I Don't Know the Original, I'm Too Busy Trying to Make a Living-Chapter 181

Penelope felt a shiver run down her spine. To think they had completed both the dryer and the iron in just ten days—it was unbelievable, even seeing it with her own eyes.

Technically, it had all been done within a week. The steam iron, of course, was an exception.

Penelope was genuinely curious about the principles of magical engineering. How could such devices be developed so quickly? The mechanics behind it fascinated her.

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‘Should I ask Ahwin about it later?’

As she sneaked a glance at Ahwin, he caught on immediately and looked back at her.

“What? Should we head back now?”

“Oh, I suppose we should.”

Penelope’s curiosity about the steam iron’s creation process remained, but there didn’t seem to be a place for her to observe without getting in the way. She didn’t want to disrupt the concentration of the mages bustling about the workshop.

Turning to Professor Orlan, Penelope said, “I think it’s time for us to leave.”

“You’re leaving already? I should at least offer you some tea.”

“Let’s save that for your next visit to the manor. I wouldn’t want to disrupt your work any further.”

“Disrupt? Not at all! On the contrary, you’ve been a great help. You immediately grasped the nuances of these new devices. Truly befitting the person who drew up the schematics.”

“Haha.”

Penelope could only laugh awkwardly.

‘It’s not that hard to figure out once you’ve used a dryer a few times.’

Her past life’s memories of using a dryer at her grandmother’s house were proving surprisingly useful. Learning how to operate it through trial and error had paid off in this strange way.

‘Ugh, that admiring gaze is a bit much.’

Now, Professor Orlan seemed to regard Penelope as a once-in-a-century genius. Lecter’s gaze wasn’t much different. Even Ruv and Katheryn’s attitudes appeared to have shifted slightly.

Penelope felt an urgent need to leave.

“Well, we’ll be on our way.”

Grabbing Ahwin’s hand, she quickly led him out of the workshop. He followed her without resistance.

***

Three Days Later.

Professor Orlan and Lecter visited the manor, bringing with them the completed dryer and iron.

To Penelope’s astonishment, they had even finished the steam iron.

She gathered all the manor’s servants in the Great Hall to witness the demonstration. She also had the maids bring tubs filled with wet laundry and asked the servants to set up ironing boards and mops.

Once everything was ready, the knights and retainers descended into the hall in a group.

“We heard there’s going to be a demonstration of the new magical tools.”

“Is this one of the new devices?”

“This one’s quite large.”

The retainers, aware of Penelope’s past invention of the hairdryer while she was in the capital, showed keen interest. Back then, they had only heard about her achievements through newspapers and communication orbs, feeling vicariously proud ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) of her greatness.

But now, they could witness the unveiling of a new invention firsthand. The retainers were filled with pride and excitement.

‘Even when she created the underfloor heating system, it was impressive.’

Juggling her duties as lord while also developing new magical tools—such feats continually reminded them of Penelope’s genius.

Even her secretary, Yvette, couldn’t hide her amazement as she stood beside Penelope. Having witnessed the inception of the dryer idea during one of Penelope’s visits to the laundry yard, Yvette now saw the fruits of that concept materialize in less than a month. Her admiration for Penelope had grown to boundless levels.

“We’ll start with the dryer,” Penelope announced.

Yvette and the others fell silent in anticipation. The maids, in particular, clasped their hands together, their faces alight with excitement as they watched the dryer.

Professor Orlan stepped forward to demonstrate. He carefully spread the wet clothes out in the tub, closed the internal cover, and sealed the main lid.

“It’s important to spread the clothes evenly in the tub. If the balance is off, the dryer won’t function properly, so please keep that in mind.”

The maids listened intently, determined to remember every detail of his instructions.

“Now, I’ll turn it on.”

Professor Orlan pressed the start button. The tub began to spin.

Thunk, thunk-thunk, thunk...

Someone gulped audibly. Then, to everyone’s shock—

Clang-clang, clang, CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG!

The dryer suddenly started moving erratically, vibrating and hopping as if it had come to life.

Caught off guard, Professor Orlan froze. The sheer number of onlookers only heightened his panic.

“T-this is...”

Quick to react, Penelope ran over and pressed down on the dryer with her body. The tub, which had been bouncing wildly, gradually stabilized.

“...!”

Thunk, thunk-thunk, whoosh...

The sound of water draining followed. Soon, water began flowing out through the connected hose into the drain.

At Penelope’s signal, the servants rushed forward with mops to clean up the spilled water. As the draining sound subsided, Professor Orlan pressed the stop button, and the spinning tub gradually slowed to a halt.

When Professor Orlan looked to Penelope, she explained calmly, “It seems the floor isn’t level. The workshop floors were likely different from the ones here. We’ll need to include a note in the instructions to ensure the floor is level when installing the dryer.”

“Ah, I see. Once again, I’ve learned something from you.”

“Haha, it’s nothing. Shall we check the laundry?”

Penelope tried to brush off the compliment, but it didn’t work. Professor Orlan gave her a solemn bow, and everyone else in the hall—retainers and servants alike—looked at her with admiration.

‘Oh no, this is so embarrassing! I didn’t even do anything—it was just from memories, from my past life, from my grandmother’s house...!’

Her face flushed with heat. Receiving praise for something that wasn’t truly her doing felt unbearably awkward. Despite all the bold business endeavors she had taken on, she wasn’t prepared for this kind of attention.

She could feel goosebumps crawling up her arms.

“Ahem, Giselle—no, Dorothy, could you check the laundry for us?”

“Me? W-would that be alright?”

Dorothy, startled, glanced around nervously before stepping forward with a determined look. She was so tense that she practically marched, her hands and feet moving in unison. It was hard to believe she was simply tasked with checking laundry.

Professor Orlan stepped aside, and Dorothy opened the dryer lid, removing the internal cover. Giselle quickly took the cover from her.

Dorothy pulled out a damp shirt, her eyes widening in astonishment.

“Oh my goodness...! The laundry...!”

Before she could finish, Giselle inspected the shirt herself and gasped.

“Oh my!”

‘This is exactly the reaction I was hoping for,’ Penelope thought with satisfaction.

“Why don’t you give the shirt a good shake?” she suggested.

Dorothy flapped the shirt vigorously in the air.

“How does it look?” Penelope asked.

“All the water’s gone!”

The maids, unable to contain their excitement, crowded around Dorothy. Laura pulled another shirt from the dryer and inspected it.

“This is amazing! The water’s really gone!”

“It’s nothing like wringing it by hand!”

“If we hang this outside, it’ll dry in no time. Maybe even indoors?”

“As long as there’s good airflow, it should be fine indoors.”

When Penelope confirmed, “That’s correct,” the maids gasped and turned to her with astonishment.

“Does that mean it doesn’t matter if the weather’s cloudy?”

“Exactly.”

“Wow!”

The maids erupted into cheers, their joy filling the hall. Penelope watched them with a warm smile. This was the moment she had worked for—their happiness made it all worthwhile.

And beside her, Ahwin quietly observed her.

“Shall we move on to demonstrating the iron now?” Penelope announced.