Sovereign of the Ashes

Chapter 854: Thrifty Lorianne

Sein found himself once again visiting Lorianne’s residence on the top floor of the divine tower.

While this was not his first visit, he could not help but notice that something seemed to change every time he came by.

This time, it was two magical flowers sitting in one corner of Lorianne’s laboratory that Sein had never seen before.

Compared to the Black Jade Bamboo Eileen had purchased for a hundred magicoins, these magic flowers radiated far stronger elemental waves.

They were likely Lorianne’s recent acquisitions.

Sein had been here just a week ago, and he was pretty sure the flowers had not been there then.

In addition to the magic flowers, a mysterious alloy the diameter of a small bowl now occupied a prime spot inside a crystal cabinet in Lorianne’s living room.

Though the crystal barrier prevented close inspection, Sein could tell the alloy was anything but ordinary if Lorianne preserved it so carefully.

Sein’s subtle glances did not escape Lorianne’s notice.

In truth, these were not her only recent acquisitions. This time, Lorianne wore a pair of pure blue gemstone earrings.

The rich energy fluctuations radiating from them confirmed they were not mere accessories but powerful magic equipment.

Of course, Lorianne’s new earrings did not escape Sein’s keen senses as an alchemist.

However, the overwhelming law energy radiating from Lorianne herself somewhat overshadowed the energy fluctuation of the earrings, explaining why Sein had not noticed them immediately.

Since the end of the Wild Star Domain War, Lorianne, who had spent centuries living with limited resources, now seemed to be indulging in her newfound wealth.

Rare magic ingredients that Sein considered treasures were appearing in her possession one after another.

Even the twenty golems stationed around the divine tower were part of Lorianne’s extravagant spending spree.

Yet, as a Rank Four mage, Lorianne had not completely lost her sense of prudence.

Despite the variety and volume of her purchases, everything she acquired had a purpose.

It was far from reckless squandering.

As for the two pieces of jewelry Lorianne had added to her collection?

That was perfectly normal.

After all, mages were humans that cared about their looks too.

Sein spent time with women as a form of relaxation, so it was perfectly reasonable for Lorianne to indulge herself with a few pieces of magic jewelry.

Maintaining small hobbies and interests outside of experimental research was a practical approach to achieving a healthy work-life balance and enhancing productivity. @@novelbin@@

Noticing Sein’s gaze lingering a little too long on her latest acquisitions, Lorianne cleared her throat to redirect his attention.

The two magical flowers and the special alloy were recent additions to her collection and had not yet been fully studied or appreciated. Naturally, she had no intention of simply handing them over to her apprentice—especially since Sein had borrowed a rare magic root from her last month and had yet to return it!

“Our prism forts and war airships from Steel City and the Capiche Business Alliance are scheduled for delivery soon. They’ll be transported directly to the public starport where our Verdant Spring Space Fortress is docked outside Magus World. I’ll need you and another dean to handle the reception,” Lorianne explained to her sole apprentice.

While the acquisition of a space fortress required Lorianne’s personal involvement as tower master and Rank Four mage, smaller-scale war implements like prism forts and war airships did not warrant her direct attention.

Assigning a Rank Three grand mage or an academy dean was sufficient.

This time, Lorianne had purchased two prism forts and eleven war airships.

When combined with those included with her purchase of the Verdant Spring Space Fortress back then, the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring now had more than enough to sustain its operations.

In fact, the number of war implements purchased exceeded the current needs of the Divine Tower.

It was clear Lorianne was planning for the next few centuries in advance, anticipating the growth of her tower’s ranks as new full-fledged mages emerged in the coming centuries.

The steady increase in the Magus Civilization’s demand for space fortresses, prism forts, and war airships seemed to have pushed prices higher across the board.

This marked the seventh price hike for Magus World space fortress in nearly ten thousand years.

While inflation, price growth, and magicoin devaluation were common across the Magus Civilization’s history, the frequency of these increases had become startling even to far-sighted Rank Four divine tower masters and grandmasters from knightly orders.

Although each price hike was modest, the cumulative effect was beginning to raise eyebrows.

Fortunately, these price increases were largely confined to upper-tier magitech... for now.

The market for Rank One and Rank Two mages like Sein remained relatively stable and unaffected.

The rising costs of this magitech might be the result of deliberate manipulation by the major powers in the Magus Civilization.

Lorianne wisely chose to make early preparations by securing additional prism forts and war airships amidst this inflationary environment.

After all, investments in such equipment were long-term—they remained operational for centuries, even with technological advancements.

A well-maintained war airship could easily last a thousand to two thousand years, while prism forts and space fortresses had even greater longevity.

Demonstrating her thriftiness, Lorianne sourced her purchases strategically. The two prism forts came from the Capiche Business Alliance, while the eleven war airships were Steel City products.

The surge in prices had deterred many new Rank Four powerhouses from making large purchases. However, it also prompted merchants to introduce attractive options and benefits to entice buyers.

The maintenance subsidy that came with Lorianne’s Verdant Spring Space Fortress was one such perk.

During her acquisition of prism forts and war airships, Lorianne had to carefully compare three different suppliers before making her decision.

“Aww, money is never enough,” Lorianne lamented. “Sky City’s latest generation of star prism forts are nearly as powerful as a secondhand space fortress, but they’re really expensive and completely out of reach for most mages. Even Steel City’s ‘Steel Chewer’ war airships, which have the best price-to-performance ratio in Magus World, are five times the cost of standard models. Only the richest and most established divine towers can afford them.”

She could envision the ideal arsenal—a fully customized top-tier space fortress, equipped with star prism forts and a fleet of Steel Chewer airships.

But such a dream was far beyond her current means.

The recent Wild Star Domain War had indeed brought substantial wealth to the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring, allowing Lorianne to make several significant acquisitions and even splurge on personal items like materials and jewelry.

Yet, much of that wealth had been used to repay most of the space fortress loan.

This loan carried a higher interest rate compared to the near-interest-free loans offered to divine towers, so Lorianne had prioritized clearing it.

She had, of course, set aside a portion of her earnings for other needs, but the remainder was less than she had anticipated.

Seated in her chair, Lorianne sighed softly.

Sensing the shift in her mood, Sein offered a compliment.

“Master Lorianne, your new earrings are really pretty!”

The seemingly belated observation yet earnestly delivered praise lifted Lorianne’s mood significantly.