Sisilia Spends Like a Pro (2)
Sisilia trudged down the street, her mood sullen after getting thoroughly scolded by Beatrice.
"If we dug all the way to the planet's core, something would turn up..."
Even then, Sisilia couldn't let go of her lingering attachment(?) to the magic stones. But perhaps thanks to the walk—her mood wasn't that bad. It would take more than losing a mere 20,000 gold to dampen Sisilia's spirits.
Of course, if Beatrice had been nearby, she wouldn't have hesitated to earnestly plead, "Please, just let it dampen a little."
"Air."
Perfectly concealed using wind, Sisilia had slipped out of the knight order building without anyone in tow.
"Gasp."
When Sisilia suddenly materialized(?) on the street, the people around her jumped in surprise, but they quickly went about their business as if nothing had happened. Well, it was Sisilia, after all.
"Time to do some spending, then."
Sisilia's eyes sparkled as she headed for the Magic Tower.
The tower lord himself rushed out barefoot to welcome the overwhelmingly VIP guest.
"Hoho, what a coincidence—another visit during tough times."
Rimen, the Magic Tower lord who rarely showed himself. Just as knights had Chiron as their spiritual pillar, mages had Rimen as their great landlord. Normally gruff, cold, and—as befitting a mage who lived solely for magic—ruthless.
"Hello, Grandpa."
"My, my, Sisilia just gets cuter every time I see her? Hohohoho."
Of course, to Sisilia, he was just the kind neighborhood grandpa.
"Look around as you please. We've got some exceptional mages this time—plenty of intriguing items."
"Yessir."
Sisil-nyang politely replied, wagging her tail as she set off shopping, escorted by several guide mages.
Rimen watched her go with a fond smile. Then, amid a flurry of footsteps, someone came rushing up.
"Huff, pant—L-Lord Tower Master!"
A female mage with striking red hair. She grabbed Rimen's robe hem and clung desperately.
"P-Please, just give me one more month! I, Ariana! I swear on my life I'll create an artifact that benefits the tower!"
Unlike when speaking with Sisilia, Rimen regarded Ariana with utterly emotionless eyes.
"Who's this mage?"
"Ariana, third-class mage. She passed the exam after mercenary work and was assigned a small room."
At his disciple's explanation, Rimen sighed.
"How does a mage without even rent money pass the tower's exam... Tsk tsk."
Clicking his tongue, Rimen coldly turned away.
"Tower Master—!! P-Please, just one chance!"
Mages without skill were nothing but burdens to the tower. Better to kick them out early. But—Rimen's iciness had its reasons.
Rent was due in three days. Yet here she was, clinging desperately instead of hustling till the end. Her lack of grit rubbed him the wrong way.
No grit, no great mage.
...But giving such mages a chance was the tower lord's duty.
"Ariana, was it."
"Y-Yes!"
Rimen clasped his hands behind his back.
"You seem quite confident in your skills."
"Y-Yes! I'm really confident. I'm a scrappy mage!"
"And yet a mage like you can't scrape together even 5 gold for rent after three months of newbie perks plus nearly a full month more?"
Selling a single small artifact would net more than 5 gold. Yet after four months' chance, a tower mage failing to do so? The reason was always the same.
Pride.
The pride of refusing to sell items infused with their magic to just anyone.
"Th-That's..."
"You probably think the world just doesn't recognize your value as a mage yet."
"......"
"Foolish."
Rimen didn't hate that mindset. He just despised it in mages lacking the skill to back it up.
In the end, it meant no one but "just anyone" was interested in Ariana's artifacts. Which was only natural.
Refusing to sell to "anyone" implied buyers of a certain caliber—high-ranking knights. And such knights usually bought from renowned mages.
Especially Windsors, who staked their lives on the front lines—they wouldn't glance at unproven goods.
"But you never know."
Normally, Rimen would've dismissed her as hopeless without even advice. But he offered some now, due to special circumstances.
Sisilia was peculiar, after all.
"Wind doesn't discriminate against people. It blows equally on everyone. Though how long it lingers... that's up to the wind."
Ariana blinked, uncomprehending. Rimen nodded toward where Sisilia had gone.
"That silver-haired girl is the famous Sisilia Windsor."
"!"
Rimen chuckled wryly and walked off.
"And she's the only knight in the Windsor order who doesn't pick items by reputation."
Everyone thinks Sisilia is the world's biggest sucker. But rumors are just rumors. Sisilia's standards for picking items were insanely strict.
"Lady Sisilia, this one's 30% more efficient than the previous mana cannon."
"Try holding this sword! It's enchanted with weight reduction—a tough feat! Light, right?"
Life was full of unpredictabilities, even when you thought you knew it.
Sisilia sank into deep regret.
Why was it that when she had no money, there were things she wanted to buy—and now with money, nothing caught her eye?
'Miss Betty... I miss her.'
Today felt off. Feeding Beatrice something delicious while she tagged along would feel more rewarding.
"Which workshop next, Lady Sisilia?"
Sorry to disappoint the eager mages, but this was it.
"No thanks. Time to head back. Nothing worthwhile here."
Sisilia was a ruthless customer.
"Haha, you've bought plenty already. Thank you for supporting so many mages' research."
"......?"
Sisilia blinked and glanced back. The artifact packaging boxes had piled up so high the staff struggled to carry them.
'When did I buy all that?'
Life really was unpredictable.
"Shall we deliver these to your mansion?"
Sisilia nodded—then paused, eyes flicking aside.
"......Send them to Windsor Knights HQ."
Sisilia was still at that age where Dad scared her.
She figured she'd head back, lick Beatrice a bit, and call it a day. That's when—
"W-Wait a moment!"
The red-haired mage blocked the hallway.
The escort mages scowled unpleasantly.
"Blocking a VIP's path? This customer's dropped 10,000 gold today! We should be rolling out the red carpet!"
Sisilia narrowed her eyes lazily. 10,000 gold already? And she hadn't bought much. Prices must be off—time to petition Her Majesty.
"L-Lady Sisilia. Please, just visit my workshop too!"
"Hey, that's rude! Does she look like someone who'd bother with a newbie mage's junk?!"
'Newbie mage...? Tower rookies are kinda rare.'
Sisilia's eyes lit up.
"It's fine by me. Show me?"
Ariana's workshop, visited by Sisilia trailed by a horde of mages.
The tense Ariana introduced her artifacts to Sisilia.
"This is a staff with a built-in fireball."
A small wooden staff. More common than expected, so Sisilia felt a twinge of disappointment. But thinking of a newbie crafting it with tiny hands, she figured she'd buy one anyway.
"Can you demonstrate?"
Ariana nodded and lightly swung the staff at the wall.
Then—Boom!
A small, compressed fireball shot from the staff at arrow-like speed, slamming into the wall.
The magic circle activated, absorbing the spell, but Sisilia's eyes widened.
Normal fireballs were big floating orbs that exploded lazily. But that speed—and no chant?
'......It's legit?'
"Whoa, seriously."
The pro mages, however, eyed it differently.
"This isn't a joke. Lady Sisilia, let me apologize on her behalf."
"Wh-What's wrong with my ultimate magic staff?!"
"You call that an ultimate? You think Sisilia needs that weak sauce?! She just came back from butchering a Four Heavenly King!"
"......Th-That's."
"It's barely goblin-tier anyway. Can't pierce tough hide—and you call yourself a mage with that..."
The escort clutched his head in headache.
"And it's single-use—"
"N-No, it's not single-use."
"What?"
Ariana balled her fists as her prized staff got trashed.
"Unlike your throwaway junk, this is a different league. Usable once every three hours. Charges from ambient mana! Power needs tweaking, but optimize it right and—"
"Never seen someone so clueless about magic! How do you expect power from ambient mana charging?!"
But Sisilia saw potential.
'Escort's right—useless on monsters. But against people? Plenty lethal.'
To Sisilia's judgment, Ariana's staff packed pistol-level punch. And unlike one-and-done artifacts, reusable multiple times? Huge appeal.
Stock a newbie with ten, and their safety's somewhat secured.
'Perfect for self-defense.'
She'd felt it in the east—plenty of nasty folks out there.
"I heard you loud and clear."
"I-I... still have more items!"
Ariana blurted hastily, assuming no interest. Fair, since even she thought Sisilia wouldn't need junk like this.
"If that didn't click—others might...!"
"No. What I like is that staff."
"Y-Yes?"
"L-Lady Sisilia, even if you like trash-tier artifacts—"
"?"
Sisilia stared silently at the escort spouting nonsense.
He frantically clamped his own mouth shut.
Ariana, clueless at first, beamed.
"F-Five gold each!"
Sisilia shook her head.
"I won't buy."
Ariana's hopeful face crumpled instantly.
"......Even you, Lady Sisilia, think my artifacts suck."
But Sisilia walked over, placed a hand on Ariana's cheek, and smiled faintly.
"No."
"Then... why..."
Tears welled in Ariana's eyes.
Sisilia loved people who cried. It proved burning passion for something.
"You'll be a great mage."
"...!"
So this was tear value.
Sisilia grabbed a paper from her table and scribbled.
"But I think its current performance needs work."
Ariana's pupils shook reading the paper.
"Investing, on condition you upgrade to ten shots per hour."
A sponsorship certificate.
"For you, as a mage. About 20,000 gold—enough?"
An absurdly generous sponsorship.
Ariana seriously pondered stripping in thanks.
"I can't take it anymore."
Edward finally stormed Chiron's mansion.
Sisilia's spending had already topped 100,000 gold.
......In less than a week.
Edward couldn't believe it.
'100,000 in a week? Even handed the cash, you couldn't spend it!'
For reference, the Windsor Knights' annual budget was 2.5 million gold. Subtracting essentials like salaries and incentives left about 250,000 in discretionary funds.
Most of which Edward had hoarded.
'Just when we get some breathing room, always...!'
Gritting his teeth, Edward confronted Chiron.
"I see."
But Chiron seemed indifferent after hearing it out.
Absurd.
Edward shot to his feet.
"'I see' isn't cutting it. Think of everything Sisilia's blown so far."
"Just warm blankets for the Windsors, worried they'd get cold."
Edward's eyes bulged.
"Windsors could be encased in glaciers and survive years! Buying 108 artifact blankets at over 10 gold apiece just 'cause they might get chilly?!"
"She donated to the orphanage too."
"Five thousand gold, Lord Chiron! Why's knight order budget going to an orphanage?!"
"Donated useful artifacts to the academy."
"......Lord Chiron. That's knight order budget."
"Gave young mages dreams."
"Look, it's knight order budget!"
"Saved lives of those about to give up."
"What vice-captain buys a house for a suicidal civilian—with knight order budget?!"
Chiron fell silent, then looked up. His eyes, defying 94 years, sparkled with childlike purity. Like reminiscing his younger self.
And the warmth filling the mansion was unmistakable.
Admiration.
"Commendable."
"......"
Edward felt like slamming into an immense wall.