Chapter 83: Alchemy Genius Dane Sogres (4)
My house was the ruler of the southern part of the Altheon Empire. Naturally, this meant that we were rich.
We ruled over the largest territory in the South and had a firm grip on the various resources of the territory as well as the business rights related to them.
Our name was also exalted for being the house of a war hero. My father was a hero who saved the Altheon Empire from the brink of ruin and later changed the course of the battlefield with his tremendous force.
Anyway, for one reason or another, our family had a lot of money. Even if we spent it lavishly, we still received more money than we spent. Because I had so much money in this life, paradoxically, I had no obsession with money.
But if you thought about it, the wealth of the Count House of Sogres was not directly tied to my wealth. Up until now, I’d only received pocket money.
Of course, it was a lot of money. However, to do something seriously, you needed your ‘own’ money.
And this was a huge amount of money, enough to tempt me.
⸢This is amazing. One will cost at least 300 Gold Crowns. No, it’s worth whatever you demand. Those who need it will pay double or triple the price.⸣ Cidrane said in an excited voice.
If I wasn’t at the academy, he would have flown over right away. Two-way spatial movement was prohibited within the Academy unless permitted.
⸢You made this? Ha, kid. You’ve done it again. How long has it been since you entered the Academy? Miss Arabella? You must be feeling very good.⸣
“Thank you, sir. But I have concerns.”
⸢That’s true. If it becomes known that he’s the creator, it will be quite troublesome. Even Count Sogres won’t be able to stop all of the mages who are crazy about research and development.⸣
Mages would show great interest since things that could only be done if the efficiency of the Mana Stone was improved would now become possible.
“So, this is Dane’s opinion…”
My eldest sister roughly conveyed what I had mentioned earlier, and Cidrane tilted his head.
⸢Hide the creator and release only a small amount on the market?⸣
This time I explained, “Yes. If we do that, it will be more secure as well as rare. Naturally, the price will go through the roof.”
⸢Sure, that would be true. But how are you going to maintain that security? Even the royal family will probably act.⸣
I smiled as if I had been waiting for that, asking, “How about having the head of the magic tower take care of it?”
⸢This crazy kid…⸣
Cidrane was absolutely terrified. Even I had to agree it was a bit much.
⸢Ah, um. Miss Arabella. Ahem. I got too excited. Damn it, you little brat! Do you want to blow up a magic tower? At this rate, it wouldn’t be strange if other magic towers tried to swallow up our tower entirely! Do you know how much research and how many projects are there in the world that can’t be done because the Mana Stone efficiency is insufficient?!⸣
“Wouldn’t it be fine if we didn’t get caught?”
⸢What if I get caught? Even I can’t afford to be caught!⸣
So how about this?
“If you help me, I will supply you with this type of Mana Stone regularly.”
⸢…⸣
“Without taking money.”
⸢…!⸣
The crystal ball fell silent for a moment.
He took the bait.
⸢…How many?⸣
“Two a month.”
He was also a mage, so it was only natural that he would covet this Mana Stone.
⸢Damn it all…⸣
This was the reason I had asked Cidrane.
“If it’s the head of the magic tower’s network, it shouldn’t be hard to find the right buyers, and it’ll be thoroughly maintained in terms of security.”
⸢Damn it.⸣
Cidrane didn’t deny it. He was the head of a magic tower—one of the major magic towers in the empire, at that. They said that the socializing between mages was as narrow as the eye of a needle, but that didn’t apply to the Magic Tower Heads.
However, that didn’t mean he had to take all the risks. That was why I was offering him Mana Stones in return.
⸢You’re going to completely hide which tower it was shipped from, limit the buyers to a small number, and even give them a ‘story’ before selling?⸣
“That’s right.”
Cidrane didn’t hesitate for long.
⸢Alright. Fuu. It seems like things have gotten complicated since I met you, kid.⸣
“If you hadn’t met me, wouldn’t you still be in the forest?”
⸢…Damn. Yeah. I’m sure I’d be having fun playing with my forest friends after becoming a skeleton!⸣
There was no need to mention the debt owed to me for saving and healing him in the Forest of Darkness. I considered it paid in full already, anyway.
⸢Let me ask you something. What are you planning to do after you sell these? I don’t think I’ve ever heard of House Sogres being short on money.⸣
“I can’t just continue relying on my allowance forever, right?”
⸢It’s not like you’re preparing for war with your pocket money…⸣ Cidrane grumbled repeatedly, but soon suggested a solution.
⸢Alright. I guess I should get ready to become a millionaire.⸣
“Can you think of anyone I could sell it to?”
⸢There are quite a few. There are more than one or two mages who are obsessed with research and are stuck in the magic towers. If we focus on them, they’ll probably give us all their money, except for the money they need for food and lodgings.⸣
Then it seemed like there would be no problem with sales.
⸢I also have a good candidate in mind.⸣
“Then that’s good. Oh, and…” A thought suddenly occurred to me. “How about a deal with the royal family?”
⸢Are you crazy? If you sell it to the royal mages and get tracked down, it’ll be a pain in the ass.⸣
My eldest sister also agreed, saying, “It’s best to avoid the royal family at all costs. It’s tiring if you get involved with them.”
After all, it was too risky to sell items of unclear origin to a royal family.
⸢But if you start selling, you have to be prepared for rumors to spread all the way to the royal family. In that sense, the plan to hide the seller is excellent.⸣
Good. It was concluded.
⸢Wait, but how do you want me to sell it? If I contact someone directly and tell them that this is a very valuable item, they’d end up misunderstanding that it’s something I made, right?⸣
“Oh, don’t worry about that. Just tell me who is suitable. Then, just give me the information about that person and what you want.”
What I needed was Cidrane’s connections. From then on, it was my job to utilize my past life experiences.
“Well then, shall we get started right away?”
* * *
Reaper Scans
[Translator – Rainypup]
[Proofreader – Harley]
Join our discord for updates on releases! https://dsc.gg/reapercomics
* * *
Mages were greatly admired during the long war between the Altheon Empire and the Drenik Empire.
The way they fired huge magic blasts on the battlefield and destroyed tens or hundreds of enemy troops became engraved in people’s minds, and the perception of it being a cool and flashy profession was created.
However, the daily lives of mages were quite boring and repetitive.
Most mages studied and practiced writing code every day, and when necessary, devoted almost all of their time to research and writing papers. It was a phenomenon that stemmed from the fact that magic was a ‘study’ rather than a ‘tool’.
In that sense, the vice-head of the Nixion Magic Tower, Andes Drakau, was engaged in a fierce battle with the Mana Stone today as well.
“Alright. Let’s see who wins, you or me!”
Andes glared at the Mana Stone, grumbling. He should be used to it by now, but this damn Mana Stone always used up its magic power at crucial moments. Not only did that ruin the work done until that moment, but the magic power arrangement got messed up. No matter how much he adjusted it, it was bound to happen again and again.
“Damn. This damn Mana Stone isn’t any better…”
The limits of the Mana Stones were clear.
No matter how much the scholars of each magic tower racked their brains, they couldn’t get any more efficient. No matter what they did, it just wouldn’t be improved. This was especially the case from Andes’ perspective—as someone who mainly did experiments and research, there had been more than a few times when he’d resented the insanely expensive Mana Stone.
Clink!
Andes sat down with a look of despair as another top-grade Mana Stone was finally destroyed after several experiments.
Then he covered his head and muttered, “This month is a deficit again…”
Of course, magic towers weren’t rolling in money. Some noble families supported magic towers, but magic was basically a discipline that cost a huge amount of money. Unless it was related to inventions, it was a field of study where you couldn’t find any economic feasibility.
In this context, even if Andes was the vice-head of a magic tower, it was inevitable that it would become burdensome once the maximum Mana Stone consumption reached fifty per month.
“What should I sell? A ring? A subspace? How ridiculous for the vice-head of a magic tower…”
Andes, who had been laughing in vain, sighed deeply. He’d almost used up all of the subsidies from the magic tower. If he used up any more, the budget execution department would contact him.
“Should I take out a loan? I heard that the Imperial Bank gives pretty good loans to the Five Towers…”
However, there were more than a few mages who had gone bankrupt after borrowing money at murderous interest rates.
“I guess I’ll have to sell all of my artifacts. Haah. If I make enough money, I’ll be able to last for a few more months.”
That was when the magic transmission platform rang.
Vrrrrr…
“What?”
Something was coming out of the magic transmission platform.
It was a small pouch.
Andes habitually checked the sender first.
[Unknown sender.]
“Unknown sender?”
Andes frowned. Someone unknown had sent him a plain cloth bag? But it wasn’t a dangerous item. After all, items coming to the magic tower had to undergo a thorough scan. Whether it was poison or an explosive, reception itself was impossible.
Andes opened the pouch.
“A Mana Stone?”
It was a Mana Stone. However, unlike the normal transparent Mana Stones, this one was green.
“Why is the Mana Stone green?”
A small note was included.
Rustle.
The note read:
[It is not a dangerous item.]
“What the hell?”
[Try it, and if you like it, come to Okesa’s Inn tomorrow night. I’ll have more ready.]
Was this some kind of illegal transaction? For a prank, it was pretty interesting. If it weren’t for the situation Andes was in right now, he would have laughed.
“Ugh.”
But it was strange. He took out the Mana Stone without thinking, but the energy he felt was unusual.
“This…”
Andes hesitated for a moment. Then, feeling like he had nothing to lose, he picked up the green Mana Stone and brought it to his workbench.
Andes decided to give it a try, pretending to be fooled.
“There must be some problem with it.”
It was a free Mana Stone, even if he didn’t know who sent it. It had to be a safe item since it had been scanned. The energy was also unusual.
Whatever it was, what was important to Andes right now was progress on his current research. If this didn’t work out, it was unclear whether he would be able to maintain his position as the vice-head of the magic tower next year.
“Alright.”
Andes began his experiment, drawing out his magical powers.
That was when he felt it.
Something was different.
The Mana Stone that usually broke after three or four experiments… Why was it still fine?
“Wh-what is this…?”
Even after repeating it five or six times, the Mana Stone still emitted the same light.
It even一
“It’s progressing…”
The experiment’s efficiency was better than usual. It was more than twice as fast as it used to be.
Something ridiculous was happening.
“I-it’s working. It’s working! Hahahaha!”
Andes burst into laughter, unable to contain his joy.
Rustle.
After a moment, Andes took out the note again and looked at it.
[Come to Okesa’s Inn tomorrow night.]
“Okesa’s Inn…”
Andes looked at the green Mana Stone, still usable even though his research was progressing at an incomparable rate.
That was when he came to a conclusion.
“…I guess I should take a look and see what kind of person made this.”
Tomorrow, he was going to Okesa’s Inn.
