He Knows a Good Thing When He Sees One (2)
Jack had arrived.
Roy took Chloe and Jack with him and headed for the building he had named after himself — the Roy Magic Research Institute.
"Roy. Um… can I come too?"
Anna asked with eyes so pleading they looked ready to spill tears the instant he refused.
"Of course."
Obviously. The more assistants, the better.
In the end, he set out with Anna in tow as well.
As they walked, Roy explained to the three of them what he intended to show them and what he meant to teach. Above all, he hammered home the need for secrecy.
"So don't go blabbing about this carelessly. There could be people who'd try to kidnap you for this technology. Of course, I have no intention of teaching you everything easily either. For now, we'll start with the absolute basics. If you fall short of the standard, I'll kick you out — so steel yourselves."
Anna and Chloe nodded with serious faces. Both of them understood exactly what Roy meant. They already knew what the finished products would ultimately be, and just how extraordinary their value was.
Jack, on the other hand, looked utterly lost. He still had no idea that Roy could craft enchanted weapons and amulets.
"Uh… Roy. Didn't you say that if I came to your house, you'd arrange work for me?"
"That's right. An assistant researcher at my institute is exactly that job. But I can't exactly pay someone who has no skill, can I?"
"R-research? Can I even do that?"
"You don't need to worry that much. You know mana solution, right? The basic material that goes into potions. For now, making that will be your main work. I've been making low-grade mana solution since I was five, so it isn't all that difficult."
"F-five years old?"
Chloe blurted it out in a rough voice utterly unlike her usual self.
"Mind your manners, young lady."
"Ahem… I-I was just a little surprised."
"When I was five, my mana was less than half of what Jack or Anna have now. I'm going to kindly teach you the know-how I perfected through trial and error, and if you still can't make it? Then you might as well die. People like that have no value in being alive."
"…I-is it really that serious?"
"N-no value in being alive…"
One boy and two girls realized that Roy was not joking in the slightest. They swallowed dryly, nerves drawn tight.
Watching them, Roy thought, Finally, they look serious.
"But there's no need to worry. The one who allowed you into the institute is me. I believe you won't disappoint me."
"Yeah…"
"R-right. I'll work hard… h-haha…"
"So… how much are you going to pay us?"
"It's performance-based. You might earn nothing at all — or the opposite. Still, if you work hard, ten gold coins a month should be easy. And if you can manage as well as I do, you could earn ten times that."
"T-ten coins?"
"Wait. Ten times that is a hundred? A month?"
Jack wasn't the only one stunned. Chloe and Anna were just as astonished.
"Um, can I get paid too?"
"Of course. Work should come with matching compensation. That's how performance improves."
"Me too. I want to earn money myself instead of just receiving an allowance."
"Don't worry. Anna will get paid too."
"Okay."
Faced with such an enormous sum, Chloe and Anna both grew eager.
They took the bait.
Working them for free would have been nice, but how long would that last? Efficiency wouldn't improve either.
Sorry, but the one who profits the most is still me.
"But how are you going to pay us? Are you planning to make and sell potions or something?"
Roy drew the sword at his waist. It was the enchanted blade he had received as a birthday gift from Benjamin Biswald.
"How much do you think this sword is worth?"
"Well… it's a fine sword, but…"
"A hundred gold coins at most?"
Roy only smiled and gave no answer — because they had already arrived at the institute.
He opened the door, ushered the three children inside, and shut it behind them.
Pitch darkness. Not a single ray of light.
Then the sword in Roy's hand flooded with a sinister crimson glow, illuminating the room.
"This sword was a gift for my seventh birthday. I'm not entirely sure, but at the time it was probably worth around fifty to a hundred gold coins. Now, though, it's something else entirely — because it's been reinforced with magic."
The crimson light rising from the blade cast a greedy smile across Roy's face.
"A thousand gold coins at minimum. No — even for more than that, you couldn't get your hands on this sword. His Majesty the King and Prince Aaron both acknowledged it."
Roy spoke frankly about the value of his craft. He intended to accept these three as prospective colleagues. He wasn't sure what would become of Anna later, but for now he had decided to trust them.
Chloe, who had hidden in the stable and readily agreed to serve as a witness. Jack, who had given Roy a signal in advance even while being beaten by the others. And Anna, the older sister he had lived with and watched over for eleven years — that went without saying.
"Th-that's impossible… Don't tell me you… this sword…?"
"Roy. Wasn't this Sir Geren's technique?"
"Sorry, but I made it. I want you to think carefully about why I'm revealing this to you."
Inside the still-unlit building, the children's faces — lit only by the crimson light rising from the sword — were all frozen in open shock. Those expressions soon shifted from curiosity to anticipation, and then to something like awe.
Roy spoke to them.
"Welcome to the Roy Magic Research Institute."
Roy passed on all of his know-how to the children — limited, of course, to the production of low-grade mana solution.
Desperate to earn money, Jack worked with fierce diligence. Even at school he came looking for Roy during every break, asking about his shortcomings and whether there was anything he could improve.
With Jack like that, Anna — a year older — and Chloe, who possessed several times more mana, threw themselves into improving their skills as well, determined not to fall behind.
Roy took full advantage of this, stoking competition among the three.
"Chloe. I get that you have mana to spare, but that's a bad habit. Don't try to cover everything with raw mana."
"Anna. Your mana control is still lacking. You're a whole year older — is that really acceptable? At this rate you might end up as the little sister of not just me, but Chloe and Jack too."
"Jack. Trying to conserve materials is fine, but if the quality is lacking, the final product suffers. Then you won't be able to make any money, understand?"
He read each of their temperaments and needled their pride. There was some pushback at first — but a small demonstration of Roy's own skill made all of it evaporate. All three of them came to think of Roy as a monster.
And just like that, two weeks flew by.
"There's nothing more to teach about low-grade mana solution."
"Hehe. See? I told you ten days would be enough."
"What about the money? Can we get paid now?"
"Roy. Does this mean I can enchant swords with magic too now?"
Roy shook his head.
"Let's make some money first and then start on that. I've been struggling to handle everything alone until now, so from here on I'll be counting on your help."
"Help with what?"
"You've always been doing something separately in the next room — is that what you mean?"
"You don't need to know. Knowing would only get you hurt."
Roy thought of the weapons stacked high in the adjoining room — arms that would be enchanted and sent to the border through the Amin Trading Company. Deliveries had already begun, and the volume was large enough that producing them alone had reached its limit.
It would be far too wasteful to pour precious mana into making low-grade mana solution myself at this point.
He still needed to charge the jet-black stone set in his staff, produce the solutions, use them to apply enchantments — and he still needed mana for school lessons. Even with his increased capacity, it was more than one person could handle alone.
And now he had three assistants. Handing the entire production of low-grade mana solution over to them should be more than enough.
Roy set something from his pocket onto the table. It was a brooch of simple design, nothing that would draw much attention.
"You've passed the low-grade mana solution test. These are the tokens. They carry a guardian amulet effect, so they'll protect you at least once if you find yourselves in danger."
The three children' eyes sparkled as each fastened a brooch wherever they liked on their clothes. Having already watched a demonstration of the amulet's effect, every one of them looked thoroughly satisfied.
"All right. Starting tomorrow, you'll use every bit of mana you have left after class to produce low-grade mana solution. Until now the tests were about quality. From here on, it's an endurance trial. I'll be watching who can steadily produce the largest volume. Quality still has to be maintained, of course. And from now on, separate compensation will be paid for every solution that passes inspection."
The slave labor of three children who still understood nothing had officially begun.
I'm about to make a fortune — what slave labor?
Deliveries of the magic weapons proceeded smoothly. The royal trading company, Amin Trading, arrived at the appointed times without fail, dropped off the requested materials, and carted away the finished products.
The same merchant came every time, which made it convenient for Roy to build a rapport. He wasn't the trading company's master, but he claimed to rank among its top three. At the very least, someone of that standing would need clearance to approach the confidential dealings between the king and Roy.
"The delivery volume has jumped quite a bit lately."
"Yes. I brought on a few assistants."
"Oh? That is truly fortunate."
"It is. By the way, when do the shipments head to the border?"
"Even for you, Lord Roy, I cannot disclose that. Why do you ask?"
"I was wondering if I might hear some news from the border."
"If it's that, shall I tell you what I know?"
Roy's eyes lit up.
The middle-aged merchant leaned in close.