WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: LilGuyBlastoise
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ I Made Magic Easier by Changing the Formula ◈
Chapter 5: Turning Calamity into Opportunity
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The Western Sea.
Blue-black waves rolled beyond the horizon.
The Empire's pride, the Third Fleet.
Several dozen state-of-the-art fast ships.
“Admiral, we're entering the fog zone ahead.”
With a pipe between his teeth, the admiral nodded at the navigator's report.
At the end of his gaze was an enormous green curtain blanketing the sea.
A demonic fog that had recently begun appearing in these waters for no known reason.
The fog itself was strongly acidic, but the demonic energy mixed within it made it an even more terrifying calamity.
The exact reason it had formed remained unknown.
“There's nothing to worry about. The military magic corps spent a fortune inscribing neutralization magic formations on every hull.”
“Yes, Admiral. The hulls are made of White Cedar, so they're fast as well. We'll cross that fog zone in half a day.”
The mood on the bridge was optimistic.
“Move in! All ships, activate your magic formations!”
Runes carved into the hulls glowed blue, forming transparent barriers.
At first, everything went smoothly.
Sizzle!
But before long, an ominous sound began to ring out.
“Admiral! Mana crystal consumption is abnormal! The magic formation barriers are being worn away rapidly!”
“Put in the reserve mana crystals! Increase the formations' output!”
“We have! But... the mana crystals are simply being swallowed up! The demonic energy is corroding the mana crystals directly!”
The admiral's expression hardened.
“...I've never seen a concentration like this. Doesn't that make the formations useless?”
“Yes. At this rate, the fog's acid may reach the hulls directly...”
Crack!
At that moment, the ships' barriers shattered like glass.
The green fog lunged like a starving beast and engulfed the White Cedar hulls.
“Argh!”
Before the acidic mist, White Cedar was nothing more than a sugar cookie.
Masts touched by the fog bubbled and melted, bending like taffy sticks.
“There's a hole in the hull! Water's coming in!”
“The deck... the deck is melting! Our feet are sinking!”
The once-solid decks turned soft and mushy.
Soldiers standing on them screamed as they fell into the hold below.
Their famed speed became poison instead.
As the hulls melted while they were accelerating, the ships could not overcome the resistance of the water. Their bows crumpled, and they pitched forward.
“Admiral! It's dangerous! We need to turn back... turn back!”
“Turn the ships around...”
The admiral stared out the window with a vacant expression.
Many ships had already been sucked beneath the sea like melting candle wax.
“This is... a disaster.”
The annihilation of the Empire's Third Fleet.
That horrific news rang through the city via magical communication.
* * *
[Rowen Securities Exchange]
The exchange in central Rowen was utter chaos.
No, it would have been more fitting to call it a massive funeral hall.
“Ahhh! My money! My entire fortune!”
“This can't be real! The fleet was annihilated? Please tell me it's a false report!”
People rolled on the floor, wailing.
Only days ago, the enormous magic crystal board at the center had gleamed with red mana. Now it was entirely dyed blue-black, the color of death.
[Western Trade Guild: -92%]
[White Cedar Shipyard: Trading Suspended]
Many nobles and merchants who had invested everything they had in the supply route had become penniless.
“Someone buy it! Please, somebody buy it!”
“Ahh! This is a dream... It can't be real!”
“Sob! My hard-earned money... Do you know what that money meant to me...?”
“Damn it! How did things end up like this?”
There was a familiar face among them.
Felix.
He was crouched before the crystal board, clutching at his disheveled blond hair.
The children of lower nobles who had egged him on rushed at him as though they were about to grab him by the collar.
“Young Master Felix! I trusted you and poured in my scholarship money and even private loans! What am I supposed to do now?”
“Sob... I even borrowed money to invest!”
“Th-this can't be! How could White Cedar Shipyard crash...?”
Felix muttered with unfocused eyes.
A man in formal attire watched him with a cold stare.
The moneylender, Dels.
The twisted look on his face was no joke.
'Tsk.'
I watched the scene quietly from afar.
I felt no sympathy.
'They got what they deserved. After mocking me like that.'
Then, a commotion rose near the entrance as messengers bearing the Imperial Guard's emblem stormed inside.
Hummm!
The mana waves from the loudspeaker silenced the hall in an instant.
“An emergency joint procurement notice from the Imperial Family and military is hereby issued!”
When the messenger unfurled a scroll, enormous letters flared in the air like flames.
[Emergency Order: Construction of special ships for acidic mist.]
- Reason: Operational failure caused by the durability issues of White Cedar hulls.
- Change: Physical durability is to be the highest priority.
- Required material: Purchase of the entire supply of Black Ironwood.
Silence fell over the exchange.
The wailing people, especially Felix, who had been staring blankly, slowly turned their heads toward the words in the air.
“Black Ironwood? That absurdly heavy wood?”
“Have they gone mad? Ships made of that would crawl along!”
Someone murmured.
Then an information broker from a sharp-witted major merchant company cried out as if screaming.
“You idiots! Speed isn't the problem! Do you know which ship was the only one left intact in this disaster? An old transport ship made from Black Ironwood!”
“What? Is that true?”
“Black Ironwood is the only thing that doesn't melt in the fog! If the military wants to buy the whole supply, that means they'll be mass-producing every future ship with it!”
The atmosphere changed in an instant.
Despair became greed, and fear became madness.
“Hey! Which company deals in Black Ironwood?”
“Find it, now! Check the ledger inscription numbers!”
The sound of hundreds of people flipping through thick trading ledgers rose like waves.
Then someone shouted.
“Black Forest Timber! It's the Empire's sole exclusive supplier!”
People surged toward the buying counters, wildly grabbing at one another as they fought to buy first.
“Black Forest! Give me Black Forest Timber!”
“Buy at market price! No, I'll pay a premium!”
“I was here first! Move!”
With my arms crossed, I looked at the very bottom of the magic crystal board.
A name no one had spared a glance for, buried beneath dust.
[Black Forest Timber]
The dying gray letters suddenly began to blaze red.
[Black Forest Timber]
- Overwhelming buy orders pending
- No sell orders
A vertical rise.
The stock that had been five copper per share shot past ten copper, then twenty copper.
Countless people wanted to buy, but no one was selling.
As a result, the asking price rose like mad.
“Someone sell! Please!”
“I'll give you thirty copper!”
“I'll give fifty!”
I slipped a hand into my pocket.
My fingertips touched a bundle of certificates.
[Black Forest Timber] 1,058 shares
This bundle of papers, which I had bought for 52 silver and 90 copper, had risen to more than ten times its value in this very moment.
Five gold.
No, at the current asking price, it was nearing ten gold.
'Should I sell?'
I considered it for a moment.
Even if I sold now, I would make an enormous profit.
'No. It's still too early.'
This was only the beginning.
I could not even imagine how high it would rise from here.
'Let's get out of here. If I stay, I'll only want to sell.'
I started toward the exit.
Unfortunately, on the way there, I passed directly in front of Felix, who was sitting on the floor.
“You... you... Hans...”
Felix raised his head and looked at me.
The arrogant gaze that had looked down on me a few days ago had now become one of desperate confusion.
“You bought Black Forest Timber, didn't you? How... How could a commoner like you possibly know...?”
“I was just lucky.”
I neither laughed at him nor mocked him.
I simply passed him by with the indifferent gaze one would give a stone lying by the road.
“You, you... How dare you!”
Felix reached out, but the furious crowd blocked him again and shoved him back onto the floor.
“What am I supposed to do about my money, Young Master Felix?”
“My family is going to throw me out!”
“Shut up! I'm ruined too. Ruined! Why are you all making a fuss at me?”
“You told us to trust only you!”
“Give me back my money! Give it back!”
I left the exchange, now transformed into utter chaos.
'Whew... I can finally breathe outside.'
The sunset outside the exchange was dazzling.
It was an ordinary sunset, but why did it seem especially beautiful today?
Was it because the certificates in my pocket felt so heavy?
They were worth more than ten gold.
It felt like a dream.
And this was only the beginning.
'Just wait. I'll use this money to climb even higher.'
* * *
The streets were quiet.
News of the fleet's destruction had cast all of Rowen into gloom.
“Hans.”
At dinner, Father spoke heavily.
There was only thin soup and hard bread on the table.
“I have something to tell you.”
“Yes.”
I put down my spoon and looked at Father.
“I think our family needs to leave this place.”
“Leave? Where would we go?”
“To your maternal grandfather's home. You know Ruber Village in the south, right? A letter came yesterday. Your grandfather is very ill. The farm is short on hands too... He needs someone beside him to care for him.”
Father paused and looked around the shop.
“I plan to sell this shop as well. Things were already bad, and I think they're only going to get worse. Rather than borrowing more money to hold on, it's better to settle things now and move south.”
Mother lowered her head and wiped her eyes.
I was shocked.
“Sell the shop? What are you saying? Don't worry. I'll pay off the debt for you. Just hold on a little longer.”
[Black Forest Timber] 1,058 shares.
If I sold them now, I would have enough to buy this shop again and still have money left over.
The stock price had already risen more than tenfold.
Father's lifelong debt?
I could clear it in one stroke.
'But not yet. I need to wait a little longer before selling.'
Black Forest Timber was only at the beginning of its rise.
After a little more time, it would be worth several times more than it was now.
I couldn't tell them the truth.
If I mentioned stocks, they would call it dangerous gambling and tell me to sell immediately.
Still, I could at least say that I had saved some money...
“Ha ha.”
Then Father let out a hearty laugh.
“Our son has grown up. Just hearing you say you'll repay your parents' debt makes me feel secure.”
Father patted my shoulder.
“But Hans... we're not at the point where we need to depend on you yet. Your mother has been carefully putting some money away. We paid off all our debts with that, and when we add the money from selling the shop, we won't live poorly in the countryside.”
“Really?”
“Yes. There will even be money left over for your grandfather's medicine.”
Mother gave a small smile.
“Hans, I saved coins one at a time without you knowing. That's what running a household is.”
Father turned serious again.
“So, come with us. The countryside may be boring, but you won't have to worry about going hungry. In times like these, it's safer there than in this dangerous city. Let's farm and live quietly.”
I was silent for a moment before answering.
“...No, Father. I'll stay here.”
“You want to stay behind alone?”
“I want to go with both of you, but then everything I've learned until now would become meaningless. I want to remain in the city and learn more. Magic, and other things too. I can't do that in the countryside.”
Father looked at me for a long time.
I expected him to scold me, but his expression was unexpectedly gentle.
“Yes. I knew you'd say that.”
“...You did?”
“You studied stubbornly in the library even while nobles mistreated you. You even secretly learned that strange magic that makes cloth stick together seamlessly. Someone like you would never give up so easily.”
He rose from his seat and went into the inner room.
A moment later, he returned carrying an old leather pouch.
“Here. This is half of the money we have left.”
“What?”
“You'll need at least this much to live alone in the city. To find a room and buy food.”
Father set down the heavy pouch.
Thick veins, etched by a lifetime of labor, stood out on the back of his hand.
Something in my chest grew hot.
'...Half?'
They needed living expenses to settle in the countryside, as well as money for Grandfather's medicine.
Giving half of it to me meant they would have to start over empty-handed again.
I pushed the pouch back toward Father.
“I won't take it, Father.”
“You brat! Then where will you sleep starting tonight? Are you going to sleep on the street?”
“Don't worry. I have money saved up.”
In truth, all the cash I had was the forty copper from my final wages.
The rest was tied up in stocks, so that was all I could use right away.
Still, I smiled as though I had plenty.
“I can take care of myself.”
“Really? You're not lying, are you?”
Mother asked worriedly.
“Of course not. You know I'm smart. Wherever I go, I won't starve to death.”
I held Mother's hand tightly.
“Please believe in me, Mother. I'll come see you after I become a great mage. Then I'll give you a comfortable life, so you need to stay healthy.”
Mother held my hand and could not speak for a long time.
“...All right. My son, I'm proud of you. You're smart, so you'll do well.”
“Then let's eat something delicious for dinner.”
“What do you want to eat?”
“Meat pie. Mother's cooking is the best.”
Mother's eyes widened, then a smile spread across her face.
“All right. Something my son likes. I'll make you as much as you want.”
A little later.
The savory scent of butter and roasting meat filled the house from the small kitchen.
Then...
“Young Master, how do you intend to repay the money you borrowed?”
“You're the son of a distinguished family, Young Master, so we're being courteous. Otherwise, we'd have skinned you alive already...”
Strangely polite yet chilling voices came from outside.
“Let go of me! How dare you! Do you want to die? Don't you know who I am?”
“Then just repay the money... Huh? Young Master... Where are you running... Hey, you bastard, stop right there!”
“Ahhh! Don't follow me! I said don't follow me!”
'What was that?'
I tilted my head toward the window for a moment.
Someone seemed to be getting chased, but I couldn't make out the details.
Then Mother set a new plate on the table.
“Hans, eat quickly. It'll get cold.”
“Yes, Mother.”
I turned my gaze back inside.
Whatever happened to whoever was outside, the only thing important to me at that moment was this table.
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