Chapter 223 – Paula"s Part-time JobWhere"d you get that dragon stone?!」Katy asked, leaning forward.
「I saw that question coming. Anyway, no comment.」
「Hmph.」She looked disappointed, but seemed to have expected the answer.「Can you give it to me, then?」
「Do you have a use for it?」
「A lot! You can refine a dragon stone to make Spirit Magic stones. It should be enough to power Scholarzard"s magic streetlights for years.」
「Wow… Really?」
「Yup, really.」
Most magic streetlights—even magic lamps—used Spirit magic stones as source of power. When dusk came, the lamplighter would light the streetlights one by one and turn them off in the morning. On Earth, back when electricity was still undeveloped, lamplighters turned gas lights on and off too.
「I"ve actually been thinking a lot about using huge Spirit magic stones to operate magic streetlights all at once. Just turn them on and off from one spot and watch them all light up and go dim. Wouldn"t that be quite the spectacular view?!」
「Uh, yes.」
Katy was practically spraying the words out. Hikaru leaned back a little, pulling his teacup away. She thought the idea was revolutionary, but it was a familiar sight in j.a.pan.
「Is there any other way to use the dragon stone? Like turning it into a weapon or something?」
「A weapon?! Hmm…」
Katy c.o.c.ked her head, wracking her brain. She didn"t expect Hikaru to be thinking about making a weapon out of it.
「It"s too big for a weapon.」
「What do you mean?」
「If you want it on a staff that amplifies magical power, then you"re out of luck. A rod that can support that kind of stone does not exist. Embedding it into swords to make Magic Swords is not an option either. There"s no metal that can support a stone that big.」
「Can you explain more specifically what you mean by “can"t support”?」
「The materials will probably melt the moment you activate spells with it.」
「Oh…」
It would end up being a single-use weapon.
「But using it for magic streetlights is fine?」
「It"s not like we"ll use it to fight. It should be possible to stabilize it by releasing just the right amount of power.」
「I see…」
Magic items sure are complex, Hikaru thought. Roland"s knowledge was quite profound as well, but it had completely different applications than that of Katy"s.
「One thing!」Katy exclaimed, slamming her hand on the table.「You can"t just leave it out in the open like that. Just a little bit of mana can cause the power contained in the stone to go berserk and burn everything in the immediate vicinity.」
「You could"ve said that earlier.」
A chill ran down Hikaru"s spine. All this time, he"d been keeping a bomb in his bedroom.
Hmm… I guess if there"s no other options, I can feed it to Drake.
He could just give it to Katy so she could study it, but people might ask her where she got it. Eventually, she"d give in and expose Hikaru. All his effort in secretly killing the Earth Dragon back in Un el Portan would be for nothing.
Then again, I only did that so people wouldn"t find out about Lavia. But now that no one"s after her anymore, I guess it"s okay… What would happen if the public found out I killed the dragon?
The whole continent reeked of war. Some country might have their eye on him and force him to join battles.
No way in h.e.l.l. Laying low is definitely the best option.
「Hikaru. You have a lot of magic rocks too. What are you gonna do with those?」
「You can have them if you want. Having a few magic rocks shouldn"t be that strange.」
「Really?! Thank you!」
Giving her the magic rocks they gathered back at the underground dungeon was a small price to pay for the bullets she created for the revolver.
Katy was happy as magic rocks were frequently used in alchemic experiments. Apparently, procuring materials during winter was difficult, since adventurers didn"t work and stores only had few stocks.
「Oh, that"s right. There"s something I want to tell you two.」Katy said, her expression dead-serious.「Have you heard the words Uniter and Separatist?」
Hikaru and Lavia exchanged glances.
「Nope. Never heard of it.」
「I see… Apparently there"s something strange going on within the Allied Nations. I received word from Kotobi"s king that there"s a faction bent on ruining the ma.s.s wedding this spring.」
As always, the store"s door was a little dirty. She could hear the clamor from beyond it. Drake wrapped around her neck, Paula opened the door.
「Hahaha! I win again!」
「d.a.m.n it! You probably cheated, didn"t you?」
「It"s hard to run a business when it"s this cold.」
「You moron. Business my a.s.s. You"ve been drinking since morning.」
Voices of drunk men filled the establishment. The smell of alcohol drifted in the air.
「Hmm? Just come in if you want to. It"s too cold with the door open.」
「Ah, o-okay.」
Paula closed the door behind her and strolled across the tavern. The men didn"t pay her any attention as she headed straight for the counter and talked to the owner.
「E-Excuse me!」
「Hmm? Oh, if I remember correctly, you"re Hikaru"s friend.」
The master knew Paula. No wonder of course, as this was where Hikaru frequently came for lunch—Three Cheers for Booze.
「Can I get a job here?!」Paula said, bowing her head.
The master looked at her, blinking incessantly.
「Sure.」
「Wha?!」
「You can start right away. Take this food to the corner table over there.」
「What?!」
She didn"t expect an answer right away, much less starting immediately.
「Come on, now. Before the food gets cold.」
「Y-Yes, Sir!」
Paula took the plate of pasta to the customer.
And so, Paula got her job right away. She left Drake and her coat in the waiting room. A bandana and an ap.r.o.n and the tavern got itself a new waitress.
All right. Let"s do this. I gotta make money without relying on Hikaru-sama!
Paula returned back outside all fired up.
「Paula, can you clean that table?」
「O-Okay!」
「Paula, take the order please!」
「Y-Yes, Sir!」
「Paula, give these sausages to that red-faced man.」
「R-Right away! Uh… who?」
Every men"s face in the tavern were red from drinking.
「Oh, that"s mine!」
「No, it"s not, you idiot! It"s mine!」
「h.e.l.l no! I"ve been waiting for those sausages for two hours!」
「Actually, sausage is not included in today"s menu.」the master said.
The men erupted into laughter.
「Uhh…」
「Take it easy, Paula. You can get back to work after eating that.」
The master noticed that she was putting too much effort into her job. She greatly appreciated the concern. The men started demanding sausages too, so it was added to the menu in a rush.
As she ate in the waiting room with Drake, she could feel energy welling up inside her.
「So, where"s Hikaru?」the master asked as Paula returned back outside.
「He"s back in Scholarzard.」
「I see. Can you tell him to drop by?」
「I will.」
He wants to see Hikaru too. Paula"s mouth curved into a smile.
「I"m glad this place is open.」a voice said.
The door to the tavern opened and two girls came in, both wearing hooded cloaks of fine quality. They clearly didn"t belong in a place like this. One of them removed her hood and Paula quickly recognized who she was.
「Let"s have something warm to drink. What do you want, Luka?」Catherine asked.
Luka shook her head, a glum look on her face.