Huh? What happened?
Carpenter jerked her head up... What was that noise outside?
Why was the whole aircraft shaking?
"Nothing's wrong. Keep setting things up." Russell glanced curiously at the puppets cleaning and carrying small pieces of luggage under Carpenter's direction. "Only these few left, huh?"
"They're enough. If I weren't trying to finish quickly, one puppet could clean up a space this small." Carpenter clenched her fists and concentrated on finishing her instructions... The rooms had all the necessary furnishings, but still lacked some curtains and coverings.
The sofa in the small sitting room was even a rarely seen fabric sofa... the kind made by layering thick linen and cotton over a metal frame. It counted as one of the more expensive pieces of furniture in this world.
After all, even for mages—well, low-rank mages, of course—cotton clothing was very expensive.
Once they reached the middle and higher ranks, they apparently could produce it themselves with certain material-transmutation spells.
Carpenter really looked forward to reaching that point herself. What girl didn't want pretty clothes?
Whether she wanted to wear them was another matter, but at least she ought to have them when she did!
Carpenter simply never intended to get them from anyone else. Whether it was her teacher, Gilbert, or her brother Russell, who treated her so well, she was unwilling to ask anyone for help with luxuries like these.
Even though she knew perfectly well that those two would have a much easier time obtaining those beautiful fabrics and lovely ornaments than she would.
But Carpenter understood very clearly... Seeking help from family and friends for the necessities of survival, to stay alive and avoid suffering, was perfectly normal.
Having grown up in a world like this, she knew how many people would crawl on their knees