Most of the time, opportunities come and go. And sometimes, it knocks on your door.

***

After pondering for a while, I figured out what thing Jane wants. Though I know she told me that she wanted to serve me, I know for the fact that I don’t want her to do that anymore. However, seeing her sad is something I don’t want to see more of.

So the solution I came up with, with the help of mom and dad, I made her the Head Maid of the household. Though for that to happen, I had to ask Cherry a big favor to ask her father to take her under his wing for a while to learn from the Head Maid of his household.

I still haven’t got a response from him yet so all I can do is wait. For now, I’m letting it everyone keep it a secret from Jane so I can tell her myself later when I get a favorable response.

Currently, I am in the garden drinking tea with Cherry and Matt. The garden is being tended by an old couple who also are taking care of the horses in the stable. I forgot their names. I hope there’s no necessity to know it in the future.

On the other hand, Jane is serving us. Though I haven’t told her about the plan yet, I let her do as she please for now. And what she decided is that she’d be a maid that only serves us. She even wore her maid uniform.

Cherry and Matt were heavily against it. They told me it would be bad for my public image and possibly Jane’s as well. I don’t really get it but I’m thankful for their concern. Jane is being selfish for the first time so I’m kind of on her side on this one.

“I don’t understand you, Jane. You’re basically a noble now. Why do you still want to serve?”

Cherry has been glaring daggers at Jane for a while now. And I think she finally snapped.

“Though that might be the case, Miss Cherlaine, I’m still a commoner. This change is still too sudden for me. I know I’m being selfish, but I want to at least take my time to take everything in.”

“Well, that’s fair. But Jane, just like Cherry, I’d like to have Key’s public image be passable for a Marquise. It would have been fine if he was just a Baron, but things have progressed further than we expected.”

Matt backed Cherry, which is pretty surprising for me.

“However, since Key himself already approved with this, might as well compromise by making rules.”

“Rules…?”

Hmm… I think I’ll let them decide on this one. My words would just probably make the situation bad for Jane if I speak or something.

“Rule one: No Honorifics between us. You calling us Miss and Sir is so wrong. You’re already our equal. That will make weird rumors about our family if people find out.”

Well, I agree with Cherry on that one.

“Rule two: No serving outside our houses. Every time we go and visit a different household, you shouldn’t serve anyone. You only need to talk, walk, and stand like us. You are a Marquis’ woman.”

Kind of overbearing there, Matt…

“And lastly, rule three: At least look at us like sisters. You’re older than us, remember?”

…I actually forgot about that one. Cherry’s got a good memory, damn. I actually forgot that she’s a Saint-level Magician.

Because of that last part, Jane got a bit embarrassed which made the three of us smile. It was cute.

“So, do you accept the terms?”

“…yes.”

When she said so, Cherry snaps her finger and three pieces of silver earrings falls on her palm. All of them are of the same shape with a lavender colored piece of crystal on the center.

“I had this custom-made by a popular craftsman in the royal capital. Wearing this means you are a part of the Chardelier family.”

“B-but I don’t have a hole for an earring…”

When she said that, for some reason, Cherry and Matt fell quiet. Then suddenly, they look at each other with scary smiles.

“You know what I’m thinking, right?”

“Well, this is a rare chance.”

“…Girls?”

When I called out to them, Cherry looks at me and makes an expression as if she just remembered something.

“That reminds me…”

With the snap of her fingers, a long metal rod with an ornamented handle appears on the table. Judging by its design, I think it’s a cane, a walking cane to be exact.

“Though father might dislike you down to your core, he wants to at least give this cane as a gift after becoming a Marquis.”

“So this is his olive branch, huh.”

I guess the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree. I can see where Cherry got her personality.

“When you go back, send him my regards.”

I pick up the cane and tried to stand up with it. And to my surprise, the cane suddenly reacts and a magic script activates. Judging from the composition of the script, it seems to be a pain reliever magic. I can feel my spine and joints becoming lighter.

“I take it back. Bring with you a barrel of the best dwarven liquor I have in stock. This thing’s a heaven sent.”

When I said that, Cherry makes a forced smile as if there was something wrong.

“Well, that’s actually a reject since it has a bad mana absorption drain. But I guess that’s fine because you’re happy with it.”

…I don’t know how to react to that.

Since they seem to be going to do something to Jane, I leave them and headed towards the parlor because I notice a carriage stopping outside. It seems to be visitor.

I can go by myself now that I have a cane.

***

Inside the parlor, I was greeted by a man, probably in his 30s or something, and a little boy who’s probably his son. Judging by their middle-class clothing, they’re probably merchants, rich ones mostly.

I don’t remember any appointments regarding meeting any merchants.

“Good morning, Marquis Chardelier.”

As he greeted, he gave me a bow and his son follow suit.

“Is this our first time meeting?”

“Yes, this appointment was arranged with the consent of your mother.”

“I see. What’s your name?”

“Ernel and this is my son, Ronnel. I’m a retired adventurer and my son here is a student at the royal academy.”

When I raised my hand, both of them stood straight. And when I took a seat, they take theirs as well. Somehow, this guy looks familiar when I look at him. I feel like I’ve met him somewhere before.

“If you arranged this meeting with mum’s consent, this must be quite important.”

“Well that depends on your interest, to be honest. But since she said you might have one, I asked her a big favor of letting me meet you.”

Mum should’ve let me know beforehand if she wanted me to meet her associates.

“So, what did you come here for?”

After I asked him that, he looks at his son. Then, his son nods and pulls out a thin book from inside his bag and put it on the table. The cover looks okay, but the contents seem to be quite ragged and weathered. They must’ve changed the cover to make it more presentable.

“My late wife was doing research on something she called [Ether Engine]. Though I don’t know if she succeeded with her research, I do believe this has some value to it.”

[Ether Engine] huh… That does pique my interest. But I think he wants something.

“What does this [Ether Engine] do exactly?”

“During her time doing research, she mentioned that this would revolutionize the use of mana in the Ether. Though I’m not quite sure myself what it does, according to her, it bypasses the use of magic incantations or prayers.”

“So like a magic tool?”

“She strongly denied that comparison.”

I see, it uses mana but it’s not a magic tool. That makes me interested in it even more.

Looking at the book on the table, I take my time to think about picking it up. On the other-hand, I realized that his son being here serves no purpose.

“Why did you bring your son?”

“Ah… about that…”

When I pointed it out, Ernel looks at Ronnel, and after that, Ronnel pulls out a disk-like device from his bag.

This disk is comprised of several disks with a small magic-crystal in the center. Each disk is connected onto the next one with tiny iron wire diagonally and vertically. And not only that, the disks had magic scripts on them. When I tried to read it, I don’t recognize the formation. They’re sloppily made but they do look like they would work.

“Is this the [Ether Engine] you’re talking about?”

“It’s a small prototype she made. Since I don’t have any capacity to use magic, I brought my son who could activate it.”

“I see, show me.”

Ronnel puts the disk on the table. After that, he put his finger on the magic crystal and focused his own mana to it. It didn’t activate, but after a while, the magic crystal starts glowing in blue. But it probably took a toll on his mana pool. I mean, he’s still a child.

Slowly, the disk starts shaking on the table as if it gained life. While that was happening, I cast a low-level magic that my body can do which is [Arcane Vision]; a weak spell that allows me to see the flow of mana, ether, and magic flow in 3 colors. It appears as monocle on my left eye.

The disk starts floating and after that, each section starts rotating in different directions.

And to my surprise, it was not something I expected. Because of his description, I misunderstood this thing’s purpose, but I think he doesn’t know the real function as well.

Though it’s barely taking Ether in the air, it’s generating so much Mana and throwing it around. Unlike a magic tool that creates magic barely equal to its inputted mana, this thing generates more mana than it absorbs ether in the air. And after a while, the magic crystal breaks and the disk falls back to the table.

Rather than an engine, I think calling this a [Reactor] would be more fitting.

“Amazing isn’t it?”

I failed to hide my surprise which made Ernel chuckle. Ronnel on the other hand seems proud of what he did. Well, he does have the right to be proud.

“So what do you propose?”

When I said that, the smile on his face got bigger and he throws a high-five with his son. Well, it’s kind of nice to see this father-son wholesomeness. They got me good, I admit that.

“I’d like to ask a large loan to create more [Ether Engines]. The collateral will be my wife’s written theory for the [Ether Engine].”

…that’s it?

“Why?”

“What do you mean why? You saw what it can do, right? If we can sell these, we can revolutionize the use of magic in the world and make lots of money in the process!”

“Hold your horses. I understand what you feel, but aren’t you forgetting something?”

It seems that they let their excitement get to their heads.

“First of all, you can’t just mass produce something that you only ‘assume’ to change the market.”

When I said that, the smile on their faces disappears. However, Ernel’s becomes offended.

“What do you mean!? Are you telling me that my wife’s invention wouldn’t make it to the market?!”

He smashes the table out of rage while glaring at me angrily.

“I didn’t say that. But as much as I’d like to have that invention of yours, I’m afraid it’s going to fail to sell itself. I mean, you might have proven to me that it works, but what about the masses? Do you think a product that is both unknown and unproven would catch their attention? And who are you even selling it to? The common folk wouldn’t even be able to afford this one much more know what to use it for. And moreover, it’s likely going to cost so much because it’s not refined to work efficiently.”

“That…”

When I pointed out his flaws, his anger subsides as confusion becomes visible on his face. After a brief of silence, his shoulders drop in disappointment and lower his head to me.

“I’m sorry, Marquis… if you have to punish me for my aggression, please spare my son.”

“I have no intention, rather I understand you. You love your wife, don’t you? I’d feel the same way as you.”

He seems to be ashamed while reflecting on his actions that he doesn’t want to raise his head.

I hate seeing people like that.

“Though what you want might be impossible in the present, it might be possible in the future.”

When I said that, he looks at me with surprise. As if he didn’t expect me to actually lend a hand.

“What about this, your invention is great and all, but it needs refinement. As of now, it looks like a lousy craft made for kids. But if you can improve it and make it more cost-efficient, it might be a viable investment.”

“So what are you trying to propose?”

“How about you work for me?”

I saw it in his eyes, shock and awe. As if he was looking at a saint. Honestly, it feels awkward and might inflate my ego.

“I have a business partner that works with magic tools. If you want your wife’s invention to become useful and popular, you need to work with him. I guarantee he’ll be very pleased to see this invention.”

When I told him that, I could see tears of joy in the ends of his eyes and hugged his son. I’m glad I could help.

I decided to pick up the book on the table and read it for myself. And to my surprise, I saw a name I didn’t expect I would see in this world.

“Gladys Weller? She’s my pre-school teacher!”

“Ah, yes. I forgot to tell you, my wife and your mother are friends.”

No wonder I feel like I’ve seen him before, I saw a picture of him once!

***

Afternoon came.

I’m in my study right now reading documents regarding the other business deals and loans. It’s kind of annoying that the word got out that I have lots of money and everyone has been trying to loan left and right. I’d hate to be scammed especially now that I’m a Marquis.

Maybe I should open a loan office or something. But that would mean hiring trustworthy staff and implementing a secure security system which is a different kind of pain in the ass. But I guess that wouldn’t be a bad idea? I should ask mum and dad about it.

Meanwhile, Matt is in the office writing the contract for Sir Ernel. She’s smiling for some reason.

“You look happy, Matt. What’s the occasion?”

After asking her that, she looks at me with a little chuckle and continues writing.

“Nothing, it’s just that, it’s nice to hear other people complimenting you.”

“What do you mean?”

“Sir Ernel was saying you’re very kind and generous in helping him grant his late wife’s dream. You’re building quite the reputation here.”

“Leave it!”

That little tease in the end kind of makes me feel ticklish. I don’t enjoy it, but I don’t hate it as well.

“Say, Key, what do exactly want to do?”

“What do you mean?”

Matt puts down the quill pen and comes to me, after that, she sits on my lap and leans on my chest.

“Well, you know, when this ordeal with the gods is resolved, what will you do?”

“That’s a very odd question coming from you…ouch!”

She pinches my lightly when I pointed it out.

“Well, to be honest, I don’t exactly know yet, but if I was given this choice, I’d say I’d want to live a normal life.”

“What kind of normal do you want?”

“…What?”

While still leaning on me, she buries her face on my chest as she puts her arm around my body.

“Mother told me that you always liked the world without magic. That was your normal.”

“Well… that’s true. I do enjoy the world without magic.”

But it’s mostly because there’s internet there and the quality of life is better there to an extent.

“Are you going to go back there?”

And as expected, she drops this question. It was kind of predictable that I inadvertently chuckle and then laugh.

“What’s so funny!?”

Seeing how she got annoyed when she was acting all sad is cute. So cute that it made me laugh more.

“I hate that side of you so much!”

Just when she was about to leave, I grab her and make her sit on my lap again. This time, I lightly kiss her nape and hugged her by the waist.

“I like that world, but I’ve grown fond of this world. Moreover, you girls are here. Why would I even try to leave?”

She tried to struggle, but she couldn’t leave. Rather, she’s acting like she’s struggling, but she isn’t even trying. Matt acting like a little kid is cute. It’s the side of her that only I know.

Since she fell quiet, I took this chance to blow on her ear making her flinch. But she used that chance to twist herself and turn to kiss me.

She puts her arms around me tightly as if she doesn’t want to let go.

After a while, she parts her lips from mine leaving a silver string between us while breathing heavily. I could see myself in her eyes.

But just when she was about to kiss me again, the door slams open and a really angry Cherry is looking at us with arms crossed.

“I have been trying to call you two for dinner!”

“Is that s—”

“Call us again later.”

“GAAAAAH!”

It’s never boring in this world thanks to them.

-End of Chapter-