Chapter 27
Early the next morning, we woke up and went to the royal palace to report that the Lucerne River turning pink was actually due to someone dumping poison into the water.
Lian Qi has been complaining these past few days that my coming and going from the royal palace is as simple as visiting a neighbor. It’s because I’m the Saintess; I really am free to go wherever I want, so I can only give her a weak laugh.
When I pushed open the palace doors, the first thing I saw was a black-haired man wearing a black mage’s robe. He was already standing on the red carpet below the throne, having been summoned by Tristina.
I pushed the door open and entered without a sound. This person looked a bit familiar…
Oh, right. I interact with a lot of people, so I remember who he is. This person is the royal court mage, Rogers. He has quickly risen to prominence among the younger generation of mages.
He saw me enter and looked at me expressionlessly, like a cold statue.
“Lady Saintess, I didn’t expect to run into you at the royal palace.”
“It’s nothing. Please, continue.”
I subconsciously stood a little further away from him, as if keeping my distance from the gloomy aura he naturally emits.
To be honest, I’m not very good at dealing with other boys. Because I’m always worrying… if they found out that I, the Saintess, am actually a boy, how would they react?
He finally stopped looking at me and turned his face back toward Tristina on the throne. Sometimes I’m terrified that someone’s magic might be ‘X-ray vision’ or something.
“Your Majesty, I will continue with our previous topic. I have good news for you: the magic potatoes cultivated in my magic lab have been a great success.”
“Magic potatoes?” Tristina asked.
At the mention of his potatoes, a rare trace of excitement appeared on Rogers’s face. It seemed to be his pride.
“Yes. I used magic to stimulate the potato tubers, causing a radical change in their internal structure. The magic potatoes we grow are more than ten times the size of normal potatoes. The largest can even grow to one hundred and fifty kilograms.”
“A one-hundred-and-fifty-kilogram potato!?” I was shocked. That’s heavier than me, Lian Qi, and Qifeng combined.
Rogers turned his face to me and said, “If the Saintess wants one, I can send you one.”
“No, no, that’s alright,” I quickly declined.
It’s too big. I can only sigh in awe at such a potato.
Rogers continued: “Your Majesty, my invention may have advanced agriculture to an unprecedented height. Even the problem of food for refugees can be solved.”
Eh? Rogers actually mentioned the food problem for refugees? A normal potato can’t even feed one person, but if it’s really as he described, one magic potato could feed ten people without a problem. Tristina couldn’t possibly not be tempted by this, right?
Just at that moment, a voice came from behind me—“Your Majesty, I do not agree with Rogers’s idea.”
Another voice of opposition?
I feel like I’ve stood in this palace and heard voices of opposition from behind me countless times.
I looked back. A young man in a white robe walked in. Judging by the style of the robe, he’s from the “White Tower”?
The newly arrived young man stood opposite Rogers. His white robe was a stark contrast to Rogers’s black robe.
“Lady Saintess, it is an honor to meet you in the royal palace.” The young man smiled at me. His head of slightly curly pink hair looked quite cheerful.
“You are?”
“I am the magic scholar, Mistrecui,1 from the White Tower. A student of Professor Einstein.”
I vaguely felt Lian Qi secretly tugging on the corner of my clothes, as if reminding me that this person might also be from the environmental protection side.
“I happened to have summoned him today as well,” Tristina said from the throne. “You just said you don’t agree with Rogers’s idea?”
Mistrecui pointed at Rogers, speaking righteously.
“Your Majesty, Rogers’s magic potatoes are mana food!”
“Mana food?” Tristina, sitting on the throne, gripped the armrests in surprise.
Rogers shot Mistrecui a fierce glare. I, on the other hand, was curious to hear what he would say next.
“Your Majesty, ‘mana food,’ as the name implies—is food that has been contaminated by magic! Long-term consumption of mana food will cause genetic deformities in offspring!”
“Are you an idiot?” Rogers said coldly.
Mistrecui ignored him and continued: “Rogers is trying to use the refugees as guinea pigs for his magic potatoes. His intentions are sinister!”
“Why don’t you just go die?” Rogers said viciously.
“Wa—? You’re threatening me in front of the Queen? Let me tell you, my efforts to make the citizens aware of the dangers of mana food have already infringed on the interests of certain groups. I’ve offended many people for it. I’ve received death threats more than once, but I will not bow to tyranny—”
”…”
Well said.
If it were anyone else, they might have been moved by him.
“But… aren’t almost all the crops sold in the market ‘mana food’? If you call on the citizens to boycott them, what are they supposed to eat?” I asked.
“That… Saintess-daren, please don’t worry. Our—‘Nature’s Home’s’—cultivated green, non-mana food is preparing to enter the farmer’s market. As long as Your Majesty approves, the citizens will be able to eat safe and healthy food at home from now on!” Mistrecui said.
“Oh?”
“Nature’s Home”… isn’t that the community Professor Einstein founded? They’re preparing to sell the green, non-mana food they grow?
I just listened quietly as he continued.
Then, he took a thin pamphlet from under his robe, one that promoted the green, non-mana food under the “Nature’s Home” banner, and handed it to me.
“Please take a look, Lady Saintess and Your Majesty.”
I flipped through it roughly. There were quite a few varieties: lettuce, tomatoes, goblin green beans, and so on.
“Would you like to take a look, Lord Rogers?” Mistrecui asked deliberately.
“Get lost. It can’t even be compared to my magic potatoes,” Rogers said, full of disdain.
Mistrecui continued nonstop: “The products in this pamphlet, from tilling the soil and sowing the seeds to harvesting, do not rely on magic at all. It’s not just about health. I guarantee the taste is completely different from mana food cultivated with magic. You can taste the purest, most authentic flavor of nature.”
“Not relying on magic? Are you primitive men living in caves?” Rogers said coldly.
“But this… price… it’s more than five times more expensive than the crops on the market, isn’t it?”
Because I usually go to the market to buy groceries, I have some understanding of the market prices. This price was indeed absurdly expensive.
I walked up to the throne and handed the promotional pamphlet to Tristina to look over.
“Lady Saintess, our ‘Nature’s Home’ doesn’t rely on magic at all during the cultivation process, so it’s normal for the cost to be a little higher than average,” Mistrecui said meaningfully. “Besides, food safety is no small matter. For the sake of their family’s health, who would care about this little bit of money?”
Footnotes
-
密斯特崔 (Mìsītècuī) appears to be a phonetic transliteration. “Mistrecui” is a possible rendering. ↩