From "Enough" to "Abundance"
At the lord’s manor, I faced off against Merta.
I set out tea and cake on the table between us.
She was the head of a single town—this much I figured was necessary. I poured ten thousand units of magic into crafting it.
I did.
“Are you Merta?”
“……”
Before me stood a little girl.
Maybe in middle elementary school.
She was staring at the cake like it was a feast.
“Hey.”
“…Huh?”
I waved my hand in front of her face. Only then did she snap back to herself.
“W-What?”
“Nothing, really.”
I shook off my thoughts and asked again.
“Are you Merta?”
“That’s right. Got a problem with it?”
She sounded way too confident for her size.
“I’m Merta. Leader of the noble Kazan line.”
“Huh.”
“What’s ‘huh’ about? You think I’m joking? You think I’m some joke?”
Her face turned bright red, furious.
“No, I’m not mocking you.”
So what’s with that ‘huh’ thing?
"Ugh..."
I don’t even know what the Kazan family is to begin with.
Can't say something like that, so I'll keep quiet.
"You're still mocking me, aren't you? Listen— the Kazan family are the noble descendants of the great warrior Ruslan, who fought alongside the hero who defeated the Demon God."
“Huh.”
"Again, said 'huh'..."
She was fuming again.
Ah, that was a mistake.
Apologies, I looked at Valeria.
Valerya made a face like she was sorry.
Something clicked.
A child is the lord. She’s just… playing guardian, I guess.
"On to the real reason. What brings you here to see me?"
That’s right, that’s right. You’re the one who started spouting nonsense, so the conversation went off track, didn’t it?
I didn’t say anything.
For a split second, Mirta’s expression changed.
Her expression had grown serious—fixed on me.
"Thank you so much for the food aid. Thanks to you, five hundred people from the Kazan clan didn’t starve. Really, thank you."
The words stayed the same, but her expression—her eyes—had changed.
She meant it. The gratitude came through, honest and deep.
"……"
I looked at Valeria.
She smiled.
Ah. That’s why she brought her along.
I’d never understood why Valeria—the capable woman, the one who seemed to have it all together—had brought Mirta here. But I’d trusted her. That’s all it was.
I turned to look at Mirta.
"Your thanks… I’ve received it."
Mirta smiled. A little cute, actually.
"Better eat the tea before it gets cold. The cake’s good too, if you want it."
"…Is this even food?"
"Huh?"
"I’ve never seen anything like it. Is it really food?"
She’d never seen cake before.
"Yeah, it’s food. Sweet. Tastes great."
"Sweet?!"
Marta’s eyes sparkled.
She ate the cake.
“Delicious!”
“Is that so.”
In an instant, she’d finished the whole thing.
“Second helping, okay?”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
I pulled out DORECA, selected the cake, and began drawing the magic circle.
Yuria, who’d been standing quietly behind me this whole time, stepped forward and brought the ingredients.
The magic circle absorbed the materials, and the cake appeared from within the light.
By the time I’d pulled out DORECA, she was already moving. Risha and Mira were there too, already anticipating my every move—like they’d been waiting for just this moment.
They were that fast. Almost like they could read my thoughts.
“Good work, Yuria.”
“……”
I’d just praised a slave. Yuria said nothing, then stepped back into place behind me.
I looked at Marta again.
She kept glancing back and forth between the cake and me.
Her face was frozen in shock.
“W-what was that just now?”
“That’s how that magic works.”
She pushed the cake toward me.
“F-fuh…”
Marta took a bite, her face melting into that same blissful expression.
A girl around elementary school age—neither too bratty, nor overly solemn in her thanks—this version fits better.
“N-nee… I have a request…”
“What is it?”
“This cake… could you give me more?”
“More?”
“Yeah… I wanna share it with everyone in Kazan.”
“I see. Sorry, but that’s not possible.”
“Why?”
“Simple.”
With DORECA in hand, she drew two magic circles.
Yuria, as always, anticipated the need—materializing the same cake on the table, and—Pusini.
“This… this was you who gave it to me.”
"Yeah, that’s Pusini. And this one’s the cake you just ate. Skip the details, but one of these cakes can make three thousand Pusini."
"Sa—"
Marta’s face went pale.
"Six thousand, then. You ate two. Snacks are hard to make. That’s why I can’t just hand out huge amounts."
"Fine! I don’t need that! Six thousand… that means I ate enough to feed everyone for four days… in one second…"
That’s the math… I stopped myself from saying it out loud. Too much of a hit.
Still, Marta burst into tears.
Big, messy tears poured down her face.
"Hey… don’t cry."
"I’m not crying!"
She tried to tough it out. Wiped her tears with the back of her hand, trying to look strong.
"Me, the great leader of Kazan? I wouldn’t do something like this in public!"
She glared at me, sharp and defiant.
"Cake, whatever it is, was delicious. I mean, I’m not exactly small, am I? Eating four days’ worth for everyone is perfectly reasonable, right?"
She went full braggart.
Obvious, flimsy bravado—myself, I snorted out a laugh.
"What’s so funny?!"
"No, no, sorry, sorry."
I cleared my throat, looked at Malta.
The next moment, the words just shot out.
"Find a way to make cakes in bulk."
"Huh?"
"Yeah, make it cheap—like Pusini-level cost—so we can mass-produce them. Simple enough for everyone to eat easily."
"S-sure, but that’s impossible. It’s four days’ worth for five hundred people—how could you—"
"It’s possible."
Yuria spoke from behind.
Silent until now, she cut in with sudden clarity.
"Master, you can do it."
No hesitation. Full faith in me. Malta looked stunned.
"Yes, Master Akito can do it," she added.
Malta was even more stunned—her own subordinate, Valeria, had said it too.
"All the rumors about Master Akito, the way this town has grown, and most of all, the magic you just showed us. I truly believe Master Akito can do it."
Valeria said it without hesitation.
Malta, stunned, slowly let her eyes gleam with expectation—locking onto me with that gaze.
"Really... can you do it?"
"Yeah."
I followed Yuria and Valeria’s lead, saying it firmly.
A new goal had formed.
Mass production of luxury goods.