The Curse of Being Hated Has Been Lifted

18 – A New Venture

“Gate?”

“Yes. It seems the government doesn’t have a way to eliminate it or find out where it’s connected.”

“It’s been a long time since it hasn’t shown up.”

Given that it was the Black Gate they were talking about, Stella wasn’t particularly worried. Considering she had no reason to die or get seriously injured elsewhere, and with only the gate and no other anomalies, Stella was probably safe.

“But why suddenly talk about the Black Gate?”

“It’s been quite a while since you went to subdue Stella, but there haven’t been any stories of your return, so I got curious.”

No one knew that Logan was the disciple of the Black Gate. The fact that the Black Gate concealed its identity and worked as Logan’s mentor was a secret. Even Logan took quite a while to find out she was the Black Gate. So probably, no one else knew.

Perhaps the people of the Asrian Viscount’s family might be aware, or it might not be relevant at the moment.

“But still, it’s the Black Gate. Maybe she’s having trouble finding her way out, wandering here and there, destroying paths and causing a commotion?”

Considering the Black Gate’s personality and her lack of status, she might have obliterated all escape routes, but if it was a trap directly created by Stella, the story could be different.

As mentioned in the letter, she left without a word, unable to lift the curse on Logan.

“I should explore the gate when I have some free time.”

“We’ll be starting class soon. Head back to your classroom.”

“Yes~”

*****

“You said you didn’t have any business ideas?”

“I didn’t have them back then, but I thought of something during today’s class.”

Shohel was contemplating whether to smack Logan right on the spot for the blatantly visible lie. However, since there was no way to verify the truth of his words, Shohel could only gaze at Logan as if he were cute, without any other options.

“So, what extraordinary method do you have in mind this time to earn stones?”

Shohel said, looking at the peculiarly shaped metal object perched on the cart.

The machine Logan brought last time could be inferred to bend something, but the item they brought now was utterly mysterious. Even upon close inspection, it was impossible to discern its purpose.

Moreover, the weight seemed considerable, and it wasn’t Logan who personally dragged it; rather, an ordinary-looking man was pulling the cart.

“It’s nothing special. Just a machine that assesses mana conditions when you input mana into it.”

“…You can make something like that?”

“It can be made.”

“I’ve been curious for a while. Where do you get these items? It’s not like you have a close blacksmith friend…”

“I have a blacksmith with a big debt to me, that’s why.”

“But how do you make money with this thing exactly?”

Logan and the man who brought the cart, while grunting, lowered the metal on the floor from the cart.

“I’ll charge a fee every time it’s used.”

The condition of mana was a significant indicator for knights and wizards. Actually, there wasn’t a way to lift it up just because the condition was bad, but it was a clear answer to the feeling of ‘Magic isn’t working well today?’ on a subjective level.

Of course, knights and wizards who reached a certain level could sense and even recover their mana condition without using such a machine. However, expecting that from students attending the academy was difficult.

Perhaps only those who belonged to the top ranks of the graduating class could accurately understand the state of their mana.

“Oh… how much will you charge?”

“I’ll only take 20 cooper.”

20 cooper wasn’t that expensive. If the reliability of the machine was accurate, it was a reasonable price to come and check once a day.

“It’s a reasonable price. But compared to the business we’ve been doing, the efficiency per unit of time seems quite low, doesn’t it?”

I’m not sure how long it takes for the machine to operate, but even if it can handle one person per minute, it can only earn 12 silver in an hour.

In reality, earning 12 silver might seem like a huge income from a general perspective, but compared to the profits Logan has made so far, the efficiency per unit of time seems low.

“If I were to do it myself, the efficiency per unit of time would definitely be lower compared to what I’ve been doing.”

“Gasp!”

Shohel opened his mouth as if he had realized something.

“Could it be that the machine itself has an automatic payment system…”

“I will be the one receiving the payment.”

The man who had been moving the cart instead of Logan spoke with a somewhat awkward expression.

“This is Hans. I met him while working, and although I don’t know his abilities, I decided to trust him enough to give him the job.

I had met Hans around last winter while working, and since then, he had shown a different side compared to others.

Unlike the others who would start by annoying Logan when working together, he seemed to avoid Logan’s gaze, tried his best not to be dominated by the atmosphere surrounding Logan, and instead of expressing disgust towards Logan’s curse, he tried to keep his distance and solve the issue without adding to the hostility towards Logan.

“What if you run off with the money?”

“Would a commoner dare to commit theft against a noble?”

“It’s unlikely… But what if someone else steals it?”

“At the entrance of the academy?”

The place where they had set down the machine was at the entrance of the academy.

Originally, it was planned to be installed in the square, but if it’s a completely automated device, it might need someone next to it, and it seemed impossible to bring outsiders into the academy, so they just installed it at the entrance.

Since they had received permission from Siren, if anyone raised objections, they could just blame the student council.

“Can I try using it once?”

“20 copper, hand it over.”

“Do I have to pay you for this?”

“Calculations must be done thoroughly.”

“Then can I hit the senior for 50 silver as well?”

Logan silently stepped aside, allowing Shohel to use the machine.

“How do you use this?”

“Just place your palm on this smooth stone here.”

As Shohel placed his palm… surprisingly, nothing happened.

“What’s supposed to be happening?”

“Sorry, I haven’t activated it yet.”

Logan took out a key from his pocket, inserted it into the machine behind, and turned it.

“Now it should work.”

“You activate it with a key?”

“During non-business hours, it shouldn’t be used without permission. If it were button-activated, many people would secretly use it.”

Nodding in understanding, Shohel placed his palm back on the stone.

-Whiiiiing

The machine hummed with a slight vibration.

“Haha! This feels a bit ticklish, you know?”

“You need to infuse a bit of mana for the results to appear.”

As Shohel infused mana, the results promptly showed up.

– Ding!

With a rather cheerful sound, the bead in the middle of the machine began to glow blue.

“If it’s blue, it means it’s somewhat good in the middle. You can consider it around 60%.”

“Better than I thought.”

The machine was so huge, and with Logan standing next to it, it caught the attention of the students who were about to leave the academy after finishing their classes.

“What kind of business is he up to this time?”

When everyone was being cautious, Ricky approached carefully and asked.

As Ricky approached the machine, Logan instinctively knew that this was a great opportunity.

Just as he had used Shohel as a business tool so far, he calculated that Ricky could also be used as a tool.

“It’s nothing special. It’s a tool that lets you know the mana condition. You can check the mana condition for just 20 copper.”

“Wow!”

Ricky looked at the machine with great excitement.

“Can I use it right away?”

“Of course.”

“Hey! Lorian! Come here!”

“What now…”

A woman with sleepy eyes groaned and headed towards the machine.

“Just to let you know, just because your mana condition turns out to be low doesn’t mean the fact that you lost disappears, okay?”

“Let’s just try it for now.”

– Wheeeeing

-Ding!

“Oh… It’s a vivid crimson color. It’s almost in a state close to 0%.”

“Look. I told you my condition wasn’t good today.”

“Wasn’t mine good either?”

“Then, how about a round?”

When Ricky asked enthusiastically, the female student just avoided him by shaking her head.

“Ricky, you’re gross. This doesn’t change the fact that you lost.”

“It’s entertaining to watch.”

“True.”

While the two were bantering, Logan and Showell, who were quite close, could observe them.

In the end, their banter turned out to be a great help in promotion. With some commotion, it attracted attention, and since Ricky directly admitted that his condition wasn’t good, the reliability of the machine also increased.

-Ding!

“Condition is around 80%.”

“Hey! Your condition was good?”

“My mana was good, but my body condition wasn’t!”

Until now, Logan hadn’t even thought that this machine, the students’ training ground and a cash cow for wealthy students, would generate a daily net profit of 30 silver or more.