Rain. The perfect weather for staying indoors while watching TV, playing games, or reading; it's just relaxing overall. Currently, I'm relaxing on the sofa scrolling through Re-Watch, and watching some scary stories videos.
In the background, there were cooking utensils and ingredients flying around. This would have made for a great ghost video if anyone were to film it, but sadly the internet will never get to see it. I'm using [Telekinesis] to cook and I must say, it is very taxing without [Divine Mind]. I did this all the time in the past and it never really occurred to me how hard it was to do this with only one mind. Well, I probably should've foreseen this but it's not really much of an important matter.
However, what was important is that I think I messed up the [Controlled Weather Change] spell a bit. Just a bit, nothing too consequential; but the rain hadn't stopped yet and it's been two hours now. Should I forcefully cancel it? I never meant for it to last this long, I expected there to be some slight deviations from what I intended as I was using a spell of a higher tier; but it has gone way off the mark.
I texted Mom and Hana to see how they were doing and got some interesting news. Mom was stuck in traffics with Mitsuo because apparently, a few ten-wheeler trucks broke a bridge with their weight, I don't know the odds of that happening, but it can't be very high. Hana was at the police station giving witness statements with her friends to the police about a molesting incident; the victim was a petite woman who was mistaken for a middle school student.
Today sure was so eventful; I got to see Hina again, Keirou and Namaii got together, I met Akirou, Monoa, and Miyako, I hung out with the guys, we came up with the perfect plan for Akirou, then I came upon Miyako's "hobby", encountered Mr. Young Master and kick him to the curb, changed the weather to spite him, and now I'm hearing about other crazy incidents from my family members. I just need Dad to suddenly call to tell me we're actually taking in some runaway high school girl, and we got the whole package.
'Hopefully, that doesn't actually happen though' I silently prayed to Arogal in the hope it doesn't happen; though I don't think it's gonna help much since he's more of a soul expert rather than someone who deals with fate or destiny, but hey, he's the best we got right now.
While I was having this internal monologue, dinner was ready to be served but I'm still the only one at home. It was still only 5:30 pm, which was quite a fair bit too early to be preparing dinner since it will get cold.
'But, worry not! For I, Ishia Ren, am a High Mage in this body. It is but a trivial matter to keep hot food from getting cold; other incompetent mages would use barriers to keep the heat from leaking, Thermodynamic style. However, I have a more surefire way that is completely unnecessary; Time magic'
I cast the time spell [Preserve Item] on the dishes, which completely stops the deterioration of any kind for a certain amount of time; it does need a constant supply of mana to stay in effect for long periods of time though. This spell is usually inscribed into bags, boxes, chests, along with the spell [Expand Space], and sold to adventurers, merchants, and nobles at a high price; it's a kind of luxury item for those who are pretty well-off.
Anyway, now the dishes will stay hot for hours. I continued to watch more videos about scary stories while sipping on a hot cup of tea with the relaxing sound of rain in the background. Yeah, it's still raining; I should do something about it soon.
'But before that, I need to finish drawing these magic circles'
I was inscribing a magic circle on my phone while watching videos, I'm not gonna let history repeat itself. This phone will be unbreakable by the time I'm done, not even a full-power sniper rifle will leave a mark on it; also, it's not only going to just be resistant to physical force, but it will also be resistant to magic and all the 14 elements. Unless it comes into contact with destructive powers on the level of a Saint-tier, it's basically unbreakable.
I also added in an auto-charging function by way of lightning magic just in case the battery ever runs low or when I don't feel like charging it, it'll definitely become useful later down the road.
By the time I was done, the rain had already stopped so I didn't have to do anything, which is a plus if you ask me. It was also starting to get darker outside and the others were still nowhere to be seen so I went upstairs to drop my bag off in my room before taking a nice hot scalding bath by heating the water with fire magic. Having a body that's highly resistant to the elements allows for such extremely dangerous activities to be safely enjoyed.
A memory of the time I bathed in magma with Fire Dragon King Kyrum suddenly surfaced, it was enjoyable but having to clear magma residue off of my body after getting out was a little tedious.
'I wonder how he's doing right now. The last time I saw him was 2 years ago, he was getting ready to head to the Land of Eternal Flame to meet the Fire Dragon God to ascend to a Fire Dragon Lord. I hope he succeeds so we can have another battle like old times'
I gave a small prayer to the old Dragon before getting back to enjoying the bath. While bathing, I sensed Mom, Mitsuo, and Hana getting close to the house; Mom must've picked Hana up from the police station along the way. They parked in the space in front of the house and got off before entering the house.
I decided to get out of the bath; I used [Magic Hand] to unplug the drain plug to drain out the water before plugging it back in. I dried myself with a towel before opening my [Personal Box], taking out a pair of black hoody and black trousers, then putting them on before leaving the bathroom. I headed to my room to grab my phone that I left on the bed.
There were a few messages on Chat-Up from a new account that belongs to Monoa; I did call his number so that's probably how he found my account. I tapped on his messages and read them; it was just a greeting and texts asking if he had the right account with a sticker.
I started heading downstairs.
(A/N - All the texts are in English)
Ren – [Yeah, it's me. You need something, Word_Master?]
Monoa – [Nothing, just making sure]
Monoa – [Also, I don't call me that]
Ren – [What else am I supposed to call you? It's right there on your profile]
Monoa – [Call me by my name, ass hat!]
Ren – [Okay, Mr. Ass Hat. If you say so]
Monoa – [You know what I meant!]
Ren – [Anyway, if that was all, Imma go have dinner]
Monoa – [What you having?]
Ren – [Stir fried vegetables, beef stew, and pork cutlet]
Monoa – [Mmmm, sounds good…]
Ren – [*Sends pic*]
Monoa – [Holy! Those look delicious]
Monoa – [*Sends pic of drooling cat*]
Monoa – [Who made them?]
Ren – [It was I, the greatest chef in all of Nilfrun]
Monoa – [Nani!?]
Monoa – [You made them!?]
Monoa – [Also that was a Great Sage reference, wasn't it?]
Ren – [Hehe, but of course]
Monoa – [You've read the manga?]
Ren – [Nope, I read the novel]
Monoa – [*Sends pic of surprised Electric Mouse*]
Ren – [Anyway, I have to eat now]
Monoa – [Okay, I also have something to finish up]
I tucked the phone into my hoody and got to eating.
"Was that a girl~?" Mom had a teasing smile on her face while looking at me with a knowing look as if saying "Oh, to be young"
"It was just a male classmate" I calmly replied with no change in my expression.
"Oh, is that so? So, is there someone you've taken a liking to?"
"Well, of course"
"Really!? Bring her to visit as soon as you can" Mom looked excited hearing this and approved of her visiting instantly. It's like she already knew they were going to hit it off.
"I'll ask her about" I casually answered; I knew what was probably going through her mind right now, it's kinda written on her face. Well, I don't think Hina will mind coming over for dinner; it has been about a month since she last came over, I'm sure everyone will be happy to see her.
Like that the four of us ate dinner; Mitsuo was telling us about this girl he met at the school's flower garden. Mom and Hana perked up at this piece of news while I just smiled silently, I have a feeling we'll be hearing about her more in the future, just a gut feeling.
After dinner, Mom and Hana washed the dishes while I accompanied Mitsuo to watch anime on the TV. It was an isekai show with swords and magic, funnily enough; I already read the novel so I know the story but I still watched it to see which part they cut out.
It started kinda family-friendly in the first four volumes but it turned pretty dark and R-18 after that; one of the MC's male companions actually betraying him and mind-controlled the other female companions to kill the MC and the other guys. Only the MC survived, and the guy who betrayed the MC turned out to be an otherworlder too.
(A/N – For what happened after that, I'll leave it to your imagination)
Currently, it's still at the start so it's pretty safe for Mitsuo, who's a 6th grader now, to watch. I'll keep an eye out for when it gets to that point.
Hana joined in after the first one because it was a romance anime of a manga she read, Mom also sat down and watched as well after changing out of her work clothes; It's family time now. We watched an episode of five different animes that aired that night.
After the fifth one, Mitsuo started to get sleepy so we called it for the night. Mom took Mitsuo to their room, I turned off the TV before starting to clean up our mugs; Mom whipped up some milk tea with a bit of honey for us. While I head towards the sink, Hana just sat in the same spot while leaning back and staring at the ceiling, seemingly thinking about something.
It was silence between us, though it wasn't uncomfortable. We, as a family, have always been close and we've spent enough time together so some silence is something we're already used to. I just slowly cleaned the mugs one by one, waiting for her to speak up since she would usually just go to her room or go on her phone if she has nothing to do, so her staying behind meant she has something to say.
"Hey, Onii-chan…" Hana called out slowly, probably still thinking how to put her thoughts into words.
"What is it?" I just ignored the way she addressed me, though I am happy hearing her call me that again after so long.
"How would you feel if the girl you like is in love with your best friend?" Hana casually dropped a bombshell right off the bat. My thoughts started to accelerate and I started analyzing everything, from the tone of her voice, the way she worded the question, and the subtle movement she's making.
"Is this about a friend?" I tried to probe for more info to form a better picture.
"Yeah, a friend of mine came to consult me about it after she witnessed her crush confess to her best friend. She said she doesn't know how to feel about it; on one hand, she's sad seeing her crush confess to another girl, but on the other hand, she's happy for her friend. I just wanna ask, how are you supposed to feel in that situation?" Hana slowly told me about what happened on the first day of school.
"Hmm… I guess third years do have a lot of free time on the first day, so it's about as great a time as any to confess. Considering they might not meet again after graduation and that they also might've wanted to be in a relationship, it's reasonable enough to be an excuse to go for the confession" I analyzed the boy's behavior and completely ignored the main subject.
"Why are you commenting there!? What about my question!?" Hana's head snapped around and she glared at me.
"Haha… Well, all I'll say is that it's okay to feel conflicted sometimes. Also, you should figure that out yourself, no need to rush it. Once, you find someone you love, you'll understand the general idea of it just by thinking a bit" I smiled at her and proceeded to start walking out of the room; I didn't think it was my place to have an opinion on so I avoided it. Also, I didn't really feel like teaching my sister about love, that's for her to figure out.
"Hey! You're avoiding the question again!" Hana stood up and pointed at me.
"You'll understand in due time, so enjoy not being in love because it sucks sometimes" I laid down some truth while heading upstairs. I could hear her muttering "I'll understand…when I find someone…I love…?" in a doubtful tone.
I left her to her thoughts and headed to my room, I sorted through my bag and got everything ready for tomorrow; by that I mean, I just tossed everything into my [Personal Box]. I can just take out whatever I need from there.
Now with lots of free time on my hand, I lay in bed, took out my phone, and went on the internet in search of possible business opportunities. Now that I'm in high school, I need to start thinking about money. Without enough money I won't be able to live leisurely, I sure wouldn't want to worry about being short on the money every passing month.
Well, I could just sell off the precious metals and gemstones I have piled up in my [Item Box], where I store all the common and less valuable items aka stuff with lesser magical properties, but where's the fun in that? Also, I don't think I can sell off golden furniture or pure processed gemstones without getting on a watch list; that would be a huge inconvenience.
So I thought of a few ways to get good money by barely doing any work at all. I have a Unique Skill called [Lord of Creation], which is a combination of all my crafting skills or skills related to making things. Obviously, this body only has the downgrade version called [Master Artisan], an Advance Skill, but I can work that.
My idea was to make some small trinkets with all sorts of designs and sell them at the low-low price of 500-1000 yen or higher if it's well-received. After all, the items are going to be made by me, someone who has made close to a hundred legendary items in the past 10 years. Anything I make can surpass any master's in both quality and quantity, never underestimate the power of an Advance Skill; if I wanted to, I could outproduce an entire factory.
Another thing is the production cost will be at zero. I can just create any material I need through magic or alchemy, and for those that I can't make, I'm pretty sure I will have it in my [Item Box] because I've been tossing common stuff in there for years now as I hoard like a dragon, so I'm sure I have every common material in mountain piles.
So the only thing left is somewhere to sell it, I could just talk to some of the neighborhood shopkeepers and see if I can put a few things up on the shelf but that's just too tedious. Therefore, the next place to look was the internet. I'm not just gonna put it up on an online listing, though it is a good starting point, no I'm going to be active and search for places that will potentially accept trinket items from a high schooler... Yeah, like any good shop owner will do that.
Hence, I need to find someone who could do the talking for me; now, I could have just summoned a Superior Spirit to do things for me, but I was a little reluctant to involve other magical creatures with the resident humans of Earth. Their bodies aren't familiar with mana so the residual mana coming off of magical creatures, especially high-tier ones like a Superior Spirit could easily cause [Abnormal Status - Mana Intoxication].
Mana is the base form of all types of energy, everything and every phenomenon in the world is possible because mana is present there. The natural process of fire burning things is the presence of fire and wind attribute mana, low amount of it to be clear; this is the most basic of all forms of mana usage with most Apprentice Mages would use these natural phenomena as a base image for casting Apprentice-tier spells.
If it's just this low amount of elemental mana then it wouldn't cause [Mana Intoxication] but Spirits or any other magical creatures release highly concentrated elemental mana into their surroundings just by being there because they're made out of it; unlike them, we human Mages have pure mana in our Mana Pool, which doesn't cause [Mana Intoxication].
Back to the topic at hand, I went through Red-Bird, and Door-Way looking for someone that would fit the bill. I'm looking for someone who is in their early to mid-20s because that's usually the age college students start looking for full-time jobs or a source of income, it's also the age where they would be willing to talk business with a high school student. Although I did look at those who are a bit older as well, just in case there's someone out there who is very open-minded.
After going at it for an hour, I found some who looked like they fit the bill so I DMed them all and that's pretty much it for now. I took some materials out of my [Item Box] and made a dark wooden box around 60x30x15cm with some bronze engraving of different iconic parts of a dragon(like scales, claws, wings, a tail, a head) on its surface and a lock made of brass. I placed it next to my desk, opened the lid, and left it open for convenience.
I sat at my desk and opened [Item Box] again but this time I left it open so I could take out materials to make those trinkets that'll be for sale. I spent another hour making whatever kind of trinkets and ornaments I thought would sell and tossing them into the dark wooden box.
Before I went to bed, I checked on the two magic circles under the table, and after seeing them working efficiently, as they should, I put everything back in place, closed and locked the wooden box, turn off the light, then finally went to bed. Classes are starting tomorrow.
Meanwhile, in Arogal's Divine Realm. Earth's new Ruler was making changes to the world with the help of the Great God of Reincarnation.