The Goal is a Fantasy Arcade
The Goal is a Fantasy Arcade
Was it because she started off on the wrong foot and got intimidated?
'Wooah....'
Though she received treatment envied by nobles thanks to her magical talent, her origins were common, so Flora felt overwhelmed and tense in the noble mansion.
Following the maid leading the way, she was so absorbed in staring up at the mansion with a stupid expression that she lost her mind.
Then, ppeotteuk, she snapped back to reality and spoke cautiously to the maid in front.
"Um..."
"Yes, what is it?"
"I-I'm sorry I'm late..."
In a voice that was barely a whisper, Flora continued, looking like a mage who had no right to be so timid.
"Did Lady Grace... um... wait long?"
I've committed a mortal sin!
Showing such an attitude of repentance, she tried to gauge the client's mood through the maid.
Depending on the situation, she was ready to exaggerate and do a dogeza the moment she entered the reception room.
Seeing Flora like that, Anna, who had never seen a mage before, thought, 'Are all mages like this...?'
Viscount Grace didn't permanently employ expensive mages; instead, he outsourced work to the Magic Tower when needed.
That's why it wasn't strange that Anna had never actually seen a mage before.
So today, when she heard a mage was coming, she had some expectations... but something was off.
Because Flora was so different from the image Anna had imagined of a mage.
Given how valuable they were, there were rumors of quite a few mages being as stiff-necked as nobles.
She thought maybe the lateness was intentional, to start a power struggle... but seeing her now, that didn't seem to be the case.
Feeling endearing by the intimidated look, Anna said with a smile.
"You don't have to worry so much."
She informed Flora that the young lady hadn't been angry or waiting impatiently because she had been giving a manga lecture to the artists.
"Manga..."
Hearing that, Flora remembered something she had forgotten.
'Ah, the client for this job is the one who made manga, right?'
Flora was of the opinion that reading was only necessary when reading magic books, but even she knew about manga.
Unlike text-heavy entertainment novels, manga was quite good for clearing the head.
She had accidentally read one that another mage from her school had bought, and it was very entertaining.
Embarrassingly, she even shed a few tears after reading 「The Elf and the Woodcutter」.
'I wonder if I can ask for an autograph after the work is done?'
As you can tell from the popularity of games in the Magic Tower, there are many fans of Homeros among mages.
To teabag those people, Flora thought she absolutely had to get an autograph.
For that, she needed to finish this job well.
Originally, she had no motivation because her master had dumped it on her, but thinking this way, she felt a little motivated.
Regaining her spirit, Flora followed Anna to the reception room, took a deep breath before facing Noel, who had become a small giant in the empire's cultural scene in just over a year.
"Young lady, the guest has arrived."
[Yeah, show them in.]
Just then, with a ttok ttok knock, Anna announced Flora's arrival, and a reply came from inside.
Anna stepped back from the door and gave a slight bow.
A gesture to enter.
Kkeulkkak.
After swallowing dry saliva, Flora opened the reception room door and entered.
The first thing that caught her eye was a pink-haired girl deeply focused on writing something on a large sheet of paper spread on the reception table.
'Pretty...'
That was Flora's first impression upon seeing Noel absorbed in something.
Flora wasn't lacking in looks either; she ranked among the most desired female mages in the Magic Tower, but she couldn't compete with someone designed as a visual novel heroine.
The lewd pink in charge of sex appeal.
That was Noel.
Though she had changed a lot now, her appearance fitting that character hasn't gone anywhere.
Moreover, since inside she was a man, her atmosphere was also peculiar, so it wasn't strange for Flora, a fellow woman, to get lost staring at her face.
"Excuse me. I was doing something else while keeping a guest waiting."
Finishing what she was doing, Noel smiled and offered Flora a seat.
Hesitantly, Flora sat on the sofa, and Noel personally poured tea.
The elegant way she served tea really gave off a noble young lady vibe, and Flora felt intimidated for no reason.
It wasn't her first time meeting a noble, but Noel before her now wasn't just a simple noble; it was nerve-wracking.
Still, thanks to the good tea fragrance and Noel's kindness, Flora's tension began to melt away.
Flora, who was weak in social situations, had been secretly worried she might be a picky or difficult person, but meeting Noel in person made her realize she had worried for nothing.
"Um, the letter only said you were thinking of incorporating magic into the games Lady Grace created... Could you tell me specifically what and how you plan to do?"
"Yes, I was planning to explain that anyway."
What Noel had been pondering and jotting down until Flora arrived was exactly how to explain upgrading games through magic.
Suddenly, Noel clapped her hands lightly, jjak jjak.
Then, Anna came in carrying something from outside.
It was a stand that looked like a small laundry rack.
Noel hung what had been laid out on the reception table onto it.
"Then I'll begin the explanation."
This composition was what those in the know would recognize: a PPT.
Using a pointer stick, Noel pointed crisply, cheokcheok, and preached the gift ideas she had conceived to satisfy the state guests, which she had been planning.
After the Crown Prince suddenly appeared and dumped the task on her, Noel had gone through much deliberation and thought.
'What should I do...? Should I make something like the Dual Disk from Play King? No, that's unrealistic. Even with magic, making something like that portable is impossible.'
'Hmm... then what about not portable? In the beginning, Play King didn't have a Dual Disk; it had a Dual Room with realistic holographic effects. If I apply that...'
'What should I do about board games? Would it be best to implement something like the Wizard Chess from Hermionia and Harriet Potter?'
'But this is a chance to try whatever I want with state support, right? When else can I indulge in fandom? I should use this opportunity...'
She could even freely command high-quality personnel like mages.
Noel decided to also satisfy her selfish desires, so she had thought of and reviewed many ideas until Flora arrived.
Considering this as the first step toward securing video production technology, she wanted to take this chance and try various challenges.
At first, she lamented, 'Why does the task of preparing gifts for state guests fall on me, a mere viscount's daughter?' but her mindset shifted.
Following Teacher An's teaching that giving up is easy and the saying that if you can't avoid it, enjoy it, Noel planned the work as if testing the possibilities of magic.
"In the end, we need to be able to mass-produce this."
"Wait, mass production? Um... I thought we'd just make a few as gifts for the state guests and be done..."
"That was my initial thought, but I changed my mind."
After much deliberation, Noel's conclusion was the 'arcade game machine' that lined amusement arcades.
Realistically and technically, the Dual Disk was impossible.
So initially, she tried to approach it like a console game, but Noel knew a bit about magic.
Though she had self-taught by reading books, she understood magic enough to judge that creating something like a console game machine right away was unrealistic.
So she compromised and decided to implement it in the form of an arcade machine.
And she planned to make a lot of them and create a real 'arcade.'
This must be what they call merging hobby with work.
"Alright, let me give you an example. Friends visit an arcade to play board games together. At the counter, they pay money and exchange it for a mana stone containing enough mana to operate a machine for one hour. With that, they activate one magical game board and have fun playing for an hour."
"When you place a card on the board, a servant hologram—no, an illusion—actually appears from the card and takes combat motions. When using magic, an illusion that looks like real magic pops out."
"In the case of 「Life Game」, when a player rolls the dice, the spaces are automatically calculated, and the piece moves. And that piece gradually changes appearance depending on the game situation. Starting as a beggar, becoming a farmer, a merchant, or even a chancellor."
Noel's explanation, pouring out like a waterfall without stopping.
Because she explained by flipping large sheets of paper in a PPT format, it all sank in easily.
It felt as if Noel's "arcade" actually existed before their eyes.
The explanation was so detailed and vivid, like someone who had experienced it, that even a shut-in mage like Flora thought she would love to visit such a place.
If it could be implemented, it seemed like something that could change history.
"Wow...! That's amazing! But how do you make such game boards?"
Flora couldn't hide her admiration.
"That's what I don't know. That's why I need a mage."
At her words, Noel stared intently at Flora as if asking the obvious.
You're the one who has to make it now.
It was a gaze that seemed to say just that, and under that gaze, Flora began to sweat.
"U-um, you know we don't have much time, right...?"
Even with ample time, it was questionable whether she could make the complete arcade game board Noel described, but now there was only a month left until the state guests' visit.
To be exact, one month until the diplomatic party where the gift presentation would take place, and the fast travelers had already arrived at the imperial palace and were resting.
Yet... she was supposed to make such a thing in a month?
'So that's... that's why my master dumped this on me...!'
Flora finally realized she had been had.
"It's fine."
Noel smiled reassuringly at Flora.
Hope flickered on Flora's face at those words.
'Right, I knew it. There must be another plan...'
"We can just add more manpower to cover the shortage, and I'll pay you well. Besides, I said 'complete version' - for a test unit, it just needs to work roughly in that kind of concept."
But that hope was fleeting.