Volume 6 Chapter 90 The Beautiful Becomes More Beautiful
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
The invention of photography happened back in the early 19th century. It was basically the result of combining two older inventions: the technology to project images through a lens, and the discovery of light-sensitive materials.
But what really matters isn’t the tech itself—it’s that someone came up with the idea of photography.
Nowadays, digital cameras are everywhere, and silver halide film feels like a dusty relic from a long-forgotten era. Yet, nobody really cares about that anymore. A photo is a photo, no matter how it’s made.
So, naturally, I bought a whole bunch of digital cameras. My uncle, being a bit of a collector, entrusted me with some old cameras and even chemicals for developing film. If I handed these to the dwarves, maybe they could figure out how to reproduce the classic silver halide photos.
Photography was a revolutionary invention for the century, but back then, it was a real threat to painters. Portrait commissions were a vital source of income for them. Even in times when political marriages were the norm, people cared about how their future spouse looked—nobles are human after all.
Still, painting as a profession didn’t vanish overnight. Many patrons respected tradition, and surely, there were people who just didn’t look good in photographs.
By the twentieth century, photography had become commonplace, and painting and photography had solidified into completely separate genres. Picasso was already creating complex paintings that sparked endless debate. Meanwhile, anime and manga were rising in popularity.
Anime is incredible, isn’t it? People from other worlds accepted it without a second thought. They brought live-action movies too, but everyone ended up just watching anime.
Even now, spirits gather in front of LCD TVs for anime viewing parties. Ms. Shirakaba isn’t there, but apparently Exceneca is almost fluent in Japanese.
* * *
Well, for now, the spirits are content. If I show them anime, they stay quiet. But the real point is the camera.
The digital camera I brought was highly praised by Tizzy, but the spirits themselves? Mostly indifferent. They can just remember what they see and share it with others anyway.
For me, though, I want to show Ms. Nina the scenes saved in Editor skill.
I project memories stored in Editor skill into the real world using the firefly’s message skill. That part worked perfectly. The problem? It only works in dark places. So, first, I have to lure Ms. Nina somewhere dark. Honestly, that’s still a pretty high hurdle.
Since the firefly’s message is basically light, it should be possible to capture it with a camera. A photo means I can show it to her anytime, anywhere. Plus, Ms. Nina likes letters, so I could give her the photo alongside a regular letter—nothing romantic, just friendly.
To capture the firefly’s message beautifully, I consulted my uncle and splurged on a pretty pricey model. It’s what you’d call a digital single-lens reflex camera. I also stocked up on spare batteries and memory cards.
All that’s left is to try it when I have the chance. And well, now’s the time.
Just for fun, I decided to project a random quail image saved in Editorskill into the air using the firefly’s message, then take a picture of it.
Honestly, I wanted to project Ms. Nina’s figure, but I can’t help feeling shy in front of others. There’s no such thing as privacy in this world—spirits and gods are always watching, no matter where you are.
Once I started taking pictures, it turned out to be surprisingly difficult. The images came out looking like blurry ghosts. But since it’s digital, messing up isn’t a big deal. People from the film era wasted money on every failure—that’s why some say they improved so fast.
It’s just a quail image, but if I’m doing this, I want a clear photo. I’m starting to get a little stubborn about it.
While rereading the camera manual, I kept muttering, “TrRaia and Ella.” The shots improved a lot after I fixed the camera to a tripod. Apparently, any shake when pressing the shutter ruins the image. They said a release cord would help, but I haven’t bought one yet. Maybe that’s my uncle’s fault.
After some thought, I found a workaround: timer shooting. If I set the timer, I don’t have to press the shutter button and risk shaking the camera.
As I fiddled with all this, some small spirits came by to watch but quickly got bored and drifted off to the anime viewing party. I didn’t mind—they’d just be a nuisance otherwise. Still, their absence made the room feel a bit lonely.
After a long struggle, I finally managed to take a clear photo of the quail image. I’m really happy about it. I’ll print this out and hang it somewhere visible.
* * *
I’d accomplished something. But, as always, a fresh challenge was waiting just beyond the horizon.
It all started by accident. When I was putting away the camera, I removed the lens out of habit and peeked inside. The image sensor lay completely exposed. It was surprisingly simple in structure.
A camera, in essence, is just a box that blocks light. It has a lens attached to one side, and film—or in a digital camera, a light sensor—in the back.
In other words, if I could project an image directly onto the image sensor, the lens would be unnecessary.
I’d heard stories of people with special abilities who could project images straight onto film or sensors like that. That was the trick!
Projecting an image into the air and fiddling with focusing was redundant. The image sensor itself is small, but incredibly precise.
If the light intensity was too high, it could break the sensor, so I had to be careful with that.
It didn’t take long to master projection—about ten days, give or take. Around here, that sort of timeframe was practically negligible. Well, in those ten days, my stock of cola and chips was rapidly dwindling. The little spirits had become totally hooked on anime and junk food.
With this, I—Ore—could take photos of anything I’d seen, anytime. For a teenage boy, it was like a dream come true. A cheat, really.
I was so happy that I couldn’t help but break into a strange little dance. The tiny spirits joined in, spinning around and giggling. But Uno and the others just watched me with a hint of disdain.
If that guy Schulz were here, I was sure he’d understand the joy.
* * *
But then, with the surrounding evaluation being low, my motivation suddenly dropped.
So, I gave up on the idea of color telepathy. Theoretically, if I decomposed an image into the three primary colors and overlapped them, full-color reproduction should be possible. But honestly? Monochrome started to feel enough.
If only someone had cheered me on, maybe I could’ve pushed harder.
”More than that, it’s about the cola!” Uno said, eyes sparkling.
Uno really liked cola. Maybe because she had no immunity to sweet soft drinks.
Dumplings over flowers, cola over cameras, huh. Alright then. Time to show my real strength.
I set out to create a substitute cola using only the materials available in this world. My plan was to magically transform cold candy, mixing in mass-produced syrup instead of precious sugar, adding spices like ginger for flavor, and finishing it off with carbon dioxide generated during fermentation. I’d use a ramune bottle as the reference container for selling.
I didn’t need to replicate cola’s flavor perfectly—as long as Uno and the others liked it, that was good enough.
First, I dissolved the syrup in hot water. Should I keep the sweetness low for health reasons? Normally, it’s delicious with a gentle sweetness. But just being sweet would get boring quickly. What makes cola enjoyable is its aroma, the sharp stimulation of carbonation, and, of course, the chill.
Unlike when I worked on the camera, Uno and the others gathered around, forgetting about their anime for once. It was helpful to get their feedback, but everyone started shouting their opinions at once, making it hard to keep control.
”It’s not cola if it’s not black,” someone insisted.
No one seemed to notice the low sugar content, but they complained the flavor was different. Well, I gratefully took their critiques as reference.
Making it black was easy enough—just lightly burn the syrup while dissolving it in the pot. Uno squinted as the sweet aroma of caramel syrup wafted up.
The flavor was the tricky part. I liked the ginger, but everyone said it wasn’t enough.
”Well, I get it,” I muttered. “Cola has that slightly medicinal scent that’s strangely addictive.”
There were various bitter herbs to choose from, but the active ingredients posed a problem. Who wants to take medicine when not sick? Tonic water? Too much medicine can turn into poison.
So, I added a little mint and just a touch of mugwort. It got somewhat cola-like, but it wasn’t delicious.
Bitterness, sourness, astringency—these are all elements people usually avoid. Huh. Interesting. Even tea and coffee take some getting used to.
”Did you finish? I’ll taste it right away,” said Uno.
I was still planning to tweak the balance, but sure—feedback now was good too.
”It’s watery. Not delicious.”
”It totally lacks kick.”
Maybe I should put habanero in the Frapatica? I could probably grow chili peppers hydroponically. If I found uncontaminated soil, I could grow them in pots.
”I like it. It has a gentle taste,” Exceneca said.
Exceneca is gentle by nature, but I wondered if “gentle” was actually a compliment.
”Isn’t anything delicious if it’s just sweet?” Uno said.
”I think it’d be better chilled and fizzy.”
The spirits who had been on standby didn’t seem that attached to cola yet.
Chilling was easy. For advanced spirits, magic could create ice anytime.
Carbonation? Well, I decided to try yeast.
I poured the substitute cola into an empty plastic bottle and added a spoonful of dry yeast I’d brought from Earth.
In a few hours, the yeast would multiply and break down the sugar, releasing alcohol and carbon dioxide. If I’d done this in Japan, it might be illegal under liquor tax law—but here, no problem.
”Oh, so that’s how you make it fizzy. Interesting,” Uno said.
I’d gained a few more fans among the gods. Apparently, there were many gods of alcohol.
A few days later, the substitute cola was mostly done. It had turned into a mildly alcoholic drink, but that was surprisingly well-received.
”With the alcohol, the bitterness of the mugwort mellows out.”
”Hmm, not bad. But it needs one more flavor.”
Probably because they’d been watching gourmet anime, Uno and the others had picked up more vocabulary.
”Well, it does need something else.”
Right. I thought of slicing some Earth-grown lime and floating it in.
I really loved lemon squash. The citrus aroma should mesh perfectly with carbonation—and it looked stylish too.
”Delicious! This rivals cola. But isn’t using Earth fruits cheating?” Uno asked.
”It’s fine. I’m growing a similar fruit here. Not sure how many years until harvest, though.”
They say yuzu takes 18 years to bear fruit. But it wasn’t yuzu, and I was propagating it by cuttings, so it should take only a few years. Hopefully.
”Why not grow seedlings here?”
Good idea. Since Uno gave the go-ahead, I decided to create an agricultural testing ground in the Valley of Trials. I’d be the only one working, but maybe the spirits would help if they felt like it.
After all, it seemed this space could crush an ordinary human’s mind. Increasing staff wasn’t easy. According to Uno, El might be able to endure it.
* * *
Even if it was partly by chance, the joy of making a pretty good substitute cola was real. Luck was also a part of strength.
But from here on, I could show my true skills. I would balance the flavors, refining it into perfection.
”What is this? Not sweet? No, is it faintly sweet? It’s super delicious!!” Uno exclaimed.
Low sugar, low fragrance, low carbonation. I held back on the caramel, and it turned into a golden cola.
Well, even “low sugar” contained a fair amount, so I knew drinking too much wouldn’t be good.
”It’s cola, but it transcends cola! Truly nectar.”
I was glad Uno liked it. Now I didn’t have to order cola from Earth anymore.
”The water here is so wonderful that sweetness and aroma would feel intrusive.”
”Yeah, thanks to Exceneca and the water spirits. You all, thank you.”
Even without the usual “no ja” or “o jyaru,” Uno carried a dignified presence just by being himself.
* * *
”Then, next up is potato chips. Make them so we can eat without reservation.”
Substitute potato chips, huh. There’s a genre of molded potato chips sold in cylindrical containers. Uno and the others ate them without fuss. I, however, was more of a bagged chip person.
Looking at the packaging, some were mixed with tapioca starch and such. It seemed possible to make them mainly with wheat flour.
When I tried making some, they ended up like thin baked rice crackers. No potato smell at all, but lightly salted, they were pretty tasty.
If made with rice flour and baked instead of fried, they turned into ordinary thin baked rice crackers. Naturally, also delicious.
”Delicious, delicious! What? It’s easy to make!” Uno said, eyes wide.
Now that I thought about it, there wasn’t much of this kind of snack around here.
Sweets for nobles or the wealthy were mostly dense pound cakes baked with fruits and nuts. Delicious, sure, but not suitable for anime-watching.
For crispy, crunchy textures you keep coming back for, salty snacks were the answer. Shrimp chips, kaki no tane—those could rival potato chips.
Speaking of which, village children used dried small crucian carp as a snack like rice crackers.
Alright.
Minced crucian carp, bones and all, roughly kneaded into wheat flour dough, then baked thin. Lightly salted, safe enough for children.
Of course, not for El with wall barley allergy—I’d try a rice flour version for him.
”There are so many kinds, and they’re all delicious.”
As a healthy alternative, I served chilled barley tea instead of cola.
”This taste takes some getting used to. But it definitely goes well together.”
The combo of barley tea and rice crackers was addictive. More than anything, it was healthier than cola and chips.
Though maybe that didn’t matter to dragons and spirits.
Building a snack workshop in the castle sounded nice. The problem was what containers to use—but maybe I could make a tea canister out of copper. Lime could serve as a desiccant.
When I made a prototype, it was a huge hit. My wives insisted I make my own tea canister. They said a plastic bottle was fine for water—it supposedly tastes better when transparent.
I can’t make plastic bottles yet, so I’ll challenge myself to make a glass water bottle. Unfortunately, my glassworking skills still needed work.
Since I was here, I might as well train. Woodworking too.
Human time was limited, but this was a special space. No matter how many decades it took to create something satisfying, it was probably half a day in the outside world.
Whether I thought of it as a prison of time or a heavenly training ground, the saying was worn out—but in the end, it all came down to one’s own heart.
* * *
While I was at it, I decided to set up a Magic Formation for trading with Earth. Uno’s nest was completely free of earthquakes, and since outsiders weren’t allowed in, it seemed like the perfect environment for it.
Of course, I’d get proper permission from Uno first and proceed carefully, consulting with him along the way.
“Sorry to keep you waiting, Uncle. I’m a little—no, quite a bit late. Are you feeling anxious? No, maybe you’re really worried.” I muttered, feeling a pang of guilt.
Putting Uncle aside, I worried about Mom, too. She might be suffering from stomach pains caused by stress. When we reunited, she seemed okay, but I heard things had been rough right after I disappeared.
Alright. Time to create a video letter. Honestly, taking a selfie felt harder than setting up the Magic Formation, especially with Uno and the others watching me.
“Dad, Mom, how are you? I’m doing well, that’s all,” I tried, but immediately shook my head. No, that wouldn’t do at all. I couldn’t just wing this—I had to think it through. First, I needed to write a script.
“What’s that? A movie? Human wives greet their parents, right? Let me try too!” Uno suddenly perked up, eyes shining.
Why now? She’d never shown much interest in the camera before.
But yeah, it was normal to introduce your marriage partner to your parents. At Uno’s words, the other spirits gathered around. Just being here with seven wives or so… Mom and the others would definitely be surprised.
For now, though, I’d keep the fact that they were dragons and spirits under wraps. I’d film Tizzy and the others after we returned to the castle. Ms. Shirakaba needed a separate edit to be sent to Fubuki-kun…
There were other fiancées, too. Shea-Shea aside, Sar-Sar seemed too young by Japanese law, so introducing her now would be risky. Maybe I should wait until after the wedding?
As for Ms. Nina… well, first I had to somehow win her heart. We weren’t even in a romantic relationship yet.
I felt like there was a pulse between us. She probably didn’t hate me.
I was going to make the perfect proposal, according to the customs of this world. I was ready for that.
The problem was, those customs differed greatly depending on status. They were so different.
Ms. Nina’s original identity as the Auroora princess meant she was royal, after all. Even just proposing had a certain formality—it began with greetings to the family and was quite the hassle.
Since my younger brother was inheriting the throne, their father had likely passed away. The mother might still be alive.
And how did I even greet the Auroora princess herself? She kind of disliked me.
After all, we were a vassal state of the Larse Empire, and the Auroora princess’s country was a vassal of the Totoana Empire. It was a classic Romeo and Juliet situation.
Since she was a Doll Princess, there was also the option of simply welcoming her as Ms. Nina, but ideally, marriage should involve the entire family. Tizzy and Ms. Shirakaba seemed lonely in that regard. Shea-Shea and Sar-Sar were fortunate.
Even though I had become king, I probably should have been concerned about family issues, but there was also the option of not making the throne hereditary—like the dwarf king.
If the organization was solid, honestly, it didn’t matter who sat on the throne. The only question was whether the citizens could accept it.
While I hesitated, Uno and the others expertly operated the camera, filming an introduction video.
They handled it like pros—even without reading the manual. I was impressed, but then again, Tizzy and the others were the same.
Even if they didn’t fully understand the mechanics or structure, as long as they knew how to use it, there seemed to be no problem.
I had assumed people from a medieval-level world wouldn’t be able to handle electronic devices. What a huge misunderstanding.
When I played back the video, Uno and the others greeted my parents in Japanese they’d learned from anime. The tone was formal, polite—nothing embarrassing anywhere.
Looking at it now, I couldn’t help but think, Man, I’m quite the womanizer, huh? If it weren’t for Ms. Nina, I might have doubled my count even here in the land of Amazons.
* * *
I placed the completed Magic Formation, the video letter, a regular letter, gold bars, and platinum bars into the Magic Formation in Japan.
Now all that was left was to wait—endlessly—for a reply from my uncle.
No matter how long I waited, there was no response. Well, it was my uncle we were talking about, so I hadn’t expected a quick reply anyway. Besides, I was quite late myself, so I couldn’t really complain.
What worried me more was whether it had even sent properly.
While I repeatedly checked the Magic Formation for mistakes, the days continued, and I busied myself developing new soft drinks and snacks.
Honey lemon squash wannabe and wall barley puffed rice were a Hóa (ホー) home run-level success, and the gods seemed to love them. Maybe we didn’t even need to import cola and chips from Earth anymore.
Considering profit margins, it seemed better to export expensive sugar and pepper from here. The sugar guild might go under.
* * *
Nearly a year passed with no reply from my uncle. Had it really failed?
“Outside time? Hardly any time has passed, you know? Humans are so impatient.” Uno said, breaking through my worry.
I suddenly realized what was going on. That made sense—of course. The likes from the gods arrived in real time, so my sense of time had become completely numb.
Had it been a mistake to set up the Magic Formation in this place? No. If I spent more time outside, the reply should eventually come.
But things like raw food would rot if left alone. Even cola had an expiration date, right? Could a soft drink that had been around for decades—or centuries—still be drinkable?
Notes:
• Shirakaba – A paladin who seems to be a skilled fighter. He’s introduced as someone with a strong defense and healing abilities.
• Exceneca – Lady Uno’s butler girl
• Tizzy – Claims to be Duke’s daughter, a noble with advanced magic skills. MC and Ms. Shirakaba lover.
• Ms. Nina – Doll Princess (Auroora 217), renamed by the protagonist. Beautiful blonde, ~168 cm, slim waist. Wears adventurer attire. Made from artificial parts and wooden limbs, resembling a princess. Knowledgeable, can read, write, and use basic healing magic. Reliable partner, often saves the protagonist with her skills.
• Nina – Doll Princess (Auroora 217), renamed by the protagonist. Beautiful blonde, ~168 cm, slim waist. Wears adventurer attire. Made from artificial parts and wooden limbs, resembling a princess. Knowledgeable, can read, write, and use basic healing magic. Reliable partner, often saves the protagonist with her skills.
• El – She is a giant woman, appeared as Saburou’s captor, living alone in a large tent, skilled in hunting and cooking, proposes marriage to Saburou.
• Schulz – A male dragon who collects human women and holds the rank of Duke within the Anti-Magic Alliance.
• Frapatica – Advanced Fire Spirit, brown skin, fiery red hair, striking red leather bikini armor, youthful beneath a mature appearance, Edo-girl speaking style, kind, offers her name as a sign of trust
• Fubuki – Male. Ms. Shirakaba’s younger brother. Handsome and around the same age as the protagonist. Not attending school recently. Lives in a mountain-top pension. Has an older sister named Yukina.
• Shea-Shea – Mauro’s daughter. Hurt by Alexander. Became an eager fiancée after advice from protagonist.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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