Subscriber of the Gods

When Ethan appeared, Yerica greeted him with a welcoming smile as if she had been waiting for him.

“Oh, you’re here? Looks like you’ve had a hard time. Your clothes are a bit dirty.”

“I went to the temple, but there was a visitor who arrived before me. It wouldn’t move out of the way because it was the first one to arrive, so I took care of it.”

“A visitor? What do you mean?”

“It was a very long visitor. I don’t know how long exactly, but it took about an hour just to dismantle the loot.”

Ethan flicked his wrist and immediately opened his dimensional pocket, revealing snake leather.

The snake leather coming out of the subspace pouch was countless in number.

“With that many, it must have been a huge monster. Are you okay physically?”

“I almost passed out.”

Ethan nodded his head, and Yerica immediately supported him.

“Oh?”

Yerica looked at Ethan’s hand.

There was an item in his hand that wasn’t there before he entered.

“Looks like you’ve obtained something amazing. The magical power in it is no joke.”

“After going through all this trouble, I should at least get something good, right? Don’t you think?”

Ethan then asked about the Fairy Queen.

“She said the forest isn’t completely purified yet, so she went back to take care of it first. And she asked me to give you this.”

She handed him a bundle of herbs that looked quite valuable.

“She said it’s a token of her connection with you, Ethan.”

“Good deeds always come with rewards.”

Ethan was quite pleased with the fairies who generously gave until the end.

* * *

Ethan swiftly returned to Whiskers County using the Wind Riding skill.

‘I thought I was the only one who could use it.’

Wind Riding was a movement skill that allowed for swift travel.

Seeing that proficiency increased with each registered location, it seemed better to register many places rather than using it frequently.

“Teleportation, huh? Even I still can’t use it.”

Yerica muttered with a dark expression.

Ethan gently reassured her.

“Don’t worry. It doesn’t mean I no longer need you.”

“I’m not worried about that.”

However, Yerica’s face showed a slight blow to her pride.

‘She’ll improve even more.’

Ethan knew her personality well. This kind of stimulation could be a good driving force for her growth.

“It seems like there are even more people now. There’s nowhere to set foot.”

Yerica sighed. The market was bustling with numerous people.

There were more people than Ethan had anticipated.

“Hahaha! Finally got it! I waited for five hours!”

“It was worth the wait!”

People seemed quite satisfied with the weight reduction magic.

But there was something more. The magic they had been researching in Magic Tower stood out.

Whoosh!

“Ugh, I couldn’t afford to buy an Elemental Sword.”

“It may not be real, but I never thought you can get a fire enchantment at this price.”

The equipment of the people shimmered with fire effects.

This magic was called the Fire Illusion, one of the spells that Marakan had been researching in Magic Tower.

While typical illusion magic showcased illusions, Fire Illusion added fake fire effects to equipment, purely for the sake of aesthetics.

From one perspective, it was magic that had no practical effect and merely created flickering fire effects. However, the realistic fire effects appealed to people.

Not only that, but illusion spells from other mages who were researching similar techniques to Marakan were also popular.

“I never knew that would be so popular. It doesn’t have any real effects. it’s just an illusion that looks like elemental magic.”

Yerica expressed her disapproval.

“I admit that the magic is quite challenging, but… if they had put that effort into something else, they would never have been driven out of Magic Tower.”

“Yerica, people have their own dreams.”

Those mages with strong beliefs and persistence were the ones pursuing those dreams.

“You don’t understand those dreams.”

“I don’t want to understand.”

Whoosh!

“Even if you look at that Wind Magic illusion?”

“…”

“Or what about the Illusion that emanates a green aura?”

Within the territory, there were countless people adorned with elemental magic illusions.

These elemental illusions, like Yerica’s weight reduction magic enchantments, were designed with a time limit mechanism.

Unlike other weight reduction magic enchantments, these illusion spells could only be used by the enchanters of the Weight Reduction Workshop.

In other words, it meant that the magic couldn’t be obtained elsewhere, even with a subscription

Moreover, with their appealing appearances, people were highly satisfied with the illusion spells adorning their equipment.

“But even if they’re satisfied like that… won’t they stop coming back once the subscription period ends?”

Ethan shook his head.

They would inevitably come back again.

“They’ll come back anyway. So when they come back, they should feel like they’ve gained something, just as if they benefited from it. That way, they’ll come back a third, fourth time, and so on.”

“Is there a way to do that?”

“There is. When they make their second visit, we’ll automatically extend their subscription by 10 days. And on the third visit, we’ll add another 5 days, making it a total of 15 days. And I plan to expand the variety as well.”

“Variety?”

“Look at the expressions on Marakan’s and other mages’ faces.”

“Even though they’re tirelessly working, they look incredibly happy?”

From a distance, it was clear that the mages’ expressions showed happiness despite their apparent fatigue.

Despite engaging in magic sales that all the mages despised, their expressions were bright.

They were being acknowledged now.

“This is just the beginning. Once you receive recognition, you can’t stop. Over time, the desire for recognition will diminish, but once it starts…”

Then there was no choice but to go all out. Once they had tasted that initial feeling, they would want to continue experiencing it.

“They’ll improve and advance existing magic. If that happens, customers won’t be able to resist coming. Since they started with swords and armor, they’ll want to apply illusion magic to other parts of their equipment as well.”

Yerica nodded as if she were possessed.

At first, she didn’t understand, but the more she listened, the more Ethan’s words seemed natural to her.

“I’m thinking of enchanting my sword as well.”

“What? You mean with that Fire Illusion?”

“Yeah.”

“But Ethan, your sword is an Ice Blade. It’s flowing with icy energy.”

“That’s exactly why I think I can deceive them more.”

“Are you serious?”

“About half of it.”

He contemplated bestowing a Fire Illusion on his Claw Sword, in addition to the Frost Sword.

“But if there are more people than now, can Count Whiskers handle it?”

“What can’t he handle? We’ll have to discuss it with Count, but we can expand the size of the market beyond what it is now.”

“It can be expanded?”

“From what I’ve learned, it used to be much larger in the past. Even when the territory was smaller than it is now, the market was bigger.”

Once upon a time, Whiskers County was the center of this region.

Various craftsmen had established themselves in the Whiskers County market, and to buy their goods, one had to visit Whiskers County.

However, when the craftsmen left, the market became useless.

“Now the market has shrunk.”

“So, can it be restored to its original size?”

“That’s right. If that happens, we can accommodate even more people than now. Of course, there will be a maximum capacity, but if that happens.”

“And you can restore it to its glory? With your power, Ethan.”

Ethan smiled slyly.

“That’s the plan.”

* * *

“Count, I’m not sure if I should report this, but…”

The steward reported to Count Whiskers with a worried expression.

“Thanks to Young Master Ethan’s business, the territory is accumulating an insane amount of money. It’s the first time we’ve had this much money, and I’m at a loss on how to manage it.”

Count Whiskers, holding the steward’s report, widened his eyes in disbelief.

He had expected a significant influx of money, but to this extent?

“Just how much is this? With this, we won’t need to rely on other territories. We can also replenish the knights we had downsized and restart the subjugation of the surrounding areas.”

“But that’s not all. There’s another issue.”

“Another issue?”

Count Whiskers asked with a puzzled expression.

“The fact is, Ethan’s business is continuously growing. Even the current visitors to the territory are too many, and the space is insufficient. The number could increase by at least 1.5 times, if not more. It seems like they started offering other magic in addition to the originally provided weight reduction magic.”

In other words, it meant that the income was expected to increase dramatically. If that happened, there would be no territory in the vicinity that could match Whiskers County.

“Does this mean we can regain our former glory?”

The count’s voice trembled.

All of this was the result of his son Ethan’s efforts. Count never even dreamt that Ethan, who was famous for his swordsmanship genius, would revive the territory through business.

Brilliant.

“Father.”

Ethan entered the count’s office.

As soon as the count saw his son, he jumped up and embraced Ethan without saying a word.

“You’re truly amazing, Ethan. Truly amazing. You’ve achieved everything on your own.”

The count’s voice trembled.

“I simply hoped that you could regain the swords you loved so much. I just wished for you to become a little healthier so you could do what you love. But you’ve overcome everything like this. Truly remarkable.”

“It’s all thanks to you, Father. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have been able to take a single step.”

The count’s sincerity was conveyed.

Ethan gently closed his eyes and patted the count’s back.

The reason Ethan Whiskers had been able to survive until now was solely due to the utmost sincerity of Count Whiskers.

The count had obtained and provided anything that could even remotely help Ethan’s health. If Ethan hadn’t taken even that, he would have already died.

‘Moreover, the elixir has been incredibly helpful. I’m truly grateful.’

He wondered if this was how he would feel if his parents were still alive.

Ethan felt the warmth from the count a little more.

The steward watched the two wealthy men with tears in his eyes. He was quite moved and quietly applauded, satisfied.

“Now it’s time to prepare to laugh, not cry.”

Ethan showed them the profit statement of his workshop.

“…!”

“…!”

Both the count and the steward were dumbfounded.

The income from the territory obtained through Ethan’s workshop was tremendous, but the direct profit from the workshop itself was naturally even more enormous.

“T-This is comparable to five years’ worth of income for our territory, if not more, Count.”

“You’ve only just begun, and yet… this much?”

It wasn’t a long period.

It was an achievement accomplished in an incredibly short time.

“I don’t think we’re in the stable phase yet. We need to operate for at least another year.”

However, Ethan had no intention of stopping there.

“Ethan.”

Therefore, Count had no choice but to ask.

“What is your goal?”

“My goal is…”

Ethan’s words made Count Whiskers’s heart race.