Chapter 346
Talented young individuals with ambitious dreams of becoming mages head to Procyon, only to face the reality of serving their military duties… or rather, having to become adventurers to earn some money.
Honestly, it doesn’t look that great, does it?
They’ve found themselves sidelined due to improvements in magical circuits, leading to reduced income. It feels like they’re trying to solve things in an offbeat way.
“So, let’s extend a hand to those so-called Slave Mages a bit.”
“Pardon?”
“Since they’ve thrown their futures away, let’s pick them up and make them beneficial to the Church.”
Mage talent isn’t that common, and yet it’s being scattered around foolishly…
It’s as if whoever picks it up becomes the master, right?
“If it’s the Slave Mages… are you referring to mages working as adventurers?”
“Yes. If we can catch them in our hand, they’d be helpful.”
At my words, the High Priest pondered for a moment with a troubled expression.
“Well, mages from the past are a bit…”
“Oh, I’m not suggesting we take them into the Church.”
It hasn’t been long since we were turned upside down by the Necromancer issue; would they be willing to accept mages into the Church?
There’s already a precedent, so it’s unlikely mages will join the Church easily. Even if they do, they won’t receive warm welcomes.
So…
“I heard they have to submit half of their income to Procyon; it won’t be easy living day by day with so much money taken away.”
Adventurers don’t usually have low income, but the costs they incur are substantial as well.
Naturally, it’s expected of them to invest in preparing armor to protect their bodies or medicine to treat injuries while they fight next to danger.
If half of their income were to be taken away, surviving would become a daunting task. Yep.
“For such individuals… um, let’s offer some help.”
“Some help, you say…?”
“Just like providing meals or medical services to the underprivileged, we show a little helping hand to those who’ve just become adventurers.”
Most adventurers start their journey because they have nothing or they’ve been pushed out of their homes. If not for that, it’s just a poor soul with only their body as capital.
While there are various reasons, most adventurers step onto this path for such reasons.
In the first place, it’s a profession where they risk their lives. Ordinary people value their lives, so they don’t choose such a dangerous profession.
Those who’ve taken that first step… are likely to scrimp even on their daily food expenses.
Those low-tier adventurers, F-class adventurers, may not find the taste appealing, but providing them with enough food to fill their bellies and a discount on treatment fees would surely help them significantly.
Of course, that also goes for the Slave Mages.
“While it will incur costs, if it helps improve the survival rate of rookie adventurers…”
“Long-term, it will surely be beneficial.”
The production of mana stones relied entirely on the monster hunting of adventurers.
I had thought about artificial mana stones, but at the moment, besides me, no one else could accomplish such a feat, so I gave up.
Anyway, if rookie adventurers manage to save on food and treatment costs to buy better equipment and armor, their survival rates will increase, they’ll hunt more monsters, and more mana stones will come in.
Such a chain will also benefit the Church of Life.
“Certainly, it doesn’t sound bad, but what’s the relation to the mages…?”
“New adventurers who are also mages will receive such benefits as well, right?”
The High Priest nodded slightly at my words.
“What’s important here is… that we can contact those mages without arousing any suspicions on our side.”
“That’s true, but…”
“We’ll help those mages we contact, have conversations, and gradually persuade them.”
“Persuasion…?”
I nodded slightly and said.
“Yes. Mage talent isn’t something that’s common enough to suffer through as an adventurer. They could receive better treatment elsewhere.”
In other words, poaching new hires.
While learning under a proper master is effective, thanks to the book Sia wrote, one can lay the foundation for magic without a mentor.
“I’ve heard that Slave Mages are bound by contract magic; after freeing them from such magic, we can either establish a cooperative relationship with the Church of Life or introduce them to other mages outside Procyon.”
“That… would probably infuriate them greatly if Procyon found out.”
“Then who said to trust only a flimsy contract magic and release the seedlings of young mages?”
To release precious seedlings of mages just for a little money is absurd!
“All we did was consult with the struggling adventurers and offered them some help. If Procyon gets angry and starts trouble over something like this… we’ll need to clearly show who holds the upper hand.”
If mana stones don’t flow into Procyon, they’ll wither and crumble.
For Procyon, a place where they can’t produce scrolls, holding the role of passing on knowledge and cultivating mages has no meaning; should they forsake that role, they’d have to face the consequences.
“If they try to engage physically…”
“Though that seems unlikely, then… I’ll head to Procyon myself.”
I smiled as I said that.
Once I sweep it away with a flood, it should be clean, right?
“Understood.”
At my words, the High Priest bowed his head with a troubled expression.
“Then, I will concretize and execute the tasks you instructed.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
So, how will Procyon respond?
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
To put it simply, Procyon completely surrendered.
Even if the cost of purchasing mana stones rises and scroll sales halve, the once sturdy pride of Procyon has completely broken.
Naturally, it’s to be expected. Mage who received help from the Church of Life and had their contract magic dispelled were definitely sharpening their teeth against Procyon.
They tried to sell the future to buy the present but ended up losing both money and people—Procyon’s foolish mages waved the flag of surrender in tatters.
Well, good thing this didn’t end here! If it had irritated me a little more, I might’ve let loose a local downpour or something.
I thought that after a month of rain pouring like a waterfall, Procyon would come to their senses.
No, they might even vanish entirely, but anyway.
Thus, the surrendered Procyon established an agreement with the Church of Life.
As for the content of the agreement… well, it’s too much to detail, so let’s condense it simply.
A new organization was formed within Procyon.
The Magic Research Ethics Committee, it was called.
Its role was to examine whether the magical research conducted by mages belonging to Procyon raised issues from various perspectives, ensuring it didn’t cause problems, was ethically sound, and didn’t involve processes that would sacrifice others.
The committee, composed of the heads of two of the seven prominent magic towers in Procyon and the priests managing the Temple of Life located in Procyon, would work to ensure that Procyon’s mages do not take missteps.
Additionally, the slave contracts of the Slave Mages were dissolved, and the method of recruiting mages who wished to work as adventurers was changed.
This way, they no longer had to lose half of their income.
In return, the Church of Life offered discounts on the sale costs of mana stones and provided very cheap small-sized stones that couldn’t even be used for other purposes.
There were many other details in the agreements, but most of them can be skipped. Let’s omit them boldly!
Hehe. The sight of the proud heads of the seven towers in humiliation, bending over with eyes full of disdain—what a sight to behold, indeed.
I had a hard time holding back my laughter.
Anyway, thanks to being able to obtain small-sized mana stones cheaply, the price of mages’ scrolls became even cheaper.
It seems they’re just aiming for volume sales as they can’t compete with Dwarven goods.
Good. It seems the situation has been tidied up to this extent! Hmm!
What began as a Necromancer endeavor has linked to magical circuits, leading to truly various developments.
Well, it was needed, so it couldn’t be helped! Someday, I’ll need to secure collars on the mages!
With this resolved, I should be able to relax without any significant issues for a while!
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
“I’m here.”
“Ah, yes.”
As a silver-haired girl wearing a wide-brimmed hat nervously entered the room, the man dressed in the blue robe who was already inside spoke to the priest of the Church of Life nearby.
“Then let’s begin.”
“Yes. This is the research submitted for this quarter. Here are the papers that failed the preliminary investigation this quarter.”
“W-whoah, there are a lot…”
“This quarter is still on the lighter side. A considerable amount got through in the preliminary investigation.”
The priest of the Church of Life smiled kindly as he spoke, while the man in the blue robe moved some of the papers before him with an emotionless gaze.
“You’ve done this a few times, so you know?”
“Yes. I’ll look over the papers, and if there’s anything problematic, I’ll mark it separately, and we can discuss it.”
“Since three of us rotate, it won’t need meticulous checking. If it fails the preliminary investigation, it’ll be apparent which parts are a problem.”
The priest of the Church of Life said in a manner trying to ease the tension. Yet, the man in the blue robe shook his head at the priest’s words.
“When doing it, it has to be thorough.”
“Yes, yes!”
“It must be rigorous to prevent heresy from rising again.”
“Truly, the head of the blue tower is quite particular.”
The priest merely smiled slightly at the man in the blue robe.
“Now, let’s take a seat.”
“Yesss!”
The head of the Purple Magic Tower, the small leader of the Alchemical School, adjusted her wide-brimmed hat, sat down, and held the documents placed before her.