NOVEL NEXT Chapter 22
Swish
I close the door, draw the blackout curtains, and wait for Beatrice.
In the dimly lit room, Beatrice hesitates for a moment before approaching the bed with a determined expression.
“First, take off your outerwear and sit here.”
“…Take off my clothes and sit here?”
“Yes. If you want, you can lie down.”
“………I see. I’m so naive to think you’d share something like this for free.”
Huh? What’s with the sudden shift?
“But if I could escape this chronic condition that has tormented me for a lifetime, even for just a moment…”
“Princess?”
“I’m ready. I said I’d do anything, so do what you want. Though I’ve closed the curtains, this is my first time, so I’ll be considerate…”
“What nonsense are you spouting?”
“Huh?”
Is she out of her mind? I just asked her to take off her outerwear and sit on the bed, and she’s putting on a whole show about it.
“Stop acting weird and sit comfortably. Do you see me as some kind of raving lunatic? It’s really unpleasant.”
“Ah, well…”
“Don’t make unnecessary excuses. Do you realize how rude your earlier comments were? I don’t have the slightest sexual interest in you, Princess.”
“………Okay.”
Totally ridiculous. Does she really think all men ask for something just because she’s pretty and has a big chest? That’s some serious self-consciousness there.
Beatrice is indeed beautiful. She was the most popular target for fan art in the community, with plenty of 2nd creation works, and yes, her bust is impressive.
But I’ve only played ‘Dark Kingdom’ for about 10 hours, and after spending five years in this world, I’m not about to get excited over a game character now.
As the Finance Director, all I see is a pretty student and, more importantly, a Demolisher, one of the Four Kings of Fiscal Destruction.
Fortunately, it seems she’s aware of her embarrassment, as a red-faced Beatrice shyly sits on the bed.
“Then now.”
“Y-Yes.”
“Use magic.”
“Excuse me!?”
“Use all of your magic power. Scrape it all out.”
“………”
“It’s about completely emptying it.”
That’s the first step to curing her chronic condition.
But Beatrice looks pretty panicked.
“Finance Director, you saw my chronic condition, so why…? The whole dorm is going to collapse!”
“This isn’t attack magic. [Illumination] will suffice.”
“Ah.”
“So, you’re not going to do it?”
“N-No! Well, for Illumination magic…”
Shimmer
Illumination (発光) is a basic magic for generating light.
It consumes a significant amount of magic power, but due to its unique usefulness, it’s a magic that any Mage should learn.
And it was the opening pattern of Beatrice, who was the boss in the game.
“When the boss fight starts, she uses Illumination magic and then runs away to the top of the clock tower.”
She just kept running away and created an uncontrollable Illumination magic that obscured the clock tower, making it more of a platformer than a boss battle.
At first, I thought, “What kind of boss is this?”
But once you start from the clock tower’s first floor and break through the obscuring Illumination to chase her to the top, only then does the real boss battle begin.
“Illumination magic consumes a lot of magic power during creation, but it’s efficient to maintain. Just continuously push your magic power into the spell. After all, even if it goes out of control, it will just sparkle in different colors.”
Huff, huff…!!
Sparkle!
Beatrice continuously poured her magic power into the Illumination spell as I instructed.
Naturally, the Illumination magic, overwhelmed by her massive magic power, loses its control and either emits an excessively bright light or flickers weakly. It twists into all sorts of shapes instead of maintaining a sphere.
She’s someone who can’t even properly remove her own magic. Forcing her to empty her magic this way was the only option. Whether now or in the original game.
As I watched the Illumination going wild in every way its name suggested, or simply closed my eyes…
“Now… slowly…”
“Keep going, don’t stop.”
About 30 minutes passed, I guess. Beatrice’s arms began to tremble, and cold sweat started to flow.
For a Mage, magic power is like air. You always have it, and you can easily breathe it in and out, but you can’t last long if you completely run out.
Beatrice’s reaction was almost instinctive denial. Her body, always soaked in magic, rejected being emptied out.
But it must be done. As someone who isn’t a Mage, I don’t know how great her pain is, but nonetheless, it had to happen.
“Didn’t you say you’d do anything? Don’t forget those words.”
Gasp…!!
In a daze.
The clench of her teeth almost drew blood as Beatrice tightly closed her eyes, and at the moment when she pushed her last bit of magic power into Illumination…
Her body no longer had any magic power left.
Cough!
“This is the moment. Absorb the magic power from the bed.”
Gasp, cough.
“I know it’s hard to breathe. I’m sure you want to pull out all your magic power right now. But slowly, carefully absorb only the minimum magic power and leave some behind.”
I didn’t just tell her to sit on the bed for no reason. This bed is an Artifact.
After I nearly collapsed due to overwork and sleepless nights, the Headmistress gifted me this. I heard it helps facilitate the flow of magic and allows for good sleep.
For me, being Rank 1 and having almost no magic, it had little use, but I was satisfied that it was a fluffy, nice bed.
And now Beatrice is…
In a state of magic exhaustion, absorbing the magic contained in the bed artifact.
Like a person dying of thirst craving water, she could suck it up blindly. But with eyes bloodshot, she followed my instructions and only left behind one drop of water, the bare minimum of magic power in her body. Just enough to survive.
Now, we’re ready.
“Use the remaining magic power in the Artifact to cast the spell.”
“Ugh… um…”
“It’s Illumination magic. Focus.”
The trembling Beatrice barely lifted her hands, full of anguish, and since she finally used the magic from the bed artifact…
Shimmer
The light…
“Ah…?”
“Do you see it?”
Cough, cough.
“Move it as you wish.”
Without going out of control, it took on a perfect spherical shape and emitted a clean light.
Beatrice’s bloodshot eyes widened as she moved her hands, making the Illumination magic follow her lead. It grew, dimmed, and brightened as she desired.
At the same time…
Drip. Drip.
“…………..”
“Ugh… Ah…!!”
Beatrice was in tears.
For the first time in her life, her magic obeyed her will, and even though her voice didn’t come out properly, she was continually letting out a carol-like voice mixed with tears.
Incomprehensible lamentations, overwhelming emotions, and desperate yearning were woven into her groans.
How long did she move the Illumination magic? After soaking the sheets with her tears…
I stepped outside the room for a moment to grab a bottle of Elixir and handed it to her.
“Drink this.”
“……!!”
Gulp, gulp!
For a Mage, the Elixir that replenishes magic power is no different from water. To her, who had only absorbed the bare minimum of magic while in a state of exhaustion, it must have seemed like a life-giving water.
After drinking the entire Elixir in one go, Beatrice was momentarily dazed, before raising her head to look at me.
Her eyes were filled with trust.
“How…?”
“The Headmistress had a hypothesis. If magic is produced normally, but cannot be controlled afterward, perhaps there’s a problem with the magic you possess.”
“My magic?”
“More accurately, I believe it’s your constitution. The magic you have has undergone a transformation that makes it uncontrollable.”
That’s a load of nonsense. I’m just piecing together what I remember from the game.
Yet, Beatrice listened seriously to my words. After all, she just experienced a miracle herself.
“So, you’re saying not to use the magic that you have.”
“Use external magic, the power stored in the Artifact to cast your spell…?”
“Exactly. However, even if you absorb the magic from the Artifact, it will quickly mix with your magic, which is why you needed to empty out your power.”
To put it simply, Beatrice’s magic is like seawater, while the magic from the Artifact is freshwater.
You need to use fresh water, but if there’s seawater leftover, it becomes a worthless, mixed magic. So, you need to empty it out to use only the freshwater.
…That’s what the tooltip said after I recruited Beatrice in the game.
“This is why it’s not a permanent cure, but a temporary one.”
“That’s right. Every time you cast magic, you’ll go into a state of exhaustion and must use the Artifact’s magic.”
Just earlier, it took over 20 minutes to reach magic exhaustion, and on top of that, using the Artifact is also needed.
Even more so…
“Take a good feel of the bed.”
“Huh? The Artifact…?”
“It’s forced out of the stored magic, so naturally, the Artifact’s original function will be damaged. Plus, the efficiency won’t be great.”
Using the magic pulled out of the Artifact will almost certainly ruin it, and even if you do, the efficiency will be horrible.
It might even be that after draining all the magic contained in the bed Artifact, you’d only be able to cast Fireball a few times.
That’s why I didn’t want to tell Beatrice about this method.
“Simply put, it requires money.”
Of course, even though Beatrice is a princess, a daughter of the fourth royal family, carrying around a decent amount of Artifacts wouldn’t be a heavy burden.
But that was when she was back in her home country, and now at this academy, she doesn’t have much money. Even the wealthy students wouldn’t dare to buy Artifacts easily.
“The last time I tried to take a bribe, I couldn’t bring back enough.”
To defeat Chloe, I’d need quite a bit of Artifacts, and to buy them, I’d have to pay with the precious metal I brought.
Again, I emphasize, Artifacts aren’t your average expense. And I wouldn’t even know how many I’d need to beat someone like Chloe, so the right approach would be to grab as many as I can.
But then I’d lose the bribe to receive!
If I took even more bribes, I wouldn’t be able to buy the Artifacts to face Chloe, which is truly a dilemma… but…
There’s a way out.
“Do you think you can reclaim this?”
“Of course, of course! Thank you so much…!!”
“Then───”
“You want me to show sincerity? Don’t worry! I’ll give you all the remaining precious metals and anything that can be turned into money!”
“Excuse me?”
What? If you do that, you won’t have any money left.
How will you buy Artifacts then?
“You have to get Artifacts, right?”
“I can earn money. No matter how long it takes, as long as I work hard and save, I can eventually make money. But treating me for curing my chronic condition… is something I can’t repay with mere money.”
“How do you expect to live if you can’t leave the academy?”
“I noticed there are plenty of part-time job opportunities around. Even though Artifacts are expensive, if I work diligently, I can definitely!”
“Quit the nonsense and just buy the Artifacts.”
“Finance Director…?”
Why do you look so surprised? Did you think I’d actually take it?
If you were just a regular student, of course, I’d take it, but you’re a Demolisher. You already have a record of destroying five classrooms.
It’s obvious that you’re going to say you’ll practice magic from now on, and I can’t afford to keep you at the academy for long.
If you were to save every penny for an entire year, you’d barely scrape together enough for one! That doesn’t even seem remotely reasonable.
“The Headmistress will… I’ll find a way to meet her alone again. I hope you retrieve the pendant as quickly as possible.”
“…Why?”
“Your Highness?”
“Why are you doing this? We’re just people tangled in bribery, nothing more.”
Because it’s most financially profitable for you to duel with Chloe and return to your home country quickly!
…But saying that doesn’t sound good, so I had to cover it with some vague generalities.
“I’m not an educator, but I’m still a staff member at the academy. We may have met through bribery, but you are still a student at our academy.”
“………Ah.”
“Plus, considering the amount of bribe I received last time, let’s count that as it goes.”
So please, hurry back. Don’t destroy any more buildings, really.
Even though the goal of taking more bribes is impossible now, in the end, the most important objective is to get the Demolisher to return.
You should go back, so I can wait until the investment ratio comes in without any variables!
“Finance Director.”
“If you are still hesitant, once you return to your country, just send a donation, and that would suffice. I can’t send bribes here from the Delphia Kingdom, but a donation should be fine.”
“…Oh, I see.”
“Yes?”
“I understand, Finance Director… no, Adam.”
Why is she suddenly calling me by my name?
I found myself taking a step back instinctively, looking at Beatrice’s resolved expression as if she had made a decision.
“I won’t let you down. I promise!”
“Uh… okay.”
So, you’re definitely going back now? Do you trust me?
Beatrice, who had a serious face while meeting my gaze, suddenly tilted her head, noticing something.
“Huh? Adam, what’s in your front pocket…?”
“Huh? Oh, it’s just a cigarette.”
“Who carries just one cigarette? And that cigarette looks… strangely familiar.”
“You must have seen it with someone from your home country.”
“No, that’s not it! Wait a moment.”
“Huh.”
Has Beatrice seen this before? It’s not just any cigarette, but a ‘special edition’!
Well, it must be a misunderstanding. It doesn’t look that different from regular cigarettes…
“This smell… could it be?”
“Your Highness?”
“Adam, this isn’t just a cigarette! It’s military-grade stimulant tobacco made in our kingdom───”
“Shhh.”
“………..Adam.”
“It’s just a necessary item for work.”
“……Those books and papers, and not only that, living in this old dormitory, plus that so-called work cigarette.”
Ahem.
“Adam, are you being compensated for your efforts? Are you receiving fair treatment at this academy?”
Well, they do pay quite a bit. Still, I return almost all of it after taking out just enough for living expenses to contribute to the budget.
Isn’t that just passion pay? If I can get through this bankruptcy crisis, I’ve secured a job for life, so it’s fine.
The Headmistress wouldn’t impose more work on me afterward, right? She’d probably hire more staff for the finance department to handle it.
…No need to explain all that to Beatrice, nor do I want to, so…
Now that everything is done, let’s send her off. I have to go back and talk to the Headmistress about Beatrice, and if the King has finished his conversation, I need to discuss that too. There’s still a lot to do.
“Your Highness, you need to start practicing hard if you want to defeat Chloe!”
“Adam.”
“Please, practice in the training hall or training room. Absolutely do not use that other spot! Absolutely!”
“……Adam.”
“Well then, I have some remaining business, so I’ll take my leave.”
Click.
After forcibly sending Beatrice out of the room and closing the door,
“………….”
Beatrice stood there for a while, blank-faced, before finally leaving.
…What’s wrong with her?