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 42

“This carriage is truly remarkable.”

It was about thirty minutes after our greetings with the royal family had concluded, and I found myself in the company of Queen Charlotte and Princess Felicie, riding in the special carriage we had presented to the royal family. We were taking it for a test run, circling around the royal castle.

Risty, on the other hand, had gone with Kudell to explain the centrifuge to His Majesty the King. They were probably busy discussing how to streamline the production of whipped cream.

“As expected of Marquis Gustique. I, too, wield Earth magic. Maybe I should apprentice under him and learn his techniques? Which means, of course, I’ll also be moving to Remilba.”

Princess Felicie chimed in with another one of her whims.

“No. It’s about time you cut the cord from your sister.”

Queen Charlotte swiftly shut her down.

Princess Felicie shook her head without hesitation. “No way.”

“…Let’s set aside her nonsense for now. Folca,” Queen Charlotte said, her tone more composed as she fixed her gaze on me.

“Yes? What is it?”

“Risty is smiling again, just as she did when she was little. Thank you so much for choosing her.”

Her eyes glistened slightly as she spoke those words.

“Indeed, my sister has returned to her old self. Thank you from me as well.”

Princess Felicie echoed her mother’s sentiment.

It was true. When I first met Risty, her mood was dark—completely different from the Risty I now knew. Thinking back, the Risty I had seen as a child always had a radiant smile, like a flower in bloom. Yes, ‘returning’ was the right phrase.

“Risty is the best wife I could ever ask for. I’m the one who’s grateful.”

I spoke from my heart. I had married the kind, intelligent, and lovely Risty, and I was simply overjoyed. The fact that people were thanking me for this made me think the world was truly bizarre.

“A slightly melancholic sister wasn’t bad either, but the cheerful one is definitely better. That’s why I’m coming to Remilba! I want to live with my bright sister!”

“Enough already.”

Queen Charlotte gave Princess Felicie a chop to the head, and just as that happened, our loop around the castle came to an end.

◇◇◆◇◇

Inside one of the large halls in the royal castle, rows of desks and chairs were neatly arranged, all facing a large white cloth draped over the front wall.

The atmosphere was similar to that of a university lecture hall.

Today’s event was a presentation on the discovery of the pathogen responsible for Green Fever.

Seated in the audience were counts and higher-ranking nobles of the Rolique Kingdom, along with their representatives and aides. While not every noble family was present, there were about 200 people gathered in the room.

The invitations for today’s event had been sent jointly by the Rolique royal family and the Gustique family. However, the specific content of the presentation had not been disclosed, so there was quite a bit of murmuring among the attendees as they speculated about what would be revealed.

I sat quietly on a chair against the wall, alongside my father. There was no role for us today; our job was simply to watch as Risty and Kudell took the spotlight.

When the scheduled time arrived, the doors opened. First to enter was His Majesty the King. Judging by the surprised murmur that spread briefly through the room, it seemed no one had expected the King to make an appearance. The room quickly fell silent.

Behind the King were Risty and Kudell. Risty gave a brief nod of acknowledgment before sitting at a lone desk at the front of the room. There was something placed on the desk, covered by a cloth.

The King stood at the front and began to speak.

“I am pleased by the large number of attendees. Recently, the Gustique family brought an important report to my attention. I have deemed it appropriate to share part of that information with you today. I will now pass the floor to the Gustique family for an explanation.”

With that brief introduction, His Majesty’s role was finished. He left the room, and once the door had closed, Kudell stepped forward to the center. She was dressed in a cream-colored dress and navy blazer, and her freckles had been concealed with makeup.

“It is a pleasure to meet you all. I am Kudell Arschtan, a retainer of the Gustique family. I have the honor of presenting today’s information.”

With a deep bow, Kudell began her speech. As she stood up, her chest shifted slightly, and I could almost hear the collective thought from the men in the room: What a beauty.

“The topic I will be discussing today is the pathogen responsible for ‘Green Fever.’ As many of you know, the Gustique family dispatched support personnel during the recent Green Fever outbreak…”

Kudell began by outlining the timeline of events in Count Rendolf’s territory. While the audience listened quietly, there was an undercurrent of confusion as they occasionally glanced at Risty, who was seated at the desk.

“What I have just explained is the general flow of the operation that led to the containment of the Green Fever outbreak. Now, moving on to today’s main subject: the discovery of the pathogen behind ‘Green Fever.’ Risty, if you would, please.”

At Kudell’s cue, Risty removed the cloth from the object on the desk and activated her Holy magic.

A sketch of the Green Fever pathogen appeared on the large white cloth, now functioning as a screen. To the untrained eye, the image probably didn’t make much sense. Still, seeing a large image suddenly projected onto the cloth sent a ripple of shock through the room—no one had expected such a display.

Risty’s magic was essentially performing the function of an overhead projector (OHP), a device commonly used before the advent of modern projectors. The image was drawn on thin glass I had crafted, and Risty’s manipulation of Holy magic was used to project the image onto the screen.

Many of the attendees were magic users themselves. While they might not fully understand the mechanics, they could easily grasp that Risty was using light manipulation through her magic.

The fact that the King had opened the presentation but then left the room—and that Father and I were sitting quietly on the sidelines—was all part of the plan to emphasize Risty as the star of the show.

“The image you see before you is of the pathogen we discovered in the vomit of Green Fever patients. We have confirmed its ability to reproduce.”

Risty then changed the glass slide, displaying a chart that documented the timeline from pathogen ingestion to the onset of symptoms in test subjects.

“Furthermore, we conducted human trials wherein multiple subjects were orally administered the cultured pathogen, leading them to develop ‘Green Fever.’ This confirmed the causality.”

At this point, Kudell activated her Holy magic, creating a laser-like beam of light to point out specific parts of the chart as she explained the results.

Though the chart was rather straightforward—essentially showing that all test subjects vomited green bile within five days—the audience was more focused on the fact that Kudell was using Holy magic. I could almost hear their collective thoughts: Wait, that beautiful woman can use Holy magic too?!

“As such, the Gustique family has concluded that the ‘microscopic organism hypothesis’ is, at least in the case of ‘Green Fever,’ proven to be true.”

Another wave of murmurs spread through the room.

“We are currently conducting tests to determine what can effectively kill this pathogen. Preliminary results show that strong distilled alcohol, such as beverages classified as ‘Baru’ by merchants, can kill the pathogen. Likewise, boiling water can also eradicate it. Soap froth has also shown effectiveness…”

Kudell continued her explanation, changing the slides again to display the results of their disinfection experiments.

“The results of these tests, excluding those related to microscopic organisms, will be shared with viscounts and lower-ranked nobles after today’s presentation. As for the findings related to microscopic organisms, we ask that you manage this information with care, as it will remain a secret known only to counts and higher-ranking nobles, as per His Majesty’s orders.”

With that, the presentation came to a close. Finally, Risty stood and approached the front of the room. Clad in a loose-fitting dress, and with the audience’s attention likely scattered by the barrage of new information, it was unlikely anyone would notice her pregnancy.

“Thank you all for your time today. We look forward to seeing you again at the soirée celebrating the first king’s coronation.”

And thus, the presentation concluded successfully. All in all, a good outcome.