Chapter 65: As You Sow, So Shall You Reap

“Circulation as a shield, torrents as a blade—『Water Blessing』.”

Rapidly swirling currents surged and then vanished. Lulumia opened her panel, her tail standing up in excitement.

After these days of relentless effort, her mana value had finally reached 130 points, and her level had risen to Level 5.

Besides the fact that 『Water Blessing』 had a higher mana-enhancement efficiency than 『Water Bullet』, and the additions of two buff-type titles—『Recognition of Archpriest Kren』 and 『Gaze of Athena』—the rest was entirely due to her own hard work.

During these days, Lulumia had observed the students within the newspaper office. Aside from herself, who insisted on draining her mana before every meal, no one else did so. When Lulumia asked them why, the students’ answer was: “It’s enough to exhaust our mana during class. As magic casters, we must keep our mana sufficient at all times to handle emergencies.”

It sounded somewhat reasonable, but in Lulumia’s eyes, it was just an excuse for their own laziness.

It was just like students who only study in the classroom and completely relax once they get home or go on holiday, never previewing or reviewing their lessons. Although there is logic to balancing work and play, when it comes to actual results, those who utilize their spare time to study will certainly have the advantage.

One cannot become a Great Mage by using such excuses to slack off.

Although she really wanted to tell the students, “You’ll regret this later,” advising people to study was a hackneyed topic. Those who would listen didn’t need the advice, and those who wouldn’t listen wouldn’t change their minds anyway. Lulumia simply smiled and let it pass.

Unlike her, the students couldn’t see the progress of their mana enhancement, so her words didn’t carry much weight.

“Has it been a month…?”

Feeling the mana surging within her body, Lulumia lowered her head, her right hand repeatedly clenching and releasing.

It had been over a month since she transmigrated to this world, and she had only started practicing magic two weeks ago. To go from Level 1 to Level 5 in less than half a month and use 『Water Blessing』 as naturally as her own limbs was truly rapid progress.

Her gaze shifted to 『Gaze of Athena』. Compared to other titles, the effect of 『Gaze of Athena』 was more powerful: 「Mana Limit Growth Rate Increase · Medium」, 「Space Magic and Fire Magic Acquisition Speed Increase · Medium」.

Specifically, in the past, it might have taken ten casts of 『Water Blessing』 to increase her mana limit by 1 point; now, it only took six or seven. The margin of improvement was quite considerable. As for why 『Gaze of Athena』 brought about such a significant change, she couldn’t say; perhaps only asking Athena himself would provide the answer.

In addition, there was another pleasing development.

As her mana limit increased, the number of times Lulumia could use 『Water Blessing』 also increased. Previously, her mana would be exhausted after using it five times in a short period; now, even using it fifteen times wouldn’t drain it, which in turn allowed her to accumulate mana limits even faster.

At this rate, she should be able to reach Level 10 and enter the First Tier in another half a month. At that point, she could call herself a “First-Tier Magic Caster.”

Keep it up!

Clenching her fist in excitement, Lulumia, dressed in a gorgeous pure white gown, smoothed her silver hair and walked out the door.

—

Passing through the winding, narrow old streets, Lulumia arrived at the small hill where the newspaper office was located. The winter air was dry, cold, and bleak, blowing her hair into a mess. Fortunately, the gown Ino had given her had a warming effect; otherwise, if she were still wearing that ill-fitting church dress, her small hands would likely be frozen cold by now.

She didn’t go to the newspaper office first but headed straight for the old church. As soon as she stepped into the main hall, she heard the sounds of an argument between Sander and Kren coming from the side room in the distance. She stepped forward quickly and knocked on the door, and the dispute inside came to an abrupt halt.

The one who opened the door was Sander. He wore glasses and a simple robe; at first glance, he looked like a common old man.

“Mia?” Sander looked surprised. “Why are you here?”

“I heard from the students at the newspaper office yesterday that today is the day for the official printing of the Holy Scriptures, so I came to take a look. Am I interrupting you, Grandpa Sander and Grandpa Kren?”

“The printing hasn’t started yet; you’ve arrived just in time.” Inside the room, Kren had a stiff expression, looking a bit disgruntled. “Sander and I were discussing which Holy Scripture to print first. Give us some advice.”

Isn’t this a “damned if I do, damned if I don’t” question?

Lulumia’s head throbbed instantly. Had she known, she would have come later.

She shrunk her neck and said timidly, “I… I don’t know much about the Holy Scriptures… but since the first batch is for the Pope to see, wouldn’t it be better to print books that showcase the advantages of the printing press? Such as articles with many words, biographies, and the like. Poetry might not be appropriate; um, I think common people probably wouldn’t understand poetry either. Simple and easy-to-understand books would be better.”

Kren gave a “Hmph,” his goatee curling up with pride.

“I told you, Sander. You’ve sat in the Central Temple for too long and forgotten the feelings of the common people. How could ordinary people understand hymns?”

“Since it’s for His Holiness, only hymns can convey a sense of holiness; otherwise, how will we deal with those people in the College of Cardinals? Forget it, Mia is here, I won’t argue with you.” Sander waved his hand and turned his gaze to Lulumia. “Has anyone else come to the newspaper office to collect protection money lately?”

“Thanks to Grandpa Sander and Grandpa Kren, no.”

“That’s good.” Sander stroked his chin, showing a kind smile.

“You don’t know, but the day the Holy Knights reported the news that someone came to the old church to collect protection money, this old fossil Kren went to the City Guard that very night. He said those maggots at the foot of the old church hill were lawless and dared to trample on the Church’s head. Throwing a heavy accusation like that around… the noble in charge of the City Guard came to apologize to me the very next day.”

“I expect in a couple of days, the relevant noble will bring the suspects to you and offer some compensation. Remember to tell those students so they aren’t frightened.”

……

“Hmph, I was only stating facts. Mia gave the Church such a precious gift; now that she’s being bullied, how can the Church sit idly by? A bunch of idle fools daring to provoke the dignity of the Church.” As he spoke, Kren’s goatee trembled, clearly still angry.

Lulumia could only obediently bow and salute the two of them respectively.

“Thank you, Grandpa Sander, Grandpa Kren.”

—

“This is all within my duty, no need for thanks,” Kren said, picking up a printed sheet from the table. Over the past few days, under the guise of “helping with printing,” Lulumia had assigned some students to the printing house to learn how to use the machines, so Kren hadn’t been idle either.

However, as soon as Kren held up the paper, the monocle in his eye socket fell out. He clicked his tongue impatiently, and Sander walked over to him with a grin, taking off his own glasses and handing them over.

“How about trying mine? This thing is much easier to use than your antique.”

“What are you posing for? Showing off every day, haven’t you had enough?”

“Oh, I’m kindly lending them to you and you’re still unhappy? Mia gave these to me. They’re both sturdy and clear; wearing them out for a walk doesn’t get in the way at all. Ah, truly a good thing. What misery I suffered before… Kren, you’re just calling the grapes sour because you can’t reach them—”

These two old guys…

Lulumia was speechless for a moment. Although she knew Kren and Sander were old acquaintances and had a good relationship in private, seeing the two antiques bickering still gave her a forehead full of black lines.

I should prepare a pair for Kren later too.

Thinking about these things, Lulumia waited until the two old men were mostly finished with their chatter before preparing to state her purpose for coming today. However, before she could speak, Sander spoke first. He retracted his playful look, his wrinkled, aged face showing neither joy nor anger.

“Mia, your newspaper office is doing well. I see those students writing things every day, running around saying they’re ‘looking for news.’ I’ve also read the first issue of the newspaper; it’s better than I imagined. It’s just that there are too many things involved. It’s fine while there are few readers, but once the readership grows, there will eventually be trouble. You must be careful.”

Information is money. Taking shipping schedules as an example: those who used to profit from information asymmetry would now suffer losses due to the transparency of the newspaper’s information. They would inevitably feel dissatisfied with the newspaper office and seek revenge. Sander was reminding Lulumia of this point.

“I came here today precisely to speak about this,” Lulumia said, hands clasped in front of her waist, head lowered apologetically. “I want to ask Grandpa Sander and Grandpa Kren… could you please not tell anyone that I am the president…?”

“It’s possible, but the newspaper office isn’t going anywhere; that won’t change anything.”

“So what if it’s not going anywhere? Those storerooms are Church property. Does anyone dare to tear the roof off the Church?”

“Hey, Kren, some things aren’t as simple as you think. Shut up for a bit.” Sander turned his palm toward Kren, signaling him to be quiet for a moment.

Lulumia bit her lip, looking troubled.

“For now, it’s enough as long as the secret of me being the president isn’t revealed. We’ll have to face future matters eventually.”

Sander and Kren looked at each other. Neither could understand Lulumia’s intent, but as Sander said, the organization of the newspaper office did not belong to the Church. His act of keeping it a secret did not violate Church ethics, so there was no harm in agreeing.

The topic ended easily. Lulumia watched the two of them resume operating the printing press and discuss layout issues before quietly backing out of the room. This was the work of literary experts; she couldn’t intervene.

Next, she returned to the newspaper office and gathered the staff members who were preparing the second issue.

Having received their first-ever wages, the students’ enthusiasm was very high. They immediately put down their work and gathered in Lulumia’s office.

“President, what’s the hurry?” The previously gentle-looking boy asked eagerly. “Sister Lije and the others are still in class; they won’t be here until the afternoon.”

Lulumia’s expression was serious.

“There is only one thing I have to announce. From now on, no matter who asks who the president is, you must not say my name. Instead, you are to say the president’s name is ‘Miphil.’ And it’s not just me; you must also use pseudonyms when writing news in the future.”

—

“Does that mean a pen name? Why?”

—

“A tall tree catches the wind. Future news will inevitably offend the nobility. If you don’t want to be found by nobles for trouble, do not rashly mention your pen name in your daily life.”

Lulumia straightened her back, her expression becoming righteously solemn.

“The newspaper is a tool to publish information to the common people that was previously monopolized by nobles and merchants. You all come from common backgrounds and have interacted with those habitually overbearing nobles in the academy; you know what kind of character those nobles have. If, in the future, incidents of nobles arbitrarily bullying commoners occur, you who write the news will be the defenders of fairness and justice. You can spread sunlight into the dark corners that usually go unreached. Therefore, this is a precaution. I don’t want anyone to get hurt because they dared to tell the truth.”

“So it has that meaning… then wouldn’t the president who organized us become even more of a thorn in the nobles’ side?”

“I will absolutely not say a single word of the president’s secret!”

“I can also become a partner of justice…”

The students responded eagerly one after another, their eyes even showing strong longing and fanaticism. Students of this age were the easiest to incite with ideals of justice, not to mention they had just earned their first pot of gold from Lulumia and naturally had a good impression of her.

This was sufficient.

Lulumia nodded with satisfaction. She didn’t expect this secret to be kept forever; if someone determined were to investigate, they could probably figure out the ins and outs in a week or two.

But the longer it stayed a secret, the better. Even if it were only for two short weeks, it would be enough for her to make many arrangements.

For instance, right now, the Holy Son of Black Stone was surely scratching his head in anger, wanting to know exactly who was digging up his dark history.

***

The Noble District.

Viscount Berlen’s Mansion.

Roden, the Holy Son of Black Stone, had been in a good mood lately. Coming from a background of street thugs, he hadn’t been tempted by demons and had successfully passed the trial of the Seal of Original Sin. This greatly emboldened him, making him feel that he was one step closer to the position of Saint.

Today, having been called home by his adoptive father, Lord Viscount Berlen, he presumed it was to encourage him or give him a reward. Roden thought this as he strolled through the noble district with his hands in his pockets. His gaze wantonly swept over the maidservants on both sides of the street, and he even let out a light whistle from time to time, his ego so inflated he felt he could almost fly.

Of course, he couldn’t be blamed. Originally a little beggar rolling in the mud who couldn’t read a word, he had jumped overnight to become a candidate for the Holy Son and an adopted son of a noble, enjoying wealth and the service of beauties while everyone looked at him with admiration. Anyone in such a situation would be exultant and self-satisfied.

—

But come to think of it, why did the atmosphere today feel a bit strange?

Watching those maidservants on the street turn away to avoid him—some even rushing away as if they had seen a ghost—Roden frowned. In the past, when he whistled, the maidservants would blush, and most would nod to him shyly. What was wrong today?

Roden couldn’t understand. He sought out a few more maidservants to test them, but the result was the same. Some even cast looks of disgust at him, which instantly reminded him of the days when he was just a poor beggar in the slums. His mood suddenly turned foul.

Dammit, I’m a noble now!

He thought resentfully, secretly noting the appearance of that maidservant and swearing to make her pay the price in the future.

He quickened his pace and returned to Viscount Berlen’s mansion. With a respectful expression, he knocked on the door of his father—Lord Viscount Berlen—as usual.

Then, he saw the grim expression on Viscount Berlen’s face inside the room, as well as the large, folded sheet of paper placed on the desk.