CHAPTER 89: THE WORLD HAS CHANGED

“What are you doing, Master?”

In the third-floor bedroom, Wayne looked at Silvia exasperatedly as she examined the bedsheet and pillow with a magnifying glass, so seriously like she expected to find something. With Veronica staying the night here, it was obvious what Silvia was looking for: long blonde hair or short curly hair.

Or just long blonde hair.

She was wasting her effort. Nothing had happened last night, and even if something did happen, Veryl would’ve long cleaned up the scene of the crime.

After a moment, Silvia put away the magnifying glass with disappointment and gave him a sympathetic look, shaking her head.

You don’t have worldly desires at this age? Don’t be shy. Let’s go to the hospital and get you checked. It won’t cost much.

Wayne rolled his eyes and pushed Silvia out of the bedroom. She was a parental figure both as Veronica’s mother and his master. She should act like it!

They went to the living room, where Veryl served them black tea. Having made up his mind, he addressed Silvia as ‘madam’. She didn’t pay it much mind. Wayne was the ‘master’ in this house after all, and calling her ‘mistress’ would cause confusion.

Wayne took notice. Ecstatic, he looked at Veryl with passionate eyes.

“How have you found your new home, Wayne?”

“It’s wonderful,” Wayne said honestly. He knew what she was asking about. “Last night, I studied the blueprints and learned much. I’ve learned new knowledge, too.”

“Do you need more servants? This is a large place for four maids to take care of.”

“It’s fine. I don’t like having too many people.” Wayne shook his head. He liked his new home, and the butler and maids were familiar faces. Having new people added would only make him uncomfortable.

Silvia didn’t insist. Instead, she asked about his meditation and if Schrödinger had made harassment calls.

“My life essence is filled, but I need some time to light up the hexagram. I’m working on it.”

Wayne looked troubled. Having a cheat was great, but the greater the cheat, the greater the side effects. He would need much more of the four elements than other mages to level up. Though Sidney’s mansion was conducive to meditation with a magic circle to gather four elements in the basement, as well as a forest to keep out the mist at night, it wasn’t easy to sate the Book of Greed’s appetite.

He had had a supplier giving him a whole trove of elemental particles before, and it was always more difficult to do hard work after having work done for him. He hated how slowly he was making progress.

He wondered why Director Planck hadn’t sought him out. Planck looked like an obstinate old man who wouldn’t take no for an answer. Could it be that the old man had seen through his intention to push up the price by playing hard to get, so he waited for him to give in?

Ugh, where’s the basic trust between people? Time has changed. Bad people became old bad people!

“Patience, and don’t give yourself too much pressure. The fact that you’ve filled up your life essence in such a short time shows how hard you’ve been working. You only have to keep it up.”

Silvia took out an application form and guided Wayne through it. It was for registering at the Church of Nature. Once approved, Wayne would stand out from the numerous followers of Nature and become a disciple of the goddess.

Wayne filled the form according to his master’s instructions. He put ‘detective’ as his aspiration. He didn’t plan to become an office worker at the Londan main base. And Silvia didn’t ask that of him. Given his talent and pure mana, he shouldn’t waste his time in an office anyway. He would achieve much greater things in the future. For example...

Becoming the Anointed One!

Silvia had failed to become the Holy Maiden back then; although she never said so, she did feel some regret. Thankfully, the goddess blessed him with an extraordinarily talented student before the next round of selection for Holy Maiden and Anointed One.

As the District High Reverend, she was entitled to make recommendations for Windsor. Talented as Wayne was, he would stomp on every other candidate after entering the competition.

“Kekeke...” x2

Silvia cackled with a hand covering her mouth. Then she realized that there were two laugh tracks. She turned to Wayne and raised an eyebrow. “Why are you laughing?”

“I don’t know, but Master’s laughing. I should, too.” Wayne shrugged, playing the obedient student.

She nodded approvingly. The boy was sweet, unlike a certain someone.

Speaking of that someone, she remembered one thing. She rose to her feet and lifted the hem of her dress to reveal her slim calves, clad in black stockings. “How do I look? How will it go if I go shopping in a short skirt?”

You’ll be a walking aphrodisiac!

Wayne didn’t voice his response. He looked away after two glances. While her legs were well-shaped and went very well with the stockings, it wasn’t a sight for him to enjoy. This woman said that she was going shopping, but she was most likely going to return home to stroll in the living room.

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Silvia frowned. “Does it not look good?”

“It looks so good that your student forgot how to speak.”

“Sweet talker.”

Silvia lowered her dress and went on about what happened at the church today with vivid details. When she raised her legs without thinking, Flora stared so hard it looked like her eyes would pop out. She seemed dazed and opened her mouth to ask numerous times, but couldn’t muster the shamelessness to do it. In the end, she left the office brooding.

K.O.!

Wayne didn’t know who Flora was and didn’t care to find out. He only knew that she was a priestess transferred from elsewhere, and based on what his master had said about her, he could sense the false nature of their ‘friendship’. He could even imagine the scene. Silvia was certainly shading her very good friend.

Silvia took four sealed packs of stockings from her briefcase, asking Wayne if the packaging should be modified. He was the designer of stockings, and his opinions mattered.

He picked one up and examined the packaging. It was simple, in line with the trend in this era. Opening it up, he put his hand in one stocking and splayed his fingers, carefully feeling the texture with his fingertips.

Due to the limitations of the manufacturing technology, the stockings had a visible seam running down their length, which looked like a black vertical stripe on the legs when put on.

“How is it? Any comment?” Silvia stared at Wayne with bated breath. To demonstrate the effect more clearly, she lifted her dress slightly again.

Please have Veronica be the model next time, thank you!

Instead of looking at Silvia, he asked with a frown, “How much are you selling it for?”

“Twenty sillings for each pair.”

“How many pairs are in stock?”

“Twenty thousand.”

“Make it fifty sillings and a hundred thousand pairs. We’ll spend half a month promoting the product with the first batch. Then let’s price the second batch at two hundred sillings...” Wayne quickly rattled off the simple marketing strategy. The campaign would be simple. They only needed long-legged models to put the stockings on and go to public places or social functions for the higher class. That would be effective enough.

Silvia hesitated. “Wouldn’t a hundred thousand pairs for the first batch be too many? And isn’t fifty sillings too expensive?”

“No, it’s not. Actually, selling the first batch at fifty sillings is charity in my eyes. It hurts to essentially give away a hundred thousand pairs of stockings!” He shook his head. His hands felt empty when he should be holding a cigar to complete the picture. “But let’s go with it. A new market will require investment in the beginning stage. We’ll take the losses we suffer from the first batch for promotion.”

Silvia was surprised by Wayne’s confidence. She remembered her bastard husband’s comment and couldn’t help but see merit in it. Was Wayne not worried about failing due to his hubris?

Wayne smiled at her. “From a lady’s perspective, you and Priestess Flora proved the prospects of stockings. From a gentleman’s perspective, just pay attention to Mr. Auston’s expression when you go home tonight. He’ll demonstrate through actions where your student’s confidence comes from.”

He was certain about the product. He had heard many tales about stockings and their great market appeal. During the war, nylon was listed as a strategic material, which led to a limit on the number of stockings in the market. Countless women would stop at nothing to acquire a pair. In the black markets, stockings were sold at astronomical prices.

He didn’t know the exact number, but he did know that the first batch of stockings instantly sold out, and despite the increasing prices, stockings still sold like hot cakes. Many women resorted to drawing a black line on their legs to pretend they were wearing stockings.

Twenty thousand pairs priced at twenty sillings? That was way too low! Even if the ladies approved, he didn’t!

The price had to be higher!

Silvia was only half convinced. She considered giving the bastard a taste tonight to test his reaction. Not that he would eat her, right?

“By the way, how are your basic studies? Do you need me to give you a review?”

“It’s okay. Veronica introduced a tutor to me,” Wayne said simply, omitting the details.

Silvia wasn’t worried when she heard that the tutor had been found by her daughter. She was more curious about how the bastard would react. She planned to change into a short skirt as soon as she went home.

“Do you know Dragon Heart Island, Master?”

“I do. Why do you ask?”

“I receive a commission from the White Glove Society to investigate a rich man’s suicide on Dragon Heart Island.” He had never been to the island, so he wanted to assess the risks and make the safer choice.

“Then go. Staying in one place will limit your horizon. Young people should go out and see the world.” Silvia sidled up to him suddenly and put her arm around his shoulder. “But when going on a long trip alone, you’ll miss home late at night. It’ll be terribly lonely. Should I introduce a lady to you so that you can keep each other company on this trip?”

And will that lady happen to be your daughter?

“I’m good, Master. You know me. Nothing matters to me other than magic and investigation.”

He brushed away the arm on his shoulder and rejected the offer vehemently. Putting himself in Mr. Auston’s shoes, if his daughter went on a trip with a known pervert, he would most definitely arrange for a cement barrel to accidentally fall into the sea from the cruise ship.

Silvia gave up after failing to persuade him.

***

That night, Vera visited as she said she would. The gym was close to Wayne’s place. She planned to stay the night again. She even brought changes of clothes and daily necessities for women, filling two suitcases to the brim. It appeared that she considered herself part of the family, and Wayne’s home her own.

He wasn’t sure how he should interpret such eagerness to throw herself at him. It felt like he didn’t need to do much before they would be consummating their passion on a drunken night.

Alas, he couldn’t do it!

The magical girl trusted him so blindly. He would have to be a real tentacle monster to consider getting her drunk. To honor their friendship and to reciprocate Vera’s trust, Wayne decided not to hold back either to match her lack of reservation.

Later, Kristen arrived as promised. She had research classes to go to during the day, so she could only tutor Wayne on Magic 101 at night. To make the commute easier, she also brought two suitcases. Outside of the daily necessities, the teaching materials she wrote filled the rest of the suitcases. If the tutoring session went on for too long, she would stay the night and go to school the next day.

What a wonderful girl, educated, gentle, generous, and dependable. When Wayne saw the suitcases filled with teaching materials, his brain was already coming up with names for their future children.

Veryl took his leave with his head bowed, his monocle glinting. He realized the necessity to prepare a nursery at home. One could never be overly prepared. It would be of use sooner or later.

Right before dinner, Veronica came to Wayne’s place with a stormy expression. Domestic violence again! She didn’t know what happened, but Father got thrown out of the window and landed on the lawn in the garden. When she asked what happened, he only covered his face and struggled to find the words...

And he looked happy!

She didn’t understand what was going on in this family anymore. She hated that her parents weren’t getting along, and she hated that her mother always resorted to violence. If they had issues, they could talk them out. Why was violence the first response?

In comparison, Wayne’s home was more comfortable to be in. The forest surrounding the house made it especially—

(눈‸눈)

“Your place sure is popular!”

“It’s okay. We’re all friends here. Do you want to stay a few days as well?”

“Only in your dream! I’m not moving in.”

Veronica huffed. When she learned that Vera had claimed her room, and Kristen had also made the preparations to stay the nights for the near future, she sat down at the dining table, fuming alone.

“I’ll be going on a long trip soon. I’ve had Veryl make you keys, so you’re welcome to visit at any time. Consider yourself family.” Wayne was being honest. He considered them part of his family.

After dinner, he led Kristen to the study. As a diligent student, he had been looking forward to their one-on-one tutoring sessions. He knew himself well. Given his lack of intelligence, it would take a few years for him to graduate under her guidance. By then, it would be time for Senior Kristen to teach their children the alphabet.

Perfect! What a great plan!

His fantasy was interrupted by the Dragonblood girl. She suddenly grabbed his collar from the back and yanked it, almost strangling him.

“Where are you going?”

“To take on a commission on Dragon Heart Island in the North Sea.” Wayne rubbed his neck. The girl had become more and more violent with him. When they first met, she had spared him no glance and wouldn’t even shake his hand.

“What about the diary?”

“I’ve written a few chapters today, and I’ll write more tomorrow. It’s in the bedroom. Remember not to read it on the bed.” He waved her away and asked Vera not to make a ruckus or run around the corridor. He needed peace and quiet for his study.

With that, he shut the door of the study and locked it from the inside.

Click!

Veronica and Vera stared at the closed door and exchanged glances. Their blonde hair entangled as they huddled together and pressed their ears to the door to eavesdrop.

After a while, they had a mumbled conversation and walked away. Only they knew what they had talked about.

***

On August fifth, Wayne reached the Londan port in a black car. He got out and took his suitcase from Veryl, waving him goodbye before boarding the Polaris with his boarding pass.

In a nearby open cafe, celebrity Lily Haworth put on her sunglasses and ignited the photo in her hand, tossing it into the ashtray.

“Wayne...”