The branch manager clearly hadn’t gotten his position due to sheer luck. He could instantly realize the value of Aeonitia’s item. It was as if he had an abacus clicking loudly inside his head.
“What an interesting product, huh? Since you’ve brought this item here and not the mage tower, this is most likely not a magic artifact.”
“That’s right. It’s a small watch powered by the force of motion and natural mana,” Aeonitia explained her first invention. Her eyes twinkled brightly like a child boasting about her favorite toy.
“Goodness… The mana flowing in nature is able to draw on its power to make the hands rotate. Is this thing for real? Even the greatest problem in implementation, the source of power, has no problem whatsoever…” the branch manager said as he looked at the watch intensely.
He checked out the watch as a completely new invention and something that he had no knowledge of. He looked through each part of the watch with an expression of wonder and interest.
Not long after, the branch manager’s eyes grew wide. He realized something as he asked, “Goodness… Who made this product?”
“Th-That…”
“Aeonitia made it herself.”
“The Princess?! Oh my… This… This is really amazing. And it’s even made with White Tree! Crafting such a fine and meticulous product out of White Tree must have been a very difficult process!”
“I only processed it the way my brother taught me to!”
“Even the source of power is amazing! It is powered up by the power being generated by the mana circulating in the area! Although the source of power can’t draw much, it can still draw enough power to make the parts work! And it’s running accurately too!”
The branch manager jumped to his feet as if he was in a craze. He said, “Prince! Please allow me to take the lead in obtaining the patent rights for this product! I promise that I won’t disappoint you!”
When Davey simply turned to look at her in silence, Aeonitia asked, “What, what should I do?”
“Why are you asking me? You have to decide on this. After all, you’re the one who made the product.”
“But, but still…”
“It’s okay even if you encounter problems. Think of it as gaining experience and just do whatever you want.”
Aeonitia pondered for a long time before nodding her head. She was still a young child, so she could not afford to think of complicated problems.
She soon said, “Th-Then, I will leave it to you! What should I do?”
“First, please sign this contract. This contract will protect your product’s patent rights under me, Heins’ Branch Manager Eric of Vercil School of Alchemy. This way, no one will be able to use your technology for commercial purposes without obtaining your permission.”
At the very least, this contract would remain for as long as no war took place.
Eric, the branch manager, continued to explain with sparkling eyes, “In addition, the Princess’ name will be registered and certified as the manufacturer of this technology and product by all of the schools of alchemy and the Continental Alliance’s three Emperors! Anyone who violates this contract will receive a tremendous penalty regardless of their social status! And that’s not all. You will have no problem with regards to royalties and fame! Just the fact that you have created this product in your early teens…”
“That… What do you mean…?”
For Aeonitia, who was only interested in alchemy and engineering, these complex problems were very much unfamiliar to her. The influx of words only made her feel confused.
—How about helping her a little bit?
“Just get to the main point.”
“Ah! I’m very sorry. First off, I see nothing wrong with the technology. There’s no record of a patent with this technology! Yes! It would be an honor if you would allow me to proceed with the processing of this patent, Princess!”
The branch manager could be servile when needed, but his eyes showed the true extent of his passion. He looked like he wanted to look at the inside of the watch and observe the technology if he was given the time.
“In, in that case… Branch Manager…”
“We can’t take so much for such a great product! I’ll only charge the minimum for the patent maintenance! However, please give me the right to study this watch as compensation…!”
Looking worried by the branch manager’s proposal, Aeonitia immediately turned to Davey and asked, “B-Brother. What should I do…?”
“Decide for yourself.”
“U-Ugh… S-So…”
“Please! I will make sure to take care of even the most trivial thing!”
Seeing Branch Manager Eric beg as if he could not miss this opportunity, Aeonitia finally bowed her head and gave in. She said, “Then, then please take care of me.”
“Thank you! Princess, you’re a truly magnanimous and kind person! There’s no greater grace and favor than this!” the branch manager said as he thanked Aeonitia over and over again.
Then, he looked at Davey and also said his thanks, “Goodness, Prince. You truly have a great sister. Considering that Princess Aeonitia is still in her early teens, we can safely say that she will definitely be recorded as one of the greatest alchemists in the continent’s history in ten or twenty years’ time!”
Davey smirked. “She should be.”
The greater Aeonitia was, the more money would fall on Davey’s hands.
***
Aeonitia’s watch was finally released to the world. The first wave of comments were mainly about how ridiculous it was, but the story began to change once products were being created based on the watches that Aeonitia had made and released by the merchant groups.
Eventually, the title of Watch Princess was given to Aeonitia.
Aeonitia’s expression brightened by the day. She felt so happy that the item that she had created was being well-received.
***
“Josiah! Let’s go together!” With a loud shout, a short girl used quick and short steps to follow behind a black-haired girl. She yelled, “Aaaaaah! Wait! Why are you going so fast?!”
“Ah? H-Huh… No reason.”
Just recently, an unknown shockwave had suddenly exploded and disintegrated all of the existing mana inside the magic academy. This incident had forced the Magic Festival to be suspended.
And by some stroke of luck, the Magic Festival was going to be held again. This time, Josiah would be present for it.
“Josiah! What are you going to do?”
“What am I going to…? Who knows?”
“I think this thing doesn’t matter at all, especially after experiencing those lessons from Instructor Devy. Don’t you think so too?” Josiah smiled.
The mere mention of that lunatic instructor was enough to make her sigh. She wasn’t even sure if she was in a situation where she was in trouble or not.
“Class F!!! Class A!!! All participating members should prepare! We will be starting the Magic Battle from now on! Class A’s representatives! Voshyr Golia! Silles Carryn! Jorsha Melkon! Class F’s representatives! Josiah Frances! Timmy Lendarouge! Molly Saelyn!”
The three-on-three Magic Battle had a huge influence on the score that the classes would gain for the Magic Festival. Due to that reason, none of the classes were willing to give up on it.
“Fatal attacks are restricted! Any action going against the specified rules will be considered as a foul and will mark your defeat!”
Josiah, who was silently fiddling with the symbolic robe of her class, looked at Timmy at the stern cry of the muscular man on stage. She said, “Save your mana.”
“What?”
“I’ll be the vanguard.”
“Why don’t you just say that you want to do it alone?”
Josiah smiled bitterly. “We’ve learned from that lunatic. It is better for us to die than get in trouble with that madman if we lose the battle.”
Even if Josiah was a 4th Circle mage, she would still have a hard time battling against many people all by herself. This was despite the fact that all mages were proud of their talents.
Timmy soon nodded in agreement, realizing the meaning of Josiah’s words. With a shrug of his shoulders, he asked, “Do what you want?”
Josiah remained silent as she lifted her oak staff. Although Instructor Devy had kept silent about the matter, she was quick-witted enough to realize just how much of a monster she had become in just a few days. She hadn’t really intended for any of this to happen, but since she was already in such a situation, she planned to make full use of it.
On the other hand, the representatives of Class A were looking down on Class F. All of them were grinding their teeth, with Voshyr Golia leading them all.
Voshyr Golia was unstoppable and violent, even in Class A. He was the son of Duke Golia, after all. Unfortunately for them, he was also ahead of others in skills and was quite good in his subjects. It did not help that the two people in front of him right now were the two who he very much wanted to teach a lesson to. They were none other than Timmy and Josiah.
However, he was most angry at Instructor Devy. He was not even sure if the Devy bastard was whoever he claimed to be, but his father, Duke Golia, had pressured him into never trying to find out his identity or try to provoke him.
Voshyr truly could not understand his father’s approach, because Devy was just an instructor who was the same age as them. He had also heard that the bastard had only gotten the temporary instructor position because of nepotism. He could not understand what was so great about that boy, who did not even have a circle or any mana within him.
To him, Devy had become Class F’s temporary instructor but the boy would only be holding back Class F’s magic training.
“The most dangerous one in Class F is Josiah Frances. As for the other two, they’re nothing more than dregs. There’s no way that we would lose. Just like we’ve prepared before, I will be the one interfering with Josiah’s magic. So, you guys have to quickly overpower those two while I hold out against her,” Voshyr murmured coldly with a vicious smile on his face as he looked at the tip of his small wand.
He did not really plan on using his family’s heirloom and treasure even though he had brought it along. This item would not only raise the user’s mana drastically, it also allowed them to use magic without any preparation. After all, the item could memorize five magic attacks.
Obviously, the increase in mana was a violation of the Magic Festival’s rules and regulations. However, that did not really matter. Most of the professors here were on his side anyway. Besides, no one would be able to recognize the item’s effects if he just pretended to chant shortly as he sent out the memorized magic.
This heirloom was not hailed as a treasure for no good reason. It possessed a power that could be masked, so even a 6th Circle mage would not be able to notice it.
Voshyr was confident that he would not be caught. Considering that he was also a decent 3rd Circle mage, he believed that he could successfully confuse and distract Josiah even if he did not win.
In the stillness of the confrontation, Voshyr smiled brightly at Josiah and said provocatively, “I did not expect that a w**re can become a mage now. What has the world come to?”
“If vulgar provocations are considered magic, then you’d be considered to be quite good. You have the qualities of a Great Sage,” Josiah said casually.
Voshyr frowned slightly at Josiah’s dismissal. Josiah had always pretended to not care about him insulting her while actually feeling hurt. But this time… In fact, he was aware that Josiah was not really a frivolous and loose girl. That was why he enjoyed insulting her in this precise way. However, now, he was the one being affected by Josiah’s slightly different response
‘Well, it doesn’t matter to me.’
Voshyr prepared to send the fireball magic that had been stored in his wand, which glowed at the tip. He raised his wand confidently.
Boom!
Voshyr immediately swung his wand the moment one of the judges raised his staff and fired the signal. He commanded, “Shoot! Burn everything! Fireball!!!”
Of course, the fireball was none other than a 3rd Circle fireball that had been created after long hours of concentration. Even though it had been summoned with a short chant, it still had a very great effect.
Voshyr was sure that even Josiah, a 4th Circle Mage, would be very surprised with this.
Crackle!!!
Just as flames burst out of the tip of his wand and created a red fireball, Voshyr smirked at Josiah, who was standing still with her staff in her hands. He scoffed, “Josiah Frances, no matter how strong you are, a single mage is no match against many people.”
Voshyr believed that everyone was surprised by his high-speed chanting and high-quality fireball. He could tell by the surprised expressions of the judges, the professors, and the students who were watching the battle.
“Hoo… Goodness. I can’t believe he’s using such sophisticated and fast magic casting when he’s just at the 3rd Circle.”
“As expected of Duke Golia’s son.”
“Well, he’s the son of a great family of magic.”
The mages of the mage tower, who realized the significance of the fireball, were very surprised. They evaluated Voshyr closely.
“As expected of the talented students of Class A. They’ll definitely reach greater heights in this world.”
The professors were busy praising Voshyr.
“Goodness! Is that a magic skill that someone our age can cast?”
“It’s like a complete scam.”
As for the students, they reacted in both shock and helplessness.
Voshyr, who pointed his wand at Josiah, finally began to make his move. He felt sure that Josiah was shocked by his sudden display of power. He wondered how she would react…but his expression soon stiffened at the harsh voice ringing in his ears.
“Where are you going? You damn XXX!”
“I heard that dried anchovies' mouths are twisted because of the nonsense they spew even until their deaths. Did your circle come from your mouth? You thought I wouldn’t recognize it even if you used Memorizing Magic, right? This is why you shouldn’t let underhanded bastards be.”
“What… What?”
“What, what? F*cker. Come at me. I’ll make sure to cook you well in oil and turn you into the perfect fried fish,” Josiah said provocatively.
Voshyr’s expression turned grim and ugly as he formed another fireball at the tip of his wand. He fired the attack fiercely toward Josiah. He cursed, “Damn b*tch!”
It was obviously too late for Josiah to chant. Even if she could, she wouldn’t be able to affect Voshyr’s attack at all.
“Interpret. Tell everything apart. Dispel.”
Contrary to Voshyr’s thoughts, the fireball flying fiercely toward Josiah scattered into thin air. It disappeared before it could even reach Josiah.
“Compared to that lunatic, you bastards are nothing but ants crawling on the ground. Shut up!”
Slap!!!
Josiah swiftly charged forward, digging in with a tight grip on her staff.
Voshyr, who was surprised by Josiah’s sudden charge, could not even respond. That was when he heard Josiah’s cold and sharp voice rang in his ears.
“Do you know the best skill I have learned from that lunatic instructor? It’s beating f*cking bastards!”
Clang, clang, clang!!!
Everything happened in a flash.
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