I came to my senses the next day.
While I was unconscious, the priests conducted an investigation into what happened, and to summarize the situation:
1) Two months ago, information about the war reached the Grey School.
2) Anticipating war profits, the Grey School made large purchases of small crystal balls.
3) However, the war was canceled, rendering the small crystal balls useless.
4) In an attempt to recover their losses, during a meeting of the Magic Association, our Master hit the jackpot!
Could it be that they were playing around at a regular meeting attended only by great archmages? Were they seriously asking for trouble?
The Grey folks really pulled an unbelievable stunt. Such a scam might bring short-term benefits, but if it exploded, it could lead to their exclusion from the association, a massive problem.
I thought the Gray guys only lived for today, but I never imagined they would go this far.
Having grasped the situation, I gathered with Master and the priests in the office.
Feeling the seriousness of the situation first was Karen, who opened her mouth with a worried expression.
“What are we going to do, Yuren?”
Honestly, the situation was serious. Our school was poor. We often engaged in fun and meaningful activities rather than money-making ones. Sometimes when we took on profitable quests, the funds quickly disappeared with the many mouths to feed, especially after Master took in new priests from the orphanage.
Our financial situation resembled a tightrope walk; that was the reality of the Irene School.
And then suddenly, a debt of 500 million gold fell upon us.
The situation was severe. It was more dire than the “Food Supply to the Border Unit” incident, which had ended with physical hardships.
“What to do? We need to resolve it.”
But I couldn’t just sit around. As the administrator of the Irene School and for the sake of everyone, I had to resolve this situation.
“Karen! Go to the bank and check how much gold we can raise and the loan limits.”
“Yes! Yuren!”
Karen seemed to anticipate my orders, sprinting out before I finished speaking. It was touching to see how smart she had grown from being the little girl she once was. But now wasn’t the time for feelings.
“Jiren! Go to the Merchant Guild and find out the current market price for small crystal balls and also who’s buying them.”
“Understood, senior!”
Jiren also dashed out. Since he frequently accompanied me to the Merchant Guild, he should know the exact prices and purchasing sources.
“Master, please handle our currently contracted jobs with the other priests.”
“Got it, my disciple!”
We had roughly 23 contracted tasks at our school, some directly for me, Karen, and Jiren, but if Master and the other priests tackled the smaller jobs first, we could manage to resolve things to some extent.
“I’m heading to the Lawyer Guild to inquire about terminating the double contract. Let’s all do our best! Just like always, we can solve this. Fighting!”
“Fighting!!!”
With that battle cry, practically our school’s slogan, I also set off. Taking care to gather the contracts, I soared towards the Lawyer Guild.
Though I was usually scared to fly due to my fear of heights, now was not the time to let that hold me back. I would conquer my fear with sheer willpower.
While flying, I contacted the Lawyer Guild and made an appointment with Jerry, a lawyer I had a connection with. I explained the situation as soon as I arrived.
After listening and seriously reviewing the contract, Jerry’s expression turned grave.
“Jerry, is it really impossible?”
“Yes… I’m sorry, Yuren, but this seems difficult.”
Jerry’s conclusion was that it was tough.
“The Grey School played their cards well. They exploited a loophole in the imperial laws that allow them to charge delivery fees from the point of dispatch.”
Jerry showed me the map.
The delivery start point listed in the Grey School’s contract for the small crystal balls was the border city of Cassia, known beforehand for the war, not the Royal Road.
“The start point for the delivery of the small crystal balls is the border city of Cassia. If they successfully deliver them from there to here, they’ll calculate based on the delivery pricing, resulting in a total of 520 million gold.”
I should’ve realized something was off with the 500 million gold demand. The Grey School’s act of only asking for that much with a blank check of a double contract meant they planned to argue in the imperial court that it was a legitimate transaction, not a scam.
“Even if we end up in the imperial court, the worst-case scenario is that we would have to bear the cost of producing the small crystal balls and the shipping fees.”
“I understand… I see.”
If we went to court, we would play the villains. The Grey School would claim they made a legitimate transaction while we tried not to pay even legitimate transport fees. Clearly, we would be the bad guys in everyone’s eyes.
Of course, if we could prove that the small crystal balls weren’t actually delivered from Cassia, the narrative would change. But the Grey School was a guild working alongside the merchants.
The creators and transporters of the crystal balls were all from the Grey School, so proving otherwise wouldn’t be easy. At least not within four months.
As I stepped out of the Lawyer Guild without any leads, I received a message from Karen through the crystal ball.
With a somber expression in the crystal, Karen reported.
“Yuren… After confirming with the bank, I calculated the operating costs and interest for the Irene School over four months, and… it’s looking like 100 million gold is the best we can do.”
“100 million gold! That’s all!?”
“Yes… The war bonds have turned into worthless pieces of paper, and the bank is struggling badly.”
“Ha… I understand, good job, Karen.”
Seeing my expression, Karen spoke with a wobbly voice. I guess I wasn’t managing my expressions very well.
“I’m sorry, Yuren.”
“What’s there for you to apologize for, Karen? We will definitely find a way to sort this out. We’ll meet at home.”
“Yes… Yuren.”
After spending a night at the Lawyer Guild town and looking into things further, I also received a message from Jiren. The news wasn’t good either.
“Yuren, senior! We have a major problem! The prices of small crystal balls have dropped dramatically with large supplies flooding the market!”
“What! How much has it dropped!?”
“The… most expensive cleaning magic crystal ball is selling for 20,000 gold…”
20,000 gold! That means a 30% price drop!
Thoughts of being stuck in stocks that had dropped by -30% in my previous life came rushing back. What must my stocks be like, shackled at 80,000 layers…
No! Stocks weren’t the top priority right now.
If a magically infused small crystal ball is priced at 20,000 gold each, selling all 10,000 of them would yield only 200 million gold. Adding the 100 million more, I needed to somehow come up with another 200 million.
“Got it. Jiren, keep an eye on the prices and potential buyers. Let me know immediately if you find any other info.”
“Understood, senior!”
*
Three weeks passed.
The situation was still dire. In fact, the market price for the crystal balls dropped further, now at 10,000 gold each.
Neither Karen nor Jiren could find any way to earn money amidst their quests; everything was either too dangerous or had too much risk. Those loan sharks were truly ruthless. A 65% interest rate per month? These lunatics!
Sigh… Am I only left with the option of becoming a mercenary wizard…
Rumor has it that top-tier wizards can earn up to 1 billion gold in one go.
Though I knew Master would absolutely oppose it, reflecting on the offer from the Zeus Mercenary Guild from the past, I seriously considered the idea of becoming a mercenary for a year.
But then, Noirin rushed in, looking pale.
“Yuren hyung! We’re in big trouble!”
“What’s up, Noirin?”
After three weeks of relentless crises, I wasn’t enjoying Noirin’s urgency. I wondered what could be more significant than our current woes.
“Master has collapsed!”
“What!?!”
Damn it, this too!
I quickly followed Noirin, now pale like her.
“Master took on tasks for us, saying she’d handle everything by herself, and told us not to say a word… sniff… sniff.”
The reason why Master collapsed was overwork. She was doing our quests without telling us when she suddenly experienced a mana depletion shock.
An elf’s mana is ten times that of a human.
That means experiencing mana exhaustion is rare, but when it happens, they are more vulnerable to it. Thankfully, Noirin and the other priests managed to provide first aid, and the doctor said that with a day of good rest, she’d be fine.
“Got it… You all did so well too.”
“I’m sorry for not saying anything… Yuren hyung.”
“It’s okay, actually, I’m the one who’s sorry… You all had it tough, so rest today. I’ll take care of Master.”
Master was soundly resting on her bed in her room.
Beside her, I continued to find ways to resolve the issues while solving the tasks.
Then suddenly…
“Hmm… where am I…”
“Are you awake, Master?”
“Disciple? What happened to me?”
I wiped the sweat from Master’s face with a towel and said.
“You fainted. It was due to mana depletion.”
“Oh… I see…”
Master still seemed dazed. That was a basic symptom of mana depletion.
While I was wiping her sweat, suddenly… she started to cry.
“I’m sorry, disciple… I’m so foolish… sniff… sniff.”
“Master, what are you talking about? Don’t cry. Stop!”
“But… but…”
I wiped away Master’s tears. She always worried about us, even while going through the hardest times.
For the past 15 years.
“Master didn’t do anything wrong. The one who scammed you was the Grey School.”
“Disciple…”
I looked at Master.
The archmage, the immortal sage, the hero of the millennial war.
Though she has many titles, those mean nothing to us.
To us, she was Mom.
We were rescued not by her power or magic but by the hand she reached out.
Like a miracle beyond any magic.
“Thanks to you, Master, I and all the priests have been saved. If anyone dares to treat you like a fool, I will make sure to take them down.”
“Don’t! Disciple! You mustn’t become a murderer!”
“I only meant it figuratively. So please, Master… don’t despise your past, even if you reflect on it. You taught me that.”
In my childhood, I once told Master I was a reincarnated person. Back then, hating my former self, she kindly spoke to me.
She said not to despise my past, for it was through my past that my present self exists.
At my words, Master beamed proudly.
“Right, yes… I taught my disciple that… ahem!”
“That’s right. So don’t worry too much. We’ll find a way. Trust me. You know my nickname.”
Many events have occurred so far, but I have always managed to resolve them with the wisdom of everyone.
So my nickname has become “Yuren, the Problem Solver of the Irene School.”
Remembering my nickname, Master spoke apologetically.
“Understood… my disciple… but don’t overdo it, okay?”
“Don’t overdo it yourself, Master. Got it?”
“Okay… understood.”
Looking quite tired, Master, I tucked her in with her blanket and said.
“Well then, goodnight, Master. See you tomorrow.”
“Yes, see you tomorrow, disciple.”
I confirmed Master was asleep and headed back to my room.
I should sleep… even though this is a night when sleep wouldn’t come.
*
I was an orphan even in my previous life.
Only games were my joyful friends, allowing me to forget the painful reality.
Being immersed in games, I learned game development due to a nun’s suggestion at the orphanage and became a game developer.
Later, I got lucky and made a few successful games, earning some money.
But in the end, I couldn’t find joy beyond gaming.
People in reality wanted a version of me that didn’t exist, and I couldn’t keep up with that.
I returned to gaming, focusing even harder on game development.
Yet, my hollow heart was left unfulfilled even until the end by games.
Do you know what I thought as I was dying from overwork?
‘Relief.’
The relief of finally escaping this hellish reality.
And then I arrived here.
I met Master and the priests.
I learned magic, nurtured the school, and took care of the priests.
I cooked meals and shared them together.
I fought with Jiren over nonsensical reasons.
I scolded Karen for her picky eating habits.
I sang lullabies to soothe Noirin when she had nightmares.
I received birthday presents for the first time.
I felt love for the first time.
Every day was joyful.
Every day was fulfilling.
The hardships and struggles now became enjoyable memories to reflect upon.
Yes… this place was my first true haven.
Master and the priests were my family, and the Irene School was my home.
I would do anything to protect my family and my home.
Even if it meant having to return to the game development I promised never to pursue again.
……Wait, game development?
…small crystal balls?
…………portable gaming devices?
……………the best-selling portable game?
In a flash!
Yes! That’s it!!
I hurriedly dressed and rushed to the research lab.
I saw the path to a solution.
If this works!
If this method works!!
If this game works!!!
I can save our school!!!
I can save my family!!!!
I flicked on the lamp in the dark research room.
I walked to my desk and opened the magic scroll made from papyrus that I used to create magic earlier.
I raised both hands.
Focusing my mana into the slime-based ink, I activated it.
I was ready to create not just magic, but a game.
Who would have thought I’d be doing this again…
“Long time no see, game (Game).”
A chilling sensation.
It’s time for me to return as a game developer (Game Developer).
