Chapter 11: The Price of Magic and Opportunity

Unless you have a money copier, in the end, you need to work to earn money.

But there’s no such thing, right?

In other words, as someone who is broke, I must work.

However, I am currently a student attending the Academy. Of course, my abilities or status aren’t much of an issue.

In the worst case, I could just carry bricks at a construction site. But the real problem is time.

The daily schedule at the Academy doesn’t end until at least 4 o’clock. When you factor in personal training, it gets even later, and for students involved in club activities, it gets even longer.

The dormitory curfew is from 10 p.m. onward. Because of this, it’s naturally difficult to find someone who will give me a job that fits my schedule.

“Should I really start looking for a part-time job that I can do at least on weekends?”

I muttered to myself while petting the cat sitting on my lap.

Ah! The cat is the same old-fashioned black cat I saw before. I hadn’t realized it until now, but after wandering around deliberately searching for it, I could roughly figure out the places it liked.

Places where the sunlight warmly shines, where the breeze gently blows, where the sound of rain is clear, and where there’s little human traffic.

They’re just places good for napping. They say cats sleep more than they are active, so it wasn’t for no reason that this little guy was sleeping when I first met it.

“Is there really no such thing as a money copier?”

The cat perked its ears as if it found my words absurd and looked up at me with its green eyes.

The cat meowed and slipped out of my arms. After stretching as if fully awake, it elegantly trotted away.

Ah, I had planned to give it a softer pat on the rear today, but I forgot. Oh well, I’ll give up on that for today.

But the cat, after walking a bit, turned its head to look back at me. That look was as if to say—

“Are you telling me to follow?”

Whether it understood my words or it was just a coincidence, the cat let out another drawn-out meow and slowly continued walking.

Since I didn’t have anything urgent to do at the moment, and it would take some time for my roommates to return to the dormitory, it wouldn’t be a problem for me to step out for a bit.

So I stood up to follow the cat.

The cat kept a reasonable distance between us, checking every now and then to see if I was following as it walked ahead.

Is it because expensive cats are smarter?

The place where the cat stopped was in front of the Academy’s main bulletin board.

Unlike the student board, the main Academy board was plastered with all sorts of notices.

There were posts telling people to stop entering the old building, posters promoting various clubs, and notices about repairing the barriers surrounding the Academy.

It was filled with a variety of content.

Still, seeing how all those posts were cleverly stuck up without overlapping, I had to admit it was impressive.

While I was looking around the board for any new announcements, the cat suddenly leaped onto my shoulder and bit off one of the pieces of paper attached to the board.

“You little rascal!”

If the owner of this post saw this, they might blame me for tearing it down. I immediately grabbed the cat and took the paper out of its mouth.

Was it trying to socially assassinate me by bringing me here?

I held the paper and checked the front and back. Fortunately, there was only a small tooth hole in the corner, and no major damage was done.

As I smoothed out the paper and prepared to put it back in its place on the board, the words written on it naturally caught my eye.

“Looking for a Magic Research Assistant”

Now that I think about it, I’ve heard that some wealthy magic students recruit assistants for their research.

From helping with chores like cleaning and errands on behalf of the busy researcher, to even becoming a test subject for the magic being researched.

Truly, money can get you anything in this world. But of course, I am a penniless nobody.

Intrigued, I looked over the details, and unlike other part-time job postings, this one was surprisingly short.

• Seeking a student to become a subject for magic experiments. Safety guaranteed. Temporary side effects may occur. For inquiries, please visit Magic Building Room 707.

It outright states that they’re looking for a test subject. Even though they guarantee safety, I still feel a bit hesitant. As I was about to look for other job postings—

• Compensation: 3 gold coins per week, with additional payment for each experiment.

What!?

I searched through other job postings to see if magic research assistant jobs generally paid well, but none had compensation as high as this one.

Even the highest-paying jobs don’t come close to this.

To make sure I wasn’t mistaken, I checked the paper in my hand again. It clearly stated 3 gold coins with additional payments.

And then, there was an extra line written below that:

• Number of positions available: 1

I quickly crumpled the paper and shoved it into my pocket.

I glanced around frantically, but luckily no one was watching me. The perfect crime was complete.

So this is what you brought me here to show!

I hurriedly chased after the cat that had already wandered off, scooping it up in my arms. The cat looked up at me as if asking what I was doing. It’s amazing how its expressions are so readable, and it even seems to act like it understands my words.

But that’s not important. This cat is truly my lucky charm! It was cute before, but now it looks absolutely adorable. I hugged it tightly to express my affection, rubbing my face against its soft fur.

Elysia received a flurry of playful cat punches that day.

***

After excusing myself from my friends and rushing through lunch, I now stand in front of Magic Building Room 707.

I took the paper out of my pocket again to double-check. Yep, it’s 707.

*Knock knock*

I gave the door a light knock, but there was no response from inside.

I wondered if they were out and debated whether I should come back later. Just then, I heard the sound of the door creaking open.

Even though it was still bright daylight, the inside of the lab was quite dark, with the curtains drawn.

There was only a small lamp providing light, but it wasn’t enough to illuminate the entire room.

I turned to greet the person who opened the door, but there was no one there. Could opening the door itself be magic? It’s a small, but useful spell.

“This way.”

A voice called from inside a side room. The structure of the lab seemed to connect two rooms.

I followed the voice into the next room, which was just as dark, lit only by a small lamp.

In the faint light, I could make out a long sofa. On the sofa lay a petite girl, not as small as Anne, but still quite small, leaning against the armrest, looking in my direction.

Her long hair, flowing down the sofa, was black, just like mine in my previous body. However, unlike my dull appearance, her black hair carried a sense of elegance that was hard to believe.

And her eyes, clearly visible even in the dim light, were a brilliant green, reminiscent of emeralds.

It’s a dimly lit room, but such little light cannot hide the natural beauty of this girl.

However, her somewhat youthful appearance leans more towards cuteness than beauty at the moment.

Perhaps it’s due to her looks, or maybe because I know she’s a magician, but there’s an air of mystery about her.

On one hand, it feels oddly familiar despite being our first meeting.

“Ah, I saw the posting about hiring assistants and came here!”

I handed her the paper I was holding.

Her emerald gaze flicked briefly to the paper in my hand before returning to me.

Oh no! This paper was from the bulletin board; will she scold me for taking it without permission?

But contrary to my worries, there’s no expression of reproach on her face.

In fact, there’s no change in her expression at all. She has been looking rather languid since I arrived.

“Okay. Then let’s get the contract…”

She raised her hand and snapped her fingers toward the air.

A piece of paper that was resting in the corner flew toward me.

Her gaze remained fixed on me as she continued to lie down.

I gave up on getting a detailed explanation and picked up the paper in front of me.

The paper contained the detailed terms of the contract.

I checked to make sure, though it seemed unlikely, that the promised weekly pay of 3 gold coins and the additional compensation weren’t lies.

Fortunately, the contract clearly stated that 3 gold coins and additional compensation would be provided.

There were also a few other items, such as both parties cannot arbitrarily terminate the contract and the employee must do their best in the employer’s experiments…

But as someone who desperately needs every coin, I had no reason to terminate the contract or slack off and get fired.

I quickly signed the contract, fearing that lingering here might lead them to look for another part-time worker.

As soon as I signed, the contract slipped from my hand and flew back to the girl lying down.

Was it indeed the right choice to sign the contract?

The girl, examining the contract, smiled softly with her small mouth, a sign that her expression wasn’t entirely devoid of change but rather had minimal changes.

Finally, she rose from her position.

“So… what’s your name?”

“Elysia Frentz!”

Her demeanor was poised.

Though she’s small in stature and appears quite young, she is now my master, my lord, my savior, my boss.

It’s only natural for her to adopt such an attitude.

“I am Presia Gatina. Well then, since lunch break isn’t long, shall we get started?”

See? Even our boss seems to appreciate my attitude, smiling slightly.

But why does it feel so chilly in this room without sunlight?