“Ah, no! Investor! Will you listen to what I have to say until the end?”
“Go ahead.”
“I still don’t have a high-grade mana stone crafting certification. I’m just fumbling around processing high-grade mana stones to get a feel for it. What will the result be if I take on a new type of high-grade mana stone without any professional knowledge…?”
“Hmm. Just proceed with the work.”
“Can you please listen to me until the end!!!”
Bwaaaah! I yelled out loud.
I’m just so frustrated…
Is this person even listening to what I’m saying?
Could it be that discovering my talent was just a coincidence?
Suddenly, I found myself having such doubts.
“I’m really sorry, but can I ask you one thing, Investor?”
“What is it?”
I bit my lips unconsciously.
I held back a potentially rude question.
And then I finally blurted out the question I had been dying to ask for so long.
“What made you trust me with such expensive mana stones…!? ”
I said it.
At the same time, I became curious about what answer I would get, while also feeling afraid.
‘Just.’
‘Money is overflowing.’
‘I’m bored.’
I was worried I might get such an answer.
Could it have just been a coincidence?
Even though I know there’s no gain in hearing such responses, I still asked.
It could be better for both of us if we didn’t ask or answer…
“I saw the low-grade mana stones you crafted.”
“What?”
But the answer that came out of the Investor’s mouth was entirely unexpected.
Why on earth was my low-grade mana stone being mentioned here?
“I knew right away. The person who made this is unbelievably foolish.”
“Ah…”
“With skills like this, you’re still messing around with low-grade mana stones. I was so frustrated that I came straight to Basel. If no one was going to let you handle high-grade mana stones, I figured I should raise you myself. It’s much faster and cheaper that way.”
I seriously…
Could never have imagined.
After seeing my low-grade mana stone that everyone said was foolish, he thought to have me process high-grade mana stones?
If it were someone else’s story, I would absolutely never believe it.
But since the Investor says it, I can’t help but believe it.
“This is the same. It doesn’t matter if it’s a type of mana stone you’ve never touched before or whatever. You need to touch it to improve your skills.”
“But… I want to show you improved skills… I don’t want to show you my clumsy side.”
“How am I supposed to wait until then? Just practice with mine. I want to see your clumsy beginnings too.”
“Investor…”
Choke Something welled up from the deep inside of my chest.
I hadn’t really cried at all for almost the past few years.
But every time I meet the Investor, tears keep wanting to come out.
Someone who recognizes my efforts.
Someone who discovered talents I didn’t even know I had.
And someone who patiently waits for me.
I really have no idea how to repay such a grateful person.
Because of such a person, I didn’t want to let them down.
I just wanted to show them my best results.
But he said he wants to see both my clumsy side and my growth…
Maybe the Investor might have a bit of a perverted character.
“Ugh, I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have been so weak!”
Huff I braced myself and started examining the ominous light emanating from the mana stone again.
The crystal structure was still beyond my grasp.
However, that didn’t mean I could give up.
I had no reason to succumb to the excuse of failing right from the start.
I’d been really disrespectful.
The Investor is making an ‘investment’ in me.
He’s taking on the risk of failure and spending a fortune on me.
What must he have thought when he saw me coming up with excuses that I might fail?
“I’ll do it! I’ll give it my all! I’ll show you the best results!”
What the Investor wants isn’t just a consistent quality of results.
What he wants is the result that comes from my utmost effort.
Only now did I realize that.
“That’s a wonderful mindset.”
“Hehe…”
Finally, the Investor smiled satisfactorily and patted my head.
Warmth.
The feeling that someone understands me, this warm sensation, is something I’ve never felt before.
*
“Stop whining.”
“Hehe.”
That’s just ridiculous.
After making such a fuss,
He warned that the efficiency could be lower than raw stones.
“How can such a crazy performance come out?”
“I was really surprised too…”
But the resulting mana stone was something that would leave anyone in shock.
The moment Tay opened the box with a somewhat dumbfounded expression, an unusual aura began to radiate.
The instant I touched the completed product, I had the illusion that all my blood was rushing to my head.
Turns out the flow of mana was so fast that it felt that way.
It seems I’d need to adapt to make good use of this.
Even exceptional performance can come with its challenges.
That’s how off-the-charts its performance is.
“The analysis showed additional effects.”
“What kind?”
“It contains mana inside. It’s a small amount, but it seems you can store mana and use it later. I don’t really know since I can’t manage mana…”
“Wow.”
It’s true.
Feeling it in my hands, I could tell mana was being sucked inside.
As a result, the dark crystal inside the mana stone started to shine ominously even more.
When taking it out, you have to reverse the process.
When mana is absorbed back in, the crystal loses its light and returns to a normal gemstone’s appearance.
As Tay said, the storage wasn’t at a significant level.
But if I use it as an emergency escape when mana exhaustion hits, it’ll be enough to help me avoid exhaustion.
This was something I absolutely needed, considering how high my mana consumption was.
“Haha…”
I couldn’t help but laugh out of disbelief.
I’ve never seen anything like this.
I had no idea that the mana stone I brought from defeating the Four Heavenly Kings’ avatar would be this extraordinary.
If I had known earlier, I would have spent all twelve rounds stalking the Four Heavenly Kings and memorizing the locations of their avatars.
Instead, I wasted time aiming for those useless girls, chasing after heroines…
What a pity.
“Good job, Tay. It looks like we’ll be getting another similar mana stone next time, so I’ll be relying on you then too.”
“Yup… Just leave it to me… But, I’m really sleepy right now…”
“Get some good rest. I’ll come to pick up the second mana stone tomorrow. Shall I note down the payment with a check?”
“Hehe, you really don’t have to pay me, though.”
“I’m not going to extort money from a kid.”
This was the first attempt, and such a crazy item came out.
If so, what kind of results can I expect from the second and third?
If this is how advanced the mana stone that came from the avatar is, how extraordinary will the one from the main body of the Four Heavenly Kings be?
My heart started racing.
I thought there was a clear limit to the performance of mana stones.
I assumed that after a certain point, the efficiency wouldn’t equal the money spent.
But now, unexpected upper levels keep opening up.
Thanks to that, upgrading my stats has become significantly easier.
“Aren’t you coming?”
“…I’m going.”
As I was about to leave the workshop, Mi Jeong’s feet wouldn’t move.
It seemed she was staring at Tay.
They exchanged glances silently for a while before she turned away.
Is it that they understood each other without saying anything?
Looks like they’ve gotten friendly in the meantime.
But was there ever a reason for them to be friends…?
“That black mana stone is mine. When the second mana stone is ready, I’ll give it to you. How would you like to use it?”
“…As a ring.”
“That’ll be too heavy for a ring.”
“…A ring will do.”
“Hey.”
If I made a ring out of it, it would probably end up being as large as a candy ring.
Fighting with something like that is absurd.
“How about a necklace instead?”
“…I don’t like it.”
“I’m planning to make the new mana stone into a necklace.”
“…Then I want a necklace too.”
It turns out that they could reach an understanding easily.
In the end, they settled on both getting necklaces.
Tay’s quick hands soon completed the second mana stone as well.
Although it didn’t reach the level of the one born from Belphegor’s magic, it still turned out to be a mana stone of exceptional quality.
Now all that was left was to make the mana stone into a necklace.
I handed it over to a trustworthy workshop, and what was left to do was…
“Ah. I’m bored.”
There’s not much to do.
Today, I locked Mi Jeong in the hotel room and went out alone.
She kept jumping on my back every time I fetched water, causing quite an uproar…
I think Mi Jeong would prefer resting in the hotel room anyway.
So what should I do now?
In the past, I might have gone to the casino at this moment.
With the ‘Inquiry’ trait, all the cards would be visible to me, making it a piece of cake to win money.
The problem is, if I committed such acts and ended up getting a bounty on my head, I’d be in big trouble.
The risk of being chased by Jill would just increase.
Anyway, with Cornelia’s unlimited funding, I no longer need to indulge in gambling.
Maybe I should look for other distractions.
“Ahhh!!!”
“…?!”
At that moment, a faint scream echoed from the alley.
I was startled and turned around, but no one in the plaza seemed to care.
That must have been too quiet of a sound for anyone else to hear.
But one thing was certain, it wasn’t just my imagination.
Someone was in danger.
As soon as I realized that, my body instinctively darted toward the direction of the scream.
The alley just kept getting darker.
No matter how you look at it, this is not a place a woman would come alone.
Just when I started to worry that I might be too late,
“Uuugh…”
“Tsk.”
From around the corner came the sound of someone clicking their tongue.
A girl holding an oriental-style fan stood atop some thugs.
She looked somewhat familiar, and when I saw the rabbit ears on her head, it became clear.
“Hmph. Just like a shortish dwarf, her fighting style is brainless.”
Alicia.
The noble lady from Palana, she’s someone who’s very close to Yerina.
But why on earth is Alicia here?
‘Could it be that she’s looking for me?’
My overblown delusions from Jill kicked in again.
After recognizing the previous rounds, did Yerina send Alicia to find me?
Well, that’s a vague delusion.
Of course, I quickly calmed down knowing that it was impossible.
“By the way, where’s that guy Yoo Jin.”
“…”
Wait.
This is insane.
She really did come looking for me.
What I was laughing off as a delusion suddenly transformed into reality.
