Ch. 66.2
He looked at Baek Yu-Seol with a curious expression, then immediately smiled meaningfully.
"Yeah, whether I have it or not."
It didn't take much time to brew the tea. Usually, in movies or something, a machine-like servant would appear at times like this and elegantly serve a cup of tea.
"Here, Riltea. Not many people know about it, and even fewer are fond of it, surprisingly."
Eltman placed a teacup in front of him. By the way, Baek Yu-Seol suddenly realized that Eltman was an impressive person.
Especially if one were a student at his academy, he would be terribly dote with you.
And that was understandable.
This 'Riltea' had gone extinct, so it no longer existed in the world.
It wasn't something to be readily offered to a mere seventeen-year-old student.
Baek Yu-Seol carefully smelled the tea without showing any signs.
‘Hmm, I don't know. No, to be honest, it's kind of revolting. It smells like a pig that only ate sweet potatoes for a month, and farted.’
‘What's so good about drinking this?’
Gulp!
As he devoured the tea quickly, almost like slurping ramen broth, Eltman chuckled.
"Enjoying the aroma, huh?"
"Yeah."
"Like the beautiful but melancholic scent of cherry blossoms in spring... Is that a review you read in a book?"
"You caught me."
"Haha, you truly are an interesting student."
Elteman chuckled and looked at the Riltea with a touch of sadness. There were only a few left, making it difficult to drink casually.
"How much do you know about Riltea?"
"Well, I don't know much detail."
He knew, but he pretended not to know.
"It's like a goose that lays golden eggs. That's a good analogy."
"Is that so?"
"In the western part of the continent, in the Loskaya Plains, there was a tribe that lived under the sky as their roof. They had nothing but their bodies, but they were the freest beings in this world. With just two legs, they could go anywhere in the world. Their passionate hearts embraced the whole world, and their sparkling eyes resembled stars in the dark. Their name was 'Rilt,' a brave tribe that faded into history decades ago."
Elteman took a sip of tea.
Baek Yu-Seol assumed the role of a documentary viewer and maintained a serious expression as much as possible.
The Rilt tribe enjoyed only one tea, and that was Riltea. It would have been enough for them to enjoy it among themselves, but it was a burden to introduce this tea to humans.
Riltea had a strange addictive quality. There were no actual addictive substances, but the desire to smell it over and over again arose.
Of course, Riltea didn't explode in popularity.
If one compared it to earthly food, it would be like mint chocolate or Hawaiian pizza…
No, it was more like a food that appealed to specific tastes.
It was similar to the fruit "durian" or "fermented herring.
Some people disliked it due to its unique smell and wouldn't even put it in their mouths, but those who fall for it become fanatical, like madmen, captivated by its unique charm.
Riltea gained popularity among a very small fraction of the population, and due to its tremendous addictiveness, the consumer base kept growing.
Unfortunately, the production volume was low, making it impossible to distribute large quantities.
Humans became greedy.
The Rilt tribe's warehouses were filled with an enormous amount of Riltea, but they only drank it among themselves, barely distributing small quantities to humans.
And so,
They set fire to the Rilt tribe.
Along with the recipe for Riltea production.
"This Riltea is one of the few remaining Rilteas in the world."
"....."
Honestly, at that point, one might wonder what was the point.
Should he drink it without any reservations? Perhaps Elteman didn't intend it that way.
Anyway, the story was over.
And for the first time, Baek Yu-Seol relaxed his expression with a sense of doubt.
"Is that so? That's strange."
"What's strange?"
"This Riltea... I used to drink it often at home."
"Haha, so your mother liked it too, I see."
"No, I still continue to drink it. Even in the dormitory."
At that, Eltman’s expression changed for the first time.
"... Huh, is there any more left?"
Elteman asked anxiously, but Baek Yu-Seol shook his head.
In response, he showed a disappointed expression.
However, it was still too early to be disappointed.
"There's none left, but I know about it. The Riltea recipe."
Clatter!
The moment he finished speaking, Elteman dropped the teacup onto the table. Perhaps due to his amazing sense of balance, the cup didn't spill, but he seemed genuinely surprised.
"T-That... is that true?"
"Do you think I would lie to the esteemed principal who is like heaven?"
He leaned towards Baek Yu-Seol with an unusually excited expression.
"How on earth did you come to know the recipe?"
‘No, please, don't ask me that. It's embarrassing.’
"Ahem, my mother taught me just like that..."
"Ah, your mother..."
So, he roughly unleashed his secret technique.
Eltman, who was hit by the unexpected move, calmed down for a moment, but his obsession with Riltea remained unchanged.
"You, don't you have any intention of selling that recipe to me? I'll pay a generous price."
Trading recipes... It was not a good idea. Riltea was an incredibly tricky recipe. Even more so than durian or fermented herring.
He might agree on the price, but in the first place, he didn't bring up this topic to make that small amount of money.
"Well, I'm not sure."
"Ah, I'll pay generously."
Eltman couldn't hold back his impatience. So, Baek Yu-Seol gradually stopped playing hard to get and got to the point.
"Money can be received from anyone, but the knowledge possessed by the principal can't be received from just anyone."
"... What do you mean?"
"The principal's Spatial Magical Enchantment Technique."
"Hmm...?"
"I want to receive that help just once."
Baek Yu-Seol’s words were quite new and surprising, causing Eltman's eyes to widen.
And Eltman had a reason for that. His magic attribute was spatial, after all.
In modern times, there was only one place where spatial magic was practically used.
The Warp Hole.
A revolutionary invention that greatly reduced the distance in the world.
Apart from the Warp Hole, which was a very convenient and comfortable means of transportation, there was no suitable place to use spatial enchantment.
But Baek Yu-Seol had one.
Using Alterisha’s Delta Augmentation Technology, if a Necromancer was hunted and looted for a Mana Vessel, and if a Class 9 spatial mage could enchant it…
A very excellent extradimensional space, an 'inventory', would be invented.
Yes, an inventory.
Because only mages who had mastered the Class 8 spatial attribute could use extradimensional spaces. And those who could handle them were extremely rare in the world.
However, after being developed using Delta Augmentation, anyone could use an inventory by paying a high price.
Moreover, with the help of Eltman, the Class 9 mage, he would be able to obtain a top-grade inventory.
"Think again, will you? Riltea recipe is currently discontinued. You can get quite a hefty price for it. But, my engineering is completely impractical. You know what that means, don't you?"
"Yes, I know. But, as a mage and an alchemist, who seeks the truth of matter; understanding the essence of magic used by Principle is the most valuable gift rather than a few coins."
Eltman's expression became more and more strange, as if he hadn't expected to hear that.
Principal Eltman, ignorant of Baek Yu-Seol’s goal, must have had a number of wandering thoughts by now.
How was it expressed in the game?
Eltman would feel guilty about proposing a deal to rip off a recipe from a student, and in the midst of that, Baek Yu-Seol received sincere admiration when he said that witnessing his magic was the most valuable experience in the world, more than money.
So, it would feel very strange to Eltman.
As expected, Eltman seemed uncomfortable, but also in a good mood, yet there was also a feeling that something was wrong as he looked at Baek Yu-Seol with a questioning expression.
"... Alright. If that's what you truly desire, let's make the deal."
‘Yahoo.’