Important Mail

These past few days, Edward had nothing much to do. The princess and the genius magic girl hadn't come to bother him. Only Pastor Elvin visited the alchemy shop a few times to ask about questions he didn't understand—things like precautions for making fermented bread, or other ways to cook potatoes.

Edward even made the young pastor some french fries, chips, stir-fried shredded potatoes, and potato beef stew. Harry, who was eating lunch with them, kept complaining about why they'd been eating potatoes every day for the past few days.

In the end, Edward also told the baby-faced pastor that it wasn't just potatoes. The corn and sweet potatoes native to the New Continent were also crops that could solve famine. In this world, corn and sweet potatoes were only used as animal feed. He specifically pointed out that corn was valuable from head to toe—the stalks could be fodder, the kernels could be pressed for oil, and the leftover corn after pressing could be made into starch.

The baby-faced pastor nodded frequently while jotting down notes.

Speaking of sweet potatoes—what Edward called "dìguā" in his previous life—he also recalled a funny incident from when he first awakened his past-life memories. Back then, poisoned by certain time-travel novels he'd read in his previous life, he secretly found a bunch of sweet potatoes and ate them all. But the expected magic power increase never came. Instead, because he ate too many sweet potatoes, his stomach kept "venting" for days on end, making all his classmates keep their distance.

His shop's sales seemed to have picked up these past few days. The first to come buy the multi-purpose alchemy pot were actually fishermen introduced by Parala Fishing Net Shop, the neighbor at the street corner.

Fishermen had one of the toughest jobs in this world. Not to mention the risks of going out to sea, the winter wind on the ocean was biting cold, piercing to the bone. Even having a hot bowl of soup at sea was difficult. Since all ships were still made of wood, and fishing boats were relatively small, they carried very little fuel. Plus, for fire safety, they dared not easily light a fire.

Ever since Edward's alchemy pot appeared—a pot with no open flame, easy to carry, and with surprisingly safe fuel—it earned praise from the fishermen. But the price of 1 Golden Eagle coin was too shocking. A few times, owners of small fishing boats came to browse but couldn't bear to buy. When Edward heard this, he said to Harry:

"Tell them that anyone introduced after buying something from the neighborhood shop gets a 40% discount—not just the alchemy pot, but also the portable magic lamps over there and all the other alchemy goods in the camping section."

After another week passed, the alchemy shop actually sold 15 alchemy pots, 22 portable magic lamps, and a few other miscellaneous alchemy items. This month's sales revenue was closing in on 25 Golden Eagle coins. Edward deeply understood the truth that alchemists really weren't short on money. Even though he sold at a discount, his profit was still at least three times the production cost. Delighted, Edward gave Harry a 1 Golden Eagle coin commission.

As for why the magic lamps were more popular—even though they were cheaper to make than the pots—their windproof and waterproof feature was the reason all fishing boat owners gritted their teeth and prioritized buying them. Sometimes Edward underestimated how much darkness inconvenienced people in this era.

Today, Edward was working full throttle in the machining workshop underground in the backyard, restocking the shelves.

Since advancing to a full alchemist, his magic power and mental power had both improved significantly. Back when he was still an apprentice, he had ways to bypass the pitfall of insufficient magic power by using external magic power instead. But mental power had always been a hurdle, severely limiting his alchemy product output.

Now that he'd become a full alchemist, his mental power had surged more than tenfold. Even at the peak of his apprenticeship, thanks to his "spiritual root," his mental power and magic power were already much higher than other apprentices. Now, though he had no other alchemists to compare with, his mental power was more than a match for the genius magic girl's.

The goods sold over a week were restocked in just an hour. Just as he was putting the items into his spatial ring and getting ready to go upstairs to restock, the electric bell in the room rang. It must be Harry calling him from the front of the shop. He hurried over.

When he pulled open the back door of the shop, he saw the postman Mr. Zebra in a blue uniform, carrying a large bag. His thin horse was outside the window, a cloth bag over its mouth, leisurely chewing the fodder inside.

"Mr. Smith, your mail pickup notice. Please go to the Duchy Mage Guild to collect your exclusive mail. Yes, please sign here. Thank you."

Edward signed his name on the receipt slip and asked:

"Doesn't the mail get delivered by you, Mr. Zebra? Why do I have to go pick it up?"

"Sorry, Mr. Smith, this is the first time we've encountered this situation. Apparently, the mail is too important and must be collected by you in person."

"Is it from Ailande Third Magic Tower?" Edward asked with some understanding.

Mr. Zebra looked at the slip in his hand and said, "No, it was sent from Ailande First Magic Tower. The specific mail content is unknown."

"Alright, I'll go pick it up now."

"Goodbye, Mr. Smith."

"Goodbye."

On the other side, time went back to early morning. Morning light illuminated the top floor of the magic tower. Princess Andrea's aunt, Kaydelin—President of the White Hawk Duchy Magic Association and Head of the Duchy Mage Corps—was supervising her daughter Alice as she recited spells. Morning is the key to the day; early morning is when people are most clear-headed. Her daughter's morning homework had to be done properly. A few days ago, she'd been busy and lax with her daughter's discipline, and now the girl had started learning to sleep in. Today, she'd forcibly dragged Alice out of bed.

But the effect was clearly not great. The wine-red-haired girl was nodding off like a bowing insect in the morning light, her eyes half-open and half-closed.

Just as Kaydelin was about to go wake her dozing daughter, a magic array beside her lit up.

She walked over to the crystal ball at the center and placed her hand on it. A mental fluctuation came through.

"White Hawk Tower, White Hawk Tower. This is Ailande First. Do you copy? Over."

"Ailande First, this is White Hawk Tower. Copy. Over," Kaydelin replied.

"Large mail transmission incoming. Please activate reserve magic power. This transmission's magic cost is covered by the Alchemist Guild. Please accept with confidence. Over."

"Copy. Activated. Over."

"Transmission beginning now. Have a good afternoon—oh, I mean, good morning. Over."

Then, a halo black hole one meter in diameter appeared, and the entire top floor of the magic tower blazed with light. A long wooden box was spat out, landing on the floor with a thud. Fortunately, the magic array beneath the floor was sturdy enough not to be damaged.

Alice jolted awake and ran over to check. The magic light faded, and everything returned to calm.

"Mom, what's this?"

"A large mail transmission from Ailande First Magic Tower."

"Who's it for?"

"Let's see."

Alice crouched down and saw the box was locked tight. The lock on the wooden box even bore the ornament of the Alchemist Guild. A nameplate was attached to the box. She read aloud:

"Recipient: Edward Smith.

Address: 39 City Gate Street, White Eagle City, White Hawk Duchy.

Mail Content: Startup supplies for the White Hawk Duchy Branch of the Alchemist Association.

Sender: Headquarters Logistics Department, Pan-Continent Alchemist Association."

Then she said joyfully to her mother:

"I know that guy! Now we have an Alchemist Association branch too. I'll go call him to come pick it up!"

She stood up to run, but Kaydelin grabbed her by the back collar.

"You sit down and recite your spells properly. For something like this, just notify the postman to call him. Setting up a branch also requires signing a few documents with the Magic Guild. The Alchemist Association is a subordinate association under the main Magic Guild. That Edward Smith will be under my jurisdiction from now on."

With that, Kaydelin rang a bell. Before long, the maid on duty downstairs, Jessica, came up.

Kaydelin handed a form she had just finished writing to Jessica and said, "Find someone to send this to the post office immediately. It's urgent and must be delivered right away."

Just as Jessica bowed and prepared to withdraw, Alice pulled her aside and whispered a few words in her ear.

The maid acknowledged and withdrew.

"Is this Smith the guy who sold that sword to Princess Andrea?"

"Yes."

"Then tell me the full story in detail... and what kind of person is he really?"

While Alice was explaining the earlier events to her mother, the maid Jessica ordered a guard from the Duke's Mansion to run an errand to the post office on Flower Street.

The guard asked in confusion, "Why go to the post office? I could just deliver it directly."

"This is standard procedure; it has to go this way. And you fool, which is closer—Flower Street or City Gate Street?"

"You've got a point there." The young guard laughed and ran off.

After that, the maid Jessica pulled aside a passing young maid, whispered a few words to her, and the maid turned and ran off with a laugh.

Princess Andrea had just finished her sword practice today. With all her qi spent, she sat quietly meditating to recover her energy. Drops of sweat trickled from her cheeks down her long, slender neck, but she was completely unaware. Despite the deep winter cold, wisps of white steam rose from her head due to the heat radiating from her body. If Edward had seen this, he would have shouted, "This is Three Flowers Gather at the Top!"

These past few days, she had felt noticeable progress. Ever since she grasped that rhythm of the "Wave," wielding this sword felt like an extension of her own arm. The time needed to release Instant Qi had rapidly dropped to under a second. She believed she could master Instant Qi within the month, forming true sustained combat power. Moreover, she seemed to have touched on some trick, feeling that with just a little more progress, she could project qi out of her body like a Sky Knight, forming skills like Wind Blade or Crescent Moon Slash. This filled her with delight.

Finally, she steadied her breath. The family's Knight's Breathing Technique was remarkably effective at boosting qi. Her cultivation, which had stagnated for nearly a year, began to slowly rise again. Perhaps this was all due to the "Baptism." She was almost addicted to this feeling. But nothing should be rushed, she warned herself. Sometimes, overcoming the addiction to rapid strength gains was itself a test. If she couldn't stabilize her realm and master the fundamentals, a knight who advanced too quickly often died a miserable death.

At that moment, a maid carrying a towel walked in and said to her, "Princess, the dress you ordered a few days ago is finished. It's been placed in your room, and your bathwater is ready. Also..." The maid leaned in and whispered a few things in her ear. The princess nodded, a slight curve forming at the corners of her mouth. She returned to her bedroom to bathe.

Steam rose from the wooden bathtub. In her hand, she held a milky white, semi-transparent bar of soap. It was one of the trial packs that guy had included as a gift when he gave pastries to Alice last time. It was said to be infused with Rose Essential Oil, worth its weight in gold. It was very fragrant and produced plenty of bubbles. It didn't have the rough texture of the soap her aunt had brought back from Middle Earth last time.

The warm water washed away the fatigue and sweat from training. When she stepped out of the bathroom, her whole body felt dry and refreshed.

She walked to the bed. On it lay a blue dress with a white lining. Beside it was a White Fox Fur Cape, specially made for winter.

She put on the dress and spun around in front of the dressing mirror. The dress fit perfectly, but she felt something was missing. Then it dawned on her. She called for the maid Lulu to do her hair.

The nimble-fingered Lulu glanced at the portrait the princess had given her and immediately understood. She coiled the princess's long hair at the back of her head, securing the outer ring with braided strands, and tied a beautiful bow with a blue ribbon. Finally, she pulled over the large leather trunk, took out the gleaming silver armor, and helped the princess put it on.

"Your Highness, this armor is just for show; it feels so light."

"This armor and dress can't be worn in battle; they're only for ceremonial use."

"But you look so dashing in it! I've never seen a princess look so cool in a dress!"

"You and your sweet tongue..."

When the princess stepped out of the room, clad in her battle skirt, the White Fox Fur Cape draped over her shoulders, and her sheathed longsword in hand, she ran into the captain of the knights, Lainhardt, who had come to report.

The tall, young captain froze on the spot at the sight of the princess, forgetting to bow.

The mischievous Lulu waved her hand in front of the knight's eyes and said, "Wake up, Captain!"

Thank you all for your recommendation tickets, and for your support over these past few weeks. To be honest, this is my first time writing a novel. I got into this hobby starting with Mercenary World 18 years ago, and recently I've been starving for good books to read. So I decided to try writing one myself.

This book's style isn't set in stone yet; even the outline is still brewing. But I'll do my best to keep writing. I hope you'll continue to support me, and I hope more people will get to see it. Thank you!