Dream Life

January 28th.

Visits were made to the brewery and vineyards in Widial village north of the city of Seawell. The inspection itself ends in about two hours and is briefed by Bernard Dalungton, the guide's civilian, on his plans for this later period.

"After lunch here, you will return to Seawell Castle for an inspection of the wine maturation gallery located in the castle. It will probably be over by three o'clock, and then it will be free time, do you have any hopes?

Laurencia said, "Nothing in particular. I leave it to Sir Dalungton," he said, but immediately he said, "That Sir Zacharias has no opinion?," I say again.

Viscount Radford is due back from the Imperial Capital this evening and should be around a lot after tomorrow. For that reason, there was nowhere I wanted to go in a hurry today, but I realize I'm being seen with the kind of eyes I'd expect from her.

(I wonder what you expect. Is there any instruction from Lord Etherlington? ……

The Duke of Alexis Ezarrington is trying to use his two daughters to show that the Duke's family has a good relationship with the Lockhart family. As part of that, I'm accompanied by two warrants here in Seawell, but I can't think of what to do.

(Can we just show ourselves together where people see us for now...)

That's what I thought and made a suggestion to Darunton.

"I'd like to make dessert to serve for dinner tonight, is it possible to go shopping"

The word dessert says Primrose, "What will they make! ♪ And I'm eating up ♪

"I need to look at the ingredients to see what I can do..." he replies bitterly.

"Oh yeah...... sorry," he snuggles, but Sharon, who was next door, quickly follows.

"You must make something delicious."

Following Sharon, Mel also encourages Primrose.

"I think so too. I have some thoughts when Zach says something."

I admire the collaboration between the two, but the idea wasn't as solidified as Mel put it.

(In the meantime, I need to see what's in the grocery store. Well, there's something I can do with my hand, so it's okay...)

It was a little early in the morning for eleven o'clock and lunch, but we decided to eat in the square in front of the brewery.

Originally planned to dine at the house of Derrick, the village chief, but cheerfully reminiscent of spring, Laurencia said, "Why don't we dine here? I think it feels very good," he said.

Derrick's house was right behind the brewery, from which tables and chairs were brought out.

There is just no parasol, so make a sunshine out of something like a simple tent with struts and sheets.

Three tables for six people are arranged, with the exception of the escort and the Lawrencians' maids taking their seats.

The table was hung with a beautiful cross with a checkered pattern, decorated with flowers that had been prepared, and the hills combined with the sprawling vineyards in front of it were as interesting as a garden restaurant.

Did you make the dishes in a temper, or they line up dishes unique to the land, such as stewed dishes made with red wine that they've been planting since last night and eels that can be caught on the Seawell River.

In addition to the red wines of the new liquor, there were also white wines for self-consumption, which were fully satisfactory.

There was just something that bothered me. That's what Laurencia suggested to eat near the field.

"Were you ever eaten in a place like this?

Answer my question, "No, I don't."

"I heard they often banquet outdoors in the village of Rasmore. That's what I came up with."

During the trip from Ezarrington to Seawell, we were talking about a lot in the carriage. Laurencia has often asked about her interests and her life in the village of Rasmore. There was talk of a banquet with the Dwarves in it, and they remembered that.

"It would be nice to have a fresh meal like this, sister," and Primrose joins the conversation.

"Right. Suggest to your father that you eat in the mansion garden when you return to Imperial City…"

Looking at it this way, I think we're really close sisters.

I grew up in the Duke's house of the Kaelm Empire, a superpower, so I thought it felt a little more giddy, but we're really close.

I was talking to Liddy and Beatrice next to each other because the two warrants sitting in front were talking.

"... when I heard you were headed to Imperial Capital, I didn't think you'd be so relaxed. But you still have this ahead of you..."

Liddy squeaks so smugly.

Beatrice agrees with it, mouthing the red wine.

"Right. I wish I could go on like this forever."

With the Laurencians in front of us, we can't talk about stepping in any further.

"Right. Delicious liquor and delicious food. Plus I don't have to worry about getting attacked by demons and bandits. Ideal for these laid-back lands."

White clouds float in the sky and the voice of the little bird, a BGM, is pleasant. Slow time was flowing.

Mel and Sharon are baking the care of Theo, Serra, Sofia, and Luna, and are not part of the story.

Dan, but somehow I was caught by Victoria, the Viscountess of Radford, talking with her face red. I didn't hear the story, but they seem to be asking me about our relationship somehow.

Before one o'clock in the afternoon, we'll finish lunch and head back to Seawell City.

I haven't drunk enough to turn around, but the refreshing breeze entering through the carriage window makes me feel comfortable on my cheeks a little lit.

Returning to Seawell Castle, Marquis Seawell and Civilian Representative Ledley Sutherland were waiting with their fathers.

"I wonder how it went, the brewery," says Marquis Seawell. I'm smiling, but my eyes aren't smiling much and I seem to want to hear the results.

"We have made some suggestions. I was planning to report it later, but if I didn't seem to have time, I would report it right away?

"No, that doesn't extend. Dalungton, I need a report when Ignacious returns."

Ordered to do so, he turned to us immediately,

"Shall we come to the vault? It would help if you could give me a good opinion here."

There is a bitter smile in the words.

(I'm not that familiar with wine... I know I'm expecting it because it tastes so good with long-term aging...)

Head to the basement with Dalungton in the lead.

Since Seawell here is also the standard castle city of the Empire, the structure of the castle is also standard design.

The castle in the Imperial fortified city also serves as a defensive facility, but has a strong shade as an administrative agency in one way or another.

That said, it is also a battle castle, so there are basements that store food, etc., and dungeons that accommodate prisoners.

They use it for underground storage, but they've never used it for the original purpose of underground dungeons.

This is the reason why prisons are not used, but because normal criminals are held in cells in the guard's quarters after they are arrested. And in a relatively short period of time, the trial takes place and the sentence is executed.

Incidentally, there is no prison sentence or imprisonment, and if it is a minor offence, serious crimes such as fines, service labor, murder or robbery are capital punishment or criminal slave falls, and the cells in the defensive squad quarters are not so overcrowded.

Go down the stairs to the basement behind the castle. The staircase is large enough for the two of them to walk side by side, making it a bulging stone wall. This part, like the foundations of the castle, seems to be made of earthly attribute magic.

I feel dim in my eyes used to the brightness outside, although it is illuminated by the magic props of the lights that are there by the way. There is no feeling that it is cool in the middle of winter, on the contrary, I feel a little warm.

We go into the basement about seven or eight meters down, but although there are columns a few meters apart, they are tall enough up to the arched ceiling to feel wider than we thought.

Down the stairs seems to be a vault, but crates, hemp bags, etc. are only somewhat neglected. There are dozens of wine barrels lined up in the back, but they're not for long-term aging, they're for consumption in the castle.

(You don't have food stored. As crisis management, is this okay?

Sutherland explained to me whether such a question had come to my face.

"It's for stockpiling emergency food and weapons, but emergency food is stored in military garrisons, and weapons and knights are only needed to this extent..."

The battle is not assumed because Seawell was a city that was built in the early days of the Imperial Nation and has never been a battlefield, with the Grand Duke of Langton to the east and the Duke of Ezarrington to the west.

Furthermore, the Knights of Seawell are small in size and are essentially just a Marquis escort just by the name of the Knights. Security in the area is the responsibility of the garrisoned Imperial Army.

We are extremely afraid of the rebellion of senior nobles in the Empire, and even the Duke of Ezarrington family, with its hundreds of thousands of inhabitants, has only about two thousand troops, leading to the Seawell family of only three hundred.

In our case, it's a vigilante, so it's not a simple comparison, but the number of soldiers held by the Lockhart family and the number of soldiers in the prestigious Marquis is not so different. Even though the real numbers are the same, the Lockhart family is overwhelmingly higher in strength.

Preparedness for natural disasters, etc., but basically, they haven't done it.

Not to wonder if it is ok in crisis management, but there have never been major natural disasters such as major floods, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions in the southern realm of the Empire, nor has there been famine because it is a rich land, which until now has not had to be prepared.

Emergency food provided for the garrison is used by the Imperial Army when dispatching, but can be diverted in the event of small disasters like village units. This is one of the reasons why you don't need to stockpile in a castle.

"... the size here, but about the same as the size of the castle, in places like the ninety m (melt) square. Of course, not everything works because of the large columns and thick walls that support the castle"

There was a light leaking out of the ceiling as I walked through a cancerous basement listening to Sutherland's explanation.

Looking up, it looks like that's the only square wooden ceiling that can unload large baggage from here.

"You can get in and out of here, too. The upper room has lifting equipment and is connected to the outside so it can be loaded and unloaded into the carriage…"

Walking further, there was a dungeon fitted with an iron lattice. And there was a shelf built there.

"It will be a wine that has been aging since last year. We haven't produced the bottle in time, so we only have about a thousand bottles yet."

The shelves were like racks, and bottles of wine were laid in a row. If I looked closely, the shape of the bottle was incorrect and I guess I couldn't stack it up.

Marquis Seawell takes out a bottle.

"Compared to what you made, it was made in my territory. Too few craftsmen and earthly magicians. Few craftsmen, but no more magicians. I managed to scout the young magician, but the number and quality are the problem..."

Looks like the craftsman I suggested made a rough shape and adopted a method whereby earthly attribute magicians do plastic surgery. However, due to the small number of magicians and even lower levels, the daily production volume is only about thirty. Still, I have secured nearly six thousand bottles for this year's new liquor.

Receive the bottle from the Marquis and check carefully.

The bottle is close to Burgundy's on the shoulder, but the colour is not on the glass and remains transparent. Probably because what I gave you as a sample was transparent. I could have coloured green or brown, but I didn't have to colour in storage magic because I didn't have to. There were also questions about whether colored glass could be made stably.

The bottle itself is a solid object, but it is still a little snoring and subtly different in size compared to other bottles.

The cork portion was sealed with wax and no signs of wine leaking were seen.

"The shape is a little snoring, but it won't be a practical problem. The cork part seems to be processed well, and I think it will be able to withstand enough aging for a few years."

Below the Marquis exhales a sigh of relief in my words.

"I'd be relieved if you could say that. I don't mind the details, so I'd like you to let me know if you notice anything."

"Okay. I will now explain…"

I told him what I had in mind.

I take notes when Darnton says, "I'm sorry. Again there," I interrupted many times, but enough to finish the explanation.

"… that's what I came up with, but I think it will be better quality combined with improvements during the brewing phase"

At the end of the explanation, somehow the Marquises had a tired look on their face.

"... um. Thank you for your valuable input. Ignacious will be back tonight, so you may ask for more details, but thank you then."

That completes today's inspection.