Chapter 8
Chapter 8: My family is Very Big, so You Can Sleep Directly When You are Tired
Viktor calmly looked over the expense bill, then set it down gently on the desk.
"Leah, what are the sources of income for the Territory?"
Upon hearing Viktor's question, Leah tilted her head and narrowed her eyes at him.
As though regarding an idiot, she let out a quiet laugh—her tone carrying just a hint of mockery.
"A Lord who doesn't even know his own Territory's sources of income?"
Though Viktor truly didn't know, that didn't stop Leah from mocking her 'Lord-in-name-only' of a brother.
"Listen carefully. Our Clavena Territory's primary income comes from grain and mineral ore trading!"
Through Leah's explanation, Viktor pieced together a general picture.
Under the Clavena Family name lay a territory named "Clavena."
The land was fertile, surrounded on all sides by lush, dense forest.
The Territory sat roughly 100 kilometers from the royal capital—a journey that took only a single day by Carriage.
Precisely because of this, the empire's 2nd most prosperous town had taken root here.
The Clavena Territory sat atop a rich Ore Vein—even now, it held enough reserves to mine for over 50 more years.
Proximity to the royal capital. Fertile land. Abundant grain harvests. And a mine at home.
It would be difficult for the Clavena Family to ever go broke.
"But recently, ore output has dropped considerably, and we haven't yet entered the grain harvest season. The grain we've been selling is last year's stock from the granary."
Leah faced Viktor, her tone sharp with anger.
"We still need to keep enough grain to sustain the Territory's own consumption—we can't sell every last bit of it. The Territory's income is scarce right now, and at a time like this, you actually dare to spend money like this!"
Viktor listened and gave a nod, his face betraying nothing—remarkably calm throughout.
"Don't you feel even the slightest bit of remorse?"
Leah stared at Viktor in disbelief. She knew her brother didn't involve himself in the Territory's affairs—but surely he couldn't be completely oblivious.
Viktor thought for a moment, stroked his chin, and replied:
"Hire a few mages, then acquire a shopfront in the most prosperous part of the royal capital and open a Mage Item Shop."
The moment Leah heard Viktor's suggestion, she erupted.
"Viktor! Have you not taken in a single word I've said!"
"Do you think shops like that are rare in the royal capital!?"
"Even if you open one—so what!? Do you think your name carries more weight than every other merchant out there?"
"Viktor, do you have any idea how to run a business!"
Leah grew more and more agitated as she spoke.
She thought of how, after their parents died, she had begun learning to manage the Territory from a young age—over 10 years of keeping things afloat right up to the present, leaving just enough to get by.
No matter how much Viktor squandered, she had never once complained.
And now, this Viktor—who understood absolutely nothing—was going to stick his hands into the family's business affairs!
What on earth was he thinking!
The more she spoke, the more aggrieved she felt welling up inside her.
Seeing that words alone couldn't calm Leah's temper, Viktor had no interest in saying more. He simply raised a hand, and dozens of blue Magic Potions appeared on the table between them.
Leah froze. Staring at the azure blue potions on the table, her flaring emotions stumbled to a halt.
"What are these?"
She blinked.
No one had ever seen a Magic Potion like this before.
Items that restored magic did exist—but they all shared a common quality.
Rare, and extraordinarily expensive.
And the market had only ever seen potions for treating wounds, whose effects were worlds apart from the player-exclusive 【Life Potion】.
One worked like medicine—slowly mending injuries over time. The other restored HP the instant it was consumed.
That was the difference between real-world remedies and game items.
Put plainly: bringing game items into reality was nothing short of a pure bug.
Even a single small potion that restored magic instantly could qualify as a divine-tier item.
So Viktor didn't bother with an explanation. Coming from his mouth, it would be too hard to believe.
Seeing was better than hearing.
Viktor said flatly:
"Find a few mages, have them cast spells until they're completely exhausted, then have them drink 1 bottle. You'll know what to do from there."
Leah was deeply skeptical—but she took all the potions anyway.
"By the way, do you have any help with you?"
Hearing Viktor's question, Leah let out a disdainful laugh: "Oh? Our great Lord is actually learning to show concern for others now?"
Viktor paid her cold remark no mind. In truth, the strained relationship between the 2 siblings was also partly a result of Viktor's own neglect.
So he simply repeated his question.
"Seriously—does your trading caravan have any hired guards or the like?"
Leah gave a cold huff.
"No. I don't trust others."
Which meant the Clavena Territory's trade had always been managed by Leah alone.
"Don't you run into dangers on the road? The Territory may not be far from the royal capital, but it's still a full day's journey."
Leah was genuinely surprised that her unreliable brother had, for once, a day of caring about her—but this show of concern left her feeling rather unsettled.
She leaned against the desk, one finger twirling around a strand of hair, and turned her face away with a touch of awkwardness.
"Mm… no, we don't. We have our own trade routes. If we ever run into bandits or the like, we just need to show the Clavena family crest and they back off sensibly. Nothing much usually happens."
"At least, nothing dangerous has come up so far."
With that, she didn't look Viktor in the eye, but instead picked up 1 of the potion bottles and began examining it carefully.
Viktor gave a nod. Then he slipped off the Mage's Hand from his right hand.
"Leah, listen carefully. This trip to the royal capital to open a shop is no ordinary matter. Something this precious will easily invite the eyes of those who covet it. Wear this—it will help you deal with any unexpected situations."
Leah looked at the glove Viktor was holding out, set down the potion bottle, and hesitated.
"Don't mind the fit—it's just a small mage's tool. It adjusts itself to the size of your hand."
Leah thought to herself that wasn't what she was hesitating about at all—but she couldn't quite explain it either. She reached out and accepted the fingerless glove. The residual warmth of Viktor's palm still lingered in the fabric.
She ran her fingers over the gemstones set into the glove, and a sudden wave of indignation rose in her chest.
As a merchant, she naturally knew exactly what these were.
Magic Stones—gems capable of channeling magic, each one worth millions…
And he had actually fitted 6 of them onto a single glove!
She grumbled internally, but surprisingly, she didn't lash out at Viktor.
Leah put the glove on. Just as Viktor had said, it adjusted itself automatically to fit the shape of her hand.
"Open your palm toward me, and concentrate your thoughts on the gemstones on the glove. Any one of them will do."
She followed the instructions, opening her palm and pointing it at Viktor.
There was a green gemstone in the center. She thought to herself that its color was rather beautiful.
'Is this all I need to do?'
The question had barely crossed her mind—when suddenly, the green gemstone began to glow faintly, and then…
Zing!
Like a shockwave detonating, a Magic Formation rapidly took shape in Leah's palm!
In almost an instant, a violent gale flooded the entire Study. Papers flew about with sharp snap-snap-snap sounds.
A hurricane swelled above the Magic Formation, growing larger and larger!
Viktor's fingers tapped lightly on the desk. A Teleportation Formation took shape swiftly in the air.
As the hurricane swelled to a certain magnitude, it was drawn into the Teleportation Formation.
The violent winds ceased in an instant.
A few seconds later, a tremendous cracking boom rang out somewhere nearby.
Leah was rooted to the spot.
"Just now… what was that just now?"
"2nd-Tier Magic: 【Raging Tempest】. Enough power to flatten an entire hilltop."
"Don't look so shocked."
Viktor tapped the desk as he watched the dazed Leah. The Magic Formation dissipating in the air faded away.
How could Leah not be shocked—she wasn't a mage. She had only ever watched other people cast spells.
And that magic just now had been released from her own hand.
Her head was still spinning.
"So this… is what it feels like to cast magic."
She stood rooted to the spot, so dazed she even forgot to lower her hand.
Viktor refilled the glove with magic, then continued to address the stunned Leah: "Take note—I had you release that not just to get a feel for it, but more importantly, don't let it misfire. You've seen what this thing can do."
"Mind the number of uses—each gemstone can only be activated once."
"Once they're spent, come back to me and I'll recharge them."
Leah understood full well just how priceless what Viktor had given her was—worth a fortune, and certainly unlike anything she had ever seen in her life: equipment that allowed an ordinary person to cast magic.
She was about to remark that selling it would surely fetch a handsome sum—then she remembered Viktor's grave expression when he had handed it over, and stopped herself.
Something like this could save a life.
Leah hesitated for a moment, then said to Viktor with a touch of awkwardness:
"Thank you."
She then gathered up the Magic Potions and hurried out.
After the Study door closed behind her, the Crow on Viktor's shoulder spoke up:
"Doesn't it bother you to give something like that away?"
"It's just a tool. I can craft another one whenever I want. Besides, I don't have much use for it at the moment."
The Mage's Hand didn't see much use under normal circumstances—its value shone most during Player versus Player combat, where its ability to instantly unleash multiple spells gave the user the initiative, or allowed for emergency defense.
It was essentially a must-have item for mage players during Player versus Player matches.
For now, he didn't have much need for it.
Hearing Viktor's words, Weija said nothing more, but began quietly scheming to itself.
'I need to find some way to trick him into making one for me to play with.'
***
Early the next morning, Viktor finished breakfast and was getting ready to head to the Academy. He had just finished dressing when a servant walked in.
"My Lord, there is a young lady outside who says she is your Teaching Assistant. She says she has come to deliver the notes and lecture script for you."
Viktor paused mid-adjustment.
Heni was here?
He didn't recall saying anything about having Heni deliver things to his front door.
Still, he had the servant show her in.
What greeted him was Heni's haggard face—2 dark circles hanging under her eyes.
"What happened to you? Didn't you sleep?"
Heni snapped to attention as if startled awake and said:
"I'm fine, Professor—I just forgot to sleep last night and ended up writing the whole night through."
That reason left Viktor genuinely at a loss for words.
"After Erika sent the notes over, I remembered you said to bring them to you—so I brought the lecture script along with them."
Looking at Heni, who was clearly fighting off drowsiness, Viktor truly couldn't find it in himself to say anything harsh.
Could he call her a little dim? In an endearing sort of way?
He was silent for a moment, then asked:
"Have you eaten breakfast?"
Heni shook her head. She had rushed over first thing in the morning without sleeping, so naturally she hadn't eaten either.
Viktor waved a hand and instructed a servant to take her to have breakfast, then arranged a room for her to get some proper rest afterward.
Heni let out a flustered "Ah—" and was just about to say it wasn't necessary, when she heard Viktor's tone—one that left no room for refusal.
"Eat. Then rest."
Heni wilted immediately. Not daring to go against Viktor, she lowered her head like a deflated eggplant and was led away by a servant.
As for Viktor—he had originally planned to go to the Academy in the morning, but Heni's arrival changed his mind.
His class wasn't until the afternoon, so he decided to look through Erika's assignment and his own lecture script and spend the morning in the Study.
Viktor graded Erika's assignment, not even turning his head as he asked Weija:
"What do you think of that kid?"
Weija paused at that. It knew—the person Viktor was referring to was Heni.
"In what sense?"
"Didn't you say you wanted me to gather Followers for you?" Viktor stretched lazily, fingers tapping the lecture script on the desk. He turned his head to look at Weija, his half-lidded eyes carrying a sharp, calculating edge.
"Someone that naively earnest—perfect for winning over."