Overdraft

Seeing that group of newspaper boys, Angell roughly understood why the Sky Spring had overloaded.

The "server capacity" is limited!

Although the Sky Spring was not a server in the physical sense, it was a living entity after all. If its initial volume was too large and it could not satisfy its mana intake requirements, the Sky Spring's temperament would become irritable, and the resulting Cloud Kingdom would become unstable.

Considering this, Angell had consciously controlled the volume of the Sky Spring when refining it, ensuring its "feeding" needs were slightly higher than the mana the charity school students and teachers could provide, reaching about eighty percent fullness each day.

But now that the students had brought outsiders into the fold, the amount of mana exceeded the range the Sky Spring could handle.

Simply put, it was overstuffed.

The situation displayed in the crystal ball confirmed this.

At first, those newspaper boys had only drawn the runes with skepticism, but after playing two rounds of Rune Link and Match, their expressions turned serious. The cleverer children among them even peeked at the students' movements, learning the activation runes for the Block Meditation Method as well.

Later, even without the students' invitations, the newspaper boys automatically gathered at the charity school.

These newspaper boys had more free time than the students; not only did they have more time to meditate (play), but they also kept bringing new friends along, and the input of mana had far exceeded the supply provided by the charity school students.

Moreover, the newspaper boys were more agile than the students, and even the Gatekeeper couldn't keep them in check.

For instance, at this moment, the area around the school looked deserted in the dead of night, but if one were to investigate with the crystal, they would find that even now, over a dozen children were gathered in the sewer near the school, like a string of little rats.

"...Is this really necessary?" Angell couldn't help but mutter.

Hiding under the covers to play games in the middle of the night was one thing, but that sewer was dirty and smelly; just thinking about it made him feel suffocated.

"It's not unnecessary," Silverleaf said. "Even if they went back to their living quarters, the environment would be about the same."

Silverleaf recalled the past... no, there was no need to recall the past; the situation of his brothers and sisters currently in Gorugru was likely similar, wasn't it? Silverleaf had wanted to change this, which was why he hadn't dropped out of school despite such an environment.

Although the Succubus bloodline was coveted, it was ultimately a way out.

But these children...

"Since the cause has been found, it's easy to solve," Mithril said at this moment.

The black cat had lived for over a thousand years and had seen enough of life's joys and sorrows to have no particular feelings about human experiences.

It spoke objectively: "You just need to restrict the Sky Spring's feeding range, keeping the area strictly within the school and above ground. No matter what these children do, they won't be able to intrude upon the school."

...See! It was bound to be like this.

Silverleaf didn't speak, nor did he look at the crystal again.

He knew that no one's sacrifice was a matter of course.

He had spent so many years trying to make life better for his companions without success, so what right did he have to righteously demand that others do such things?

Besides, these children had no talent at all; would learning magic even be of any use to them?!

In fact, these children weren't learning because they loved magic; they were simply doing it because it was fun.

Thinking of this, Silverleaf bit down on his pipe and focused his attention on converting mana, ceasing his thoughts.

Angell also picked up another pipe.

"So, this is what starting a business is like! The previous funds haven't returned yet, and the next batch is already being spent," Angell sighed. "And for the sake of the future, I have no choice but to do it."

As he said this, he took a gentle puff from the pipe.

Then, narrowing his eyes, he blew smoke into the air in front of the platform.

The smoke Angell exhaled was different from that of Silverleaf and Enlise; it wasn't pure white, but a grayish-white mixed with some black, yet tiny specks of light flickered within it, resembling starlight.

This smoke didn't turn into a Sprite, but instead condensed directly on the open ground of the platform into the outline of a vine.

However, this outline did not fully take shape.

One could vaguely see it had slender stems and lush leaves, but it was merely an outline formed by smoke, clinging limply to the crystal ball, ready to dissipate at any moment.

Seeing this, Mithril remarked sarcastically, "Idiot meow! There isn't enough mana right now; you can't expand it!"

Expand—?

Silverleaf raised his eyes, looking at Angell in surprise.

Angell closed his eyes, and this time, instead of using the pipe, he took a deep breath on his own.

Silverleaf immediately felt a surge of mana, along with a hollowness in his stomach.

"Gurgle."

Silverleaf touched his stomach in confusion, wondering about his sudden hunger.

Angell lifted his chin slightly and blew a second puff of smoke.

This time, the smoke was pitch black, like a storm cloud before a downpour, but what was mixed within it wasn't violent lightning, but even more brilliant and dazzling starlight.

This smoke attached itself to the previous outline of the vine, turning the vague shape into a solid entity.

Seeing this, Angell revealed a faint smile.

He had intended to take two steps forward to check the state of the newly generated vine, but he saw the smoke that had just condensed into the vine surging once more. They all flowed toward the very top of the vine, where a huge white flower bloomed.

But as the flower blossomed, the outline of the vine below became blurred again, even threatening to dissipate at any moment.

"No way!?" Angell's eyes widened.

"No, the growth cycle is too fast, the Mana supply is insufficient! This Mana is going to overflow again!" Mithril shouted at Silverleaf and Enlise. "Silverleaf, speed up the Mana conversion! Enlise, you go help too!"

"Ah, right!" Enlise blinked, then scrambled toward the Crystal in a panic.

"No need!" Angell raised a hand to stop her.

"Are you still planning to channel more Mana, Meow?!" Mithril shrieked in a rage. "The Mana you just used is already close to that of a High-level Mage. If you keep going, you'll only be overdrawing your life force, Meow!"

"It's fine. My life is a cheap, renewable resource anyway. Besides, I don't seem to have any urgent work coming up, do I? I might as well take a break."

Angell replied as he raised the middle finger of his left hand to his mouth and bit the tip.

Angell's already pale complexion turned even whiter, appearing almost translucent.

The scent of Mana surrounding him grew even more intense.

"As expected... it looks so delicious."

Silverleaf couldn't help but lick his lips and swallow hard, but he immediately covered his mouth as if startled by his own reaction, though his gaze remained fixed on the Black Robe's pale face.

"Mr. Angell," Enlise called out as well.

The usually well-behaved girl looked at her guardian with worried eyes, yet an irrepressible greed seeped from the depths of her gaze, looking extremely out of place on her cute face.

Angell, however, had no energy to pay attention to anyone else's expression; he exhaled a third puff of smoke.

This time, the smoke was not just black but tinged with a dark red. The starlight within it appeared much dimmer than in the second puff, but the quantity was hundreds of times greater, as if merely obscured by the black clouds, hidden and waiting to be unleashed.

The smoke drifted onto the Vine, causing it to solidify into a sturdy structure. Its broad leaves unfurled like a staircase, sturdy enough for a small girl like Enlise to walk up without issue.

At the very top of the Vine, the petals of the blooming flower began to scatter, and a fruit grew from its center.

The fruit expanded rapidly until it was the size of The Cabin, and inside, tables and chairs grew automatically, resembling a small classroom. A Blackboard even appeared at the front of the room, densely packed with writing—

"Bang!"

At the same moment, the sound of something collapsing echoed through the Sewer, startling the children who were engrossed in their studies.

"What was that sound?"

"Did the Sewer collapse?"

The children looked toward the source of the noise in alarm, discovering a hole in the wall of the Sewer ahead.

"The wall collapsed."

A child immediately wanted to go over and check, but others tried to stop him: "Don't go! What if you get crushed?"

"Come to think of it, why would the wall suddenly collapse?"

"An earthquake?"

"I didn't feel anything."

"Could it be that someone dismantled it and didn't rebuild it properly?" one child began telling a horror story on the spot. "In the Newspaper I got the day before yesterday, I saw that someone had walled their wife inside a wall. They walled in five of them, and the last one was still alive when they dug her out."

"Whoa, don't say that right now!"

Amidst the chaotic discussion, a few children couldn't resist their curiosity and walked over to the collapsed wall to see if there were any skeletons inside.

They didn't find any corpses, but instead discovered a small room behind the wall, covered in vines.

"Is someone living here as a hermit?"

"Doesn't look like anyone lives here, but it doesn't smell as bad inside!"

"The smell hasn't reached in there yet, maybe?"

"Hey, look, there's writing here!"

The children explored the empty room, and soon a sharp-eyed child discovered text behind some vines: "What does it say? Is it a treasure map?"

A few of the smarter Newspaper Boys were literate—though only to sell more Newspapers—and they looked closely. One said in disappointment, "These are just explanations of Rune meanings."

"Could this be a classroom?"

"Why would a school build a classroom in the Sewer?"

They discussed it for a while, but reached no conclusion.

However, some children remained interested in the writing on the wall: "Are these the same Runes we learn in magic? Can you tell us what they mean?"

"Why? You don't actually want to learn magic, do you?"

"It's boring anyway, it's good to know what you're doing!" a child said.

So, those interested began to study the text on the wall, comparing it to the Runes they had drawn themselves. Those who weren't interested found a corner in the room to sit down—the room was much cleaner than the Sewer outside, and if given the choice, they naturally preferred a cleaner place—and continued their Rune Link and Match, occasionally listening in on the Rune explanations nearby.

They did not know that a pair of eyes was watching them in shock.

"Why did a room appear in the Sewer too?!" Silverleaf exclaimed in shock.

"The Sky Kingdom formed by the Sky Spring is a mirror image of the ground," Angell explained slowly. His body swayed, and he was forced to sit cross-legged on the ground.

Even so, he looked as if he might faint at any moment. "Not only do the changes above affect the world below, but the buildings and people below also affect the world above."

Angell said this, gesturing toward the structure the sprites were currently assembling.

Silverleaf looked closely and realized that although the structure only had a foundation, it was indeed roughly the same size as the school below, just with a more peculiar shape—like a pumpkin.

Clearly, while the architecture in the Cloud Realm mirrored the ground, there were subtle differences in their forms.

Silverleaf was amazed by this cloud-based construction, but his gaze toward Angell was somewhat complex.

"Why would you go to such lengths for them?" Silverleaf asked. "These children, even if they learn magic, it's not like it's of any use!"

"That's not necessarily true. They may lack talent, but if they persevere, transcribing runes might be within their reach," Angell said softly, though he actually had little strength left to speak.

However, he began to chuckle: "It's just like compulsory education; capitalists are always looking for cheap labor."

The few students in the City of Academies were clearly not enough for Angell to exhaust.

"These children might even produce a Rune Assistant for you; you wouldn't look down on them, would you?" Angell asked, looking at Silverleaf.

"Of course not!" Silverleaf said loudly.

The Black Robe let out a wheezing laugh.

However, due to Angell's "reckless" (Mithril Language) actions, the heavy responsibility of adjusting the Sky Spring's data fell entirely on Silverleaf and Enlise. It took them a full week to get the Sky Spring to digest the excess Mana.

This also meant that Angell remained unconscious for an entire week.

By the time Angell returned to take over the work and Silverleaf went back to the Workshop, he felt as if he had been away for a lifetime.

His mind was filled with mathematical formulas, rolling clouds, and noisy sprites; he had almost forgotten what a normal life felt like. So, when he saw Allen walking by in the distance, it took him several minutes to remember that such a troublesome person even existed.

Damn, I forgot to tell Mr. Angell about this. Silverleaf thought.

Then he paused, a wry smile appearing on his face.

Silverleaf suddenly remembered that just a week ago, he had been suspecting that Allen was deliberately sent to the dormitory by Angell to test their loyalty.

My trust in Mr. Angell has certainly increased! Silverleaf realized.

But he didn't hate this feeling.

Being constantly in an environment of suspicion wasn't exactly good for his mental health.

Once Mr. Angell returns, I'll tell him about Allen!

Deciding this, Silverleaf returned to his room.

He took off his robe and was just grabbing a change of clothes to head to the bathhouse when his attention was caught by a letter on the table.

"My... letter?"

Silverleaf walked over, feeling strange.

Silverleaf's desk was always kept very tidy, so this letter looked particularly conspicuous. But he didn't remember ever receiving such an eye-catching piece of mail—although his childhood friends from home would send letters, they could only afford the cheapest envelopes. The paper of this letter exuded an expensive scent, and it was sealed with wax bearing a crest.

Silverleaf held the letter and examined it for a while, a very bad premonition washing over him.

But leaving it alone wouldn't solve anything, so Silverleaf picked up a small knife and opened it.

Inside the ornate envelope was an invitation letter that was no less expensive than the envelope itself.

An invitation from the Star Glory Tower.

It read as follows:

"--Having heard of your excellent results, we were very surprised that we had not discovered a talent like you sooner. We believe you are absolutely qualified to become a formal Mage, or even a formal high-level Mage.

As the master of the Star Glory Tower, I invite you to join us.

I look forward to your reply."

Silverleaf read the invitation five times, but he couldn't find the name of the person who had sent it.

However, it clearly stated the address of the Star Glory Tower:

The Masterless Tower.

In the end, Angell did not receive any complaints about Allen from anyone.

In fact, after Angell finally resolved the Sky Spring incident and woke up from his coma, he received Allen's first draft of Magical Girl★Angie.

The content was quite interesting, and the outline followed Angell's requirements; at least, Angell couldn't find any problems with it.

Instead, it was Allen who was dissatisfied: "After using the Game Table and seeing the work of the Rune Masters, I feel my understanding of magic is too shallow. So, I have applied to the Magic Association for three senior magic scholars to act as Magic Consultants and proofread the parts concerning my magic knowledge."

"This rigorous attitude is good," Angell said perfunctorily.

He didn't actually care if the magic in an advertisement was logical; all other mages were idiots anyway.

The only thing Angell cared about was: "Didn't I tell you to change the protagonist's name?"

"I will, of course I will," Allen laughed. "But didn't you, Lord Angell, want the little girl protagonist to be more relatable to the audience? I thought it would be better to use the lead actress's name for the protagonist, so I'm just using this as a codename for now."

What kind of hellish codename was that?

Why didn't you just call her "Elena" while you were at it!

Angell, you really are something, Angell muttered to himself.

However, Angell had no other objections. "So, the leads are settled? A cheerful, lively heroine beloved by the entire street, and her friends with their distinct personalities—Little Yellow, Little Blue, and Little Purple?"

"Hahaha, Angell, your naming sense is even more casual than mine!" Allen laughed. "Shall we start casting?"

"No, there's plenty of time for that once Sir Mandela returns," Angell said.

Mainly, Angell would feel more at ease if the actors were vetted by a professional.

He had no intention of taking everything upon himself.

Angell flipped through the script and said, "I just think that since the script is finalized, it's about time we settled on the costumes and key items for the main cast."

"Costumes and key items?" Allen's smile froze.

He probably hadn't expected the producer to be more concerned with costumes and props than with the actors.

But to Angell, this was a matter of course.

After all, his goal had always been firmly set on selling toys!

*

"I get the feeling that you just happened upon an unexpected windfall of Mana and now you're itching to squander it."

Mithril offered a sharp, piercing accusation.

Indeed, for Angell, the Mana harvested from the compulsory education of the newspaper boys and other outsiders was an unexpected "income." Although Angell had paid a heavy price to contain it—leaving him so weak after a week-long coma that he still looked frail—he had ultimately turned a profit.

Angell's attitude toward this Mana was much the same as his attitude toward money.

He felt uneasy if he didn't spend it.

Therefore, Angell was quite dismissive of Mithril's snark: "Aren't you happy? I'm planning to use this extra Mana on you!"

"You mean on the Alchemy Workshop!" Mithril turned her little head away, acting coy.

Deep down, however, Mithril was quite pleased.

After all, the parts of the workshop restored so far were only the storefront. But an Alchemy Workshop is called a "workshop" for a reason; it isn't just a place to sell things—it must also produce alchemical products in an orderly fashion!

Although those game tables could technically be considered products, they were never quite the same as the merchandise in Mithril's memories.

This time, Angell was preparing to restore a proper production line!

At this moment, Angell and Mithril stood before the entrance to the First Production Room.

This room was the production workshop that had held out the longest in the entire facility. Just half a year ago, it had produced a batch of (pseudo) Magic Wands before finally falling into a sealed state due to a lack of Mana.

A giant hourglass was still embedded in the door. The sand inside was constantly trickling down; the more sand that accumulated in the bottom bulb, the more Mana and money it would cost to repair. By the time the sand ran out, the equipment inside would be as good as needing a total replacement.

The last production workshop in the facility was in that sorry state.

By comparison, the First Production Room was in decent condition. If he only wanted to activate it, Angell, as a mid-tier Mage, could do it himself. However, there was no point in letting the workshop run idle and consume Mana when there were no items to produce. Now that he had a stable income of Mana, he could finally restart it.

Angell channeled his Mana into the hourglass, and the workshop door groaned open.

The Alchemy Machine inside was indeed intact.

Angell checked the machine's functions:

[Item Alchemy Apparatus]
[Integrity: 75%]
[Function: Primarily used for synthesizing magical weapons and equipment]
[Note: She hopes you can give her a bath and some oil. One must be properly prepared to continue the combat, no?]

Angell flatly ignored the final note.

"Perfect! We can make some minor adjustments to the Magic Wands, and who knows, maybe we can even produce the costumes ourselves! That's a huge category of merchandise, too!" Angell said, his ambition soaring.

Mithril looked at her master with suspicion, doubting that Angell just wanted to spend money for the sake of it.

Angell, however, was already eagerly placing his hand on the machine's Alchemy Array, ready to begin production.

But the machine emitted a sound:

[You lack "Costume Design Blueprints";]
[You lack staff with the "Tailor" talent;]
[You lack "Common Fabric";]
[You lack "Silk";]
...
[You lack "a brain".]
[Regrettably, I cannot serve you at this time. Please try again later.]

"Can I burn it?" Angell asked, turning to Mithril.