LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 76
Unlike the modern era where work can be done regardless of the weather, in the medieval times, the seasons, times, and conditions for people to work were limited, and Iceland was no exception.
However, the biggest hurdle that stood in the way of working was seasonal change.
As winter passed and spring arrived, Coldon began to swell with people, bustling like the Obsidian Berries.
No, it wasn’t just similar; it was actually more bustling than before.
These people were all adventurers or laborers.
And to draw them in, merchants brought goods to stimulate the flow of money. It was a natural consequence governed by the stern principle of desire.
This was also true for Winterhome, the domain of the Duke of Iceland.
Even before the Duke returned, Winterhome had been brimming with visitors. Most were influential figures from various regions of Iceland, but guests from other provinces or countries also sometimes appeared.
Naturally, the Wizard’s Tower was no exception.
Starting with Narque, wizards who were tempted by the Duke of Iceland’s recruitment announcement, or those with nowhere else to turn or unavoidable circumstances, began to trickle in as spring arrived.
As residents increased, restaurants became busier.
However, Karem, the one managing the restaurant, was not only busy; he was even more relaxed than before.
No. It was not just simple relaxation; it was overflowing leisure, and that was due to others rather than himself.
The reason was simple.
Karem was only 11 years old and alone.
While it was manageable when it was just Olivier, now it was a different story. The number of workers at the tower increased by at least ten.
This meant that ten or more servings of food had to be prepared for each meal.
Karem began to find it physically difficult to control the situation alone, and Catherine had sensed this and took decisive action.
“Kid. Starting today, you’ll step down from the position of head chef of the Wizard’s Tower and focus on the food for me and Mary.”
“Um? Then what about the others—”
“That will be handled by Mary from now on.”
“Got it!”
And Mary, who was listening nearby, responded with a short but intense cheer while maintaining a blank expression. This was the victory of a house fairy reclaiming part of the kitchen that had been taken from her.
Mary was already managing the entire Wizard’s Tower.
Truly, there was not a single mistake from her.
For her, adding kitchen duties was just another task.
Karem felt a sense of complicated emotions that he found hard to explain.
But he decided to think positively.
While preparing four or five servings wasn’t an issue, cooking for more than ten was something he had never experienced in his past life, and in his current young body, it was even more impossible.
As evidence, Karem started making mistakes he had never made since getting a job.
In a way, Karem could be seen as returning to the early days of Winterhome.
The days when he fed Catherine and Mary in late autumn and early winter.
That meant freedom-time overflowed.
“So, were you playing with mud here?”
“Playing with mud? I’m cultivating a flower bed.”
“You call it a flower bed when it’s full of Fire Witch Fingers?”
Catherine pointed to the small cluster of verdant leaves growing in the large area of the garden behind the Wizard’s Tower.
“So, what are you planning to do with all these Fire Witch Fingers? Did you really bring them from the greenhouse?”
“Not me, I asked Princess Alicia for them.”
“What’s the growing method?”
“I just poked a few snacks to her, and she got back to me with the pollination method.”
“How did that princess know about pollination? Wait, doesn’t it seem odd to be using a princess like that?”
“Using? I prefer to call it a mutually beneficial relationship.”
Catherine gave a skeptical look, but Karem stood his ground.
While it was no concern when the tower had few residents, things had changed.
With the increase in wizards and the presence of magic traps and devices along with dangerous research and requests, all the residents tried to keep Alicia at bay, but it was impossible.
In the limited space known as “home,” even the absolute Mary couldn’t stop Alicia’s invasion.
Ultimately, Catherine was the first to give up, followed by Olivier, and the other wizards, including Mary, also gave up on holding back Alicia.
As for Karem? He had long since given up.
No, he was actually luring Alicia with snacks instead.
Catherine, who could easily imagine how Karem had managed to charm the youngest daughter of the Duke’s family, seemed to want to say something but ultimately gave up.
Seeing how this conversation had never emerged so far, she consoled herself with the thought that he would handle it well.
“By the way, how’s the vegetable garden here? You know growing crops isn’t something to be taken lightly, considering you’re a serf?”
“How could I not know? I’ve entrusted it to an outstanding expert in this field.”
“Hmm? Is there a vegetable garden expert at the Wizard’s Tower?”
“Mary.”
“Ah.”
With just that one word, Catherine understood and nodded.
Cultivating a vegetable garden was indeed part of household duties.
It made sense why not a single weed was seen; it matched Mary’s workaholic traits.
By the way, they said it grows quickly, but it really does grow incredibly fast, huh?
Karem recalled the seedling he had obtained, which was only slightly larger than his pinky finger, and looked at the cluster that had yet to bear Fire Witch Fingers.
It had only been a week since Karem started growing the seedlings.
Yet, the seedlings had already grown to the length of his forearm.
And even that had grown a bit more since he last checked early in the morning.
‘Well, with plants that grow as quickly as bamboo, what can you say?’
There were countless stories of unfortunate people who, while spending a night in a bamboo grove, found themselves skewered by bamboo sprouting from underneath.
Even duckweed proliferated at an alarming rate, not through reproduction but through sheer overflow.
There were many such instances of plant growth, as mentioned earlier.
‘No, but it’s Fire Witch Fingers, not the peppers I’m familiar with, so it must be something else entirely.’
Peppers didn’t harbor the fire magic like Fire Witch Fingers.
Most of the time, they didn’t feel the burning pain when touched.
And it certainly didn’t have the variety of flavors that peppers did.
“Anyway, Sir Atanitas, even if you’ve become more relaxed, is it really okay for you to come out like this?”
“Ha, how many things do I even have to deal with? It all gets done down the line.”
“Wasn’t final confirmation and approval quite significant?”
“That’s just a simple task I can handle briefly at breakfast, lunch, and dinner.”
Catherine waved her hand as if it was nothing.
Having pulled all-nighters and worked overtime tirelessly on paperwork related to magic in Felwinter Ridge throughout Iceland, she had never fallen behind on any tasks.
At least, Karem had never heard of such a thing.
With someone capable like her, and (if he said it directly, he’d get smacked) in concurrence with a grand wizard, and a multitude of wizard subordinates under him, how easy would the work be?
“By the way, why suddenly go for Fire Witch Fingers? Are you trying to make that pickle again?”
“Um, it’s not pickles that I’m after this time.”
“Then what?”
“Hm, now that the work is done, I’ll show you directly. As for the time—”
“As I mentioned earlier, I have plenty of time.”
Since the employer said so, Karem immediately headed for the kitchen with Catherine.
More specifically, it was to Karem’s personal room adjacent to the kitchen.
“So, what’s so great that you’re dragging this out?”
“I wasn’t trying to drag it out. It’s a rather uniquely formed Fire Witch Finger.”
“Unique?”
Catherine raised an eyebrow, tilting her head.
How could something be more unique than it already was?
“A thin, withered thing resembling an old witch’s finger doesn’t become unique merely by being recognized as such.”
“The fruit Princess Alicia gave me is shorter and plumper.”
“Hmm? Is that all?”
“It’s milder in spiciness, slightly sweet, and has a strong aroma.”
Catherine’s expression, which had been filled with anticipation, quickly dimmed.
“Well, it’s just a Fire Witch Finger, isn’t it?”
“Oh, if you see it in person, you might change your tune.”
Karem said confidently.
If the Fire Witch Finger were a pepper, what Alicia showed him was more akin to a bell pepper.
And while peppers and bell peppers were related, they were entirely different plants.
Of course, it was somewhat smaller.
At least for now.
When Alicia had gifted him a few, Karem had not anticipated much either.
He just thought they were a bit oversized and over-nutrient-fed Fire Witch Fingers, nothing more.
However, since they were a gift from the princess, there was no way he could refuse to eat them.
Alicia, like a ghost, saw right through lies, so pretending to eat was out of the question.
Karem had no choice but to sample it, and he was enlightened.
“Variant? The princess must have… ah.”
“Yes. She said she brought them from the greenhouse.”
Passing through the noisy kitchen, where Mary was taking care of the cleaning alone, Karem entered his personal room right next to it.
In the room, which had a blurry view of the sky beyond the window, there was a comfortable bed stuffed with the fur of baby Snowrunners, a sofa, an antique table and chairs, and old-fashioned shelves and drawers.
Even with Karem’s still-growing frame, all the furniture was oversized, but he had no plans to change them, so he continued using them as they were.
“Please sit for a moment. I’ll bring it right away.”
“Hmm, but is there nothing like snacks or such?”
“Excuse me? You just had fruit cake after lunch, didn’t you?”
“Kid! When you invite guests, in addition to that, you should bring out snacks regardless!”
Today, Catherine had whipped up a delightful shortcake.
Although it didn’t have strawberries, it was a masterpiece made generously with various berries and citrus fruits, along with freshly whipped cream, and could easily fall within the top three delicacies Karem had encountered since coming here.
Of course, he did receive help from Mary, but he had devoured half a pan of it all by himself despite his small frame, yet now he wanted more? (The remaining part was shared between Karem and Mary.)
However, Catherine’s determination seemed strong as she rhythmically drummed on the table and began singing a song about how snacks weren’t appearing fast enough.
Karem let out a deep sigh.
The lyrics and melody were both too much, but it irked him how even Catherine’s casual humming became a beautiful sight.
Forget it. He could just put on weight. Oh, but didn’t she say she had a body type that didn’t gain weight? How annoying.
Karem sighed deeply.
“Yes, yes. Understood. Just go ahead and gain some weight.”
“Hey. Aren’t you being too harsh with your employer?”
“So, does eating that mean you’ll gain weight?”
“Of course, that’s not the case.”
“Then it’s settled. Well, wait, when did you pull out that dish again?”
What did it matter? Karem immediately grabbed a bag containing his cherished experimental item, along with the still bright green and fresh Fire Witch Finger Ver. bell pepper.
“Here, this is what I mentioned from the vegetable garden.”
“Hmm, but I’m more curious about the snacks.”
“No, didn’t you say you were curious?”
“A woman’s heart is often as fickle as a reed in the wind.”
“That’s the same for a man’s heart!”
But it seemed Catherine’s mind had fully turned, as she stared intently at the bag placed on the table. Although the variant Fire Witch Finger was beside it, she didn’t even glance at it.
“So, so. What’s the second snack of the day?”
“Snack! A second one! Kitty really knows a lot of beautiful words!”
A voice that sounded very familiar and youthful cried out, agreeing with Catherine’s statement.
At that moment, Karem was taken aback, unintentionally making eye contact with Catherine.
Catherine’s look seemed to say, “Isn’t that obvious?”
“Kid. That’s what I think it is, right?”
“Yes. That’s probably correct.”
Both master and servant turned their gazes in unison downwards.
She had grown just a finger’s length more than last year but was still a chubby little girl, on her tiptoes trying to look over the table.
“Princess Alicia?”
“Hehe! That’s right! It’s Alicia! By the way, Karem! I’m curious about the second snack too!”