Vans and Niko conducted a test with the girl. They had her hold a sphere and then asked her to focus. The sphere glowed faintly, which indicated that she had enough mana to cast magic.
All people, plants, and animals possess mana, but the amount can vary throughout life. Some people remain with the same amount of mana they were born with, though this could change if they trained. There was still another distinction. Some people simply cannot use long range magic. This is because they are fortifiers. These individuals can use enhancement magic and even healing, but only on themselves.
Fortifiers are not considered mages. They usually use magic to strengthen and improve another area, such as enhancing their attacks with weapons.
Casters are those who can use long range magic, the mages. There is a third group, those who can use both forms, although some people believe this third group is simply the second with minor variations.
The girl was able to use long range magic, specifically of the earth element. Unlike the amount of mana, an element never changes throughout life, it always remains the same. A person without affinity for a certain element can still use others, but very weakly, sometimes so weak that it is barely noticeable. This can be changed with the use of artifacts or magical items, but such objects are rare and very expensive, so people usually stick to the elements they have affinity with.
Vans was excited, since he could train her to become an alchemist, but Niko wanted her to learn defensive magic.
"But I'm the one who bought the girl," he said, and it came out worse than he expected.
"That's not the point, we need to increase our strength," Niko said.
"But we need more alchemists for that, since you all use potions as if they were water."
He was right, and Niko knew it.
Eris simply laughed at the situation.
"Wouldn't it be better to see what the girl wants? You're treating her like an object. Even if she is a slave and belongs to Vans, she should have some choice. Besides, Niko, she is, whether I agree or not, Vans's property, so he has the final say."
The concept of slaves was different between humans and demons. Humans treat slaves as objects. Demons see slaves as people who work without certain rights, but still not as objects, and they do not work for free. Even so, they do not have much freedom and are not supposed to disobey.
It seemed the same, but the perspective was different.
Vans agreed with Eris. He turned to the girl and asked what she wanted to do, but she remained silent.
"You don't need to force yourself to answer," Eris said to her. "No one here is a monster, and we will respect your wishes."
Eris smiled, and the little girl returned the gesture.
"Elina…" she spoke very softly.
"What did you say?"
"My name is Elina."
"That's a beautiful name," Vans said with a smile.
The girl was no longer as frightened. She still had some fear, but little by little she seemed to grow more comfortable around them.
She chose to learn alchemy. Niko was not pleased, but Vans was very happy.
"Vans, I need your help here. A very rich man wants to buy those magical items you make."
"Which magical items?"
"The ones that record images."
Vans fell silent. He was curious how someone outside the Tower could know about them. Vesta explained what she had done. He did not like it, but he understood it had been necessary for her to prove she acted in self defense. At the same time, it made things complicated. He did not want more people to know. Still, he agreed to meet the man and see what he wanted.
The man appeared to be very wealthy. His name was Max Millian, a baron and the minister of justice.
He seemed excited as he explained everything he wanted Vans to make. Vans took notes while the baron spoke.
"This will be very expensive, but I can make it and deliver it in up to three days, and install it in just one."
"Money is not a problem," the baron said.
Vans began calculating how much he would spend on crystals and other materials. The material costs alone were around fifty gold coins. He also had to consider time and profit for the shop. After doing the math, he arrived at a total of five hundred gold coins. Max Millian was surprised, but he had already expected it to be costly.
"Go ahead. I will pay half now. Is that acceptable?"
"No problem, but I just need to confirm a few things. I will need an empty room to place the console. Do you have one?"
"Yes, don't worry about that. I have a perfect place for it," the baron said as he stood up.
The baron left, and Vans returned to the mansion. Victor was in the office with Duke Carmine. His daughter was training magic with Niko.
Vans preferred the duke's mansion to make potions, but he was trying to get used to the shop, since at some point he would have to leave the mansion.
"Food is getting more expensive," the duke said to Victor.
"We should start selling immediately. People have already noticed the price increase, so we should not wait any longer."
"Alright, but there is a problem, or rather a question. Do you think this will solve the issue with the crops?"
"To be honest, I don't think so. But I believe it will destabilize Duke Ambrose. He does not expect anyone to sell food cheaper. He will have to lower his prices if he wants to compete. That means less profit, and he might give up trying again, or it could be the opposite. He might try the same strategy with more effort. That is why we should act differently, maybe by increasing protection over the crops, but that would make food more expensive. For now, it is better to just observe," Victor paused. "There is something else. The food will be sold in only three places, which could leave other cities without supply."
"The other cities did not face the same problem. Maybe one or two, but the rest seem to be functioning normally, though I am not sure if that is true."
Vans entered the room.
"For now, we will just observe," Victor said.
"I wanted to talk to you. The King has requested your presence. He wants you to demonstrate how you prepare potions. He will give you a dagger made of mythril and red dragon scale."
That was exactly what Vans wanted. He gave a wide smile and accepted, even though he could not refuse the invitation.
His joy faded when he learned how many potions the King wanted him to produce.