Seeing the newspaper boys, Angell roughly understood why the Sky Spring was overloaded.
Its "server capacity" was limited!
Although the Sky Spring wasn't a server in the physical sense, it was still a living being. If it was too large from the start and couldn't get enough mana, it would become very irritable, and the Cloud Kingdom it created would grow unstable.
Keeping this in mind, Angell had deliberately controlled the Sky Spring's size when he created it, so that its "feeding" needs were just slightly greater than the mana the Charity School's teachers and students could provide. It could eat until it was about eighty percent full each day.
But now that the students had brought outsiders in, the amount of mana had exceeded what the Sky Spring could handle.
In simple terms, it had eaten too much.
The situation shown in the Crystal Ball confirmed it.
At first, the newspaper boys had only drawn the Runes with some skepticism. But after playing two rounds of Rune Link and Match, they began to take it seriously. Some of the more clever children even sneaked glances at the students' movements and learned the activation Runes for the Block Meditation Method.
Later, even without an invitation from the students, the newspaper boys began flocking to the Charity School on their own.
The newspaper boys had more free time than the students. They had more time to meditate (play games), and they kept bringing new friends along. The mana they supplied had far exceeded what the Charity School's students could provide.
The newspaper boys were also more nimble than the students. Even the Gatekeeper couldn't keep them under control.
For example, the school grounds looked deserted in the dead of night, but a search with a Crystal would reveal that even now, more than a dozen children were gathered in the Sewer near the school, like a string of little mice.
"...Is it really necessary?" Angell couldn't help muttering.
Sneaking under the covers to play games in the middle of the night was one thing, but the Sewer was filthy and stank. Just thinking about it made him feel suffocated.
"There's nothing unnecessary about it," Silverleaf said. "Even if they went back to where they live, the conditions would be about the same."
Silverleaf thought back to the past... No, he didn't need to think back. His siblings in Gorugru were probably still in much the same situation. Silverleaf had refused to drop out of school, even in those conditions, because he'd wanted to change things.
His Succubus bloodline made people covet him, but it was still a way out.
But these children...
"Now that we've found the cause, it'll be easy to fix," Mithril said.
The Black Cat had lived for over a thousand years and seen all manner of joy and sorrow. Human struggles meant nothing to her.
She spoke matter-of-factly. "You just need to restrict the Sky Spring's feeding range, keeping it entirely within the school grounds and above ground. No matter what, these children can't break into the school."
...See? It was bound to happen.
Silverleaf said nothing and no longer looked at the Crystal.
He knew no one was obligated to help.
He'd spent years trying to improve life for his friends and still hadn't succeeded. What right did he have to brazenly demand that someone else do the same?
Besides, these children had no talent. What use would learning magic be to them?!
In fact, they weren't learning because they loved magic. They were simply doing it for fun.
At that thought, Silverleaf bit down on his pipe and focused on converting mana, refusing to dwell on it any longer.
Angell picked up another pipe.
"So this is what starting a business is like, I suppose! The last investment hasn't paid off, and already you have to spend more," Angell sighed. "And you have no choice but to do it for the future."
As he spoke, he took a gentle puff on the pipe.
Then he narrowed his eyes and blew smoke toward the air in front of the platform.
Unlike Silverleaf's and Enlise's, Angell's smoke wasn't pure white. It was grayish-white streaked with black, and little points of light shimmered within it like stars.
The smoke didn't turn into a Sprite, either. Instead, it gathered directly in the open space on the platform and formed the outline of a Vine.
But the outline didn't take shape.
One could make out its slender stems and lush leaves, but it was only a shape formed from smoke, drooping against the Crystal Ball and liable to scatter at any moment.
Seeing this, Mithril mocked him. "You fool! There isn't enough mana right now. You can't make it grow!"
Make it grow?
Silverleaf looked up, staring at Angell in surprise.
Angell closed his eyes. This time, he didn't use the pipe. He simply took a deep breath.
Silverleaf immediately felt mana surging—and a hollow sensation in his stomach.
"Gurgle."
Silverleaf rubbed his belly in confusion, wondering why he'd suddenly become hungry.
Angell raised his chin slightly and blew out a second breath of smoke.
This time, the smoke was pitch-black, like thunderclouds gathering before a storm. But instead of harsh lightning, it was filled with even more dazzling, brilliant starlight.
The smoke clung to the outline of the Vine, turning its blurred shape into a solid form.
Angell smiled faintly at the sight.
He was about to step closer and examine the newly formed Vine when the smoke that had just gathered into its shape began to swirl again. It streamed toward the very top of the Vine, where it blossomed into a huge white flower.
But as the flower opened, the Vine's outline below grew indistinct again, as if it might scatter at any moment.
"No way!" Angell's eyes widened.
"It won't work. Its growth cycle is too fast, and the mana supply is insufficient! The mana will overflow again!" Mithril shouted to Silverleaf and Enlise. "Silverleaf, speed up your mana conversion! Enlise, go help him!"
"Ah, okay!" Enlise froze for a moment, then hurried toward the Crystal.
"No need!" Angell raised a hand to stop her.
"You're not planning to supply it with mana again, are you?!" Mithril yowled furiously. "The mana you just used was already close to what a High-level Mage can manage. If you use any more, you'll only be draining your life!"
"It's fine. My life is a cheap, renewable resource. Besides, I don't have any important work coming up, do I? I might as well take a break."
Angell replied as he put the middle finger of his left hand in his mouth and bit the tip.
His pale face grew even whiter, almost translucent.
The scent of mana around him grew stronger, too.
"Indeed... He looks so delicious."
Silverleaf couldn't help licking his lips and swallowing, but then he seemed startled by his own reaction and covered his mouth. His gaze, however, wouldn't leave the pale face beneath the Black Robe.
"Mr. Angell," Enlise called out, too.
The usually obedient girl looked at her guardian with concern, but an uncontrollable greed seeped from her eyes, utterly at odds with her adorable face.
Angell had no energy to notice anyone else's expression. He blew out a third breath of smoke.
This time, the smoke wasn't merely black. It was tinged with dark red. The starlight inside it was far dimmer than in the second cloud, but there were hundreds of times more stars, as though the black clouds were hiding them from view.
The smoke drifted over the Vine, hardening it into a solid form. Its broad leaves unfolded like steps, sturdy enough for a little girl like Enlise to climb.
The petals of the open flower at the top of the Vine began to fall, and a fruit appeared in its center.
The fruit quickly grew to the size of a small house. Tables and chairs sprouted inside it on their own, forming a tiny classroom. A Blackboard even appeared at the front, covered in densely written text—
"Bang!"
At the same time, the Sewer echoed with the sound of something collapsing, startling the children, who were engrossed in their studies (games).
"What was that?"
"Did the Sewer collapse?"
The children looked nervously in the direction of the sound and saw a hole that had somehow appeared in the wall ahead.
"The wall collapsed."
One child immediately started toward it to investigate, while another tried to stop him. "Don't go! You'll be in trouble if you get hit by falling debris."
"Come to think of it, why would the wall suddenly collapse?"
"An earthquake?"
"I didn't feel anything."
"Maybe someone demolished it and forgot to rebuild it," one child began telling a scary story on the spot. "In the newspaper I got two days ago, I saw a story about someone bricking his wife into a wall. He bricked five of them in there, and the last one they dug out was still alive."
"Ah! Don't say that at a time like this!"
Amid the chaotic discussion, a few children couldn't resist their curiosity. They went over to the collapsed wall to see if there were any bones inside.
But they found no bodies. Instead, they discovered a small room behind the wall, overgrown with Vines.
"Is someone living here in secret?"
"It doesn't look like anyone lives here, but it doesn't smell as bad inside!"
"Maybe the smell hasn't gotten in yet?"
"Hey, look! There are words here!"
The children explored the empty room. Before long, one of the more observant ones found writing behind some Vines. "What does this say? Is it a treasure map?"
A few of the newspaper boys were fairly clever and could read—though they'd learned for the sake of selling more newspapers. They took a close look, and one of them said with disappointment, "It's just an explanation of what the Runes mean."
"Could this be a classroom?"
"Why would a school build a classroom in the Sewer?"
They discussed it for a while but came to no conclusion.
Still, some of the children were interested in the writing on the wall. "Are these the Runes we use for the magic we're learning? Can you tell us what they mean?"
"What, you really want to learn magic?"
"We're bored anyway. It'd be nice to know what we're doing, wouldn't it?" one of the children said.
So those who were interested began studying the writing on the wall, comparing it with the Runes they'd drawn. Those who weren't interested found a corner of the room to sit in—the room was much cleaner than the Sewer outside, and given the choice, anyone would prefer somewhere cleaner—and carried on playing Rune Link and Match, sometimes listening in to the explanations of the Runes.
They had no idea that a pair of eyes was watching them in shock.
"Why is there a room in the Sewer, too?!" Silverleaf exclaimed.
"The Sky Kingdom formed by the Sky Spring and the ground are mirror images of each other," Angell explained slowly. His body was swaying, and he had to sit cross-legged on the floor.
Even so, he looked as though he might pass out at any moment. "Changes above affect things below, and the buildings and people below affect what appears above, too."
As he spoke, Angell pointed toward the buildings the Fairies were constructing.
Silverleaf looked closely and saw that although the building had only a foundation, it was about the same size as the school below. Its shape was just a little stranger, more like a pumpkin.
Clearly, the buildings in the Cloud Realm were mirror images of those on the ground, but their appearance differed in subtle ways.
Silverleaf was amazed by the building in the clouds, but his gaze fell on Angell with mixed feelings.
"Why did you go this far for them?" Silverleaf asked. "Even if they learn magic, what use will it be?"
"Not necessarily. They may not have much talent, but if they stick with it, they might be able to copy Runes," Angell said quietly. He was already nearly out of strength to speak.
Still, he began to chuckle. "It's like compulsory education. Capitalists are always looking for cheap labor."
The few students at the City of Academies clearly weren't enough for Angell to use up.
"Some of these children might even become your Rune Assistants. You wouldn't look down on them, would you?" Angell asked Silverleaf.
"Of course not!" Silverleaf shouted.
The Black Robe chuckled.
However, because of Angell's "reckless" (Mithril Language) actions, the entire burden of adjusting the Sky Spring's settings fell on Silverleaf and Enlise. It took them a whole week to make the Sky Spring digest the excess mana.
That meant Angell slept unconscious for an entire week.
By the time Angell returned to take over, Silverleaf had gone back to the Workshop and felt as if he'd returned from another world.
His head was full of mathematical formulas, rolling clouds, and noisy Sprites. He'd nearly forgotten what normal life was like. So when he spotted Allen walking in the distance, it took him several minutes to remember that there was such a nuisance.
"Damn, I forgot to tell Mr. Angell about this," Silverleaf thought.
Then he paused and gave a bitter smile.
Silverleaf suddenly remembered that a week ago, he'd still been wondering whether Allen had been deliberately sent to the dormitory by Angell to test their loyalty.
"My trust in Mr. Angell has grown, hasn't it?" Silverleaf realized.
But he didn't dislike the feeling.
Living in an atmosphere of constant suspicion wasn't good for his mental health, either.
Once Mr. Angell came back, he'd tell him about Allen!
Having made up his mind, Silverleaf returned to his room.
He took off his robe and was picking out a change of clothes to go to the bathhouse when his attention was caught by the letter on the table.
"My... letter?"
Silverleaf walked over in confusion.
Silverleaf always kept his desk tidy, so the letter stood out. But he didn't remember receiving such a conspicuous letter. His friends back home did send him letters, but they could only afford the cheapest envelopes. This one had a costly feel to the paper, and it was sealed with wax bearing a crest.
Silverleaf examined the letter for a while, feeling an ominous premonition.
But he couldn't just leave it there, so he picked up a small knife and opened it.
Inside the ornate envelope was an Invitation Letter made from paper just as expensive.
An Invitation Letter from Star Glory Tower.
It read:
"—I've heard of your outstanding grades, and I'm surprised we failed to notice someone as talented as you. We believe you are more than qualified to become a formal Mage, perhaps even a formal High-level Mage.
"As the owner of Star Glory Tower, I invite you to join us.
"I hope to hear your reply."
Silverleaf read the Invitation Letter five times, but couldn't find the inviter's name.
However, it clearly listed the address of Star Glory Tower:
The Masterless Tower.
In the end, Angell received no complaints from anyone about Allen.
In fact, after finally resolving the Sky Spring incident and waking from his coma, Angell received the first draft of Magical Girl★Angie from Allen.
It was quite interesting, and the outline followed Angell's instructions. At least, Angell couldn't find anything wrong with it.
Allen himself was the one who wasn't entirely satisfied. "After using the Game Table and seeing the Rune Masters at work, I realized how shallow my understanding of magic was. So I've applied to the Magic Association for three senior magic scholars to serve as Magic Consultants and review the parts about magic."
"That's a good, rigorous attitude," Angell said perfunctorily.
He didn't actually care whether the magic in an advertisement was accurate. All the other Mages were idiots anyway.
The only thing Angell cared about was this: "Didn't I tell you to change the protagonist's name?"
"I'll change it, of course I will," Allen said with a laugh. "But, Lord Angell, didn't you want the little girl who plays the lead to make the audience feel more immersed? I thought it'd be better to name the protagonist after the lead actress, so for now I've just been using this as a codename."
What kind of ridiculous codename was that?
Why not just call her Elena?
Angell grumbled to himself.
But aside from that, Angell had no other objections. "So, the protagonists are settled? A cheerful, lively heroine who's loved by everyone on the street, and her friends Little Yellow, Little Blue, and Little Purple, each with their own personalities?"
"Haha, Your Excellency Angell, you're even more casual with the names than I am!" Allen laughed. "Are we going to start casting?"
"No, we can wait until Sir Mandela gets back." Angell said.
He'd feel more at ease if professionals oversaw the casting.
He wasn't going to take care of everything himself.
Angell flipped through the script. "I just think that, since the script is settled, it's about time we decided on the outfits and key props for the main cast."
"Outfits and key props?" Allen's smile faltered.
He probably hadn't expected the producer to care more about costumes and props than actors.
But to Angell, that was only natural.
Because his goal had always been to sell toys, no matter what!
*
"Why do I get the feeling that you've come into some unexpected mana and now you're itching to splurge?"
Mithril had hit the nail on the head.
That was right. To Angell, the mana from the paperboys and other outsiders at the free lessons had always been unexpected "income." And although he'd paid a terrible price to take them in—he'd been asleep for a whole week, and even now he still looked very weak—he'd ultimately come out ahead.
Angell felt about this mana much the same way he felt about money.
He didn't feel at ease until he'd spent it.
So Angell didn't take Mithril's jab to heart at all. "Wouldn't you be happy? I'm planning to spend this extra mana on you!"
"You mean on the Alchemy Workshop!" Mithril haughtily turned her little head away.
But she was still quite happy inside.
After all, the Workshop had only restored the storefront so far. But the reason it was called a "Workshop" was that it wasn't just a place to sell things; it also had to produce alchemical products in an orderly fashion!
The Game Tables could technically count as products, but they were still different from the goods Mithril remembered.
This time, Angell planned to restore a proper production floor!
At that moment, Angell and Mithril stood at the entrance to the Workshop's First Production Room.
This was the production room that had remained operational the longest in the entire Workshop. Just half a year ago, it had produced a batch of (imitation) Magic Wands before finally entering a sealed state due to a lack of mana.
A huge Hourglass was still embedded in the door. Its grains of sand were steadily falling. The more sand that collected in the lower chamber, the more mana and money it would take to repair the room. By the time all the sand had run out, the equipment inside would be about as good as new.
The Workshop's last production room was in this sorry state.
By comparison, the first production room was still in pretty good shape. Angell, an intermediate Mage, could get it running by himself. But there was no point in letting the room run idle and waste mana when there were no props to produce. Now that he had a steady mana income, he could get it running again.
Angell fed mana into the Hourglass, and the production room's doors rumbled open.
The Alchemy Machines inside were indeed in perfect condition.
Angell checked the machine's functions:
[Item Alchemy Apparatus] [Condition: 75%] [Function: Primarily used to synthesize magical weapons and equipment] [Note: She hopes you can give her a bath and apply some oil. She needs to be properly prepared before she can keep fighting, doesn't she?]
Angell briskly ignored the last note.
"Perfect! We can make some adjustments to the Magic Wands. Maybe we can even produce the outfits ourselves! Those would make great merchandise too!" Angell said, brimming with ambition.
Mithril eyed her master suspiciously, convinced that Angell simply wanted to spend money.
But Angell had already eagerly placed his hand on the machine's Alchemy Array, ready to start production.
Then the machine spoke:
[You lack a "Clothing Design Blueprint";] [You lack an employee with the "Tailor" talent;] [You lack "ordinary fabric";] [You lack "silk";] ... [You lack "a brain".] [We regret that we cannot serve you at this time. Please come again.]
"Can I burn it down?" Angell turned to Mithril and asked.