"That guy seriously…"
"Milady, when did you come home? Aarghh… I'm so sleepy."
Konny looked really tired. Her eyes were red and she kept yawning whenever she talked. After Demian left the room, Lara tried to persuade Konny to sleep.
"Konny, just go to bed early. Are you not feeling well?"
"It's not like that."
"Come here.
Lara measured the heat with her palm on Konny's round forehead. It was warm because she just woke up, but she did not seem like she was ill.
"Milady, isn't that the palm that Master Demian kissed?"
"Huh?"
"I'm going to wash my face."
She was very thorough. Disregarding Lara's bewilderment, Konny ran firmly to the bathroom and washed her face.
"Whew, I'm getting a hold of myself now. I couldn't sleep at all last night, so I guess I have been sleeping without even realizing that I'm sleeping."
Lara wondered if Sebastian lent Konny a book again. She asked with a smile.
"Why couldn't you sleep? Were you reading the Hautean traditional horror storybook again?"
"No, I have been talking to Valentine all night…"
"Huh?"
"It's my first time seeing the sunrise while talking to a man. I was just lying down on my bed, but it was already morning before I realized it."
"Konny!"
Lara screamed in the midst of Konny's rambling, making her raise her head in surprise.
"Are you in that kind of relationship with Valentine without me knowing?"
"Pardon?"
"Are you guys…"
"Huh?"
Konny looked at Lara with her round eyes wide open and soon screamed louder than her.
"It's not like that!"
"Konny, it's fine. I understand."
"It's not fine! Valentine was in his room and I was in my room! All we did was talk all night! Why is your mind so unhealthy, milady?"
Because your words were misleading.
While she was mumbling, Lara lifted one eyebrow and asked Konny.
"Your room is in the main building and Valentine's room is in the annex building… How can you talk all night?"
"Oh, about that. Valentine made me a magic receiver."
"Huh?"
"The black sorcerers live in hiding away from each other. So they created receivers that let the users talk to each other even from afar. It looks like a lamp. But inside it…"
Lara opened her mouth and stared at Konny. Her maid did not seem to have any idea how great of an experience she just had.
"I know It's fascinating, but you should have also seen him show off! How arrogant is that kid who used to crouch down every day."
He deserves to be arrogant.
If Valentine could make a long-distance magic receiver, it would mean that people could talk to someone far away without the use of a relic lamp and sorcerer.
∘₊✧──────✧₊∘
With a frightened look on his face, Valentine had been called to the drawing-room. Since the master who abused him since he was young was a woman, Valentine had a habit of crouching his shoulders and gradually walking on eggshells whenever he saw a woman.
That also applied to Lara. As soon as Valentine saw Lara sitting on that sofa in the drawing-room, he visibly and loudly swallowed his saliva. Then, like a hedgehog with its thorns standing out, he came into the room while being wary of her.
"You're fine with Konny. Why not me?"
When Lara muttered her dissatisfaction, Konny said with a face as if questioning her why she would ask something so obvious.
"Because you look scary, milady."
"Konny."
"Still, it's such a relief. He doesn't run away anymore."
When Valentine was first brought to the manor, he used to avoid Lara and Isadora even from afar. Therefore, it could be said that it was a great development for him to be able to sit face to face with Lara.
So that Valentine would not feel uncomfortable, Lara did not drag the conversation long. She immediately brought up the business.
"Make one for me too."
"M-make what?"
"A long-distance magic receiver."
Valentine looked at Konny with resentment. Konny quietly turned her head and gently pushed the dessert in front of him.
"I can't."
"Why?"
"It costs a lot of money."
Valentine began to stutter over the principles of the long-distance magic receiver─or magic lamp─that he had made for Konny.
"In the old days, there were many elemental sorcerers, so they put magic on lamps and cast spells on them… But now all those sorcerers are gone. S-so… alchemy is, I mean, after drawing a magic blueprint on a hard gem and processing it… using the refraction of light."
"Wait a minute."
I don't understand anything he was saying.
Lara cut off Valentine in the middle of his words and asked him straightforwardly.
"What do you need?"
"A diamond."
"Only that?"
"H-how far away is the person you are going to talk to?"
"Very far."
"T-then it has to be really big. Really really big."
"Does it have to be a diamond?"
Valentine nodded. He said that the receiver he made for Konny was not made of hard jewelry like diamonds, so it would break after using it only once or twice. Valentine mumbled in a small voice after that, explaining why it should be a diamond. But Lara could not understand even half of what he said.
"So, in conclusion, it must be a diamond. And the bigger it is, the better."
"Yes."
"Okay. I will get it for you. Please make one for me."
Lara was confident. Her mother was the Thousand Gold Isadora. Getting a few jewels like that was a piece of cake for her.
As Lara stood up to go out, Konny quickly poked Valentine's side.
"Valentine, Valentine!"
"H-huh?"
Valentine bent down with a puzzled face and put his ears around Konny's mouth. Then, Konny whispered to him cheerfully.
"Ask her to open a store for you."
"Huh?"
"You said you wanted to do business."
"Oh."
Valentine raised her head. Lara heard everything but pretended not to hear it and asked him naturally.
"Tell me if there's anything you want. If it's something I can do, I will grant it."
"Well, t-then… a store."
"Huh?"
"Please open a store for me. A small store is enough. A small store to sell aphrodisiacs… I mean, invigorating drinks and stuff. If possible, I would like the location to be on the street frequented by the nobles, and to have reliable staff, and…"
It was going to be a shop selling simple but not really that simple a thing.
Lara gladly nodded.
∘₊✧──────✧₊∘
Isadora was not even surprised anymore. After all, Lara always says something shocking every time she comes to visit her.
"Okay… this is better than when you told me you were the saintess."
"Pardon?"
"Diamonds. How many big ones do I need to get?"
"The bigger the better, the more the better."
If Valentine made several long-distance magic receivers, it would come in handy for Lara's visit to the Empire soon. Isadora pondered for a moment. The sound of her tapping her finger on the desk could be heard.
Lara looked at her mother with a slightly nervous expression. She thought that since this was different from when she asked for pocket money, she might be rejected. But instead, Isadora said something random.
"I need to buy a mine."
"Pardon?"
"I was concerned about this because of the high price of gemstones. But since this happens to be good, I can just buy a diamond mine."
Lara only asked for diamonds, but her mother bought a diamond mine.
"Sebastian."
Isadora loudly called in her secretary, Sebastian. Then, with his help, while searching for the perfect mine to buy, Isadora sent someone to the jewelry auction to get as many diamonds as Lara needed.
Lara thanked her mother for getting two diamonds the size of a baby's fist and immediately brought them to Valentine. He said with a pale face that the diamond did not have to be that big and then immediately locked himself in his room.
While Valentine was making the long-distance receivers, Lara looked for records of God with Demian. In the royal family, the enraged King gave his orders. Hundreds of soldiers rushed west to pursue the disappearance of Prince Sidhar.