Chapter 403 Rumors of a New Product ②
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”Wait, a new product?”
”You’re looking as lively as ever, Amelia. That’s what matters,” Viscount Ray Nixfen said with a smile.
News of the “Wriggle-Body”¹-the latest release from the magic circuit shop “Harvest”²-had traveled far. It reached Sister Amelia, who was toiling away at the reconstruction of Count Kudoah’s lands, and even reached the ears of the court mage, Satsuki.
”Yeah, I’m doing great,” Amelia replied. “Though, well… maybe I’m a little too energetic sometimes.”
The messenger was none other than Ray Nixfen, the dashing noblewoman who preferred men’s attire. She had been studying manufacturing at “Harvest”³ under her father, Tail, but had temporarily returned to her own territory to oversee a factory expansion. However, neither she nor her father felt they had learned enough. For the foreseeable future, Ray would be splitting her time between the Royal Capital and the Nixfen domain, likely rushing back to the city every time a new invention hit the shelves.
On this leg of her journey, she had detoured to the Kudoah region at the earnest request of Kento, who had been worried sick about Amelia’s well-being. To Ray, Amelia and her group were the saviors who had struck down the Lesser Dragons during the Stampede⁴ chaos. She had jumped at the chance to check on them.
”I see…” Satsuki muttered, her eyes narrowing.
”Ah… right,” Amelia added, a knowing look passing between them.
”H-huh? What kind of reaction is that?” Ray asked, tilting her head.
”Oh, nothing,” Satsuki said.
”It’s just… exactly what we expected of him,” Amelia finished.
The two women saw through Ray’s relationship with Kento instantly. They were touched that he was worried, but it seemed the man had been busy collecting even more women while they were away. It wasn’t even worth being angry about anymore; at this point, it was simply a fundamental part of who he was.
”In that case, we’d better wrap things up here and get back to the capital even faster,” Satsuki said.
”I agree,” Amelia replied. “Kento-san aside, Lily-san is probably being run ragged with all this new business.”
”Um, what do you mean by-” Ray started to ask.
”Don’t worry about it, Viscount. We can see quite clearly that Kento is doing just fine.”
”O-oh… well, you can just call me Ray.”
”Is that so? Well then, I look forward to getting to know you, Ray,” Satsuki said.
”I’ll be in your care as well, Ray-san,” Amelia added.
”Yeah, likewise. Satsuki, Amelia,” Ray replied.
It was a “look forward to it” loaded with the heavy implication that they would be seeing a lot of each other-and likely in very intimate ways. Ray, however, wouldn’t understand the meaning behind their pitying, lukewarm gazes until much later.
”I wonder if Momo-chan has gotten any bigger,” Satsuki mused as they walked. “Think they’ve already got a second one on the way?”
”Who knows?” Amelia said. “They might be so busy the shop is taking priority over… well, that.”
”Actually, Momo-chan recently learned to say ‘Mama,’” Ray interjected. “Kento was so devastated about being ‘beaten to the punch’ that he’s been obsessively trying to teach her to say ‘Papa.’”
”Ugh, I would’ve killed to see that!” Satsuki laughed.
”The baby or Kento?” Amelia asked.
”Both, obviously!”
They shared a harmonious laugh over the domestic updates from the Harvest household. Though not much time had passed, the cozy life they’d left behind already felt like a distant, nostalgic dream. This renewed their resolve to finish their work and return home. But then, the air was sliced by a frustrated scream.
”The chatter is great, but could you maybe HELP US?!” Marsetta yelled, parrying a monster’s claw.
”I’m with her!” shouted Kushe, the lead court mage of Coalmine, as she blasted a creature backward. “And I want a full briefing on this new product!”
”That can wait until the monsters are dead!” Marsetta replied.
The two mages were in the thick of the Kudoah reconstruction. Because of their combat prowess, they were constantly being pulled away to cull the monsters roaming the outskirts. Ray had tracked them down after hearing they were circulating through the villages.
”Whoops. Right, talk later,” Satsuki said, gripping her staff. “Ray, you can fight, right? Give us a hand.”
”Of course,” Ray replied, drawing her weapon. “My lands have finally calmed down. I’m here to do a lot more than just lend a hand.”
With Ray joining the fray, the extermination began in earnest. The only ones to be pitied were the monsters-creatures that had already been displaced by the Great Dragon⁵, only to be systematically hunted down by a group of women who just wanted to go home.
Thanks to their efficiency, the return of the “Saint”⁶ and the “Great Mages” to the capital was imminent. The “Harvest”⁷ magic shop was poised for a massive leap forward.
Rumors of the “Wriggle-Body”⁸ rippled through the Canaria Kingdom. The news eventually reached the southwestern maritime nation of Sylvaol, though they remained in a state of watchful waiting. For them to grow desperate for “Harvest”⁹ goods, they would need to wait for the North-South Trade Route to hit its peak and for demand from across the ocean to surge.
Finally, the information reached the southeast. Across several borders, a letter arrived at the feet of the “Saint”¹⁰ of the Holy City. Her expression softened as she recognized the handwriting of her dear friend, Queen Cecile of Canaria.
”Heh… a ‘new product,’ huh?”
”Your Holiness, this is no time to be distracted by such trifles,” Cardinal Mork sighed.
”It is totally the time to be distracted! Our relationship with Canaria is the most important thing we’ve got right now,” Saint Loire-Rose replied, waving the letter. “Honestly, I should probably just ‘consecrate’ this new product myself. If I just sit here acting like a ditz, that other ‘Saint’ is going to snatch all my clout, don’t ya think?”
”That woman is no Saint! Your Holiness, you must not be misled by the gossip of the rabble!” Mork bellowed.
”Ugh, I’m tellin’ you! That ancient way of thinking is exactly why we’re in this mess in the first place, hello?”
”B-but-“
”No ifs, ands, or buts!”
Loire-Rose continued her debate with her confidant. The core issue was her plummeting influence. The Church of Demon-Subjugation¹¹, once the pillar of the world, was fading, and the “Saint”¹² was losing her value along with it. To a traditionalist like Mork, it was unbearable-especially since the Stampede¹³, when whispers of “Saint” Amelia began to echo even among the faithful.
Rumors told of how Amelia protected a whole battalion with powerful holy arts during the slaying of two Great Dragons¹⁴, fell into a “Holy Sleep”¹⁵, and had now returned to lead the reconstruction effort. Her deeds were truly “Saintly,” but calling her a “Saint” was a bridge too far. By tradition, there was only one Saint per generation. As long as Loire-Rose lived, calling another by that name was the ultimate insult.
”No… I will have my say today!” Mork insisted. “The spread of these rumors is unnatural. It’s clearly the work of those who wish to undermine Your Holiness!”
”I get that! I’m not stupid!” Loire-Rose snapped. “But the fact that the rumors are spreading means people want her! At the end of the day, people are going to prefer a ‘Saint’ who actually protects them from a Stampede over some ‘Saint-sama’ who stays cooped up in a tower doing who-knows-what! I know tradition matters, but seriously…”
”Guh… gununu…”
Mork tried to argue. He wanted to say how vital the Saint’s role in protecting the Holy City was, and the hardships Loire-Rose had endured. But his words couldn’t reach her.
”I’m going to Canarias,” she declared.
”S-Saint-sama, you can’t be serious!”
”It’s fine! I’ll give the returning ‘Saint’ a grand, official welcome. That’ll at least help me save some face.”
Thus, the Church-and the nations surrounding the Canaria Kingdom-began to churn toward a new era. It was a great, pulsing swell of change… moving exactly like the “Wriggle-Body”¹⁶ itself.
—
Summary:
Ray Nixfen delivers news of Kento’s new product to Amelia and Satsuki in the reconstruction zone. Meanwhile, the ‘official’ Saint Loire-Rose in the Holy City learns of Amelia’s rising popularity and decides to travel to Canarias to protect her own ‘clout.’ The chapter highlights how the shop’s influence is beginning to reshape international politics.
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Trivia:
- Ray Nixfen’s masculine dress style is her default attire.
- Amelia and Satsuki are currently separated from Kento to help rebuild disaster-stricken areas.
- There is only supposed to be one ‘Saint’ per generation in this world’s religious hierarchy.
- Momo is Kento’s biological daughter, and her growth indicates the passage of time.
- The ‘Wriggle-Body’ name is a pun on the product’s function (likely a vibrating toy)
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Character Insight:
Amelia and Satsuki show a mature, if somewhat weary, acceptance of Kento’s polyamorous nature. Loire-Rose is portrayed not as a villain, but as a modern-thinking woman trapped in a decaying, traditionalist institution.
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Behind the Scenes:
The contrast between Loire-Rose’s gyaru speech and Mork’s stiff dialogue is a common light novel trope to show generational/cultural gaps.
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TL Notes:
Notes:
• Amelia – The Sister of the Church of Demon-Subjugating, who usually buys from Kento, has light blue hair.
• Nixfen – A viscount aristocrat who has started manufacturing and selling adult goods similar to Kento’s products in the Royal Capital’s pleasure district. He is described as a ‘pretty boy’ or ‘gentle-looking man’ (yasao) but is a territory-holding noble likely trained in combat.
• Ray – A Viscount with flaxen-gold hair in a men’s wolf cut. Possesses a sweet mask and a prince-like aura. It is revealed at the end that Ray is actually a woman. She has started manufacturing and selling adult goods similar to Kento’s products in the Royal Capital’s pleasure district.
• Satsuki – A talented Court Mage who was forced to analyze the shop’s adult magic tools. Miranda’s granddaughter. Now she’s the new worker at Harvest, a development she finds both humiliating and surprisingly fulfilling due to the rapid progress in her research under Kento’s guidance. Has long black hair, palace mage robe, and staff.
• Tail – Former Viscount Nixfen and Ray’s father. A master craftsman with rugged, calloused, and scarred hands. Stern expression, socially awkward, and proud of his family’s ‘specialized’ trade.
• Kento – The owner of the magic tool shop ‘Harvest,’ which discretely sells adult goods. He’s a former overworked, ordinary salaryman from modern Japan who was suddenly transported (isekai’d) to this fantasy world. He has dark hair and an unremarkable appearance, typically wearing a plain, slightly suspicious-looking shop owner’s clothes looks like Kazuma Satou from certain series. He has a minimal amount of magic power, enough to craft his specialty items.
• Lily – the sl*ve and primary experiment subject for the magic shop, ‘Harvest.’ She has striking pink hair, Blue eyes, medium breasts, which the Protagonist associates with being ‘wanton’. She has a working knowledge of magic, which she kept hidden from the slave trader.
• Momo – The newborn daughter of Kento and Lily. She has pink hair and her father’s ear and eyebrow shapes.
• Marsetta – A senior court mage and specialist in magical weaponry. She has disheveled hair tied back, wears glasses, and has deep dark circles under her eyes from lack of sleep. She hasn’t eaten in two days and is under heavy pressure to find a countermeasure for the enemy’s weapons.
• Kushe – The Chief Mage of the Coalmine Kingdom. She has dark green hair grown out haphazardly and wears a mage robe loosely over her shoulders. She has a blunt, informal, and somewhat insensitive personality, focused on her ‘thinking experiments.’
• Cecile – A queen in the capital who possesses the authority to regulate business and commerce, particularly concerning moral or public order issues. She is currently investigating Kento’s shop, ‘Harvest.’ Have long golden hair, elegant, and wearing expensive white dress with gold accesories.
• Mork – A central figure in the ‘Inquisition.’ Acts panicked and constantly looks sideways, seemingly pressured by the masked Inquisitor. He represents the rigid, fear-based opposition to the protagonist’s products.
• Loire-Rose – The current Saintess, possessing a divine appearance yet a modern, playful, and irreverent attitude that clashes with Church tradition. She has white hair, pale skin, blue eyes, and wears clergy robes.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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