episode_0039

The merchant group Saya operates is not that large in scale. However, the income it earns is quite substantial. This was possible because the items primarily handled are related to magic studies.

The Repid Magic Tower produces and sells magical tools and scrolls, but they do not distribute these directly. As can be seen even at the largest scroll shop on the academy grounds, they merely provide scrolls through merchant groups. The creation and management of the shops are left entirely to the merchant groups.

Among the merchant groups that have formed such affiliations, Saya’s is also included.

The magical tool business that the Magic Tower recently started. Magical engineering machines and magical tools are clearly different, but there are still similarities. Saya purchased Magic Tower-made magical tools to examine them, and then directly visited the Magic Tower to sign a contract.

It wasn’t easy.

The Repid Magic Tower is, to put it mildly, a group where those closer to merchants than mages gather. It took a good two years just to persuade them and show them the potential.

While her mind and body were tattered during that process, she was fully healed upon seeing the income earned after starting the Magic Tower’s magical tool business. To slightly exaggerate the process, it was enough to bathe in gold coins. Adding the money earned previously, the situation became very prosperous, regardless of the size of the merchant group.

‘I need to mass-produce the engineering machines to be supplied to the battlefield, and the magical tools can be handed over to the Head of the Plandia family, who reserved them in advance.’

Saya’s business method was different from typical merchants.

Instead of opening a shop, she directly went around here and there, selling only to a select few.

It was a method with a high degree of gamble, but Saya succeeded splendidly as if to show off. This was possible because she captivated the hearts of nobles with her unique speech, actions, and gestures that adapted to her counterpart.

Furthermore, many of the magical tools she handled were related to beauty, making them very popular among noble ladies and young nobles.

Now, there were even people offering bribes to be the first to receive magical tools from the Magic Tower. Every time that happened, the smile never left Saya’s face.

However, she was slightly bothered by the fact that new customers hadn’t increased recently. Maintaining existing customers was possible by offering various services, but creating new customers had hit a roadblock.

Her enrollment in the academy was caused by this background.

The academy is a place where a special ecosystem unfolds, filled with young nobles. There was no better place than this for attracting customers. It was also good for additionally studying magical engineering and building connections, so for Saya, the academy was the optimal stage.

In that regard, it was fortunate that the disciple of a great mage was caught in the same group. He was a man she had heard about through rumors, but it was the first time she was seeing him in person.

Saya walked towards the Department of Magic Studies building where he was having class and thought.

‘He was more handsome than I expected, and his tone was quite condescending. It seemed like he was deliberately acting that way, but since he’s a mage, he’s unpredictable. Seeing as he doesn’t have a surname, he’s likely of commoner origin… but he didn’t seem intimidated.’

The Department of Magic Studies building was quite far from the Department of Magical Engineering building. Thanks to that, she had to encounter many people on the way there and back. She briefly glanced at a red-haired girl walking nearby with a expressionless face, then immediately turned her head back.

Mages fundamentally do not care much about each other’s social status.

Perhaps it’s different for mages of a mediocre level, but those who have reached a certain point tend to regard magic power as more sacred than bloodline, so regardless of whether one is a noble or royal, they only consider a mage’s capability important.

Even Warren, being of noble origin, purely admiring Asel’s magic, was because this underlying basis existed.

Unlike ordinary young and authoritative nobles who view mages treated similarly to themselves with disdain, for Warren, who was born a mage, social status was effectively meaningless. Thanks to this, there was no major conflict during his first meeting with Asel.

‘Quill is from a mercenary background, Asel is a commoner, and Warren is a noble but with a relatively gentle personality. It’s not a bad combination. If I can somehow train Quill, it might be good to continue interacting even after the task is over.’

Honestly, Quill didn’t matter much. However, she wanted to continue her friendship with Asel and Warren if possible. It was the right thing to know as many skilled mages and spirit users as possible. Her going with Asel to purchase items was also preparatory work to earn his favor.

‘First, getting close to Asel is the top priority. Warren is after that.’

While thinking, Saya had already arrived in front of the Department of Magic Studies building. She sat on a suitable empty bench and waited until Asel’s class ended. It was boring, but watching the people walking around made it bearable to some extent.

“……?”

A woman with red hair caught her eye as she looked around. It was the woman who had been walking near her just a moment ago. Saya leaned against the wall, tapping the sword at her waist, and tilted her head as she watched her.

She had been aware they were going to the same place, but it seemed their destination also overlapped. Saya swung her legs back and forth, staring intently at her face.

As she did so, her identity suddenly came to mind.

Grace Videl. One of the people listed at the very top of the list Saya had made to build connections.

She hadn’t expected to meet someone she had no existing connection with and hadn’t even spoken to yet in a place like this. Saya narrowed her eyes and brought a finger to her lips. Just then, students poured out of the Department of Magic Studies building.

Class was over. Saya immediately got up and struggled to find Asel in the pouring crowd. Soon after, she found Asel with a face that seemed to be deep in thought. Saya approached him with quick steps.

“Asel.”

“Ah, Asel!”

“?”

“?”

Their voices overlapped. Saya pricked up her ears and looked at the owner of the voice. Grace was staring at her with eyes that seemed to ask what this was. It was a gaze so hostile that Saya felt quite wronged, having done nothing. But instead of shrinking back, she smiled faintly and said.

“Hello, Miss Videl. I didn’t expect to meet you in a place like this.”

“……擾狐 (Troublesome Fox).”

Grace muttered. Unmistakable displeasure and hostility dripped from her voice.

She muttered some unknown word to herself and then suddenly became hostile towards someone she had no connection with. From Saya’s perspective, it was utterly baffling.

“Why are you here?”

“I have an appointment.”

“What appointment?”

“Why should I tell you that?”

Since Grace was being hostile, good words didn’t come out of Saya’s mouth either. No matter how accustomed she was to adapting to others, if someone showed such unprovoked dislike for no reason, there was nothing she could do.

“What are you doing?”

Just then, Asel, who had sorted out his thoughts, opened his mouth with a slight frown. At that, Grace’s expression, which had been as cold as ice, brightened completely.

Saya didn’t show it outwardly, but seeing that, she thought inwardly if Grace was crazy, and turned her head towards Asel.

If the other side didn’t approach her kindly, there was no reason for her to crawl and beg either. A merchant who bows to others only incurs losses. She vowed to put a ‘pending’ mark next to Grace’s name on her list when she returned to her lodging and opened her mouth.

“Hello, Asel. As I mentioned yesterday, I was waiting for you.”

“Purchasing items?”

“Yes. You remember, right?”

“I do.”

Asel said that, then turned his head towards Grace, who was parting her lips.

“Grace, is something wrong?”

“……No, nothing. I was just going to ask if we could eat dinner together since we’re here…”

Saya let out a small laugh at Grace’s timid muttering.

“Oh my, I apologize. Asel has a prior engagement with me today.”

“Shut up. I wasn’t talking to you.”

“……Isn’t your attitude too different? Are you perhaps two-faced?”

Saya asked in an incredulous voice, but Grace completely ignored her words. Instead, she took one step closer to Asel and said.

“Do you have an appointment with the fox?”

She didn’t need to ask who the fox was to know. Asel let out a wry laugh, glanced at Saya who was wagging her tail, and nodded.

“We’re in the same group for this task. I was planning to prepare various things together.”

“What she did…!”

Grace shouted that out, then realized that Asel wouldn’t remember anyway and clamped her mouth shut.

To speak the contents in her head, she would have to tell Asel about the regression. Before that, speaking would only get her treated like a crazy woman.

No, perhaps it would be the same even if she revealed she had regressed. Grace felt a sudden sense of dejection and bit her lip tightly.

“Grace? Are you okay?”

Asel put his hand on her shoulder and opened his mouth. Grace read the worry and question in his eyes and forced a smile. She didn’t want to cause him concern unnecessarily.

“No, no. I just suddenly had a sad thought. I’m fine now.”

“……Really?”

Asel didn’t seem to believe her at all, but Grace continued speaking.

“You said you have an appointment, right? Go and have a good time. Let’s eat together next time.”

She didn’t wait for an answer. After showing Asel a smile, she started walking away quickly. Asel narrowed his eyes and watched her back.

His mage’s intuition told him there was something about her, but there was no way to figure out what it was. Unless Grace told him directly, he clearly wouldn’t even be able to guess.

‘I should try talking to her later.’

As Asel thought that and turned his body, Saya, who had been standing still, looked up at him and said.

“Shall we go?”

“Where are we going first?”

“I already got the food yesterday, so we don’t need to worry much about that. Now we just need to buy the rest of the supplemental supplies.”

“For example?”

“Hmm… Magic Tower-made magical tools?”

Saya grinned, a captivating smile on her face.

***

Asel was quite interested in Magic Tower-made magical tools as well.

Magical tools, which various Magic Towers including the Repid Magic Tower put forward as their main business, had effects as certain as their reputation. Their level was completely different from magical tools made by mediocre people. Asel had only heard their names; he had never actually seen them.

‘Which one would be more incredible compared to this bracelet?’

The magical tool directly crafted by the Witch Society, the Bracelet of Flow. Looking at its effect and spell formula, this was by no means a magical tool to be underestimated. If one were to purchase it directly, it would probably require a tremendous amount of gold coins.

Considering that the market prices of Magic Tower-made magical tools were basically crazy, obtaining an artifact of this level for free was a truly remarkable thing. Asel realized the wealth and ability of the Witch Society once again and lifted his head.

A building with its outer walls painted with marble, and one entire wall replaced with glass so the inside could be seen from the outside. The height wasn’t very high, but conversely, the magical power fluctuation felt from the basement was large. This meant the building had a form that delved deeper downwards than upwards.

“This is the largest magical tool shop on the academy grounds.”

Saya explained, wagging her tail. As she said, the amount of magical power emanating from the building itself was quite significant.

The shop was heavily plastered with all sorts of boundary magic and protection magic, not only on the outer walls but also on the glass and interior. Only a few of the spell formulas were directly woven. Most of the power came from magical tools.

“This is a shop where all sorts of Magic Tower-made magical tools gather. It’s one of the cooperative businesses of the few Magic Towers in the Empire. The prices tend to be openly inflated, so it’s expensive, but the effects are guaranteed.”

“……Are all the magical tools inside Magic Tower-made?”

“There are a few that aren’t. More importantly, instead of talking here, shall we go inside first?”

Saya said, pulling Asel’s sleeve. Asel obediently followed her hand and went inside the shop.

Then, the magical power felt from outside began to be caught more clearly. A mysterious place where all sorts of spell formulas were alive and breathing, reacting violently to a single gesture. Asel unconsciously grabbed a single squirming magical power and shook it as it was.

Along with that, one of the magical tools on display began to go out of control like crazy, as if it would explode immediately. The staff members who happened to be checking the magical tools nearby were startled and frantically clung to the trembling magical tool in a hurry.

Asel was just as surprised. He quickly grabbed the rampaging magical power and calmed it down, clearly aware of the foolish thing he had done. After a short while, the trembling magical tool gently settled down on the floor. Both the staff and Asel simultaneously let out a sigh of relief.

One of the staff members who coincidentally made eye contact with Asel smiled awkwardly and opened his mouth.

“Well… it doesn’t usually do this, but it seems to have broken down suddenly. Haha, the other products will be fine. Please don’t worry too much.”

He said this because he mistook Asel’s sigh as being due to feeling danger from the magical tool’s rampage. Asel didn’t bother to correct his misunderstanding and smiled as if relieved.

Sometimes, a white lie was better than the truth.