Chapter 350 Morning Scene
The next morning, when Sara woke up, the world around her had turned into a silver wonderland overnight. It seemed that winter had truly arrived in Grandchester. It was a fantastic and beautiful sight, but at the same time, it was a tough season for all living beings, including humans.
Until now, Sara had been waking up early to train in running and swordsmanship before breakfast, but she wondered how much she could do in this snow. She felt that not exercising at all would be depressing, so she decided to go outside and see if she could run.
Sara wore her usual simple cotton "dress" and put on some boots with a slight heel. These boots were coated with waterproof magic, so no water would seep in even when walking on the snow.
As she had declared to Scott and Blaze before, Sara continued to train to fight in her dress. Even when she was fully dressed as Sophia, she was already at a level where she could fight with dual swords. Of course, she could do this while singing. Recently, she had become less out of breath, so it was easier to sing without losing focus during a fight.
By the way, the song Sara sang during her training was meant for playback on the Spieluhr. Since Sophia was supposed to sing solo with the orchestra behind her, she was practicing to avoid making mistakes. After all, it was a one-take recording, so she had to sing perfectly from start to finish.
Actually, Alicia had developed a 'Spieluhr that can change the song being played' a little while ago, but it hadn't been commercialized yet because Sara was too busy. The system worked by swapping out the magic stone that contained the music to change the song being played.
Since it's a magic stone, it won't be cheap, but Sara thinks it will probably sell. So, she is preparing to sell various types of magic stones. She is also considering whether to take orders to modify the magic stones for customers who have already bought the Spieluhr. According to Alicia, the modification isn't that difficult, but it seems like Alicia has too many important tasks to handle right now.
The roads around her, covered in snow and hard to run on, were being cleared by the golems. The path to the Secret Garden was the same. However, inside the flower garden, the fairies' magic prevents snow from piling up.
Breathing out white mist, Sara ran about 5 kilometers (� 3.1 miles) around the cleared area of Maiden's Tower. Along the way, she noticed the golems were also shoveling snow in the large garden.
"Good morning, Unit No. 1, Unit No. 2. Thanks for clearing the snow."
"Good morning, Miss Sara."
As she greeted the golems, she noticed a snow statue in front of her. It was a golem made of snow.
"What's that snow golem?"
"I thought I'd try making a little sculpture. Of course, I'm not slacking off on security!"
"I'm not worried about that. It just reminded me of the time I did clay modeling."
"Are you talking about that evil god statue?"
"There's no evil god worship in this world, right?"
"There is. It was worshipped just before the ancient civilization fell. Even now, in some regions, the worship of evil gods has taken different forms. They say if you offer a sacrifice to the evil god Marcato, you can gain powers beyond human understanding."
"...So, they're considered an evil god. That makes sense."
"Is something wrong?"
"No, I'm just talking to myself. Personally, I think Avalon's law, which establishes a state religion while allowing freedom of personal belief, is good, but maybe we should suppress that cult of the evil god."
"I heard they offer young maidens as sacrifices, so that's definitely a crime."
"Then let's get rid of it."
Sara clenched her fist tightly, vowing in her heart that she would not allow the cult of the evil god to exist.
"Still, Miss Sara, you can create things with magic with amazing precision, but why do your handmade creations turn out so disastrous? I really don't understand that."
"I want to know the reason too."
"Could it be that Miss Sara's hands are cursed?"
"Don't just curse me like that. But now that you mention it, it does seem that way."
Sara used magic to solidify the snow on the mountain and created a slide-like object that looked like it could be a playground. The whole thing was shaped like a dragon, with stairs on its back. There was a hole at the top of its head, and you could slide down from there right into the flames coming out of its mouth. It was surprisingly a long slide.
Next to it, she tried to make a small dragon snow statue by hand, but it turned into a gooey, mysterious blob.
"Uuuuuuh. This definitely looks like 'It's rotting. I was too early'."
Since this could attract followers of the evil god cult, she squished it with magic.
Sara took a deep breath and built a big structure that looked like a snow hut nearby. She made a chair and a table inside the hollowed-out space. She also added a small staircase to the outside wall and created a gentle slide on the opposite side. Even little Charlotte wouldn't get hurt on this. Plus, the golems were watching over them, so it felt safe.
"Miss Sara, what is this?"
"It's a slide. It's a playground for kids. Well, adults can play on it too. I thought we could all play together when Scott and Blaze come."
"Miss Sara, you really are a kid at heart."
"I'm truly 8 years old. I'll be 9 soon."
"Reincarnators are such mysterious beings."
"Do you think Magi see a clear line between adults and kids?"
"There's definitely no clear line."
"I'm like Rihito, and even at over 300 years old, I'm confident I can still play like this."
"Humans are indeed puzzling. I've analyzed a lot of their behavior, but there's always some contradiction, so I can never find a complete answer."
"Well, I'm looking forward to hearing how Magi see people in 10 years or 100 years."
"That's definitely interesting."
As Sara started to enjoy shaping things in the yard, she even molded the ground under the snow into something like a barbecue grill or a pizza oven. But then she realized, calmly, that she had never eaten pizza in this world.
'Well, that's okay. I can use it for something later.'
Feeling hungry after making the pizza oven, Sara went back into the tower. However, she didn't notice that after she returned, the golems began examining the structures from different angles and started kneading the snow.
When she got back to her room, Maria was waiting for her, preparing the bath.
"Thank you always, Maria."
"Don't mention it. The Maiden's Tower is a magical tool that provides hot water, so preparing the bath is really easy."
"The faucet in the room isn't a magical tool. The large water heater in the basement is the magical one."
"But since it supplies hot water to each room, I think it counts as a magical tool, right?"
"Well, I guess that's one way to think about it."
Maria helped Sara take off her dress, placing the removed dress into the laundry basket, and then returned to wash Sara's hair and body. After carefully washing her hair, she massaged in some oil, wrapped it in a towel, and gently washed her body with a soft cloth. She never scrubbed. Children's skin is delicate, and rough scrubbing can cause injuries.
In this world, young ladies carefully towel-dry their long hair after a bath, but Sara always dries hers quickly with magic. It's like a hairdryer from her past life.
"Your control over magic is amazing as always, Milady. I want to try it too, but I'm scared I might just burn your hair."
"Ahaha. Then I'll just use magic to fix it."
By the time she loosely tied her hair in a half-up style and changed into her everyday dress, it was breakfast time.
"Shall we go have breakfast? I wonder if Aunt Elizabeth is still in the guest room?"
"Yes. She was taking care of Sir Adam until dawn. She's probably still resting now."
"In that case, we should be quiet so we don't wake her."
Sara headed to the kitchen. She thought it would be easier to have breakfast in the small staff dining room connected to the kitchen.
In the servant's dining room, the maids were having a meal with Charlotte. When they saw Sara, the maids all stood up at once, but Sara waved her hand to stop them.
"Don't worry, just keep eating. Can I join you for a meal?"
"Milady, are you going to eat here again?"
"Today, there are many sick people, so I think it will be tough. I'll just eat quickly by myself."
"I see. Thank you for your consideration."
Sara peeked into the kitchen and ordered the same menu as the maids from Hannah. It was a lightly sweet French toast made with leftover bread from yesterday, along with a soup full of vegetables. There were jams and honey next to the French toast, but this morning, Sara felt like having maple syrup, so she took some out from the storage.
"You really are going to eat the same menu as the maids. That bread is from last night, you know."
"I don't mind if it tastes good. If there's bread soaked in egg mixture and it's soft, then it's only right to have it fried in butter. More importantly, can Marg and Millie eat now?"
"Those are the girls who came yesterday, right? Both of them just woke up a little while ago. Their fever has gone down to a slight temperature, so they can eat. The soup today is full of vegetables because it's for the sick. They'll cook the vegetables until they're really soft for them."
"I see. As expected of you, Hannah."
"I'll also bring fresh Elma juice. I'll get the sweeter new kind. If they can eat something more solid later, we might give them porridge or peeled Elma for lunch."
"First, let's help them regain their strength and get better."
"That's right."
After finishing their meal, the maids quickly started preparing the food for the sick person. Charlotte wanted to go with them because she heard there was a 5-year-old girl in the guest room, but since the girl was sick, she was not allowed to get close until she had permission.
"Then tell her to get better soon so we can play together!"
"Got it. Lottie, make sure to eat your breakfast too."
Charlotte was also loved by the maids. Compared to when she first arrived, her chubby cheeks, which looked like those of a toddler, were so cute that you just wanted to poke or gently pat them.
"By the way, Lottie, I made a slide out of snow earlier. If you want, you can play on it later."
"Yay! I have to hurry!"
"You can't go until you finish your meal and get permission from Hannah, okay?"
"Okay! I'll eat properly!"
"Make sure to eat the beans in the soup too."
"Beans are the enemy, you know?"
"Then Lottie has to eat them and defeat them!"
"Uuuuu..."
Charlotte stared at the beans left in her soup bowl, and after a while, she seemed to give up and quickly stuffed them all into her mouth, washing them down with water.
'That looks like a bad way to eat. I hope her stomach doesn't hurt later. I want her to enjoy the beans since they are a valuable source of protein.'
"By the way, about Marg and Millie, Father said that their original status might have been noble. I'm sorry, but could you observe their eating habits? It's been just over 2 years since they fell from grace, so I think Marg, at her age, should understand table manners."
"Understood. I will pay attention to them."
"Let's get their clothes and shoes sorted out. I brought them here just as they were. For now, let's have someone from the Sophia Merchant Guild bring a full set of girls' clothes. We can ask Thomashiina for the sizes, and that should be easy."
"But doesn't the Sophia Merchant Guild not have a clothing department yet?"
"That's right. This time, we'll have someone from the merchant guild buy them from a nearby store."
"Then I'll take them to the guest room as soon as they arrive."
"Yes, please do."
After finishing breakfast, Sara noticed that Edward, who had returned to the main residence last night, had come to Maiden's Tower. When she went to greet him at the entrance, she realized that his expression was very serious.
"Good morning, Uncle Edward."
"Good morning."
"It seems Aunt and Adam are still asleep. Should I wake them?"
"No, I'll wait until they wake up."
"Then I'll have something warm prepared. Have you eaten?"
"I had breakfast at the main residence."
"Then would you join me for my post-meal tea?"
"I'd be happy to be called."
Sara had the maid prepare a relaxing herbal tea and guided Edward upstairs.
"Uncle, your face looks serious."
"Maybe it does. I'm really glad Adam's life was saved yesterday, but I can't sleep thinking that I might have to disinherit Adam. I must be greedy. I should just be thankful that his life was saved..."
"I think everyone is a greedy creature. Once you get one thing, it's natural to want the next, isn't it? More than that, I feel sorry that my shortcomings are causing you to suffer like this."
"I'm sorry. I'm not blaming Sara."
Just then, Rihito appeared from the room. Normally, he would have Thomashiina taking care of him, but now Thomashiina was busy looking after Marg and Millie, so Rihito's hair was still messy from sleep. Rihito doesn't rely on human maids for help.
"Rihito, did you just wake up?"
"Yeah, I guess I overslept a bit."
"Is it necessary to act cool in front of uncle? You're not a morning person to begin with. At this time, you should be up early."
Sara sighed and used magic to fix Rihito's bedhead.
"Thanks for pointing out how uncool I am. Your magic control is still amazing as always."
"If Thomashiina weren't around, Rihito's life would probably be a mess."
"I won't deny that."
Rihito walked over to the table where Sara and Edward were sitting and politely bowed his head to Edward.
"Good morning. Your Excellency the Young Marquis."
"Good morning. I'm sorry for bothering you at such an early hour."
"No, please don't worry about it."
After exchanging greetings, both of them fell silent, and for some reason, the atmosphere became heavy. A few minutes later, Sara couldn't stand the awkward silence anymore and spoke up.
"For now, you both should head to Adam's place!"
"Y-Yeah, that's right."
"Well then, Your Excellency the Young Marquis, let's go."
And the two quietly stood up from their seats and made their way to Adam's sleeping quarters.
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