkled. Ah, I definitely want a magic iron, too! The current ones have charcoal put inside them, so they’re heavy and make your hands tired.”

Benjamin looks at me in disbelief.

“Patience, are you really a noble lady?”

“Well, irons are used during sewing class at the Royal Academy, you know. Besides, I can use household magic, so I’ve never actually done laundry by hand. Mary, my maid, wouldn’t allow it anyway.”

President Caesar bursts out laughing.

“We really needed Patience. We know far too little about the things needed for daily life.”

Benjamin is scratching his head wildly. So this is how the lion hair gets made!

“I still can’t understand how to use a twin-tub washing machine.”

Maybe explaining the double-use method first was a mistake.

“I tried to save detergent and water, so I made it too complicated. For normal use, you just put water, detergent, and laundry into the wash tub and run it. Then you take the laundry out, and while it’s spin-drying in the spin-dry tub, you drain the dirty soapy water from the wash tub. You put the spin-dried laundry back into the wash tub and rinse it with running water. Once the rinse water runs clear, you just put the laundry into the spin-dry tub and spin-dry it one last time.”

Even then, Benjamin frowns as if it’s still complicated, but President Caesar seems to have understood completely.

“Patience, if we make a washing machine, we can get a patent! Let’s do our best!”

“A patent… But I can’t actually make it myself.”

What a disappointment. Even if I have the ideas, I don’t have the ability to create magic circles.

“What are you talking about? Ideas are what matter most for a patent! Alright, everyone, let me make a washing machine!”

Just as President Caesar and Benjamin get all fired up, the bell marking the end of third period mercilessly rings—clang, clang!

“It’s time for Herbology 2. I have to head to the greenhouse.”

As I stand up from my chair, President Caesar tries to hold me back, saying, “What about the other things—the vacuum cleaner, mixer, iron, hair dryer, and air cooler?!”

“President Caesar, there are so, so many more things I want. So let’s take our time and make them gradually.”

While President Caesar stands there stunned, I hurry off to the greenhouse. Benjamin, who should have left the Alchemy Club way after me, catches up to me in no time.

“Patience, why don’t you switch to the Mage Course?” Don’t try to recruit me! Geez!