It didn’t seem like any of the alchemy club members had taken a lunch break either. I’d been starving when I’d first arrived in this world, so I was always against skipping meals. The maids had finished taking their breaks, so now it was the club members’ turn.
“President Caesar, please go have lunch,” I interrupted Caesar, who was proudly explaining how our bicycles worked.
“Got it,” he replied, but I didn’t believe him. My skepticism was only made stronger by the fact that instead of taking his break, he made me help with organizing the guests lined up for test rides.
Model I was the easiest to ride, since it had training wheels, but it wasn’t very popular. Everyone wanted to act tough and go for Model II or Model III. Surprisingly, Model IV was most popular with the parents and guardians. President Caesar had hoped that it would help get more female students interested in alchemy club, so it was unfortunate how things turned out. There were lots of parents enjoying the Model IV together as a couple.
Princess Margaret and the others appeared to have finished eating their ice cream, so I went by their table to see them off.
“That was very delicious, Patience.”
Yay, I got a compliment! I may as well use this opportunity to advertise.
“The tool used to make this dessert will be sold through the Burns Trading Company. It’ll come with the recipe, so those who purchase it will be able to eat ice cream whenever they’d like.”
Not only did that pique Princess Margaret’s interest, but Prince Keith, Ralph, and Hugo were all staring at me, their eyes glimmering with excitement. I guess I just landed some sales!
Princess Margaret met up with other members of music club and headed back to the auditorium. They’d all skipped the theater club’s performance, which was understandable, since they were performing a depressing tragedy. Prince Keith, Ralph, and Hugo all stayed at the alchemy club stalls. I felt like my fellow club members were staring, suspicious of the prince and his friends. I guess it’s weird for them to be here. Prince Keith and his friends have nothing to do with alchemy club whatsoever, yet they’re hanging around here.
“Would you like to try riding a bicycle?” I asked. It would be suffocating to have them standing by my side the entire time, and it was also uncomfortable to have them just twiddling their thumbs.
“We haven’t reserved a spot,” Prince Keith pointed out. I knew he was being polite, but I’d noticed him enviously staring at the other students who were tiptoeing forward on the bicycles.
“The Model I doesn’t have many reservations,” I let the prince know, but he didn’t seem to like that idea. He probably thought that it was uncool to need training wheels. “I think it’s better to smoothly ride off than have to tiptoe your way forward.”
“If that’s what you think, Patience, then I’ll try it,”
That’s an interesting way to phrase things. Does he trust me because he thinks I know a lot about bicycles or something?
“There are the handles, and if you squeeze here, you can use the brakes,” I said, explaining how to operate the bicycle.
Prince Keith was able to ride the bicycle with training wheels smoothly, probably because he was very athletically skilled. Ralph and Hugo were also able to ride the bicycle successfully.
“This is fun, and it’s pretty useful,” Prince Keith remarked. He looked over at the Model IV and seemed to take notice of its potential.
“Yes, if you’re only traveling a short distance, you won’t need a carriage.”
Prince Keith scowled.
“You shouldn’t go out on your own on a bicycle, Patience. Duke Laforet isn’t the only one targeting you. There are lots of people who will target you for your talents.”
Would anyone who isn’t obsessed with music target me? What is he talking about?
“The ice cream maker and bicycles aren’t the entire exhibit, are they?” Ralph asked.
I proceeded to guide the three of them to the showroom, where we had the washing machine, fridge, freezer, clothing iron, and hair iron on display.
“Is this washing machine thing supposed to replace maids?” Prince Keith asked. “The fridge and freezer seem good for the preservation of food items. I understand what the clothing iron is, but what’s the hair iron for?”
I got busy answering all of Prince Keith’s questions, and by the time I was finished, we had sold out of both ice cream and meringues.
“We are all sold out,” President Caesar announced to the crowd, and some of the students looked toward the guests who’d made reservations and began complaining.
I checked with the maids to see if we had any extra ingredients, and we fortunately had some, so I quickly whipped up two more containers of ice cream. We didn’t have much time, so instead of using the ice cream maker, I quickly prepped them with household magic. Prince Keith and his friends all looked at me with disbelief.
“I’ve made forty more servings, President Caesar,” I reported. “But we’re now completely out of ingredients.”
All the students who had crowded around the stall were now enjoying ice cream.
“I hope that some students are now even slightly interested in joining our club,” President Caesar remarked. “Even if that doesn’t happen, it looks like the bicycle and ice cream maker will sell well.”
That made sense, since the showroom was quite empty. People actually interested in joining the club would have been intrigued by our inventions on display, rather than just the eye-catching stalls outside. Regardless, it appeared that the Festival of Verdure would come to an end without any troubles.
“The maids can handle cleaning up,” President Caesar assured me. “You need to go get dressed, don’t you?”
President Caesar was aware that starting this year, female students were required to wear the gowns they’d sewn themselves during sewing class to the festival ball. Perhaps the students in Year 2 Class A had also made a fuss about it.
“I do, but I don’t have much interest in the ball...”
My attempt to try and stick around was futile, because Prince Keith and his two friends were right behind me.
“We’ll escort you to the sewing classroom, Patience,” Prince Keith said.
“Go on,” President Caesar insisted.
Without any other choice left, I headed out with the prince and his friends, feeling like a child being dragged off the playground by her parents.
“Your gown is done already, right, Patience” Prince Keith asked. He was probably thinking that the only reason I could have for dreading the ball was that I hadn’t had enough time to finish my gown.
You don’t get it. Junior division students get to show up in their uniforms, but senior division students have to dress up. I was short even while in the junior division, so if I’m in a whole gown, I’ll stand out—in a bad way.
“I’m just going to participate for a bit before returning to the dorms,” I said.
Prince Keith seemed exasperated by the fact that I was heading to the ball with the intention of leaving early.
“You have a certificate of completion in dance,” Prince Keith argued.
I only got that because President Caesar took the lead in our dance, but if I tell him that, he’s probably going to get upset. I’ll keep that to myself.
“Prince Keith, Sir Ralph, and Sir Hugo, thank you very much.”
I never ran into Duke Laforet, and though I never thought I was actually in danger of being kidnapped and dragged off to his home, I wanted to thank them for escorting me.
“You really need to be careful, Patience,” Prince Keith warned.
He was making me start to worry, but if things really came to it, I could flee to the safety of the suitor Aunt Amalia had discussed with my father. Good grief.