Chapter 85
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 85
Ishtal. Freya’s Office.
Having failed to negotiate with Roen—no, having practically stormed out—Freya returned to her office, her expression grim.
“President, how did it go?”
“…”
Freya remained tight-lipped, ignoring her aide’s question. With her head hung low, she finally spoke in a barely audible voice.
“I’m sorry.”
Her aides quickly waved their hands in dismissal.
“Not at all. We weren’t expecting anything from Roen in the first place, were we? There’s no need for you to apologize to us…”
“No, this is clearly my fault.”
Thud—!
Simply hanging her head wasn't enough; Freya slammed her forehead against the desk. Her aides rushed to stop her, but she refused to look up.
‘…What have I done?’
Freya was overcome with severe self-reproach. She had boldly rejected Roen’s offer and stormed out of the Student Council office, but in truth, she had no viable alternative.
Of course, the sports festival could proceed without Roen’s help. Ishtal’s grand parade ground was a massive stage in itself. It could accommodate tens of thousands of people without issue, and some of the equipment shortfall could be covered by the academy’s existing tents and chairs.
It would be impossible to provide a shaded seat for every single student, but they could at least cover the student council presidents, the leadership, and the faculty. The general student body probably wouldn't complain too much if they were just given mats to sit on.
But… that would mean the vision Freya had initially envisioned—one where all students could enjoy the games comfortably—would vanish. To provide shade and chairs to those of high status while telling others to sit on the rough, bumpy field under the scorching sun… Freya didn't want that kind of discrimination. Not while she was the Student Council President.
However.
‘Even so, I couldn’t just accept Roen’s proposal.’
Freya had her reasons for rejecting his offer. Though Roen had changed recently, she had no way of knowing what kind of motion he wanted her voting rights for, or how that motion would affect the students. She couldn’t endanger the student body by agreeing to Roen’s demands just to ensure the sports festival ran smoothly.
Furthermore, it was hard to believe that Roen could immediately procure the supplies that she and Jeremy, with all their connections, had failed to secure. Unless, of course, Roen had anticipated this and prepared the items in advance.
His demand for her voting rights in exchange for such an uncertain reward was unreasonable. Her decision was, in a way, the only logical one.
“Hoo.”
Freya let out a deep sigh, her thoughts racing. Seeing her uncharacteristically dejected, her aides approached to comfort her.
“Lady Freya, we did our best under difficult circumstances. Please, hold your head high.”
“Don’t be too disheartened. This was beyond our control.”
“That’s right. Who could have predicted that the suppliers would suddenly go bankrupt one after another?”
Freya reacted sharply to her aides’ words.
“No. Someone did predict it.”
Roen had warned her in advance that those companies were in danger. She was the one who hadn’t listened. There was no excuse.
“Pardon?”
“It’s nothing. Please forget I said it.”
“And, if you think about it, the one who scouted and contracted the suppliers was Jeremy…”
“That’s enough. There’s nothing more pointless than assigning blame right now.”
She knew they were trying to comfort her, but the blame couldn’t be shifted to Jeremy. If anything, Jeremy was the biggest victim in this situation. The companies he had personally contracted had not only caused a stock manipulation incident but had also gone bankrupt and fled. The financial losses must be immense.
Freya sighed deeply again and slowly lifted her head from the desk.
“…Blaming myself won’t change anything.”
Steeling her resolve, Freya rubbed her reddened forehead and issued her orders.
“Diona, Theon. Go to Jeremy and see if there’s any possibility of securing additional supplies. Check one more time.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Dorothy, you will come with me to the harbor. We’ll try contacting the merchant guilds again.”
“Yes, President!”
Though she found herself in a difficult situation due to her own mistakes and circumstances beyond her control, she couldn’t give up. Heaven helps those who help themselves. With one aide in tow, she set off for Stella Harbor once more.
*
“We’ll be taking our leave now.”
“Yes, I’m sorry I couldn’t be of more help, Miss Diona, Mr. Theon. I’ll keep looking for suppliers and contact you immediately if I find a new supply route.”
“Yes, sir. Thank you for your hard work.”
Click—.
After Freya’s aides left, silence fell over Jeremy’s office.
“…”
The smile vanished from his face as he quietly clenched his fist.
Crack—!
The fountain pen in his hand shattered into pieces, and the ink inside burst out, spreading a black stain across his desk. But even this wasn't enough to express the full extent of his fury.
Rip—!
Jeremy tore the letter in his hand to shreds and threw it into the trash. It was an invoice detailing the losses from the recent stock manipulation incident. Half of the merchant guilds under his command, which had been his primary source of funds, had gone bankrupt.
Considering the money spent on the cleanup, the subsequent opportunity costs, and the future value, at least a trillion had evaporated in this single incident. Even for Jeremy, the legitimate heir and next successor of the Knight Kingdom, this was a devastating blow.
What made it worse was the thought that his loss had become nourishment for Roen and his cronies. He felt a fire raging in his gut.
‘Roen… that son of a bitch.’
Jeremy bit his lip, recalling Roen’s infuriating face and their long, ill-fated history.
Their first encounter. A winter day when Jeremy wasn’t even eight years old. He had disliked the boy from the moment they met at the Gunhild family’s winter castle.
‘An instinctive repulsion.’
To Jeremy’s eyes, which possessed the [Insight] trait, Roen was clearly a dangerous element. Despite being weak and seemingly insignificant, the aura he exuded was not that of an ordinary boy. He was a boy who could act with childlike innocence when needed, yet at other times, he would look down on everything with the detached eyes of one who knew all.
Jeremy still couldn’t forget those eerie eyes. Others might not have noticed, but Jeremy knew it instinctively.
‘Those were… the eyes of a ruler.’
That wasn’t all. Watching Freya interact so freely with him from a distance stirred an inexplicable feeling of displeasure. It was especially despairing when he learned that Roen was Freya’s fiancé.
But fortunately, in the year he turned ten, Roen’s attitude suddenly changed. For some reason, he began to engage in bizarre and wicked acts, his reputation plummeting rapidly. Before long, he had earned the nickname of the continent’s worst scoundrel.
After that, the engagement became a promise in name only, and Freya, too, grew disappointed in him to the point of disgust. Of course, Jeremy had played his own part in that process. Roen’s misdeeds were real, but Jeremy’s shadows had also been at work, ensuring the rumors spread far and wide.
Jeremy could proudly say that he had lived an upright life. But he admitted that when it came to matters involving Roen, his judgment had been clouded. No… as the days went by, the thought that he needed to eliminate Roen only grew stronger.
It was something beyond mere personal feelings. Jeremy knew it instinctively. He could never coexist with him. Roen’s death would be beneficial not only for himself but for the world at large.
And, above all, for Freya’s sake.
His thoughts concluded, Jeremy grabbed a document from his desk and crumpled it.
“…And you’re telling me this was all part of his plan?”
The information had been delivered through his shadows. A Bellatea merchant ship was scheduled to dock at Stella Harbor soon. And it was fully loaded with the very supplies needed for the sports festival.
It meant that Roen had not only turned Jeremy's own plan against him to destroy his merchant guilds and acquire funds, but he had also anticipated the supply disruption for the festival and prepared a surplus in advance.
Jeremy felt a certain dread and disgust at this. It was an instinctive fear, similar to what he had felt from Roen as a child.
“…”
His hands trembling with an emotion he couldn't identify as fear or rage, Jeremy slowly calmed himself. According to Freya’s aide, the negotiations between Freya and Roen had broken down. It was a silver lining that Freya had refused Roen’s help.
But Roen wasn’t the type to give up so easily. He would surely try to interfere with the festival somehow to gain an advantage. Rather than see the festival succeed at that bastard’s hands, it would be better to…
Creeak—.
Jeremy rose from his seat and opened the safe in the corner of his office. Inside, an acquired item was carefully stored in a glass jar. He stared at the black energy rising from within the jar, his eyes glinting quietly.
*
The atmosphere in the Union had grown noticeably more bustling. Perhaps because of the upcoming sports festival, the entire Union seemed to be buzzing with excitement.
Placards announcing the festival were hung throughout the academies, and the streets of the host academy, Ishtal, were decorated with the flags of all nations and beautiful flowers. The students, matching the mood, were preparing for the festival by ordering custom tracksuits for their academies and selecting athletes for each event. Although midterms were not far off, it felt as if they were trying to enjoy one last bit of freedom.
Amidst all this, I paid a visit to the Alchemy Club room to prepare for the festival. Thanks to my investment, the Alchemy Club had moved from a dilapidated old warehouse to the fifth floor of the Eredor Sincerity Hall.
The club members were absent today as well, so I could talk freely with Trish. After some perfunctory greetings, I got to the point.
“How about it? Want to try making a prototype for this occasion?”
When I brought up the prototype, using the sports festival as a stepping stone, Trish furrowed her brow.
“That drink masquerading as a love potion… weren’t we supposed to make that for the academy festival?”
“That’s right, since the ingredients are hard to get right now. But we need to build the mass-production facilities in advance to prepare for it.”
“…Mass-production facilities? Just how much are you planning to sell?”
“Don’t you want money, too?”
When I hit the nail on the head, Trish faltered for a moment before exclaiming.
“O-of course I do, but… it’s a means to an end, not the goal itself.”
“So you’re saying you don’t need money?”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Good. Then get ready to make some money.”
I scribbled on a piece of paper with a pen as I explained my plan.
“First, for this event, we’ll leave out the coca leaves, caffeine, and magical reagents that are the main ingredients of the love potion. We’ll just make something with sweet syrup and carbonation.”
“So, literally just a normal soft drink.”
“Exactly.”
“But setting aside the syrup, isn’t carbonated water itself incredibly expensive? It’s hard to produce with our level of magic, too. And storage and transportation are also difficult.”
I nodded slowly at Trish’s concerns. In Myrillin Saga, carbonated water was an extremely expensive luxury item that could only be enjoyed at high-end restaurants. This was because mages had to painstakingly infuse carbon dioxide into the water using magic, and the packaging required a special sealing process for glass bottles.
On top of that, bottles could break during transport, and if something went wrong, the drink could go flat, so the cost was naturally high. Canned goods, which solved the issues of sterilization, sealing, and the dangers of soldering, had not yet been commercialized in Myrillin Saga.
“An excellent point. That’s the crux of this plan.”
“Do you have a solution?”
I smiled at Trish, whose eyes were now sparkling with curiosity.
“I do. Because I have the blueprint for a carbonated water maker.”