296 - Consultation Regarding Snow Hat Collection
"Will Jasper use my kotatsu, deshu ka?"
Autumn had ended, and now that it was truly getting cold, I asked Jasper if he would use the kotatsu. Originally, the kotatsu was made so that transcription work could be done as warmly as possible even through the cold winter, but for me, who could read Japanese, the transcription I did for my own use took a completely different amount of time than expected. Jasper had been working steadily on his transcription for over a year and still had not finished, but my transcription, since I could read Japanese and did not need to mimic the handwriting, was already complete. Once the transcription was done, the rest was just possession of it. What was important was the original research materials of the saint Yuuta Hiraga, so I had confirmed with Alfred that I could read the transcription in a room with a fire in the hearth, lying on my bed, or even while eating snacks. In other words, the only one who needed to keep warm in a room without a fire was Jasper. I had made the kotatsu for my own use, but if someone needed it more, I wanted them to use it.
"Kotatsu... that is the one, is it not? The table wearing a dress that you had made in autumn. How could I use such a cute table?"
"The cuteness is force majeure. The cloth around it is just to trap the heat inside so your feet stay warm. It just ended up looking like a dress."
I corrected him that it was made as a cover, not as a dress. It was a matter of perspective. If as a man he found it hard to use a table wearing a dress, he could just think of it as a slightly long tablecloth, or a table cover.
"With a kotatsu, even in a room without a hearth, you should be able to spend your time somewhat warmly."
"But you made it planning to use it yourself."
"That was the plan, but my transcription is already finished, you see."
I could read the transcription in a room with a fire in the hearth, so there was no need for me to worry. When I laid out just those facts flatly, Jasper let out a deep sigh. It was only the truth, but perhaps the sheer difference in transcription time had brought on a wave of exhaustion.
"If you are dissatisfied with the kotatsu, would you like to spend the winter warmly by doing something else instead?"
When I proposed to Jasper that we go to Mey Village to gather the "snow hat," the snow berries that were an ingredient for Pant medicine, Alfred, who had been silently reading reports until then, looked up. For some reason, there were clear furrows between his eyebrows.
...Huh? Did I say something strange?
I did not remember making him angry, so those furrows were probably confusion. I tried to think if I had said something that would confuse Alfred, but I could not think of anything.
"Tina, when you say 'let's go gather,' it sounds like you plan to go along too."
"That was my intention when I said it."
"Is there a problem?" I tilted my head, and Alfred lightly rubbed his temples. His hand did not reach out to pinch my cheek, so I probably had not made him angry.
"I agree with gathering snow hats this winter. But I cannot allow you to accompany the gathering."
"Huh? Why not?"
"Simply put, it is inefficient. Even on a normal journey, having a child along increases the number of days, and on top of that, winter is the snowy season, so we would be traveling on snowy roads. If you do not come along, it reduces the trouble for the adults who would have to accompany you."
Since I could not ride a horse alone, my guardian (Leonardo) had told me to always use a carriage when traveling. Considering the possibility of a fall from a horse, I probably would not be allowed to ride alone even as an adult. If I traveled by carriage on snowy roads, the number of days on the journey would increase. Additionally, if I went along, Kalisa would absolutely come to take care of me, so supplies like food would also increase.
"You said 'to Mey Village,' but snow hats can be gathered in places other than Mey Village. We have confirmed a village a bit closer to the capital as well. The research materials of the saint Yuuta Hiraga did not record the production area, did they? If it is snow hats, they should be usable no matter where they are gathered."
"...I want to gather them too."
"I would be troubled if you went outside in winter when it is clearly cold and caught a cold."
When he said that people who caught a bad cold and died were not uncommon, I had no choice but to back down. Even in my previous life, where medicine was more advanced than in this world, several people died every year from complications of a cold. Since I was currently the only one who could read Japanese, he probably did not want to risk that danger.
"I cannot let Tina, who always gets a fever after a long trip, go on a winter journey."
"...Leonyaldo Big Brother traveled in winter before, you know? I have been on winter trips too."
I thought it was equipment prepared for me, but traveling in a carriage equipped with a portable wood stove was surprisingly comfortable. Remembering the winter two years ago, I thought it might be possible after all. I felt a surge of motivation to push a little harder, but Alfred, perhaps seeing through that, reached out his hand at last.
"That was before we knew you could read Japanese, was it not."
He lightly pinched my cheek, and the Alfred who had pinched it furrowed his brows. Lately, I felt he looked more and more like Alf, but since it would only please him, I would not say it.
"If we had known from the start that you could read Japanese, Leonardo would never have said he would take you around in winter."
"In that case, I feel like Leonyaldo Big Brother's winter travels themselves would have disappeared."
"I will not deny that."
Alfred said that Leonardo would probably have seized the opportunity to relinquish his position as lord of the three fortresses. He would have stopped moving from Grenore, using the pretense of guarding me, a reincarnator who could read Japanese. If Christoph used the excuse of guarding the reincarnator, he could not tell Leonardo to remain as lord of the four fortresses.
"You can use people for gathering materials. In fact, the Mustaine medicine's ingredients and materials were all ordered from the Sedovara Church."
Sensing that the topic was about to shift to other materials they had ordered, I hurriedly stopped Alfred. It was true that I wanted to gather them with my own hands, but I also had a slightly different purpose.
"...Could I perhaps return to Grenore City for a little while this winter?"
I thought Leonardo's winter schedule this year had him serving as the priest for the Divine King Festival at Grenore Fortress. That meant if I returned to Grenore City, I should be able to spend a little more time with Leonardo.
"Leonardo is... scheduled to perform the rites in the capital for this year's Divine King Festival, you know?"
If I returned to Grenore City, I would actually have less time with Leonardo instead. My eyes blinked at this sudden information. Why would Leonardo, who should be performing the rites at Grenore Fortress this year in the rotation, be scheduled to perform the rites in the capital?
...Ah, the martial arts tournament?
Leonardo had won against all his opponents at this year's martial arts tournament in the capital. He had even beaten Timon, who led the Silver-White Knights. That meant he was the strongest knight in the capital. And at the Divine King Festival, the rites for the War God Herkeles held at the fortress were performed by the strongest knight of that fortress. Considering that, it might have been a natural progression for Leonardo to perform the rites conducted by the Silver-White Knights in the capital.
"...If Leonyaldo Big Brother is in the capital, then I will wait obediently at the detached palace too."
"What is this. You were after Leonardo?"
"I am a child at the age where I want to be coddled. I want to see my brother soon, whom I have not met for three months."
Alfred shrugged at me, who had listed all the reasons why it would not work and opposed the winter trip, but had changed my opinion as soon as I heard Leonardo would be spending time in the capital. He looked at me with a curious expression as if to say, "Are you really that clingy?" But I was surprised too. I had thought my inner self was a little more mature than my actual age, but this made me seem like a child younger than my actual age.
...That is fine. I have never been apart from him this long before.
I was brazenly decided. What was wrong with a little sister missing her brother?
"Snow berries ripen after they are covered by snow, so gathering them is difficult. At the very least, the fruit will not form until the snow piles up."
I forcefully corrected the course of the conversation that had gone off track. We were supposed to be discussing gathering materials for Pant medicine, but somehow it had turned into Leonardo's winter schedule.
"What is needed for Pant medicine is the red fruit before it ripens. If you dig in the snow too early, the fruit has not formed, and if you are too late, it has ripened and turned yellow."
Now that its identity was known, it was the easiest of the Pant medicine ingredients to obtain, but the timing of gathering was still difficult. When I lived in Mey Village, I ate the ripe yellow berries as they were, and made the unripe red ones into jam or juice. Either was fine for consumption, but as the ingredient called snow hat, only the unripe red berries were needed.
"Apparently, the gathered unripe red berries are left on the snow to dry..."
Since it was written in the research materials of the saint Yuuta Hiraga, I did not think it was wrong, but I still had some doubts. According to the transcription, if the gathered red berries were left on the snow, they would freeze overnight, and if they were left to dry on the snow for about a month, they could be preserved as medicine ingredients. The research materials confidently said "it becomes like freeze-dried!", but from my memory, freeze-drying was a method used in factories to make instant food. I could not help but be skeptical about whether such a natural drying method as described in the research materials could really result in freeze-drying.
"Drying on the snow for a month, huh..."
"That does seem difficult."
I was wondering whether this method could really produce freeze-drying, but seemingly Alfred and Jasper's concerns were elsewhere. Rather than whether it would become freeze-dried, the one-month period seemed to be the issue.
"Harvesting the snow hats will be from mid-winter, and then drying them on the snow for a month... We will need a somewhat open place, and one that will not be raided by mountain beasts."
"Since they would be valuable winter food, I would like to gather from a different place than where the villagers gather if possible, but... considering we need to guard them from beasts while drying, it would be better to do the work near a settlement after all."
Guards would be needed, and even just transporting them would require escorts. The discussion about snow berry gathering was being examined in detail, and I had no room to interject, so I listened quietly. By the time the two had reached a conclusion, they strangely brought up the topic I had already given up on, saying that since someone needed to watch over the snow berries drying for over a month, me coming along was still impossible, and I pouted with a sour expression.
"Considering we need to confirm the snow hats and take measures for preservation, I would like to bring a pharmacist along for future reference as well."
"In that case, I will accompany you. I used to pick and eat snow berries as a child too."
"Then the companions will be Black Knights. We will also need guards against beasts and bandits."
I had proposed snow hat gathering to Jasper as another job to keep him warm during the winter when he could not use the hearth, but gathering itself seemed quite demanding. I started to worry whether he would really be able to spend the winter warmly, but the two's conversation kept moving forward.
"As for the Laroche pollen... we will need to inquire with the Divine King's Domain Quebia."
"I will borrow your name," Alfred said, turning his gaze toward me, who had been completely left out of the conversation. I tilted my head, not understanding what he meant. Even if they were making an inquiry to the Divine King's Domain Quebia, why would they use my name?
"Would not Alfred-sama's name be more appropriate?"
Setting aside the name of Alfred, who was a prince, my name should have no value whatsoever in the Divine King's Domain Quebia. Rather, the people there who received an inquiry using a name like mine would probably be confused as to why such a person was contacting them.
"I heard that Tina is on friendly terms with the next provisional king of the Divine King's Domain Quebia?"
"I have no recollection of that."
If "provisional king" meant what it sounded like, it was a temporary king. I only knew one king as an acquaintance, and if it was a foreign king, I would not even have the opportunity to meet them. I thought about what on earth he was talking about, and felt a slight catch. The only king I knew was Christoph, but there was one acquaintance of mine in the Divine King's Domain Quebia.
"Could it be... Remihio-sama?"
Time is up.
Will fix typos and errors at a later date.