Chương 170: Chapter 170: Going to Edolas with Mirajane
'Why the Sudden Surge in Stored Magic Power?'
Nate curiously opened the Magic Net's backend and quickly identified the cause. The reserve magic power had suddenly skyrocketed from just a few dozen to thousands of stars, and the reason was the magic app.
"Is everyone storing up magic power because Grimoire Heart is planning to attack Magnolia?"
After a moment's thought, Nate understood. Makarov had shared the magic app in the guild's group chat, so now every member had access to it. Activating the super magic 'Fairy Law' embedded in the app required loading six stars of magic power—three to activate it and another three as "magic bank" storage fees.
"With a week left until the Harvest Festival, will everyone have saved up enough by then?"
Nate's expression turned thoughtful. Would Grimoire Heart be surprised to face a guild where everyone had access to super magic? He suddenly found himself eager to see Hades's reaction.
...
Without further conversation, Nate returned to his apartment. A luxurious carriage was parked below, with a butler in a suit standing beside it. Nate recognized him as the butler from Lucy's family.
"Nate-sama," the butler greeted with a slight bow. "The master is waiting for you in the apartment."
After a quick greeting, Nate went upstairs.
Upon entering Lucy's apartment, he found Jude seated at the tea table, holding a stack of papers.
"Mr. Jude."
Nate sat cross-legged, glancing at the papers with a smile. "That's Lucy's novel, isn't it? She'll be upset if she finds out you're reading it without permission."
Jude chuckled. "It was left on the table, and besides…" The style of the novel seemed to shift dramatically between the first and second halves. The beginning narrated the journey of a young girl named 'Iris' who embarks on an adventure after running away from home, but after meeting a charming young man, it turns into a romance novel.
Jude suspected his daughter might be in a relationship with Nate, given the sudden shift in narrative tone.
"Nate, how are you and Lucy getting along?"
"Uh…"
Momentarily at a loss for words, Nate decided it was best not to mention how he sometimes appeased Lucy with vague promises of repayment.
"I live next door, and Lucy takes great care of me," Nate replied wisely, complimenting Jude's daughter. "She's skilled at everything—cooking, cleaning—you'd hardly think she was a noble."
Jude paused, somewhat surprised to learn his daughter had become so independent since leaving home. It reminded him of Lucy's mother, Layla, who used to take care of him when they were starting their own small trading business.
Jude looked at Nate with a fatherly smile.
"Oh, and here's the second batch of 100,000 rings," Jude added, bringing over a large box and opening it to reveal a neatly arranged stack of silver rings.
Nate began enchanting the rings immediately. Each ring needed an Internet Magic enchantment to function; otherwise, it was just an ordinary ring.
One hundred thousand rings were manageable, but what would he do when the numbers reached millions?
As he continued enchanting, Nate started to feel the pressure.
"Mr. Jude, how is the railway company doing?" Nate asked.
"Thanks to your Magic Net rings, the bank raised my credit and agreed to lend me money to help me through this tough period," Jude replied. "After this, I plan to halt the railway expansion, focus on consolidating the northern railway, and shift our efforts to producing rings."
Jude outlined his future plans. First, he aimed to acquire more magic workshops and recruit more craftsmen, hoping to increase monthly ring production to over one million units, a goal that would require significant financial investment. The funds would, of course, come from bank loans.
This business was exclusive, so the banks were eager to lend Jude money.
"Even in this world, banks are all the same," Nate thought to himself, silently critiquing how they lend freely in good times and call in debts during hard times.
"Nate, I intend to distribute this batch of rings in Magnolia and open a specialty magic shop selling rings in this town."
"Here?"
"Using the convenience of the Magic Net, I can build a model city here, which will help with promotion later on."
Nate thought it was a good idea, but—
"Why not choose the capital?"
"Crocus is a large city with over a million people," Jude replied with a shake of his head.
Crocus, the capital of the Kingdom of Fiore, was known as the City of Flowers due to the vast variety of blooms there. However, distributing only 100,000 rings in such a large city wouldn't create much impact.
"There's also another reason."
"As the creator of the Magic Net, your presence in Magnolia makes this town a natural choice."
Nate didn't particularly care about the business details; he trusted Jude to handle those matters.
"Magnolia has a population of just over 60,000. I'll take 30,000 of these rings—I have a different use for them."
Nate recalled his mission to extend the Magic Net to the parallel world, and the 30,000 rings would come in handy for that purpose. Jude had no objections and didn't even ask what they were for.
...
Time passed quickly as the two chatted. Soon after, Lucy returned from grocery shopping.
Jude was surprised to taste his daughter's cooking for the first time, amazed by her culinary skills. After dinner, he bid farewell, asking Lucy if she needed any money.
Lucy, of course, refused. Even though she still owed Nate quite a bit, she didn't want to burden her father with it.
After seeing her father off, Lucy took the dishes into the kitchen.
Nate rushed over to help. "Your father rarely visits; why not ask him to stay a little longer?"
"Did you peek at my novel?" Lucy asked suspiciously, eyeing Nate.
Nate denied it. "No! He did—I didn't see a word!"
Lucy's face turned bright red as she recalled the contents of her novel. She felt like she could dig a hole to hide in out of embarrassment.
"Get out! Go! I don't want to see you!" she exclaimed, pushing Nate out of the kitchen and closing the door with a bang.
As he stood outside, Nate's curiosity grew. What exactly had she written in that novel?
Could it be... something risqué?
One way or another, he had to find a chance to read it.
...
Back in his own apartment, Nate glanced at the time. It was past nine in the evening. After a moment's thought, he sent Mirajane a private message.
Sigma Male: "Come to South Gate Park."
Mirajane, in the middle of a bath, saw the message and was puzzled.
The Departing Traveler: "Did something happen? Are Grimoire Heart members here?"
Sigma Male: "No, I've figured out how to reach the parallel world. Planning to go tonight to find your sister and bring her back in time for the Harvest Festival."
Mirajane's eyes widened, and she immediately got out of the bath, quickly drying off and putting on clean clothes before hurrying out of the girls' dormitory. On her way downstairs, she ran into Levy.
"Mirajane? Going out this late—what's going on?"
"Levy, I'll be away for a while; I'm not sure I'll be back before the festival," Mirajane said urgently. "Could you do me a favor and cover my duties tomorrow if I'm not back?"
"Of course. I'll help," Levy replied.
"Thank you!"
After expressing her gratitude, Mirajane left hurriedly.
Watching her disappear into the night, Levy's curiosity flared, and she quickly sent Nate a message.
Levy: "Master, are you going on a date with Mirajane?"
Levy: "Master, I demand a silence fee!"
Sigma Male: "It seems I haven't assigned you enough homework, 🙄"
Sigma Male: "I'm going to look for Mirajane's sister."
~~~
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