Chapter 759: One-Man Show (11)
Belber’s answer: he made profits from investments using information related to the magic tower.
Everyone glanced at Lennok, unable to speak, and Belber, sensing the awkward atmosphere belatedly, stammered.
“Wha-what? Why is the mood like this…? Did I say something wrong?”
Lennok, who had been watching Belber with amusement, asked,
“Jenny, have you ever sent a list of our cooperating businesses to the Antares office?”
“No.”
Jenny sighed and shook her head.
“It seems a few of the businesses that received tenancy permits unilaterally requested security. I should have been more careful with information control. My mistake.”
“So, they didn’t directly leak the tower’s information to make a profit.”
What did it mean that the office received a security request when they hadn’t provided a list of cooperating businesses?
It meant that some research labs or magic towers, slated to move into Lennok’s tower, had requested security from the office behind Lennok’s back.
They probably tried it because they were unaware of the relationship between the Antares Mercenary Group and Lennok.
“Even so, this is clearly our mistake. As a member of the office, I am ashamed.”
Felix spoke to Lennok with a heavy expression.
The bird-headed giant’s hand, gripping Belber’s shoulder, was squeezing hard.
“I will apologize personally. Belber himself will also be held accountable for this matter.”
Only then did Belber realize what the problem was and mumbled,
“Oh, oh dear? Is this going to be a problem with internal information leakage…?”
“Did you think it wouldn’t be?”
As Jenny pulled Belber’s ear with a look of disbelief, Lennok looked around and chuckled.
“There are a lot of eyes watching. Shall we move somewhere else to talk?”
The group immediately moved to an unopened lounge. While Felix blocked the door, cutting off sound and presence, and Tatiana set up a simple magical barrier, Lennok, deep in thought, turned to Jenny.
“Jenny. Get the list of businesses that requested security from the mercenary group and review it right now.”
“It’s not difficult, but why suddenly?”
“Why do you think they requested separate security, even though they were promised a branch opening inside the magic tower?”
Jenny belatedly realized Lennok’s meaning and smirked.
“Ah-ha, they have something they want to handle secretly, hidden from us?”
“Besides doing business inside the tower, it’s possible they’re looking for backroom deals across the entire underworld.”
“Alright. I’ll look into it right away.”
Jenny immediately opened her laptop and quickly cross-referenced databases, then nodded.
“You’re right. These guys lied about the quantity of goods brought in. Their transaction schedule submitted to the office doesn’t match ours.”
What kind of crazy freelancer in District 49 would try to invade Adamant Thunder’s tower to steal things or harm staff?
Once the tower’s Domain was declared, that space was as good as Lennok’s backyard.
It was awkward for anyone to request separate security in such a place, fearing some unforeseen danger.
Lennok had deduced that some businesses were already trying to line their pockets, reading between the lines of Belber’s mistake.
“I’ll weed them out immediately. I’m just going to use this as evidence and cut them all off. That’s fine, right?”
Jenny looked down at Belber, who was kneeling and cowering, with a strange gaze.
“I never thought I’d find this out thanks to this idiot. Is there any use for a fool who doesn’t even know what insider trading is?”
“Oh, did what I did… help a little?”
Belber’s expression, which had been downcast and cautious, instantly brightened.
“Ahem, well… you know? I absolutely wasn’t trying to rip you off. I’m an idiot, but I’m not crazy, am I?”
“…”
“I hope my sincerity gets through. I’m truly sorry. Anything you want, just—”
“Belber. Be quiet.”
Felix re-gripped Belber’s shoulder with a tired expression, and Lennok let out a small laugh.
“If you had that kind of nerve, it wouldn’t have ended with just this much commotion. I know.”
“Th-then…”
Just before Felix raised his voice, Lennok pointed at Belber’s chest and asked,
“Instead, all the profits you’ve earned from this will be confiscated by us. That’s fine, right?”
“W-what?!”
Leaving the flustered Belber, Lennok turned his gaze to Jenny.
“You said you needed cash for the tower’s facility expansion, didn’t you?”
“Right, I understand.”
Jenny immediately caught on to Lennok’s words and smirked.
“So, I’m supposed to empty this crazy stock investor’s pockets to cover it, huh?”
“W-what…? What are you going to do to me?!”
“What am I going to do? Felix!”
At Jenny’s gesture, Felix, as if he’d been waiting, firmly grabbed and tied Belber’s arms.
Grab!
He then flipped Belber upside down and shook him thoroughly, causing a phone, a wallet, and an unknown notebook to fall out.
“Uwaaaah!”
Jenny picked up the phone and wallet, then looked at the upside-down Belber and said curtly,
“Give me your account password. We’re confiscating all profits you’ve made in the last three days.”
“No way! How long has it been since I made such profits…!!!”
“Give up! You have no talent for it. You’d have better luck at a gambling den. With your awful judgment, you think you can invest?!”
“Th-that’s…”
Belber’s expression turned glum, as if shocked by Jenny’s blunt advice.
His reaction was so delicate, it was hard to believe he was a mercenary. Perhaps he was truly earnest about investing.
After a long time, Jenny, who had been receiving the password and checking the account details, picked up the worn notebook that had fallen beside her.
“This should cover the immediate funds needed. What’s this notebook, though?”
“Oh, no! That’s…!!”
Jenny flipped through the notebook’s pages, and seeing what was written inside, she clicked her tongue in disbelief.
“Wow…”
“What on earth is it?”
Tatyana couldn’t hold back her curiosity and peered into it, then shut her mouth. Felix also glanced at the notebook’s contents and merely shook his head.
At their unusual reactions, Lennok also checked the notebook’s contents from beside them.
“…A calendar? Did he record stock price increases and decreases based on the date?”
“No, that’s not it. Look at this.”
Jenny turned to the next page and showed him.
“This guy is trying to predict stock fluctuations by linking them to Vulcan’s geomancy.”
“…”
He had meticulously recorded Vulcan’s weather, the location and direction where he started investing, and all sorts of mystical variables.
He even predicted the highs and lows of luck, auspicious and inauspicious days, drawing graphs as he pleased.
As Lennok stared, speechless, Belber, still hanging upside down, trembled his shoulders in indignation.
Jenny tapped the notebook against Belber’s forehead.
“Belber, are you a shaman or something? Or do you have a talent for yin-yang arts?”
“How dare you peek at my investment technique so carelessly! Give it back!”
“…This isn’t an investment technique, Belber. It’s just superstition. It’s no different from a cult.”
“That can’t be! Big data doesn’t lie. Are you saying that and planning to copy my technique?!”
“No, well… never mind.”
Jenny sighed deeply and shoved the notebook into Belber’s mouth.
“I’ll give this back. It seems completely useless anyway.”
“…!!”
Belber, protesting but clutching the notebook tightly in his mouth, as if it were precious.
At this point, it was almost concerning that he was displaying such behavior in the middle of the tower.
Felix, sighing, hoisted Belber over his shoulder and turned to Lennok.
“Just in case, I’ll review the contents of the notebook and report back today. I’m truly sorry.”
“No, Jenny just said she needed cash, so she’ll probably handle it with that much.”
Lennok said, looking at the sports car Belber had parked outside the tower.
“It looks like he just drove it out of the dealership. If he refunds it right away, it should convert into a decent amount of money, no?”
“I hope so.”
Felix gave a wry smile, carried Belber, and immediately left the magic tower, disappearing.
Considering the situation, they might not see Belber for a while.
But Lennok wasn’t particularly angry with Belber.
[Phew, it was resolved quite well, wasn’t it?]
A spirit had been sighing in relief in Lennok’s arms for a while now.
[It would be troublesome if there were more investors secretly investing by front-running internal information. It’s a relief that a competitor has been eliminated at this point.]
“…”
It turned out Davi had also been secretly inflating Lennok’s account by using internal tower information.
As if noticing Lennok’s bewildered gaze, Davi proudly raised a paw from his arms.
[Oh, Master. Don’t worry. Unlike that clumsy organic creature, I’ll never get caught!]
“Stop it. Understood?”
While he wanted to pay more attention to tower management, he was preparing to leave soon, so time was limited.
As planned, there were a few things he needed to process under different identities to visit other cities.
Just as Lennok thought that and turned to leave, a message arrived from Dylan.
[Van. It’s about the Guardian Spirit Beast. Can you come down for a moment?]
“Now it’s really dangerous.”
The underground cavern of the magic tower was now taking on a plausible form.
Dylan said with a serious expression, looking at Lennok, who had been summoned.
“You’re listening to me, right?”
“I’m listening.”
“It’s truly touch-and-go. The budget allocated for this has already reached its limit!”
“What’s reached its limit?”
“It’s the food expenses that this glutton eats!!”
Dylan shouted, pointing at the giant egg rolling around in front of him.
(Roll, roll)
The egg, with cracks on its shell just as it had been first seen, leisurely rolled around various parts of the cavern.
“Whether it’s a guardian deity or a Guardian Spirit Beast, it’s about time for it to wake up and do something productive. You need to do something about it!!”
“It won’t mean anything if you tell me…”
Lennok said, looking at the Guardian Spirit Beast’s egg with a bewildered expression.
Indeed, considering the amount of food the egg had consumed so far, the mercenaries in charge of its care must have felt burdened. But—
“Weren’t the Guardian Spirit Beast’s food expenses being covered by us from the start?”
“No, money isn’t the problem, but money is the problem.”
“What nonsense is that?”
“It has specific snacks it likes, so related ingredients in the vicinity have completely run out.”
“…”
“Thanks to that, prices have skyrocketed, and Jenny’s budget can’t even cover it anymore. And if we give it just anything, it spits it out.”
“Hmm…”
Lennok belatedly understood Dylan’s words and nodded.
“So, you want the Guardian Spirit Beast to stop being a picky eater?”
“I don’t even hope for that much. Just tell us what it wants to eat, please?”
As Dylan sighed and shook his head, Lennok tilted his gaze.
Lennok, deep in thought, said,
“Since the Guardian Spirit Beast’s existence was not initially accounted for, if it refuses food on its own, there’s no need to necessarily find it.”
“Huh?”
(Wince)
At those words, not only Dylan but also the egg, which had been comfortably rolling around, flinched and trembled.
Lennok watched it, arms crossed, and muttered,
“If it’s a spirit beast derived from me, I can’t rule out the danger. We’ll observe it for a few days and assess its self-sufficiency.”
At Lennok’s words, implying he would starve it and observe its progress, the egg hurriedly rolled over and rubbed itself against Lennok’s shoulder.
It was as if it belatedly noticed Lennok’s mood and quickly tried to act cute.
Dylan also hesitated, clearly uncomfortable with Lennok’s words.
“No, wait… I didn’t mean we absolutely couldn’t feed it snacks. Can’t you reconsider…?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, it’s picky and has particular tastes, but it’s not a bad guy.”
Dylan cleared his throat and said,
“It even helps clean diligently with a rag wrapped around it when we’re working in the main hall.”
“…”
“I don’t know if it’s because it sees this as its home, but it’s quite interested in the tower’s interior design and facilities, you know. So—”
“You’ve grown attached to managing the spirit beast?”
“…Well, something like that.”
At Dylan’s words, the egg slightly shivered as if moved, but it didn’t stop rubbing itself against Lennok.
“Hmm…”
Lennok fell into thought, looking at the Guardian Spirit Beast’s egg.
Its intelligence was high enough to accurately understand who was feeding it right now.
Yet its behavior was incomprehensible, as it lingered without coming out of its shell.
But at least its nature wasn’t bad, getting along well with those who managed it.
And it seemed to be putting in considerable effort, aware that it was a Guardian Spirit Beast and caring about it.
If the mercenaries had grown fond of it in the meantime, it must have behaved quite affably.
It was absurd to be having such thoughts about an egg, but Lennok decided to find a solution as Dylan suggested.
“Have everyone clear the main hall. Don’t let them approach this area.”
“Everyone heard that? From now on, all personnel wait outside the magic tower!”
Dylan and the other mercenaries promptly took Lennok’s words and guided people outside, leaving Lennok and the Guardian Spirit Beast alone in the vast cavern.
(Tremble, tremble)
The Guardian Spirit Beast’s egg stood upright in front of Lennok, trembling violently.
It hadn’t even emerged from its shell yet, but it was surprisingly expressive.
However, instead of immediately touching the Guardian Spirit Beast, Lennok silently gazed at the tower’s scenery.
A calm cavern with black and blue light swirling.
Warm golden lanterns floated, illuminating the ceiling, and countless unorganized documents and construction equipment were piled around.
The golden concentric circles, spiraling like rings around the entire main hall ceiling, diffused a gentle glow.
Lennok watched the rippling waves in the air, then slowly bent down and placed a hand on the ground.
Brushing the smooth marble floor, Lennok drew upon his mana and spoke.
“When I asked Chen to construct the tower, I told him to only use building materials capable of top-grade mana resonance.”
Whoooosh!
A blue light barrier, rising from Lennok, instantly wrapped around the main hall, rotating, then slowly dissolved and vanished.
It didn’t stop at once. He continuously drew upon mana, deploying barriers and melting them into the tower’s construction materials.
The barrier spell directly inherited from Jindun.
Among them, Lennok chanted only the most powerful and profound barriers he could use immediately, overlaying them onto the magic tower.
“Barrier spells that require special catalysts can’t be helped, but after choosing and casting several location-specific barriers—”
Flash!
A fantastical sight of massive golden ripples enveloping the tower and surging skyward.
“I can establish a specific coordinate itself as an inviolable Domain.”
Lennok lowered his hand, slowly turned, and muttered,
“It’s not difficult. The meaning of the Ouroboros magic system within the tower’s Domain will take precedence over all other values.”
Lennok turned his gaze to the egg still standing upright in the center of the main hall.
“That’s why I still can’t quite grasp how your existence will function in this tower.”
(…)
“Because, unlike a being born purely from my magic system, your origin is a little mixed with another lineage.”
The Domain declared simultaneously with the tower’s creation. The existence of an intelligent Guardian Spirit Beast born at the center of that Domain.
But the foundation of that Guardian Spirit Beast was not purely derived from Lennok’s will and magic system.
The consciousness of the 7th Blaiver Tower Master, the Phoenix Scroll, in the form of a firebird.
It was an undeniable fact that the will used as an engine for the tower’s system construction had become the Guardian Spirit Beast’s foundation.
However, Lennok did not know how a being born from the Ouroboros magic system mixed with another being’s consciousness would hatch.
That’s why, even though Lennok recognized the Guardian Spirit Beast’s existence, he had not taken special measures, only managing it by feeding it appropriately.
“Honestly, I don’t care what food you want. Dylan said he’s having trouble procuring snacks, but if I’m determined to find a route, it’s not difficult to get a few of your favorite snacks.”
(Roll, roll)
At Lennok’s surprisingly gentle words, the Guardian Spirit Beast also seemed quite excited, beginning to sway its body from side to side.
But Lennok shook his head even while watching the Guardian Spirit Beast.
“However, I need to figure out here and now why you have such a strong appetite yet are so picky.”
(Wince)
Leaving the startled, trembling egg, Lennok said,
“At first, I thought it was due to Ouroboros’s influence and left it alone, but if it were purely because of that, it wouldn’t be picky.”
The Ouroboros magic system Lennok used was the power to forcibly disassemble and interpret all existing spells and laws.
If the Guardian Spirit Beast were a being born purely from it, it would not be strange for it to devour everything given to it without discrimination.
That’s why Lennok intended to feed the Guardian Spirit Beast various things here to observe its reactions and confirm what kind of individual it was.
(Rattle, rattle)
The egg, understanding Lennok’s words, began to tremble all over right there.
It was a reaction as if it were terrified of what Lennok was about to feed it.
[Phew, you should have done that earlier.]
Davi, who had leaped out of Lennok’s arms, jumped onto the eggshell with a triumphant expression.
(…!!)
The Guardian Spirit Beast, belatedly recognizing Davi’s presence, leaped up and spun around on the spot.
Davi, skillfully balancing on the rotating eggshell with his five tails, said proudly,
[If you knew what a blessed master you were born under, shouldn’t you quickly explain what you can do?]
(…?!?!)
[Talented in fighting, capable of being a shield, portable—you should list your advantages right away!]
Davi calmly spoke to the confused egg that didn’t understand what was happening.
[Ah, but no cybernetic world manipulation. There’s already an expert for that.]
“…”
Davi, suddenly grabbing the egg and lecturing it one by one.
Seeing him babble on, it seemed he had been preparing this internally.
Lennok, looking at Davi with an absurd expression, shook his head and pulled out several items from his arms.
Various high-grade catalysts used in elixir manufacturing.
Herbs or edible mushrooms used in Lennok’s tobacco production.
Expensive potions and elixirs sold on the market.
Spirit-exclusive snacks gifted by students during the Ghost God Palace raid incident.
Disposable consumable artifacts that had recently come in under the tower’s name, but specifically addressed to Lennok.
Simply by taking out the items, which he had kept under shrinking spells, and arranging them, one side of the main hall was filled.
(…!!!)
The Guardian Spirit Beast, which had been troubled by Davi’s presence on its shell, belatedly saw the array of items Lennok had laid out and, excited, hopped and bounced towards them.
Lennok slowly stretched and straightened his back.
“If you’re not going to eat snacks or ordinary food, let’s experiment with some special foods now. Are you ready?”
In Lennok’s hand, as he turned towards the Guardian Spirit Beast, was a golden glowing Elixir dilution.