Chapter 47: Making Money Should Be a Breeze

Although Dahl had finally gotten his hands on the long-awaited lotus leaf beggar’s chicken, he simply couldn’t feel any joy. So many gold coins spent—yet it would have been far more satisfying to buy a few roasted chicken heads or marinated chicken legs instead. The extravagant spending left him feeling oddly hollow.

Still, it wasn’t a total loss. Dahl glanced at the spices stored within his magical storage ring, and a spark of curiosity ignited in his mind. He intended to have his family’s alchemist analyze the contents. From his brief, tentative tasting, he had already discovered that adding these spices to food indeed elevated its flavor, creating a richer, more savory experience.

The craze over the beggar’s chicken mystery box had far exceeded Merlin’s expectations. The students were practically swimming in gold coins, with barely a place to spend them. In retrospect, he realized he had been far too conservative in his initial approach.

This clever trick—making use of discarded, “used” spices to slyly siphon money from these wealthy students—was exhilarating. Three thousand beggar’s chicken mystery boxes, each selling for three gold coins, meant nine thousand gold coins. Add in the marinated chicken legs, chicken necks, and other goodies, and today’s earnings could easily soar past ten thousand gold coins.

Gold flowing by the day! Suddenly, Merlin thought of his family’s debt—five hundred thousand gold coins. A mere half a million? Pathetically small! Feeling audacious, Merlin even dared to mutter the possibility of ten times that amount.

The Arcane Academy was, quite frankly, a breeding ground for easy profit—everywhere he looked, golden students glimmered like crops ready for harvest.

At the empty field behind the Beasts Academy, Merlin handed Jean a bonus of fifty gold coins. Those who had helped him sell the lotus leaf beggar’s chicken each received five gold coins. The students, already financially modest, were overjoyed. Faces beaming with gratitude, they all expressed heartfelt thanks toward Merlin.

The backfield, now stripped of most of its trees, revealed a smooth, open expanse. Galant, accompanied by a team of hired students, began constructing the small villa Merlin had requested. With the assistance of earth-elemental mages, the foundation was already laid. Merlin couldn’t help but marvel once more at just how perfectly suited earth mages were for construction work.

Among all these hardworking laborers, Merlin’s favorite was undoubtedly Isabelle Stacie. She was the model worker—chopping trees, repairing roads, preparing beggar’s chicken—her presence was everywhere. Her progress surpassed that of ninety-nine percent of the other laborers.

“A long-term hire! She must be a long-term hire!” Merlin resolved.

He approached Stacie, who at that moment was meticulously planing a piece of hardwood, her expression so concentrated she could have passed for a master carpenter with a decade of experience.

“Ahem… Isabelle Stacie?”

Hearing her name, Stacie looked up and met Merlin’s handsome gaze. Her cheeks flushed a delicate pink, and she straightened on the hard wood, brushing away the sawdust clinging to her forehead. “Boss Merlin… may I help you?” she asked, her tone polite yet tinged with curiosity.

“Well, after observing your work for some time, I’ve decided to make you a permanent hire.”

“Permanent hire?”

“Exactly. You will officially become my hardworking laborer, fully part of my team.”

Merlin spoke plainly, and Stacie’s heart swelled. Was he praising her diligence by calling her a “hardworking laborer”? She felt a surge of pride.

“Um… Boss, I’m not entirely sure what being ‘permanent’ entails,” she admitted.

“It means I intend to hire you long-term, with a steady salary—not just sporadic, casual work,” Merlin explained seriously.

Stacie’s eyes lit up at this, a spark of excitement visible. “Boss Merlin… are you saying I’d be employed like senior Jean?”

“Exactly. How does three hundred gold coins per month sound?”

Three hundred gold coins? Stacie hesitated. In the past, she would have accepted without question. But now… she had already earned over a hundred gold coins from just a few days of casual labor. Felling and processing a single hardwood tree into construction material earned her one gold coin, and she had already handled seventy or eighty.

With a bit more effort, she could easily earn nearly a thousand gold coins in a month.

A thousand gold coins! Even earning over a hundred in just a few days was a number she had never imagined before. If she knew Merlin earned tens of thousands of gold coins in a single day, she would surely faint.

“Think it’s too little?” Merlin asked, reading her thoughts. “Don’t worry. Three hundred gold coins is already a significant sum. Sure, casual work pays well now, but soon you’ll reach the limit of how many hardwoods you can chop in a day. Then, you won’t be able to earn so much in one go.”

Three hundred gold coins was her base salary, and Merlin made it clear it could increase with her performance. On top of that, there were bonuses for exceptional work. “Take Jean, for example. Today, he received a fifty-gold-coin bonus.”

Fifty coins just as a bonus? Isabelle’s eyes widened in shock. That was enormous.

“Boss, I accept your terms!”

After some hesitation, Stacie agreed to Merlin’s employment. He casually handed her a contract.

“Sign this, and you’re officially mine,” he said.

Stacie blushed as she glanced at the contract, checking carefully before signing her name without a second thought.

“Excellent, Stacie. From now on, you’re my employee. The hardwood chopping can be delegated to others—I have more important tasks for you.”

“Consider it done, Boss!” Stacie responded, already fully engaged.

“I’m pleased with your attitude. I heard that in your first-year Beast Academy breeding course, you chose dairy cow management, correct?”

“Yes, Boss!”

“Perfect. I plan to purchase large quantities of milk. Your task is to handle the negotiations with the teachers, and the lower the price you secure, the higher your bonus will be. Trust me, it’s a number you won’t want to refuse.”

Merlin activated his magical crystal card, infusing it with mana, revealing a truly staggering figure to Stacie.

[Gold Coins]

“I’ll ensure the task is completed, Boss!” Stacie’s eyes nearly popped out—she had never seen so many coins in her life.

“Excellent. I love employees with initiative! Go do your best—I trust you,” Merlin said, patting her shoulder with a satisfied grin.

In the continent of Aize, dairy products were scarce. Cream was practically unheard of. Merlin immediately recognized the business potential and planned to strike it rich through dairy. Milk was often discarded at the Beast Academy, considered nothing more than excess. But now, with a willing buyer, the teachers were eager to sell.

Even the students raising cows were thrilled. They had long envied the poultry-raising students, who received coin shares, and now they too would benefit.

The next day, after selling out the beggar’s chicken mystery box, Merlin returned to the backfield. By now, it felt entirely like his own territory. Work was underway everywhere, and he planned to build production workshops here. He was determined to become a big-time entrepreneur—spending all day at a stall was beneath him.

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