Chapter 33 : Millennium Height (7)

“Luina. I just had a brilliant idea.”

“So it finally came to you.”

“Let’s create and sell a hot spring-themed product. The popularity of hot springs is stronger than I expected—it probably won’t die down for at least half a year.”

“The wooden soldiers are kinda cute, right? So we carve them and sell them, and build a narrative around how they fought the evil god’s priest. What do you think?”

“Chris.”

“Yeah?”

“Weren’t you put in charge of preparing the negotiations with the second prince?”

“It’s not even confirmed that the second prince has the Holy Grail, is it? So, what do you think of my idea?”

“I won’t invest.”

Character merchandising could make a fortune if it went well—but making it go well wasn’t easy.

It required know-how, and a bit of luck.

There was a high chance of losing money.

“I won’t do much either, so you should just invest a little, Luina. It’s too risky for me to go all in too.”

If he was aware of the risks, well…

“Then I’ll invest ten gold coins.”

“Two hundred.”

“Do you not understand the meaning of ‘a little’?”

Two hundred gold coins was an enormous amount of money.

If one gold coin was roughly estimated to be worth a million won, that would be nearly 200 million won.

“But that’s about what we’ll need. What do you say? Even if you don’t join in, I’m doing it on my own.”

I hesitated for a moment but quickly made my decision.

“Alright, I’ll invest.”

“I’ll make you rich, Luina.”

Chris left the inn in high spirits.

Looked like he was going straight to the artisan’s guild.

He’d manage just fine—he was an aspiring merchant, after all.

I took a sip of honey mead.

Then Leon quietly spoke up.

“Luina.”

“Yes?”

“How long are you going to keep this up?”

“I’m planning to drink forever, actually.”

“No, that’s not what I meant.”

Leon glanced sideways.

I followed his gaze.

Next to us, a man crouched down sipping water awkwardly set down his cup with a sheepish look.

“Uh… Did I do something wrong?”

“No.”

“I see…”

Jerry sipped his water again.

He seemed to have a story.

“What kind of pitiful backstory does he have to be drinking water so miserably like this? I’m curious.”

“Luina, how long are you planning to keep that man around?”

“Leon, are you afraid I’m going to take your friend away?”

“How long are you planning to keep that man around?”

Completely ignoring me, huh?

Leon had grown a lot in that short time.

“It’s complicated.”

“If it’s complicated, why not just send him back?”

“Yes! Please send me back already! You let the others go, why only me?!”

“If you’d clearly tried to kill me, I’d have repaid you in kind. But all you did was threaten me, Jerry. Then again, threatening me with magic is kind of beyond a simple threat, isn’t it?”

Leon nodded at my explanation.

“It is quite complicated.”

“Right? That’s why I’m debating it. Should I pay him back or not?”

Right after I said that, Jerry shouted in a panic.

“I’ll just stay like this! Please don’t let me go!”

“But among mages, what you did is kind of like a greeting, isn’t it?”

“Yes. That’s true.”

“So I’m thinking I should greet you back.”

“I’ll just stay like this. Please don’t let me go…”

Leaving the now gloomy Jerry alone, I asked something I’d been wondering for a while.

“Jerry, are you really a Fourth Circle mage?”

“Yes… You can’t even learn Grand Wheel if you’re not Fourth Circle…”

So Grand Wheel couldn’t even be learned without being Fourth Circle.

“Maybe that’s why my teacher set that rule.”

“What rule?”

“That I shouldn’t tell anyone I was Adelian’s student until I reached the Fourth Circle.”

“He must be a great man, restraining himself like that. A paragon of character in Croft School history.”

“That kind of excessive praise just sounds sarcastic.”

“Please let me live…”

Jerry was crying.

I was caught off guard because he was seriously crying.

Someone might think I’d been torturing him or something.

Making me look bad.

“Jerry, if you keep acting like that, it’s no fun.”

“Hiiik…”

“Kidding.”

“I think this is the first time I’ve seen you take this much interest in someone, Luina. Is there a reason?”

A reason?

Not really.

“…Ah.”

We should help each other out.

We’re from the same school.

Jerry let out a small sound of admiration, seemingly moved.

We’re close.

Really.

“Those bastards are from the same school too, so why just me…”

“What was that?”

“Nothing.”

So dramatic.

I added something else.

“And I want to learn magic.”

“Magic?”

“Yeah. That Grand Wheel thing looked delicious. You weren’t planning to teach it anyway, right?”

“Teach it? Can magic even be taught?”

When Jerry asked, I gave him a meaningful smile.

He choked in surprise.

Must’ve gone down the wrong pipe.

Oh dear, be careful.

I said,

“So, can’t you teach me?”

“Gwangryun can only be learned by those who have joined the school and been active for a certain period…”

“Can’t I?”

“You’re a Third Rank to begin with. Even if I taught you, you couldn’t use it.”

“That’s a shame. Then, shall we part ways here?”

“I’ll teach you right now.”

Jerry went into the room and demonstrated Gwangryun as he explained.

“This central axis is the key.”

The structure of Gwangryun was simple.

You refine a rod with elements to serve as the axis, and by spinning it at high speed, form elemental bands around it — that was it.

Despite the simple structure, the difficulty was high.

But the form itself wasn’t complicated like a maze.

I kindled a flame inside a lantern and shaped it into a rod.

But it wasn’t just an ordinary rod — it had to spin at extreme speed.

Crackle— The element started to form but then scattered.

I furrowed my brow.

It’s not working well.

Immediately, Jerry panicked.

“I definitely taught it correctly! It’s just really difficult!”

“I know that.”

This guy probably thinks I’m a psychopathic murderer who stabs people when I’m in a bad mood.

There were several reasons for the failure, but the biggest was, of course, elemental control.

Without first forming a strong axis that maintained its shape under intense rotation, the magic was hopeless.

A legacy spell, a magic that represents a person…

Something was almost coming to mind — but not quite.

Let’s move on for now.

I tried Gwangryun a few more times and then stopped at a suitable point.

I had more pressing things to do, so I paused the practice.

As I put the lantern down, Jerry carefully spoke up.

“Now that I’ve taught you the magic, may I take my leave?”

“No. Not until I’ve mastered it completely.”

“If you really hate it, you can leave. If I’ve cooled off by then, I won’t come looking for you.”

“…I’ll wait.”

After leaving the room, I exited the inn entirely.

Walking through the crowded streets, I soon arrived at a building.

On the signboard was a short, bold name: Aeternia Vault.

Inside, the quiet interior welcomed me.

The vault had a structure that resembled a bank.

I found an available spot, and an attendant approached me.

“What brings you here today?”

“I’m here to check my safe.”

Without further explanation, I handed over a silver token.

After checking it, the attendant handed me a piece of paper.

Once I wrote the 16-character password Kelton had given me, all procedures were complete.

The attendant read the password, then incinerated the paper neatly using the element of flame, and said,

“Please follow me.”

The inner part of the vault was vastly spacious thanks to spatial distortion magic.

I stopped in front of one of the rooms.

Creaaak.

When the attendant opened the door, a mountain of gold coins greeted me.

This was about 3,500 gold coins, I think.

In terms of my previous life, that was roughly 3.5 billion won.

Complete body restoration cost around 3,000 gold coins, so I could afford burn treatment immediately.

“Would you like to make a withdrawal?”

“No. I just wanted to see that it’s safe.”

I turned away without touching the gold coins.

That was Kelton’s life savings.

I didn’t want to waste it on mere burn treatment.

Of course, Kelton once said I was meddling too much in how he spent his money, but as I’ve said before — once it was passed on to me, it became mine.

How I use it is up to me.

I plan to use it for something more meaningful.

Something better.

“But if I ever become a criminal, won’t that money be taken away from me?”

“We believe our clients won’t become criminals. But even if they do, we return whatever is stored in the vault to whoever brings the correct token and password. We don’t even know who the real owner is.”

So basically…

As long as you hide the silver token well, even if you become a criminal, they won’t take your money. No need to worry.

It’s the perfect setup for money laundering.

And it’s operating openly in the imperial capital?

Must be because they’ve got backing from a high-ranking mage.

If a Seventh Rank mage is behind them, I guess they can get away with this kind of thing.

I left the vault.

I picked up my pace, excited to return to Jerry’s magic lessons.

Then I stopped.

I saw a familiar robe.

The kind that seemed to reek of chemicals — an assassin?

Delighted, I approached Myuran and spoke.

“Already done with the job? Hello?”

“…No. Not yet. Let’s go somewhere quiet first.”

What’s going on?

Not sure, but I followed Myuran’s lead back to the inn and sat at a table.

Once I activated a soundproofing spell, Myuran sat across from me and bowed her head.

“…I’m sorry.”

“What’s wrong? Did you fail to compress the Holy Grace?”

That was the only thing Myuran might apologize to me for, so I asked.

“…No. It’s worse than that.”

“No way…”

“…Yes. The Holy Grace was stolen.”

At those words, I tapped the table lightly.

Hmm.

Who could’ve dared to touch my belongings?

Now I’m curious.