Chapter 39: Curses to Crystals (Review Bonus)

Chapter 39. Curses to Crystals (Review Bonus)

The professors ate a lot.

Like...

A lot.

I watched Oren reach for his fourth serving and decided that, yes, this man was definitely a researcher.

Cedric wasn’t doing much better.

He’d initially approached lunch with the careful manners of a distinguished academy professor. A modest portion. A polite compliment. A measured sip of tea.

Then he’d tasted Lily’s cooking.

And apparently abandoned several decades of professional restraint.

I couldn’t blame him.

The roasted meat was tender enough to fall apart beneath a fork. The vegetables carried a delicate sweetness, and the rich broth had been simmered until every ingredient surrendered its dignity to the greater good.

A blessing.

An actual blessing.

I’d spent years surviving on coffee, questionable cafeteria meals, and whatever food I could eat without interrupting an experiment.

This?

This was civilization.

Oren closed his eyes after tasting the soup.

I understood.

Deeply.

He was more a researcher than a magus, although I supposed that distinction didn’t officially exist yet. In this era, Arcane Academy hadn’t established a separate Research Branch.

Thousands of years later, people like Oren would have their own departments.

Their own laboratories.

Their own funding problems.

Some things, unfortunately, were eternal.

"Princess Lily," Oren said reverently, "this is extraordinary."

Lily beamed. "Thank you!"

I took another bite.

Healthy food prepared by someone who actually cared whether you lived long enough to finish your research.

Sacred.

Absolutely sacred.

How had Lily prepared all this when she’d spent the morning shopping with us?

Simple.

She’d started cooking before we left.

Several dishes had been simmering slowly since morning under the servants’ supervision. When we returned, she’d checked the ingredients, inspected the preservation magic, and tasted everything one final time before allowing the food to reach the dining table.

A proper quality-control procedure.

I approved.

Even more impressively, she’d somehow found time to prepare a small bundle of bread for our guests’ journey.

By the time lunch ended, Oren looked ready to apply for permanent residence.

Cedric appeared to be considering it too.

Unfortunately, the academy would probably notice if two professors disappeared into my dining room.

Again.

That word carried an unpleasant weight.

I pushed the thought aside.

For now, they were alive.

Well fed.

And leaving with a much better understanding of what had happened to Rey Valen.

That was enough.

We gathered at the mansion entrance to see them off.

Liora’s carriage waited in the courtyard.

Seris had assigned several of her most trusted guards to escort it all the way back to Arcane Academy.

No unnecessary stops.

No unfamiliar passengers.

And absolutely no conveniently timed accidents.

I appreciated her thoroughness.

Cedric shook my hand. "Thank you for your hospitality, Rey."

"Thank Lily. I mostly contributed by eating."

Oren laughed.

Then accepted the wrapped bread Lily pressed into his hands.

His expression became almost emotional.

Understandable.

"Travel safely," Nia told them.

"We will," Cedric assured her.

The professors climbed into the carriage.

Seris’s guards took their positions.

The horses started moving.

I watched until the carriage passed through the estate gates and disappeared down the road.

Hopefully, that was one historical tragedy successfully avoided.

I wasn’t arrogant enough to assume the world would cooperate simply because I’d decided to change its future.

Only Nia, Liora, and I remained at the entrance.

Lily had already hurried to the garden with her precious magical seeds.

Ariel had returned to managing the household, particularly the supplies we’d purchased that morning.

Seris was inspecting the mansion’s defenses.

Yesterday’s sabotage had left several wards compromised, and she apparently intended to make sure nobody repeated that little performance.

Everyone had work.

Including me.

I was about to head inside when Liora called out.

"Rey."

I stopped. "Yes?"

Nia stepped closer. Her ears twitched. "The servants told us about last night’s attack."

Ah, that.

"And the Behemoth," she added. "They said you killed it alone."

I nodded. "Pretty much."

"Do you need anything from it?"

"No. I already took what I needed."

The core.

Which was currently somewhere between an experimental success and a walking diplomatic incident.

I decided not to elaborate.

"I’ll also add some monster corpses to the inventory. I killed them this morning."

Nia blinked. "More?"

"Just a few."

Depending on how one defined a few.

"I only need their cores."

Her tail swayed.

Liora immediately looked interested.

Monster corpses weren’t merely corpses in this household.

They were resources. And resources meant money.

My wives weren’t just five beautiful princesses living in an enormous mansion.

They actually ran the place.

Ariel managed the household and servants.

Lily handled the kitchen, gardens, and medicine.

Seris oversaw security and intelligence, including the spies and suspicious visitors who seemed determined to make our lives interesting.

Nia handled negotiations, inventory, and logistics.

And Liora... Our Crystal Elf Princess.

Treasury.

Finance.

Resource appraisal.

The woman who could look at a pile of monster bones and tell me exactly how much money I’d lose if I accidentally used them as decorations.

That was why Nia and Liora frequently traveled together.

Liora knew what something was worth.

Nia knew how to convince somebody to pay more for it.

A terrifying combination.

Honestly, if those two had existed in my previous life, I might’ve actually secured bigger research funding.

Nia tilted her head. "Since when did you become interested in monster cores?"

"Since just now."

She stared.

I cleared my throat. "Research."

Liora gave me a long look.

Nia’s lips curled upward.

Apparently, research was becoming my universal excuse.

It was a perfectly respectable excuse.

Usually.

Liora folded her hands. "Is there anything else you need? You mentioned buying supplies earlier, but the town might not have everything you’re looking for."

I considered that. Then nodded. "Mana crystals."

Her expression sharpened. "What grade?"

"Preferably high."

"How high?"

"As high as you can manage."

Nia leaned forward. "Why?"

"I want to make something for the king’s birthday."

Liora blinked. "An artifact?"

"Not exactly."

I glanced at the bracelet on her wrist. "Something like your jewelry. Just considerably better."

Her fingers brushed the crystal.

I smiled. "And if the materials are good enough, I might be able to make more for you. Better ones."

Nia’s eyes lit up. "Oh!" Her tail started moving. "We can sell them!"

I stared at her. "Uh..."

She grabbed my hand. "If you can make permanent magical jewelry, we could sell it for a much higher price!"

"I meant... for you."

"Yes!" She grinned. "And we can sell the others!"

...

I looked at Liora.

She was already thinking.

I could see it.

Market prices.

Potential buyers.

Profit margins.

My romantic gesture had apparently become a business proposal.

Wonderful.

I sighed. But I couldn’t really complain.

Our estate wasn’t poor.

Yet compared with the estates belonging to the other heroes, mine was smaller.

Less influential.

Less wealthy.

Rey had started as a commoner.

No inherited fortune, ancient noble family or generations of political connections.

He’d earned everything through his own strength.

And now that strength was supposedly failing.

Which made everything he’d built dangerously easy to take away.

I needed to change that.

Power alone wasn’t enough.

I needed money.

Resources.

Connections.

Something that made Rey Valen important beyond being one of the five people who’d defeated the Dark Lord.

Something his former comrades couldn’t simply erase.

Liora suddenly smiled. "Follow me."

I blinked. "Where?"

"You’ll see."

Oh.

That expression.

I knew that expression.

It was the expression researchers wore when they were about to reveal something expensive.

My heartbeat accelerated.

Liora led us through the mansion toward her private chambers.

The moment she opened the doors, I stopped.

Oh, this was beautiful.

Not merely beautiful in the decorative sense.

Although the room certainly qualified.

Crystal ornaments lined the shelves. Delicate formations glimmered beneath the walls. Several gemstones floated inside transparent containment arrays.

But the real attraction...

The crystals.

Mana crystals.

Everywhere.

Raw samples.

Refined specimens.

Elemental variants.

Some stored in protective cases.

Others suspended in carefully controlled mana fields.

My researcher’s instincts started tingling.

No.

Tingling was insufficient.

They were screaming.

Some of these specimens were exceptionally pure.

Even modern Crystal Elves would’ve struggled to obtain them.

And Liora had them sitting in her bedroom.

Casually.

Like decorative rocks.

I nearly cried.

"Rey?"

I blinked.

Liora was watching me.

"Are you all right?"

"Never better." My voice sounded suspiciously strained.

She gestured toward the center of the room. "I recently discovered a mana crystal deposit near the estate."

I turned. "What?"

"Less than five kilometers away."

My eyes widened. "Inside our territory?"

She nodded.

"The land the king granted you includes the deposit. We could establish a mine there when we have the time and resources."

A mine.

Our own mana crystal mine.

I felt something inside me awaken.

Not the curse.

Something far more dangerous.

The spirit of a researcher who’d spent years filling out equipment requisition forms.

Liora continued. "I collected a few samples."

A large crystal rose from a containment case.

It hovered between us.

Pale blue light moved through its interior.

Mana density.

Purity.

Structural integrity.

Oh, you beautiful bastard.

A-grade.

And enormous.

An A-grade mana crystal of this size was rare enough to make entire laboratories start fighting over acquisition rights.

I stared.

Liora smiled faintly. "I thought you might find it useful."

Useful?

USEFUL?

Woman.

This thing could power an entire advanced formation network.

It could serve as the foundation for permanent magical equipment.

It could...

"I also found these."

She opened another case.

Several smaller crystals floated upward.

My thoughts stopped.

Completely.

[S-grade Mana Crystal detected.]

[S-grade Mana Crystal detected.]

[S-grade Mana Crystal detected.]

...

Oh. My. Gods.

Inside my head, an entire research department erupted into applause.

Somebody opened champagne.

Somebody else started crying.

The imaginary funding committee approved everything without asking a single question.

Nia leaned closer. "Wow~"

I turned toward Liora.

She looked almost shy. "Are they suitable?"

Suitable?

She asked whether S-grade mana crystals were suitable.

I moved before my brain could intervene.

One arm slipped around her waist.

My other hand caught hers.

Then I pulled her close and dipped her backward.

Liora gasped.

Her free hand instinctively caught my shoulder.

Her long hair spilled toward the floor.

I leaned over her. Very seriously.

"Liora," I whispered.

Her cheeks turned pink. "Y-yes?"

I stared into her eyes. "Will you marry me?"

Silence.

Nia froze.

Liora’s face turned scarlet. "Rey, we’re already married!"

"I know." I tightened my hold just enough to keep her comfortably balanced. "Marry me again."

Nia burst out laughing.

Liora covered her face with her free hand.

And I?

I didn’t care.

Call me dramatic.

Call me shameless.

This woman had just shown me an A-grade crystal the size of my head, several S-grade crystals, and an entire mine inside my own territory.

If that wasn’t romance, I didn’t know what was.

Nia’s laughter finally subsided, although her tail was still swishing behind her. "So, does that mean you’re going to open the mine?"

"Absolutely."

I helped Liora straighten up, though I kept one arm around her waist a moment longer.

"But we’ll need the right people. Miners, supervisors, guards. People we can trust."

A mana crystal mine was practically an invitation for thieves, corrupt nobles, and every ambitious bastard within a hundred kilometers.

And considering my current popularity?

Wonderful.

I’d probably have a queue of them by tomorrow.

Liora adjusted her dress, her cheeks still pink. "I can help you open it. My people have extensive experience with crystal extraction."

I smiled. "And I can use my magic to help with the excavation and protective formations."

Between her knowledge and my abilities, establishing the mine shouldn’t be particularly difficult.

Keeping everyone else from trying to steal it?

That would be the fun part.

I glanced between them. "More importantly, I want you two to prepare for the king’s birthday banquet next week."

Nia’s ears perked up. "The banquet?"

"Yep." I released Liora and folded my arms. "Dresses. Jewelry. Whatever else you need."

Nia grinned. "Are you giving us permission to go shopping?"

"I’m giving you permission to make everyone else regret showing up."

Liora blinked.

I smiled. "Make sure all of you glow."

For a moment, neither spoke. Then Nia’s grin widened. "Oh, I like that."

Liora looked down at her new bracelet, a small smile touching her lips.

I glanced at the floating S-grade crystals again.

The king needed a birthday gift.

My wives needed to look magnificent.

And I had a mine to open.

For once, my problems were the expensive kind I actually enjoyed.