Chapter 119 – Microwave Oven (9)

250,000 imperial gold coins.
This was the amount Lehel won over 6 days at ‘Golden Love’, the largest gambling house in the empire located in Uzet.

Sigh! Sigh!

Money pours out of slot machines, the essence of magic engineering and the most popular game in the empire in the past.
For the first time in her life, Lehel became alarmed as she saw the picture of the wooden board adjusting every time she pulled the lever, thinking that she might get crushed to death by money like this.

“Lehel, are you crazy? “A kid who was going to the North not long ago suddenly came back and won money from gambling?”
Haha… Did I do that? And what! “I can win some money too!?”
“Oh my god, isn’t the world going to end tomorrow…?” … ?”
“If Lehel wins the money, there’s a chance. “I guess I should go to the temple and pray tonight.”

Receiving surprised looks from her old friends made her feel better.
Concerned that her gambling house would bother her if she spent any more money, she moved her place with her friends.

A slightly shabby tavern.
But it was always a friendly place to drink.

“I will buy everything today.”
“Is it true? “Then you order all the expensive drinks?”
“Order as much as you want~”
“I never thought I would drink the wine Lehel Darad bought me in my lifetime…” … “Anyway, I’ll eat well.”

In a way, it is a remnant of memory.
Or memories that have already left.

Lehel didn’t care much about that.
She knew how to enjoy the present.
She lets the inevitable flow away like a river, and she knows how to throw away things that become worn out over time.
There are only a few precious things that I take care of——
I didn’t pay any attention to anything else, as if an electric current cutoff switch had been turned off.

While drinking with her friends and watching the sun set outside, she suddenly remembered the promise she made to Louis.
When she made a lot of money, she decided to go brag to him too.

“That’s right, Ian.”
“Why?”
“Can you please ask me to put some alcohol, snacks, and fruit in the basket here?”
“Why, give me a gift from someone?”

She smiled innocently as always, grabbed a bag of gold coins, and stood up.

“Just… “I’ll go out for a moment!”

***

I secretly escaped from Marquis Elvin’s mansion and guided Erzsebet to the safe house.
Her Marquis will come to her senses and go looking for her, but she won’t be that dangerous.

There were no deaths, and his most important military power, the iron soldiers and iron dogs, were all destroyed, and above all, just like in the case of Esther, a wizard feels extreme shame over having his magic broken.
You won’t be able to ask anyone for help, and it will be even harder to make a fuss on your birthday.

After taking her belongings and erasing the last traces of her at the hotel, I checked the time.
It was already evening, and there was not much time left until my appointment with Liv.
In the meantime, there was something that disturbed me while I was busy.
It was an ice duck, like Adela’s alter ego.

“Beepee——!”
“You say I have to leave? Are you going to keep attacking everyone you meet like that?”
“Piyaaaaang——!”

The ice duck puffed up her body as if she would never allow me to go out, as if reflecting Adella’s personality, which showed strong jealousy towards Liv.
If it were Adela herself, she would have tried to appease her, but she was an animal that could not communicate, so it would have been very difficult.
As I was wondering what to do with this, a very good idea occurred to me.
I called the bellboy and asked where the bakery section of the hotel was.
Then he went straight there and gave away all the remaining gold coins.

“With this, will you give me all the bread in there?”
“You mean the things in the warehouse? “The amount is too much.”
“Then you can just rent a warehouse. Now, have fun here to your heart’s content.”
“Beep-?”

The ice duck was surprised for a moment and then excitedly rushed towards the mountain full of bread.

“Piyaaaaa!!”

After that, I barely left the hotel.

***

“Okay.”

Liv nodded without hesitation at my suggestion that he take out the crafting technique for iron soldiers from his first-class library and give it to Erzhebet.
It was a bit of a loss for me, who was preparing to press my spleen to persuade her in case she was wrong.

“Are you sure it’s okay?”
“You can only be there for so long anyway. Rather than looking through each line to find a magic book that will be helpful to me, it would be more efficient to just memorize the entire book on making iron soldiers.”

If you are recognized by the royal family, you can easily obtain a title and the title of Grand Duke. He said and put the stir-fried bean sprouts into his mouth.
Lev, who was cutting meat next to him, also helped out.

“Do you think that’s a good idea? Because it is also helpful to the kingdom. If iron soldiers are commercialized, the sacrifices of soldiers will decrease accordingly. Of course, it would be a different story if her princess wielded it as her own weapon…”
“I’m not worried because this is a deal arranged by the boss himself.”

Fortunately, everything seemed to work out well.
Liv gained a solid foundation to receive recognition and support as the Grand Duke.
Erzébet reverses her reputation, which had been gradually declining since she entered the Academy, and at the same time takes a step forward in her succession to the throne.
Now I just have to worry about Caroline.

“But boss.”
“Yes?”

Liv tapped my leg under the table.
Then she asked Lev with a pouty look.

“What is your relationship with the princess?”
“What is your relationship with the princess?”

It was a bit scary to see two people who looked the same saying the same thing, but there was nothing to fret about in this regard.
After confirming that there were no other Academy students in the restaurant, I opened my mouth.

“I’m your godfather.”
“The boss… “The princess’s?”
“Yes. “I made that promise a long time ago.”

As Livini knew who I was, there was no reason to lie about it.
Before leaving Thessalon, she made a promise to Baor III, who was anxious after he flatly rejected her offer of engagement.

“It’s a secret for the princess. “I told you to figure it out yourself.”
“Oh, is that so? “I’m glad. If that’s the case, I’m relieved.”
“Yes it is. “I’m really, really, really relieved.”

Was she afraid that Erzébet, who had acquired the Iron Man, would wield omnipotent power over her academy?
Liv and Lev nodded to each other and smiled.

“Then I’ll make plans after I return to Parencia. This is almost the end of the training. “Have you done everything you planned?”
“Yeah, almost… It’s all done.”

Almost?

When Liv could no longer continue her words and hesitated, Lev, who was next to her, grabbed her arm.

“What are you doing, don’t speak quickly?”
“But…”
“What’s going on?”
“Oh? It’s not like that. It’s over there, boss. “Where is the ice duck I gave you earlier?”

When Lev suddenly asked me about its whereabouts, I answered by tilting my head.

“I’m probably in heaven.”
“Oh my, that’s great! “If you’ve finished eating, let’s leave now.”

Whether I was at a restaurant where I had an appointment or when I was out on the street, I always received attention from people.
The reason is, of course, the ribs.
As she walked with identical-looking beauties on either side of her, attention naturally focused on her.

“What did you want to talk about earlier?”
“Ah, that? “Please listen for a moment.”

One side with her face flushed and her head down.
The other one clings to me, clinging to me.

“We’re going back to Skandal tomorrow, so it’ll be hard to be alone in Parenzia.”
“There are three… “That’s right.”
“And the opportunity to receive a ring from the boss may also be lost.”
“… Did you know?”

On the other side, Liv nods and shows affirmation.
I tried to deliver it in a place with a bit of an atmosphere, but it ended up feeling a little steamy like this.
However, since Lev is the same person as Liv, in a way, it simply means that she wants to receive her ring quickly.
As expected, Liv’s face lit up when I took out the ring I had bought earlier from her pocket.

“I was going to give it to you anyway. “Thank you for being by my side.”
“President… !”

She held back her tears and looked at the ring I had placed on her ring finger in the light of the streetlight.
The brilliant purple jewel shone beautifully.

“〈 Pungjeol 〉 will be hanging. It’s a low-level artifact whose performance isn’t that great, but…”
“No, thank you very much. “I will cherish it.”
“Is this all you wanted to say earlier?”
“Hey, speak quickly!”
“Ah, about that…”

Lev, who was watching next to her, must have been frustrated, so he pushed me from behind and said,

“President. Let’s go Liv~. Since returning from the Magic Tower, I’ve been waiting to see when the boss would hug me again. But you always take care of Adela at the cafeteria, you make strange things during vacation, and you don’t even touch her when we’re alone at the library, so I’d be really, really disappointed if you just leave today.”
“Well, I didn’t think about it like that!”
“It’s a lie~. “Sometimes, I would hang around in front of a sexy book in the library for a while and reach out to the bookshelf while secretly glancing at people.”
“Oh, no! “I never did that!”
“Today is a safe day, so I studied like crazy and read all the magic books, so I will be really sad if we part ways here. “Right?”
“S-stop, don’t…” … !”

Liv was at a loss for what to do with her completely red face as her alter ego revealed her true feelings.
I didn’t know she was always busy and passionate about her work, but it seems like she was secretly anxious.

“Is that true?”
“Absolutely not! There must have been some strange error in the magic! I’m definitely not saying that…”
“Is today even a safe day?”
“Huh… !?”

My hand touched my stomach.
How to always hear the truth from a dishonest Liv.
As expected, her steps gradually slowed down, and she muttered in a voice the size of an ant.

“That… That’s right…”

***

Lehel put the drinks and snacks her friends had brought her in a basket and headed to the hotel address that Lewis had previously given her.
It was similar to the one placed in the lodgings he stayed in with the money he won at Sandalphonia’s auction house.

“Let’s see, Hotel Marriott’s… Seodong, room 1508… ?”

As soon as she checked the room at the end of her long hallway, she walked faster.

“Ssajangnim Ssajangnim Ssajangniim~! I finally got money… Hehe!!?”