Laying the Foundation

At seven in the morning, Duke Roy finished his morning exercise.

Although the Magic Era had ended and the world no longer required adventurers, Duke Roy still followed the secret manual left behind by his great Hero ancestor every morning: a ten-kilometer run, one hundred sit-ups, one hundred push-ups, one thousand sword swings, and the use of his Ultimate Skill until his Mana was completely exhausted.

Then, after bathing, changing, and attending to his morning business, he stepped onto the scale.

Five minutes later, Duke Roy walked into the dining room with a dark expression.

The young and handsome butler of the Roy House had already prepared a breakfast meticulously balanced by a nutritionist for his master.

However, Duke Roy looked at the steak, which lacked any sauce, and felt no appetite at all; instead, the sweet aroma wafting from the other side of the table made him swallow hard.

Duke Roy couldn't help but look up and see his daughter, Leisiphia, sitting there.

That is not important.

What was important was the dazzling array of donuts, cream puffs, and macarons spread out before Leisiphia. Most eye-catching of all was a six-layer stack of thin pancakes piled high with strawberries, blueberries, and whipped cream, over which a maid was pouring golden honey from the top, creating a shimmering, glistening stream.

It looked so delicious!

Duke Roy watched, nearly letting tears stream from the corners of his mouth.

He exerted great effort to barely control his expression, maintaining the dignity of a father as he said, "Leia, it's about time you controlled your intake of sweets, or it will be very difficult to quit later on."

"But is it any less difficult for you, Father?" Leisiphia glanced disdainfully at Duke Roy's protruding Beer Belly and said cruelly, "Our family's bloodline is destined to become obese by the age of thirty anyway, so shouldn't you just give up on these futile efforts?!"

"This cursed bloodline!" Duke Roy lamented.

Leisiphia ignored him, using an elegant posture honed by strict etiquette training to slice into the thin pancakes and feed them into her small mouth.

Duke Roy aggrievedly lifted his chubby stomach, sat down in his chair, cut off a large piece of steak, shoved it into his mouth, and chewed resentfully.

Tasteless.

"Add some salt and black pepper," Roy said to the butler.

"Too much salt is not good for your health," the butler righteously refused.

Duke Roy looked at the dessert in front of his daughter and felt even more jealous. "Leia, if you keep going like this, you will be looked down upon by the Crown Prince."

"The Crown Prince proposed the engagement knowing full well about our family's constitution, didn't he?" After all, this gene for obesity originally came from the royal family!

Leisiphia proudly lifted her small chin. "Besides, I am the Young Lady of the Roy House; who would dare not to like me?!"

"Even if you were a Gold Coin, not everyone would love you," Duke Roy said.

This child had truly been raised too naively.

But it was still early; there were eight years left until she turned twenty-one and married the Crown Prince. It would be soon enough to start letting her come into contact with those less-than-honorable things when she turned fifteen.

Duke Roy's expectations for his daughter were not merely to be a Crown Princess Consort or a Queen; he had a complete development plan. Yet, like any ordinary father, he also hoped that his daughter's carefree days could last a little longer, just a little longer.

Duke Roy sighed inwardly.

He forced his gaze away from the dessert in front of his daughter and took the newspaper from the butler.

The newspaper was soft and warm, having been carefully ironed by the butler to prevent the sharp paper from cutting the delicate fingers of a noble.

Duke Roy's hands were covered in thick calluses from sword practice and did not need such service, but as a member of the nobility, the sense of ritual was often more important than the purpose itself.

Duke Roy placed the newspaper by his side without reading it, and while cutting his steak, he asked:

"Is there any news today?"

"The Royal Capital is still preparing for the Queen Mother's eightieth birthday celebration; a coal mine near Sensenata has collapsed, and the cause is currently under investigation; the railway from the City of Academies to Xiesse will be completed next month..."

The butler, as if he had memorized it, immediately distilled the news that might interest his master.

Duke Roy listened very carefully, but Leisiphia was uninterested.

These were all things too distant for a Young Lady, until she heard the last item:

"...The discussion regarding the game table is heating up further. Magic Gear is about to win the lawsuit, while newspapers like the Sunrise News believe it is official suppression, and they have jointly issued a statement to defend the freedom of the press."

"They want the freedom to fabricate news, more like," Leisiphia grumbled with dissatisfaction.

"Leia, you have quite an opinion on them!" Duke Roy raised his eyebrows upon hearing this. "Did their news make you lose so much face after you just ordered a game table?"

"That's not it—"

"Are you angry that they took money to sway public opinion? Isn't that an unspoken rule of the game? You are, after all, one of the Players," Duke Roy said.

But you don't allow it, do you?

Leisiphia snorted coldly.

Leisiphia had not been happy since the first negative news appeared in the papers and had wanted to suppress those reports, but her father had stopped her.

Duke Roy looked at his daughter's pouting face and shook his head with a smile. "To offend even the greatest Young Lady of the Eastern Border, they deserve to lose so miserably!" He turned to the butler to confirm, "These few outlets issuing a joint statement—it shouldn't be as simple as Magic Gear winning the lawsuit, right?"

"Everything is as you predicted, Master," the butler flattered.

He had long known his master would ask this, and he reported respectfully: "Magic Gear has always enjoyed a good reputation. Coupled with their recent reopening and the promotional activities they launched, it has stirred up people's nostalgia. Thus, people were skeptical of the negative news about the Alchemy Workshop, and after it was proven that those reports were rumors, it incited even greater public outrage;

"Not only have newspapers like the Eastern Border Daily taken the lead in correcting the rumors, but organizations like the 'Street Volunteer Committee' and libraries have also refused to sell newspapers that carry negative news about Magic Gear. Many residents have even canceled their newspaper orders directly;

"Data shows that the subscriptions for several newspapers, led by the Sunrise Daily, have dropped significantly compared to the last quarter. Newsstands everywhere are seeing stagnant sales, and their editorial departments have received a large number of protest letters. In contrast, the sales of the Eastern Border Daily have doubled compared to last month, and the popularity of the game table has expanded once again, especially after the Eastern Border Daily published that article about how game tables can improve Mana levels. The number of people queuing for game tables throughout the city has tripled, and citizens are hoping for more game tables to be equipped;

"Mayor Owen Simor took advantage of the situation to issue an announcement, stating that Magic Gear will hold a pilot project with the Charity School. The public is looking forward to this, and the mayor's approval rating has increased by thirty-six percent. Mayor Simor may well be the biggest winner."

"Hah!"

Duke Roy sighed with exaggerated drama.

He winked at his daughter. "If you had stopped these reports from the start, wouldn't all these interesting things that followed have been avoided?"

"What is so interesting about this farce?" Leisiphia expressed her disagreement.

Duke Roy let out a hearty laugh.

"However, I don't think Owen is the winner," Roy said to his butler. "His approval rating has only increased locally, and I fear certain big shots are absolutely furious with him."

"You are, of course, correct," the young butler said. He pulled a few papers from a large stack and placed them on top. "The capital is very unimpressed with his education pilot project; several official newspapers have already released rumors. The Seyekin Post claims he is grandstanding and wasting tax money, Fashion News calls it 'the death throes of an old antique,' and the Capital News believes he is neglecting his duties for toys and destroying the children's future."

"How could they—" Leisiphia was instantly incensed.

She said indignantly, "This is our Eastern Territory's business! They haven't even seen a game table, so how can they comment so recklessly?!"

"Because the one who wants to abolish magic education, and even completely eradicate antique shops like the Alchemy Workshop that sell magic items to commoners, is His Majesty the King!"

"The Ki—"

Leisiphia froze instantly.

She widened her eyes, staring blankly at her father, who had stated the greatest black curtain so nonchalantly.

Duke Roy smiled as he enjoyed his daughter's stunned expression for two minutes before asking, "Leisiphia, do you know how our family became Grand Dukes?"

Leisiphia sat up straight immediately.

By tradition, when her father called her full name and asked a question, he was testing her.

Leisiphia answered solemnly, "Because our ancestors defeated the Demon King and upheld the glory of the kingdom."

"Correct, because our ancestors defeated the Demon King," Duke Roy nodded. He continued, "But today, the Magic Era has ended, and the Demon King has been sealed in the Abyss forever—that is what the King has announced, so let us assume he is sealed forever—the King has firearms to protect his empire and no longer needs a Hero. So, if a Hero like our ancestor were to appear again, at whom should his sword be pointed?"

"Pointed at whom... If there is no Demon King, the Hero wouldn't need to swing his sword, right?"

"But the suffering of the people has not disappeared! Look, they are poor, they are in pain, perhaps even more so than before. At that time, who do you think the Hero would point his sword at?"

Pointed at—

"...So, the King wants to break all the magic wands and cut off all the paths?" Leisiphia looked at her father with bright eyes. "He doesn't need a second Roy House, does he?!"

Perhaps he didn't even need the first one.

Back then, too much was given to the Hero; those wealthy mines were originally the King's property.

Is this also the reason why I must marry the Crown Prince?

Leisiphia thought calmly.

As the eldest daughter of the Roy House, she had known from a very young age that her marriage was a political one; she had to manage it well and could not harbor any expectations.

"But we chose the King, didn't we?" The former Hero decided to become the Evil Dragon.

Leisiphia now asked calmly, "So, by purchasing the magic gear game table, am I 'aiding the enemy'?"

"Hahaha!" Duke Roy laughed, his beer belly shaking the entire dining table.

Roy was very satisfied with his daughter's intelligence.

He instructed her, "It's not that serious; if you want to play, keep playing. Even if the King wants to gather all magic into his own hands, it remains to be seen if he can actually do it. If anything, the current situation is best for us, so there is no need for the Roy House to follow him into the abyss. Leisiphia, you must remember: in this world, beyond black and white, there is much more gray!"

Leisiphia wore a thoughtful expression.

"As expected of my master, that is very well said," the butler applauded at this moment.

Duke Roy looked at his butler with a strange expression.

It was undoubtedly rude for the butler to interrupt at such a time.

But the butler continued, "The situation is indeed ambiguous. Although the King's newspapers are critical of Mayor Simor, the game tables they mention have piqued people's curiosity. Many people want to see what the magic toy that has captivated Cecilia is, so the number of travelers has increased by seventy-six percent compared to the same period in previous years, and fiscal revenue has also risen significantly. Based on this political achievement, Mayor Simor's reelection is inevitable, and even the King's dissatisfaction cannot stop it."

"Mayor Simor will certainly grant a series of preferential policies to magic shops led by Magic Gear, and several companies under your name meet these criteria."

The butler paused here, then a standard smile appeared on his handsome face:

"By the way, you said a few days ago that you didn't need to attend the opening ceremony for the pilot teaching program at the charity school held by Mayor Simor and Magic Gear... are you sure?"

Roy frowned and stared at his butler for a long time before finally saying:

"Tatana, you are acting very strange!"

*

Duke Roy ultimately decided to send his butler, Tatana, to attend the ceremony to maintain his final shred of dignity.

The Duke was actually overthinking it.

Even in the eyes of Angell and Owen, this pilot project at the charity school was nothing more than a "small matter."

They hadn't originally planned to invite anyone else.

After all, both the mayor and the Magic Association had decided to observe the students' ability to adapt before finalizing future cooperation, so the current pilot was merely a prologue and not worth announcing to everyone with great fanfare.

However, under the influence of ulterior motives and hype, this pilot project became a matter of concern for the entire city, the entire region, and even the entire country. Thus, on the day of the foundation ceremony for Angell's base station, almost everyone headed toward the designated charity school.

The reporter Henry was among them.

Henry was a reporter for the Royal Capital's Seyekin Post.

The Seyekin Post was the newspaper with the highest circulation in the Central Kingdom, and as such, its reports carried a certain degree of authority.

However, Henry had arrived with a political mission.

On the surface, his task was to interview Cecilia City regarding its magic education reform, but the recent attitude displayed by his superiors clearly indicated that Henry was meant to dig up dirt on this reform.

After all, magic education consumed a vast amount of money every year, and many felt there was no longer any need to maintain it.

Yet, Mayor Owen Simor of Cecilia City was a radical who staunchly defended magic education; he had even flipped a table during the recent Royal Capital Education Conference, leaving the room in shambles. Everyone assumed this mayor was merely putting on a political show to stubbornly assert his stance.

As a reporter with a sense of social responsibility, Henry naturally felt compelled to expose this meaningless waste of taxpayer money.

However, from the moment Henry left the Royal Capital and boarded the train, he felt a vague sense that something was wrong.

There were so many people!

The route from the Royal Capital to Cecilia had historically been quite desolate.

Although Cecilia held the reputation of being the Magic Capital, it had been thoroughly abandoned by history since the dawn of the modern era. It possessed neither the rich resources and endless new technologies of the emerging Industrial City, Sensenata, nor the trend-setting fashion of the City of Freedom, Xiesse. Once stripped of its magical halo, Cecilia was merely a small border town located near the dangerous Abyss, and naturally, it was not a place people would want to visit.

Yet, the people on the train were heatedly discussing Cecilia's new inventions.

"Is that Game Table really that fun?"

"I heard people just stay glued to the area, willing to go bankrupt rather than leave."

"Is that some kind of charm magic?"

"Heh, even if it is charm magic, it's worth it. If the quality inspection can't detect it, then it doesn't exist!"

Their discussion was mixed with strange, unfounded rumors and unrealistic expectations.

Henry recognized that these people were likely wandering merchants—the type who usually congregated on the roads leading to Sensenata and Xiesse, making a living by reselling new industrial products to areas with poor transportation.

This report seemed to have caused a misunderstanding, leading these people to believe that the Game Table was an interesting new invention just like any other industrial product. In particular, the rumor that the Game Table could "make people go bankrupt" was an irresistible selling point for merchants, driving them to flock toward Cecilia.

Henry felt this trend was ominous, though he couldn't quite articulate why the gathering of merchants was a bad thing.

Beyond the merchants, what Henry saw most of were his peers.

Not only were there colleagues from various newspapers in the Royal Capital, but those from other regions had also caught wind of the news and arrived. Most absurdly, Henry discovered that many Foreign Races had also taken an interest in the news.

"It's been a long time since I heard news about alchemy tools."

"Is the Magic Gear Workshop still in business?"

"My old Magic Wand was made by that very workshop! Since they've reopened, it wouldn't hurt to go and show some support."

Henry heard several Elves discussing this.

He was horrified to discover that the alchemy workshop he thought was destined to be phased out held a decent reputation among many Long-lived Races and Foreign Races, to the point where they were willing to spend "a small amount of time" in their long lives to visit it.

Henry's ominous premonition only intensified after arriving in Cecilia City.

Cecilia was not as dilapidated as Henry had imagined.

The disadvantage of magic was its longevity, but its advantage was also its longevity.

This city had been built to resist the Demon Race, and as such, it possessed an indestructible quality. Even though the changing times had rendered it quiet, the city walls, which could stand for tens of thousands of years under the reinforcement of magic, showed no signs of decay.

Even when Henry tried to write articles about "Cecilia yearning for its fallen past" and took photos of the ivy-covered walls, the buildings captured from every angle were just as magnificent and ornate as those in the Royal Capital.

The Game Tables placed in the busiest areas of the city didn't give off the impression of being a frivolous waste of time; rather, looking at the magical projections, one couldn't help but think, "As expected of a game played by the people of the Magic Capital."

The Magic Gear Workshop was even more so.

Setting aside its overly ornate exterior, what was with all those fluffy creatures inside?!

Walking through the Magic Gear Workshop, Henry felt as if he had stepped into a fairy tale. People were manipulating magic to play games he had never seen before, cute Cats were carrying trays through the crowd, and even the drinks were bubbling away.

Henry stayed inside for half an hour before leaving; he was afraid that if he stayed any longer, he would want to defect!

In the end, Henry had no choice but to stay in his hotel, resting up and waiting for today's "Mana Base Station Pilot Foundation Ceremony."

—That was what the invitation given to Henry said. Henry didn't understand why the magic education pilot had turned into a Mana Base Station foundation ceremony. Besides, what even was a Mana Base Station?

However, Henry felt it should be fine.

No matter how interesting the Game Table was, it was still just a game. Besides, he had heard that the owner of the Magic Gear Workshop was an evil Black Robe. When the time came, he would just take a few more photos of the person, and no matter how normal the occasion was, it would look like a dark ritual.

Henry couldn't help but snicker, when someone suddenly called out from behind him.

"Isn't this Mr. Henry from the Seyekin Post?"

Ah, had his identity been exposed?!

Henry turned around in a panic, only to be surprised to find that the person who had stopped him was a manager from the Iron Puppet Entertainment Company in Xiesse.

Henry had been in charge of the newspaper's entertainment section for a period in the past, so he was quite familiar with the man.

"...Why are you here?" Henry asked in surprise. He felt that a trendy movie manager from Xiesse had nothing to do with a backward Magic Capital.

"My boss wants to discuss some business with the Magic Gear Workshop," the other replied.

He was too embarrassed to say that Sir Mandela had visited the Magic Gear Workshop several times recently, only to be met by the workshop's Black Cat Secretary. The secretary had firmly refused to sell the workshop's signature technology and stated that the master had no interest in visits from irrelevant parties. With no other options, the Sir had to come here in person to intercept the owner.

"Sir Mandela is here too?!" Henry was even more surprised.

He subconsciously sensed that this was likely a major scoop, picking up his camera to search for the Duke, only to hear a commotion ripple through the crowd.

"Ah, the master of the Magic Gear has arrived!" the manager also remarked.

That Black Robe is here?!

Henry excitedly raised his camera, eager to capture a photo of the evil Black Robe, but through his lens, he saw a youth so handsome and beautiful he could have been a Divine Envoy. He was indeed wearing a black robe, but the alchemist emblem of the Sun and Moon Gear hung upon it, looking no less impressive than a bishop's vestments.

This is the Black Robe?!

Henry's values suffered the greatest shock of his life.

He even felt that if he didn't take a few more photos, he would be doing a disservice to the other's beauty!

And so, by the time Henry came to his senses, he had already murdered two-thirds of the film in his camera with a series of clicks, barely even noticing Mayor Owen's speech.

"What am I doing?!" After a long while, Henry finally calmed down.

He began to suspect that he had been hit by the Black Robe's Charm Spell.

If I use up the remaining film like this, how will I expose the Black Robe's evil plans to the public?! Henry thought.

At that moment, the ceremony reached its most critical point, and Henry heard someone on the podium announce, "Next, please welcome Angell Cecilia to give an address and commence the ceremony—"

The Black Robe walked to the center of the podium.

But the other showed no intention of speaking, merely raising the shimmering Magic Wand in his hand and waving it toward the sky.

Following the Black Robe's movement, a crystalline beam of light shot straight into the air, then rippled across the sky as if striking the surface of a pond.

Henry watched in astonishment as a small vortex appeared in the air like a pool, gathering into a cloud shaped like an inverted fountain. From the center of this cloud fountain, a rainbow descended, landing in the courtyard of the Charity School and spreading out in all directions, filling the very air with a faint, shimmering glow.

Even those without talent could feel the presence of Mana.

It felt as though one could use magic just by waving their hand.

"Is this Mana?" the manager beside Henry murmured, letting out a wry smile. "If I weren't past the age, with conditions like these, I would want to try learning magic too!"

This was the sentiment of everyone present.

As long as one was a creature of this Plane, who wouldn't want to try using magic themselves? Saying they didn't need to was merely a surrender born from knowing their talent was insufficient.

Henry, however, did not speak.

He was clicking away at his camera, greedily recording it all.

As for his stance?

In the face of true magic, let it all go to hell!