New chapter of Control Engineer is out! (2/2 chapters)

 

 

Reunion

(Thank you for reading at bayabuscotranslation.com)

The performance had ended, yet I remained seated near the front of the stage, quietly observing my surroundings. Only after all the students from the training school had left the hall did I wait another five full minutes before rising to my feet and heading toward the exit.

“Leon-chan!” (Eiru)

When I turned around, the girl stood by the wall just beyond the doorway.

So, she had noticed me after all.

“Well now, Eiru. It has been a while.” (Leon)

Yes, it is her. My childhood friend, whom I have believed to be living in the town of Emilia.

She wore an insolent, confident smile upon her lips.

“Yes. It has been a while.” (Eiru)

“You seem well, which is good to see.” (Leon)

I wondered if I was managing to smile properly.

“Are you not going to ask why I am here in this theater, or even why I am in the royal capital?” (Eiru)

“I can tell from that uniform.” (Leon)

Eiru gave a small, slow nod.

She was wearing the deep navy uniform of the training school.

I see. So that was why Mother had said she had not seen Eiru recently. No doubt she knew about this and chose not to tell me. I could not imagine her reasons though.

If Eiru had enrolled, she must have come to the royal capital by the end of September. I have no idea. Of course, the royal capital is far larger than Emilia, so it is hardly surprising we have not met.

“But to think that you, Leon-chan, would like the Salomea Opera Company.” (Eiru)

Ouch.

“I would never say something like that.” (Eiru)

“What?” (Leon)

“She is beautiful, is she not, Adelaide-oneesama?” (Eiru)

“Mm.” (Leon)

“I understand. She seems exactly your type, Leon-chan, older and all.” (Eiru)

“What are you trying to say?” (Leon)

Eiru’s eyes widened.

“I was only joking. You looked as though you had completely forgotten me until just now, so I wanted to tease you a little. I am sorry. I will not interfere with Adelaide-san or Charlotte-san, so you may rest easy.” (Eiru)

It seemed she knew that they were my cousins.

“I see. I was too quick to anger. My apologies.” (Leon)

I could overlook things concerning myself, but when it came to my family, I could not stay calm. Or perhaps it was because it involved Adele-san.

“That is all right. You are a boy after all. You frightened me a little though.” (Eiru)

“I am sorry.” (Leon)

“No, it is fine. I shall be careful too. Let us meet again.” (Eiru)

“Yes, let us.” (Leon)

Eiru then departed.

Would we ever meet again in this vast royal capital? Though if I thought about it, the fact that we had encountered each other today was already remarkable enough.

For now, I should tell Adele-san and Lotte-san about her.

 

—

 

It was an awkward hour, too late to go hunting and too early to attend the university where I had no lectures to begin with. So, I returned to my lodging house.

Feeling somewhat restless, I decided not to go to my room and instead descended into the basement, which had always piqued my curiosity. The room was quite empty. Even so, it was perhaps only half the size of the ground floor.

Near the boundary with the ground were small windows for letting in light. The magical lamp was not lit, but it was not completely dark. Several thick pillars supported the space, but there were no partitions, and it was one open area. At the center stood a water tap, three large tubs, a washboard, and a wooden washing stick that resembled a club. Clothes were soaked in the tubs, rubbed against the board, or struck with the stick to remove dirt. It was thanks to Leah-san, who did the laundry here, that I could always wear clean clothes. I owed her more gratitude than I had realized.

Along the walls were shelves, large barrels, and jars whose contents I could not identify. Everything was neatly arranged, as expected of the meticulous and tidy Leah-san, who often worked here. I could not help but admire her orderliness.

What is this? Something I have never seen before.

It was a kind of table or stand with fabric stretched across its surface like a small bed. When I touched it, it felt soft, almost like a cushion.

As I pondered what it could be, the door that led outside opened, and someone entered. The backlight made it hard to see their face, but from the figure, I could tell it was Leah-san.

“Hm? Oh, Leon. What are you doing down here? Do you need something? Were you missing any laundry?” (Leah)

“No. I just thought there was a room in this house I had not been to yet. Of course, I have no interest in anyone’s private quarters.” (Leon)

“The second floor included, I hope.” (Leah)

“Ah… yes.” (Leon)

“Interest or not, this is only the laundry room and storage, nothing special. Your home must have had something similar, since it was quite a large merchant house, was it not?” (Leah)

“It did. Though I was told not to enter places where the servants worked except for the kitchen.” (Leon)

“I see. You were almost like a young noble.” (Leah)

“Haha, perhaps so. By the way.” (Leon)

“Yes? What is it?” (Leah)

“Is the water not cold when you do the laundry?” (Leon)

“Well, it is at this time of year.” (Leah)

I knew it must be difficult work.

“Do not make that face.” (Leah)

“No, I just…” (Leon)

“Hehe. It can be hard at times, but someone like me, who has no learning and only physical strength to offer, is fortunate to be employed by Madam. It is not necessarily a bad thing. Besides, it brings me joy to see the laundry come out beautiful.” (Leah)

“Thank you.” (Leon)

“Hahaha, there is no need for thanks.” (Leah)

I see. I had thought that something like the washing machines from Earth would be useful here, but it is not that simple. If I try to reproduce such a device through magic art, people like Leah-san may lose their jobs.

“And besides.” (Leah)

“Hm?” (Leon)

“You said you wanted to make convenient magical tools, did you not?” (Leah)

“Yes.” (Leon)

“Then, do not hold back. Even if people like me lose work one day, if it helps everyone, make as many as you can.” (Leah)

Leah-san was not only large in body but also generous in spirit.

“I will do my best.” (Leon)

“Good. That is the spirit.” (Leah)

“By the way, what is this thing?” (Leon)

I pointed at the mysterious object.

“This? Do you really not know?” (Leah)

“If I did, I would not ask.” (Leon)

“Hmph. This is an ironing board.” (Leah)

“An ironing board?” (Leon)

“Yes. You place shirts here like this and use this iron to press out the wrinkles.” (Leah)

“Oh, I see.” (Leon)

So, it is a stand used with a magical apparatus iron. I know what an iron was, though I had never used one.

“Is there anything that troubles you when you iron clothes?” (Leon)

I wanted to be of some help to the hardworking Leah-san.

“Well, in the past, we used burning charcoal to heat it, which made preparation and cleanup a hassle. Now it is heated with a magic stone. It is quite convenient.” (Leah)

So, it was already somewhat improved.

“Although, depending on the fabric, some wrinkles are difficult to remove.” (Leah)

“Wrinkles.” (Leon)

“Yes, in those cases, I spray some water with this mister, but it does not always work as well as I would like. If you could think of something for that, I would be delighted.” (Leah)

“I understand. May I borrow the iron until tomorrow morning?” (Leon)

“Oh, certainly. Just do not break it, haha.” (Leah)

 

—

 

When I returned to my room, I examined the magical apparatus iron.

Touching the exposed magic stone activated the internal heating magic stone, warming the plated base and applying heat to smooth wrinkles in fabric. When I tapped the magic stone with my finger, it glowed. Touching it again made it glow brighter, and one more touch turned it off.

I see. So, it has two levels of heat, weak and strong.

The charcoal had been replaced with magic art, or rather, with magic stones. It was indeed convenient in that respect. The only problem was its insufficient wrinkle-removal performance. The base was smooth, but the upper part was slightly rusted. It was made of iron, after all.

At that moment, an image of an iron from Earth appeared vividly in my mind.

 

—

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