Chapter 119
Salt is God and Invincible – Part 4
『 Translator – Divinity 』
The journey back was quite tiring. After the Headmistress’s sudden… intimate gesture, the atmosphere became incredibly awkward.
The reason Ruth and Chloe were giving me those looks was obvious.
‘Honestly, even I would be…’
Imagine seeing Ruth or Chloe kissing a man over 100 years older than them. The atmosphere would naturally become awkward.
The fact that the Headmistress, after kissing me, became embarrassed and left first was even more baffling. Even now that we had arrived at the office, she wasn’t here; she seemed to be somewhere else.
And Ruth and Chloe…
──I’ll be going back. I have something to discuss.
──…Me too.
…said that and disappeared somewhere. I still had more questions for them.
I wanted to ask how Ruth obtained Dark Sword and if she knew anything about the self-proclaimed Goddess, but I couldn’t bring myself to ask in that atmosphere in the carriage.
Well, it wouldn’t be a problem to ask later. It wasn’t urgent.
The Headmistress’s confession and kiss, Ruth’s Dark Sword, Chloe and the self-proclaimed Goddess, and even the scabbard and the fragment of the sacred relic in my heart.
So much had happened, but the feeling I had now was quite different.
Rustle.
“…Amazing.”
It was mesmerizing, no matter how many times I saw it. Enough to make me forget about the Headmistress, Ruth, and Chloe.
The salt, shimmering brilliantly in the sunlight like gold. Considering its actual value, it wasn’t an exaggeration to say it was worth the same weight in gold, or even more.
The salt piled up on the desk in my office, where I was alone after sending off the equipment and the slave.
It was an amount I had managed to create while sweating profusely.
‘It’s tiring and exhausting, but I feel like I can keep doing this if I eat and rest well.’
Actually, considering the salt wave that the fragment of the sacred relic created in the rock salt mine, it was highly likely that this wasn’t a temporary phenomenon but a permanent state.
In other words, I had become a superhuman who could create salt out of thin air if I wanted to.
‘What good is rank?’
Magic? Sword Qi? Rank? Screw them all.
I could create salt! Just by groaning, I could create salt! I could create a budget on my own!!
“Eureka!!!”
The words I had shouted countless times in my mind during the carriage ride, in that cold atmosphere, while experimenting.
And that single word, shouted without reservation at this moment, perfectly expressed my feelings.
It was worth all the hardships I had gone through to obtain this divine power!
‘And this isn’t just ordinary salt.’
Unlike sea salt obtained from seawater, rock salt often contained impurities. Of course, there was also pure rock salt, but as a mineral, it often had other substances mixed in.
Refining that rock salt and turning it into pure salt was a rather bothersome and costly process. As such, pure salt was particularly valuable even among expensive salts and was always in high demand among the upper class.
The salt coming from my fingertips was clearly of the highest quality.
‘Is it because it was created with the power of the sacred relic? It has a faint divine power.’
There wouldn’t be any complaints from the Church because of this. In fact, high-quality salt was usually imbued with divine power through purification magic requested from the Church, in addition to the refining process.
However, since they had to call upon the Church just to make salt, it was traded at a very high price. And I could create that kind of salt endlessly.
I couldn’t stop grinning no matter how much I tried.
‘I would love to replace the salaries of the professors and staff with salt, like I did with the equipment and the slave.’
Then the expenses would decrease, and since I could create salt for free, the academy wouldn’t suffer any losses. It would be a miraculous cycle.
But it was realistically impossible. Even if I could create it endlessly, there was a limit to how much I could produce in a day.
‘I could replace the salaries of a few people, but not all the staff.’
Then how should I use this divine power to maximize profits?
Well, it was obvious.
“Finance Director, I heard you called for this old woman.”
“It’s been a while, Cardinal Reti. I apologize for having you come all this way.”
“Haha. Isn’t this also the will of the Goddess? I must come whenever the Finance Director calls.”
An elderly woman with a gentle smile, dressed in pure white robes, entered.
It was the Cardinal I had spoken with before about the equipment, or rather, Professor Circe. It seemed like she arrived just in time since I had asked her to come while on the way back in the carriage.
One of the five cardinals in the Holy Kingdom, and a Rank 7 powerhouse herself.
The reason I didn’t have any guards, like the Headmistress, present while talking with such a person was simple.
“I’d like to discuss the ‘favor’ you promised.”
“Hmm… So the time has come. What might you be asking of this old woman?”
“It’s not a difficult task for you, Cardinal.”
“First, let me tell you that I can’t fulfill your requests regarding the renegotiation of the healing potion price, the free rental of sacred and construction materials from the Holy Kingdom, the reduction of the priest dispatch contribution, and the transit tax for the gate to the Holy Kingdom. I told you that last time, didn’t I?”
“It’s not that, so don’t worry.”
“…Is that so, Finance Director?”
“I don’t know what you think of me, but it’s a very reasonable request.”
This person, no, this grandmother, was a bit too worldly for a cardinal.
The five cardinals of the Holy Kingdom were divided into two who remained in the Holy Kingdom and three who were dispatched to other countries. Although the Holy Kingdom had fallen, their purpose was to maintain the connections and interests they had established when they were the dominant power. And Cardinal Reti was in charge of the entire kingdom.
Considering that the other two cardinals were in charge of the Empire, it meant she alone was responsible for all the Holy Kingdom’s diplomatic relations with the second most powerful nation on the continent. Perhaps because of that, or maybe it was her personality, Cardinal Reti was very sensitive about money.
‘She quickly calculated and pocketed the donation for Circe’s research.’
A deal was a deal, and it was annoying but understandable that she gave me all sorts of information about Circe while saying she respected the academy. But she wasn’t a difficult person to deal with.
Since she was sensitive about money, she was more receptive than anyone when it came to financial matters.
“First, please take a look at this.”
“…If it’s a high-quality product with this much divine power, it can only be found in the northern mines of the Empire. Why are you suddenly showing me salt?”
“I’m aware that the Holy Kingdom receives a certain amount of salt in exchange for performing purification magic on the rock salt from the northern mines of the Empire.”
“That’s true.”
“And that it’s not enough to meet His Holiness the Pope’s demand for salt.”
“Hmm.”
There was no need to hide it. After all, besides consumption, salt imbued with divine power was essential for various rituals in the Church.
The important thing here was that they needed ‘high-quality salt imbued with divine power,’ not just any salt.
Like this.
“Then are you saying, Finance Director, that you can connect us with a mine or a supplier where we can obtain salt? However, considering the transportation costs…”
“I’ll sell it to you at half the market price.”
“May the Goddess bless you! A saint has descended upon us!!”
Wow, look how quickly she agreed.
There was no doubt that Cardinal Reti wasn’t questioning how the academy could regularly sell this kind of salt when they didn’t even have a mine. All that remained was the benefit of getting it at half the market price.
I could have asked for a higher price, but it was better to make the Cardinal feel indebted to me. Even at half the market price, it was an absurd profit.
And additionally,
“But this alone isn’t a ‘favor,’ is it?”
“Oh Saint, do you have anything more to say?”
“The Delphia Kingdom.”
“…Oh, I understand. When should I inform you?”
“Whenever you think is best.”
“If it’s a request from the Saint of Salt…”
The Surveyor was in the kingdom because the royal family requested him to survey the Delphia Kingdom.
And that meant the civil war in the Delphia Kingdom and the royal family’s intervention were imminent.
Considering the considerable distance to the Delphia Kingdom, I could obtain valuable information through the priests and cardinals stationed there.
Normally, I wouldn’t care whether there was a civil war or not, but…
‘Crown Prince Zeke made a request, and Beatrice is an excellent source of income.’
To maximize my profit, I had to keep Beatrice at the academy and grasp the situation, even if it meant going through some trouble.
That was also why I didn’t explain everything in detail. It was excessive for the Finance Director of an educational institution like the academy to show too much interest in the affairs of the royal family and a foreign nation. It was best to be as discreet as possible. And I could trust Cardinal Reti, who was involved with money.
I gave her a bag of the salt I had just created as a down payment, and Cardinal Reti returned with a cheerful expression.
After watching her leave, I clapped my hands once.
Clap!
“F-Finance Director! It’s a success!!”
As if that was a signal, Professor Alon popped out from the room next door, the one with the hidden bed where the Headmistress had been.
And at the same time, another ‘me’ also walked out from there.
The scene of me sitting at the desk in the office and another me coming out of the room coexisting.
It was a truly satisfying result.
“I didn’t expect it to be this efficient.”
“This is the potential of illusion magic! If you could just lower the donation from 40% even a little…!”
“Try saying that to the Headmistress.”
“…It was nothing.”
He might be a bit clueless and servile, but Professor Alon was an illusion magician who was almost Rank 7 and the head of the Illusion Magic Department.
The Manticore illusion at the entrance ceremony exuded considerable pressure with its physical presence, and he received the investment because his abilities were recognized.
Until now, I hadn’t paid much attention to it, but…
‘This is more useful than I thought.’
Perhaps it was because he wasn’t using his power in earnest, but even Cardinal Reti, a Rank 7, didn’t notice that the me in the office was an illusion.
It would be ridiculous for her to use detection magic against a Rank 1 when she came here for an ordinary conversation and negotiation. Anyway, it seemed like I could fool those at Rank 5 or 6 with this.
‘This will make it easier to monitor the equipment and the slave.’
It was just an illusion, so it could only perform pre-determined actions and say pre-set phrases, but just having it in the Finance Director’s office would be an effective way to pressure Circe and Milia. And I could go on long business trips without any problems.
It would have been perfect if it could even handle paperwork, but that was impossible.
Well, the paperwork would be done anyway once I woke up from a good sleep.
“Then I believe there would be no problem manufacturing an artifact with this level of illusion magic.”
“Th-that…”
“Professor Alon?”
“Well, illusion magic is quite complex… I can make it, but the efficiency…”
“Just say it directly.”
“…It’s expensive. We need a medium to contain the magic, and it needs to be replaced regularly. And for this level of illusion magic, we’ll need a very expensive medium.”
“Is that all?”
“I-if we use our department’s budget for this, it will be a huge blow! We’re already struggling after donating 40% of the investment funds…!!”
“I received a direct communication tool to Count Anton before returning. I’m sure the Count also gave you a separate reward and told you to get close to me, didn’t he?”
“…Hiccup.”
“Don’t you think it’s a bit much to ask for money for the artifact production after pocketing the money you already received?”
“Uh, well…”
“I’ll prepare the medium, so just focus on manufacturing it properly. Naturally, the Headmistress will inspect it to make sure it’s not faulty. I assure you there will be a significant reward if you just listen to my request.”
“Ah… I understand.”
Professor Alon. He was greedy for money, naive, submissive to the strong, clueless, and overly ambitious, but his abilities as an illusion magician were undeniable.
Count Anton had also asked Professor Alon to get close to me, so there was ample justification to use him. He wouldn’t have any ulterior motives since he knew I was the Headmistress’s closest confidant from this territory incident.
More importantly, he was perfect for spreading the news about my fake relationship with the Headmistress. He seemed like a gossip.
‘I’ll make him Equipment No. 2.’
Circe was practically unusable as equipment because she was always in her underground lab, but Professor Alon, no, Equipment No. 2, would be used frequently.
As I nodded, Equipment No. 2 spoke hesitantly.
“C-can I ask what kind of medium you’ll be using…?”
“Why are you curious about that?”
“It’s not out of any strange thoughts! I need to know what the medium is to start manufacturing the artifact! If it’s minerals or magic stones, I need to create a suitable mold!”
“Aha, if that’s the case…”
A medium that’s good for containing magic? It was obvious what I would use.
A good medium that was even used in rituals in the Holy Kingdom and could be created for free.
Rustle.
“Th-this is…?”
Ah— so you don’t know.
This is called ‘salt.’
“Wouldn’t this be enough?”
“O-of course!”
I’m really looking forward to seeing how I can exploit this equipment.
As expected, salt is god, and salt is invincible, isn’t it?