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With ambitious dreams of becoming a mage, talented young people flock to Procyon, but the reality is they have to become adventurers to earn money… not fulfill military obligations.

Honestly, it doesn’t look too promising.

It’s because their income has dwindled due to neglected improvements in their magical circuits. It feels like they’re trying to solve things in the wrong way.

“So, let’s lend a hand to those so-called slave mages.”

“Huh?”

“They threw away their futures, so let’s pick them up and help the church.”

Mages with talent aren’t exactly common, and yet they’re doing something foolish by letting such talents scatter everywhere…

Basically, whoever picks them up gets to call the shots, right?

“Are you referring to… the mages working as adventurers?”

“Yes. If we can seize them as our hand, it will be helpful.”

Upon hearing my words, the high priest looked troubled.

“Um, mages in their former lives might be a bit…”

“Oh, I’m not saying we should bring them into the church.”

Given the recent chaos caused by the necromancer, would anyone actually take a mage into the church?

There’s a precedent, so mages won’t easily join the church. Even if they do, they’ll be met with suspicion.

Therefore…

“I’ve heard they have to pay half of their income to Procyon. If they have to fork over that much money, life day to day won’t be easy.”

It’s not that adventurers have little income, but their expenses are quite substantial.

It’s normal for them to invest in armor to protect themselves and potions for healing, given that they’re always fighting on the brink of danger.

If you take half their income, they’ll be in dire straits. For sure.

“Let’s give a little help to them…”

“A little help, you say…?”

“It would be like providing meals or medical services to those in vulnerable situations, extending a hand to the newly minted adventurers.”

When someone becomes an adventurer, it’s usually someone who has nothing to hold onto, or because they’ve been pushed out of their homes, or they’re a poor soul with nothing but their own body as a stake.

There are various reasons, but most start the path of adventuring for those reasons.

After all, it’s a job where they risk their lives. Ordinary folks treasure their lives, so they typically wouldn’t choose such a dangerous profession.

Those who take this path must surely be counting every penny for their daily meals.

Such low-tier adventurers, F-rank adventurers, may not find it tasty, but if we provide them with sufficient food and additional discounts on medical expenses to fill their bellies, it’ll be quite helpful.

Of course, this applies to slave mages as well.

“Although there will be costs, if it can help the survival rate of beginner adventurers…”

“In the long run, it should be beneficial, right?”

The production of mana stones relies entirely on the monster hunting of adventurers.

I’ve thought about synthetic mana stones, but no one besides me can make those right now, so I’ve given up on that route.

Anyway, if the beginner adventurers save on food and healing costs allowing them to buy better gear and armor, their survival rates will increase, leading them to hunt more monsters and bringing in more mana stones.

That kind of chain reaction would ultimately benefit the Church of Life too.

“Certainly, it doesn’t sound bad, but how is this related to the mages…?”

“Newly minted mages will also benefit from those advantages, won’t they?”

The high priest nodded slightly.

“What’s crucial here is that we can engage with those mages without arousing any suspicion from our side.”

“That is true, but…”

“We’ll offer assistance to those mages we reach out to, share our stories, consult with them, and slowly persuade them.”

“Persuade…?”

I nodded slightly.

“Yes. The mage’s talents aren’t something you find so easily for adventurers. They could be treated much better elsewhere.”

In other words, it’s about recruiting newcomers.

While learning under a proper master is effective, thanks to Sia’s book, one can lay the groundwork for magic even without a master.

“I’ve heard the slave mages are bound by contract magic. After releasing them from that magic, we can either establish a cooperative relationship with the Church of Life or introduce them to mages outside Procyon.”

“If Procyon finds out, they’ll surely be furious.”

“Then who’d let a bunch of young mages go based on some flimsy contract magic?”

Letting go of precious mage talents because of a few coins? That’s absurd!

“All we’re doing is offering some help to struggling adventurers and consulting them. If Procyon gets riled up and tries to pick a fight over this… we’ll have to firmly establish who holds the power, right?”

If mana stones stop flowing into Procyon, they’ll wither and shrivel.

Procyon serves no purpose beyond passing down knowledge and nurturing mages if they can’t produce scrolls, and if they have cast aside that role, they’ll have to pay the price.

“If they try to engage in physical conflict…”

“That seems unlikely, but if so… I’ll take a trip to Procyon.”

I smiled mildly as I spoke.

Maybe a flood would clear the place out?

“Understood.”

The high priest lowered his head with a look of distress at my words.

“Then I’ll delineate and execute the tasks you instructed.”

“Sure thing. I’m counting on it.”

Now, how will Procyon respond?

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

“To visit, I see.”

“Ah, yes.”

As the silver-haired girl wearing a wide-brimmed hat timidly entered the room, the man in the blue robe who had come earlier spoke to the priest of the Church of Life nearby.

“Let’s begin then.”

“Yes. This is the research submitted for this quarter. And this is the list of research papers that did not pass the preliminary investigation this quarter.”

“There are so many…”

“This quarter is actually on the lower side. A significant amount passed the preliminary investigation.”

The priest of the Church of Life spoke with a kind smile, while the man in the blue robe moved a few papers in front of him with an emotionless gaze.

“You know the drill, right?”

“Yes. We check the papers, and if there are any problematic parts, we simply mark them for discussion later.”

“Since we take turns going over them, there’s no need to be overly meticulous. If they didn’t pass the preliminary investigation, it’ll be obvious that there’s an issue.”

The priest of the Church of Life attempted to ease the tension, but the man in the blue robe shook his head.

“When doing it, it should be thorough.”

“Yes, yes!”

“To ensure no heresies arise again, the committee’s work must be meticulous.”

“Indeed, the head of the blue tower is quite strict.”

The priest simply smiled at the strict man in blue.

“Well then, let’s take our seats.”

“Yes!”

The head of the purple magic tower, the small leader of the alchemy faction, adjusted her wide-brimmed hat and sat down, holding the documents placed in front of her.

 

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