The next morning, at breakfast, both Flare and Taris were at the table. His wife sat directly across from him, and standing behind her was Taris-the lady-in-waiting he’d slept with yesterday.
What is this feeling? Kyle thought. By this world’s standards, he hadn’t done anything wrong, yet he felt incredibly awkward. Of course, neither Flare nor Taris had said a word about it, but he couldn’t shake the sensation of having been caught red-handed in an affair.
This must be because he was still dragging along his previous life’s values. In reality, they were both perfectly composed… well, their faces were intimidating, but that was probably just their normal expressions.
After a simple breakfast of sausages, eggs, a bit of vegetables, and bread, they settled into a relaxed morning before properly starting the day. Normally, they’d discuss their plans and coordinate their schedules, but for some reason words wouldn’t come, and the only sound filling the room was the quiet sipping of tea.
Flare had always been quiet, and Taris didn’t speak unless necessary. So most of their married conversations had to be started by him…
”Flare, what are your plans for today?” Kyle mustered up the courage to ask.
Flare had grown used to life in this house and he’d been letting her spend her time freely. Unlike typical noble daughters who basically did nothing but obsess over their appearances, she seemed to examine territory matters through documents, write letters to her family home, and sometimes even change into easy-to-move-in pants to do running and other training exercises.
She said the exercise was for keeping her figure and health. Apparently, when she was at her family home, she’d also learned the basics of martial arts from a physical arts instructor on top of that. And that was how she’d gotten that body-in two senses of the word.
Well, in this world, there was no concept of “health exercise” for dieting-if you were moving your body, martial arts training was the norm. Applying it to figure maintenance seemed to have been Flare’s personal decision, something like boxing aerobics in his original world’s terms.
The basic way women kept their figures in this world was “not eating,” Actually, the common belief was that women exercising vigorously was “improper,” From that perspective too, Kyle thought Flare was quite the rebel. From his standpoint, he thought it was healthy and admirable. He’d actually like to follow her example.
”I believe a reply to the letter I sent Father should be arriving soon, so once it does, I’ll need to write a response. Aside from that, I have no particular engagements, so I thought it might be good to take a stroll around the manor with Taris if time permits, and perhaps exchange greetings with the surrounding residents if possible.”
”I see. The weather’s nice too-that might be a good idea.”
Kyle nodded, pleased that Flare was trying to get used to life in Quinta Territory. Before he’d first met Flare, he’d assumed she’d be a spoiled young lady who’d say something like, “This is utterly unacceptable! There’s no way I can stay in a backwater like this forever!” So this was a nice surprise.
”-By the way, Kyle, how was it last night? With Taris?”
Just as Kyle was nodding happily, Flare suddenly dropped a bombshell topic from the side. It wasn’t exactly off-limits as a subject given that it had happened just yesterday, but this wasn’t really breakfast-table conversation. If he’d been drinking tea, he would’ve spat it out.
”Pfft-! Well, that is… it went fine… right, Taris?”
Kyle fumbled helplessly and tossed the answer to Taris. And Taris responded calmly. Ah, how pathetic. No wait, why are you so calm about this, Taris? Huh? Am I the weird one?
”Is that so. I’m glad to hear it.”
Flare said with a smile, but that smile-as he’d thought before-wasn’t a gentle curve but a full-on sly grin. There was this strange intensity about it, this pressure. If this were a manga, it wouldn’t be strange for a monologue like “I’ll kill you” to appear in the background.
She’d once told him that even at bridal school salons, whenever she smiled, the other young ladies who frequented the same place would ask things like, “What exactly are you plotting with that face?!” He understood she was just smiling, but it was completely counterproductive…
”Pardon the interruption, young master, but a letter has arrived addressed to Lady Flare…”
Just then, Martha entered with an envelope in hand, looking apologetic. No, Martha, you have nothing to apologize for! In fact, you saved me!
”I see, bring it here. Is this the one you mentioned earlier, Flare?”
”I believe so.”
Martha still seemed uncomfortable around Flare, often handling matters concerning her through Kyle. Though he was glad she seemed to have warmed up to Taris a bit as a fellow servant.
The letter was, as expected, from the head of House Regal, Jack Regal, addressed to his daughter Flare. Flare had Taris fetch a paper-knife and began opening it right there.
”You’re opening it here?”
”Yes, the contents concern you as well, Kyle, so this is convenient.”
”Me?”
Flare sliced through the wax seal and pulled out the letter inside. Then, upon reading its contents, she smiled again-with that sly grin.
Yep, seeing her like this really made Flare look villainous… even Kyle found himself wondering what schemes she was cooking up with her father. And the letter’s author was that Jack Regal, no less. Even if the contents were about overthrowing the state, it wouldn’t feel out of place. Not that it actually would be, of course.
”Oh my, it seems we succeeded after all.”
She showed him the letter. Checking its contents, it appeared to be about the business subsidy application she’d mentioned before. Flare had consulted Jack about the matter concerning Quinta’s businesses, and Jack had his people handle the procedures, resulting in several subsidies being approved.
”Whoa! This much!?” It was more than he’d imagined-some of it even applied retroactively to expenses already spent. Moreover, Flare had proactively looked up the necessary documents from his study and prepared them all. She was incredibly capable.
In any case, thanks to Flare, a portion of their previous expenses would be refunded, and they’d receive ongoing money going forward-meaning big savings. Which meant he could put that money toward further Magicraft Device development…
Kyle caught himself and shook his head. No, no. This money was essentially what Flare had earned for them, so he should ask her about how to use it.
Thinking that, he told Flare as much. She looked confused for a moment, then said, “No, I simply took the liberty of handling the procedures to be of some use. But come to think of it, under normal circumstances, I could hardly complain if I were scolded for acting without permission. So shouldn’t you use it as you see fit, Kyle?” She seemed relieved not to have been yelled at for overstepping.
”No, it’s not overstepping at all! You’ve helped immensely! Actually, I’ve already placed an order for the Magicraft Lantern for your room, but now we can think about even more things beyond that!”
Kyle was overjoyed at this unexpected windfall. But in this world-especially among noble men-there were plenty who cared way too much about looking good. There were many pathetic men who got angry when a “woman”-be it a wife or daughter-pointed out something about their work or handled business more efficiently than them, claiming their “pride had been trampled,” It was no wonder Flare had thought that way.
But from his perspective, still carrying his previous life’s values, having a capable wife was nothing but a benefit. If she was more capable than him, he’d happily leave everything to her. Being bossed around by a beautiful wife didn’t sound half bad either.
”Magicraft Lantern… that lamp that shines with that bright white light?”
”Exactly. Having that versus not having it makes a world of difference when you’re trying to do something at night.”
”…At night, you say.”
”…Ah.”
Right. In this world, due to religious influences, the common sense was that “nighttime is for sleeping,” He’d been just thinking that preparing a bright lamp and staying awake in the dark to do something was completely unreasonable. The proper way was to sleep early if you had business, then wake up with the sunrise the next morning-that was common sense.
(Ah… this is definitely going to cement my reputation as an oddball even further… I’d completely forgotten. I don’t really care what other people think of me, but Flare-I really don’t want her to hate me. Still, when I think about needing to get up for the bathroom or a bath at night, having a lantern around does seem pretty useful…)
While Kyle was worrying over all that, completely unaware of his concerns, Flare gave a sly smile and said she was grateful he’d ordered a lantern just for her.
”Hehehe, it certainly does seem quite practical, doesn’t it? The difference in visibility when walking down the hallway at night is remarkable. …Not that an ordinary lamp would be a problem, mind you. If I had to spend a fortune and commission one myself, I’d probably hesitate-but if it’s being given to me, I can honestly say I’m delighted.”
”Really? That’s great, then!”
This must have been exactly the kind of feeling Flare had been talking about earlier-that nervousness of being told you’d gone and done something unnecessary.
”In that case, might I ask for one more thing? Would you be able to have another made for my father as well?”
”For your father too?”
”Indeed. Father is a very busy man, and his work sometimes carries on into the night. On such occasions, he either works by lamplight or gets up before dawn to start his day. Either way, working in dim conditions can’t be good for the eyes, can it? And it gives him such a terrible glare, too.”
”Ah, yeah.”
Right… so maybe part of the reason Jack always had that fierce look about him was because his eyes were strained? Though, judging by Flare’s face, Kyle got the feeling it was definitely just a family trait.
”Well then, once we finish this tea, I’ll go put in the extra order. For the main body, I can just request additional parts from a few workshops, but refining the Arcanos crystals-that needs to be done early, considering the scarcity of the raw magic stones.”
”Then I shall accompany you.”
”Yeah? Alright, let’s go together.”
At any rate, he hadn’t seen Jack since the wedding, and yet they’d managed to start their married life off so well. Sending a little gift to the father-in-law might actually be a nice idea. Of course, the money for all this came from the savings Flare helped him free up-but still, it was better than doing nothing at all.
And so, with Flare in tow, Kyle headed off to the workshop of the mage Fidek, located near the harbor, just before noon.
”This is my second time coming here.”
”Yeah, I always use this workshop for crystal refining, and we dropped by once during our post-wedding greetings, too.”
Mages… well, even calling him a mage, what he actually did was closer to alchemy-and there were only a handful of people in the world who made a living at it. And most of them were eccentrics.
The master of this workshop, Fidek, was one of those eccentric mages. The workshop was a chaotic mess, with no proper organization or traffic flow management. Pots, kettles, mortars, spoons, spatulas-all scattered about haphazardly. Back in his old world, this place would have been in serious violation of safety regulations.
The air inside was thick with a strange, earthy smell of soil and sand, the kind that made you worry about your lungs if you stayed too long.
In the middle of it all, there was one middle-aged guy in a mask, gloves, and protective goggles, stirring the contents of a cauldron in front of a lit furnace.
”Hey-Fidek! Got a minute?” Kyle called out loudly.
Fidek didn’t even turn around, just barked back, “Can’t you see I’m busy?! Wait a damn minute!”
He looked less like a mage and more like some dwarf hammering away at a forge. Not exactly the mystical image of a magician. But then again, Kyle was probably the only one who thought that way-still carrying around those preconceptions from his past life about what a “mage” should be.
Still, talking to a feudal lord like this-if you really wanted to nitpick, it would be rude. But Kyle didn’t mind.
Honestly, Fidek was an old acquaintance. Back when Kyle had just inherited the title, he’d been nothing but a greenhorn-practically a kid in Fidek’s eyes-and that perception had probably never worn off.
You know how it is. Like when your uncle from the countryside still treats you like a child no matter how old you get.
”Phew. Sorry to keep you waitin’. Finally got that sorted out. So, what’s this about-the young master Walker bringin’ his wife along? That thing about the crystals? Those should be ready to crystallize pretty soon, y’know?”
”Yeah, about that-could you make another Arcanos crystal about the same size? Same purpose-I’m making another Magicraft Lantern.”
When Kyle put in the extra order for the Arcanos crystal, Fidek’s eyes went wide in surprise.
”Hmm, well, I can do it if I set my mind to it. But two at once? You’re really splurgin’, huh.”
”We’d like one for my father as well. I’ve tried it out myself, and it really is quite convenient,” Flare answered, covering her mouth with her hand as she spoke to avoid breathing in the dust.
”Ah, right, so your wife’s the daughter of House Regal, ain’t she? Makes sense you can afford to drop coin like that!”
Fidek let out a hearty, not-very-refined “GAH-HA-HA!” laugh. And yet, his delicate work on Arcanos crystallization was supposedly top-notch-strange how that worked.
”Yeah, well, I guess. But look, if the practical uses of Magicraft devices become more widely known, business’ll pick up and you’ll have a steadier income, right? That’s not a bad thing.”
”Damn right it ain’t! Right now, the only one keepin’ my shop in regular work is House Walker. But if I ended up doin’ the same thing over and over, that’d get borin’ too!”
With that, Fidek let out another booming “GAH-HA-HA” laugh.
Fidek had originally lived in the city, but apparently work had been scarce and he was bored. Then about eight years ago, House Walker started sending him repeated requests for refining rare magic stones with unusual properties. Fascinated by the work, he’d actually moved all the way to Quinta Territory to make it easier to take on Kyle’s orders.
He hadn’t intended it that way, but Kyle supposed he’d essentially poached him from another territory. Otherwise, there’s no way a skilled mage-already a rarity-would ever set up shop in a backwater like this.
”Speaking of which, I’ve heard that people in your line of work tend to have wide networks of connections. Would you happen to know any up-and-coming part-time mages? They don’t necessarily need to be highly skilled.”
”Huh? What’s that about?” Fidek frowned at Flare’s question. Perhaps he was surprised to have a woman suddenly cutting into the middle of a business conversation between men.
”Oh, that’s-basically..,” Kyle figured she was probably referring to their earlier conversation. So he explained to Fidek what he and Flare had discussed about how to mass-produce Magicraft Devices.
The gist was that if they could produce Arcanos crystals cheaply and in bulk, the cost of Magicraft Devices themselves could be lowered. To that end, they could set up a system to hire struggling mages on a regular, salaried basis and have them handle the simpler work.
”Of course, this all hinges on securing a stable supply of magic stones first. But if we can do that, you could hand off the routine stuff-like making small crystals with fixed procedures that you said would be boring-to those mages, and…”
”So you’re sayin’ a top-tier mage like me could focus on the excitin’ stuff! Like refinin’ new theoretical Arcanos crystals for next-gen Magicraft devices-all the hard, fun challenges!”
”Exactly!!”
Fidek’s enthusiasm for the idea was off the charts. The guy hated boredom, took on this kind of work, and had practically come to this backwater with little regard for profit-so it made perfect sense.
”To make that happen, I think we need to keep showing off how useful Magicraft Devices are-not just to weirdos like me, but to everyone. House Regal’s loaded, so if your father-in-law likes this gift, he might become a major client, right?”
”Got it! Alright, I’ll take on the extra order, fast as I can.”
”Thanks, I appreciate it. Oh, and by the way-that salaried mage idea was Flare’s, believe it or not. Pretty impressive, huh?”
”From that little lady!?”
Flare, who’d been frowning from the poor air quality in the room, looked even more intimidating than usual. But since she was covering her mouth, maybe it didn’t come across as that threatening?
Fidek, however, didn’t flinch at Flare’s fierce expression. Instead, he laughed heartily and said, “When I heard the young master Walker got hitched, I wondered what kind of woman she’d be-but damn, seems like you got yourself a wife who’s not just pretty but pretty damn interestin’ too!”
”Yeah, she’s a wife I’m proud of. Best decision I ever made!” And Kyle replied without any embarrassment to Fidek. Flare watched their exchange with a hand over her mouth, looking rather puzzled.
After that, they stopped by two more workshops to check on the lantern bodies, reels, and lure1 prototypes.
”So you were actually serious enough to make prototypes of that activity I mentioned…”
”Of course I was? It was your idea, Flare, and I thought it was a good one when I heard it.”
They chatted like that as the horse-drawn carriage with its suspension system swayed them along on their way home. The reel still seemed like it would take some time, but the lures had already reached a level comparable to those from his previous life.
In terms of types, they were simpler than ordinary lures called spoons, but for now, it was enough to confirm they could catch fish. Kyle was thinking of taking the prototypes out fishing sometime soon. And if they caught fish properly, maybe he’d make something more polished and try launching it as a business.
”Back at the workshop earlier, you were speaking so familiarly with that commoner mage. That struck me as a bit curious…”
Hearing Flare’s thoughts, Kyle reflected. (Is that so? Ah, right-I guess when you’re from a big house like House Regal, it’s not great for appearances to be all buddy-buddy. Especially since today’s workshop was a pretty dirty place… But still, maybe I should think more about having a lordly dignity or something…)
”Well, he’s an old guy I’ve known forever. But to me, that’s just how I am,” After thinking it over, Kyle decided to honestly tell Flare how he felt. Honestly, him acting all high and mighty wouldn’t suit him anyway-it’d just make him look more small-time.
”No, you should do as you wish, Kyle. It’s just that as a lord, you’re different from Father, and I suppose I was surprised…”
”Haha, well that’s a pretty unfair comparison2 (laughs),” Kyle broke into a grin. No way he could compare to a godfather like that!
Seeing Kyle laugh so freely despite being compared to his father, Flare found herself smiling in response. Truth be told, the moment she spoke she thought “oh no,” Most of the time, it was taboo for a wife to compare her husband to another man. Especially if she’d praised him compared to another man that would be one thing, but finding her husband’s actions strange compared to her father’s was normally the worst thing she could say. Yet Kyle just laughed it off without getting upset.
Flare found that endearing about Kyle, and smiled with relief.
And at that moment, Kyle looked at Flare’s smile-inherited from her father-and thought to himself, “Ah, when Flare smiles like that, she really does look like trouble,” He thought this quite sincerely.
_________________________To be continued
Trivia:
- Kyle’s casual acceptance of Flare’s physical training (“boxing aerobics”) reveals how thoroughly his modern-world values have overwritten this society’s gender norms—he finds her “heretical” behavior admirable rather than scandalous.
- The contrast between Flare’s genuine smile and its universally intimidating reception (even her own husband finds it villainous) establishes a running gag that underscores her social isolation despite her competent, well-meaning nature.
- The “nighttime is for sleeping” religious doctrine not only explains why Magicraft Lanterns are revolutionary but subtly hints at deeper worldbuilding tensions between technological progress and entrenched theological authority.
- Kyle’s internal monologue reveals his lingering otherworldly perspective, as he repeatedly compares the fantasy world to his “old world” or “past life,” particularly regarding safety standards and preconceived notions of mages.
- The dynamic between Kyle and Fidek shows a shift in power dynamics: Fidek still sees Kyle as the “young master” he once knew, despite Kyle now being a married lord and the head of his house.
- Flare’s contribution to the salaried mage proposal is highlighted by Kyle, subtly reinforcing her role as an intellectual equal and strategic partner in their marriage, not just an aristocratic wife.
- Kyle’s immediate laughter at being compared to his father suggests a healthy, uncomplicated relationship with his family legacy, contrasting with typical noble insecurity tropes.
- The suspension-equipped carriage indicates Kyle’s territory has access to relatively advanced engineering, subtly reinforcing his reincarnated knowledge influencing local technology.
- Flare’s internal panic about her comparison reveals she is still calibrating the boundaries of their marriage, balancing her aristocratic upbringing with Kyle’s unconventional lordly style.
Translation Notes:
1 ↩ A simple, concave metal lure that spins and flashes as it moves through water, mimicking small fish. The term is preserved because it’s a specific fishing terminology that translates directly across cultures.
2 ↩ Used metaphorically to evoke the powerful, intimidating patriarch archetype from The Godfather films. The comparison emphasizes the vast difference in leadership style between Kyle’s father and himself.