Chapter 288 I Can Only Live As I Think
There was a busy knock on the door, but before Sara could respond, Scott and Blaze burst in without permission.
"Is it true that Sara woke up?"
"Did her fever go down!?"
"You two are really early. Did you run up the stairs? That's not polite."
Even though Sara scolded them, Robert and Marquis Grandchester came crashing in behind them.
"Is Sara okay!?"
Robert managed to say something, but Marquis Grandchester was breathing heavily. Actually, Sara's bedroom is on the third floor of the tower. The central part of the tower is a library, with an open space from the second to the third floor, but various rooms are arranged along the outer edge. The outer edge of the third floor used to be Rihito's living space, and now the largest bedroom is Sara's room.
The ceiling is pretty high, so going up and down the stairs is quite a workout. Marquis Grandchester, who used to be a knight and still enjoys horseback riding, realized that his stamina has dropped a lot after rushing up the tower.
"Grandfather, Father, please stop running up the stairs! I just scolded Scott and Blaze!"
"Just this once, let it slide. I couldn't help but worry. It's been ten days since you collapsed, you know? I was really afraid you wouldn't wake up."
Then Rihito made a bitter face and muttered a complaint.
"Thanks to you, I've been treated like a quack doctor for the past few days."
"I'm really sorry about that. I couldn't stay calm."
Robert was apologizing profusely to Rihito. It seemed that Robert, frustrated by Sara not waking up, had taken it out on Rihito, who was prescribing the medicine.
"Scott, Blaze, and I'm sorry to you too, Father, but I still have a headache, so could you please be a little quieter?"
Sara warned them a bit dramatically. In reality, her head didn't hurt that much, but the noise was still bothering her.
"Sorry, Sara."
"We won't be noisy, just let us stay close."
Scott and Blaze immediately apologized, and Robert fell silent. However, it seemed that the 4 men, including Marquis Grandchester, had no intention of leaving Sara's side. On the other side of the open door, Jeffrey, Rebecca, and Thomas were standing with worried expressions, patiently waiting for permission to enter.
"Everyone, please come in. I can't get out of bed yet, though."
When Sara called out, the 3 outside came in. The maids had kindly brought chairs from another room, so there were enough for everyone to sit. However, with this many people gathered, it felt a bit cramped, and everyone looked somewhat uncomfortable. Still, Sara thought it was a bit unreasonable for so many visitors to come at once, so she didn't mind too much.
"First of all, I apologize for worrying and troubling you all for the past ten days."
"You don't need to worry about that. More importantly, are you okay now?"
Rebecca peered into Sara's face with concern.
"I'm sorry. It seems my mind, or rather my heart, got overwhelmed, and I collapsed without being able to process it all."
"No, it's probably my fault for pushing you too hard. I'm sorry."
Finally able to breathe enough to talk, Marquis Grandchester acknowledged his own fault in response to Sara's apology.
"Then please don't force me anymore. If I don't want to do something, I shouldn't have to. If being here as Grandchester means I have to take on obligations, then I will leave this place. If being a part of Avalon means I'm being coerced, then I would even abandon my country. As I mentioned before, girls are creatures that dislike war. And you know I have spent a long time as a girl, right?"
Rihito thought Sara's words sounded similar to those of a famous female poet from his past life, but he kept silent and said nothing.
"I understand. I won't pressure you about the golems anymore. But what should we say to inquiries from other families or the royal family?"
"If they aren't intimidated by the combined price of the magic stones and production costs, then I would say it's fine to sell. Later, I will pack a complete set of samples of the magic stones needed for the golems and give them to you, but please explain that each golem requires multiple national treasure-level magic stones."
"That's quite a business strategy that takes advantage of the situation."
"I'm sorry to say this, but it should still be much cheaper than having someone else create it from scratch. Just the cost of the magic stone could buy a small country. Also, of course, the golems for sale will be completely new and won't have learned anything, so they will need to be trained from the beginning."
"What do you mean?"
"It means you need to teach them like you would teach a child or train a new soldier. The golems working at the Sophia Merchant Guild know too much information, so we can't share that knowledge."
"...They can have conversations, right?"
"I can allow them to converse in Avalon language as a service, but they don't know any other foreign languages. You'll need to teach them once they're sold."
It's not hard to imagine that teaching golems to have intelligence without the support of the Magi System is very difficult. Of course, Sara doesn't have to explain that.
"Also, you might have noticed while I was down, but operating golems requires a lot of magical power. If you want them to run all the time, you'll need to replenish their magic every day or replace the magic stone. Well, for customers who buy the golems, I can include a magical tool that can store any type of magical power as a bonus, but it would be tough to operate them without several people who have a lot of magical power. You can also set up a system to regularly exchange for magic stones that contain magical power, but of course, you'll have to pay a monthly usage fee for that. In short, both buying and continuing to operate golems costs money. Grandfather and Father, please explain this to other families and the royal family."
Marquis Grandchester and Robert looked troubled.
"I think they'll ask about the route to obtain the magic stone and how to teach golems,"
"But I have no obligation to answer. If you force me, as I mentioned earlier, you'll see what happens."
Robert chimed in from the side.
"But there might be someone who tries to solve this with force, right?"
"To me? In that case, please evacuate all the residents and leave me alone. The moment they point a weapon at me, everyone will either turn to ashes or a lot of ice statues will appear. Ah, considering that some might be forced into it, I could just take their consciousness, but if I'm not careful, they might not wake up again."
Rihito reacted to Sara's statement.
"I don't know how you plan to take their consciousness, but as a pharmacist, I must say there is no absolutely safe method."
"Right. That's why I really don't want to do it. I hope my grandfather can solve this through diplomatic means."
"Sara... I think it would be faster to silence them with your financial power than my diplomatic methods."
"If I try to pressure them with money, there are always fools who resort to violence. Well, even so, I would just keep piling on the money. Wars cost money, after all."
Rihito sighed and looked at Sara, speaking quietly.
"Miss Sara, if you act recklessly, you'll stand out for the wrong reasons. Those who have nothing will envy and hate those who have. At this rate, Lady Sophia, no, Miss Sara, will be targeted."
"It's already too late. From the beginning, it was impossible to think I could hide. A merchant like me can't just keep things to sell and live in secret."
"Merchants are hard to deal with."
"That's why the economy circulates, civilizations and cultures thrive, countries rise, or even fall. If you ask me, it's the alchemists who pursue truth, forgetting to eat and sleep, and easily throw away their self-control that are harder to deal with. You haven't forgotten that you disguised yourself to enter the palace, have you? I understand Rihito's concern for me. But I can only live my life as I see fit, with all my strength. Even if I continue to live by pretending to be someone else, I wouldn't feel like I'm truly living. Can you give up being a researcher, Rihito?"
"I see... that's impossible. Then, at least please take care of yourself. I don't want to lose you."
However, Rihito's statement had a big impact on the men around them. Robert reacted especially sensitively.
"Mr. Rihito, you have a wife, right?"
"Yes, I do. She is like a daughter to me, but her title is wife."
'Hmm. It's very Rihito-like to call an 82-year-old woman like a daughter, but it's strange that he doesn't see the alluring Sylvia as a woman. He gets flustered by the magic supply to the golems from Thomashiina and Sophia, though.'
Sara had a slight doubt about Rihito's feelings but didn't want to dig deeper. It probably had something to do with Sylvia's late ex-husband. Then robert said something.
"However, that statement could lead to misunderstandings around you, Mr. Rihito. It sounds like you have special feelings for my daughter."
"It's true that I have special feelings. She is the only reincarnator from the same world. She has been separated from her family and friends, and has been reborn in a completely unfamiliar world. It's natural to feel a strong connection to a fellow kindred spirit."
"--Father, please stop. It's like a natural instinct for reincarnators to seek out their kind. You don't need to understand, but please don't force Rihito to stop."
"But, it will affect your reputation."
"If you want me to live like a normal noble lady, only maintaining a good reputation, then you shouldn't have adopted me in the first place."
"Wha! Are you prioritizing Mr. Rihito over our family?"
"That's not something to compare, and I'm not prioritizing Rihito alone. I will certainly stop making blatant statements to others, but as long as I can understand what is said in my room without misunderstanding, there's no problem."
"But!"
"I am already living as a merchant. I will never become a normal noble lady. From now on, my evaluation will greatly differ. If having a daughter like me becomes a burden for you, Father, the Viscount Astley, then we should reconsider the adoption even now."
"!?"
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