After having tea with the Burnses, I was escorted by President Caesar to the Burns Trading Company store. There, Mr. Powell was going to take care of setting up my account so I could receive my earnings.
Hee hee, I’m so excited! I’m going shopping for the very first time!
I was grinning with delight, and Mary tugged at my sleeve. Apparently my behavior wasn’t very ladylike.
“You’re acting weird, Patience,” President Caesar said. Even he was suspicious of my cheerful demeanor.
“This is my first time going shopping,” I explained. “Mary is always going out to purchase things for me.”
“Isn’t that normal for noble ladies?”
You just don’t get it, President Caesar! Sure, online shopping from my previous life wasn’t so different from having someone buy you things, but it’s more fun to go in person and pick out things for yourself!
We arrived at the store and immediately headed up to the third floor to see the manager, Mr. Powell.
Just going up these stairs is enough to make me winded. I really need to get stronger.
“Are you all right, Patience?” President Caesar said, seeming surprised by how quickly I’d gotten exhausted.
Even Mary was perfectly fine. I was way too weak.
“I’d like the usage fee to be paid to this account, Mr. Powell,” I said, handing him my brand new pocket ledger from the bank.
“You have one of those?” Caesar remarked.
“My father had an account made for me for this deal,” I explained.
Mr. Powell wrote my account number down into his own account book. Since I wanted my products to be sold at small margins so we could sell more, I suspected I wouldn’t be making much of a profit. Even so, it was nice to have some money that I could spend freely.
“All that is left is the shopping I wanted to do, so you are free to return home if you’d like, President Caesar,” I said.
Caesar glared at me.
“I’ve promised Viscount Granger that I would look after you. I can’t just toss my duties aside without getting you home safely.”
Social etiquette in this world is so exhausting.
Since we both had rules to follow, I looked around the shop with President Caesar and Mary.
“What are you looking for?” Caesar asked.
Shopping isn’t just about finding the item you’re looking for, President Caesar. It’s the process of looking around the store, then deciding what you’re going to buy. He just doesn’t get it.
“I’d like to get a cape for our servant, George.”
Both President Caesar and Mary gave me a strange look.
“I don’t think that’s something you need to be buying,” Caesar remarked.
Mary nodded in agreement.
“I’m interested in making the cape water-repellant,” I replied. “That way, he won’t get wet on rainy or snowy days.”
President Caesar held his head in his hands.
“You always say the most bizarre things. Do you know how many things we could make if it was possible to turn fabric water-repellent?”
“Yes, I do. That is exactly why I’d like to try it out. If I succeed, I’d also like to use it to make covers for wagons, as well as tents.”
There was a sparkle in President Caesar’s eyes.
He’s just like President Albert.
“It sounds like you have an idea to make this possible. Tell me!!!”
President Caesar was so terrifyingly emphatic that I reflexively hid behind Mary.
“I need to do some experimentation before I know if it will work,” I said from behind my maid. “It’s only theoretical at this point.”
“Then tell me what this idea is. We’ll invite Benjamin over right away and start experimenting!”
He wasn’t going to let this go, so I decided to accept the help. After all, testing different ratios of mixtures was going to be annoying to do on my own.
“Slime powder thickens when water is added to it. If we add an additional component that will help make it water-repellant, we may be able to paint that onto fabric.”
“Hmm...”
Since President Caesar seemed to have calmed down, I stepped out from behind Mary.
If I remember correctly, waterproofing sprays were made out of silicone resin. During my previous life, I had always used waterproofing spray on my canvas and suede shoes, so I’d looked into the contents of the spray. That silicone was made out of silicon dioxide. I remember learning in chemistry that quartz is made out of silicon dioxide. I wonder if the same applies here? Oh, I have an idea!
“Does the shop have any quartz sand, the material used to make glass?”
I’m an idiot! Quartz sand is just crushed quartz, which means it’s silicone dioxide! I should’ve learned more chemistry.
“We have both quartz sand and slime powder in the clubroom,” President Caesar replied.
“In that case, I’ll only need to purchase the cape. I also have plenty of other things I’d like to test out, so I must get some embroidery floss as well. I may even need a magic stone.”
I still wanted to embroider a magic circle of protection onto Lord Salius’s cape, and I’d come to the conclusion that it likely wouldn’t work without a magic stone. In the research that I’d gone through, there had been references to a magic stone being sewn onto the cape. It made sense, since magic stones were needed to activate magic circles.
“Will you tell me your ideas, Patience? You’ve got more plans than just the waterproofing, don’t you?”
My mention of purchasing a magic stone had likely made Caesar realize my other tests were for a different project.
“This is a project based on some research that Mr. Kubrick did,” I explained. “It has to do with a hero who was said to have donned a cape with a magic circle of protection embroidered on it.”
President Caesar leaned in way too close, and without thinking, I once again hid behind Mary.