The Most Powerful Wealth System

Riki finally emerged from the spring-fed pool, which felt incredibly cool.

It wasn’t the pool at Kaivan’s villa or anywhere nearby. Rather, it was the pool at a house Riki had purchased in the Floutessia Empire, in another world called Ardhez.

The reason Riki went there was because he could return to his own world exactly five minutes after arriving in Ardhez. So even though he had been in Floutessia for five hours, it was as if he had only been gone for five minutes in Earth time.

Riki did this because he needed more time to calm down and relax. He’d do anything to keep his mind clear and forget the fleeting desires that would ruin his life later on. Rather than acting on his urges toward underage girls and becoming a scumbag, Riki preferred to do push-ups, squat jumps, and swim in that cool, pure spring-fed pool.

By the way, Riki wasn’t alone; Athena had been with him at first, but Riki didn’t allow the fairy to join him for a swim. Riki asked the fairy to go get some ingredients so he could cook for tomorrow. Tomorrow was going to be an exhausting day because he and his two friends were going to start working on their new business.

He wasn’t sure how he’d face Ella tomorrow—he felt she might be angry with him, or perhaps just feel awkward.

Who knows.

Riki didn’t want to get too close to that girl—not because he didn’t like her, but because he didn’t want her to get hurt later on.

Riki realized he still cared for Liz, no matter what had happened.

Usually, a woman wouldn’t like it if a man close to her was still haunted by another woman—even if that other woman was no longer around.

Who knows? Maybe Riki just didn’t want to get romantically involved with any woman—especially one who was still too young.

Even though, deep down, he wanted it too. He was just like any other guy. He just didn’t want to be a jerk.

"Ugh, my head feels so dizzy," Riki muttered, then dove back into the pool until his head was no longer visible.

"Hey, sir!"

Riki brought his head back up to the surface of the pool. He saw a young man with a beautiful face. Just from his appearance, it was clear that this young man was an elf.

The young man was wearing green clothes, with long, straight blond hair, pointed ears, a small face, and skin as white as milk.

"Who are you?" Riki asked.

"A fairy hired me earlier to guard this house. I meet all the requirements, so my pay will be very high. Can you afford it?" the elf asked in return.

Riki finally stepped out of the pool, startling the elf so much that he shouted. Wondering why he was shouting, Riki covered his upper body with a towel.

"Why are you shouting?"

"Going shirtless is considered rude here, and even though I’ll be working for you, you still have to be polite to me. Besides, I’m a pretty powerful wizard."

Riki finally remembered that he’d also asked Athena to find someone trustworthy to guard the house. He’d specified that this person had to be skilled and well-known, so they’d be easy to track down. He’d also requested someone skilled in magic who understood the situation in Floutessia thoroughly. And Riki had specifically asked that the person be a man.

Riki didn’t believe Athena could find someone that capable in such a short time.

Using his detection magic, Riki could assess the young elf’s power level, and he was quite satisfied because the elf was both trustworthy and strong.

But Riki never expected that the person brought in would be an elf.

"Don’t worry about money, and don’t worry about food either—I’ll have my fairy take care of everything for you. But... for an elf as talented as you, why did you choose to work for me?" Riki asked.

"Before that, let me introduce myself—my name is Felix... and I chose to work here because—who wouldn’t want an easy job that pays well? Besides, you have a fairy, which means you’re stronger than I am. The fairy also said I should teach you a thing or two about magic and the ways of this world. As it happens, I’m a bookworm who loves to read, and since you’re rich, you can surely buy all the books I need, right? I want to fill the library with even more books! By the way, I’ve already seen the library. I’ve also suggested some delicious ingredients to cook with, so your fairy is out in the fairy forest looking for them."

"You seem pretty competent, Felix... for now, I don’t need anything else. Your job is just to take care of this house, but that doesn’t mean you can’t go out. Just make sure the house is secure if you plan to leave. You’re also allowed to take time off, but only on Saturdays and Sundays. Even so, you have to report to the fairy first before leaving the house, and make sure you cast some kind of protective spell. You know, like creating a protective dome around the house..."

Felix was quite surprised to hear about the protective dome.

"You know about that?"

"Is it so strange that you’re surprised?"

Felix shook his head slowly, then explained.

"Actually, that’s high-level magic that not many people know about... even though you’re stronger than me, I heard you’re from another world and don’t know much about magic, so I’m pretty surprised you know about it."

"Actually, I was just making that up—turns out it really exists, huh?"

Felix’s eyes widened at Riki’s confession.

"You were just making that up? Oh my gosh!"

"Haha, I was just joking. Sorry, have you eaten yet? Are there any foods you can’t eat?"

"Hmm? Isn’t it supposed to be me who cooks for you? I can eat anything—meat, vegetables, fruit..."

"Can you actually cook?" asked Riki, quite surprised that Felix didn’t mind cooking for him.

Riki, who was used to cooking for others, had no problem preparing food for anyone.

"Actually, I’m the one who should be surprised that you’re offering me food as if you were the one who’d be cooking for me. Don’t worry, I’m a good cook, but if my cooking isn’t up to par, you can teach me so my dishes turn out much better."

As they walked together, Riki realized that this elf named Felix was quite small. He was about 170 cm tall or so. He was also thin. So, he looked very small next to Riki.

"I’d like to try your cooking, Felix," said Riki.

"In that case, I’ll start cooking first. You can get dressed or whatever—Athena’s already here, so I’ll go ahead, sir!"

Felix immediately went to meet Athena. Meanwhile, Riki returned to his room.

Riki changed into a more comfortable pair of pajamas, and he didn’t forget to dry his hair with a magical device that worked much like a hair dryer but dried his hair much faster.

After his hair was dry, Riki went to see if Felix was really cooking for him.

"Master! You’re here! Look, this elf is cooking for you—it looks like fried noodles!" Athena said enthusiastically.

"Hey, this is called pasta! Not fried noodles!" Felix protested.

When Riki looked over, he saw spaghetti with Bolognese sauce, but there was another, somewhat unusual ingredient mixed in. It looked like sliced mushrooms.

"What did you add there, Felix?" asked Riki, curious.

"These are mushrooms I asked Athena to find in the fairy forest; they’re called ’meat mushrooms’ here. They’re quite rare because not everyone can go to the fairy forest, and fairies themselves are pretty rare. These mushrooms have a savory flavor, and their texture when eaten is somewhat similar to meat. Usually, this mushroom is dried or ground into powder to be used as a flavor enhancer. To eat it, you have to warm it up or cook it like this—though it’s actually fine to eat it raw—but the savory flavor won’t come through if eaten raw."

Riki turned to Athena. "Did you bring a lot of those meat mushrooms?" Riki asked.

Athena nodded happily. "Those mushrooms grow in abundance in the fairy forest. When you pick them, they’ll grow back and can be harvested again the very next day."

Riki smiled broadly. "What if we sell these mushrooms for a high price?"

Athena rolled her eyes in exasperation, "Oh my gosh, Master, why is your brain filled with nothing but business?"

"Hey, that’s a great idea, you know? We can clean out those nobles’ pockets by selling these mushrooms—I’m all for your idea, Master!" Felix chimed in, looking very enthusiastic.