Chapter 22
｡･:*:･ﾟ★ Translated by Divine ｡･:*:･ﾟ☆
A few days later, Lyas completely dominated Mentis.
If you ask why I say ‘completely,’ let me tell you about Mentis’s current state.
Mentis, who used to be upset for not being able to boast about his knowledge, lost his mind. Overwhelmed by fear, he became an idiot.
‘And the one who made him like that was Lyas.’
A person who normally didn’t typically get angry was even scarier when truly angered.
Perhaps realizing that the monster that tormented them wasn’t such a big deal, the children gradually regained their laughter.
Even strange words I threw at them were met with giggles.
Today, the children first visited the library. As if nothing had happened, they casually sat next to me, saying, “We’ll sit here.”
Surprised, I looked at them. Julie said.
“…You shouldn’t neglect learning in any situation.”
After saying that, he quickly turned his head, but the tips of his ears were red.
I smirked and asked Sukia to prepare a simple snack for them while studying.
Now, I wondered if it was time to give it to them.
Just then, a murmuring sound was heard. Julie was diligently copying the contents of the magic book onto paper.
‘But this looks difficult even to me. Can Julie understand it?’
Sure enough, Julie was just copying without comprehension, and his eyes were spinning.
“Julie, do you understand this?”
In response to my question, Julie hesitated and said.
“Y-Yes, of course. Teacher Benito taught us before. Look at this!”
Julie confidently spoke while handing me a piece of paper inserted into the book.
Whether he took notes during class or during his free time, the paper was densely filled with characters…
‘You shoudn’t use magic when tere’s no mana in your body. Refer to this when you use magic. That’s why I failed…’
As expeted of Benito. I’m glad he’s our teacher!
‘My funeral wish is to become a skilled magican like my father!’
The state of his spelling was… deeply hopeless.
“…Julie, you’re really working hard at studying. It’s amazing.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, it is.”
I smiled at the proud-looking Julie.
“Let’s learn from the basics again.”
And I was very sensitive about spelling.
As I opened the book, Julio made a despairing face, “Awww!”
“…Did I make a lot of mistakes?”
“Not a lot. I also confused things when I was young.”
“…You too?”
“Yeah. It’s not something to be discouraged about since even adults get confused.”
I patted Julie’s head.
“Still, it’s good to catch these things early for the future.”
I taught Julio spelling one by one.
“It’s not ‘shoudn’t,’ it’s ‘shouldn’t.’ And it’s not ‘tere,’ it’s ‘there.'”
“Uh-huh…”
“If you’re confused, try changing the letter here. It’ll make it easier to distinguish.”
Julio, who looked downcast at the thought of being wrong, nodded in understanding after I explained with several examples.
‘I guess there’s no spelling checker in this world.’
It would be convenient if there was one.
Thinking like that, I sighed when I felt someone’s gaze. Julie and Emil were looking at me as if they were looking at something curious.
“What?”
“Sis, when did you become so smart?”
“You’re really good at explaining.”
“…So you’re saying I was stupid?”
“Yeah.”
“Yeah.”
“…”
Their answers were without an ounce of hesitation.
While I hesitated for a moment, a sudden thought came to my mind. Then, grinning, I cleared my throat.
“There’s a reason why I suddenly became so smart.”
“What, what is it?”
“Curious?”
“Yes!”
The twins nodded vigorously.
“Well, this is top-secret…”
I hesitated and took out something I had prepared in advance from my pocket.
“What’s this?”
“Candy?”
I shrugged my shoulders.
“Well, you’ll know when you try it.”
“It’s suspicious…”
Julie narrowed his eyes.
“Oh, well, let’s forget it. If you don’t want it, I’ll eat it all.”
When I exaggeratedly hid what I was holding, Julie quickly raised his head.
“No, I want to eat it! I want to eat it!”
“Me too!”
Of course. At times like this, you have to bait them once.
Swallowing my wicked laughter, I showed what I was holding to the children again.
“How does it taste?”
I looked at Emil and Julie nervously.
The twins, who were rolling it around in their mouths until their cheeks became round, said.
“It’s delicious, sister.”
“It’s too sour.”
Two contrasting reactions came back. I asked Julie, who said it was sour:
“Does it taste bad?”
“Um, it’s okay.”
Julio slightly frowned, covering his cheek with his hand.
“It’s kind of, tingling here.”
“That’s why I like it.”
Emil added cautiously.
“It’s delicious because it’s sour?”
“…Is that so?”
“Yeah. What about you, Julie?”
“Well… it does feel like that.”
Julie answered quietly in response to his brother’s reaction.
“I don’t mind it either. It has a sweet taste too.”
Julie said, putting another candy into his mouth.
Although he closed his eyes tightly at the sourness, he rolled it around in his mouth and enjoyed it.
Originally, preferences for sourness varied to some extent, but it wasn’t easy to appeal to everyone just by making it recklessly sweet.
Moreover, children tend to have clear preferences. If they continue to eat it willingly, it generally means it tastes good.
‘All right!’
I cheered silently in my mind.
‘The vitamins worked!’
Good for preventing colds, but kids don’t like to take it.
When I heard Sukia’s words, one product came to mind.
That would be TEN-X (텐X), which was a kid’s nutritional supplement.
In this world, there was no concept of vitamin supplements yet.
Though there were medications, making them into pills lowers their effectiveness due to insufficient technology. So, most medicines were in powder form.
Naturally, they tasted awful. Swallowing them was the worst, and it was a pain if it touched the tongue.
‘But what if I make it into candy?’
Easy to eat, not in powder form, good texture, and guaranteed taste.
‘In other words, it’s a technology that no one has developed in this world yet.’
Moreover, it’s free from sugar, so it’s good for the body.
Patents mean money. And money is everything! Retirement funds!
While I was silently rejoicing, Julie asked with a curious expression.
“What’s the name of this?”
“Oh, the name?”
I paused at Julie’s unexpected question.
“Haven’t you named it yet?”
“Oh, I did, but…”
I felt too guilty to give it the exact same name.
‘Since it’s made from Portifor sap…’
“Popo.”
“Popo?”
“Yeah. The name of this candy is Popo.”
After all, names should be straightforward and easy to remember. Consumers need to remember it first.
So, Popo seemed like a good name. Similar to TEN-X.
“…Popo.”
“The name is cute. Like a puppy.”
Julie and Emil shared their thoughts while savoring the candy once again.
Their puffed cheeks were so cute I smiled contentedly. Suddenly, I noticed the book that Emil was holding.
It was a book explaining magic circuits and their principles. The page Emil was reading explained the connection between the body and magic.
‘Come to think of it, he’s been on that page for a while now. Is it too difficult for Emil?’
Oh, come to think of it, magic circuits were Lyas’s specialty. Realizing the fact I had forgotten, I unconsciously muttered.
“Maybe you can ask Uncle Lyas…?”
Then Emil twitched. He looked at me with surprised eyes, as if asking, ‘How did you know?’
‘Ah, I see.’
Understanding his intention, I asked Emil.
“Do you want to go ask Uncle Lyas?”
“….”
In response, Emil hugged the book tightly.
“I’m afraid it might disturb his work…”
“Not at all. He might even enjoy it.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
Emil nodded in agreement with my reassurance.
“I… I also have something to ask!”
Julie quickly added.
“Okay, let’s all go together.”
At my suggestion, the kids held their books tightly with anxious expressions.
***
‘Exhausting.’
Lyas let out a low sigh and leaned against the backrest.
Dealing with Count Mentis was relatively smooth.
He had abused the children of the Duke’s successor, and considering the potential for a territory-wide conflict, things transitioned relatively peacefully. There were no strong objections from above.
However, he still had to bear a minimal responsibility for the disappearance of the Viscount.
Moreover, cutting off the root of evil didn’t resolve all conflicts.
Though he had a few meals with the children at Daphne’s suggestion, it couldn’t be considered as proper family time.
The children remained silent, and Daphne answered on their behalf each time.
There was nothing more embarrassing than forcibly eating with someone you don’t like.
‘…I guess it’s better to give up on having meals together.’
At that moment.
Knock, knock.
“Excuse me, Uncle Lyas.”
Daphne’s voice could be heard with the knock.
Hearing her, Lyas paused. As expected, Daphne must have had similar thoughts.
“Come in.”
He granted permission in a slightly subdued voice.
As the door opened and Daphne entered, a sudden sweet fragrance wafted in.
“I have something I’d like to discuss with you.”
Daphne’s face showed a hint of tension.
It was definitely because she wanted to say it’d be difficult to continue having meals together.
Lyas’s heart sank at the realization.
Happy New Year!!!!
