After returning to his room, Oscar naturally took a seat on the sofa.
'Money...... Money. How do you earn that again?'
Searching his memory brought three main ways for a mage to earn money to mind.
Research, lectures, and commissions.
'Research means publishing results and receiving performance bonuses and royalties.......'
He would pass on that.
The procedures were quite complicated, and it took the longest for the money to come in.
More importantly, he was trying to earn money because the magic tower was poor. If that same tower was the source of the money, he would be putting the cart before the horse.
'Is the second option lectures?'
That was also difficult for him right now.
What crazy guys in the world would pay to attend a Level 2 mage's lecture?
'That leaves commissions in the end.'
Even there, he could not dream of receiving lucrative requests that named him specifically.
All a Level 2 mage could do was handle minor requests submitted to the magic tower.
'Like finding a runaway cat. But that would only earn me pocket change.'
Now that he had set the grand goal of restoring the magic tower's finances, he needed a business capable of making real money.
'A business.'
He should think from the perspective of a magic tower rather than an individual mage.
Which department had earned the most money in the past?
His mouth answered the question posed by his mind.
"The Potion Production Department."
That department had once served as the White Tower's reliable cash cow.
The Blue Tower might have taken its place now, but the White Tower had once all but monopolized the potion market.
'The reason we fell behind is obvious even without looking.'
The potion formulas had probably burned when the demons invaded twenty years ago.
Fortunately, those formulas remained intact inside his head.
'Then let's start with the potion business.'
No matter how he considered it, there was no other business with so little risk and such reliable returns.
The question was which potion he should make.
'Ideally, I'd make several types of potions and release them onto the market all at once.......'
That was unthinkable given the White Tower's impoverished finances.
In other words, he needed to choose and focus.
For now, he had to select a single potion that could not possibly fail.
'Which potion have those Blue Tower bastards failed to find a substitute for over the last twenty years?'
After pondering for a moment, Oscar picked up a stack of newspapers piled on one side of the desk.
As a repository of information, the newspapers might contain a clue.
[The rising Black Tower and Blood Tower engage in a fierce battle of nerves for admission to the Four Great Magic Towers.]
[Archbishop Baldwin of the El Terra Church abruptly changes his itinerary while visiting the Sirin territory during his pilgrimage. He plans to offer prayers of blessing for up to one month.]
[Mayor of the free city of Baran found dead in his home. The 'Purple Brigade' crime syndicate is believed responsible.]
[Another setback for the White Tower? Sirin relinquishes its title as the continent's largest herb-growing region.]
[Vins territory suddenly sealed. Complaints surge among merchant groups and travelers.]
Oscar's gaze stopped at one article as he skimmed through the various reports.
'......The territory was sealed?'
Unless there was a war, it was rare for travel through a perfectly normal territory to be blocked.
Interested, Oscar read the article closely.
[The lord of Vins has abruptly ordered the territory sealed. Public speculation suggests this may be related to the large-scale influenza outbreak in Vins several days ago. If true, the possibility of 'Cadenna influenza', which spreads in cycles of several decades, cannot be ruled out. Cadenna influenza is a deadly illness with no known cure at present, and its most recent outbreak occurred twenty-seven years ago.......]
"Ah!"
Oscar cried out.
'That's right, there was Cadenna influenza.'
Even twenty years ago, only the White Tower had been able to produce the treatment for it.
It was a prized product that recorded staggering sales every few decades, and the Blue Tower had envied them madly for it.
'If there still isn't a cure, that means the Blue Tower couldn't make it either.......'
Oscar stroked his chin with one hand and considered the matter carefully.
'If the epidemic in Vins isn't Cadenna after all, I'll be chasing a mirage.'
As the article had said, Cadenna influenza was an unusual virus that spread in cycles of several decades.
What if he rushed to make the treatment only for the disease to turn out not to be Cadenna?
'Then I'll have no choice but to go hungry while waiting for an outbreak.'
Honestly, with twenty-seven years since the last epidemic, the time was approaching for it to emerge again.
But since it had once taken forty years to reappear, he hesitated to draw a firm conclusion.
'Even without certainty, it's a gamble worth taking if I have at least some basis.......'
Oscar frowned and reread the newspaper, then suddenly froze.
[Archbishop Baldwin of the El Terra Church abruptly changes his itinerary while visiting the Sirin territory during his pilgrimage. He plans to offer prayers of blessing for up to one month.]
The article he had passed over without much thought now took on an entirely different meaning.
***
Hamel Grimwiz, Vice Tower Master of the White Tower, liked this time of day best.
It was when he drank tea he had brewed himself and read a book.
Unfortunately, he had visitors today. Two of them, no less.
"I'm not letting this slide this time. It was embezzlement, no less."
"That part was undoubtedly wrong. It was, but hasn't he reflected deeply on it himself?"
"So you're going to let it go? Haven't you heard that someone who steals a needle will go on to steal an ox?"
"Then there's nothing to worry about. Our magic tower may have needles, but it has no oxen."
"You always have to get the last word! Enough. Just throw him into the closed-door training room!"
"No. What would be the point of making a Level 1 mage undergo closed-door training in the first place?"
"......Heh."
To think this was an argument between elders fast approaching fifty.
The Vice Tower Master, who had been listening to Maxim and Elder Fidelina bicker with a detached expression, began to speak.
"From what I've heard, neither of you appears to be wrong."
Both sides nodded at that.
"See? Even the Vice Tower Master agrees!"
"But a sentence of closed-door training is excessive. For that child, it would be nothing but simple torture with no benefit at all."
"Ugh......."
"On the other hand, imposing no punishment would set a bad precedent."
"I acknowledge that too."
After winning both of their agreement, the Vice Tower Master reached a conclusion.
"Oscar will be disciplined by repaying three times the research funds he used for personal purposes."
"Only three times......."
Fidelina pouted but did not object strongly.
Even that was an enormous punishment for a Level 1 mage.
"Then let's move on to the next item. Elder Fidelina?"
Receiving the Vice Tower Master's gaze, Fidelina let out a deep sigh.
"......The magic tower has far too little money. I believe it's time you finally made a decision."
"Mm."
The Vice Tower Master groaned when he recalled what decision she meant.
Fidelina pressed her opinion even more forcefully.
"We aren't using most of the facilities anyway. If we sold just the equipment in the potion production room, we could cover three months of living expenses."
"......."
She had advocated this idea for months.
She wanted them to sell the equipment from facilities that were no longer used, or more precisely, that had no one left to use them.
Fidelina argued passionately.
"Vice Tower Master. We're really going to collapse at this rate. Starting next month, we won't even have the operating funds for the mages working outside. Those who can survive have to survive."
"......."
The Vice Tower Master silently toyed with his teacup, then shook his head after deep consideration.
"I can't permit it."
"Vice Tower Master!"
"I understand how you feel, Elder Fidelina. I know very well that the person who manages the money grieves most when watching the family go hungry."
Her personality was fierce and her speech sharp, but she was tenderhearted inside.
He fully understood how heartbroken she must feel when she had no choice but to write 'Denied' across earnest requests for operating funds.
"But this is a magic tower."
A place where mages gathered to explore magic.
A place where they pooled their knowledge and brought new truths into bloom.
That was what a magic tower was.
"No fresh wind enters a sealed room. We can't sell off tomorrow just to fill our stomachs today."
"......Do we even have a future?"
"Fidelina! Watch your words!"
"Stay out of this. I have to say what needs to be said."
After snapping coldly at Maxim, Fidelina bit down hard on her lip and spoke.
"Haven't we already waited twenty years for that future?"
She shrugged and looked around.
"Then why can't I see it yet?"
"......."
"Vice Tower Master. You need to admit it now. Even if a genius like that exists...... they won't come to the White Tower."
"......."
A heavy silence settled over the room like fog.
The Vice Tower Master lowered his head and stared at his sunken eyes reflected in the teacup.
'......Is that so?'
Had what he pursued been lingering attachment and stubbornness disguised as the future?
He let out a deep sigh and was about to speak reluctantly.
Knock, knock.
Two polite knocks drew their attention.
After glancing at the other two, the Vice Tower Master spoke.
"Come in."
The person who opened the door was unexpected.
He looked at the three of them and bowed his head.
"Hello."
"Oscar. We were just discussing you briefly as well."
"Me......? Ah, this is about my punishment."
His quick wit made him easy to speak with.
It also meant one had to be equally careful with one's own words and actions.
"Correct. Did you also come to see me about that?"
"No. I came because I have a proposal for you."
"......A proposal?"
The Vice Tower Master's expression turned peculiar.
Oscar had come to make a proposal, not a plea or request.
And this was coming from someone awaiting punishment after causing a major incident only days ago.
His curiosity piqued, the Vice Tower Master asked again.
"I'd very much like to hear it. What kind of proposal is it?"
"I understand that the White Tower's current finances are not in very good shape."
"Says the guy who knew that perfectly well and still committed embezzlement."
Elder Fidelina grumbled from behind him.
The Vice Tower Master warned her with a slight glance, then turned his head.
"It's embarrassing to admit, but I can hardly deny it. What do you wish to say?"
"I would like to start a business."
"A business....... Did you really come to see me for business capital?"
"Yes. I need money."
The instant he nodded, Elder Fidelina burst out laughing.
"Ah ha ha! How can anyone be so brazen? Vice Tower Master, you aren't actually considering permitting this, are you?"
"Hmm."
"......Wait, you're thinking it over? He committed embezzlement of research funds. Only a few days ago!"
"I know. But looking at it the other way, if he brings this up even in these circumstances, might he not have a compelling reason?"
"You read me exactly."
Oscar sensed that this was the moment to introduce his business idea.
He took the newspaper from inside his clothes and spread it across the desk.
"According to this article, a terrible influenza outbreak has struck the Vins territory, and the territory has even been sealed."
"......I saw it too. People suspect it may be Cadenna influenza."
"Yes. To be direct, I'd like to make and sell a treatment and vaccine."
The three of them looked at Oscar as if they had arranged it in advance.
"A treatment? Do you mean a treatment for Cadenna influenza?"
"That's right. I intend to restore the treatment the White Tower once held the exclusive right to sell."
"This isn't even worth hearing."
Elder Fidelina snorted coldly.
"As everyone knows, the formula for that treatment was lost twenty years ago. Countless magic towers and pharmaceutical companies have attempted it since then, and every last one failed."
Her sharp eyes stared at him.
"A treatment that even powers with vast capital and high-level mages failed to create...... You? A mere twenty-year-old novice thinks he can make it?"
"......."
Oscar slowly nodded at the reasonable doubt.
"I agree with everything you've said. It's true that all the other powers failed, and it's true that I'm a twenty-year-old novice. But, though it feels strange to say this myself......."
A gentle grin spread across his lips.
The one weapon possessed by this wretched, frail body in which he had awakened after twenty years.
Surely it existed precisely for moments like this.
"I'm a genius, you know."