A gentle hand swiftly swept over the surface of the chalice. With a whoosh, the bowl vibrated, causing concentric circles to rapidly form in the water, growing larger and larger, faster and faster. What is reflected there is a fabricated future. The Chalice’s second ability. An ‘illusion’ unfolded.
“Ah!”
Prince Verty let out a gasp and fell limp. His vacant eyes revealed that he fully believed the illusion the challice was showing him. Peridot smiled in satisfaction and stroked the prince’s head.
“You just need to become my puppet.”
Even as she whispered this into his ear, the prince remained completely unaware. There was a downside to casting the illusion spell—it required the target to look at the basin. However, this proved to be easier than Peridot had anticipated.
What if she claims to have found the dragon’s treasure and placed it in the conference room, showing the illusion to everyone there and robbing them of their reason? There is no need to look far. Killing the emperor and taking the princess in the palm of her hands would also be possible.
“I’m not interested in the empress’s position.”
Peridot smiled coldly and stroked the stem of the plant, reaching towards her
.
Making the prince, who will become the emperor, her puppet and practically rule the country. That was what she wanted.
* * *
The gambling city was dozens of times more colorful at night than it was during the day.
As if prepared for today, a parade was held on the streets with people in various costumes marching. Thud, Thud. Men with leather drums strapped to their bodies led the way, and behind their grand beats, women who appeared exceptionally healthy danced and clapped.
Lacus and I watched the parade for a while after dinner, then headed back up to the hotel. It was because I had an appointment to meet the most famous game maker in Makarten.
“Hehe, please to meet you.”
The game maker, accustomed to dealing with nobles, greeted us obsequiously.
“If you could just sketch a little here, I’ll make it exactly as you wish.”
The game maker rubbed his hands together, revealing his greed. His eyes were full of the intention to make a significant profit. I sat down and immediately drew a yut and the game board and showed it to them.
“Can you make this?”
“Oh, yes, of course, but, here, what material would you like for the yut to be made of? Good wood,Topaz? Ruby? We have them all.”
The game maker spread out a catalog he had prepared with great care. Each gem was priced at nearly twice the market value. On top of that, there were taxes, service charges, and an optional quality fee implying better craftsmanship.
‘He’s trying to squeeze out every penny he can squeeze.’
The quality fee was actually very ambiguous. Not paying it might result in shoddy work, but paying it felt like falling for a sales tactic. I have to choose between this and that.
Considering that most of Makarten’s customers were extremely wealthy, it was actually a very clever sales strategy—a matter of pride.
“The yuts are made of birch wood studded with pink diamonds, and the game board should be of marble with rich marbling. But it must be perfectly flat. The game pieces should be clear diamonds.”
“What an excellent choice!”
“And the designs on the surface of the yut should be made of gold, to make them look very precious and beautiful.”
“Kya, I bow down to your good taste!”
That’s probably what it’s like to be a tongue in the mouth*. The game maker, whose head was already halfway bald, continued to flatter her, careful not to offend.
*(to be obedient to what someone tells you.)
After all the explanations were done, the game maker tapped on a magical calculator. He then handed over a receipt with a wide smile.
“Here you go! Would you like to pay in one lump sum or in installments ……?”
No matter how anyone heard it, it was clear from his tone that he expected a lump-sum payment.
“Okay, fine.”
“Oh, as expected! You plan things coherently!”
“Really?”
“Yes, not long ago, a male customer requested a game… No, well, you see, he wanted us to make it with no sketch or anything.”
“He wanted you to create something award-worthy from scratch?”
“Exactly! But what could we do? I tried to accept the order, but he wouldn’t even agree to a lump-sum payment. He wanted credit!”
The game maker seemed deeply moved by my forthrightness. Listening to his interesting story, he continued while packing up the catalog.
“So I said, ‘In my 50 years of life, I’ve never once owed anyone a debt, and that’s still the case now.’ That’s what I said before I left. But oh my! I never thought I’d meet someone so generous with a well-thought-out idea.”
The creator rambled on and on, his eyes glazing over.
Honestly, the price of the jewelry is ridiculously high, but complaining won’t help since asking for credit is absolutely out of the question. Eventually, the game maker bowed deeply and left, and the bedroom became an intimate space once again, just for Lacius and me.
“Go ahead and wash up first.”
“Hmm, I’ll rest for a bit.”
Even though we hadn’t walked much, I felt strangely tired. Perhaps the accumulated fatigue was catching up with me now. Though it didn’t seem like a big deal, I had felt ‘tired’ several times lately.
“Ah, how nice.”
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