The Recluse Mage Who Distorts Even Time
The academy encourages regular tea parties. Black tea, pastries, and the elegant scenery of a garden. While ostensibly a venue for noble academic exchange, in reality, all that passes between the attendees is gossip. Ailiya sat quietly in a corner, scanning the lineup of participants. Lady Valois. Valois’s lackey number one. An academy peer who used to pretend we were close. And a handful of students I didn't even recognize.
I really didn't want to come to a place like this. But I had no choice. I needed clues about Rii. If I had shown my face in high society sooner, I might have heard rumors before he dropped out. It’s like locking the stable door after the horse has bolted, but even now, there was something to be gained. There are plenty of alchemy majors at the academy. They were bound to bring it up. "The auction in the Solanium Basin." It was marketed as a sale of agricultural produce, but in truth, it was a trade of alchemy materials. Maybe, just maybe, I could overhear something.
"Ailiya? I didn't know you were the type of person to show up at a place like this!"
"Yeah. Nice to see you."
That was why Ailiya had awkwardly squeezed herself into a seat. As she sat quietly in the corner, fiddling with her teacup, the topic she had anticipated finally came up.
"That seller named 'Yudong' who appeared on the Spirit Net. What on earth does it mean? Fluid? Does it mean some kind of flow?"
"Oh. That alchemy material seller who popped up out of nowhere? I've heard of them, too."
"Forget the meaning of the nickname, more importantly... if I don't get these, I'm going to get absolutely shredded by the professor!"
The conversation was led by students majoring in alchemy.
"Even if you win the bid at the auction, the shipping is cash-on-delivery, so they said you have to contract with a delivery company yourself."
"They say it's a 15-day journey to the academy. Will it really be okay?"
"Oh! That! Vivian took care of it!"
"Fufu. That’s how it turned out."
The one who stepped in then was, as expected, Lady Valois. Vivian Adgard Valois. A golden child born from the meeting of two wealthy families. She thinks she’s the best in the world, loves to show off, and seems to attend the academy just to invest in it. And yet, she looked down on everyone else so much. Perhaps because I was so fired up, I could still vividly recall Vivian's words even now.
"Magic that lets commoners use the Spirit Net? Will that even make money? Commoners probably don't even know what a spirit is."
"No matter how good the magic is, people today don't have the eyes to recognize it."
"It might be frustrating for you, Ail, but what’s valuable today is the magic that will please our eyes."
And what did she do then? Show off the world's smallest fireworks? She flipped a small glass marble, and sparks flew out from inside. What made me even angrier was that such a toy became a massive hit in high society. They couldn't even recognize real magic! Didn't she also ignore Ribellio, the time-stopping mage who dropped out? I will never forgive her.
Developing the spirit connector and bringing shame to Vivian is in the top three most satisfying moments of my life. Conversely, that also means there aren't many opportunities to mess with her. The reason? I could confirm it once again at this gathering today. Vivian, who appeared at the tea party, was talking about the Spirit Net.
"The auction system on the Spirit Net was something I specifically proposed. Naturally, I’ve been keeping a close eye on the trends. Since it seems the Spirit Net is gradually becoming widespread among people, I thought money would naturally flow there. That’s why I was able to participate in the auction so boldly."
Vivian is a self-acknowledged money-making demon. She ignored the technology related to the Spirit Net, yet she was already plotting how to make money from it. "I will sell the alchemy materials I secured from Yudong exclusively to my classmates in the academy's alchemy department!"
How is she so good at sniffing out the scent of money? She’d get along great with my brother. As I was thinking that, my eyes locked directly with Vivian's.
"And about the shipping for those alchemy materials." Vivian brought it up as if she had been waiting for this moment. "For that part, I’ve entrusted the shipping to the Wintervalt Trading House."
No. Why are they already in cahoots?
The gazes of the tea party attendees instantly swiveled toward Ailiya. Damn this family business! I’m just a pure engineer! I have nothing to do with merchant work, so why do I have to receive these burdensome stares? At the same time, the puzzle pieces in my head seemed to click into place. That man, he actually did what I asked for. It’s not like my brother to do that, but even when I made requests that weren't very profitable, he accepted them with a smile. It wasn't because he suddenly cherished the younger sister he had ignored his whole life.
I was agonizing over the fear that people might die if I messed up, and he saw an opportunity to make money here? Even if it was just a side benefit, still.
He’s disgustingly good at business, seriously! While Ail was gnashing her teeth thinking this, Vivian added another remark, looking as smug as ever.
"How is Kael-oppa doing? We really hit it off during this deal. They say it's the Solanium Basin, maybe I should invest in that farm too... It would be great if I could talk to you as openly as I do with him, Ail. Don't you think?"
"You..."
"I really wanted to get close to you, but it’s so hard to see your face. There were even strange rumors going around that you wouldn't even deal with anyone who wasn't from the Imperial family~."
Even if it was Ailiya, I could understand it immediately. She’s being catty. 1. I have less popularity than my brother who already graduated. 2. I’m annoying and have no social skills. 3. Even so, I only flirt with the Crown Prince. There are three combos in a single sentence.
The Crown Prince is the one who forces himself to come find me, what am I supposed to do? If I get angry here, I lose. Ail took a deep breath, smiled brightly, and replied.
"Why? Does Vivian like that man or something? Well. My brother’s ex-girlfriend had a lot of money, too."
"W-what did you say!?"
"What. You really didn't know? I don't like you that much, but I can't just watch someone walk into a fire. I'm giving you advice while I'm at it."
"......"
At that, Vivian clamped her mouth shut. Nice. I got one in.
Meanwhile, in the Solanium Basin. I looked over the farm in front of the mansion with satisfaction. Pop-pop-. The potatoes were growing so fast it felt like you could hear the sound effects. I planted them just the other day, and already the stems had risen as high as my calves.
"This is magic."
Shouldn't the goal of a modern mage be to create such incredible magic? If you're an engineer researching magi-tech, that is. To explain it in the language of magi-tech, it’s a spell cast over this region. It’s highly precise, efficient, and suspiciously, a massive, incredible-scale spell arranged solely for me. But how do I interpret this? It’s like the laws of the world, so it’s probably impossible, right? Rather, it’s genre permission. It seems right to just brush it off like that. Because it’s a rule of thumb in healing farming games that crops grow in a few days.
But I have no intention of giving up. The spells of ancient civilizations, massive magic, or the laws of the world that are just taken for granted. Engineering is the struggle of humans trying to get their hands on even a fraction of these and put them to use. If I take the long view and invest the time, something will come out of it. There’s plenty to research. It’s healing, and interesting things are popping up everywhere. I don't even think about the academy anymore. Why did I live while rubbing shoulders with noble sponsors? Living here for the rest of my life might not be bad either.
I looked at the field with satisfaction and then turned around. Miroa was standing still like a scarecrow, holding her position.
"Miroa. A transport carriage will arrive from the capital soon."
"From the capital, you say? Is it that they have finally recognized the Master's research and are starting to seek you out?"
"Who knows. It’ll probably take another 10 years for that to happen."
I know better than anyone what the level of magic at the academy is. How is the empire even maintaining itself when they treat technology with such neglect? I have thoughts like that. The nobles and royals have absolutely no interest in researching and developing magic technology. The Crown Prince and the Princess might be the only ones who have even a shred of interest. Honestly, it’s closer to them making excuses to get involved with the heroine. If they truly valued technology, they wouldn't be clinging to the heroine, but rather setting up budgets, treating technicians with respect, and overhauling academy education to build a long-term talent cultivation system.
"Now that I think about it, 10 years won't even be enough."
The heroine who just stays holed up in her lab and insists, "Come find me." The male lead candidates who only pretend to be interested in magic technology but don't invest. The romance-fantasy nobles who are incompetent and filled only with vanity. "I'm just going to do my own work here."
"But the work the Master is doing...!"
"Isn't living here pretty decent in its own way?"
"Master...."
Anyway, the conversation went off on a tangent for a moment. "The carriage will arrive in a few weeks, and those are the delivery workers coming to pick up the alchemy materials. I decided to pass the shipping costs as cash-on-delivery, so you just have to hand over the goods."
The alchemy material auction had already ended a while ago. Someone participated in the auction and mobilized overwhelming funds in an instant. On top of that, even the Wintervalt Trading House participated in the delivery agency. Just how desperate are the alchemists?
"Understood."
It makes me feel a bit hollow. The influence I have as a mage—was it not even as good as running a farm? "Sigh."
That night, after finishing the farm work with a sigh, I returned to the mansion. Whoosh-. As soon as night fell, a drizzling spring rain began to fall. It feels like the empire gets a lot of rain in the spring. A weather that makes you feel sluggish just by sitting still. Miroa, who came to check on me before I went to sleep, spoke with concern.
"Master, are you planning to go fishing tomorrow as well?"
"Who knows."
"If you do that on a rainy day, you'll ruin your health. Please, reconsider."
Normally, I would never give up on the freshwater catfish. Naturally, I would have kicked the mansion door open from the morning and fished all day, but this time, the circumstances were a bit different.
It's coming soon. Although it was a few days later than I thought, it seemed to be right in front of me. New content! It was the same in the original healing farming game. It was definitely a rainy day. When the next day dawns, a landslide will occur, the rock blocking the path will be cleared, and new content will be unlocked. I’ve already taken appropriate measures for the water pipes, so I’m in a position where I can just sit still and wait for this.
"Miroa. We need to go into the coal mine tomorrow."
Mining and combat, right away. ...Boom! Just then, lightning struck with perfect timing, and the sound of thunder echoed. Along with the appropriate sound effects, Miroa was shocked and asked.
"A coal mine, what on earth do you mean by that...?"