It's an Elixir, Damn It
It's an Elixir, Damn It
The essential raw fuel for operating every kind of artifact and magic circle.
Also a substance that, depending on how you synthesize it with an object, can produce all manner of useful magical materials.
The substance that moved every train, automobile, truck, ship, and airship in the Empire.
The source that lit the magical lamps illuminating the Empire's streets.
A basic household good used everywhere—for heating the common people's homes, for cooling, for cooking, even for warming bathwater.
And a substance that, even at this very moment, mages were researching with blood, sweat, and tears, making it more and more useful in real time.
That was elixir.
I was an ignoramus when it came to economics.
But even I knew that elixir was a red-hot money-maker.
An absolute value in itself that surpassed gold.
The reason only the currencies of the Arkal Empire and the desert kingdom of Tramata to the west were recognized as reserve currencies across the entire continent was because these two nations alone produced elixir, and therefore elixir could only be purchased with the currencies in circulation within these two nations.
Anyway.
I knew it was a substance that was filthy expensive and filthy useful.
A substance that, if you merely got your hands on it, becoming enormously wealthy was only a matter of time.
So why!!
Why was it gushing out of the middle of an abandoned factory in the capital slums?! Why!
No, did that even make sense?
If there had been an elixir spring in the middle of the capital, there was no way it wouldn't have been discovered, right?
Elixir was worth so much money!
It was a substance people searched for with fire in their eyes!
Did it make sense that it was right in the middle of the capital and nobody had found it until now?!!
"It's strange. Lady Witch. Why hadn't this elixir spring been discovered until now?"
"The mana-absorbing stone was truly... truly enormous. I've never seen a mana-absorbing stone of this bulk before. It was probably swallowing up all of the elixir's mana waves, which is why no one discovered the spring all this time. My understanding is that elixir spring prospecting basically works by detecting minute mana waves rising from the ground."
"Grace. Grace! Lady Witch, how large is the spring's volume?"
"I'd need to run a more precise survey to know for certain, but... judging by the amount gushing out and the mana concentration within it, there's at least 100 billion barrels. And that's an absolute minimum estimate. It's highly likely there's more. The larger the elixir reserve, the higher the mana concentration and the easier it is to process. The mana concentration was the highest of any elixir I've ever seen."
Everyone looked at me simultaneously.
Inwardly, I wanted to die.
But I couldn't exactly let my face crumple too, could I?
I put on a smile.
"This is grace."
"Aaah, Saint!! You knew all along, of course!!"
"So that's why you bought land worthless for anything else!"
"Beneath a place that held nothing but trash, waste, and factories falling to pieces, you clearly beheld greatness! O Saint! We thank you!!"
Don't talk to me.
Apparently, this world wanted to see divine punishment from the goddess strike my head.
In an instant, I had once again become a great saint who had performed a miracle.
No!!
Why did the business keep prospering?!
Please, curse me as a worthless failure and just leave!
That way I could quietly disappear without anyone knowing, and avoid getting struck by lightning!!
"However, how do you intend to monetize that gushing torrent of elixir?"
"Indeed. None of the people here possess elixir-related technical expertise."
"Nor has anyone here ever established and operated a company."
While everyone else looked troubled, my gaze was fixed, nailed firmly on one person.
Right!!
It wasn't over yet!!
I had Jonathan Karma, the legendary garbage entrepreneur who had bankrupted his doll factory!!
You could ruin even something like elixir! Oh yes, absolutely!!
"Is Mr. Karma not here?"
At my words, everyone turned to look at Jonathan Karma.
Thanks to my body modification, his skin had become clean, but still clad in shabby clothes, he looked anything but a successful business magnate.
Obvious enough.
Looking at his sorry state at that age, he was clearly a man with no business sense.
And didn't he look exactly like Scrooge, to boot?
Money money money—his face practically screamed a natural talent for embezzlement and breach of trust!!
Excellent!!
Breach of trust! Embezzlement!! Incompetence!!
He was the perfect talent I needed!!
"This, too, is clearly the Goddess's guidance. Mr. Karma, would you establish a company to process and sell the elixir? I am certain you can do it. I believe in you. I desire no one but you. I believe you are the man chosen precisely for this moment."
I spoke as clearly as possible, in a tone meant for everyone to hear.
That way, later, when that man ruined the company, no one could blame me!!
The moment it collapsed, the complete picture of the incompetent, corrupt, son-of-a-bitch saint would be achieved!
Everyone would curse me out and leave, and then I'd be safe from the goddess's divine punishment!!
At my words, Jonathan Karma trembled as if deeply moved.
"...Fate is a truly ironic thing. When you struggle and thrash so desperately, it shoves you into hell. And when you've given up on everything, it grants you an opportunity like this. No matter how wretched and bitter life is, you must stay alive to seize your chance—that saying must mean something like this."
Jonathan Karma rose from his seat.
And then he politely lowered his head toward me.
"This is a new life you have given me. Saint. I will stake my life on this and make absolutely certain of its success. I will make you the wealthiest man in the Empire."
I put on a pleased smile.
Good.
Look at that blustering, boastful attitude, too.
It looked like a textbook sign he was reassuring me before driving the whole thing into the ground.
The wealthiest man in the Empire?
Wasn't that exactly the kind of line con artists loved?!
Perfect.
Mr. Scrooge.
Please, go on and ruin it quickly.
Just like you ruined the doll factory.
"It is all right even if you fail. No matter how many times you fail, I will employ only you. For ours is a bond formed through the Goddess's guidance."
I was laying the groundwork in advance, telling him I would keep him on even if he wrecked everything.
I would keep employing him until High Priest Yodel's guts burst and he died of a rage-induced stroke.
I would make it so unbearable they couldn't stand it and had to leave me.
At my words, tears trickled down Jonathan's cheeks.
"I will... absolutely... absolutely succeed. Saint. As you will it... without fail."
Sure. Sure.
Do a fine job of wrecking it.
Pleased, I smiled, walked over to Jonathan Karma, and gave him a firm embrace.
Amidst a thousand malicious cosmic pranks, the possibility of not dying by the goddess's divine punishment fortunately still remained.
After the conversation ended, the Saint went back to treating the slum-dwellers.
The Saint healed people endlessly, without resting, and healed them again.
There was no sign of fatigue whatsoever; he wore a constant smile on his lips.
Watching the Saint's back as he quietly healed people, it felt almost as if a halo radiated from his head.
That was what a true saint was.
A presence who did not merely heal a person's body and stop, but who soothed the human heart and even the soul within.
Jonathan Karma gazed at the Saint's back for a long while with a reverent expression, then soon began to move.
"Lady Witch. A moment. Might we speak?"
First.
Jonathan approached Erpa.
"I believe you heard what the Saint said just now. Could you spare a moment? Please, come to my home."
"Of course."
Erpa readily followed Jonathan to his house.
It was a shabby house, but Jonathan showed not the slightest shame.
Because he knew he could escape this kind of hovel any time now.
"My wife Oliviera and my daughter Cecilia."
"Pleased to meet you. I am Erpa, a witch of the Magic Tower."
After the four exchanged polite greetings, they sat together in the living room.
Jonathan explained the command the Saint had given him, and at his words, Oliviera and Cecilia nodded with passionate fervor.
"Of course!! That's what we must do! Absolutely!!"
"Let me help Dad. I'll help too. For the Saint, we will absolutely see this through!"
Seeing the two women shouting with passion, Jonathan nodded.
"I knew you'd say that. The Healing Saint healed all of us. He didn't simply mend our bodies; he healed our very souls. We have a duty to repay that grace. Let us all be grateful that such an opportunity has come again."
Erpa grew curious at Jonathan's words.
"Did the Healing Saint cure your illness as well, Mr. Jonathan?"
"He cured my daughter's illness."
As he said that, Jonathan calmly explained to Erpa what had happened. Erpa, upon hearing his story, could not hide her astonishment.
"Rot disease is notoriously incurable, and yet he cured such an illness..."
"My wife and I poured every bit of our fortune into all manner of medicines and treatments, but the best we could do was slow the rot disease from spreading throughout her body and reduce its contagiousness. Yet he eradicated such a disease with a single gesture. I will absolutely repay the grace I received from the Saint."
Having said that, Jonathan looked at Erpa.
"We need various technologies for elixir processing. The best approach is to recruit talented people from the Magic Tower who have done considerable research in elixir-related fields. Miss Erpa, I know you are fully capable of making recommendations."
"Of course. The Mars branch of the Magic Tower has many people who possess elixir-related technology. Even just Magic Tower Master Oergen himself is one of the continent's top three experts in precision elixir processing."
"Perfect! Please arrange a meeting with them. I'd like to pull them out of the Magic Tower and scout them entirely as researchers for our company, but if that's difficult, I at least want to establish a technical partnership. Miss Erpa, I trust you will be persuasive in mediating for us."
"Just leave it to me. I will do everything I can to help."
"Excellent. That much will suffice. My wife, my daughter, and I will handle the rest ourselves."
"Dealing in elixir means handling an astronomical amount of money. Will you be all right? Shall I recommend some people who are professional managers or who have made a name for themselves in the business world?"
At Erpa's words, Jonathan Karma smiled.
"Magic Tower Master Oergen—I, too, know the man. We used to meet occasionally in my younger days. Please, when you return tonight, ask him my name. He will explain to you what kind of family we are."
Erpa's curiosity was piqued by those words.
After finishing her meeting with Jonathan's family and returning to the Magic Tower, she headed straight for the Tower Master's office.
And there, she gave the name Jonathan Karma and asked who he was.
"Jonathan Karma, is it? Hahaha! It's been a long time! How do you come to know that name, Erpa?"
Erpa recounted exactly what she had heard from Jonathan to the Tower Master.
At her words, the Tower Master was even more surprised.
"His daughter had rot disease... Good heavens. How could a life be so riddled with misfortune?"
"What kind of man is he?"
"But for that staggering run of terrible luck, he'd be the single wealthiest magnate in the Empire by now."
Oergen let out a hearty laugh.
"He was a living legend of self-made success, a penniless vagrant on the streets who built one of the Empire's top three massive distribution networks. Twenty years ago, among those who worked in business, there wasn't a soul who didn't know the name Jonathan Karma."