A Flat-Chest Believer Reincarnated in a World Where Women with Small Breasts Aren't Treated as Women ~ I Ended Up with a Flat-Chested Harem. - Chapter 26

The day after I gave Risty a tour of The Lab, I found myself in the study-cum-office with Rita. It was my first time tackling proper administrative work in a while, catching up on tasks that had piled up during our stay in the royal capital.

That said, the housekeepers and retainers had kept things running smoothly in my absence. Most of what I had to do was review reports. My responsibilities within the Gustique family business included everything from cotton cultivation and spinning to textile production, as well as the iron industry.

I worked through the reports efficiently. Overall, things were progressing well with no major issues. The ironworks were running at a loss, but that was expected due to the large investments involved.

“Alright, no issues.”

“Correct. If there’s any weak point, it’s that cotton cultivation is slightly lagging behind our spinning and weaving capacities.”

Rita was right. However, this was a problem that wasn’t easy to solve.

“That’s because we’re limited by the size of the land in Kolibe. It would be great if we could boost production through better fertilizers or other methods, but that’s easier said than done. Maybe we should consider importing wool from other territories? But just because we have some capacity doesn’t mean we can afford to overextend.”

“True. If we’re going to the trouble of importing, we might as well increase spinning and weaving capacity as well.”

“Right, but expanding too quickly would be risky for security reasons… And, well, my father is our only expert on certain parts of the machinery. If we increase production, we might not be able to keep up with spare parts.”

“There are some parts only the master can make…”

“If only we could design machines that don’t rely on such advanced components…”

“A brilliant idea, but I can’t even begin to imagine how we’d make it work.”

We bounced ideas back and forth like this, discussing the limitations and tackling the challenges of our business operations.

It occurred to me that I hadn’t had a conversation like this with Rita in a while. I’d been spending most of my time with Risty recently, so Rita and I hadn’t spoken much.

As for Risty, she was currently at The Lab.

Yesterday, she had become fascinated by the microscope, spending so much time observing various samples that it was already midday before we knew it. In the afternoon, we had some introductions with the retainers, but Risty still wasn’t satisfied. So today, she had gone back for a more in-depth tour, accompanied by Mariel.

“Risty sure seems to have taken a liking to The Lab.”

“Yes. Considering she’s the kingdom’s highest-ranked healer, it makes sense that she’d be interested in microorganisms.”

I felt it was more pure curiosity on Risty’s part, but I just nodded and said, “True.”

“Either way, it’s good that she’s interested in The Lab, given how closely it ties into the Gustique family business.”

The Lab was, of course, my brainchild—a project I had set up with the intention of using my knowledge from my past life to innovate in this world. I had prepared myself for the day when people might question where this knowledge came from. Nonetheless, I had shared a significant portion of scientific knowledge with the members of The Lab.

The team I had assembled, chosen for their aptitude regardless of their social standing, was incredibly talented. Aside from our selective breeding work, they had also managed to create things like a water-powered spinning machine and a flying shuttle loom, based on my patchy memories. Although we couldn’t yet achieve mass production on an industrial scale due to our reliance on magic, our progress had been considerable.

For the record, I hadn’t attempted to create muskets. In this world, battlefield magic included fire and lightning spells, and the idea of using gunpowder in such a volatile environment was terrifying. Plus, at the distances muskets were effective, you’d still be well within range of offensive magic, so there was no advantage in trying to outrange the enemy.

“Looks like we got through everything faster than expected. I owe it to everyone for keeping things running smoothly.”

“Yes. Perhaps you should show your appreciation to the staff?”

“I’ll do that. Well, let’s check on how Risty’s doing at The Lab… but first, how about some tea? Would you mind making us some, Rita? Get yourself a cup too.”

There was no rush to check on Risty—Kudell was attending to her at The Lab. We could take our time.

Rita nodded, saying, “Of course,” and left the study.

I organized the remaining documents, putting them neatly away on my desk. Just as I finished, Rita returned, pushing a cart with a teapot and cups. She was pretty quick. With a fire magic affinity of 2, Rita couldn’t do much in battle, but she could easily heat enough water to fill a pot for tea.

On the cart, there were also some cookies to accompany the tea. The soft scent of the tea leaves filled the room as Rita carefully poured the steaming liquid into our cups.

Not wanting to move, I stayed at my work desk and enjoyed the tea there. It was delicious. The cookies were sweet, and I ate them slowly, savoring the taste. For some reason, it reminded me of my old office in my previous life. Sometimes, we’d get sweets as souvenirs, and I’d snack on them while working overtime at my desk.

Ah, the nostalgia. It wasn’t all bad, that job.

But this life was far better. Here, I didn’t have to worry about currying favor with my boss or navigating office politics. Instead, I was surrounded by kind people, including a beautiful woman who made me tea whenever I asked.

“Come on, Rita, have some tea too.”

At my prompting, Rita responded with “Thank you” and poured herself a cup of tea, bringing it to her lips.

For a few moments, we simply enjoyed our tea in comfortable silence, a peaceful break from the workday.

“That was delicious. Thanks, Rita.”

“It was my pleasure. Shall we head out now?”

“Yes, let’s go check on Risty at The Lab.”

We left the room and made our way to The Lab. When we arrived, I asked one of the staff near the entrance where Risty was. They promptly led us to a room.

As we approached the door, I heard Risty’s voice exclaiming, “Amazing! This is incredible!”

I opened the door and saw Risty holding a glass instrument in her hands. Kudell and Mariel were in the room as well.

“How’s it going, Risty?”

It was a pretty vague question, even if I do say so myself, but I called out to her.

“Folca! Hey, this is amazing! You made this, right? It’s incredible. Folca, you’re incredible.”

Risty was holding a thermometer. Yes, the kind that uses the expansion of mercury inside a glass tube to measure temperature.

“The spinning machine and loom prototype you showed me earlier were amazing too. But this is even more incredible. I mean, it turns hot and cold into numbers!”

Her eyes even seemed a little teary from how moved she was. Beside her, Kudell was enthusiastically nodding in agreement, saying, “Exactly! You understand it perfectly, Lady Risty!” Meanwhile, Mariel looked a little bemused by the whole scene.

Risty had a point. The spinning machine and loom were improvements on existing human tasks—they made processes more efficient. But the thermometer was something completely different—it transformed a concept into something measurable, allowing for the objective recording of temperature, across both time and space. The Lab had been recording temperature data for the past five years, and this was possibly the first ever temperature record in this world.

“Yeah. In the long run, it’ll have a huge impact.”

“Hehe, my body temperature is around 36 degrees… Amazing, amazing.”

“Well, I’m glad you like it.”

“Oh, I want to see the spinning machines and looms in operation too, so please take me to Marilba sometime.”

With her eyes sparkling, Risty said this, and I nodded, “Yeah, of course.”

And just like that, Risty got hooked on The Lab.