The Vikander family treated Rose terribly poorly and did not provide her with any support.
Her admission was handled through a scholarship, but she had to cover her own living expenses and other costs. Therefore, Rose made and sold Magical Devices from time to time or filed patents to earn and spend her own money.
It must have been an unbelievably impoverished life for a young lady of a noble family.
“Take this opportunity to buy all the necessary magical research equipment, too.”
“Excuse me?”
“Everything is easier when you have the right equipment. It would be best to build a new room that rivals the academy's magical lecture hall.”
A suitable person quickly came to mind.
“I know a good man. I will commission him to build a magical research lab.”
“······.”
“If possible, it would be best to set it up on the east side, close to your room. Fortunately, there were many empty rooms there.”
Recalling the structure of that place, another thought followed.
“Wouldn't one room be insufficient? We should tear down the walls and expand it.”
“Uh...”
“It will take some time until the construction is finished. I will rush it as much as possible. Until then, you can just use the room right next to yours.”
Even though astronomical costs were being tossed around, my words flowed without hesitation.
That was the reason Rose was gasping for air, unable to keep up with the conversation. But to the lord of the Schmaichel family, an expense of this level was nothing.
Alright, the facilities were ready. Once we filled it with equipment, the next thing needed would be magic stones.
“What kind of magic stones have you been using?”
“S-scrap magic stones.”
Rose answered my question faithfully, though she was flustered.
“As you know, magic stones are highly expensive consumables. But if you design the Magical Device well, even scrap magic stones can yield decent efficiency...”
Clatter.
I took out a pouch I had been carrying and placed it on the table in front of Rose.
“What... is this?”
“Open it.”
Rose hesitated but slowly pulled the drawstring of the pouch. The opening of the pouch spread open, revealing its contents.
They were 100% pure magic stones from Kalmar.
“Eeek!”
A bizarre scream erupted from Rose's mouth.
“T-this, this is...!”
Rose pointed at the contents with her finger, stuttering incoherently.
“T-top-tier! K-Kalmar!”
“That's right.”
It was a reaction as if she had lost the ability to speak. Seeing her so thoroughly shocked made it worth the effort of preparing them.
“This is all yours.”
“----!”
Rose's body jumped up from the sofa. For a brief moment, her hips lifted a full span off the cushions.
“A-all of this?”
“Yes.”
“Oh my god...”
Rose placed her hand on her chest. It was clearly an attempt to calm her pounding heart.
“Can I touch them...?”
“They are yours now, so there is no need to ask for my permission.”
“Really? Oh, it's fine.”
Rose wrapped her hands around the pouch with a completely flushed face. She swallowed dry saliva and carefully took out a magic stone with two fingers.
“Wow...”
The magic stone resting on Rose's fingers emitted a clear light.
The difference between a magic stone and a regular jewel lay in whether it contained mana or not.
The lower the purity of the magic stone, the lower the mana capacity and the worse the mana generation efficiency. Thus, the mana inside was not only faintly visible but also flowed slowly.
On the other hand, when the magic stone in Rose's hand was brought close to the candle, the swirling vortex of mana inside was clearly visible.
“This is my first time seeing a real Kalmar magic stone...”
“Did you never get to see one at the academy?”
“I have seen one, but the professor was so full of himself about it.”
Rose's face pouted as she recalled the memory.
“He absolutely refused to let anyone touch it and warned us to only look at it from afar. So, honestly, I didn't even get a proper look at it.”
“You can touch it to your heart's content now.”
“I couldn't even dream of it. That I would be able to use a Kalmar magic stone.”
Rose turned the magic stone around, gazing at its interior as if in ecstasy.
“It's overwhelming. This amount of mana, this flow. It can't even be compared to scrap magic stones.”
“Didn't you just say you can get decent efficiency out of scrap magic stones?”
“To do that, you have to put a lot of effort into the design of the Magical Device itself. It requires precise, delicate work without any unnecessary parts. Do you have any idea how hard that is?”
A sigh that sounded like a complaint, “Phew,” escaped Rose's lips.
“After a few uses, the mana would hit rock bottom, so I had to conserve it over and over again. If the professor gave me even one, saying it was left over from an experiment, I was incredibly grateful.”
“I see.”
“And yet, you're telling me you have a pouch full of them? With this, you could buy a mansion in the prime real estate of the capital and still have money left over.”
Jewels and magic stones were mined from mines owned by various families. However, high-quality magic stones like these were mined exclusively here, in the Kalmar Mine, located north of the Schmaichel fief.
The Schmaichel family was the only family with the mining rights to these magic stones, and they monopolized 90% of the distribution rights. It was the source of the Schmaichel family's power and wealth.
“Don't you have a mansion in the capital? It sounds like you want to buy one.”
“...I momentarily forgot that Your Excellency comes from a family on a completely different scale.”
Rose smiled hollowly and answered.
“The Vikander family isn't that well-off. So, whenever I went to the capital, I had to find a place to stay for a short while.”
“I see.”
I thought owning a mansion in the capital was a given. On top of that, buying a few villas as well.
For the Schmaichel family, a founding vassal family, it was a matter of course. Most of the friends I hung out with during my academy days were also from the most prominent families in the kingdom, so I thought everyone lived like this.
“Anyway, with magic stones of this quality, the range of research I can do will increase tremendously.”
Rose pulled herself together and began to examine the magic stone closely.
“Rather than squeezing out every last drop of mana, I should focus on designing it so that the mana can circulate smoothly.”
Her green eyes shone with an unprecedented light. They were the eyes of a Magical Scholar—intelligent and full of passion.
“There will be more than enough mana left even after running the Magical Device, so there's a risk of overcharging. If you're not careful, the circuits could overheat.”
“Hmm.”
To me, who had never conserved mana in my life, the term ‘circuit overheating’ was quite familiar.
‘Your Excellency, please stop pouring mana into it as if there's no tomorrow! It'll explode from circuit overheating!’
‘There actually might not be a tomorrow.’
‘......’
After blowing up a few Magical Devices.
Matthias scoured every Magical Device shop in the kingdom. And he brought back the things gathering dust in the corners of the shops.
‘Huh? You're buying these? Finally, those useless pieces of ju—no, I'm sorry.’
‘It's true that using these will suck up mana quickly, right?’
‘Yes. That's why the world calls them brute-force Magical Devices—’
‘This is something that suits my master perfectly. He is also quite ignorant—no, audacious, after all.’
Through a rough process like that, the Magical Devices that ended up in my hands were doing their jobs quite well, anyway.
“It would be best to buy new Magical Devices as Your Excellency said. My current ones won't be able to withstand magic stones of this caliber.”
Rose stroked her chin, lost in thought.
“With this, I could even implement the continuous charging function I was developing before but stopped.”
It was my first time seeing her talk so much.
As the production site of the highest quality magic stones, Magical Device research was also conducted actively in the Schmaichel fief.
Having read their research reports, I could understand most of what Rose was saying. I also realized that Rose's level of understanding of Magical Devices was quite high.
“Previously, I only had it inject mana when operating it, but with this, I can store the leftover mana after finishing charging. And also...”
The sight of Rose speaking her thoughts confidently and excitedly with flushed cheeks was unfamiliar. But I didn't dislike it.
Actually, it was quite a pleasing sight. So I just quietly watched Rose chattering away.
“If I build the circuits in double or triple layers, stacking them... Ah.”
Sensing my gaze, Rose's words slowed down.
“Um... I talked too much, didn't I? I got carried away without realizing it...”
“Not really.”
It was rather displeasing to see her lowering her head, trying to read my mood again.
“It's fine, so keep talking.”
“No, it's fine. I apologize.”
Rose put the magic stone she was holding back into the pouch, looking sheepish. It was obvious she was carefully placing it in so it wouldn't break.
“If it's not enough, I will bring more.”
“What? No. This is plenty. I'm just not sure if I can even use it all.”
Rose frantically waved her hands. Then she wrapped both hands around the pouch, cherishing it. With a satisfied smile on her lips.
She looked like a happy squirrel gifted with a box of acorns, enough to last her through the winter.
“Are you sure it's okay to give me this much? I'm worried I might be causing you trouble, Your Excellency.”
“Then are you going to give it back?”
When I asked, feigning seriousness, Rose's eyes shook violently.
“I-I knew it. Right? Needlessly causing you trouble because of me...”
“-No, that's not it.”
I made a needless joke.
Rose, not noticing my flustered demeanor, was holding out the pouch, trying to hide her disappointment.
“You can take it back.”
With a face like a squirrel hurriedly pulling out the acorns it had hidden at the base of a tree.
“B-but, could you at least leave me about three of them? No, if that's difficult, even just one...”