Chapter 198

"Eat human flesh? And especially love eating mages' flesh… while they're still alive, bite off pieces one by one… for ten days, even half a month?!" Wood's face instantly turned green; he forgot all about recounting his past hardships and bitterness.

"Alas, Lord Wood, you lived in the capital and know nothing of the dangers and hardships here on the frontier—but I, Gervas, understand them deeply!"

"Of course, there's no need to worry too much about these barbarians—what I said has some probability, but it's not guaranteed!"

"Instead, be wary of bandits—if they find out you're a mage, they'll surely imprison you forever to make magical trinkets for them."

"Or, once and for all, sell you straight to slave traders—though the outcome is the same: imprisonment, with no hope of daylight…"

"Hmm, let's go, Lord Wood—we'll head to the castle first…"

Dazed and distracted, Wood had no idea how he reached the castle.

Even when delicacies were placed before him on the table, he felt no appetite.

Seeing this, Gervas's eyes sparkled with amusement.

He'd done all this, said all this—just to make Wood afraid.

After all, mages are always arrogant.

Wizards like Isabella are rare indeed.

So if Gervas had rushed up and greeted him warmly, inviting him to join, perhaps Wood would've accepted.

But if he then clung to his status, putting on a haughty mage persona, he'd be in for trouble.

Gervas wanted a mage he could control—not a lord he had to pamper in his castle.

Now, the timing was ripe; Gervas no longer delayed.

"Lord Wood, I just heard your description of your ingenious invention—I believe it's highly practical. Though it does consume too much energy, why haven't you improved it further?"

"If you succeed, you'll recoup your costs!"

Wood, lost in fear of the wasteland, absently shook his head. "Lord Gervas, I've tried!"

"But I found—the greater the power, the more energy it demands. It's like a curse, unchangeable!"

"So if you truly want to reduce energy use, you can only reduce the magical device's power."

"But then my invention becomes useless—such a massive ship needs enough wind to move!"

Good grief, this otherworldly mage is almost summarizing the law of conservation of energy!

"Lord Wood, let me ask—if you reduce the wind power to its minimum, how low can it go? What's the energy cost?"

"At minimum, it could be like a gentle breeze—a pea-sized wind crystal could sustain it for two years!"

"Oh?" Gervas's eyes lit up. "Lord Wood, have you ever considered that if the wind power is reduced and energy use so low, you could repurpose this magical device for other uses?"

"Other uses? What could they be? Maybe just blowing paper boats for children?" Wood looked confused.

Originally, he'd seen the huge market in maritime trade and wanted nothing but to make money from noble sailors—no other thoughts crossed his mind.

Mostly, though—he just wanted to know: could it make money any other way?

Your vision is too narrow!

Your vision is far too narrow!

Gervas shook his head.

"Lord Wood, I have a good idea… but before that, have you ever been tormented by summer heat?"

"Well… yes, of course. Though I was born into the Viscount Yü family, in the capital, honorific viscounts are everywhere—so getting me into the Mage Academy was already my family's limit!"

"Other great nobles enjoy ice in summer, but I've never had any… but how does this relate to what we just discussed?"

"Of course it does, Lord Wood—if nobles feel the heat without ice, how do they cool down?"

"Have servants fan them…" Wood's eyes suddenly widened. "Lord Gervas, are you saying…"

"Exactly! Since this magical device is too powerful and too energy-intensive, why not use a weakened version to fan people and cool them off?"

"I don't know the cost of making magical devices, but I imagine reducing power would lower material requirements too?"

"A pigeon-egg-sized magic crystal costs about fifty gold coins—but if you cut it into ten pea-sized pieces, each costs only five gold coins!"

"One such crystal lasts two years—if used only during the hot season, it could last seven, eight, even ten years. Do you think nobles would still complain about the energy cost?"

"No, never!" Wood's excitement began to rise. "And Lord Gervas, if we make the lowest-power vortex device as you say, the cost would be just about one gold coin!"

"Because the only expensive part is the special silver-tinged paint—everything else, whether iron or brass, is perfectly fine!"

Wood understood the spending power of capital nobles well—several gold coins meant nothing to them.

Sometimes, just to show off, great nobles in the capital would spend dozens or even hundreds of gold coins on a single banquet.

Lesser nobles spent less, but many still spent several or even dozens of gold coins.

"A cooling magic fan could be made for six gold coins—and for nobles who already own wind crystals, they'd only need to pay for the fan itself!"

"If we sell each fan for two gold coins, that's not expensive at all. If the customer needs the magic crystal too, we can make less profit—just charge ten or so silver coins for cutting and refining it at market price."

"Lord Gervas, wouldn't that be too cheap? I think even five gold coins would be fine—the nobles in the capital would buy it anyway!"

Good grief! Gervas silently exclaimed.

You really are a mage who's fallen headfirst into a money pit!

Otherwise, you wouldn't have ended up with that neck full of debt!

Of course, Gervas didn't mind.

Sometimes, having ambition drives motivation.

"Wood, this fan can only be sold for two gold coins!"

"Why?" Wood frowned. If it's about making money, shouldn't you aim to earn as much as possible?

"Because the fans aren't meant for just the capital's nobles—they're for all nobles!"

"To nobles in the capital, five gold coins mean nothing—but out here on the frontier, five gold coins is no small sum!"

"So a starting price of two gold coins is essential. Think about it—how many nobles are there in the capital? How many are there across the entire kingdom, even in neighboring duchies?"

Wood paused, then nodded silently. "Lord Gervas is right—the capital has at most a few thousand nobles, but the entire kingdom has at least hundreds of thousands."