Time passed along with the heavy rain.
Day turned to night, and night returned to dawn.
Finihiya had just stepped out from the library she built inside the mansion, her two slender hands—so delicate they seemed easily breakable—holding a thick, heavy book.
She walked slowly along the corridor, which shimmered faintly like flowing cold water. Her downcast eyes were involuntarily drawn to the soft rustling sound of the rain.
Tilting her head slightly, she gazed at the scenery before her, stained gray by the rain, presenting a dull, murky tone.
The eyes that once sparkled like glass now carried a hint of dimness.
It was July.
Since it was July, naturally it was still the Plum Rain Season, during which rain was perfectly normal.
But…
The continuous drizzle before her seemed to soak into the very depths of one’s soul, stirring a slight melancholy in her emotions.
After a brief moment of watching, Finihiya shook her head lightly, as if trying to cast away the gloomy mood.
Just as she took quick steps toward the pavilion in the garden, voices of the maids chatting suddenly came from the end of the corridor.
Although the conversation was soft, and the distance far, in such a quiet time, the voices sounded like droplets falling onto a still water surface.
“Your hair’s tangled here.”
“Tangled again?”
“Mm!”
“Can it be brushed out?”
“Ah, heh heh… at this point, probably not. It basically has to be cut off.”
“Noooo!!!”
She listened to the voices.
Not long after, two demi-human women dressed in maid uniforms turned the corner at the end of the corridor.
“Lady Finihiya!”
“Lady Finihiya!”
Both politely bowed to her.
Seeing this, she returned a faint, gentle smile and nodded at them.
After a brief gesture, Finihiya resumed her quick steps forward.
But just after two or three steps, she suddenly seemed to remember something and gradually stopped moving.
Standing still, she tilted her body slightly and looked over at the two maids’ hair.
In the light, their hair appeared dry and dull.
Watching this scene, Finihiya lowered her gaze to her own rich, glossy golden hair.
Perhaps because of her race, her hair always remained fluffy and smooth, as if freshly washed.
Thinking this, Finihiya raised her right hand, gently rubbing a strand of hair that fell over her forehead with her delicate, fair fingertips.
A confused, almost muttering voice slipped from her lips, as fresh as cherries.
“…Shampoo?”
With that thought, she turned and walked back.
Pushing open the library door, she scanned the spines of the books along the wall one by one.
A few days ago, she had read a book recording various plants.
Not searching for long—just a brief moment—she found the book, thicker even than the one in her arms, tucked away in the corner of the shelf.
Pulling it out with some effort, Finihiya carried the enormous book—about half her body size—stumbling slightly as she made her way to the wooden table nearby.
She placed the book on the table, sighed wearily, and opened it, searching for the plants related to making shampoo that she remembered.
Life.
Although this civilization had simple soap to wash the body, shampoo specifically for washing hair did not yet exist.
In the world she came from, soap was invented very early, traceable back to the 3rd century BC.
But shampoo was only invented two thousand years later, in the 20th century.
If she could create a prototype of shampoo here, the money earned from the patent could be used to help and improve the lives of those children.
Thinking this, Finihiya studied the various plants recorded in the book carefully.
Fortunately, the ecology here was very similar to that of her world; most of the plants and animals existed here as well.
Of course, most but not all…
There were quite a few that did not exist here, and this world’s biodiversity was even richer—probably because of its more expansive geography.
She certainly couldn’t make the advanced shampoo requiring high-tech machinery, nor did she know how.
***
However, a relatively simple version was within her ability.
Because its actual production was very, very simple.
When she was young and in school, she had once made a rough version of shampoo for a homework assignment.
She could make two types of shampoo prototypes.
The first, the most traditional, was made by boiling and filtering spices like Rose, Camellia, and Mint in soapy water.
Of course, the soap used here required a somewhat more complex craft.
The second type used Soap Tree and Soap Pod as the main ingredients, adding in spices like Rose.
Considering the first required somewhat troublesome soap, she prioritized trying the second simpler method.
If the second failed, she would reconsider the first method.
The difficulty with the second shampoo lay in whether the Soap Tree and Soap Pod could be found easily.
These plants must exist here because she had seen them recorded in this very plant book before.
A breeze blew in from the windowsill, gently flipping the page corners.
Finihiya sat elegantly in her chair, her eyes scanning the numerous plant names in the book one by one.
After a long search relying on memory, she finally found the entry on Soap Tree on page 127.
Soap Pod was recorded further back, on page 136.
After confirming the plants were correct, Finihiya was about to carry the book over to find Danila but gave up due to its weight.
Pushing open the library door, she followed the corridor to the distant stairway.
Walking down the Half-spiral Staircase adorned with a dazzling array of sculptures, she soon spotted Danila’s back in the spacious hall.
Danila seemed to be instructing the servants on cleaning.
Perhaps seeing Finihiya approaching, Danila withdrew her gaze from the servants and showed her usual gentle smile.
“Lady Finihiya.”
Finihiya bowed politely in response, her voice soft and sweet as she replied,
“Lady Danila.”
“Hmm?” Danila’s voice showed a sudden note of surprise, then she asked with slight teasing, “Why aren’t you carrying a book today, Lady Finihiya?”
Her words seemed to lightly tease her.
Finihiya paid no mind and spoke quietly but politely,
“Um… may I trouble you for something? I want to find two things.”
Of course…
She wouldn’t search for the Soap Tree and Soap Pod herself—doing so would be too foolish.