The World I Was Supporting Was Real - Chapter 98



98. There are so many really huge people in the world…

Not content with making bread from air, she completed a fertilizer that makes plants grow wherever it’s spread.

More food came to the countless starving people of the continent.

Since supplies could be obtained just by spreading this miraculous fertilizer locally, it naturally saved on the cost of transporting food in proportion.

Produce that would spoil quickly, unable to be stored for long, was also being supplied directly from the source, a bonus on top of the fact that richer ingredients were now finding their way into the mouths of the poor.

“Truly… thank you so much, Priestess…”

“The great grace of the Magician, the love of Yggwgdun… we will never forget it.”

Reyna’s standing, the one who made this great invention a reality, soared to the heavens.

At the same time, the reputation of the Order that supported the research and the countless magicians who directly participated in it rose right alongside her.

For the time being, they had to continue working through the night with Reyna to keep churning out this ‘Miracle Fertilizer’—but magicians, as a breed, were more willing to die for honor than profit, so they could produce sufficient amounts of fertilizer without many complaints.

Money was money, but above all, the honorable title of ‘the magician who made bread from air’ was enough to elevate the intellectual vanity of the magicians, and young talents naturally flocked to walk the path of magic under Reyna, who had wrought such a miracle.

Capitalizing on the attention, they directly petitioned the Imperial Palace to actively improve the dilapidated facilities, repairing the roof and, of course, starting to construct additional research labs alongside it.

To cut a long story short—

The Wood-Attribute Magic Tower became the mecca of all magicians, surpassing even the high and mighty Fire-Attribute Magic Tower’s support rates by leaps and bounds, becoming the largest tower at lightning speed.

And at its center was Tower Master Reyna Firensti.

She quickly cemented her name as the greatest magician on the continent.

But.

Before the celebratory champagne could be uncorked, she had far too much to do.

“I’m dying here…”

“I know it’s honorable work and we’re getting paid well, but at this rate, I’m going to drop dead.”

The creation of this ‘Miracle Fertilizer’ still required vast amounts of mana.

No matter how plainly Reyna could handle the facts, handling that level of mana meant they had to keep grinding through magicians.

Under such circumstances, it was virtually impossible to maintain a continuous two-shift system indefinitely.

Many had joined the Wood-Attribute Magic Tower additionally, but the number of magicians who were capable of ‘collaborating with other magicians by utilizing a large amount of mana’ was bound to be small, so adding more teams was also awkward.

And furthermore—

‘The plain facts are fading away…’

Reina, who channeled divine light through the mana pathways, instinctively sensed that this immense power wasn’t an inexhaustible resource.

‘It seems there’s room for improvement.’

To reduce the consumption of plain facts, the ‘efficacy’ of the fertilizer just needed to be slightly lowered.

The spell formula was already completed, so it wasn’t a particularly difficult task for Reina.

Even if it didn’t make plants sprout immediately, a world where the fields could be continuously cultivated would be a completely different place from the past.

Moreover, while making fertilizer was important, with this power, she could create much more incredible things.

For that reason as well, it was vital to conserve plain facts. There was no guarantee that the divine being would provide this power again, after all.

Thus—

This ‘miracle fertilizer production,’ which had been running a large group of mages non-stop for 24 hours, came to an end after three weeks.

Even excluding the week that was solely dedicated to researching the spell formula, after two weeks of field-testing the fertilizer, she had spent all her time guzzling potions and solely creating this, so she managed to secure more of it than she’d initially expected.

‘With this amount, we should be able to solve the immediate food shortage.’

Reina, looking satisfied, called out to the mages whose dark circles were pronounced.

“Everyone, you’ve all done a great job. If anyone would like to stay at the Wood Attribute Tower, please consult with Vice-Tower Master Stella!”

“Thank you for your hard work!”

“It’s been so long since I’ve been able to return to my family…”

“It would be good if as many people as possible were freed from the fear of starvation.”

“I’m going to go to the church starting today.”

About 60% of the remaining mages entered the Wood Attribute Tower, and finally—the ‘Fertilizer Expedition’ was disbanded—

Reina was finally able to return from the lab to the Tower Lord’s room after a full three weeks.

‘Ughhh…’

Having finished showering, Reina threw herself onto the bed.

Truly.

Truly, to think she could make bread from air!

The moment she’d opened her eyes to the ‘plain fact’, she’d known it was possible –

but still, knowing something and actually witnessing it were two very different things.

Now, my name will be etched in history.

As the great archmage who freed people from hunger.

But Reina’s desire wasn’t for her own fame and fortune.

If that had been her goal, she would have just joined the fire attribute magic tower.

Reina – wanted to explore new territories.

That was why she’d come to the wood attribute magic tower, where mana could be used in the most diverse ways.

Her ambition for the Tower Lord position stemmed from the same reason. The Tower Lord could act freely in a far greater range of possibilities.

Reina lay on the bed and opened her hand.

Then, she stretched it high above her.

Unreachable, but surely existing, this plain, subtle divine fact…

The moment she caressed it, a powerful wave of drowsiness crashed over her.

Most likely it was due to the tension releasing after the hot water.

No matter how much she’d relied on potions, she hadn’t slept for three whole weeks… her body, unable to speak, must be screaming in agony.

There, the not-so-sociable her, caught in a kind of ‘excited state’ with her new discovery, the after-effects of the drug completely worn off.

‘I lived too hard… I’ll rest now… ‘

Reyna muttered, finally falling into a deep sleep.

She woke up exactly two days later, in the morning.

* * *

A few days later.

A soldier arrived at the Wood Magic Tower.

“His Imperial Majesty sends word?!”

“Yes! As a token of appreciation for Lady Reyna Pirenstia’s hard work, he formally invites her to a luncheon.”

Stella shook Reyna, who was standing beside her, looking dazed.

“Tower Master! This is great! It’s an opportunity!”

“Opportunity?”

“You know!! We can’t keep asking the Saintess for help forever!”

“…Ah!”

Reyna nodded as if she understood.

If she were to directly meet the Emperor, she could more actively suggest things like budget issues.

It was even possible that she could get approval on the spot. After all, she would be meeting the highest decision-maker, the Emperor.

She could also take this chance to reconsider the image of the Wood Magic Tower.

The sight of the Emperor himself treating her, the Wood Magic Tower Master, with such deference would be enough to scratch at the Fire Magic Tower Master’s insides.

Reyna, having thought that far, didn’t hesitate and replied to the soldier.

“Right away, I’ll prepare.”

“Yes! I shall escort you as soon as the preparations are complete.”

* * *

“Welcome, Lady Reina Pirenstia. This way, please.”

Following the Imperial maid’s guidance, Reina entered the inner grounds of the Igwogwodun Imperial City.

‘Woah… ‘

They said it had become much more austere than before, but the interior of the Imperial City still felt lavish, drawing her gaze. She walked the red carpet and arrived at the luncheon hall –

Hair that glittered like a field of ripe wheat,

Deep aquamarine eyes that seemed to hold the sea, and an asymmetrical hairstyle that made the woman all the more striking. An incredibly beautiful woman extended a hand towards her, and spoke.

“It is an honor to meet you, Reina Pirenstia.”

“Y-Your Imperial Majesty, I greet you…!”

“No need for stiff greetings. Please, have a seat.”

Eirene waved a hand dismissively at Reina, who was kneeling on one knee to show respect, and settled herself in the head seat.

It was a luncheon, but the only people present were Reina and Eirene.

Reina naturally took a seat across from her, carefully taking in Eirene.

‘She’s beautiful… ‘

She thought the saint was incredibly beautiful when she’d met her, but…

Eirene was so breathtakingly lovely, it was as if beauty itself had been made flesh.

The snow-white skin peeking through golden hair, deep sea-colored eyes that symbolized the imperial family, and a chest so large that it looked like it might burst from the dress at any moment…

‘They’re even bigger than the Saint’s… ?!’

If Erin felt like a blooming, relatively fresh flower girl, then Eirene was something akin to deeply mature and ripe, one might say.

Above all, she had the presence of a mother who would accept any amount of coddling.

There really are so many people in the world with such big chests…

“You’ve worked so incredibly hard, Reina. I can’t even begin to count the number of lives your magic saved. You have done what the imperial family could not, perhaps making you an even greater being than I.”

“Not at all. I believe it would have been impossible without the active support of the Saint and His Majesty the Emperor, and the straightforward facts presented by Master Igweogweodon.”

“Even if Master Igweogweodon’s intent is grand, one cannot dismiss the role of the vessel that actualizes it. I, as a proxy of God’s will, will never forget your hard work.”

Watching Eirene smile kindly as she spoke, Reina swallowed the thoughts bubbling up inside her.

‘She used to be so cold and terrifying… she’s definitely changed.’

Though she had never had an audience as direct as today – from the emperor’s orders passed down from the past, it wasn’t hard to grasp her personality.

‘Just focus on making outstanding potions. You can pretty much disregard ethical concerns regarding magical research’—that’s what it was.

Before she even managed to make any meaningful progress, the Saint appeared and the research was abruptly shelved, which meant she never even had a chance to break those ethical rules- but regardless, the Eirene in front of her now seemed very far removed from the person who’d issued such an order.

Just then.

“Your Majesty. I will begin serving.”

With the voice, imperial chefs began filling the table.

The food itself wasn’t overly extravagant.

From what she’d heard from her now-retired master, the former imperial table used to serve monstrous fare—like slathered and coated dishes with piles of seasoning just to flaunt their wealth-

But what she saw before her now was nothing like that. Surprisingly, the dishes were mainly comprised of common ingredients, skillfully prepared.

Of course, some dishes stood out more than others.

“This is…?”

“You must have heard of it? It’s chicken. A divine gift.”

Ah, so this is that legendary fried chicken dish.

The rumors were all over the place when the church was giving out free chicken, saying it was the taste of heaven and all that.

I wasn’t really into food, and I was too busy lazing around in the magic tower to ever try it myself—

‘It’s just fried chicken, it’ll probably just be slightly crispy chicken.’

Thinking that, I was about to casually grab a fork and knife, when—

“Huhu… Reina, that’s not how you eat it.”

“Huh…?”

Eirene, with that refined smile of hers again, picked it up with her hand… and without a care for etiquette, in a truly wild manner, ripped into it.

*Crunch!*

“……!!”

“Ah… the more I eat, the more I feel the love of the gods, a taste of heaven. Here, you taste it too.”

Reina, carefully, picked it up with her hand.

The piece was… a leg, I guess.

Come to think of it, the end of the leg did look like a handle.

From noble mtl dot com

“Then, excuse me.”

Reina took a bite.

—*CRUNCH!*

The first thing that hit her was the aroma.

A blend of countless spices, a fragrance that is aimed directly at a person’s appetite!

Then, hot juices soaked her palate and tongue.

The crisp, satisfying crunch of fried food, a thrill that harmonized with the chewy flesh.

If she were just ordinary.

If she were just a normal person, she’d simply finished by saying, “It’s delicious.”

If her palate were sensitive, she might have gone a step further, launching into a fiery speech about why this divinely bestowed dish was the greatest chicken dish in history.

But.

Reina, chosen by the gods.

Unlike Erin, who couldn’t access the mana pathway, Reina, who fully accepted the unadulterated facts with her own body, had reached a level where she could nearly replicate ‘godly things’ with her own hands—

“……!!!!”

By crushing it, crunching it and swallowing it down her throat.

By simply eating, she understood what it was.

What thoughts had been in God’s mind when he’d created this food.

In a fleeting moment, she glimpsed into ‘the divine realm,’

And therefore—

‘This feeling is… … !!!’

Several images, unknown yet, flashed like a revolving lantern through Reina’s mind.

The sauce. A deep, crimson sauce.

The powder. Golden powder, sprinkled on top.

Divine food, perfected finally within the divine realm.

And-

“――Cola!”

A strange word, suddenly muttered by Reina. Eirene tilted her head, a hint of bewilderment in her voice.

“Hmm? What are you talking about, all of a sudden, Reina?”

“Cola… Do you not have any cola, Your Majesty? This… I think it would taste good with cola?”

“……???”

――Unconsciously, she spoke a word she herself didn’t understand.