I remembered that I had Eleonora so focused on secretarial duties around my businesses that I hadn’t explained slime vision to her yet. It didn’t take me long to explain it to her now.
“So by sharing the senses of the slimes through Tamer magic, you can take advantage of the slimes’ far more effective magic detection,” Eleonora summarized.
“Exhausting the brain this way can cause headaches and fatigue, but the method is highly effective and allows for a variety of applications: keeping watch, searching an area, healing magic... Even throughout today’s training, I was training my own magic detection through modeling slime vision.”
“It is far easier to control what you can see than what you cannot. Visualizing magical energy makes it easier to control it more precisely. Frankly, anyone who uses magic would kill for an ability like that,” Eleonora said.
Oh? Can I bring Eleonora over to the slime side? Just as the thought crossed my mind, a cold gust blew past us. After being acclimated to the temperature of the Sea of Trees, even the summer air didn’t feel too hot during the day, and a little chilly at night.
“I’ve been enjoying discussing magic with you so much that I’ve lost track of time,” I said. “Thank you for these documents, Eleonora. I’d like to go over them thoroughly. Do you mind if I wait until tomorrow morning to give you feedback?”
“Absolutely. Please don’t hesitate to point out any shortcomings.” Eleonora took a half step back as she was about to leave, before she hesitated for just a moment and added even more stoically than usual, “I would like to make a suggestion regarding this testing ground. Earlier today, you mentioned the possibility of paving a path from here to the testing ground. Personally, I also recommend paving paths around these cottages, and all the way down the mountain if possible. It should be made clear to anyone that these facilities and their surroundings are being maintained.”
“Not just for our benefit, you mean.”
“No. This is about appearances.” She went on to explain that, since I had been granted access to this testing ground by my request as the duke’s engineer, I should make a show out of using the grounds effectively. “Technically, these grounds are lent out to you by the duke, and it would be up to him to extend the duration of said lease or revoke it altogether. However, from what I have been told by Sebas, the duke will not revoke this lease barring catastrophic negligence. Therefore, this lease is effectively a grant of these grounds.”
“I wasn’t told that,” I said.
“On purpose, I suspect. It would be more beneficial for the duke that way... And—I am only speculating—the duke probably thought you would turn down the offer if he had granted you the deed to these grounds outright,” Eleonora said.
I’d been gazing up at the beautiful night sky before I knew it. A chunk of land I could use as I saw fit would be huge, but if I’d been offered the deed outright, I would have most likely considered the gift too generous. It made sense that they expected that reaction from me. Even though I thought I owed the Jamils several debts, they considered themselves in my debt...
“Is the supposed lease beneficial for the duke because it doesn’t look like he’s giving the newcomer any special treatment?” I asked.
“Something like that. Although the Jamils are vigilant, many people are involved in their operations, especially towards the bottom. There is no guarantee that no one will resort to more sinister actions. Those of noble houses concern themselves with how things appear, in particular...”
If something like that were to happen, and if it looked like I wasn’t properly maintaining the land—by ignoring needs and not building out necessary paths—I could easily imagine the retorts:
“Is that really suited for experiments?”
“Is he even trying?”
“What’s the point of granting him the testing grounds?”
“Not using the duke’s gift is treasonous!”
It was very possible to encounter people like this who’d just want to tear me down just for being higher in the duke’s good graces than they were. There were enough people in this world who wanted to cause a fuss regardless of facts, and people who made snap decisions based on imperfect information.
“Very well,” I said. “Let’s make big changes all around. Sebas had mentioned that problems should be dealt with before they have a chance to grow. It makes sense to fill in whatever cracks we can. The last thing I want is for suspicions to arise about my work ethic and cause the Jamils any trouble.” To compare this to modern-day, an employee’s scandal—even a false alarm—could harm the reputation of the entire company. If nothing else, it would be an unnecessary inconvenience for the Jamils. “Then the question becomes how to carve out the time for those projects.”
“There should be enough wiggle room,” said Eleonora. “With the construction method you used to build these lodgings today, carving out paths will take much less time than traditional methods. Besides, I believe Lord Rosenberg had allotted much more instructional time to the spell you’ve acquired today.”
“It should be doable then, if I ask the adventurers to scope out potential paths to the bottom of the mountain,” I said. Whether she had this suggestion planned since she learned about the lease of the testing grounds or only since witnessing my work today, the conversation about how quickly I could learn spells was a lead-in for this suggestion. “I’ll ask them to get started on scouting those paths tomorrow morning.”
“Thank you for taking my suggestion to heart.”
“Of course. Thank you for suggesting a good idea.”
“Although I believe in its merit, I am aware of how oversensitive it sounds,” Eleonora said with a clear undertone of self-deprecation that even I could pick up on.
“Then I thank you even more for it. I can also be sensitive to these things, so having a solution for it makes me feel better. Besides, nobles need to guard themselves against every little threat, don’t they? I don’t have the experience or mindset to prepare me for that, so I really do appreciate your opinion because you can see things from that perspective,” I said.
“Thank you.”
“If anything else comes to mind, don’t hesitate to bring it to my attention. I may decide to put it on the back burner depending on what it pertains to, but I will never consider it a waste of time,” I said.
“Understood.”
After our somewhat mechanical conversation, only the sound of leaves rustling in the night wind remained. A few moments later, she bid me good night and began walking away.
“Have a good night. Stay warm!” I called after her, and stepped back into the men’s lodging. I couldn’t gauge how she felt about my response, but it was a good sign that she was volunteering her opinions. Now that she placed the ball of trust in my court, I’d have to take good care of it, and that started with giving these reports a thorough read.