Chapter 106
Chapter 106
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 106
Chapter Title: Heat Stones and Mana Circuits
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Sedes stared at Nihil with a subtle expression on his face after reading the curt note. Even back when he was a prince—no, even after ascending to the throne—he'd never been treated with such outright disrespect. And by his own son's friend, of all people.
"......No matter how you slice it, isn't this a bit too familiar?"
-Worth the scolding.
Sedes raised one eyebrow, failing to grasp the meaning of Nihil's scribbled 'Worth the scolding,' only realizing belatedly that it meant 'I'll be just as rude as the scolding I get.' He let out a sigh.
"I may have spoken harshly, but you did take the prince to a dangerous place."
-You promised not to scold the kid.
"...That's true."
-You'll break your word to the kid. You'll turn into a lying dad.
"...Please let it slide."
Wasn't it every parent's dream to seem upright and honorable in their child's eyes?
-And didn't you stop that thing from almost devouring Sharton?
"You are the snitch......"
The actual snitching had been done by Yaong-i, but Nihil just nodded vaguely and kept scribbling.
-Guard Captain, drugs, human trafficking, gambling den
"......"
Sedes let out a hollow laugh as he eyed the very source of his overtime woes right in front of him, then glanced at his friend who'd toiled through the night alongside him. Abel, utterly uninterested in their exchange, clutched a single sheet of paper he'd received via bird messenger the day before, simply biding his time.
He looked a little ridiculous, waiting like that. But since Sedes had summoned him in the first place to check on his friend's mana status, he decided to yield the floor quickly.
"The Prime Minister seems to have something on his mind. Shall we hear him out first?"
Nihil nodded at Sedes' suggestion, and Abel's face lit up as he slapped the paper down flat on the table. It was the very sheet Nihil had sent to the mage via bird the previous day.
Sedes hadn't paid it much mind before, but now that he finally glanced at it, the ink was so badly smudged and the drawing such a mess that he couldn't make heads or tails of it.
"Kid, is this an exact copy of the vision-sharing spell I put on that bird?"
"This is..., a magic circle? Do you know magic?"
Sedes shot Nihil a dubious look in response to Abel's question. Mages were rare and valuable talents. Especially in a kingdom as short on them as theirs.
But the boy shook his head at both queries and proceeded to redraw the pattern—he'd presumably sketched it the evening before—exactly as it had been. He even gave Abel time to compare it side-by-side with his own circle.
Nihil's version bore a strong resemblance to the one Abel had actually used, but the finer details differed. To be precise, he'd corrected a magic circle that had been lost after the Heavenly Demon War and distorted through faulty transmission.
Abel's face grew grave as he scrutinized it, then he abruptly shot to his feet.
"...Abel, what's wrong......"
Bang! Thud!
"......"
Abel stormed out of the reception room without so much as a backward glance. Sedes stared blankly at the door, utterly bewildered by his friend's sudden exit.
Then came a soft thump. He turned to find his son's friend pulling a thick stack of documents from his bosom and piling them onto the table with little thuds.
Sedes screamed internally and rubbed his dry face. He'd been buried in paperwork for days now, sacrificing sleep to chip away at it, yet those infernal stacks kept pouring in from who-knows-where.
"Haa..., what is it this time."
-User reviews for heat stone daily goods
"Heat stones?"
Sedes flipped through the proffered reviews with a puzzled frown.
Each one was in a different handwriting, suggesting different authors. He had no idea what exactly they'd made with the heat stones, but every single review was glowing. Some were so effusive they bordered on fawning.
"I haven't the foggiest what you had them make or why you collected these, but what's the point?"
-Heat stone prices are about to spike. Royal family buys up the mines to prevent an explosion.
"...Prevent? You mean monopolize them? But..., no need to keep passing notes. We're already past careful words."
Sedes let out an incredulous chuckle at Nihil, who insisted on notes precisely to watch his tongue—though even those were growing shorter, as if writing was too much bother.
At the suggestion, Nihil promptly opened his mouth.
"Well, if Father insists, I won't hold back. I'll speak freely."
"......Huh."
Sedes thought the boy was devilishly sharp as he pressed on.
"The gist is we should snap up those heat stone mines, right? But as I recall, heat stones are just stones that give off faint warmth—perfect for hand warmer pouches. Once the weather thaws, they're useless."
Nihil snorted in derision, pulling two small heat stones from his bosom and setting them on the table. He scanned the room as if searching for something, then spotted a vase even larger than his own head decorating the space. He approached and reached up—but it was too high. Even on tiptoes, his fingers fell short.
Sedes stifled a chuckle at the sight. For all his airs, the kid was still just a kid.
"......"
Nihil abandoned the effort. Instead, he fixed Sedes with a stare and jerked his chin at the vase, as if to say well? Get it down already.
Sedes was dumbfounded, but at the sight of arms crossed and a foot tapping impatiently, he laughed hollowly and rose from his seat.
Nihil trailed eagerly after Sedes, who now held the vase. He yanked out all the pretty yellow flowers plugged into it and tossed them haphazardly onto the table. Water pooled everywhere, but Sedes was the only one who cared.
Eyeing the droplets pattering to the floor below, Sedes asked dubiously,
"What are you up to?"
Silent, Nihil slammed the two heat stones together with a resounding clack that echoed through the room, then dropped them into the vase with twin plops. Sedes frowned in confusion—what on earth?—but soon a bubbling sound rose from the vase. Startled, he peered inside.
Steam was already wafting up.
"Is that..., boiling right now?"
There hadn't been boiling water in the flower vase before, so this was new. Sedes gingerly touched the side, only to snatch his hand back at the unexpected heat.
"I'll share the proper use of heat stones. On the condition that the kingdom secures those mines."
Sedes could feel the stones' value skyrocketing from a single pot of boiling water. This was no mere trinket for pouches. The possibilities for real application were endless.
He reread the servants' reviews of heat stone daily goods.
Maids washing laundry in the cold could easily get hot water outdoors. No need to stoke fires for ironing every time. They could heat water and food—or keep them warm—without any flame.
And the heating device devised as a replacement for smoky, light-polluting, inefficient wall furnaces? Revolutionary.
Sedes eyed the boy sitting impassively before him. Where on earth had the prince picked up a gem like this?
Their eyes met, and the boy spoke up again.
"Contact me after buying the mines. I'll explain the uses then."
"Not sharing for free, eh?"
"I want it popularized."
"That won't be easy."
"Just use the relief programs. Oh, and your son's friend could use some pocket money."
"......"
Sedes was once more at a loss for words, staring at this 'son's friend' bold enough to match wits with him.
"......We'll notify you after acquiring the mines. That aside, how did you......"
Bang!
Sedes was on the verge of asking how he'd known when the reception room door flew open with a crash. Abel burst back in, clutching a thick tome and a potted plant to his chest.
He barged into the king's presence without knocking, but the passing servants paid it no mind. Everyone knew the king and Prime Minister were thick as thieves. And the mild-mannered Prime Minister only acted this way when something was both crucial and urgent.
"Abel, what happened to knocking?"
Bang!
Sedes chided him for the noisy entrance, but Abel slammed the door shut with force and marched over with a grim expression. He thumped down what looked like a 10-centimeter-thick ancient volume on the table, then set the flowerpot down oh-so-gently with a faint click.
The pot held none other than the Sirentea Nihil had gifted as a bribe to the kid's dad.
Nihil arched one eyebrow at the sight.
"Did you give it some sun?"
"Ah, well......"
Abel flinched—once at the tone, twice at the sharp question—peering guiltily. He'd thought it looked fine and relaxed, but to get called out so immediately...
He offered a tentative excuse.
"I was up all night with overtime and forgot to bring it inside this morning..., Is it badly damaged?"
"Fruiting will be delayed a little. It'd be fine even if it bore now, but too much sun will kill it by drying it out. Be careful."
Relieved there was no major issue with his Sirentea, Abel beamed. He slid the ancient tome toward Nihil, only for his wrist to be suddenly seized. He blinked in confusion.
"What's wrong?"
Nihil merely nodded at the seat beside him, urging Abel to sit. Abel complied meekly, settling onto the sofa.
The boy held Abel's wrist steady for a long moment, then pressed it to his own forehead and quietly closed his eyes. The pose was so solemn, like a priest offering prayers for the faithful.
Without thinking, Abel lifted his free hand and stroked the boy's snow-white, fluffy-looking hair. The ends were split from hardship, not quite as soft as expected, but the roots had a fine texture. Left to grow, it would surely become magnificent locks.
Abel stroked for a good while, then brushed the boy's pale lashes. There was no resistance, but those beautiful black-opal eyes narrowed slightly.
Only then did Abel realize the boy had opened his eyes. He yanked his hand back.
"Haha, sorry about that. It was so fascinating, my hand just wandered."
"Your mana circuits are a mess."
"Mana circuits?"
"No magic for a while. Drop the soundproofing spell too."
"Wha— so..., abruptly?"
"Focus on recovery."
"Kid, can't you explain properly?"
"Too bothersome."
"......"
Speechless at the blunt dismissal, Abel turned pleading eyes to Sedes. Sedes debated whether to chide the brat for his rudeness to the Prime Minister, coax him into talking, or threaten with status—but this wasn't the type to buckle. Best to sweet-talk him.
"Come now, give us a proper explanation. This is important to my dear friend."
Sedes said as much while personally fetching refreshments from the room's tray and offering them to his son's impudent companion.
The slightly arrogant boy helped himself to a single round chocolate, popped it in his mouth, and—
"Ptoo."
—spat it out.
"......"
...No need to spit it out like that, even if you don't like it.