Chapter 135: Intensely Sweet
Good morning, this is Arena. Maybe it’s because I’ve been in this form for so long for the first time, but I feel completely at ease now. Well, as long as I can properly cherish Idle, I suppose it’s fine.
Right now, we were talking about something called the “academy festival.”
It’s an annual festival held at the academy, where people from various countries come to visit. Does that mean our acquaintances might come too? I’ve heard there are tons of different attractions and that it gets lively every year. For the students, it’s also a chance to showcase themselves.
Hmm, should we prepare something too instead of just enjoying it? Idle seems to be thinking about something already.
Hmmm…
“What’s wrong, Rina? You’re groaning while rubbing your head so much. Does it hurt?”
“It hurts… in many ways.”
“Felnora, I’m skipping school today.”
“Ah, sorry, Dolly, stop, stop!”
So, the academy festival. I’ve never seen one even in my previous life… I know it’s a school event, but honestly, I thought it wouldn’t be that different from Haval. But if it’s a stage for students to showcase themselves, there might be some unique and interesting things.
We don’t have anyone to impress, but since we’re here, maybe we should blend into the festival and make it even livelier? Hmmm…
“Felnora, how long until the academy festival?”
“Hmm… about a month from now. Are you planning something? With such little time, you won’t be able to create anything elaborate.”
“One month, huh? In that case… it might be possible. Considering Oikawa-kun too… Okay, Rina! I’ve got an idea!”
“Ooh, what is it?”
As I explained my plan with some sketches, Rina’s eyes sparkled as usual. I probably had the same look on my face when I saw something amazing from afar in the past.
“Ah… then… hmm… hmm… Dolly, can I add one little twist to it?”
“Oh, sure, sure! Please tell me.”
“So, um…”
Hearing Arena’s idea, I suddenly remembered—oh, yeah, that was a thing! And it’s a great idea. It’ll be romantic too, so we should definitely do it.
…
Oh, crap. I just talked about the plan right in front of her. She’s turned as red as a tomato and is trembling. And instead of yelling, she just collapsed onto the desk. Oh dear, she’s steaming.
“Uh, Felnora?”
“Impossible… I don’t have the courage for that…”
“Yeah, I get that it’s embarrassing, but could you at least tell me where the chairman’s office is?”
“So you’re just ignoring my situation, you crazy Dolly?”
“Crazy Dolly? Wow, that’s a new one…”
“So, that’s the deal. Can we do it?”
This is my second time meeting the chairman. Felnora told me it would be impossible since he’s always busy and usually turns people away at the door, but he let me in right away.
The chairman is a thin old man with brown hair, well-dressed but with a tattered white coat draped over his shoulders, giving off a slightly eerie vibe. He also has dark circles under his eyes and looks unsteady, like he’s constantly dizzy.
What caught my attention the most were the rings on all his fingers. They all had the same design, but the embedded gemstones were different shapes. Probably some kind of magical tool.
“I see. I understand your request. But let me ask you a few questions first.”
“Sure, what is it?”
“First, where will the budget come from? The academy’s funds have already been allocated to the other proposed festival attractions.”
“No worries. We have enough from what we’ve earned so far.”
Arena lifted a pouch filled with gold coins and grinned.
“Then, what about materials? If you place an order now, they won’t arrive in time. And actually, what materials are needed for this?”
“That’s a secret. But I assure you, we can get everything we need.”
“Alright. What about manpower?”
“Two… no, three people will be enough.”
“And the location?”
“Outside the city would be ideal. It only needs to be revealed on the last night of the festival.”
“Why?”
“Because it will absolutely make the festival unforgettable.”
The conversation flowed as if it had been pre-determined.
Of course, I came prepared with all the answers, but this guy seemed to already have an idea of what I was going to say. Well, given his authority, he could probably approve almost anything.
“…Alright. I approve. However, I want a teacher to accompany you when you go outside. I don’t think you’ll have any trouble given your stats, but protecting students is still the faculty’s responsibility.”
“That’s fine with us.”
“Then it’s settled. Make the academy festival a great success.”
“Thank you very much!!”
Alright, we got permission! Time to start making things happen.
“This is getting exciting!”
“Yeah, I can’t wait!”
Felnora sat on a bench in one of the academy’s many courtyards, lost in thought about this year’s festival.
She had been considering doing something herself, but Idle and Arena were taking things much further than she had anticipated. They were setting the stage for something grand, involving almost the entire student body.
“This is seriously bad…”
“What’s wrong?”
“Oh, just some… friends—or rather, busybodies—giving me a headache with their antics…”
“H-Hello, Felnora-san.”
“––––––––––––––!!”
Her mind went blank for a moment before she sprang to her feet and dashed away at full speed, like a maiden fleeing in embarrassment.
“Eh? Huh!?”
“I can’t even look at his face~!!”
“Wait, Felnora-saaan!!”
A few seconds later, Oikawa caught up with her due to the difference in their statuses. She was forced to calm down and return to the bench, where they sat down together. There was a one-person gap between them, but this time, Oikawa made a move.
“Um… about next month’s school festival. On the last day, would you like to go around together?”
“Fweh!? Ehh, ahhh…”
Felnora didn’t expect him to ask the exact thing she had been considering, and she started panicking. In fact, Oikawa had been ordered by Idle and the others to invite her no matter what.
But honestly, he had wanted to spend this year’s festival with her anyway.
“Is that… not okay?”
Oikawa, a guy who could be described as “cute,” looked at her with puppy-dog eyes, making her tremble even more. But there was no way she could refuse. This was her last year, after all.
She gathered her courage, looked into his eyes, and…
“I-I’d love to!!”
She managed to say it.
“R-really!? Yes!!”
At that moment, 21-year-old Oikawa secured his first-ever date—with a princess. He was so excited that he completely forgot they were in the middle of the academy, with other students watching. Meanwhile, Felnora was too overwhelmed to notice.
Her mind was filled with just one thought: A date with Oikawa-sama.
She kept her head down, because if she looked up, her face would be so relaxed that it would be embarrassing.
Eventually, they started discussing festival highlights, delicious food stalls, and fun attractions.
The gap between them had closed halfway.
Currently, we’re at the Magic Tool Research Tower. Last time, we met a researcher who intrigued us, so we decided to visit him.
Right now, he’s hard at work, creating smoke while struggling with his research.
“Cough cough Damn, it got in my mouth… huh? You guys…?”
“Hello, Bagot-san. You’re completely covered in soot today.”
“Huh? …Ah, I just failed again. So, what brings some fine young ladies to this dirty place?”
Before talking, let’s clean this room first. The walls and floor are pitch black, like some kind of ritual took place.
“Rina, water.”
“Okay! Sorry, Bagot-san~”
“Wait, wha—gahh!!”
After washing Bagot and tidying up, we finally started our conversation…
“That thing is made of a special metal. It absorbs activated magic, but once it’s inside, it won’t release it unless it’s deliberately triggered. So, if you fire this thing, as long as you adjust the angle properly, you can attack a designated spot from quite a distance… but, well, it’s not working too well right now.”
The issue lay in the quality of the Revenant Ore. While they were using materials as consistent as possible, there were still variations in magic efficiency. That meant they had to tweak the engraved magic formulas little by little, which was a tedious process.
If it were just a prototype, that wouldn’t be a problem. However, if they wanted to mass-produce it, this inconsistency would be a serious issue. Just now, a test shot using a simple spell had resulted in an explosion. Other versions of the magic cannon fired properly, but this one was unreliable.
“If this were an offensive spell, imagine the chaos—anyone nearby would be caught in the blast of a misfired shot. That’s why I need a way to stabilize this thing so it can be integrated into the formula consistently.”
“I see… So, can we add some extra components to it?”
“Huh? Oh, yeah. If it can be improved and made smaller later, I don’t mind.”
“In that case, I have just the thing.”
What I pulled out was a sword hilt—just the grip, with no blade attached. As I channeled magic into it, a transparent yellow blade appeared. This was the Magic Light Sword we had retrieved from a dungeon.
Actually, I had borrowed it from Forna by begging her. Sorry, Forna, but for now, I need you to focus on mass-producing the Revenant Boards.
Bagot’s eyes widened as he took in the sight of the sword. He hesitantly accepted it, staring at it like he was trying to burn a hole through it.
“This is… incredible… What the hell is this?”
“It’s a magic tool we excavated from a dungeon.”
“Huh!? Wait, does that mean it’s an artifact from the Age of G—mmbgh!?”
Before he could yell, he clamped his own mouth shut. Yeah, good call. If you said that out loud, it would’ve caused a huge uproar.
“You can dismantle it and analyze the formula if you want. In exchange, could you lend me all the magic cannons you’re working on? I’ll buy all the shells.”
I handed over the bag of gold coins I had shown the director earlier. There were only about ten coins inside, but still…
Heh heh heh. I had done my homework. Felnora had told me all about Bagot’s situation. He had gone through so many failed experiments that he kept buying more and more materials. If he didn’t succeed soon, he’d be drowning in debt.
Bagot just stood there, frozen, staring at the bag of gold on the table.
Go on, take it. It’s perfectly clean money. No problem at all.
“We’re only going to be here for a few more months, so we want to make our first and last school festival as spectacular as possible. For that, we need your skills—and your invention.”
“Please, Bagot-san.”
“…If this is all it takes, then hell, I’m in. Consider me your collaborator, Sponsor.”
With a firm handshake, the deal was sealed.
Alright. Time to get busy!
“By the way, how many rounds do you plan to make?”
“Uh… how many do we have right now?”
“About 100 or so.”
“Then we’ll need a few tens of thousands more.”
“Why the hell did that number skyrocket!?!? There’s no way we can make that many in time!!!”
“Here, ten more gold coins.”
“Damn it, fine! I’ll do it!!!”
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