NOVEL NEXT Chapter 187
The vassals shook their heads at my imposing words, and a frowning Myers scoffed and walked away.
I looked at him and gave him an equally condescending smile.
“It’s more efficient. Space-wise, cost-wise.”The tone was sarcastic, as if to say,
‘Unlike your inefficient plan.’
Lord Myers stomped to his feet, but the chairman stopped him, who had been silent until then, and only spoke up afterward.
“So, what do you say you’ve found?”Instead of answering, I stood up. Then I took center stage, just as Lord Myers had done when he first presented his business plan.
All eyes in the room turned to me, and as I scanned them, I reached into my pocket and pulled out what I had prepared.
“This.”The sample vial O’Neill had given me.
The vassals’ faces immediately turned dubious as they heard my answer.
They didn’t understand what the hell that little vial was and why I looked so smug.
“What is it…”“Before I explain it, let me ask you a question.”I immediately continued,
“We’ve been living our lives using magic ore as our power source. Don’t you think this is inefficient?”“Inefficient?”“I’m talking about the limitations of magic ore. There are only a handful of mines where it’s mined, and not a lot of it is mined, and it takes a lot of people to mine it…”“I don’t know why you’re saying that.”One of the vassals interrupted.
“Magic ore, or rather, the magic power that comes from it, is an indispensable source of power in our lives. “That’s true, and it’s also true that mankind has developed alongside magic since the distant past, and that most of our facilities are now powered by it, so we have to take it all, no matter how inefficient it is…”“What if we don’t have to take it?”“What?”At their dumbfounded looks, I said lightly.
“What if we don’t have to take the inefficiencies, but we can still make up for them with enough power?”“What, what’s that…?”“I’ve been thinking about that for a while now.”The vassals perked up at my abruptness.
“Because no matter what kind of business we do, even if we build a facility, the most expensive part of it is the magic ore.” “…” “But we have no choice, as you said, magic is an essential power source for us, and the only way to replenish large amounts of it is with magic ore.”“…”“So I thought to myself, ‘Isn’t there some other means?’”One of the vassals who had been listening to my words in silence let out an exclamation of realization.
“Is it possible that the reason you decided to head north in such a hurry last time…”“That’s right.”With a shameless smile, I said,
“To conduct research in the north, where the magic wavelengths are said to be unstable, but at the same time, where the concentration of pure magic is densest.”It was a pure lie.
In truth, I was just following Lord River along to seduce him, but that’s the whole point of making up reasons.
The other vassals’ eyes shone with admiration, except for Jeron, who knew the full story. The chairman, looking quite surprised, spoke up.
“You said you found a way because…”“Because I did.”With a chuckle, I added,
“A substitute for magic ore.”Their gazes shifted to the vial in my hand.
“I was able to stay at Duke Bouser’s manor and do some research, and by chance, I discovered that there is a creature with a far greater amount of magical power than magic ore.”“What is that…”“A demon.”“Demons?”There were a few intakes of breath here and there.
“A demon… you mean?”“Yes. The Bousers have a long history of slaying demons, so they have many books about them.”“…”“And then, when I realized that there was quite a bit of magic power contained within them, I thought that we could extract it and use it as a power source to replace magic ore.”“Extracting magic energy from demons?”Several of the vassals’ mouths gaped open. They seemed quite shocked that someone would think to use a creature that was only meant to be feared.
I admit, I wondered if it was even possible at first…
“What do we have here?”I set a small vial down in front of them. Inside the bottle was a clear, almost transparent red liquid.
“It’s demon blood.”“Blood?”“Technically, it’s a crystal of pure magic power refined from demon blood, but the concentration of magic power is so strong that it can have an effect many times greater than magic ore.”“From a single vial?”“One vial?”To which I snorted,
“Of course not, just a single drop.”The vassals’ eyes grew wide, as if they were going to pop out of their sockets.
“Think about it. If a single drop is several times as effective as the magic ore…”“…”“How much of the magic ore would this bottle be equivalent to right now?”“My goodness…”They groaned instead of answering, as if they had gotten the meaning of my words, but they couldn’t take their eyes off the vials, which were glistening and half-turned away.
Even the vassals of Lord Myers’s men.
While I was smiling with pride, someone asked in a concerned voice,
“Isn’t this really a breakthrough?”“This is indeed a breakthrough invention, but I’m afraid it won’t be easy to extract the magic power…”“Certainly, the refining process is still complicated, but I plan to borrow the power of other alchemists and wizards to simplify the process as much as possible, and it shouldn’t cost too much.”“But… doesn’t that mean you’ll need a lot of magic to create a steady power source? How are you going to get that… “Isn’t there a family that just happens to be in that field?”I nudged Jeron. Taking my cue, he rose from his seat with the papers.
“We’ve already made arrangements with the Bousers.”“Bouser?”“Yes. We haven’t worked out the exact proportions yet, but in exchange for a certain amount of magic each year, we’ll give them a share of our profits.”Jeron held out a piece of paper. It already bore the seal of the Duke of Bouser. It was the seal I’d gotten from Rudrick when we discussed the future.
My words were softly spoken,
“Wouldn’t it create a bond between the two houses, and help us politically?” “Hm, heh…”At this, I turned to look at Lord Myers as if to say,
‘Look at this.’
He paused for a moment, his face flushed red, and then he shouted.
“It’s obvious that it’s all just a bunch of hype! You can’t just blindly use a power source that hasn’t been properly tested…!”“That’s why I’m going to prove it to you myself.”“What?”I glanced around at the vassals, not even looking in Myers’ direction.
“Didn’t I tell you in the beginning? I’ve developed an alternative power source to magic ore to reduce the initial cost of the hotel.”“That is…”“We’re going to use the power source we’ve developed as planned to replace the ore, and if it goes well in the hotel, we’ll take it outside.”“Outside?”I grinned at the question.
“The hotel is just a starting point. For now, I’m only in charge of the lodging business, but if I become the heir and head of the family, I’ll have to take the family name with me.”“…”“To that end, this new power source, called Mayu, is an excellent stepping stone.”“A stepping stone…”“We’ll start with a trial run at the hotel and slowly replace all of Averine’s power sources. The better it works, the faster word will spread, and soon other tops will be interested.”“…”“So, if we give a few tops a sample and let them see the effect with their own eyes…”I trailed off and smiled meaningfully.
One of the vassals, who had been listening to me idly, muttered to himself.
“It’s going to be a mess.”I didn’t bother to answer. Instead, I took a step forward and spoke calmly.
“Mayu’s invention isn’t just a replacement for magic ore, it’s a step forward for humanity. If the refining process is simplified and the method becomes widespread, it will lead to advances in technology.”“…”“Growing economies and advancing cultures will bring great prosperity, and we, Averine, will be at the center of it all.”“…”“But for that to happen, we need the help of the Duke Bouser. It will take more than just me to use the Mayu to stand at the center of the continent.”Slowly, I looked around, then finished in a low, yet powerful tone.
“Will you take my hand?”Silence descended around us.
No one spoke, no one moved.
The silence was as still as a mouse’s death.
It was so eerily quiet that I could hear myself swallowing, but strangely enough, I felt at peace at that moment.
Maybe it was because I had said everything I wanted to say.
Whatever the outcome, I had no regrets and would accept it for what it was.
‘And the truth is…’
Then I heard applause coming from somewhere.
Looking in the direction of the sound, I saw the chairman, sitting at the head of the table, clapping.
His face had changed dramatically from before the meeting started. Unfazed by the stares, the chairman opened his mouth.
“I’ve listened to you both, and I think you’ve done the best you can in your respective positions, so thank you, and…”“…”“It seems the others have made up their minds as well.”The vassals glanced at each other. Judging by the lack of dissent, they were all in agreement.
The Chairman spoke in a solemn voice.
“Lord McFlynn Myers.”“…”“…”“Princess Dahlia Averine.”After a long pause, someone raised their hand.
“I’m in favor.”That was it.
“I’m in favor.”“I approve.”“I say yes.”“I, I agree…”One, two…
The number of people raising their hands grew.
And when the parade of voices ended. Everyone in the room had raised their hands.
“…”
My eyes widened and I looked around.
No one was speaking, no one was moving, but my heart was now beating like crazy.
And my chest puffed out, on the verge of bursting.
“We wish you well in your future endeavors, Princess…no.”The chairman smiled and greeted,
“Duchess Averine.”