On Friday afternoon, I would be visiting the alchemy club, but I had some work to do in the greenhouse before that. I refreshed the greater and antidotal herbs with purified water, and I also used some magic on them. For the antidotal herbs, I had to make sure my magic only affected the budding leaves, so those took a bit longer.
“Today I’m going to make needle threaders! I’d also like to make some bicycle parts after that. I wonder if there’s anything I can use in place of the rubber needed for the tires and brakes.”
I tidied myself up using household magic and hurried to alchemy club. I was determined to make sure I didn’t stay too late today.
“Hey, Patience! You’re late.” President Caesar always said I was late, but it was still only third period, so I was technically early. “Come, we’re going to make a bicycle!”
Unfortunately for President Caesar, I was more interested in making needle threaders. I was confident that the needle threader, just like the bicycle, would be something that the Burns Trading Company could sell. Well, that’s what I thought, but actually I had no idea what sort of products they usually sold.
“I’d like to make needle threaders today,” I told Caesar.
I showed him a sketch of my next pursuit, and he was visibly disappointed.
“You should be making the bicycle, not...this thing! Come on, we’ve made the diagrams for the various parts! I want to make the parts so we can put them together!”
President Caesar pulled out diagrams with the bicycle parts drawn out in incredible detail.
“Um, do we have the materials to make the tires and the brakes? The tires in particular need to have air inside them, so they require a material that is flexible yet sturdy.”
President Caesar had been on the edge of his seat, ready to dive into building this bicycle, but he froze for a moment.
“We’re putting air inside them?” Benjamin said, jumping into the discussion. “Hmm, a material that’s both flexible and sturdy... What about slimes?”
I decided to use this opportunity to sneak away and make my needle threaders.
“This isn’t thin enough to fit through the eye of a needle,” I mumbled while inspecting my creation. “It might work for an embroidery needle, but even so, the wire needs to be thinner!”
I ended up failing several times, but I successfully made two types of needle threaders. One was a thicker, sturdier threader that was for use with embroidery needles, and the other was an ultrathin threader for use with standard needles. I first made sets for Princess Margaret, Mary, and myself. I thought about how many more I should make, and I settled on making ten of each type. I would give some as samples to the Burns Trading Company, while the others would be for handing out to the embroidery and sewing teachers.
“Patience, we’re going to save the tires and brakes for later and make the other parts first,” President Caesar declared. “The brakes on a carriage are made of metal, so we can make a metal one for now. We’ll also just make the wheels out of wood or metal.”
President Caesar appeared to be desperate to build this bicycle. Since I’d finished making my needle threaders, I finally joined in.
“This chain is complicated,” Caesar muttered. “Do you want to try making it, Patience?”
I studied the diagram that President Caesar drew, then I visualized bicycle chains from my previous life.
“Create a chain!” I incanted.
“This looks pretty good,” Caesar remarked. “Let’s continue on with the other parts!”
Eventually, the other members of the club arrived, and we continued to make the bicycle parts. There were so many pieces to make, I probably would have used up all of my mana if I’d had to make them all on my own. Since the diagrams included the size of each part, as long as we all followed the plans, the separate parts should work together, regardless of who created them.
“It’s time to assemble everything!” President Caesar exclaimed.
I wasn’t happy that our wheels were made of metal, but slime powder wasn’t something the alchemy club just had on hand. The boys happily handled the assembly, and though there were several defective parts that had to be remade, we successfully completed our first bicycle.
“This is a bicycle?” Bryce asked.
He and Arthur had joined in the middle of making the individual parts, so they hadn’t fully grasped what the completed item would look like.
“I believe it would be best if the wheels weren’t made of metal, but it’s technically ready to use,” I said.
Everyone turned their attention to me.
What’s going on?
“So, uh, how do you make it move, Patience?” President Caesar asked.
Oh, right! No one here’s ridden a bicycle before.
“It is my first time as well, but I will try riding it,” I said.
I straddled the frame and took a seat.
“Wait!” Bryce called out. “Are you sure you should ride it like that, Patience?”
At first I was confused as to what he was concerned about, then I remembered that this was a world where it was improper for a lady to ride horses astride.
A bicycle frame is way thinner than the back of a horse, so this should be fine, right?
“Yes, this is the only way to ride it that I can think of,” I replied.
For some reason, Bryce was blushing. I had more important things to deal with, like seeing if the bicycle actually worked.
I gripped the handles, raised my feet, and I began pedaling. As I’d expected, it wasn’t the most comfortable riding experience because both the wheels and the seat were made of metal.
I want to make a leather cushion for the seat.
I rode around the clubroom, testing the brakes as well.
These also need improvement!
“It’s incredible!” President Caesar raved. “I’d like to ride it as well!”
The boys were all like excited children, eager to ride the bike, but they all needed more practice. They could only move it by stepping forward while seated.
“I still think the wheels should be changed to air-filled tires,” I said. “The brakes also don’t work very well. And the seat could be improved by changing it to one made of leather.”
No one was listening to me—they were all too focused on riding the bike.
“This is amazing, Patience!” Caesar called out. “You can move quickly without a horse! It’s a revolutionary invention!”
Yeah, bicycles are pretty useful. You can’t travel too far on one, though, since you have to pedal it yourself. Even so, it’s more than enough to get around Romano.
“Let’s make tires, President Caesar,” I urged him once more. “We must also make improvements to the brakes and the seat.”
This time, he finally heard me.
“I see now why a bell is necessary,” Benjamin chimed in. He was already trying to move on to making the bicycle bell.
Bells already existed in this world, usually as a method to summon servants. Some people had ropes in their room that could be tugged to ring a bell in the servant’s workroom. The Granger house was quite spacious, but there was no such system set up. The Laforets’ house, which I’d visited on the way to the summer palace, did have a bell system. The place was ginormous, so a mere handheld service bell likely was too quiet to be heard across the mansion.
“President Caesar, would you be able to show these needle threaders to your father? This thin one is for regular needles, while this thicker one is for embroidery needles.”
President Caesar seemed dubious of my needle threaders, but he accepted the threaders that I’d wrapped up for him.
“I’ll show them to him.”
It seemed he didn’t quite understand how useful these needle threaders were.
“I am a bit worried that your father won’t be able to see how useful these needle threaders can be. Please ask him to have your housekeepers or maids try them.” Maybe it’s just not something men would find useful, aside from tailors I guess. “Oh, I must get back to the dorms!”
It was starting to get dark outside. Bryce was completely engrossed in the bicycle, so I returned to the dorms on my own.
“Tomorrow is the study session, then I’m visiting Duke Burns’s home the day after that,” I muttered to myself. “I’m barely going to have any time with my angels.”
I managed to return to my dorm before it got dark. Princess Margaret was already back at the palace, so I had some free time. I decided to do some embroidery for my side job and study up on government and law.
I also had to read The Musician Verrier and write a report. I’d slowly been making my way through the book, and it was more of a domestic account book rather than what I’d expected from a diary. I couldn’t stay focused while reading it, which was why I hadn’t finished yet.
I should give up on trying to read the whole thing. I’ll skim the rest, and collect his income and expense records from his time living in Lawrence. I’ll do the same for his time in Estena, then I’ll compare the two.
I did just that, and the difference between life in the two countries was obvious. I proceeded to finish writing up my report, making sure to include excerpts from the book.
Though Duke Laforet’s love of music felt too intense to relate to, people with his level of passion were probably necessary to keep musicians in Lawrence. As far as I could tell from my government textbook, the government didn’t have anything like a department of cultural affairs. It seemed that nobles who were passionate about music, theater, and literature financially supported artists as patrons.
I should add to my paper how we need an agency that supports cultural activities.
My report was finally done, so I decided to have a leisurely dinner at the dining hall.
I love being able to relax like this.
Once I was done, it was time to do some work!
Aside from my embroidery for my side job, I was also learning to needle paint in Embroidery III. Needle painting required the use of thin embroidery floss made of silk, so I had been making very little progress. I’d been working in small sections so I didn’t give in to the urge to use household magic. I figured I could start using my magic once I’d actually gotten a handle on the technique—otherwise, finishing the piece would likely take me an entire year.
Currently, I was doing my side job, embroidering linens for noble ladies who were about to get married. This work required embroidering the lady’s and her partner’s initials onto cloth napkins and other items, which was a lot of work. I was making good money doing it, though, so I couldn’t really complain. Since this was for work, I consciously used household magic from start to finish, focusing on churning out as many as I could.