Whether it was the already established Dragon Ember Empire or the still-nascent All Nations Alliance, Tribios remained indifferent. She maintained a detached interest in the outside world, but it was merely observation.
Tribios nodded. "I understand. Is there anything else?"
Melly replied, "It's about what you mentioned earlier, Teacher—that 'movie' concept. We've made some initial progress!"
The Divination School possessed numerous magic spells with retrospective effects, such as the Third-Level Retrace Spell, which allowed users to view events from the past three days in a specific location, replaying them like a movie on a Crystal Ball.
Using this spell as a blueprint, with slight modifications, one could create a Crystal Ball capable of recording and playback, essentially turning it into a camera. With novels and comics already established, wouldn't film naturally follow?
"Really?" Tribios's face lit up with surprise. "So soon?"
Barely half a month had passed since she first mentioned the idea to Melly. This progress was remarkably rapid!
Melly nodded, pulling out several fist-sized black glass spheres from her pocket. "This is it," she said, "but they haven't recorded anything yet."
As she handed the spheres to Tribios and briefly explained how to use them, she grew bashfully hesitant. "By the way, Teacher, didn't you promise me you'd grant me a request if I succeeded?"
Tribios thought for a moment. Ah, right. That's why she worked so hard, she thought. "What do you want?"
To be honest, Tribios had expected requests like "a promotion and raise," "increased funding for the Magic Engineering Academy," or "some divine power-infused artifacts." Instead, Melly lowered her head, nervously twisting the hem of her robe as she mumbled, "The winery, following your suggestion, developed a method for brewing fruit wines, especially grape wine. They say wine made from grapes trodden by young girls has the best flavor."
"Teacher, could you... stomp some grapes for my wine?"
Tribios froze for a few seconds, blinking her beautiful eyes in stunned silence. Sensing her hesitation, Melly quickly added, "If you can't, it's fine. After all, you're always so... busy..."
Tribios's lips twitched slightly. The child had clearly caught her slacking off, yet she still dared to speak to her like this.
Tribios stood up and patted Melly's head. Even as a grown woman, Tribios still towered over Melly by about half a head. The height difference was further exaggerated by Tribios's constant wearing of high heels, a habit Melly never adopted.
"How many times have I told you?" Tribios said. "You don't need to be so formal with me. Just treat me like a friend. I was merely a little surprised by your request—I never said I'd refuse."
In truth, after Olivia, Jay, Tide, and the others had left, Melly was probably the only person in all of Okhema who could be considered half a friend to Tribios.
Most of the city's commoners inevitably treated her with great reverence due to her status as the Holy Maiden. Whether they were factory workers or Public Servants in the Administrative Building, their relationships with Tribios were strictly hierarchical, like that between boss and employee.
Even many children at the Augustus School worshipped her like an idol, making genuine friendship with them impossible.
Only Melly could speak to Tribios so casually. The reason they were considered "half-friends" was because the girl still held her in great respect. Despite Tribios having only taught Melly to read for a year, the girl had called her "Teacher" for years.
"Really? That's wonderful! Thank you, Teacher!" Melly exclaimed excitedly.
"Which is why I keep telling you, stop calling me 'Teacher' and just use my name," Tribios sighed in exasperation.
But Melly countered, "But Teacher, your name is too long! 'Teacher' sounds so much warmer and easier to say."
This hadn't occurred to Tribios. She pondered for a moment, realizing her name was indeed rather lengthy. "Then how about 'Little Trib'? No, wait... 'Tribbie'? What do you think? Isn't it cute and easy to say?"
Hearing this, Melly nodded her little head frantically. "Teacher Tribbie? What an adorable nickname!"
Tribios stared blankly.
This isn't quite how I imagined it, she thought. Resigned, she sighed again and left with Melly, heading toward the brewery.
On the way, she couldn't help but ask, "So, why do I have to stomp the wine grapes? Shouldn't the taste be the same no matter who stomps them?"
Melly replied with righteous conviction, "Of course not! The taste would definitely be different if you had a burly man who hasn't showered in days stomp them versus a beautiful young girl!"
Tribios pondered for a moment. "That... does make sense."
However, what Melly meant wasn't about the taste itself, but the 'mood' while drinking. If you didn't specify, would anyone be able to taste the difference between wine stomped by a "burly man" and wine stomped by a "young girl"?
But if you announced it beforehand, everyone would undoubtedly choose the "young girl" wine over the "burly man" wine. After all, drinking is primarily about enjoyment and pleasure. Tribios glanced down at her small, delicate feet—they were undeniably beautiful, and just looking at them brought a sense of joy.
Now that various alcoholic beverages were so common in Okhema, anyone could buy them. But wine stomped by her own feet would undoubtedly become a super bestseller!
Soon, the pair arrived at the winery and stood before a large wooden barrel that had been prepared in advance. It was filled with crimson 'grapes'—a fruit discovered several years ago by a spy gathering intelligence abroad. Aside from their color, these fruits were identical in taste and growth habits to the grapes Tribios had known in her previous life, so she had simply named them 'grapes.'
Tribios meticulously washed her feet with water before removing her high heels and stepping into the barrel.
Squelch!
The delicate fruits burst beneath her feet, transparent juice spraying out and splashing onto her feet and lower legs. She instinctively wiggled her toes, feeling the sticky, slightly uncomfortable sensation.
But seeing Melly's expectant expression beside her, she placed her other foot in the barrel as well, now standing completely within the barrel.
Though Tribios was remarkably light, the grapes beneath her feet were even more fragile. She could clearly feel the grapes flattening under her weight, estimating that she had sunk about a centimeter lower into the barrel.
Tribios began walking around the wooden barrel in a leisurely manner, as if taking a stroll. But Melly immediately interjected, "Teacher Tribbie! That's not how you stomp grapes! Imagine the grapes under your feet are the faces of your enemies, or bugs! You have to stomp them down with force!"
Imagine them as enemies? Tribios glanced down at her feet, slick and sticky with translucent juice. Wouldn't stomping an enemy's face like this actually be rewarding them?
She quickly shook her head. This method is far too avant-garde. In her previous life, this would undoubtedly be considered a reward, but in this world, it would likely be a genuine form of humiliation.
As for Melly's second suggestion—imagining the grapes as insects? Tribios shuddered involuntarily. That's just too disgusting.
Still, she understood the key point. Abandoning her leisurely stroll, Tribios began stomping with deliberate force. To put it simply, if she were watching someone else stomp grapes like this, she might find it somewhat suggestive and alluring. But doing it herself felt awkward and utterly tedious.
The stickiness between her toes was unbearably uncomfortable, and the repetitive labor was mind-numbingly boring. It was only thanks to Tribios' exceptional physical fitness that she could endure this. For an ordinary young woman, this would have been an exhausting task, and stomping an entire barrel of grapes would have taken hours.
Finally, after nearly an hour of relentless work, Tribios had stomped the grapes down to a pulp. She hopped out of the barrel barefoot, leaving a trail of sticky footprints as she dashed to the foot-washing station. She scrubbed vigorously for ages before her feet were finally clean.
By the time she returned in her high heels, the barrel had already been moved by the staff. Melly asked, "Teacher Tribbie, would you like me to bring you some of this batch of wine once it's brewed?"
"Well..." Tribios's first instinct was to refuse, but then she reconsidered. If no one else minded—if they didn't care that the wine had been stomped by her feet—why should she be squeamish about it? Besides, she was curious about the taste. So she changed her mind and said, "Then yes, please bring me some."
Roughly a month later, the batch of wine was finally brewed. Tribios received a bottle of the finished product immediately, which she shared with Melly.
Tribios took a small sip and had to admit that Okhema's winemaking techniques had matured significantly. The flavor was truly excellent, closely resembling the wines she had enjoyed in her previous life.
Across from her, Melly also took a small sip. Her cheeks flushed visibly as she murmured, "Mmm~ A true vintage! It tastes just like Teacher Tribbie. So delicious~"
Tribios blinked in confusion. "Huh?"
But it just tastes like regular wine to me! How can she taste my flavor in it? Is this just a psychological trick?
Deliberately, Tribios had prepared a bottle of ordinary wine. She poured herself a glass of the regular wine for comparison and took a sip. To her surprise... the wine she had personally stomped actually tasted better?
Within days, news of the "Holy Maiden Wine" spread like wildfire across Okhema, though no one knew where the rumor originated. Nearly everyone clamored to buy a bottle.
Even more absurdly, despite Tribios having only stomped a single barrel, the "Holy Maiden Wine" sold out for an entire week without running out. This immediately reminded her of the endless supply of '82 Lafite Rothschild from her previous life. When Tribios sent people to investigate, they discovered the truth: counterfeit wine was being sold!
Naturally, the man was immediately arrested and imprisoned in the newly completed tower, becoming its second inmate.
Since the founding of Okhema, the city's security had been exceptionally tight. A popular rumor claimed the Holy Maiden possessed the ability to foresee the future, warning would-be criminals to prepare for her divine gaze.
With the belief that "the gods watch from above" and the ease of self-sufficiency in Okhema, crime was practically nonexistent. As for the merchant selling counterfeit wine, he had clearly been blinded by greed and lost his senses.
Since this merchant was the tower's second guest, it's worth mentioning the first inmate. He was an even more extraordinary individual. No one knows how he managed it, but he slipped out of Okhema and fled all the way into the territory of the Five Kingdoms.
When Tribios first learned of this, she initially feared he might betray Okhema and dispatched numerous spies to pursue him. However, it turned out the man had gone to seek revenge, assassinating nobles of the Five Kingdoms. Incredibly, he succeeded multiple times!
By the time they finally caught him, he had already assassinated at least five powerful nobles. Regardless of his motives, leaving Okhema without permission was a cardinal sin. Tribios herself personally apprehended him and sent him to the tower for a six-month sentence as punishment, hoping it would give him time to cool down.
In any case, the Holy Maiden Wine incident was just a minor episode. Time continued to flow, and in the twentieth year since Okhema's founding, the Dragon Ember Kingdom grew increasingly powerful and officially renamed itself the Dragon Ember Empire.
By the thirtieth year, the Dragon Ember Empire had devoured nearly all the lands to the west and began its advance eastward, targeting the more fertile lands where the five kingdoms lay.
Before this, the lands of the five kingdoms had been in constant turmoil. But that same year, under immense external pressure, smaller states were forced to unite.
Moreover, for the past three decades, the Bard had relentlessly hunted nobles, aided the common people, and propagated the ideal of a nation without nobility. The nascent All Nations Alliance began to take shape.
In the thirty-fifth year, due to overexpansion, minor internal problems forced the Dragon Ember Empire to halt its conquests and recuperate. In that same year, the All Nations Alliance was formally established.
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Spy-Fanservice for the feet fiends...