NOVEL NEXT Chapter 280.2
Chapter 280.2. Car
I’m not sure about that. Serika, what do you think? Is that about the right amount for a licensing fee?
“Yeah, pretty close to the old market rate. But it’s a bit cheap. Nowadays, they’d take 30% easily.”
Serika replied while munching and gesturing with her chopsticks. I see.
“If that’s the going rate, then good. And?”
So it’s fair. Then there’s no issue. None at all. I decided right then.
“Well, there was a bit of trouble…”
Katsuyori explained reluctantly, saying someone insulted the people in the ruins. No wonder he got angry. Good thing Ares was there.
When he said he was canceling the deal, the other party immediately backed down. Not surprising. Losing the profit from millions of garments isn’t small. Still, noticing such patent details must’ve been tough—I might’ve missed it too.
“Ah, come to think of it, I recall filing that patent back when I was in the lab. Magic hemp fibers weren’t even looked at back then.”
After finishing her food, Serika stretched out, rested her head on my lap, and spoke with a contented sigh. Hemp fiber…sounds like it’d burn easily, doesn’t it?
Serika lay on my lap, purring contentedly, but her expression turned into a pout.
“The flammable hemp fibers were soaked in a special chemical and coated in ash. Then I added three magical enhancements: fire resistance, light weight, and anti-slash durability. It was supposed to be a revolutionary material, but the name ‘hemp’ put people off, and people trying to crush my genius shelved it.”
“You managed to rediscover such a material, huh?”
“No, not me—Mei did. She’s a natural-born diviner with a knack for finding lost items, cheap deals, and hidden treasures. Even I had forgotten all about it.”
“Wow, that girl is more impressive than she looks.”
I hadn’t realized just how capable she was.
“She said her comrades were like family and quoted Kongming, claiming that when parents die, one should mourn for a year without working. She wanted a year’s worth of leave benefits.”
That was three months ago. Kongming wasn’t the one who came up with that; it was some other guy with a similar name, I think.
She failed to save her comrades, and I felt bad, so I told her I’d ban her from entering any local eateries. She promptly decided, “One day of mourning is enough in modern times.” What a sly little fox. And now she’s making a living as a fortune teller?
[I persuaded her not to use her divinations for future predictions. I told her she’d turn into a silent tool for aliens if she did, and she agreed—saying she’d only use her powers for personal profit.]
[That’s literally the worst way to use them!]
Shizuku puffed out her chest proudly, but I’m pretty sure her approach to persuasion was completely wrong. Also, why bring up aliens?
“Anyway, Mei came up with the idea, passed it on to some kids in her group, and they made a prototype. Turned out to be an exceptionally good combat suit. So, we thought it’d sell.”
“Indeed, that suit surprised even me. I can’t believe the inner-city folks ignored something like that.”
Shingen, who’d been testing the suit with Katsuyori, downed his sake as he spoke. Bruises instead of wounds from an archer’s attack—that’s a lifesaver. Shingen understood how dangerous arrow wounds could be.
The dirty arrowheads used by archers could cause tetanus and infections, making them deadlier than bullets in some cases. When Shingen first saw the suit, he was thrilled at the prospect of reducing adventurer casualties.
“Mei initially asked for just 0.01% of the profits as her fee, but we declined. Instead, we settled on 10 million yen.”
What a shrewd negotiator. Still, given its value, that’s cheap. Katsuyori seemed to have won that round of negotiations.
“Then, on the way back from signing the licensing contract, they hit us with a bazooka.”
“Hehe, Mithril alloy is amazing, isn’t it, Sakimori-san?”
Jun seemed more thrilled about her car’s performance than upset about the bazooka attack. She’s got nerves of steel.
“Yeah, it’s a new alloy. Great advertisement for Mithril.”
[Mithril Alloy, 10kg: Monster Core A x3.]
A new product in the Core Store. Magic silver is typically soft like regular silver, but when infused with mana during processing, it gains mysterious properties—physical and magical resistance. Apparently, it even withstood a bazooka.
Jun’s reason for making her car was now clear, though its performance debut came sooner than expected. By the way, 10kg of Mithril alloy costs 300 million yen. Her limousine-like car used about 100kg, meaning it cost roughly 3 billion yen. A thinner design could bring it down to 1 billion.
“It’s strange how they quickly managed to prepare assassins, Boss.”
“Yeah, this is a bit of a problem.”
Ares crossed his arms, looking serious as he voiced his concerns. I agreed. While I could appreciate the director’s decisiveness, the speed at which they deployed assassins was unsettling.
[Having underworld hitmen show up at this stage is inconvenient. Still, Sakimori-san won’t get hurt unless it’s a direct nuclear strike.]
[That might be overstating it, but a nuclear strike would probably injure me.]
I laughed at Shizuku’s overestimation while stroking Serika’s soft hair, deep in thought. I’d be fine, but it seemed my subordinates had become targets.
Reality is harsh. None of these people will just cower in fear and stay quiet, it seems. Oh well, looks like I’ll have to keep working a bit longer.