Cosmic Horror (1)
While Blow was in the middle of interviewing Radness, Rosalyn Ropert—done with her classes for the day—was tasting the liquor she meant to present at the Black Bridge Gathering.
"This will do."
She drained the pink liquor set before her in one long swallow and gave her butler, Elton, a satisfied nod.
The drink she was unveiling this time was called Ropert Rose, the newest creation of House Ropert, the greatest liquor house on the continent.
The order had come from her father, Arthur Ropert, patriarch of House Ropert—a man said to know a promising tree from its very first sprout. Ability came before all else with him, and if she saw this matter through cleanly, even his youngest daughter would surely be granted a place in the family's affairs.
So Rosalyn had poured her whole heart into launching Ropert Rose. She had taken the name from her own, and the Black Bridge Gathering, where the liquor would be shown for the first time, mattered enormously to her.
"It's light."
"Was that not what you wanted, my lady?"
"It was. Raise the proof and it'll only overlap the rest of the lineup."
"A most judicious observation."
"Then all that's left is matching it to the food. Did you speak to Yulia?"
"Yes. I asked her to prepare something along the lines of steak. She says, however, that she has readied one more main dish besides the steak."
"She'll keep it safe enough, I suppose."
"House Edfolk sent a sample. Shall I bring it at once?"
"That's Elton for you. You do know how to work."
On the plate sat a gaudy dish heaped with cheese cut into fan-shaped wedges. Faced with the unfamiliar food, Rosalyn narrowed her eyes.
"What is this?"
"They call it pizza, a traditional dish of Cypress."
"Cypress? They've gone and prepared something strange again."
Wary, she put a bite in her mouth. After that single mouthful she dabbed her lips with a handkerchief.
"It isn't bad, really. A little rich—our liquor might even cut through that."
"Yes. And as it isn't a mild dish, like white-fleshed fish, I did not trouble Lady Yulia with a separate request."
"Good. Then Yulia won't get in the way. She did seem rather close with Blow."
"Even so, Lady Yulia would never stoop to anything so childish—"
"Are you praising Yulia in front of me?"
At the sharp edge in her voice, Elton bent at the waist.
"Forgive me, my lady."
"Watch yourself. Understood?"
"Yes."
Rosalyn regarded him with open displeasure, then took another sip of Ropert Rose. Dry and clean—a flavor that could hardly be improved upon.
...That man Blow said he was going into beverages, didn't he? What a pity for him.
A triumphant smile on her lips, she had the pizza—of which she had taken exactly one bite—thrown out, plate and all.
At Hills in Dusk Block, closing time was drawing near.
Blow and Melo were making a few pizzas and talking through the recipe.
"Better to leave the potato out?"
"I like it, though... You said nobles would be coming to the gathering."
"Then how about using better cheese and cutting back on the toppings?"
"That might actually be better! You said the tomato was the important part this time."
"And let's not make them too big. We'll go for something on the small side."
He was thinking of the wood-fired pizzas he had passed a few times in his days as Han Ji-hoo—pies only a little larger than his palm.
"Toppings: a little olive, a little bacon... and just some basil."
"Yes! I'll make one right now!"
Just then the door of Hills burst open, and Jane and Linne hurried toward him.
"Young Master!"
"Jane? Linne? What's got you two so excited?"
"It's huge, it's huge!"
Instead of explaining, Jane set the carbonated water they had made down on the table with a sharp clack. Bubbles climbed in a clear, lively fizz. Blow's eyes went wide as he seized the bottle.
"Oh...!"
"Drink it. Right now!"
The cork came free with a pop, and the carbonation hissed and churned. The sound struck something deep in him. Impressed, Blow swallowed hard.
"This is it! Jane, what did you put in here?"
"A little of the sugar and lemon syrup you mentioned last time, Young Master."
"And one with nothing in it?"
"R-right here!"
"You two really do know how to please a man."
With that, he drank straight from the bottle. The carbonation spread so fiercely it prickled the tip of his nose, gentled by sour and sweet. It tastes exactly like a zero-calorie lemon-lime soda, he thought, and clapped his hands.
"It's excellent. We could stand to add a bit more sugar, though."
"Then the powder might settle at the bottom."
"Who's going to care about that? Taste comes first. And as for that part—"
He picked up a sheet of paper from beside him and wrapped it around the lower half of the bottle.
"We'll hide it with a label. Like this."
"Wow... Y-you really are good at those little tricks!"
"You could just say I'm smart."
"Ah—aah! I-I'm sorry!"
While Linne bowed deeply, Jane drew closer and spoke, soft and tentative.
"Still... we did well, didn't we?"
"You did."
Jane tipped her head down toward him, just slightly. Blow hesitated a moment, then lightly stroked her hair.
"There ought to be an optimal mix, so let's test the blend once or twice more. Once the recipe's set, we only need a comfortable sixty gallons drawn by next week."
"Sixty gallons? You're joking."
Two hundred and forty liters, converted. Jane's face went pale, and her mind began to race. They still had no equipment fit for mass production, which meant making it one vessel at a time—pure, simple repetition. Even if they worked through the night without a single pause, it seemed they would only just meet the volume on Wednesday, two days before it was needed.
"Have I ever joked with you?"
"It's impossible. I have to sleep too..."
"It's simple repetition, isn't it? Follow the manual and you're done."
"We still have to write the manual."
"That's why I hired the kids."
"An all-nighter the moment they walk in?"
Blow's brow bent, as if to ask what she was talking about.
"Obviously we can't dump it on them, so you and I will have to work for it. We'll ask Hervena for a hand as well."
"Hmm..."
"Let's start by writing down what we need. Whatever we're short on, we can have Senior Yulia get it for us."
"That might not be so bad. Even a temporary setup would let us expand the equipment."
Only after hearing that did the hard look in Jane's eyes ease. To her serious face, Blow added one more line.
"Let's just call this the one time we suffer."
"Yes..."
"And we'll tell Hervena to do her assignments at dawn."
"Do you think we can make her do that?"
"If she won't, we'll just have to invoke the principle of good faith."
The two went on talking for quite a while after that. Linne, meanwhile, quietly read the room and prayed with all her heart that the work would not come her way.
While Blow and Jane were working up an estimate for the carbonated water, Hervena arrived at Mnevoir's laboratory and drank her coffee.
"So, Hervena. Have you been well?"
"Yes."
"The reason I called you—we ran the first experiment with Blow on Monday. I'd like to share the figures, and hear a little of what you think."
"Of course."
The experiment concerned what changes appeared when Blow received the basic magic of each attribute. Among the figures listed in the report, one stood out sharply. Confirming his affinity for the water attribute, Hervena let out a short laugh.
"It's funny that the Young Master is so strong in water. He loves fire that much."
"Professor Aurora would be disappointed if she saw this."
"I think so too."
After that they spoke briefly about the experiment. The contents were utterly ordinary, and Hervena, sensing something off, looked at Mnevoir.
...She called me in for this? There's nothing here that even needs confirming.
She was doing her best to hide the thought and keep the conversation going when Mnevoir held out another report.
"That was this experiment... I'd like your opinion on this as well."
The cover of the report she offered bore a title.
Potion Research for the Induction of Suspended Animation
Jane Foresti
"This is..."
"I hear Jane found out about our research?"
"Yes. I was told."
"She says she worked hard on it. Could you read it through and review it?"
"...I'm not sure. I'm rather skeptical."
What had passed between Jane and Blow, Hervena had heard from Blow's own mouth, back when she went clothes shopping with Skadi. And none of it had sat well with her—not that Jane had overheard what she herself had said to Blow in the garden, not that Jane had meant to attempt a reckless experiment, and not that Blow and Jane had seemed a step closer afterward. Not one part of it pleased her.
...Caught at every turn, and still. At least don't get caught the way I did.
The image of Blow teasing Jane rose in her mind, and Hervena's brow tightened. Mnevoir, who had been watching her a moment, spoke as if in passing.
"Why do you think that, Hervena?"
"Pardon?"
"I'm curious why you're skeptical."
"The conditions don't look like a simple suspended state to me. Our current assumption is that magic affected the Young Master's body, isn't it? But if all we had to do was put him into a suspended state, then frankly, a stick to the Young Master's head..."
Halfway through, Hervena realized she had misspoken and let the sentence trail off.
"Anyway... that's why."
"An interesting thing to say."
"I think it's connected to magic, one way or another. So... I don't believe this is the research we need right now."
"Even so, why not read it once? Herbs and mana do influence each other a great deal, don't they? Better than knocking him out with a blow to the head, as you put it?"
"I didn't go that far."
"Still, read it for me. If it works, it might be a shortcut. And it would be good for Blow as well."
Unable to refuse, she nodded, gathered the papers, and stood. Mnevoir drained what little coffee remained and let out a long breath.
"Blow Deblique. I can see he's a larger presence than I expected—to you, and to the other girls."
"......"
"Which is surely why that Jane went this far."
"She did something she shouldn't have. It's nothing but dangerous... and I don't know what Skadi was thinking, either."
There was a faint edge to Hervena's tone. Mnevoir fell silent for a moment, and her eyes traveled once from the crown of Hervena's head to the soles of her feet.
"From now on, whatever the matter, I'd like you to talk to me. You, and the others as well. All of you."
...Has she noticed?
Hervena remembered that her permission to enter the library's underground stacks had been granted by Aurora, who was close with Mnevoir. But if the woman truly knew, she would not have ended the conversation there. Trying not to look away from Mnevoir's eyes, Hervena answered quietly.
"Understood. I'll pass it on to the others."
"Good. Your teacher is asking a favor."
Smiling, Mnevoir studied Hervena's eyes. There was urgency in them. She set her coffee cup down and quietly followed the girl's back as she went out.
At lunch the next day, Yulia stopped by Hills without warning.
Even while she ate the corn cheese she loved so much, and even when they presented the pizza Blow and Melo had made the day before, the stiffness in her face showed no sign of easing.
"My lady, you don't look well."
"Does it show that much?"
"No. It's only that you always send word before you come."
Yulia turned her glass in her hands, embarrassed, and spoke with care.
"Haa... The truth is, there's something I need to tell you. Rather urgently."
"Has something gone wrong with the tomatoes?"
"No."
She hesitated a moment, then opened her mouth with the look of someone who had made up her mind.
"Prince Randolph wishes to see you. Young Master."
At the unexpected name, Blow froze where he stood.