HSML 28

Chapter 28

According to the calendar, it is the height of summer.
Looking outside, intense sunlight pours down, vividly bringing the garden’s greenery to life, and a refreshing breeze seems to be gently blowing.

Judging by appearances alone, one might call it a pleasant scene—but in reality, the temperature is far from low.
Even with air-blowing magic devices operating throughout the mansion, it seems to be hot enough that they cannot completely keep the heat at bay.

Even if all the windows are thrown wide open, hot is still hot, after all—

Well, that said, in my case there’s no problem at all, since the inside of the “Box” is always kept at a comfortable temperature and room condition.
However, even if I myself am fine, there are people working in the mansion who end up being affected by the heat.

So, I have my personal room closed off, and share the comfortable cool air centered around the “Box” to cool the room.
It does increase the amount of magical power consumed, but cooling just one room is no issue.

I have instructed that anyone who becomes unwell should be brought to this room and made to hydrate.
At first, both my parents and the servants all insisted that “it is improper for a young lady to open her own room,” but with Kachina’s help, I managed to persuade everyone.

There was a reason I pushed this through so forcefully—

According to information obtained from the “Knowledge Box” inside this “Box,” there exists an illness called heatstroke, caused by heat occurring during summer and the like.
This illness, which is said to manifest when summer heat accumulates within the body, can, in the worst cases, even open the door to the seat of the gods.
After learning this, I checked with the servants who had fallen ill to see whether any of the symptoms of heatstroke applied to them.
As a result, I judged that leaving it untreated would be dangerous, and so immediately after gaining that knowledge, I began cooling my personal room like this.

It wasn’t just servants—knights, gardeners, and others also seemed to recall experiencing dizziness or mild headaches, so through my parents and Kachina, I issued a notice about the illness.

It’s something that can’t be done without me, but at least while I’m here, I want to do things like this for them—that’s how I feel.
Of course, I’ve also shared information about first-aid measures to take in case I’m not at the mansion.

By the way, the reason I didn’t use this cooling function at the tea party with the prince was because I wanted to keep it hidden as a card up my sleeve for now.
It wasn’t just the prince—his attendants were there as well, after all.

In any case.
For those reasons, not only the inside of the “Box,” but my personal room too has become a fairly comfortable space.

Perhaps it’s because that’s no longer there.
In a letter that arrived from Mother, who is in the territory, mostly filled with casual chatter—

“Because Mocha-chan isn’t here, it’s not cool.”

—there was a weak complaint written in somewhat wobbly handwriting.

For now, I’ll write back and mention that research into magic devices for cooling rooms seems to be progressing smoothly.
If I add that within a few years, along with magic devices that warm rooms, they may begin to be put to practical use, that should be more than enough for Mother.

Since it’s still a matter that hasn’t even begun circulating as a rumor, I’ll be sure to note that it should be handled with care.

After finishing my reply to Mother, I stuck only my face out of the Box.

“Kachina, this…”
“Yes. I will take care of it.”

When I hand the sealed letter to Kachina, she will choose a way to deliver it safely.

“Then, please excuse me for a moment.”
“Mm. Thanks…”

As I watch Kachina leave the room with the letter, I think absentmindedly.

If it’s an official unveiling, staying in the Box won’t be acceptable.
If that happens, I’ll have to make the effort to walk around outside.

…After becoming unable to move just from showing my face to the prince, would I really be able to stand before people whose faces I don’t even know…?
An unveiling to the citizens from the ceremonial balcony of the royal castle, you know?

…Yeah. Impossible.
Being the focus of attention from that many people would kill me.

Haa—ah…

For now, since I can’t think of a way to get through that anytime soon, perhaps I’ll indulge in a little escapism and activate the Observation Box.

I pull the upper half of my body back into the Box and face my desk.

Taking the small knowledge box Hakoko floating in midair into my hand, I prepare to use the Observation Box.

When using it by flying it through the air and controlling it—like the time I accidentally saw Prince Siphon changing clothes—it’s necessary to supply magical power to the Observation Box inside this Box beforehand.
On top of that, there’s the restriction that it must be launched from within the Box.

…I am, in fact, currently considering ways to eliminate this inconvenience.
After all, once I marry Prince Siphon and begin living in the royal castle, this restriction is likely to become even more troublesome than it already is.

Setting aside such purely hypothetical future talk—

While I can’t freely control the Observation Box however I like, there is still a way to learn the information that its eyes and ears capture.

I can no longer move it around, but by placing Observation Boxes here and there in advance, it’s possible to peek at what those placed units are seeing and hearing.

This time, I’ll use that method to observe a distant location.

The royal castle might be nice.
What is the castle courtyard like, I wonder?

How did I manage to place them in such locations, you ask?
That’s a secret.
…Or rather, I ask Kachina to place them, but I don’t really understand how she does it myself….