"Look! It's Lord Rest!"
"Our lord has arrived! Quick, everyone, prepare a welcome!"
The moment Rest and Celestine set foot in the coastal village, the inhabitants erupted into a frenzy of activity.
Because he had previously slain the Sea Dragon that once terrorized their shores, Rest was revered as nothing less than a hero in these parts. The second he showed his face, a festive atmosphere took hold, and a crowd of villagers quickly swarmed around him.
"Lord Rest! Lord Rest!"
"We are honored by your visit! We shall hold a feast tonight!"
"Bless you, my lord, bless you..."
A few of the villagers even went so far as to press their palms together and bow as if in prayer.
It was bordering on uncomfortable. Rest realized that even the most heartfelt goodwill could be a bit overwhelming when taken to such extremes.
"What brings you to us today, Lord Rest?" the village representative asked, his face split by a wide, cheerful grin.
"I came to see the progress of the distillery. I heard the new spirit was finally finished."
"Ah, I see, I see! Then allow me to show you the way immediately."
Still beaming, the representative led Rest and Celestine toward a building situated at the far end of the village.
"Is this the distillery...?"
The structure had a distinctly Japanese aesthetic. Like the other buildings in the area, it was a wooden construction, but the roof was lined with rows of tiles. Upon closer inspection, the tiles were somewhat misshapen and clumsy—clearly the work of someone attempting to replicate a design they had only seen in passing.
"What’s with the roof?" Rest asked.
"Ah, we made that on Madam Sanada's instructions, my lord. She was quite adamant that not a single drop of rainwater should be allowed to leak inside."
"I see. That makes sense."
Rest nodded. He didn't know the first thing about making liquor, but he was certain that letting rainwater contaminate the batch was a recipe for disaster. She must have gone to the trouble of having a tiled roof built specifically to ensure a proper seal.
"Now then, please, step inside."
"Whoa..."
As they entered, several large wooden barrels immediately caught his eye.
"Are these... the distilled spirits?"
"No, that is the base alcohol used for the distillation process," Celestine answered, following him into the room. "I commissioned merchants to procure various batches and had them transported here."
She turned to Rest, her expression professional yet enthusiastic. "Following the recipes Madam Sanada left behind, distilled spirits are produced by heating fermented alcohols—such as wine—and then cooling the resulting vapor. We’ve brought in several different varieties to test which ones produce the highest-quality spirit."
"I see... It’s more complicated than I thought," Rest replied with a vague nod, trying to sound as if he understood more than he actually did.
Having been a mere high school student in his previous life, alcohol had been a distant concept to him. If he was being honest, he barely grasped the fundamental difference between fermented and distilled spirits.
"We pour the alcohol into a specialized apparatus and apply heat. Since it’s difficult to secure a steady supply of firewood in this village, we use heating magic items instead," Celestine explained as she led him into the back room.
Sitting there was a large metal contraption. A pipe extended from the top of a massive, bottle-shaped vessel, winding its way through a cooling tank filled with water before terminating at a separate container.
"Before we took over the project, the equipment was much smaller and made of cheap bronze. We’ve since replaced them with these larger models made from a high-quality magic alloy."
"Is the cooling water... seawater?"
"Yes. The condensation process requires a vast amount of water, so we draw it directly from the sea. I’ve also commissioned craftsmen to manufacture even newer apparatuses. In time, we should be able to mass-produce spirits of even greater quality."
Rest found himself completely overwhelmed by her explanation.
She’s built all of this up so thoroughly... Well, I knew she was taking this seriously, but this is incredible.
The fact that she had established such a sophisticated environment and gathered all the necessary equipment in such a short window of time spoke volumes about Celestine’s administrative talent. Shoko Sanada had clearly put in a monumental amount of effort to lay the groundwork, but it was Celestine who had brilliantly brought her unfinished dream to fruition.
She really is amazing...
It was a thought he often had about Viola, Primula, and Yuri as well. He found himself wondering, quite seriously, if someone as incredible as Celestine should really be settled with a fiancé like him.
He couldn't help but feel a twinge of inferiority, convinced that a woman of her caliber deserved a far more distinguished man.
"...I need to work harder. At everything."
He muttered the vow under his breath. He didn't want to be left behind, and he certainly didn't want to disappoint her. Rest steeled his resolve, promising himself that he would put in every ounce of effort required to stand worthily at her side.