In a certain cabin of the new aircraft carrier, I took a little break.
I sneaked into a cabin without people, and had a rest on the soft and luxurious sofa.
Palug climbed up the backrest of the chair.
『Haah……Auguste, so splendid.』
“That’s true, he seems to be in such a radiant mood as though he has gotten rid of an evil spirit1.”
『Right……huh? That way of saying, am I the evil spirit!?
Aaah……the fact that is not incorrect is so vexiiiiing!!』
“Now, now, it wasn’t only Palug that afflicted him, so calm down.”
I inadvertently dissed Palug.
What afflicted him was not only the spirit possession by Palug, but also the so-called worldly scandal and bad reputation.
Either way, Palug who possessed him was a guardian angel, so she didn’t have to worry about it.
『Even so, Auguste has become a very splendid young man during the time I don’t see him~.
He is likely to grow up exactly like my King Guillaume~.
I’m sure, when he reaches adulthood, he will definitely become a beautiful youth, so you need to book him soon~……wink, wink.』
“Why are you talking in onomatopoeia?
Did Auguste really has changed that much?”
He was supposed to changed so much six years in the future, whether it was to become a feminine man or host-style.
It seemed that I couldn’t notice his minor changes over several months because of those images of him in my brain.
If Palug’s disguise was accurate, I felt like he would become the second King Guillaume.
『It’s not that~. Surely the growth of his heart can be seen in various places and his expressions~~.
I cannot feel disappointed that I couldn’t see the growth of that child up close.』
“Is that so?”
『Yeah, that’s right~.
Aah, Auguste ought to make a lot of achievements in the future.
And so, as artists compete with each other, they would make paintings and sculptures based on the beautiful prince, and I can please my eyes.』
“Palug……”
I shrugged my shoulders while watching the former angel who was out of control.
Well, recently things had been depressing, so it was important to have fun more than anything else.
Anyway, Tirnanog who usually made a comment was quiet.
I observed him with the corner of my eyes to check whether his condition was bad or not.
Tirnanog seemed to be thinking about something with his arms folded.
He stared at Palug for a while and then hit his palm.
『Mu! That’s it! I should have known that we can make that thing. Erica. I will borrow the cat for a bit.』
『Eh~? What is it, what is it? For the serpent to borrow my help, isn’t it too unusual for you?』
“What’s wrong, Tir? Have you come up with something?”
『Fufufu. No, I sometimes think that I should try to do a mock-alchemy.』
When Tirnanog invited Palug to his hand, he began to consul about something with a whisper.
For Tirnanog to negotiate with Palug with a warm attitude was unusual.
『……And when I do this, you will do it like this.』
『Hmm~~? Is that fine? You’re going to become a charred lizard. Although you are already black originally.』
『Do not hold back. If you’re going easy on me, we would likely fail instead.』
『Hrrrm……I don’t understand what you’re talking about, but okay.』
Apparently, their consultation seemed to have ended.
Tirnanog picked up the glass that was in the room and put something like black powder in it.
And then, he deformed his armor through his magical power.
The armor was shaped like stretching his finger and plunging in between them.
He held the glass as if wrapping it with both deformed hands that were tightly and hermetically sealed.
『Come on, do it.』
『I’m not responsible of what is going to happen, okay~?』
Palug placed her paw on Tirnanog’s hands.
There was a sizzling sound like dropping water on a heated iron plate.
The part of the armor that was touched by Palug became heated and red.
Wait, was this really okay?
『Fumu, heat it up just a little bit more.』
『You seem to be unexpectedly calm. Then how about this?』
Tirnanog’s whole armor shone red.
It seemed that it was heated by an outrageously high temperature.
『Alright, it’s almost done. Good work, cat.』
『Good grief. You should recover yourself. I won’t forgive you if it’s something boring.』
『Kukuku, just look forward to seeing it.』
At the same time as Palug releasing her hands, I began to hear sounds like liquid moving at high speed from Tirnanog.
The armor which was red returned to its original black color.
When Tirnanog opened the mouth of the armor, steam blew vigorously from there.
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Apparently, it seemed that the liquid body of Tirnanog himself was circulating in the coolant liquid too cool down the interior.
『Now, it’s done. You can see it.』
Tirnanog opened his palms.
We looked into his hands.
『Oh my, this is a nostalgic color.』
There was a single glass bead.
It wasn’t a transparent glass used for material, but rather an indigo blue glass.
It was somewhat similar to marbles and it was a bit nostalgic for me.
Huh? But, the blue glass of this world—
(Aah, it seems that the colorant to make superior blue glass is Gigantia’s specialty. There are old blue glasses, but they are gradually becoming impossible to repair.)
Oh yeah, right, Auguste said that at the cathedral on the Island of Messenger.
Because it was made of rare minerals produced by the enemy country, it was rare to make it.
Because of that, stained glass couldn’t be repaired.
“Tir, where did you get the pigment? Or rather, when did you get it? You have been with me all the time.”
『Erica. You should have also seen it……things similar to this.』
Tirnanog brought out a black powder wrapped in cloth.
The cloth seemed to be the cut end of the bandage he used for his disguise, but what was this black powder?
It looked like a compound that contains metal.
Speaking of the metal we recently found, it was that, huh.
“Is this the smelt that was kept in barrels with the waste mine of Nibelheim?”
『That’s right. When that redhaired brat kicked down the barrel, I thought that I could use it for something and borrowed it for a while.
This oxidized cobalt was also used for variety of purposes by the former Visitor’s Clan.』
“So the identity of the expensive pigment is cobalt oxide, huh.”
I didn’t think of it when I was in the mine.
Tirnanog was able to properly recognize the smelt in that darkness.
『Heeh. With this, we can restore the stained glass of the church, right?
You were working hard for the sake of Ignitia, this is a glorious achievement for a serpent.』
『No, this is not only for the sake of the royal family in South.
Erica, if my memory served me right, the blue glass material can be traded at a high price, right?』
“Ah! That’s right! It’s about twenty times the price of silver of the same weight!”
I felt that Auguste had said that about the market price.
Then, far from being a mountain of waste, wasn’t it a mountain of treasure?
But, I wondered if it would go smoothly.
『If they sell all the contents of those barrels, the ruin of Nibelheim family might be averted.』
“Wait, the buyers might not be available immediately for such amount.
Because there is a demand for the restoration of stained glasses, I think that Ignitia will soon come to terms, but if the cobalt is sold as much as what is necessary for the repair, then it is likely that its market price will gradually drop as the supply is overdelivered.”
『Mu? Really. This is quite difficult.』
Even if we overestimated and assumed that we would sell them all as a replacement for silver, there wasn’t that much demand for it.
First of all, we needed to find demand for cobalt oxide somewhere other than stained glass.
『How about paints?』
“Since blue has lapis lazuli……regardless that there would be a patron for painters, paints that are twenty times as expensive as silver is too harsh for ordinary painters.”
『Sorry, Erica. I thought that it could be useful even a little.』
“Well, I think that it’s much better thinking Nibelheim is hoarding rare metals rather than a mountain of waste.
I think this will be enough for the immediate fundraising, so it’s not totally useless. So I’m grateful.”
However, we couldn’t seem to think of ways to effectively utilize it.
We should borrow the wisdom of Harold and Gilbert.
Although I wanted to tell Harold quickly and told him that there was hope even if it was just a little.
“Let’s change places with Palug and meet up with Harold. I want to hear the opinions of other people.”
『Got it. However, it’s boring to keep staying at this party.
I will tell Ernst that I decided to return to Water Palace early.』
Palug made a turn and transformed into me wearing an identical dress.
Tirnanog also opened the bag and took out a spare clothing.
I brought it only just in case, but that was the right decision.
『That’s right. That would be nice. I have to ask that guy about what he is going to use it for.』
“That guy?”
『There is something that I noticed before the value of this smelt.
Like me, that guy brought back a handful of smelts.
He looked at the cobalt oxide and made an expression that looked as if he had found his long-lost brother.』
I became at ease and looked back toward Tirnanog.
If that was true, that person was likely to know the method to utilize cobalt oxide that we didn’t know.
It might become a trump card to save Nibelheim territory.
『Kukuku, hurry, Erica. I am also interested in what that guy is going to make.』
Tirnanog’s eyes were shining ominously, and he laughed while showing his sharp teeth.
1 Getting rid of evil spirit: an expression in Japan, they said that evil spirit is the source of disaster and by getting rid of them, you return to your normal state. In other words, getting rid of what troubles you. But, since it coincides with Palug’s situation back in the second arc, she felt slighted lol.