episode_0022

Chook.

He closes the door, draws the blackout curtains on the windows, and waits for Beatrice.

Beatrice hesitated for a moment in the darkened room, then approached the bed with a determined expression.

“First, take off your outer clothes and sit here.”

“… … Take off your clothes, here?”

“Yes, you can lie down if you want.”

“… … … Yeah. That’s what it was. I’m so naive, I wouldn’t tell you something like that for free. ”

huh?

Why are you suddenly like this?

“But if only for a little while, just for a little while, I could escape this chronic disease that has tormented me my whole life.”

“Your Highness?”

“I’m ready. I said I’d do anything, so do whatever you want. I did draw the curtains, but since it’s my first time, please be considerate… ”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Huh?”

What the hell is this guy crazy?

When I told him to just take off his outer clothes and sit on the bed, he prepared himself and sat there, putting on a show since it was his first time.

“That’s not it, so don’t do weird positions and sit comfortably. Do you think I’m some horny dog? It’s really unpleasant.”

“Ah, that.”

“Don’t make excuses. Do you know how rude what you just said is? I know it’s a bit much to say this, but I have absolutely no sexual interest in you, Your Highness.”

“… … … Yes.”

You’re totally crazy. Do you really think that if you have big, pretty breasts, all men will ask for those things? That’s just being overly self-conscious.

Beatrice was definitely pretty. The community I went to to look at the strategy guide had the most fan art, and there was a lot of fan art like that. Her breasts were also really big.

However, I’ve only played Dark Kingdom for about 10 hours and have spent 5 years in another world, so it’s too late to get excited about popular characters in the game.

Now that he’s working as the finance director, he’s just seen as a pretty student and, above all, a wrecker, one of the four kings of financial destruction.

Fortunately, Beatrice, who seemed to know that she was embarrassed, sat down on the bed quietly with her face red and bowed.

“Then now.”

“n, yes.”

“Use magic.”

“Yes!?”

“Until you use up all your magic power. Scrape it all away.”

“… … … .”

“It’s really emptying me out.”

That’s the first step to curing her chronic illness.

However, Beatrice looked a little embarrassed.

“Chief of Finance, you have seen my chronic illness, so why on earth…? This entire dormitory will collapse!”

“It is not an attack magic. [Glow] is enough. ”

“Uh.”

“So, you’re not going to do it?”

“Oh, no! Well, if it’s luminescent magic… … .”

[radiation]

Luminescence, the basic magic that creates light.

Although it consumes a considerable amount of magical power, it is a magic that any wizard can learn due to its unique usefulness.

And this was the opening pattern of Beatrice, the boss in the game.

‘When you start the boss fight, use the glow magic and run to the top of the clock tower.’

As you unilaterally run away, you have to get over and avoid the out-of-control, rampant glowing magic that obscures the clock tower… It was closer to a platformer than a boss fight.

The first time I tried it I was like, what kind of boss is this?

Start from the first floor of the clock tower, which is the boss battle location, and then go through the interference of the glowing magic and finally chase after her to the top.

Only then does the real boss fight begin.

“Originally, the glowing magic consumes a lot of magic power only when it is created, and is efficient for maintenance, but just keep pouring magic power into the magic. Even if it goes berserk, the light will just flash in various ways.”

“Hoo, hoo… … !!”

Flash!

Beatrice continued to pour magical power into her luminous magic, following my instructions to empty it.

Naturally, the luminous magic that received enormous magical power escaped Beatrice’s control, emitting light that was too strong, flashing only a very faint light, or distorting into all sorts of shapes rather than the form of a sphere.

She can’t even get rid of her own magic at will. This kind of ignorant method was the best way to empty her magic. Whether now or in the original game.

So, just like the name suggests, I ended up watching the glowing magic that went crazy in all sorts of ways, or I closed my eyes.

“Now… … Slowly… … … !”

“Keep doing it, don’t stop.”

After about 30 minutes, Beatrice’s arms began to tremble and she began to sweat.

To a wizard, magic power is like air. It is always there and can be easily inhaled and exhaled, but without it, it cannot last long.

Beatrice’s reaction was also close to an instinctive rejection. It was a rejection of the body that had always been soaked in magic becoming empty.

But I must do it. I am not a wizard, so I don’t know how much pain she is feeling right now, but I must do it anyway.

“Didn’t you say you would do anything yourself? Don’t forget those words.”

“Krrrgh… … !!”

Far away.

The moment Beatrice, clenching her teeth so hard that blood came out, closed her eyes tightly and poured the last of her remaining magical power into her glowing magic.

Her body no longer had any magical power.

“Cough!”

“Now. Absorb the magic power in the bed.”

“Keuhp, ugh.”

“I know it’s hard to breathe. You want to drain all your magic power right now. But slowly and carefully, absorb only the minimum amount of magic power and leave it.”

Did I tell you to sit on the bed for nothing? This bed is an artifact.

Last year, when I was on the verge of collapse due to overwork and staying up all night, the chairman gave me this as a gift. I heard that it was an item that smoothed the flow of magic power and helped me sleep well.

As a first-class person, I had almost no magic power so it wasn’t of much use to me, but I was still satisfied with the fact that it was a nice and soft bed.

And now Beatrice.

In a state of magical exhaustion, the magical power embedded in the bed artifact was being sucked away.

She could have gulped down water like someone who had collapsed from thirst. But she, with bloodshot eyes, followed my advice and left only a drop of water from the water bottle, the bare minimum of magic power, in her body. Just so she could really endure.

Now the preparations are complete.

“Use magic with the remaining magic power in the artifact without absorbing it.”

“Ugh… … … Uh… … … .”

“This is a luminescent magic. Please concentrate.”

Beatrice barely managed to raise her trembling hands without even being able to speak properly.

Even with an expression full of pain, he barely managed to use magic by using the magic power of the bed artifact.

[radiation]

That light.

“Ah… … ?”

“Can you see it?”

“Cough, cough.”

“Move as you wish.”

Instead of going out of control and running wild, it formed a perfect sphere and emitted a pure light.

Beatrice’s bloodshot eyes widen at the fact, and as she moves her hand, the luminous magic follows suit. It grows bigger, darkens, or becomes brighter as she wishes.

at the same time.

Knock. Knock.

“… … … … … .”

“Ugh… … Ah… … … !!”

Beatrice shed tears.

For the first time in her life, she was able to control magic according to her own will, and even though her voice was not working properly, she was constantly making tearful voices.

A groan filled with unfathomable sorrow, emotion, and earnestness.

How much of that luminous magic had she moved? After all the tears she had shed, the sheets were soaked.

I went out of the room for a moment, grabbed a bottle of elixir, and handed it to her.

“Please eat.”

“… … !!”

Gulp. Gulp!

The elixir that replenishes magic power for a wizard is not much different from water. It must have seemed like the elixir of life to her, who absorbed only the minimum amount of magic power while exhausted.

Beatrice drank the entire elixir in one gulp and was momentarily dumbfounded.

He looked up and looked at me.

It was a look full of trust.

“How… …?”

“The Chairman has come up with a hypothesis. If the magic is normally activated but cannot be controlled afterwards, then perhaps there is a problem with the magic power that His Majesty possesses.”

“My magic power?”

“To be more precise, I think it’s a constitution. Your Majesty, your magical power is transformed into something that cannot be controlled.”

This is bullshit. It’s just something I’ve seen in games and put together.

Still, Beatrice was listening to me seriously. After all, she had just experienced a miracle herself.

“So it’s not the magic power that Your Majesty possesses.”

“Use magic using external magic, magic contained in artifacts… … ?”

“That’s right. However, even if you absorb the artifact’s magic power, it will immediately mix with the charge’s magic power, so you need to empty the magic power.”

If we had to make a comparison, Beatrice’s magic power would be like seawater, and the artifact’s magic power would be like freshwater.

Fresh water should be used as is, but if there is any sea water left, it will mix and become a magic that is neither here nor there. So, empty out all the sea water and use only fresh water.

… … That was the tooltip you could see after recruiting Beatrice as a companion in the game.

“So it’s not a permanent treatment, but a temporary treatment.”

“Yes. Every time you use magic, you will be in a state of magic exhaustion, and you will have to use the magic power of the artifact.”

Just now, it took more than 20 minutes for the magic power to run out, and on top of that, it also requires an artifact.

Even.

“Please take a good look at the bed.”

“Huh? The artifact is… … ?”

“Since it forcibly extracts the inherent magic power, the original function of the artifact is naturally destroyed. And the efficiency is not very good to begin with.”

Artifacts that are used by extracting magical power are almost always broken, and even if they are, the efficiency itself is rock bottom.

Even if you drain all the magic power contained in the bed artifact, it probably won’t end with just a few [Fireballs].

This is exactly why I didn’t want to tell Beatrice this method.

‘To put it simply, because I need money.’

Of course, Beatrice is still a princess even though she is the fourth. It wouldn’t be a big burden for her to buy and carry around several artifacts of a reasonable level.

But that was back home, and right now, the Academy doesn’t have much money. Even the wealthy can’t afford to buy artifacts.

‘I told you that I didn’t get much when I received the bribe last time.’

To defeat Chloe in a duel, you’ll need a significant amount of artifacts, and to purchase them, you’ll need to pay with the precious metals you brought with you.

Again, artifacts aren’t cheap, and you don’t know how many artifacts you’ll need to win against a wizard of Chloe’s level, so it’s probably best to just buy as many as you can.

But then the extra bribe I was supposed to receive would disappear!

But, if I took more bribes, I wouldn’t be able to purchase the artifacts I needed to deal with Chloe, so I was really worried… … But.

It’s not like there was no way.

“Can you get this back?”

“Of course, of course! Thank you so much… … !!”

“Then───”

“You want me to show my sincerity? Don’t worry! I’ll give you all the remaining precious metals and money!”

“Yes?”

What? Then you don’t have any money.

How do I buy artifacts?

“Don’t you need to buy the artifact?”

“Money is something you can earn. No matter how much time it takes, if you work hard and save, you will eventually earn money. However, what cured my chronic illness is… … It’s something money can’t possibly do.”

“How do you plan on making money if you can’t leave the academy?”

“There are a lot of part-time jobs as I go around. Artifacts are expensive, but if you work hard, you’ll definitely get it!”

“Stop talking nonsense and buy enough artifacts with that.”

“Minister of Finance… … ?”

Why do you look so surprised? Did you really think I’d accept it?

If you were a normal student, you would have gotten it, but you’re a vandal. You already have a record of destroying five classrooms.

It’s obvious that he’ll start practicing magic from now on, but we can’t keep him in the academy for long. If he were to buy an artifact part-time, he’d only be able to buy one if he saved up for a whole year without spending a single penny. It’s just ridiculous.

“A private meeting with the Chairman… …I’ll try to arrange it again somehow. I hope you get your pendant back as soon as possible.”

“… … Why?”

“Your Majesty?”

“Why are you doing this…? We’re just connected through bribery?”

It’s in your best financial interest to quickly duel Chloe and return home!

… … I guess that’s not right. Let’s just talk about the general idea.

“I am not an educator, but I am also an academy faculty member. We met through bribery at first, but after all, Your Majesty is also a student of our academy.”

“… … … Ah.”

“The bribe I received last time was quite a lot, so let’s count it as that amount.”

So please, go back quickly. For real, without destroying any more buildings.

The goal of collecting more bribes became impossible, but in the end, the most important goal was to get the wreckers back.

You have to go back and hold out until the investment ratio comes in without any variables!

“Minister of Finance.”

“If you want, you can just give me a donation after you return to your home country. I don’t think you can send a bribe here from the Kingdom of Delphia, but a donation is fine, right?”

“… … I see.”

“Yes?”

“Okay, Treasury Secretary… … … no, Adam.”

Why are you suddenly calling me by my name?

I was just blinking at Beatrice’s sudden rash actions, but when I saw her determined face, as if she had made up her mind about something, I involuntarily took a step back.

“I will never disappoint you. For sure!”

“Uh… …yes.”

So you’ll definitely go back? Do you believe me?

Beatrice, who had been looking at me with a solemn expression on her face, soon tilted her head as she saw something.

“Huh? Adam. What’s in your front pocket… ?”

“Huh? Oh, it’s just a cigarette.”

“Who carries only one cigarette? More importantly, that cigarette just now, it looks familiar.”

“You must have seen people who are suffering in your home country.”

“No, that’s not it. Wait a minute.”

“What.”

Beatrice has seen this? It’s not just any cigarette, it’s a ‘special order’?

Well, I must be mistaken. It doesn’t look that different from other cigarettes…

“This smell… … really?”

“Your Majesty?”

“Adam, this isn’t just any cigarette! It’s a military-grade awakening cigarette made in our kingdom───”

“Shh.”

“… … … Adam.”

“Just the supplies needed for work.”

“… … Those books and papers, and not only that, but also living in this old dormitory, and those so-called work cigarettes.”

“Ahem.”

“Adam, are you being paid for your efforts? Are you being treated fairly in this academy?”

Well? They certainly give me a lot of money. But I only return everything except the bare minimum living expenses to make up for some of the finances.

Isn’t it passion pay? If I just get through this bankruptcy crisis, I’ll be able to secure a job for life, so it’s okay.

If the chairman had a conscience, he wouldn’t have made him do any more work. He would just hire more people to work in the finance department and take advantage of the situation.

… … There is no need to explain each and every thing to Beatrice, nor do I intend to.

Now that we’ve finished our work, let’s send him off. We have to go back and talk to the chairman about Beatrice again, and if we’ve already talked to the king, we have to discuss that too. There’s still a lot to do.

“Your Majesty, if you want to beat Chloe, shouldn’t you start practicing hard from now on?”

“Adam.”

“Please practice in a training room or a practice range. Absolutely not in any other location. Absolutely not!”

“… … Adam.”

“Well, I still have work to do, so I’ll stop here.”

Click.

After forcibly sending Beatrice out of the room, he closed the door.

“… … … … .”

Beatrice.

He stood in front of the door with a blank expression for a while before finally leaving.

… … Why is he like that?