About two weeks had passed since the incident of Enrique’s raid on Ludeus.
Before we knew it, it was the end of March, when cherry blossoms in Ludeus were in full bloom.
Victor, look at this! Even the school grounds are covered in cherry blossoms!”
“Yeah.”
The end of March in Ludeus was a background filled with blooming cherry blossoms.
It was a significant time in the game as there were exclusive CGs available only at this timing.
Originally, Enrique would have arrived only after the cherry blossoms had bloomed.
Normally, it would have been a chaotic and noisy situation.
However, since we had defeated the boss of Act 1 in advance, the end of March was surprisingly calm.
“I like it here.”
“Let’s have shaved ice! I bought two bowls!”
After classes, students brought mats and gathered under the trees in the park to chat and enjoy their time.
“I envy them, enjoying the flowers.”
Nike looked at the relaxed people with envy. I spoke up to capture that moment.
“No time to indulge in admiration. We have to start selling soon. While others are playing, it’s our time to make money.”
“Right!”
We connected abandoned desks and set up a makeshift counter to sell pre-made soup and shaved ice.
Since the inventory ran out quickly, we had to replenish and make things on the spot.
Jingle, jingle.
The sound of a Rene pouch filling up.
Living in a whirlwind seemed to be an accurate description of my current life.
Balancing academics and debt repayment simultaneously was a first for me, and I wished I had two bodies for it.
Still, it felt good.
Rene was gathering smoothly.
As the sun began to set, Nike hugged a pouch full of Rene and giggled.
Victor, we earned a lot today! Let’s go back and settle our accounts!”
With Nike, I returned to the club room and checked the quantities of materials we needed for the next day’s sales.
The herbs seemed to be slightly insufficient, but we had a good stock of Snow Lilies.
“We have quite a few Snow Lilies left.”
“Those guys from Class A are bringing a lot! They picked ten more yesterday!”
“Are you talking about Dearmid and Melvin?”
Since I informed them about the dungeon 「Snow Mountain Labyrinth」, Dearmid and Melvin seemed to be exploring the dungeon every day.
Thanks to them consistently bringing Snow Lilies, we had a decent supply of materials for making shaved ice.
“Nike, is mass production of lilies going well?”
“Ugh, no, they keep melting! It seems difficult to grow these flowers unless it’s a cold place. Rose doesn’t seem to know much about this flower either.”
Does the cultivation of Snow Lilies take time?
For now, we had to rely on those delivery guys… no, the duo, for our inventory.
Until the summer when shaved ice sales would skyrocket, I wanted to succeed in mass production if possible.
Nike suggested.
“Should I write a letter to my dad and ask?”
“Your father is in the Leshgad Forest, right?”
“Yeah! My dad knows a lot about flowers and animals!”
Nike is an earth mage.
She must have learned a lot growing up in the forest and being close to nature.
I suddenly became curious about the person Nike often mentioned as her father.
“Nike, what kind of person is your father?”
“What kind of person… to be precise, whether I can call him a person or not…”
“Not a person?”
What was she talking about?
Nike hesitated as if she didn’t want to talk further, so I didn’t ask more.
At that moment, the door creaked open, and someone walked in.
“Knock, knock, my friend Victor! Today’s allocation has arrived!”
It was the big guy, Melvin. Next to him, the blond inspector, Dearmid, was yawning lazily.
“Hello, Victor. Miss Nike is with you today too. You still look bright as ever.”
“…!”
Startled by Dearmid’s casual compliment, Nike jumped and hid behind me.
Although it had been almost a month since Nike had tidied up her messy hair and revealed her face, it seemed like her shyness was not going away.
I said to them.
“Usually, you come around the time the sun sets, right? You’re two hours earlier than usual today.”
“Now the Snow Mountain Labyrinth is a piece of cake! Something like Ice Fangs are a piece of cake!”
From Melvin’s story, I could tell that their levels had risen considerably.
Items like the Ice Fang leather cape and wristguards now suited them well.
“So, here’s the thing. Now that we have some spare time, we want to conquer other dungeons too. My friend Victor, do you happen to know any other dungeons?”
I thought it was a good opportunity.
With these guys, they should have no problem gathering materials from the 「Tropical Jungle」 dungeon.
If there were materials to be obtained, we could make drinks from them.
“Well, I’ll let you know later with a map.”
“Great! Then for now, we’ll leave today’s share here!”
Melvin put down a wooden box filled with a lot of Snow Lilies in a corner of the club room.
After working on this for more than ten days, they had become quite professional.
Smooth.
It was going smoothly.
* * *
Jingle, jingle.
After counting each one meticulously, I carefully tally up the Rene.
Financial calculations are precise.
And with the calculated results…
“Victor, I earned 4 million Rene this week!”
“Correction. Four million, three hundred and fifty thousand, two hundred and fifty-two Rene. You can’t ignore small numbers. It can get you into trouble.”
If you ignore small numbers, you could end up with a card that’s a few hundred short.
And when you get a chargeback, the whole economic cycle collapses.
Anyway.
Earning over 4 million Rene in a week was a tremendous harvest.
At this rate, roughly 18 million Rene per month if we take four weeks, and approximately 200 million Rene in a year.
Considering my goal was 200 million René per year, it seemed like we’re achieving it quite nicely.
“But it’s not enough.”
“N-Not enough? This? I’m earning such a huge amount of money for the first time….”
“At this rate, we won’t be able to repay 400 million Rene in a year.”
My goal was 200 million, but our target was 400 million.
Adding the interest, it was even more. Just 5% interest on 400 million is roughly 20 million.
And self-employed business doesn’t always bring a steady income.
We could earn more in the future, but there might be times when we can’t earn as much.
“Still, this is enough to celebrate. Since it’s Friday, how about a company dinner?”
“Club dinner!”
People break down if they only work.
No matter how urgent the money is, it’s good to have at least a tiny bit of relaxation.
Let’s designate every Friday as a company dinner day.
“Victor, I’ll bring that out!”
Nike took out herbs, jerky, and an egg from the corner.
I skillfully prepared a Tier 1 dish, 「Luxury Spice Soup」, using those ingredients.
《Intermediate Cooking》.
Maybe because I had been cooking so much for the past couple of weeks, I gained the Intermediate Cooking skill, increasing my cooking speed by nearly 40% overall.
Now, I was a complete cooking master, to the point where I could tell a Chinese restaurant chef to go away.
If I graduated from Ludens, I could easily get a job at a restaurant on the mainland.
“…Delicious! Are people buying and eating this every day?”
Nike enjoyed it a lot as she ate her portion of the soup with a spoon.
Although we were selling delicious food, the usual meals for us were only dry jerky or cheap dry bread. It was enough to be impressed.
At that moment, Enio asked.
“Victor, when are we having dessert? Like shaved ice.”
“….”
Instead of answering, Nike, who had opened her narrow eyes, looked at me.
Enio, who naturally joined the club dinner, seemed somewhat displeased for some reason.
Enio often came to the club room after business hours to get some food.
Although Nike grumbled, saying, “She’s just eating without helping,” she knew that Enio’s help was crucial in securing this club room, so she didn’t explicitly say it.
To lighten the atmosphere a bit for these guys, I presented my own creation.
Grinning.
「Fruit Shaved Ice: Added fruits to melting shaved ice. The refreshing and sweet taste harmonizes beautifully, making it very delicious. But there might be an even better cooking method…?」
It was shaved ice with strawberries that I bought at the market not long ago.
Although it was a Tier 2 dish like snow shaved ice, it could be considered a higher-tier equivalent.
“Tastes good. Sweet and refreshing.”
Enio, holding a spoon, said with a satisfied expression.
It seemed that her words were not just empty compliments.
Nike, who had been looking at Enio with a somewhat unfriendly expression until a moment ago, suddenly became silent as she picked up a spoon and started eating the shaved ice.
“It’s delicious!”
I could introduce it as a new menu.
If we can get a good supply of fruits, that is.
If the delivery guy duo conquers the new dungeon, 「Tropical Jungle」, we should be fine.
It might be a bit challenging since that place required defeating a mid-boss….
“This is shaved ice! It’s delicious! Tastier than snow!”
Was this Nike’s first time trying shaved ice?
Given that she had been more involved in selling than eating, it seemed likely.
At that moment, Enio asked.
“Have you ever seen snow? Miss Nike, did it snow in the Leshgad Forest where you lived?”
“Yeah! The western part of the mainland is famous for its four seasons. When it snows in the Leshgad Forest, the snow piles up on the pointy trees….”
Nike’s emerald eyes sparkled slightly.
Perhaps it was nostalgia for her home.
“Sometimes I want to go back. I wonder how everyone is doing. I wanted to go back during the vacation. But I couldn’t even go back last winter break.”
Home, huh?
Suddenly, I also recalled my hometown, not Victor’s, but mine, Ha Seung-ri’s.
Fortunately or unfortunately, I, Ha Seung-ri, had always been alone since high school. I lived diligently after my parents passed away. Now, there was nowhere that could be called home.
There was nothing to miss.
In that sense, do Victor and I have something in common?
Before I knew it, the bowl of shaved ice was quickly finished.
It was understandable since three people shared one.
Still, everyone seemed satisfied.
When I tried to clear the empty bowl, Enio asked Nike.
“Come to think of it, there are rumors that there are dangerous monsters in the Leshgad Forest on the mainland. Especially in winter, you need to be careful.”
“I-Is that so?”
“It’s just a rumor I heard. By the way, Nike, about your father…”
“Rather than that, let’s do the dishes quickly!”
Just as Enio was about to ask about Nike’s father, Nike quickly raised her hand and brought the empty bowls to the sink.
Then she started washing the dishes, suspicious no matter how you looked at it.
* * *
It was a bit late for dinner.
While I was in the club room, organizing things alone, Enio, who had been sitting on a chair, started talking.
“Victor, by the way, I forgot to tell you earlier. Three Delegates agreed additionally.”
“I see. Is it about the weapons permit?”
It was not a bad thing.
Weapons can be drawn outside the academy without a permit, but inside the academy, it’s a different story.
Those who possessed weapons could legally engage in “duels” within the academy.
The duel system is interesting, but I’ll talk about it later.
Because it seemed like Enio wanted to annoy me.
“However, Victor, you had the sword from your ex-fiancée taken away, right? Balmung, the famous sword. I heard it was a sword that could cut through thick logs like paper.”
That’s correct.
Balmung was indeed a very good sword in the game.
“So, does Victor have no swords even with a permit now?”
Was she teasing me?
At that moment, the long shadow of Enio sitting in the chair stretched out.
From there, countless sticks rose.
To be precise, they were swords.
“Choose one and take it. These are the weapons that the siblings and I took through duels. But if you don’t like any, you can take this one.”
Enio put her hand deep into her shadow.
What she pulled out was a scabbard dyed entirely in a jet-black color.
In her hand, clinging to it, was a scabbard with a sword I knew well.
“Tyrfing, right? You’re bringing out quite a rare item.”
“Yeah, it’s an original, not a replica floating around the market. A true sword that rivals Balmung of Arkwright.”
What a famous sword.
Probably a magic sword.
The 「Demon Sword Tyrfing」 had a continuous ability to gradually reduce the owner’s total health by 10% every turn.
It was a typical high-risk, high-return equipment with outstanding performance but significant risks.
“How about it? I can lend it to you. Of course, Victor, you’re not going to take this kind of thing with your debts.”
“No, I’ll take it.”
“…Yeah, I thought you’d say that… Huh?”
