Cooperation

Mr. Yara paced around the classroom, pointer in hand.

He was ready to haul up any little brat he caught daydreaming and make them stand as punishment. If they were especially bad, he would smack their palms.

That was how he usually handled things.

Mr. Yara saw nothing wrong with corporal punishment. If anything, he thought children these days were too lucky.

He remembered when he had been sent to the Mage Tower. There had been no teachers keeping an eye on them while they meditated. Their seniors only offered a few pointers when they had time; otherwise, they were left to teach themselves. Only those with exceptional talent could achieve anything, and even they had to start out as menial apprentices.

Still, compared with ordinary people, Yara had been talented enough to get into the Mage Tower.

Only those with mana talent above Beginner potential could trigger the Mage Tower's Mana Detection Crystal.

That meant Yara's talent had already set his minimum achievement at Beginner Mage before he ever entered the Mage Tower. He needed neither magical education nor an Appraisal.

In the Magic Era, someone with Yara's talent would never give up the chance to become a mage, even if it meant dying in the Mage Tower.

But Yara had given it up.

His mother's health was poor, and she needed someone to look after her.

In the Magic Era, he could have endured the first few years. Once he became a Beginner Mage, plenty of places would have hired him. Whether as an adventurer or as a consultant mage for some minor noble's family, he could have earned a fortune and taken good care of his loved ones.

But in this era, even Beginner Mages couldn't find work outside the Mage Tower, let alone Intermediate Mages. And inside the tower, anyone who couldn't become a High-level Mage had no future. They could only spend their whole lives as assistants, earning a fixed salary and living under restrictions that made it difficult to leave the Mage Tower.

By comparison, with his experience at the Mage Tower, Yara could find a job as a magic teacher. The pay was a little lower, but he could look after his family whenever he needed to, and it was easier to find a partner.

After weighing his options, Yara had no choice but to give up the mage's dream he had cherished for so long.

In fact, in this era, most mage hopefuls from commoner families who had middling talent ended up doing the same. Only two kinds of people were willing to stay at the Mage Tower: orphans who had no money or parents, no attachment to the outside world, and no intention of ever leaving; and the children of wealthy nobles, who didn't need to work and could afford to keep studying for an impressive mage qualification.

Of course, they couldn't exactly be happy about it. Yara still had a lingering attachment to mages, so he had no choice but to pin his hopes on his students and try to cultivate a few talented mages.

But these brats were just so—(censored)

Mr. Yara felt less like he was teaching children and more like he was teaching a troop of monkeys.

Still, it was much too early for this!

Even in the Magic Era, the age for "Magical Germination" was twelve—right around the third year, when Meditation Class began to taper off. Before then, a child's magical potential was unstable, and even the Mage Tower's detection crystals couldn't determine their talent.

Besides, no matter how talented they were, very young children had limited comprehension. They didn't understand what mana was, and they had poor stamina and couldn't sit still. Asking them to spend all day focusing on the elusive Magic Elements was out of the question.

Mr. Yara had no choice but to use force to make the brats sit down and meditate.

Even so, half the students usually dozed off during Meditation Class.

That was why Mr. Yara wasn't optimistic about the new Education Pilot Project.

The newly opened Mana Base Station was impressive, and as a former mage hopeful, it stirred his excitement. But handing it over to the mischievous monkeys in his class was a terrible waste!

It was like stuffing food into the brats' mouths and then coaxing them to swallow. Simply living in an area rich in mana probably did about as much good as hiring two elves to teach Elvish Language: the improvement would be very limited.

So when Yara received the introductory Meditation Method called the Block Meditation Method, he only gave it a quick look.

It certainly seemed "beginner-level."

The core of the Meditation Method hadn't changed. You still focused your attention, drew in the Magic Elements around you, and converted them into your own mana. Whether you arranged those elements into an S or a B was meaningless; it only wasted extra mana.

And the meditation sessions were far too short!

One "successful meditation" took less than a minute. A proper session needed at least half an hour to have any effect.

The impatient brats would probably think one round was enough and call it a day!

So Mr. Yara kept all ten parts of his attention on them.

He watched the students like a hawk, waiting to catch anyone trying to slack off.

And just as he'd feared, one round of "meditation" ended in no time. He saw fireworks burst from the square in front of the child nearest him.

He was about to go over and tell the child to continue, but the kid eagerly started another round.

At least they were doing something right.

Mr. Yara nodded to himself and looked at the other children.

Then, to his surprise, he found that the little troublemakers—who spent all day dozing off and getting distracted—had apparently taken leave of their senses today. Not one of them was slacking off. They were all staring intently at the little squares in front of them. Even the most troublesome kids in the class weren't daydreaming... no, they were even more focused than the others!

Watching from the side, Yara realized they were accumulating mana faster than anyone else in the class.

Was this Meditation Method really that effective?

Could it actually tame these little demons?!

Yara drew the activation rune for the Block Meditation Method in the air.

He had only tried one round yesterday, and had stopped because it seemed pointless. Seeing how focused the children were now, he decided to investigate further.

He spent the entire class doing just that.

The dismissal bell rang, followed by the next class's bell, but the whole classroom remained oblivious. Even Mr. Yara was so absorbed in stacking blocks that he might as well have turned into one himself at the lectern. He didn't "wake up" until Mr. White, the teacher for the next class, walked in.

Seeing Mr. White's surprised expression, Mr. Yara felt embarrassed.

"Sorry, I..."

"Hahaha, it's all right! I took a curious look yesterday and got hooked for the whole night!" Mr. White laughed heartily.

"You did too?" Mr. Yara's eyes widened in surprise. "But aren't you in charge of Mathematics?"

"Why shouldn't a math teacher meditate? Besides, the Workshop Master specifically recommended Math Mode in this Meditation Method for math enthusiasts like us!" Mr. White said, lifting his chin.

Actually, Angell had said, "Only mathematical geniuses can play this," and that was what had lured White in.

This was the first Yara had heard of it. "Math Mode?"

"Haven't you tried it? It's fun!" White said, drawing a rune in the air.

As a math teacher, he started the spell even more briskly than the magic teacher. It was clear he'd played it plenty of times.

Sure enough, White's Meditation Method had a "Math Mode" option. He opened it with practiced ease. Blocks much like those in the ordinary mode fell from the air, except that each one had numbers on it.

Yara saw a Z fall first, followed by an L.

But instead of fitting the L beneath the Z, White placed them side by side, leaving a gap.

As a perfectionist, Yara found it painful to watch. "Ah, you missed it just now."

"No, in this mode, you have to add a sequence of numbers to make ten before they disappear," White explained. Just then, another block fell, and his eyes lit up. "Ah, there it is!"

He swiftly guided the block down onto the L. In ordinary mode, arranging the blocks haphazardly like that wouldn't have cleared them. But here, just as White had said, the vertical and horizontal rows formed a cross and vanished.

"Well, what do you think? It's quite a challenge, isn't it?" White said.

"Ah..."

Yara hadn't even seen what the numbers were, let alone added them together.

He felt like a monkey himself in front of Mr. White.

The monkeys could build up their mana little by little. Angell wasn't in a hurry, anyway.

After all, refining a Mana Base Station required a huge amount of materials and money. The funds for Angell's next Base Station were still tied up in his Workshop's warehouse; he hadn't had time to turn them into cash yet!

And the key to doing that was the man in front of him, Sir Mandela.

ATM Mandela, however, had no idea.

Mandela felt he had finally managed to seize an opportunity to meet the Workshop Master. So as he faced the black-robed man, his attitude was four parts ingratiating, three parts excitement, two parts nerves, and one part guilt.

"Mr. Angell, would you be interested in expanding your Game Table business to the Trade City of Xiesse?" Sir Mandela asked cautiously, wearing a smile that was half-flattery. "Your Magic Item is very well known. I'm sure the people of Xiesse would like it too."

"The Game Table?" Angell asked in surprise. "Didn't you want to buy our Workshop's signboard?"

"No, no, I didn't want to buy the signboard. I wanted to buy the Imaging Technology behind it."

Sir Mandela hurriedly explained.

So that Black Cat had told its master about him!

But surely going around asking to buy someone's signboard would get him thrown out, wouldn't it?

Sir Mandela hadn't been worried about offending the owner of some "little country Workshop" before. Even if the man was a Black Robe, as the owner of Iron Puppet Entertainment Company, he could afford to hire a few bodyguards!

But recently, Sir Mandela had been looking into Magic Gear because he wanted to buy Angell's Imaging Technology. The more he learned, the more astonished he became.

Mr. Angell was a genius when it came to running a business!

Developing the Game Table wasn't the remarkable part. What was remarkable was the Leaderboard and Membership System at his Workshop, his marketing strategy for the Game Table, and the way he had managed to shape public opinion so that people in both the Royal Capital and Xiesse were discussing Magic Gear's latest invention!

The whole series of maneuvers had been executed perfectly!

Mandela almost wanted to poach Angell for his own company.

But yesterday's Foundation Ceremony had made him realize he had been overestimating himself:

Angell didn't just know how to make money. He wasn't short of it, either!

More accurately, the money represented by the Mana Base Station at the ceremony had stunned Sir Mandela!

When he saw a spectacle as extravagant as the magical signboard at the Foundation Ceremony, Mandela's first thought was, "That special effect must have cost a fortune." He then asked a few mages to confirm it, and they said he was right.

It was a Mana Well! (Probably.)

A Mana Well of the kind found only in the Royal Mage Tower, which ordinary mages couldn't afford to maintain even if they had one! (Probably.)

And that Black Robe had donated it to a Compulsory School for free! (Confirmed.)

"Using such an expensive magical facility for children? That Black Robe must be nuts," the mages concluded enviously and resentfully.

Yeah, right. He was cultivating potential users!

No wonder they were still poor mages; they couldn't even see that far ahead!

Sir Mandela scoffed to himself.

Although Mandela knew nothing about the Masterless Tower, eternal youth, mysterious origins, or any of those other nonsensical rumors, in the eyes of this Xiesse merchant, a "young man" who had just inherited a rundown Workshop and accomplished so much already had to be extraordinary—

Sir Mandela boldly guessed that, as one of the most illustrious Alchemy Workshops of the Magic Era, Magic Gear must have had plenty of its ancestors' legacy left behind for their descendants. It was just that the previous owners lacked the vision and business acumen to make good use of it, and had run the Workshop into the ground. Then Angell had appeared out of nowhere like a protagonist, seized an opportunity, and put the Workshop back on track.

Take that old signboard, for example. It had been a terrible waste not to display it before!

(The Workshop's previous owners: We'd have loved to hang the sign up, but do you know how much mana it takes?!)

Of course, this meant Mandela had to abandon his plan to poach Angell.

Clearly, Angell was far too great a man for his little company to contain.

But Sir Mandela wasn't about to give up on working with him.

With a Protagonist Halo shining that brightly, wouldn't he look like an idiot if he didn't latch on?

So when Sir Mandela met Angell, he adapted on the spot and changed his opening pitch to the Game Table business.

"I'd certainly love to have the Imaging Technology, but unfortunately, Mr. Black Cat said it wasn't for sale, and we can't force him," Sir Mandela said. "But I have great faith in Magic Gear's future. If you need an agent for your Game Table business in Xiesse, some of my connections might be useful to you."

Angell shook his head.

"I'm sorry, but the Game Table isn't mature enough yet. I don't plan to do business in Xiesse for the time being."

The truth was, he couldn't keep up with demand.

Neither the Rune Core nor the Game Table itself could be mass-produced; both had to be made by hand. Angell was already short-staffed just keeping up with the Game Table business in the Cecilia City area, let alone expanding to other regions—especially a bustling commercial city like Xiesse.

Mandela wasn't surprised by the answer.

As far as Sir Mandela was concerned, the first-generation Game Table was entertaining, but unlike in Cecilia City—a "rural backwater"—the Free City saw new inventions and new trends every day. People there lived at a much faster pace and got tired of things quickly. With only a few games, the first-generation Game Table probably wouldn't stay popular for more than half a month.

As expected of Mr. Angell. He wouldn't let a huge order cloud his judgment!

Mandela silently admired him.

Of course, Sir Mandela hadn't proposed acting as an agent for the Game Table to test Angell. He had done it to build a relationship with him.

Profit was secondary.

So Sir Mandela stroked his neatly groomed mustache and pressed on. "Even if you don't plan to sell the Game Table for now, it wouldn't hurt to advertise your product while the newspapers in Xiesse are promoting your 'Education Pilot Project.'"

"There's no need for a large-scale campaign. You only need to leave an impression."

"If you don't mind, I own several Theaters that are in need of something novel to attract customers. We'd be happy to promote it for you, free of charge!"

Once he had the Game Tables sent over, they could simply sign an agency agreement, and then their relationship would be established, wouldn't it?

Mandela smiled perfectly.

His offer had finally prompted the black-robed man across from him—who had never once looked him in the eye—to meet his gaze.

Mandela's heart leaped.

He thought this meant the other man was willing to accept his offer.

"That's a good suggestion." Angell still wasn't particularly interested.

How was he supposed to retrieve the Magic Cores inside the Game Tables in Xiesse?

Angell didn't want to waste time with Mandela. He finally asked bluntly, "By the way, I heard you own an Entertainment Company. Do you take film commissions?"

"Film commissions?" Mandela repeated blankly.

Angell nodded.

He wasn't quite sure how to put it.

When it came to movies, Angell was completely out of his depth. He didn't even know how film companies in his previous life worked, let alone the Production Studios in this world.

So his plan was to acquire a small, nearly bankrupt film company, buy its existing equipment and hire its staff, get someone to write a script, and start shooting.

That was why Angell had considered making a Magical Girl Tokusatsu movie.

It really wouldn't need much money or advanced professional skills. From his experience directing cutscenes as a Lead Planner for games, he figured he could probably manage it.

Angell had little confidence in making anything more professional.

But this plan had hit a snag right from the start.

Not long ago, Angell had mentioned the idea to Mayor Owen—mainly because he wanted to see if the man knew of any suitable film companies—and Owen had looked surprised.

"Film companies? We have companies that newfangled here?!"

...Was "newfangled" really the right word for a company?

Angell had asked around and realized how naïve he'd been.

This era might have been industrialized, but the process was clearly still limited. The film industry had only developed into a full-fledged business in major cities like Xiesse. In a "backward region" like Cecilia City, opening a movie theater and screening old films from a few years ago counted as fashionable.

"Does Mr. Angell want to make a movie? I'll do everything I can to support you!" Owen had said at the end.

What good was your support?

Could you film it? Write a script?

Angell had grumbled to himself.

In the end, Mithril remembered that some fellow who had tried to buy their signboard had claimed to own an Entertainment Company, so Angell decided to meet this Sir Mandela.

Mandela had no idea what was troubling Angell.

Looking at the black-robed man's calm, indifferent expression, he wondered if the other man might be testing him.

Wasn't that how legendary Sages acted? They gave you tasks like "kill the Evil Dragon on the volcano in the west," "find the Water-Avoiding Pearl in the swamp," or "win over the village beauty next door," and only then decided whether to join the Hero's party.

Maybe Mr. Angell was interested in that kind of thing too?

Sir Mandela took Angell's proposal as a test and tried hard to figure out what he meant. "When you say 'film commission'... do you mean you would set up a Production Studio, hire my staff to help you make a movie, and then release it under your company's name?"

"More or less..." Angell nodded.

Right, so the film industry could work like this too?!

It was just like writing a game design document yourself, then outsourcing all the materials you needed!

That was what Angell thought.

"May I ask what kind of film you're hoping to make?" Sir Mandela asked cautiously.

What he really wanted to ask was how much Angell had set aside for the budget.

He'd received commissions like this before.

Most of them came from rich second-generation kids who thought they were talented and wanted to dabble in filmmaking. Mandela would decide how cooperative to be based on the size of their investment.

But Sir Mandela wanted to secure a chance to work with Angell. More than that, he didn't think Angell had suggested making a film on a whim, so he phrased his question tactfully.

Angell, however, didn't bother with tact.

He didn't stand on ceremony with professionals. In his experience as a client, the clearer he was, the better they could carry out the job. "I want to make an advertisement."

"An advertisement?" Mandela was taken aback.

Angell briefly explained the characteristics of the Magical Girl genre to Mandela.

To Angell, this kind of film was so clichéd that there was hardly anything to say about it, so he hadn't even considered keeping it secret.

He hadn't realized that a genre became a genre precisely because people kept reusing its conventions and audiences still enjoyed them. That was what made them classics.

Sir Mandela listened, his eyes shining.

He'd been right about him! Lord Angell really was a genius!

It was just a story about a female hero defeating monsters, but adding modern elements made it completely different from the clichéd legends he'd filmed before.

For a moment, Mandela even wanted his own company to make it.

But under the gaze of those eyes, as deep and dark as the Abyss beneath a black robe, Sir Mandela quickly came to his senses.

He couldn't kill the goose that laid the golden eggs!

Wasn't Angell's talent in this area exactly why he wanted to work with him? How could he offend him before they'd even started?

Besides, this "advertising model" could be used for other kinds of films, even without making a Magical Girl film, right?

He already had a few suitable projects he couldn't find investors for!

Sir Mandela closed his eyes and thought for a while, then smiled and said:

"I understand, Mr. Angell. I'll return to Xiesse and find the right people for you. As for the outsourcing fee... Ah, no, you won't need to invest much. Since this is our first collaboration, I can provide my services for free. In exchange, may I have the exclusive screening rights to your film?"