บท 15: Chapter 15. The "Brilliant" plan

"You'll have to go," I said, staring at Shina like I wasn't sending her on what could only be described as an exile.

My tone? Calm. My face? Radiating total confidence. Inside? Well, let's just say my inner monologue was screaming, She'll thank me later when I'm rolling in money.

"Wait. What?" Shina's face turned pale as she stared at me. "You're sending me away? I should be helping defend the town!"

Her reaction was almost enough to guilt me into rethinking my decision, but then my brain—blessed as it is—chimed in: She's your money printer. Money > swords.

"You'll help us more by trading," I said smoothly, trying to sound convincing. "I have 100,000 mana crystals ready to go. Take them and—"

"A hundred thousand?!" Shina's voice reached a pitch that could probably shatter glass. "What kind of kingdom could even handle that? Do you think I'm some sort of goddess who can summon buyers out of thin air?"

Well, considering the money she's brought back so far, maybe she is, I thought, but instead, I said, "Fine, fine. Let's be reasonable. Take… 10,000 mana crystals."

Her jaw dropped again. "That's still insane! Even Virelith doesn't trade more than 800 mana crystals a year!"

At this point, I couldn't decide if she was exaggerating or if kingdoms were just really inefficient with their trade. Either way, I sighed dramatically. "Okay, okay. Take 1,000 mana crystals, sell them, and bring back the gold. That should be manageable, right?"

Shina shook her head, muttering under her breath as she left the room, probably re-evaluating her life choices.

---

As she walked out, I called for Lucia and Rem. Both of them entered, their eyes trailing Shina's retreating figure, her expression one of pure disbelief.

"I'm planning to build a city of mana crystals," I announced without preamble, leaning back in my chair like this was a perfectly normal statement.

Lucia, in the middle of sipping her coffee, choked so violently that I wondered if I'd need to invest in a healer. Rem, ever the dramatic one, jumped up as though I'd just told her we were under siege.

"What?!" they both yelled in perfect unison.

"I said," I repeated, more slowly, "I'm planning to build a city of mana crystals."

Lucia was the first to recover. "You do realize how ridiculous that sounds, right? What are you going to do next? Build a palace of gold?"

Rem, ever the visionary, added, "Ooh! Can we build a coliseum out of pure mana crystals, too?"

Lucia shot her a horrified look, but I was already nodding. "Brilliant idea, Rem! You're a born innovator."

Rem beamed with pride, while Lucia looked like she was regretting every life choice that had brought her to this moment.

"It's for a greater purpose," I added vaguely, waving my hand in the air as though that explained everything.

"A greater purpose?" Lucia repeated, her voice dripping with skepticism. "Like what? Blinding the enemy with your ridiculous wealth?"

"Exactly!" I said, grinning. "See? You're catching on."

---

Later that evening, I decided to take stock of my current assets.

Gold: 10,350,000 units

Magic Cores: 0 units

Mana Crystals: 619,410 units

All my mana potions had been sold out, which was great. Kirin, ever the business genius, had probably made a killing reselling them. I wasn't even mad. Okay, maybe I was a little mad.

As if on cue, I received a package from Kirin. Curious, I opened it, expecting something mundane like gold or mana cores. Instead, out popped a fully armored Grade 4 troop.

Package Delivered: 1x Grade 4 Troops.

"WHAT THE—" I jumped back, nearly toppling my chair.

The soldier, towering and radiating an aura of pure power, saluted me. "Awaiting orders, my lord."

I blinked. Then blinked again. "Kirin... what have you done?"

A message from her arrived shortly after:

"Surprise! Thought you might need a Grade 4. Don't ask how I managed it. Just win the war, okay? :)"

I stared at the message, torn between gratitude and sheer terror.

Grade 4?! A single Grade 4 could oversee an entire city or raze it to the ground. How on earth was I supposed to explain this to the townsfolk?

I muttered under my breath, "Kirin, go rob a kingdom already. You're clearly overqualified for trade."

Another thought struck me, and I groaned. "I still haven't figured out how to reveal the nine Grade 3 troops, and now I have to deal with this?"

Too overwhelmed to think clearly, I sent Kirin a simple message of thanks. Words failed me, and frankly, I didn't trust myself not to say something stupid.

---

As I lay in bed that night, staring at the ceiling, I tried to reassure myself. "It's fine. Everything's fine. With nine Grade 3 troops and now a Grade 4, there's no way that Virelith general can win."

I glanced at my ledger one last time. Mana crystals were piling up faster than I could sell them.

"Once this is over, I'm never selling to Virelith again," I muttered. "Printing 75,000 mana crystals a day… who even needs kingdoms when I can fund myself?"

The thought made me smile as I consoled myself to sleep, dreaming of the ridiculous wealth that awaited me.

---

The next day, the town square was buzzing with activity. Word had gotten out that I had an "important announcement," which, naturally, drew in a curious crowd. Townsfolk filled the square, whispering among themselves. I stood at the center, radiating an aura of confidence.

Behind me stood my newest recruits—nine Grade 3 troops. Each one of them looked like they could take on an army by themselves.

Well I gave up on finding an excuse.

Clearing my throat, I raised my voice. "Good morning, folks! Today, I'd like to introduce you to the defenders of our town!"

The murmurs turned into complete silence as I gestured to the first person beside me. "This man right here is Sir Lancelot, a Grade 3 knight. A swordsman of unmatched skill!"

Lancelot stepped forward, giving a polite bow. The townspeople murmured their approval.

I moved to the next figure. "And this remarkable woman is Lylia, a Grade 3 magi! She can incinerate a battlefield with a flick of her wrist."

Lylia gave a curt nod, her staff glowing faintly as if to emphasize the point. A few audible gasps rose from the crowd.

One by one, I continued down the line. "This is Ragnar, a berserker who fought beasts in the southern wilds. Over here is Freya, an archer whose arrows have never missed their mark. And this is..."

As the introductions went on, I noticed the townsfolk's expressions shifting. What started as mild curiosity quickly turned into wide-eyed disbelief. Mouths were hanging open. Some people even looked like they were questioning their own sanity.

Finally, I reached the last person in the lineup—the star of the show.

"And now, the one and only Hero Karina! She's a Grade 3 assassin, swift and deadly." I leaned in conspiratorially and added with a grin, "Let's just say if you see her, it's probably already too late."

Karina gave a slight smirk, flipping a dagger in her hand before it vanished back into its sheath. The townsfolk's jaws collectively hit the floor.

"Are they even human?" someone whispered loudly.

"How did Lord Ace manage to gather this many high-grade warriors?" another murmured.

I crossed my arms, basking in their awe. "These fine individuals are here to defend our town. With them on our side, the Virelith Kingdom won't stand a chance!"

The crowd erupted into cheers, though a few skeptical looks remained.

As the people began to disperse, I turned to my newly introduced troops. "Good work, everyone. Now, let's make sure we look this intimidating when the Virelith army arrives."