Standing beside Sian, Illianna looked at the magic formation from side to side.
"Earlier you had said it was a simple problem to solve, but where is the simple part of this? I've never seen or heard anything like that even in the advanced magic books you gave me."
"Of course you didn't see it, that's Ayze original formation, remember? Besides, I perfected it." He puffed out his chest.
"If it works as you say, we can profit greatly from it." Illianna murmured thoughtfully.
"Profit from it?"
"Yeah." She affirmed. "Remember what I said before? Magic debility syndrome is supposedly a disease with no cure, but if the nobles found out it's curable, many would line up for the treatment, even if it was expensive."
"It's not that easy, some of the materials are quite laborious to get. Even if it's possible to make money, I don't think it's worth it for me."
"How is it not worth it?"
"That is a single-use formation, so I would have to produce large quantities of it. If it's like you said before, and your father treated a magic stone as a treasure, then it would be too expensive even for nobles."
"That is the case only if it is a single-use formation, but what if it's upgraded to be used more often?" Illianna looked at him. "Besides the huge sum of money you can earn, this would also serve as advertising for the hotel."
"It sounds pretty problematic, so I have no interest in it."
"Is this a way to say you can't create a better formation?" Illianna smiled provocatively.
"I didn't say that. I'm just not in the mood to do something so laborious."
"That's the excuse a child would use when they don't know how to do something." Illianna gave him a compassionate look. "But don't worry, I won't laugh. After I've studied a little bit, I know that's hard even for you to pull off."
Feeling bothered by her gaze, Sian replied. "It might even be hard, but I can do it if I want to."
"No need to push yourself, let's just put it aside so as not to hurt your pride in front of Ophilia."
Illianna's sharp words made Sian feel as if he had been pulled into a challenge he couldn't refuse, but he resisted.
"Don't give me that, I won't do anything. You will not drag me by the nose again!"
Illianna approached him with a disappointed expression. "It's okay, I get that you don't want to do it."
Although she seemed to have given up, for some unknown reason, Sian was having an uneasy feeling. But not wanting to extend the conversation, he pulled out an enormous book with a brown leather cover from his magic bag.
"Have a look at it and see if you can find some ideas or inspirations."
"Is that book from before?" Illianna received the book. "It's pretty heavy. What exactly is written here?"
"That is a copy of the sacred treasure. It contains a little bit of everything." Sian said proudly. "I bought it for a pittance."
Since the continuation of the construction depended on Sian, Illianna had no choice but to wait, so with nothing to do, she started flipping through the book.
Meanwhile, Sian walked over to Emily and picked her up in his arms, carrying her to the center of the formation.
"Everything is ready. All my little princess needs to do is sit here until it's done."
Looking from side to side, Emily gripped tightly onto Sian's clothes. "I-I'm scared! That thing on the floor scares me!"
"No need to be afraid, they're just symbols drawn in purple ink." Sian tried to calm her down.
"I don't think she's afraid of that." Illianna pointed to a small pile of bones behind Sian. "More likely she fears that skull with the weird horns."
"It's just the head of a horned salamander, it's an excellent conductor."
"B-But it's scary..." Emily spoke in a low voice as she hid her face in Sian's chest. "It looks like it's looking at me..."
"No need to worry, it's already dead." Tina poked the skeletal head with a stick.
Moving closer, Ophilia hugged Emily and stroked her frightened face. "It's like Tina said, sweetie, you don't have to be scared, Mommy and Daddy are here."
"But what if it transforms?" Emily muttered.
"Transform?" Sian got confused.
"She's terrified of undead." Ophilia said.
"Oh, I see, in that case, my little princess doesn't need to worry, this one will not turn into an undead." Sian stroked Emily's cheeks, who seemed calmer. "It is extremely rare for a dead creature to turn undead out of nowhere, and even if it does, Daddy will turn it to dust."
"But I'm still scared..."
"Why are you so scared?" Francionia asked. "There have been no reports of it appearing in this area since many years ago."
"I've heard many stories about it..." Emily muttered.
Sian immediately cast an inquisitive glance at Illianna.
"I had nothing to do with it." She denied with her head. "I wouldn't tell horror stories to children."
Without many choices, Sian left Emily in Ophilia's arms and quickly replaced the salamander skull with another conductor.
"There there, now there's nothing left for my little princess to be afraid of." Sian turned back to Emily with a warm smile.
"But... But I don't want to stay here alone..." She looked a little apprehensive as she looked at him with the eyes of a pitiful puppy. "Can Daddy stay with me?"
"Of course." Sian squeezed her cheeks. "I would do anything for my lovely daughter."
"Will that really work?" Ophilia looked worried.
"It will work, I'm sure of it." Sian replied confidently. "You don't have to worry so much, I wouldn't put our daughter into something dangerous."
"I know, but I can't help but get anxious."
Putting her hands on Ophilia's tense shoulders, Illianna tried to calm her down.
"It's like he says, there's no need to worry, it may seem difficult, but it's something easy for him. This is so easy that he said he would create a simpler version of this magic formation, so he could help people going through the same problem as Emily."
Trying to hide from Sian's gaze that wanted to say, 'I'm going to kill you,' Illianna hid behind Ophilia and added. "It seems you have a pretty kind husband."
"That's wonderful!" Ophilia looked at Sian.
"As expected from my little Sian." Fran showed a pleased expression. "Even after all these years, you are still a good-hearted person."
Despite wanting to deny Illianna's words at that very moment, all Sian could do was instruct them to move away from the formation area.
With Emily in his arms, he led her to the center of the formation and sat cross-legged. After that, he sat she between his legs and wasting no more time, he activated the formation that surrounded them with a glowing purple.
***
After the formation lost its glow, the symbols drawn with the luminescent purple mixture became opaque and had several cracks.
"It's done." Sian stood up. "How are you feeling, my princess?"
"I'm feeling a pleasant sensation." Emily yawned. "I'm also very sleepy..."
"That's a sign it worked." Sian rubbed his cheeks against hers. "Now just wait for it to stabilize, and soon you'll have mana to use."
"Really?" Her eyes sparkled with anticipation.
"I wouldn't lie to my precious daughter." He led her to Ophilia. "Now you'll have to stay with Mommy, Daddy has a lot of work to do."
Receiving Emily's confirmation, Sian called Tina over and handed two small shoulder purses made of leather to both of them.
"It's a gift for you two."
Looking at purse curiously, Emily put it on her shoulder and began to spin around in delight.
"What's inside?" Tina asked.
"An almost inexhaustible source of cookies." Sian said. "They are for you to eat with your little friends."
***
Since the sun was already getting hot, it was about time for the girls to go home, so Sian said goodbye to Ophilia and Emily. Fran and Tina were also leaving, but before they did, Sian handed Fran some coins for her to buy some clothes and basic necessities for both of them.
Since the construction schedule was already behind schedule, Sian quickly went back to work along with Illianna and the 3.
"You're quite extravagant." Illianna said. "You seems like a rich little kid of a nobleman who doesn't know the price of things and just goes around distributing your wealth sloppily."
"Are you talking about the magic bags?"
"What else would it be?" Illianna looked at him. "You gave 2 magic bags to children like it was nothing."
"I don't think they're really worth much."
"You can even say that, but there are people who would pay a fortune just to have one."
"Since space magic is one of my innate elements, I can skip several steps and make magic bags relatively simply."
"Since you made it yourself, then you could at least make something that doesn't look like a magic bag."
"I don't see the need for it, I think the simple design is fine."
"That's not the issue, the issue is that you gave them to children." Indignant, Illianna said before continuing. "That's very attractive to thieves, so to avoid drawing attention, you should have made it look like a simple bag."
"I hadn't thought of that possibility, I'll do that when I get back." Sian replied. "I guess I lack a bit of common sense about some things..."
"It's not just a bit, your whole common sense is warped." Illianna sighed. "Where were you living? Inside a rock?"
"Well, yes, I was."
"What?!"
"I've spent half my life with Ayze, and her house is inside a cave."
"You're so unusual that sometimes I forget that..." Illianna muttered.