☣ Chapter 9 ☣
Penelope couldn’t help feeling annoyed inside.
Doesn’t he realize what he looks like himself?
Just as the saying goes, the pot calling the kettle black.
The mage looked terrible.
His face was as pale as a corpse. His messy blond hair looked like birds had built two nests in it, and the dark circles under his sunken eyes were almost black.
He’s the type to let the whole world know he got dumped.
If social media existed, he probably would have made it international news.
Penelope decided to be as understanding as possible toward the heartbroken man.
“Would you please sit down first? I prepared some tea for you, Mage.”
The mage looked around the shabby office, which was filled with documents. Then he carefully sat on the very edge of the sofa.
From the way he acted, it seemed he didn’t want to touch anything in the room.
Minus five points.
His total score had now dropped to -25 points.
If he ever reached -100 points, she would immediately request an after-service replacement from the Magic Tower.
Unlike her thoughts, Penelope smiled warmly as she sat across from him.
Just then, a maid entered carrying a tray with tea and freshly baked scones.
Penelope took a sip of the steaming herbal tea.
“…Ah.”
Without thinking, she let out a soft sigh of admiration.
The tea was surprisingly fresh and fragrant.
The mage had been staring at her the whole time.
The moment their eyes met, he quickly turned his head away.
Speaking gently, as if calming a young child, Penelope said,
“This tea is made from young Green Herb leaves. Please try it. It helps strengthen the immune system, prevents toxins from spreading through the body, is good for your skin…”
She smiled.
“And most importantly, it helps relieve fatigue.”
“There are that many benefits from Green Herb tea?”
The mage looked genuinely surprised.
He had only ever used herbs to make potions.
The thought of drinking them as tea had never crossed his mind.
For reference, the herbs worked like this:
- Red Herb: Antidote
- Blue Herb: Increases mana
- Green Herb: Restores stamina and heals wounds
After remembering her previous life, Penelope had experimented with many different ways to sell Green Herbs, since they had become extremely cheap.
One of those experiments was roasting the leaves to make tea.
As a result, she discovered that simply drinking Green Herb tea still produced its effects.
It was similar to the green tea she had drunk in her previous life.
Although it wasn’t as fast as a potion, the effects became stronger with long-term use.
“Interesting.”
The mage sniffed the tea while staring at it with curious eyes.
He looked exactly like a curious cat.
Even so, he only carefully took a sip after staring at it for quite a while.
A different light appeared in his eyes.
“The aroma isn’t bad.”
“Please try the scones too. They’re made with corn.”
“Corn… in a scone?”
The mage looked as though he had just heard something unbelievable.
Instead of explaining further, Penelope picked up a scone herself and took a bite.
Crunch.
Its nutty, light flavor filled her mouth.
The recipe softened the rough texture of whole wheat by mixing in sweet corn.
This was another idea she had remembered from her previous life.
The mage stared blankly at her before unconsciously picking up a scone himself.
“…Hm?”
His eyes widened.
Penelope barely managed to hold back her smile.
“It’s good, isn’t it?”
“Hmph.”
“For something with no tradition…”
“It’s not bad.”
The mage answered while crumbs stuck around his mouth.
Crunch. Sip.
For a while, the two of them quietly enjoyed the tea and scones.
The mage hadn’t eaten anything since yesterday afternoon.
Penelope herself was also starving after spending the whole day drawing blueprints.
Only after both the cups and plates were completely empty did Penelope finally come back to her senses.
She even checked whether there were any crumbs around her mouth.
Even then, she kept hesitating, as though she wanted to say something.
She fixed her hair.
Checked whether her buttons were straight.
Pulled a loose thread off her sleeve.
Finally…
The mage reached the end of his patience.
One eyebrow rose.
“What exactly are you trying to tell me?”
“You’ve been dragging this out forever.”
“Don’t tell me you’re planning to defeat the Demon King.”
“It’s not that.”
“I was just about to explain.”
“This is what I wanted to show you.”
Closing her eyes tightly, Penelope handed him the blueprint she had drawn herself.
The mage stared blankly at the paper.
After a moment, Penelope carefully opened one eye.
“Could you… review it for me?”
“Isn’t this what you were scribbling earlier?”
“Yes.”
“I drew the blueprint myself.”
Penelope admitted honestly.
A faint smile appeared on the mage’s lips.
“Don’t you think it’s a little arrogant to expect someone to understand an ordinary person’s blueprint at first glance?”
“You shouldn’t expect too much.”
Frowning deeply, he casually glanced over the drawing.
“…Hm?”
Suddenly, he leaned much closer.
His eyes quickly moved over every part of the blueprint.
Penelope felt a little embarrassed.
The underfloor heating blueprint she had drawn from the memories of her previous life was extremely rough.
Still…
The basic structure should be understandable.
Who would’ve thought watching a documentary about underfloor heating would help like this?
As more time passed…
Her cheeks slowly grew warmer.
The mage was studying the blueprint with an unexpectedly serious expression.
Anyone who wasn’t an expert naturally became nervous standing before one.
Just as she expected…
The mage looked as though he had discovered something completely ridiculous.
“What is this?”
“Well…”
“So?”
He repeated her words exactly.
If he had been a university professor…
He probably would have made countless students cry.
“You’ll have to explain it properly.”
“What exactly is this blueprint for?”
Penelope instantly lost all her confidence.
Is he secretly a professor or something?
The mage shook the blueprint impatiently.
“Answer.”
Penelope finally gave up hesitating.
“This is a blueprint for a heating system!”
“Pipes carrying hot water are installed beneath the tiled floor to warm the room.”
“This is the pipe…”
“The water is heated here and then circulated through the system.”
“A heating system?”
The mage’s eyes widened.
Strangely…
He looked genuinely shocked.
“You’re planning to boil the water with Magic Stones?”
“Then why is this pipe here?”
“And what’s this chimney for?”
“Um…”
“That pipe releases water if the temperature or pressure becomes too high.”
“As for the chimney…”
Penelope carefully watched his expression.
Does he seriously not know what a chimney is?
Apparently not.
The mage simply looked as though he had heard the strangest thing imaginable.
“I hate to say this…”
“But magical tools that heat rooms already exist.”
“They’re ridiculously expensive.”
Penelope answered immediately.
The mage fell silent.
She was right.
The principle behind magical heating tools was simple.
A huge Fire Crystal box was engraved with magic circles.
Then Magic Stones were placed inside.
It was almost like the famous joke:
Open the refrigerator.
Put the elephant inside.
It sounded simple…
But making the impossible possible created unbelievable costs.
Even the Fire Crystal itself, which had to be engraved with fire-element magic formulas, was incredibly expensive.
The Magic Stones were naturally just as costly.
Although heating air or water wasn’t difficult magic…
Keeping that magic active required enormous Magic Stones.
The bigger it was, the more expensive it became.
Even so…
The nobles spent money freely on magical tools.
As a result…
Magic naturally became something only the powerful could afford.
“Hmm…”
The mage, who was practically part of the very system she was criticizing, pursed his lips and placed the blueprint on the table.
He crossed his arms.
“Hmm…”
“Hm…”
He kept thinking for quite some time.
“You really drew this yourself?”
“Yes.”
“You watched me draw it earlier.”
“Well…”
“It was incredibly rough.”
“I honestly thought it was a worm crawling across the page.”
The mage mercilessly criticized her drawing skills.
Yet…
His brows remained tightly furrowed.
As he stared at the blueprint…
Small flashes of understanding appeared in his eyes.
In truth…
He was deeply impressed by Penelope’s idea.
Shouldn’t someone this talented be brought to the Magic Tower?
Heating a room by warming the floor itself… What an incredibly creative idea.
