Quit The Hero Party

EP.47 Enlightenment and Growth (3)

Professor of Mana Trading Studies, Rosel van Trias.

He sits in his office, sipping a cup of coffee and wearing a gentle smile. If another professor or a student saw him, they would be utterly shocked.

‘Professor Rosel is smiling!’

They would have been in a frenzy over it. This image does not match the usual demeanor of Rosel.

Rosel is always sharp and never shows his emotions. Thus, when he smiles, even just a little, there’s typically only one reason.

‘She’s really putting in the effort.’

Rosel’s gaze turns to his disciple, who is busily scribbling away in one corner of the office. She has been sitting there for several hours, writing something down.

‘The fact that she’s working so hard…’

It’s a sight he used to see often until five years ago.

However, it’s the first time he’s witnessing this side of his disciple who has returned after five years. Memories from the past resurface, and Rosel takes another sip of coffee with a smile.

“I miss those days.”

At that, Raniel looks up, tilting her head in confusion.

“Huh? What did you say?”

“Oh, it’s nothing. I think I disturbed your concentration. Sorry about that.”

“I’m almost done, so it’s fine.”

“May I take a look?”

Raniel asks. Rosel moves over to her desk.

The office for the Mana Trading Studies professor is spacious, but only Raniel and Rosel use it. Because of that, the expanded partitioned desks form a long shape.

Rosel picks up a document labeled “Class Plan” from the neatly arranged papers on the table.

“Let’s see here.”

Leaning against the desk, Rosel checks the plan.

‘Indeed, it’s different from the previous plans.’

The content is systematic. Unlike the vague previous outlines, it has been organized clearly. Most notably, he appreciates the annotated footnotes marked with stars.

* Make sure to avoid repeating the line: “It should work like this.”

A smile spreads across Rosel’s lips.

‘Looks like Mackhart has taught her a lot.’

The review of the plan is quickly finished.

As Rosel places the paper down, Raniel looks up at him with sparkling eyes, clearly expectant.

“So, what do you think?”

“Not bad at all. If you teach like this, there won’t be much for me to add.”

Rosel nods with satisfaction.

It’s been worth the time he spent convincing several professors to skip classes over the past ten days.

‘Once she grasps the concept, she’ll grow rapidly from there.’

Rosel believes in her monstrous growth rate.

All he needs to do is offer minor pointers along the way.

‘Pointers, pointers…’

As Rosel prepares to return to his seat, he stops for a moment.

It occurs to him that there’s something in the documents that’s bothering him.

“There’s one point I’m curious about.”

“Yes?”

“Regarding the section ‘The Best Circuit Analysis That Students Can Draw,’ how do you plan to handle that? If you’re giving it as an assignment, it should be covered in the next class.”

The students from Apuria are no slouches.

Among them, there are even students who can draw top-tier spell circuits.

‘But, how are they supposed to draw them during class?’

As far as Rosel remembers, Raniel’s class lasts about an hour to an hour and a half. And for students to draw a top-tier spell circuit from scratch, it would take at least 40 to 50 minutes.

“Isn’t that a bit tight for class time?”

“Oh, well…”

At that, Raniel pulls out a stack of papers she had set aside, prepared according to the number of students.

“I’ve prepared these.”

“…”

Without a word, Rosel examines the papers.

The quality of the paper itself is extraordinary.

‘…Did I miss something?’

Rosel’s expression stiffens as he looks at the papers.

“Wait a moment. Raniel, these are…”

“Yes, they’re Circuit Record Papers. They have a Memorize spell cast on them, so students can immediately transfer the circuits they visualize onto the paper.”

Papers with the Memorize spell cast on them.

Known as Circuit Record Papers, Rosel is well aware of them. They are also used for recording difficult problems in the Magic Association.

However, what surprises Rosel is not that fact.

‘These must cost a fortune!’

The price of the Circuit Record Papers. If his memory serves right, a pack of these papers costs about the same as the monthly budget of an average research lab.

‘There must be at least 40 or 50 sheets here…’

Doubting his assumptions, Rosel asks Raniel.

“Raniel.”

“Yes?”

“You’re not saying all of this is Circuit Record Paper, right?”

“Huh? No, I only received ten sheets for now.”

‘Only for now?’

“Only for now means…?”

“The Master of the Black Tower said he’d inscribe more for us. I plan to go pick them up soon.”

“Are you planning to distribute them to all the students?”

“Of course! It would be discrimination if some got it and others didn’t. I want to distribute them evenly.”

With a thud, Rosel hits his forehead.

“Where on earth did you get that much money…”

“I checked my card, and it had accumulated some funds.”

“What?”

Raniel tilts her head and pulls out a small card from her robe. It’s a card enchanted by the government that stores gold coins.

‘Didn’t they say they’d deposit the knights’ salaries into that card? The stored money can be withdrawn without any hassle.’

While Rosel thinks this, Raniel channels mana into the card. Numbers begin to emerge on the card.

“I’ve accumulated this much.”

Rosel squints, counting the amount.

Hundreds, thousands… millions…

The seemingly endless numbers make Rosel blink in disbelief.

“…What is this?!”

“It must be the bounty for monster subjugations, the training bonuses, and the rewards for rescue operations… I think I received a lot, but I haven’t really checked until now.”

“…What about traveling funds?”

“Huh? It’s all sufficient from the knight’s support fund. Kyle and the others probably spent theirs on clothes and hanging out, but I need to be able to use mine too.”

As she says this, Raniel beams brightly.

“I’ve saved quite a bit, haven’t I?”

Rosel couldn’t smile back.

‘…Quite a bit?’

Seriously?

For a brief moment, Rosel looks at his disciple with a different perspective. As a member of the Elders of the Ashen Tower, he may not be lacking in wealth, but…

‘This is on a different level, isn’t it?’

The amount recorded on the card was certainly no laughing matter. To put it bluntly, it was enough to build at least one tower.

2.

“You know, Kyle.”

“What is it, Sara?”

“I’m thinking of getting all this gear. Do you think it’s alright?”

Kyle glances at the catalog Sara brought with her.

These are garments made by the Black Tower.

Clothing with an embedded spell.

Beneath that, there’s a small note saying they only take custom orders.

“I think this looks good.”

This time, it’s Remia who hands over the catalog.

Armor introduced as a collaboration between the Elves and the Black Tower. An advertising tagline boasts that elven fabrics have spells woven into them.

“…”

Kyle silently glances back and forth at Remia and Sara.

The two of them are also wearing garments specially made by the Black Tower and priest robes.

He remembers when they bought those not long ago.

He doesn’t need to strain his memory for that. It’s probably been less than a month since then.

‘Didn’t they just buy these?’

Kyle was about to ask that when he shut his mouth for a moment. He took a look at Sara and Remia’s expressions.

“Huh? Kyle? Is it a no-go?”

“Tonight, we’re having something special that Kyle likes…”

Their eyes sparkle.

They lean in closer with charm.

“…”

As Kyle meets their pressure-filled gazes, he recalls the bonus he received this month.

‘…What was the VIP customer discount percentage again?’

Considering the current amount of money he has and the percent of that discount, the answer comes immediately.

‘It’s going to be really tight, isn’t it?’

If he reports that the equipment has arrived at the kingdom, he might receive some compensation too.

“…Alright, let’s go buy them tomorrow.”

“Yay!”

“Thank you, Kyle!”

As Sara and Remia cheer, Kyle presses the temples of his head.

‘Essential travel items… It’s going to end up being a loan again.’

After all, they would lend him the money just because he’s a Hero.

However, these days, the attitude towards him isn’t what it used to be. Kyle has some guesses as to why.

-…Is the Ashen Mage not around?

-Come to think of it, I remember someone mentioning he had retired.

-The Ashen Mage…

Merchants keep bringing up that guy’s name. And then they frown upon realizing Raniel isn’t around. Some days, they’ve said things like:

-Kyle, I don’t mean to be rude, but we’ve been lending for free all this time because of the Ashen Mage visiting our village and handling minor beast subjugations.

-The protective circuit that the Ashen Mage personally crafted…

-Raniel has contributed a bit of money behind the scenes…

While saying these, the merchants cast subtle glances.

‘Aren’t you going to give us something in return?’

Clearly, it’s a question glazed in such context.

“…”

Kyle scowls.

Looking slightly up, he sees Sara and Remia still cheering. They’re filled with awe at the designs from the Black Tower in the catalog.

Watching them, he thinks back to the voices that lingered in his mind.

-You crazy idiots, have you lost your minds?

-Hey, how long has it been since you bought that? Why are you getting it again? Did money just appear from the ground? What’s the point of this? The only spell embedded is cleaning!

-Cancel that order immediately before I tear apart what you’re currently wearing.

The voice of the Ashen-Haired Mage once echoed in Kyle’s mind.

“…”

Kyle leans his head back.

Today, he misses that guy more than usual.

3.

The top floor of the Black Tower.

The personal research room and office of the Master of the Tower, Yetual.

Here, a guest had arrived.

Not just any guest, but one who was invited. The fact that Yetual personally invited someone of a certain caliber showcases their importance.

“…”

Yetual quietly scrutinizes the guest sitting opposite him. A person who has been drawing attention in the Royal Capital lately.

Rania van Trias.

She blinks her eyes, peering around the office, clearly intrigued by something.

‘If she shows interest, that’s a good thing.’

Delighted by this, Yetual nods his head.

“Do you have any questions?”

In response to Yetual’s inquiry, the girl slightly nods. She points at a magazine with her finger.

‘That one…’

It’s a catalog introducing high-quality garments embedded with circuits, boasted by the Black Tower.

“About that catalog?”

“Hmm, it’s a project being pushed by the Black Tower. Are you interested?”

Many people nj, Yetual says this and glances over the girl’s attire. Even at first glance, her outfit looks exceptional.

‘…It even bears the royal emblem.’

This means it was a gift from the royal family.

Although it may not match the Black Tower’s circuit engraving technology, the royal technique of infusing mana into fabric is top class.

‘Is she interested in clothing?’

If so, even if a bit expensive, he could afford to give her a single piece as a gift. It would be a minor price to pay to win the favor of such a magician.

‘Let’s see, do we have any leftover fabric…’

As Yetual is lost in thought, the girl shakes her head.

“No, that’s not it.”

“Then what is it?”

“Those VIP customers listed next to it?”

She points to the “VIP for This Month” section in the catalog. More specifically, to the initials “K” at the very top of the list.

“Ah, that’s one of our VIP customers at the Black Tower.”

Yetual shrugs a shoulder.

While they wrote it down as initials, Yetual knows the identity.

From the launch of the clothing line, Customer K has never missed a single new item.

‘The Hero, Kyle.’

The identity belonged to the Hero Kyle.

‘The amount of money spent could easily fund an entire tower.’

Thanks to that, the Black Tower’s clothing line was able to grow successfully.

“He’s a truly appreciated customer. Well, it would be difficult to disclose the identity of that customer. We must protect the identity of our guests.”

“Actually, I’m not too curious about that.”

The girl interjects.

“Does Customer K still purchase a lot?”

“Hmm? He updated his VIP status in last month’s catalog. He continues to purchase regularly.”

Hearing this, the girl reveals a very peculiar expression. It looks like she’s both astonished and amused.

Then, as if having reached some sort of conclusion, she slightly nods her head and speaks.

“Master of the Black Tower.”

“What is it?”

“When new items are released, the quality of the circuits carved doesn’t matter; just make sure the designs are pretty.”

“…What do you mean by that?”

Yetual tilts his head in confusion.

“Just give it a try like that.”

Rania speaks with a subtle smile.

“It will sell well.”

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