The World Runs on Cheap Materials

I suppose everyone has cried over money at least once in their life. But I might have cried a bit too much. From the day my father bet the house deed on a single hand of hwatu cards, right up until the moment I died. 'They say a real man only cries three times in his life.''That bastard's probably still dealing cards down in hell right now.'

Debt is a beast that never starves once it moves into your house. I delivered newspapers at fifteen, gripped a steering wheel at twenty, and at twenty-nine, I got hit by a truck in the pouring rain.

BANG—!!!

The last thought that flashed through my mind was, ridiculously enough, about money.

'Ah, I won't get this month's settlement.'

Worrying about money even as I was dying. Even I could admit it was a pathetic life.

========

When I opened my eyes, an unfamiliar ceiling greeted me. My hands felt strangely soft and small. My feet were just as squishy.

Slap!

I smacked my own cheek with those tiny hands.

Ouch. That hurt.

'Not a dream, then.'

Someone else's memories lay faintly layered inside my head.

"Ganon... Pedro?"

Ganon Pedro. That was the name of this body. The Pedro Barony. A once-proud noble family that had ruled the borderlands.

'...A noble? Oh? Did I hit the gacha jackpot this time?'

My heart fluttered for a brief moment.

But that hope didn't even last four days.

'You've got to be fucking kidding me.'

This family was ruined. The only things left were a crumbling mansion and the empty title of "baron."

"Dad! Does being a baron put food on the table? Let's just drop the title and live like commoners! We're already plowing fields anyway!"

"But... Ganon, our Pedro family..."

"Aaaargh...!!!"

And to keep that useless title, they paid taxes to the imperial family every single year. Having nothing but still having expenses... it was infuriating.

'Why the hell did this have to happen to me?'

I died running from debt, only to reincarnate as a poor noble.

'What the hell did I do wrong?'

One thing was certain—if there was a god, that son of a bitch definitely had a personal grudge against me.

But there was one thing different from my previous life.

"I'm sorry, son... Still, if we keep working hard like this, our family will rise again someday..."

This father didn't gamble. He was incompetent, sure, but he plowed the fields every dawn and never lied.

'...At least he won't run off with the house deed.'

My mother was the type who wouldn't touch a new candle until the current one had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠burned down to less than half.

"A single coin saved is the same ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠as saving an entire ruined household."

...I like the way this mother thinks.

I strongly suspected the only reason this family was still standing was because of her.

'Alright. I won't let this family fall apart.'

I had no intention of falling into a pit of debt ever again.

Ten years passed like that. I turned seventeen, and finally, one last rope of hope was lowered to me.

The Capital Magic Academy.

The top graduate would receive a reward and peerage substantial enough to revive an entire family.

"Alright! Begin casting your magic!"

"One! Two!... "

"Um... student over there, are you feeling unwell?"

Shiver shiver shiver—

"Ah? No, I'm fine. I can do this!"

'Fuck fuck fuck fuck I have to pass.'

And of course, I passed the academy entrance exam with ease.

A month after the test, on the day I left for the academy, my father pressed a small leather pouch into my hand.

'Finally leaving this wretched old house...'

"Here, Ganon. A small gift for you."

'It's really small...'

It was so light I could tell exactly how much was inside just by the weight.

"...I'm sorry I couldn't give you more."

"It's alright, Father. ...Just don't gamble.'

I didn't say it out loud, but that's what I thought as I left for the academy.

==============

The academy smelled far more of money than I'd expected.

"Ooh..."

The magic here was simple. You channeled mana through a catalyst to manifest it. Mana was the engine, the catalyst was the fuel. Most beginners couldn't control mana precisely, so they compensated with sheer quantity.

They poured in expensive catalysts and wasted mana like crazy to force results. So the common sense of this world was crystal clear.

'...I landed in the worst possible neighborhood.'

The kids at the entrance ceremony were the pinnacle of wasteful spending. Mana-stone rings on every finger, golden catalyst cases at their waists.

'One of those rings could probably cover our family's taxes for a whole year.'

And there I stood in the middle of it all, wearing the same coat I'd had for ten years.

================

The entrance ceremony ended, and the next day was our first practical class.

...That's where the real problems began.

"Prepare... materials?"

This school required students to purchase their own practice catalysts.

[Mandatory attendance and participation.]

A large notice on the bulletin board listed the "recommended catalyst."

Fairy Wing.

It had insane mana conductivity. Even beginners could easily produce flashy magic with it.

"...How much?"

I doubted my eyes when I saw the price.

One hundred gold per sheet.

'...A hundred? Per sheet?'

One sheet per class. Dozens of classes per semester.

"Wow... this is insane..."

Multiplying it all out made me dizzy. If I followed the recommendation, the pouch my father gave me wouldn't even last a month.

'At this rate, I'll be the one who bankrupts the family.'

I stood in front of the stall for a long time before finally reaching out—to a dusty box shoved in the corner.

Dragonfly Wing.

Ten gold per bag. Conductivity was garbage. It was basically a toy.

'...Guess I'll have to use this.'

Even the merchant tried to stop me when I tried to buy it.

"Student, that's a children's toy. It's not for class."

"I'll take one bag, please."

"...Really? You won't regret it?"

The difference between that and Fairy Wing was ninety gold. With ninety gold, my mother could buy food to last four days.

'Humiliation? Pride? I pawned that shit a long time ago.'

=================

The practical classroom.

The instructor in charge was an old professor named Borges.

"Ahem..."

His hair was pure white and his back was bent, but his eyes were as sharp as a hawk's. The old man who'd been teaching for forty years was known among students as the "eccentric geezer."

While everyone else bragged about flashy grand magic, this old man only ever talked about one thing.

"The essence of magic is efficiency! How little you can use to achieve the same result! You idiots who only know how to throw money at it!"

Of course, no one listened. Why would they, when dumping expensive materials and making things explode looked so cool?

"Hah. How pathetic."

A guy plopped down next to me. Silk cloak, rings on every finger. A noble brat who reeked of money. He glanced at the Dragonfly Wing in my hand and snorted.

"Hey, commoner. This isn't the place to bring toys."

'Not a commoner. I'm a baron, actually.'

"You won't even be able to light a spark with those insect wings. Want to just forfeit before you embarrass yourself?"

"...Thanks for the advice."

He opened his own catalyst case. A whole bundle of Fairy Wings.

"See? This is what real mages use. Do you even know how much one bundle costs? Someone like you would never—"

'One bundle... two thousand gold? This crazy bastard.'

My mental calculator broke instantly. He was going to burn all that at once?

'...Ugh, it hurts just thinking about it.'

My heart actually ached.

============

Today's assignment was the most basic of basics: Light Sphere Manifestation. Using mana and a catalyst to create a sphere of light above your palm. If it met the required brightness and duration, you passed.

Students went up one by one. The guy next to me was first.

"Watch closely, commoner. This is the difference in class."

He proudly ground up a whole fistful of Fairy Wings at once.

WHOOOOSH—!!!

A sphere the size of a human head exploded with a bang, lighting up the classroom like daylight. Gasps of admiration erupted everywhere.

"As expected of the Verdan family!"

He looked back at me arrogantly.

"See? That's magic."

'...That fistful must've been worth at least five hundred gold.'

The light was flashy, but if you looked closely, the edges were flickering unstably. Mana was leaking everywhere...

'Doesn't that hurt to watch?'

The next student and the one after were the same. They ground Fairy Wings to dust, poured mana recklessly, and detonated massive orbs of light.

Clap clap clap clap clap—!!!

The more wings they burned, the louder the applause grew.

'This isn't a magic class...'

It was more like a competition to see who could burn the most expensive materials.

'...These people are all crazy.'

Finally, it was my turn.

"Ganon of the Pedro Barony."

Borges called my name from the roster, and I slowly walked up to the platform.

"Hoo..."

All eyes turned to me at once.

"Heh heh..."

I could hear the guy next to me snickering.

"Finally, the insect mage's turn."

Someone laughed at my dusty Dragonfly Wing.

"Is that even a wing? Or just bug corpses?"

"Fallen families can't even afford proper materials, huh?"

Laughter spread through the classroom.

'Talk all you want, I don't give a shit.'

None of it mattered. I took that ten-gold Dragonfly Wing and tore off just the tiniest piece—barely the size of a fingernail—and infused it with mana.

'Hoo... I used so much. I really used too much.'

While the others had ground up fistfuls, I used only a crumb.

"...Wait, he's seriously using that?"

"Is he insane?"

'...Focus. I have to succeed... I am the pride of my family...'

Turning my back on the murmurs, I drew up my mana.

Whoooo—!

Whenever I handled mana, I always thought of it as money. I counted it like coins, one by one. Every time a single strand of mana tried to leak from my fingertips, I felt like my soul was escaping.

'Whoa whoa, it's leaking—'

So I made sure not a single drop leaked. Not a single strand was wasted. Like a man squeezing the very last drop of water from a broken jar.

"Hoo... Haaap...!"

I squeezed and squeezed, wringing out the light with excruciating frugality.

Pop!

With an adorable little sound, a tiny sphere of light floated above my palm. It was only the size of a walnut—barely a tenth of what the others had made.

"...Huh?"

It wasn't flashy or dazzling at all.

"Pfft, what is that? A firefly?"

The guy next to me openly mocked me.

But that small light didn't waver at all.

'Yeah, this is good enough.'

Not a single flicker. It maintained the exact required brightness. Not one particle of mana had leaked, so the light was pure and its edges were razor-sharp. It was on a completely different level of precision compared to the massive, leaky light orbs the others had created.

'Good. That should pass. I only used a crumb of the Dragonfly Wing and barely any mana. With one sheet I could probably do this several more—'

"..."

"..."

"...?"

'Did I do something wrong?'

The classroom had fallen into an unnaturally heavy silence. Feeling uneasy, I looked up—only to find Professor Borges staring at me with his mouth wide open.

"J-just now..."

His hands were trembling.

"...You."

His voice cracked.

"You said that was a Dragonfly Wing, correct?"

"...Yes."

"Not even a pinch—just the very tip."

"Is... there a problem...?"

Step. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Step.

The old man staggered toward me.

"Hup—!"

He peered at the walnut-sized light above my palm, then clapped a hand over his mouth.

Slowly, carefully, he took my hand—the one cradling that tiny orb—and gently opened it.

Piiing—!

In that instant, a brilliant, rainbow-colored light burst from the small sphere and filled the entire classroom.

"Ah... Aaaah, this is...!"

Those sharp hawk-like eyes suddenly glistened with tears.

"Mana loss rate... approaching zero. Catalyst efficiency is off the charts. It has surpassed theoretical limits!"

'...Excuse me? What did you say?'

With a trembling voice, the old man shouted to the entire classroom.

"What? That thing?"

"Is it really that amazing...?"

"...Should we try doing it like that?"

The classroom stirred like a wave. The faces of the kids who had just been mocking me began to stiffen one by one.

The massive, leaky orbs of light they had created by burning fistfuls of Fairy Wings.

And the small, unwavering light I had created from a mere crumb of Dragonfly Wing.

"So... that really is on a whole different level."

"They said he was from a fallen family... was he hiding his skills?"

"He deliberately used Dragonfly Wings...? That means he's confident in his own ability."

"Ah... uh..."

The guy next to me was opening and closing his mouth like a fish, unable to say a word. The face that had arrogantly called me an insect mage had turned deathly pale.

'...A far cry from that cocky expression he had earlier.'

Borges grabbed my shoulder, nearly sobbing.

"Ganon Pedro. You've shown me what I've been trying to prove my entire life. You... are the talent I've been searching for...!"

Awe. Jealousy. Disbelief. Every kind of gaze poured onto me at once.

"Haa..."

In the middle of it all, I quietly swallowed a sigh.

'...What the hell is this situation?'

All I did was save money. I chose the cheap stuff to save ninety gold on the wings, and I didn't let a single drop of mana leak because it felt too wasteful. That was it.

"..."

But they called me a genius?

My mental calculator, instead of basking in the cheers, immediately calculated a different result.

'...So, does this ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠mean they'll refund the wing cost?'

Praise doesn't fill your stomach. No matter how loud the applause, it won't make my dinner table any richer.

But at the same time...

"Wait a second."

The words from the bulletin board came to mind.

The top graduate would receive a reward and peerage substantial enough to revive an entire family.

'This situation right now... isn't this an opportunity?'

If they were calling me a genius, it also meant I was one step closer to becoming the top student.

I slightly lowered my head. At the perfect angle to appear humble. Precisely calculated, the most convincing angle possible.

Because humility was free.

...And I was the kind of person who took anything that was free.

"...You're too kind."

At those words, the classroom stirred once more, erupting into thunderous applause.

"Waaaaaaaaah!!!!!!!!!!!!"

But among them, the only person who knew I wasn't a genius or anything—just a cheapskate—was...

"Thank you!"

Me. Well, good is good, I suppose.