Chapter 18
The basic fuel needed to operate all kinds of artifacts and magic circles.
Also, depending on how it was synthesized with objects, it could create all sorts of useful magical substances.
The substance that moved all the trains, cars, trucks, ships, and airships in the empire.
The source that lit the magic lamps illuminating the empire's streets.
A basic necessity used everywhere from heating, cooling, and cooking, to heating bath water for ordinary people.
And a substance that mages were still researching with blood and sweat, making it more and more useful in real-time even at this moment.
That was what elixir was.
I Was a layman when it came to economics.
But even I knew how much of a hot item elixir was in terms of money.
Absolute value itself, surpassing gold.
The reason why only the currencies of the Arcal Empire and the desert kingdom of Tramata in the west were uniquely recognized as key currencies throughout the continent was that only these two countries produced elixir, and therefore elixir could only be purchased with the currencies used in these two countries.
Anyway.
I knew it as a substance that was damn expensive and damn useful.
If one got their hands on it, it was only a matter of time before one became rich.
But why!!
Why is it bursting out from the middle of an abandoned factory in the capital's slums!? Why!?
Does this make any sense?
If there was an elixir source in the middle of the capital, there was no way they wouldn't have discovered it, right?
Do you know how much money elixir is worth!?
It’s a substance everyone is searching for with burning eyes!
It was in the middle of the capital, and they couldn't find it until now? Does that make sense??
"It's strange, Witch. Why hasn't this elixir source been discovered until now?"
"The mana-absorbing stone was really... really huge. I've never seen a mana-absorbing stone of this size before. It seems that because the mana-absorbing stone was swallowing up all the mana waves from the elixir, no one could discover the source until now. Elixir source exploration is basically done by detecting subtle mana waves rising from the ground."
"Oh grace. Oh grace! Witch, how much is the volume of the source?"
"We'll need to do a more precise survey, but... judging from the amount gushing out and the mana concentration contained in it. There should be at least 100 billion barrels. And this is a conservative estimate. It's likely to be more. The larger the deposit of elixir, the higher the mana concentration and the easier it is to process. This has the highest mana concentration of all the elixir I've seen."
Everyone looked at me simultaneously.
Inwardly, I felt like dying.
But I couldn't show it on my face, could I?
I smiled.
"It's grace."
"Ah, Saint!! You knew it all along!!"
"I wondered why you were buying such a useless piece of land!"
"You must have seen greatness beneath this place full of garbage, waste, and a crumbling factory! Saint! Thank you!!"
Don't talk to me.
It seems this world wants to see the Goddess' divine punishment fall on my head.
In an instant, I had once again become a great saint who achieved a miracle.
No!!
You guys should go bankrupt!!
Why is business going well!!
Please curse me as a useless saint and leave!!
So that I can disappear without a trace and avoid getting struck by lightning!!
"But how are we going to monetize the elixir gushing out like that?"
"That's right. None of the people here have any technology related to elixir."
"And there's no one with experience in setting up and running a company."
While everyone was troubled, my gaze was fixed on one person.
Right!!
It’s not over yet!!
I have Jonathan Karma, the trash businessman of the century who ruined his doll factory!!
He should be able to mess things up even with an item like elixir!! Of course, he can!!
"We have Jonathan Karma."
At my words, everyone looked at Jonathan Karma.
Thanks to my body modification, his skin had become clean, but he was still wearing shabby clothes and didn't look like a successful businessman by any means.
It was obvious.
Looking at his state at that age, he was clearly someone without business sense.
Plus, didn't he look exactly like Scrooge?
He looked like someone who could embezzle and breach trust as easily as breathing while obsessing over money!
Perfect!!
Breach of trust! Embezzlement!! Incompetence!!
He's exactly the kind of talent I need!!
"This too must be the guidance of the Goddess. Mr. Jonathan Karma. Please set up a company to process and sell elixir. I'm sure you can do it. I believe in you. I don't want anyone else but you. I think you are the person chosen for this very moment," I spoke as clearly as possible, in a tone for everyone to hear.
That way, when this man ruins the company later, everyone will blame me!!
The moment it failed, I'd instantly become a useless and corrupt idiot saint!
Everyone would curse and leave, and then I'd be safe from the Goddess's divine punishment!!
At my words, Jonathan Karma trembled as if moved.
"...Fate is truly capricious. It pushes people into hell when they try so hard and struggle. And when you've given up everything, it gives you an opportunity like this. I guess this is what they mean when they say you need to be alive to seize opportunities, no matter how miserable and terrible things are."
Jonathan Karma stood up.
And he bowed his head respectfully towards me.
"This is the new life you've given me, Saint. I swear on my life that I will make this succeed. I will make you the richest person in the empire."
I smiled contentedly.
Good.
Look at that boastful attitude.
It clearly looks like he's trying to reassure before messing things up.
The richest person in the empire?
Isn't that exactly the kind of line con artists love!?
Perfect.
Mr. Scrooge.
Please go and mess it up quickly.
Just like you ruined your doll factory.
"It's okay if you fail. No matter how many times you fail, I'll only use you. Because it's a connection formed by the Goddess's guidance."
I was laying the groundwork in advance, saying that I'd forcibly keep using him even if he messed up until you all left me.
I'd keep using him even if High Priest Yodel got so frustrated he died of stress-induced illness.
Well done, Jonathan Karma.
Go ahead and destroy the Lilia Order's finances.
At my words, tears welled up in Jonathan's eyes.
"I will... I will definitely succeed, Saint. As you wish... definitely."
Yes, yes.
Go ahead and mess it up well.
I approached Jonathan Karma with a contented smile and hugged him tightly.
Despite numerous setbacks, fortunately, there was still a possibility that I might not die from the Goddess's divine punishment.
***
After the conversation ended, the Saint went back to healing the poor.
The Saint was endlessly healing people without rest, healing and healing again.
He showed no signs of fatigue and always had a smile on his face.
Watching the back of the Saint quietly healing people, it felt like a halo was emanating from his head.
So this is a true saint.
A being who not only healed the masses but soothed their hearts and the souls within.
Jonathan Karma watched the Saint's back with a reverent expression for a long time before he started to move.
"Witch. Can we talk for a moment?"
First of all.
Jonathan approached Erpha.
"I think you heard what the Saint just said. Could you spare some time? Let's go to my house."
"Of course."
Erpha obediently followed Jonathan to his house.
Although it was a shabby house, Jonathan wasn't ashamed at all.
Because he knew he could escape from this kind of house anytime now.
"This is my wife Oliviera and my daughter Cecilia."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Erpha, a witch from the Magic Tower."
The four of them exchanged polite greetings and then sat around in the living room.
Jonathan explained the orders the Saint had given him, and at those words, Oliviera and Cecilia nodded enthusiastically.
"Of course!! We should definitely do it! Definitely!!"
"Let me help, Dad. I'll help too. We'll definitely do it for the Saint!"
Seeing the two women shouting enthusiastically, Jonathan nodded.
"I thought so. The Saint of Healing has healed us all. Not just our bodies, but our souls too. We have an obligation to repay that grace. Let's all be grateful for this opportunity that has come again."
At Jonathan's words, Erpha became curious.
"Did the Saint of Healing cure Jonathan's illness too?"
"He healed my daughter's illness," Jonathan said that and calmly explained to Erpha what had happened. Erpha couldn't hide her surprise at hearing this.
"The rotting disease is famous for being incurable, but such a disease..."
"We poured all our wealth into trying all kinds of medicines and treatments, but all we could do was slow down the spread of the rotting disease throughout her body and lower its infectiousness. But he eliminated such a disease with just a gesture. I will definitely repay the grace I received from the Saint."
After saying that, Jonathan looked at Erpha.
"We need various technologies for processing elixir. The best thing would be to recruit talented people from the Magic Tower who have done a lot of research in the field of elixir. I believe Erpha has the ability to recommend such people."
"Of course. There are many people with elixir-related technology in the Mars branch of the Magic Tower. Just Tower Master Yorgen alone is one of the top three experts in the entire continent when it comes to precise elixir processing."
"Perfect! Please arrange meetings with those people. I'd like to scout them from the Magic Tower to become researchers for our company, but if that's difficult, I'd like to form a technology alliance at least. I believe Erpha will persuade them well in between."
"Leave it to me. I'll help you as much as I can."
"Good. Just do that much for us. My wife, daughter, and I will take care of the rest."
"Handling elixir requires dealing with enormous amounts of money. Can you manage it? Should I recommend professional managers or people who have made a name for themselves in business?"
At Erpha's words, Jonathan Karma smiled.
"I know Tower Master Yorgen too. I used to meet him occasionally when I was young. Ask him about my name when you go back today. He'll explain what kind of people our family are."
Erpha was intrigued by those words.
After ending her meeting with the Karma family and returning to the Magic Tower, she headed straight to the Tower Master's office.
And she asked who Jonathan Karma was, mentioning his name, "Jonathan Karma. Hahaha!! It's been a long time! How do you know that name, Erpha?"
Erpha told the Tower Master exactly what she had heard from Jonathan.
The Tower Master was even more surprised at those words.
"His daughter had the rotting disease... My goodness. How could he have lived a life so riddled with misfortune."
"What kind of person is he?"
"If it weren't for that tremendous misfortune, he would have been the richest man in the empire by now."
Yorgen burst into laughter.
"He's a legend of self-made success who built one of the three largest distribution networks in the empire from being a street beggar with nothing. Among those who were in business about 20 years ago, there was no one who didn't know the name Jonathan Karma."