It was now my second spring in this world, and the cherry blossom trees I’d planted in the backyard were blooming. They hadn’t bloomed last year, perhaps because I’d planted them too late in the year.
The Burns Trading Company had successfully sold many hot water bottles during the winter. I’d had Mary take my pocket ledger to the bank so it could be updated with the latest transactions, and I was shocked by the number that had been deposited into my account.
I knew that I would be getting a detailed report down the line, but what I knew as of now was that the hot water bottles were being sold for two rhoms each, and somehow a whopping five hundred rhoms had been deposited into my account.
That’s the equivalent of fifty ten-rhom coins! Just how many water bottles did they sell? Oh, wait, I almost forgot about the needle threaders.
The needle threaders were being sold for fifty tiems each. They also seemed to have sold well, along with the slime seat cushions, which were quite popular. They’d become a necessity among nobles who traveled long distances by carriage. The slime cushions were ten rhoms each, and the refill cushion was three rhoms. The price of the cushions was quite high, but apparently, they were still selling well.
The cushions may be accounting for most of this profit.
I’d also gifted seat cushions and hair irons to my aunts and my cousin Lucene. I hadn’t finished the needle-painted seascape for the Satisfords yet, since I’d been quite busy.
“Now that the cherry blossoms are blooming, we must have a flower viewing!”
I was exhausted from my activities in both alchemy and music club, so I was planning to relax on the weekend by enjoying the flowers with my angels.
In alchemy club, we’d successfully completed our washing machine, and President Caesar had helped create the magic circle for my hair iron. I’d also adapted that magic circle to make regular-sized and small clothing irons. We were applying for patents for all of these inventions through the alchemy club, and we were also planning to sell items through the Burns Trading Company. I’d shown some of our creations to the sewing teacher, and she seemed quite interested in them. We were probably going to have a lot more people interested in buying these products.
We’d also created a prototype of the ice cream maker for the Festival of Verdure, but we still had yet to make a test batch of ice cream.
Our second version of the bicycle was also complete, and we’d added training wheels to the first version. The bicycles were also going to be showcased during the Festival of Verdure, which is why we’d added training wheels to one of them. It was hard to understand how convenient a transportation method it was without riding it yourself. The club was also looking to get a patent for the bicycle.
We were currently working on creating a method of waterproofing, and it had proven quite difficult. I’d also started working on the magic circle cape, which was giving me an even harder time than creating a water-repellant coating for fabric. As I’d expected, the embroidery floss was going to be the key to this project succeeding. I’d tested the efficacy of the magic circle on a small piece of fabric, and it worked fine when the fabric was lying flat on a disk, but as soon as it was moving, the magic circle stopped working, because it would get distorted. Additionally, I still didn’t know how to go about attaching the magic stone to the cape.
I’d also been working hard at my side job growing herbs, which was going to come to an end now that spring had begun. I was looking forward to seeing how much I made at the end of the term.
President Caesar had asked other students in the mage track about the lecture portion of herbology, and it turned out that it really was just covering the material in the textbook. I still couldn’t trust what Ms. Makias might do, so I was going to attend the lecture at least once. I’d heard that the test was incredibly difficult, and the pharmacy textbook wasn’t very helpful, so I figured the same would likely be true of the herbology textbook. More specifically, just like I had to do with the pharmacy textbook, I was anticipating that there would be information not included in the textbook that I would have to look up on my own. I was going to have to be proactive, since Ms. Makias didn’t like slackers.
“If I pass herbology, I’ll be able to take the novice apothecary’s exam!”
I was a bit more financially comfortable now, but we still had to prepare for Nassius’s upcoming enrollment into the academy. If I became a novice apothecary, I could sell minor healing potions, greater healing potions, and antidotes.
I also wanted to buy a horse, but that also meant constantly buying feed, which was going to put a dent into our finances. Manure could be used to fertilize our gardens, which was a bonus, but I needed to give this thorough consideration before I made a decision.
“I wonder if Nassius is planning to commute from home or move into the dorms. I can consider buying a horse depending on what he wants.”
I figured that if Nassius wanted to commute, that would be a good excuse to buy a horse, but Nassius had already decided to move into the dorms.
“Since you live in the dorms, I will do the same,” he told me.
Our home had gotten a lot more comfortable since my first few months here, so it would be fine to commute, but Nassius seemed to think it would be selfish of him to commute while I was living in the dorms. And since it didn’t seem like I’d be able to quit serving Princess Margaret anytime soon, I had no choice but to keep living in the dorms.
“If you move into the dorms, Henry will be all alone at home,” I pointed out. “It’s fine for you to commute from home, Nassius. We just need to buy a horse.”
I tried to persuade him to change his mind, but Nassius just shook his head.
“Both Henry and I know what will happen if I move into the dorms. Also, you can just buy a horse when Henry enrolls in the academy, since he’s probably going to enroll in the knight track. I’m going to enroll in the civil service track, so I can just use the horses at school during PE.”
You’re such a sweet boy, Nassius! I couldn’t help but hug him.
“You’re right. A horse is necessary for the knight track.”
I hope I can complete the magic circle cape by then.
I proceeded to update Wyatt on how much I’d made from the Burns Trading Company, and he seemed happy for me.
“I’d like to use this to buy a horse for Henry, but I’m not sure if it is enough,” I said. “They’re quite expensive, right?”
Wyatt gave me a troubled look.
“Please use this money for yourself, my lady. If we need a horse, I will make it happen.”
Can he really make it happen? I guess there’s three years until Henry enrolls in the academy. Oh, I’ll have graduated by then. I’m planning on continuing my education at Romano University, but would it be better to start working instead?
“You mustn’t think only of your younger brothers, my lady,” Wyatt insisted as if to scold me. “You are important as well.”
I guess he’ll figure something out. He sounds like he might have a lead for getting us a horse. If it doesn’t work out, I’ll just have him use this money.
It was no good to be spending all my time worrying about money when there were beautiful flowers blooming just outside.
“We should have a flower viewing on Sunday,” I said to myself.
The next day, I had Eva prepare some sandwiches and bite-sized pieces of fried chicken. Vegetables were expensive during this time of year, so we were growing them in the green house—along with strawberries, of course. We sold a lot of what we grew, but we also kept some of it for ourselves, since it was hard to eat enough fresh produce in the winter.
The recipe for the chicken was simple, but since it required a large amount of oil, it was a luxury to be able to make it. It was worth it, since I wanted our flower viewing to be extravagant. I’d originally wanted the lunch to be a picnic under the cherry trees, but Mary wouldn’t allow it. It wasn’t the worst thing, since it was definitely easier to eat while seated at a table.
“They’re so beautiful!” Nassius exclaimed while looking up at the flowers.
Yeah, isn’t this view from below the best?