"In an instant?" Tony ignored the last sentence of Kurumi's words. Instead, he asked, "How fast is 'in an instant'?"
Kurumi blinked and poured the unfinished mineral water from Tony directly into it.
"So, Mr. Stark, do you want hot water or ice cubes?"
Tony smirked, "I don't think anyone would put those things directly into their stomachs."
"Maybe they would?"
"What did you say?"
"Nothing," Kurumi said, "Let's go with hot water first."
As Kurumi finished speaking, the suspended cup of water in the air seemed to light up somewhere.
Tony felt it was mysterious but couldn't quite pinpoint where. This "new discipline" presented before him was like a kitten slowly scratching at his heart.
"Mr. Stark, please."
Kurumi gestured with her hand, and the tea cup, as if it had eyes, "ran" over Tony's paper cup, pouring 100°C boiling water into it.
Looking at the boiling water still bubbling in the paper cup, Tony raised an eyebrow, uncertain, "Two or three seconds?"
Kurumi propped up her chin, "It's uncertain. If you're in a place with sufficient energy, it's just an instant, and there's no need to worry about consumption."
"It seems fast now, but it has stored magic power for a long time, probably exhausted after using it three or four times."
His brow furrowed, and the wrinkles on his forehead never relaxed. His eyes were fixed on the floating teacup mid-air as if trying to discern something from it.
Of course, he also heard the critical point in Kurumi's words and grasped it instantly.
"Are you saying, in a place with sufficient energy?"
"Yes, any problem with that?" Kurumi smiled, but Tony felt like she had ulterior motives.
"Electricity, nuclear energy, something like that?"
Kurumi pinched her chin, carefully searching her memory.
After a while... "Electricity might work, but that stuff is only useful for preparing special items. When converting it into magic power, as long as the other party isn't stupid, they won't do it."
"Is that so?" Tony nodded. It was pretty much what he had imagined.
"Can you tell me why?" Tony probed.
"Of course, if there's any secrecy, you don't have to tell me." Tony waved his hand, indicating that Kurumi didn't need to worry.
Kurumi didn't answer his question first but asked, "Are you Stark?"
"If you're not talking about my late father, I'm the only one."
The person on the couch didn't care and said, "You just don't match what people outside describe."
"Oh?" Tony became interested. "How do they describe me outside? Is there any evaluation I don't know about?"
"Arrogant, narcissistic, conceited, emotional in handling things, not a good leader."
Tony visibly paused, then poured the now "quiet" boiling water back into the teacup.
"Which media outlet? They're not familiar with me."
"Ice water."
Before Tony could react, Kurumi gave the order.
Once again, the teacup emitted a glow, and if Tony was wearing the 'Mark' now, perhaps he could see the engraving that appeared instantly.
"Mr. Stark, your ice cubes."
"Plop!"
The entire "column" poured out of the teacup and into the water glass in front of Tony. Due to gravity, the paper cup was unstable at this point.
Kurumi shifted her position on the couch again. "It doesn't matter if I tell you. After all, it's not a big deal."
"Is that so?" Tony couldn't deny, "I thought you magicians had some kind of rules or regulations."
"They do, but unfortunately, I'm not a pure magician."
"Oh, that's a shame."
"For them, I... should be considered a heretic, right?" Even Kurumi wasn't sure. "Maybe once they find me, they'll kill me."
The words were calm, but he stiffened slightly when discussing life and death issues here, even for Tony, who had experienced life and death.
"How about it? Do you still want to be involved with me?" Kurumi asked.
"Haha." Tony looked at the beautiful woman in front of him, leaned back on the couch, and crossed his legs. "Miss, I am Tony Stark, after all. Although it may sound self-centred, those magicians can't kill me."
Tony's gaze gradually became serious. "Miss, look at the society now. It's the age of civilisation, the age of technology. At least I haven't seen any magicians running around in the streets casting spells."
"This shows they also have concerns, and I don't believe their powers can compare to nuclear weapons. They may have other uses, but it's no big deal for modern humans. The threat they pose is even weaker than that of mutants."
"Of course, I'm not deliberately belittling magic; I've always believed it has great potential. Like civilisation, they have their way of development, and history has pushed us to 'have to' abandon those things and continue to move forward on the path of science."
Kurumi rolled her eyes, not paying much attention to Tony's words. "You're not wrong in saying that. For modern society, magic has indeed been abandoned by history, and although it's not in a corner, it's not far off either."
"With the rise of modern industry, factories are everywhere, and the environment is being destroyed, while the free energy in the air is rapidly decreasing."
"Learning magic is not a simple matter. Although I don't know how the other party cultivated it, there shouldn't be anyone who can blow up a planet, right?"
"Haha..." Tony chuckled a few times. He felt that Kyouka's thoughts were diverging too quickly. Want to blow up a planet? It sounds easy, but if you want to do it... even if all the nuclear bombs are used together, it would only be scratching an itch for this planet.
The disappearance of human civilisation in the long river of history, and the Earth only needs five hundred years to recuperate.
What is five hundred years for the Earth? Compared to a blink of an eye for humans, it's not much different, is it?
Tony adjusted his posture. "So, from the modern era, there has been a continuous decrease in the unknown substance in the air?"
Kurumi nodded, "That's one way to understand it."
"Then why not use other energy sources to replace it?"
Kurumi rolled her eyes. "Although unclear, are you sure it's a magician and not a warrior to put electricity or nuclear energy into the body?"
Tony now had various thoughts and couldn't wait to go home and experiment!
Tony, who hadn't had a drink of water, moistened his dry mouth with his tongue. He had a crazy idea in his mind. "Since it's all energy, why don't we research a machine that can convert electricity and nuclear energy into that 'free energy'?"
Kurumi narrowed her eyes slightly. She had wanted to do this for a long time, but even Red needed the technology in this area.
But in the Marvel Universe, the only one who might succeed didn't care about Tony Stark.