Episode 130 – What you Desire (3)

What you Desire (3)

[New Magic Spell “Attribute Domain: Death Eater” Sales Volume……]

“Heheheh……”

At Valmant Mana Workshop, Kanya was chuckling while looking at the sales volume of the new product, 「Death Eater」.

“Look at this~ We’ve got a hit product!”

A Magic Spell that was even officially approved by the Patent Office in Trick City. Although its usage is limited and can’t be used by everyone, the Hunter’s Association is even bringing supply contracts and expressing interest.

At this rate, the estimated annual sales are between 10 to 15 million Ren. After deducting labor costs, material costs, distribution costs, etc., the net profit would be around 3 million Ren.

Even after splitting 30% with the mage, 2.1 million Ren remains, which is the highest net profit among Valmant Mana Workshop’s individual businesses.

“Congratulations. You won’t have to worry about the employees’ salaries.”

Gerkhen also said while looking at the paper. He’s been visiting frequently these days, maybe because it’s vacation time.

“Are you the boss? Why are you worrying about the employees’ salaries~”

At Kanya’s cheerful chatter, Gerkhen shrugged his shoulders.

“This Dale Kal, the mage. I heard rumors that he’s looking for work these days.”

“Ah~ You heard too?”

“Mages in D Section are rare. Rumors spread quickly.”

The Sections in Trick City are strictly and thoroughly divided.

D Section, where Valmant is located, is on the outskirts of Trick City. It’s close to the underworld, and with slums, harlems, and back alleys, it’s definitely not a good environment.

Compared to A Section, where Kanya used to live, it’s practically a dump.

“He must be in need of money. But, isn’t there a guy who’s been giving him work at the bar? That B Section mage, Lato. He acknowledged him, right? Said they’re the same.”

People in Trick City’s B Section look down on those in lower Sections as if they’re lower-class humans.

Among them, ‘Lato’ is a mage with a particularly bad reputation among people from lower Sections. After studying at the capital and returning, he treats people from C~F Sections like trash.

And that guy acknowledged ‘Dale Kal’ from D Section as a mage.

“That’s unexpected. People from upper Sections usually despise city dwellers.”

As Gerkhen said, people from B Section and A Section─in other words, the upper class of Trick City─distinguish themselves from Edsilla.

Trick City is practically its own country at this point.

“They only say they hate them. They send their children to the capital regularly to study abroad. Even that bitch Layla is the same.”

Kanya gritted her teeth. She always gets agitated when talking about Layla.

Gerkhen raised an eyebrow and turned around.

“I’m leaving.”

“Go ahead. Oh, if there’s a place in the capital that needs our formula, just let me know anytime.”

“……Alright.”

The mage from D Section who went out of his way to submit a Magic Spell to Valmant Mana Workshop, and who is helping Kanya.

Gerkhen quietly memorized the name ‘Dale Kal’.

* * *

School Reopening D-14.

I’m packing my travel bag in the Endex dormitory. Just some skin lotion, food, and clothes. Travel preparations are complete.

Swoosh-

Just then, the window opened. I turned to look. There was a cat with a bundle on its back.

It’s Grawl.

As soon as he landed gently inside the window, he proudly untied his bundle.

─Look~

I gave it a quick glance.

Two B-grade mana stones, a mana core the size of a thumbnail, a violet mineral ore that looked like an ordinary lump of dirt, and a five Ren bill.

“Did you meet all the conditions?”

I had set three conditions for his free time.

1. Don’t do anything too conspicuous.
2. Don’t steal or take things from people or organizations or cause any harm.
3. Don’t eat anything right away. Bring it back.

─Yes, of course~

The one who answered poked at the mana core.

─I want to eat it now.

“Eat it. But where do you get this stuff?”

Chomp chomp chomp- Grawl spoke as he savored the small mana core.

─Chomp chomp- There are naturally occurring mana stones and mana cores all over the city. Chomp chomp- People can’t find them. Chomp chomp. But I can. I can smell the scent of stones. Chomp chomp-

“What about this lump of dirt?”

I pointed at the violet lump.

─People call it ‘Gether’. I brought it because it seemed valuable.

“……Gether? This is?”

I couldn’t help but widen my eyes.

As he said, ‘Gether’ is a precious and unique metal. It’s a ‘reactive cohesive parasitic metal’ uncommon even on the continent.

This Gether is activated by applying it to other metals.

When Gether is applied to a metal, the metal undergoes Getherization while retaining its inherent properties. Durability, hardness, strength, density, attack power, magic resistance, etc.… In other words, all the abilities of the metal increase by one.

In this way, Gether is accumulated and layered on the metal.

Many metals are superior to Gether, but the characteristic of Gether is that it stacks infinitely.

For example, the weight and volume remain the same even if you apply 1 ton of Gether to 1 kg of metal. This is because Gether is a magical material that parasitizes on the metal.

Therefore, 1 ton of Gether is theoretically treated almost on par with the strongest metal, ‘Dark Matter’.

The problem is that it’s impossible to collect.

“But how did you know this is ‘Gether’?”

I suddenly became suspicious. Gether is a scientific name given by humans. Therefore, it would be normal for Grawl to know the properties of Gether, but not the name.

─I looked at your smartphone while you were asleep.

“……What?”

Grawl jumped up. He sat in front of my smartphone.

He skillfully manipulated it with his front paw. Swipe- Swipe- From news to Wikipedia, to encyclopedias.

─I played with it in my free time, like this.

“…….”

No wonder the battery wasn’t fully charged even though I charged it all night.

“Give it to me.”

I snatched the smartphone from him. The search history was diverse. There was even SNS.

“Why are you looking at SNS.”

─I’m exploring the human world. Information acquisition, understanding, aggregation, reorganization, and cognition. Comprehension.

Since I had SNS open anyway, I searched for a certain ID.

─Verification. Experience. Contrast between theory and reality.

[Elise_Petra]

■ Preparation

♥ 43,532

This is Elise’s most recent post. A dark photo with a single word, ‘Preparation’, and it has quite a lot of likes.

Probably preparing for a trip.

─Master~

Grawl approached my knee and looked up at me.

─Could you buy me a mobile phone too~?

His eyes sparkled. It was an artificial sparkle using the reflection of minerals.

“What are you talking about.”

─I need leisure time too~

“You said survival was your only goal.”

─Survival is leisure~

“…….”

It’s absurd, but considering today’s achievements, there’s no particular reason not to.

Gether.

I placed it on the Ascal sword. No special processing is needed. Just add a little magic to react, and the Gether wriggles and seeps into the sword on its own.

“Can you gather 250kg of this Gether?”

1 ton is too much. Gether is a rare mineral. Even if we assume that we gather as much as today (30g) for 365 days, it’s only about 11kg.

─Over how many years~?

“5 years?”

─Then, 20kg this year. 40kg next year. Can we increase it like this?

“Is that possible?”

─Yes.

A slight smile crept onto my lips. It’s not that, the Ascal sword is infinitely inferior in specs compared to other swords. If we can strengthen it by applying Gether, one of the concerns will be solved.

“……Hmm.”

Was the 7th famous sword used by the old Soliette auctioned for 30 million Ren?

Anyway, a sword is as important as life to a swordsman.

Even a master like Soliette, who reached the extreme, paid a lot of attention to the sword. Because an ordinary sword couldn’t withstand her Severing Sword.

“Okay. Then I’ll buy you the latest model.”

─Meow~

Grawl spun around in place as if happy.

* * *

──At the same time.

In the high-end apartment, Presium, in the capital Edsilla.

Elise is preparing for a trip.

It’s a schedule she’s had in mind since half a year ago. Before becoming a senior, she nagged her mother and father that she would definitely go on a trip on this day – it’s a hard-earned 7 nights and 8 days.

Thanks to that, her mood is… the best among these worst days.

Yes, let’s forget everything on the trip.

Change of mood.

“Then…….”

Before leaving, Elise checked her preparations one last time.

“Backpack.”

It looks like a regular cross bag, but it’s an artifact that can hold as much as 200kg of contents.

Check.

“Shoes.”

In case the calluses don’t wear out from walking for a long time, it’s an artifact with a 「 2nd-grade comfort」 enchantment added.

Check.

“Sunscreen. Emergency food. Emergency tent. Scarf. Emergency lantern. Emergency flashlight. Emergency chocolate…….”

In addition, various emergency shoes, emergency radios, etc. – all stuffed into the backpack.

“Done.”

End of travel preparations.

By the way, it’s a solo trip.

There was never any thought of having a companion from the start.

It’s a training trip. Training to overcome being alone.

……Of course, the doll Cookie is with her.

Anyway, it’s not a luxurious trip. Elise actually dislikes things like cruises, private jets, VVIP rooms of magic trains, and flying hotels.

In fact, she has always preferred subways and buses.

She liked places filled with people, filled with the scent of people. The very concept of ‘people’ gave her peace of mind, but these days, her face was too well-known, preventing her from mingling freely.

She pulled her hat down low and perched sunglasses on the tip of her nose.

“I’ll be going now.”

“Take care~”

She received the well-wishes of the household staff and got into the waiting sedan, heading for the train station.

“Have a good trip.”

“Get in.”

Upon arriving at the train station and receiving the driver’s farewell, she moved her legs towards the ticket office.

“One way ticket to Arahall, please.”

─Today’s booking is 1,300 Ren. Is that okay?

“Yes.”

─Please give me your passport.

She hadn’t made any reservations in advance. She wanted to enjoy this spontaneity.

Elise handed her passport and card to the station staff.

─Elise Pet…ra?

The station staff’s eyes widened as they scanned her passport, and she simply offered a wry smile.

─Here you are. Have a great trip!

“Sure.”

Her destination for this trip was a foreign country. A famous resort and a holy land of magic and archaeology. The capital of a country that every university student aspiring to be a mage must put on their bucket list.

The name of the place was…

[Decapo]

“We’ve arrived.”

The capital of the desert country Arahall, Decapo, the cradle of the five ancient civilizations.

Inside the station, Elise discreetly took out her phone.

Taking a selfie felt a bit embarrassing, and somewhat over the top, so she just took a picture of her feet.

Click-!

She only took a picture of her feet on the station floor. Then she quickly went outside to take in the desert landscape.

“…Wow.”

Her continuous admiration for the view outside made her shiver with excitement.

The sky was infinitely blue, as if it could embrace everything, and beneath the horizon, the sea of sand seemed to ripple like it was painted with watercolors.

Such a pure desert landscape always evoked a great sense of wonder in Elise.

She took a deep breath, filled with a sense of liberation.

“Ah…cough.”

She coughed a little due to the sand, but still.

Moreover, Decapo, being the capital, had solid infrastructure. It was both beautiful and convenient.

Elise hailed a taxi waiting at the station.

“Please take me to the Barmiltan Hotel.”

She spoke in Arahalian, which she had learned in advance. The taxi driver started the car without a word.

While Elise was busy looking out the window, they quickly arrived at the hotel.

“How much is it?”

“300 Ren.”

The taxi driver pointed at the meter. 300,000 Won. With the current exchange rate, that’s 300 Ren.

“?”

Elise tilted her head.

“Um, 150 Ren-”

“Do they accept Ren in Arahall, too?”

The taxi driver quietly changed the subject as he was about to correct the price.

“Oh yes. Well, it’s a neighboring country, after all. Of course, we accept it. Ha ha. Even if you go to other markets, we’ll accept Ren.”

“I guess I didn’t need to exchange my money.”

Elise paid the 300 Ren. It was written on the meter, after all. The taxi driver accepted the 300 Ren with a smile.

“Take care.”

As soon as she got out, a steamy, hot wind enveloped her.

“…It’s hot.”

Elise looked up at the five-star Barmiltan Hotel.

“But… I like it.”

A proud smile spread across her face.