Chapter 204
Chapter 204
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 204
Chapter Title: The Battle Over Blue
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Three days ago, I'd handed over the samples and the instruction manual, thinking the Magic Department had no more reason to bother me, and finally relaxed.
"Hello."
"Huh?"
And today, Viscount Fletcher showed up at the atelier, smiling awkwardly and shuffling his feet.
"Haa..."
My face drained of color as I pinched the bridge of my nose.
The viscount had barely gotten out a single greeting, but that smile screaming 'We're screwed' told me everything without a word.
The mages must have thrown a tantrum.
What else could bring them back so soon besides 'Could you whip up one more design?'
"No way, right?"
I stared at him wide-eyed, skipping the pleasantries and jumping straight to the question.
"It's not as dire as you're imagining, so please relax your expression. You're starting to look like the Vice Minister, and it's giving me chills."
"Whew~ I see. I nearly started venting to the staff about my woes without thinking."
"Heh, heh heh..."
Thanks to the quick-witted viscount's explanation, I didn't end up clinging to Elizabeth's skirt hem and whining.
Not that it mattered much if the culprit outranked Elizabeth, but still—couldn't a youngest daughter land at least a little emotional jab with a 'I hate you, Mom and Dad!'?
Our family certainly could.
Hayes could make Mother's eyebrows twitch just by saying 'I hate you, Mom!'
And me, the youngest son?
Well... I could frustrate Mother so much that her stomach churned.
Thanks to that, I held the miraculous record of casting indigestion magic on her without a drop of mana.
"Hmm..."
Even so, aside from that issue, one oddity lingered.
"If it's not serious, that means no new designs, right?"
"Correct."
"Then what do you need from me?"
What reason could there be to come to me if not for something new?
I'd covered every minor troubleshooting detail in the manual.
Color arrangements by size, lengths, even suggestions for decorations—I'd included everything I could.
So what was the problem?
"There's a disagreement over color selection, so we wanted the designer's advice."
"Color?"
The bridge of my nose, which I'd just smoothed out, crumpled again.
Using my hazy math skills, I'd charted dozens of combinations with perfect visibility and suitability, and color was the issue?
"What the hell is going on?"
"The Magic Department has been in a civil war over blue for two days now."
"Pardon?"
I thought it was a joke until I saw the viscount's face flushed beet red, confirming the gravity.
"No, what the..."
You said it wasn't serious, so why is the whole department divided?
"Haa... It's embarrassing, but it's a matter of pride."
"What does blue have to do with pride?"
Well, blue was a fine color, sure.
Nobles were called blue-bloods, and it symbolized humility or chastity, so it was popular everywhere.
But not that important for pride.
The truly vital color, tied to real pride, was royal purple—the deep violet reserved solely for the Imperial Family.
Misuse it, and you'd invite suspicions of treason, plus a firsthand lesson that human blood runs red.
"This is a convention among mages: blue, especially ultramarine, symbolizes the purest, most refined mana. Only a tiny elite at the pinnacle of magic can manifest it."
"That's... quite significant."
"Yes."
If it's a color only the mightiest mages possess, I'd lose it too.
It's basically declaring 'Our side rules magic'—hard to back down from that.
"Things were amicable until the witches claimed black and the shamans brown or green."
"They favor spirits over mana, after all."
"But when the magic engineers casually asked, 'Who gets blue?' everyone erupted."
"Mm..."
I got why a single color had split the department.
"But what are the Minister and Vice Minister doing?"
"They're fighting too. The Minister's from magic engineering, the Vice Minister from pure mage background..."
"......"
What good are mediators who join the fray?
And one of those vice ministers was my father.
"...Is my father fighting too, by any chance?"
"Thankfully, he's neutral. With his son involved, he can't speak freely."
"Phew, good."
At least Father upheld a mage's dignity.
Or was it because I was the reason?
Either way, no brawling over colors for him—relief.
And the cause was pettier than expected—another relief.
"Still, it's not an unsolvable issue."
Pride fights like this had simple fixes.
"Not difficult?"
"Can't eliminate all complaints, but there's a way they'll grudgingly accept."
"Heh, heh..."
Viscount Fletcher sighed in disbelief, eyes sparkling.
Smart folks stumped for days, and I solve it in 20 minutes? Bound to amaze.
"We can't avoid blue—they hate that most."
"Of course we use blue. Destroying it because they can't have it is the worst."
"Then what method...?"
"They're fighting because it's assigned to groups. Assign it to individuals instead."
"Individuals?"
"Like a medal or badge?"
If blue marks the pinnacle and sparked group rivalries, overhaul it: give to true elites only.
Monsters who clawed through brutal criteria.
"Allow blue trim only for high-ranking officials. Mages are numerous, so most recipients will be mages, but others get some too—no major gripes."
"Ah...!"
Minister, vice ministers, department heads? No average Joe qualifies. Gilding them kills opposition.
Opponents look petty yelling 'Don't you dare use it!'
"But if a small faction resists to the end?"
"Share with elders too. Slight pattern differences, but opposing honors for elders makes them villains."
"Hoo..."
Bonus: award other pinnacles too.
Frame blue as respect for mana-contributing elders and elites—who'd dare oppose?
They'd never speak again.
"What do you think?"
"Not bad. How didn't we think of something so simple?"
"They probably did, but couldn't voice it. Too precious to yield, too wasteful to abandon."
"True..."
They all hoped someone else would say it.
Without pride, it'd resolve in days.
But with Minister and Vice Minister diving in, admin scrambled to intervene, escalating chaos...
Until the hot potato landed on me.
Truly tragic.
"That's the best from my brain. Need more?"
If yes, straight to Elizabeth's skirts.
Only option left: summon someone above the Minister.
One imperial word, and even proudest mages shut up and bow.
"This should convince them. Elders as rationale? No big protests."
The viscount shook his head brightly.
No ugly scenes before Emily or Elizabeth—good.
"To make it solid, I'll sketch it."
"Much appreciated."
I pulled out paper and pen, praying never to see him again.
After this advice, if they return, I'd genuinely weep to Elizabeth.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ After advising on mending the divided Magic Department, Father came home beaming, and as expected, it settled on capes.
Only then did the Magic Department stop visiting the atelier.
But in exchange—or perhaps because I'd unintentionally favored high officials and elders...
"What the heck is this letter?"
"Um... From some very famous mages."
"...Why?"
Lounging leisurely in our countryside estate, I got flooded with thanks from rural mages.
"No way, these people..."
Names from newspapers and books—shocking.
Even the Magic Minister.
"Scary..."
Fiercely intense reactions.
Better never mention blue around mages again.