In the past, Gray Castle would have been as dreary as ever.
But today was different.
The dazzling lights and orchestra.
The Masters of the Magic Towers in half-masks.
And above all, Winter White—the Grand Duke of the North—watching all of it unfold in real time.
‘What a magnificent sight.’
I curled my lips into a quiet sneer.
Yes. I knew Raphael could do it.
No, this was only the natural order of things.
Those bastards could not possibly experience the miracle of for themselves and still resist coming here.
There was no chance they could endure it.
The reason I was so certain was simple.
‘Because aged mana circuits are far more devastating to mages than most people realize.’
Aged mana circuits.
It was a phenomenon every middle-aged mage experienced at least once, and that aging naturally led to a decline in the mage’s abilities.
Of course, through vigorous research, later generations of mages would learn how to train their mana circuits themselves, just as knights trained their bodies.
But that was strictly a story for the future.
Even that development only came about after the Hero of the Kingdom discovered Alkein’s Elixir.
In other words, no matter what present-day mages did, they had absolutely no way to restore their aged mana circuits.
To put it simply, it was like baldness that could never return you to being one of those full-haired bastards, no matter what you did.
It was possible, at least, to ‘maintain’ aged mana circuits.
But ‘restoring’ them was impossible in the present world of magic.
Alkein’s Elixir, however, made that restoration possible.
How?
It was simple.
The foundation of Alkein’s Elixir lay in temporarily reversing the aging of the body.
Even thinking about it again, Alkein had truly been an alchemist worthy of being called a genius among geniuses.
It was like driving a dose of nutrients into a withered plant.
The elixir activated the body’s regenerative power to its absolute limit, temporarily restoring the youth it had possessed in the past.
There had even been cases in which people consistently consumed Alkein’s Elixir and restored not only their mana circuits, but also treated every manner of ailment, including baldness and impotence.
It was worthy of being called a miracle of God.
In other words, its effects did not merely make aged mana circuits pull taut and stand erect.
The fact that something other than their mana circuits also ‘stood erect’ was a kind of additional effect.
Alkein’s Elixir was initially enjoyed only by mages and upper-class nobles, and its spread to the general public would come somewhat later in the future.
In any case, to summarize—
‘Those high-nosed mages have every reason to be losing their minds over it.’
There was a way to cure aged mana circuits, an incurable affliction for mages?
And as an added effect, it made something else stand erect too?
I guarantee it.
If I were a mage, I would sell my soul for it.
In any case, back to the matter at hand.
“Since the exalted sages have personally traveled all this way, it is only right that I fulfill your expectations.”
I began my pitch in earnest.
The people who had come to Gray Castle had only one objective.
Northmedi.
Then it was time to perform the miracle of God they desired so desperately.
I spread both arms wide and shouted in a booming voice.
“Allow me to formally introduce it to you. The specialty of the North—Northmedi!”
At the same time—
—FLASH!
The devices and lights installed in advance throughout the banquet hall activated, unfolding a vast screen before Raphael and the other mages.
The scene was reminiscent of a modern beam projector.
—FLASH!
With a spectacular display, the familiar crystal appeared, radiating a painfully brilliant blue light.
The mages’ expressions changed in unison.
“Oh, that is the......”
“At last......!”
Behind them, Lenin checked on the mages operating the equipment, then turned toward me.
—THRUST.
She raised a firm thumb in approval.
Good.
Fortunately, it seemed to be working properly.
As an aside, this technology had been made possible while Raphael was away by working the Blue Magic Tower’s excellent personnel to the bone—no, by borrowing them.
What choice did they have?
When the Grand Duke of the North gave an order, they had to obey.
“Wait, that is......”
Raphael, seated in the distance, flinched at the sight.
That was because this magic was none other than the spell he had been developing at the Blue Magic Tower.
Raphael and I exchanged meaningful looks across the distance separating his seat from the second-floor balcony.
“......”
“......”
Without saying a word, I smiled and slightly raised the wineglass in my hand toward Raphael.
The other mages below mistook the gesture for a toast and eagerly raised their glasses, their faces flushed with excitement.
Raphael gripped his brow.
—GRAB.
But only for a moment.
As though saying, Fine. Do whatever you want—
Raphael released a deep sigh and reluctantly raised his glass.
Only then did I grin and shout—
“To the exalted sages who have joined Northmedi for its very first step!”
We were in the same boat now anyway.
Drink up.
I would make sure he did not regret it.
Then I pointed to the screen and smoothly began my explanation.
“First, Northmedi is an organic health product made primarily from Kolheim native to the North, blended with other health supplements......”
***
The explanation that followed covered Northmedi’s origins and a brief introduction to the product.
It was a presentation detailing how its ingredients had been appropriately combined with alchemy.
The fluent presentation flowed smoothly through claims that it was organic, had undergone clinical trials, and that classical music had been played to the Kolheim once a day to cultivate only the finest specimens.
‘Of course, every word of it is complete bullshit.’
Classical music, my ass.
If I had possessed enough money to play classical music for plants, I would not have been working myself to death.
I had already spent an outrageous amount decorating the castle for these mage bastards, hiring an orchestra and choir. I had no business hiring simply because I had invited them here.
I was fully prepared to pick the bastards from the Magic Towers clean from head to toe with this opportunity.
I cleared my throat after finishing the brief introduction and shifted the atmosphere.
“A question naturally follows. How does one purchase Northmedi?”
Only a single sentence.
Yet the impact of that sentence surpassed all imagination.
The atmosphere within the hall changed in an instant.
“......!”
Unlike before, when they had listened to the explanation while merely enjoying themselves—
Their eyes all flared as though wicks had been lit within them, as if what they had been waiting for had finally arrived.
‘Yes. Those are the eyes.’
Eyes filled with desire.
That was precisely what I had truly wanted.
I smiled and raised my index finger.
“First, Northmedi is produced strictly on a referral-only, made-to-order basis.”
My voice was utterly firm.
For a moment, the mages’ gazes wavered.
I slowly continued.
“We are uncompromising about Northmedi. Kolheim matured for one month under optimal conditions. Only the finest ingredients, selected over and over again. And through our secret recipe, a single blue crystal.”
My solemn voice and lines were reminiscent of a certain fried-chicken commercial.
I looked over the mages in the banquet hall.
“Whatever anyone may say, when it comes to medicine, we in the North are uncompromising. That is what kind of medicine Northmedi is.”
I politely pointed to each mage in turn and continued.
“We promise always to provide our customers with the finest products. For that reason, we do not wish to make even a single Northmedi carelessly. Therefore!”
—FLAP!
I spread my black fur coat and shouted—
“As I said before, allow me to announce once again that Northmedi is produced strictly through a referral-only system and made-to-order production.”
I had stood well over 180 centimeters even before my coming-of-age ceremony, and now approached 190.
A black fur coat and black hair.
Golden eyes reminiscent of gold itself.
Blessed with martial talent, I was the undisputed master of the North.
As the inheritor of the Heart of Winter, I had possessed a charisma capable of overwhelming an audience from birth.
Every gaze in the banquet hall focused on me.
“Above all, the second and most important point. Northmedi is—”
—SNAP.
I snapped my fingers.
The projector shone, and the screen before them changed.
—FLASH...!
A pyramid-shaped diagram appeared on the screen, extending from bottom to top, with a name written beside each level.
I pointed to the screen.
“Sold through a tier system. There are five tiers in total.”
At the bottom was Bronze.
Then, in order, Silver, Gold, and Platinum.
And the highest tier of all bore the name—
“Black Diamond.”
An image of a flawless black diamond, as black as the Grand Duke’s hair, slowly rotated.
“Members who reach the Black Diamond tier will thereafter be known as VVIPs and receive special benefits.”
“......Benefits, you say?”
As though they had been bewitched, the mages below asked me the question while small exclamations rose throughout the hall.
I nodded.
“The first of those benefits is the right of first priority to receive Northmedi. You will also receive various benefits throughout the North.”
“......!”
In truth, the latter half barely registered with them.
Only one thing mattered.
The right of first priority to receive Northmedi.
“Your tier will be determined according to the quantity of Northmedi you purchase and the referral system.”
In short, their tier would depend on how much they bought and how many people they referred.
And this method was rather like—
‘Yes. A pyramid scheme.’
Something Raphael had said previously had given me a good idea.
No, to be more precise, this was what one might call a premium-brand strategy.
Northmedi was still in the early stages of development.
Mass production was not yet feasible, so a strict referral-only, made-to-order system would make the limited supply understandable and raise the brand’s value on its own.
Then, through the tier system, I would also plant the idea that obtaining Northmedi was a privilege reserved for a chosen few.
“As a special consideration, everyone present will begin at the Gold tier. Please consider this a small courtesy to Northmedi’s first customers, who have personally traveled to the North.”
I deliberately emphasized the words “first customers.”
Now it was time for the long-awaited finale.
All right.
Time to start squeezing money out of them in earnest.
“And now, I would like to offer a one-time deal to everyone attending today’s banquet.”
Under ordinary circumstances, there were only the two methods I had already described for raising one’s tier.
But just for today—
“Depending on the amount you invest in Northmedi, I will provide you with an opportunity to raise your tier. And one more thing.”
—CLAP.
The instant I lightly clapped and summoned Lenin, she appeared with the maids under her command as though she had been waiting.
Each of them carried a white wooden box.
The contents were none other than Northmedi.
“Regardless of the amount, every honored guest who invests will receive Northmedi free of charge.”
“......!”
“Ah, but I cannot say when our entire supply of Northmedi might run out.”
The mages’ eyes shook violently.
I did not miss the opening.
“Then we will begin immediately. The opening investment is one gold.”
Only one gold.
It might not have been cheap for commoners, but to the Masters of the Magic Towers, it was an absurdly low price.
Silence filled the banquet hall for an instant.
Then, exactly five seconds later—
“I will invest! One gold!”
“I shall invest as well! Five gold!”
“Twenty gold!”
Hands shot up throughout the hall as the mages shouted over one another.
Twenty gold.
Fifty gold.
Seventy gold.
The amounts began climbing at a rapid pace.
Lenin and the maids moved their hands swiftly, as though they had been waiting for this moment.
“......”
In the meantime, I grinned and looked at Raphael, who remained seated.
Then, as though putting the sight on display, I swept an arm toward the scene of the crazed auction, where the figures continued soaring toward the heavens.
Did you see that?
This was the finale that would crown the ending.
“Good heavens.”
Within the enormous banquet hall, the half-masked mages raised their hands and roared in a frenzy.
Raphael gave an incredulous laugh at the sight and looked up at me on the second-floor balcony.
“Just how far do you intend to......”
But the voice that escaped his lips was soon buried beneath the cries of the maddened mages and scattered away.
Thus, on the day Northmedi was first unveiled at Gray Castle—
The event concluded in spectacular success, with the highest single investment exceeding eight thousand gold.