Chapter 15: Birth

Sunday morning.

Before going to church, the whole family gathered around the table for breakfast.

The biggest topic at the breakfast table was undoubtedly the news of the war between Poila and Davia, which adorned the front page of the newspaper.

My father and eldest brother were engrossed in business talk, barely touching their food.

They were in a heated discussion about how the trade business ‘Rosenfeld Company’ was engaged in would be affected, and how they should respond.

My mother and second eldest brother were frantically discussing how international affairs would unfold.

And I was struggling to hide the smile that kept creeping onto my face.

Being happy to hear news of a war breaking out is quite psychopathic.

But how could I not be happy?

The event of me and my family being dragged to the guillotine would now not happen.

Of course.

I would have to immigrate to the Eos Continent before the revolution occurred to be able to say I had completely escaped the crisis of death.

Still, I had overcome a major hurdle.

At the earliest, within next week, my short position on futures would be forcibly liquidated.

‘The royal funds I shorted on mana stones will vanish into thin air…’

Naturally, the King will be furious, and I…

‘Will be fired…!’

The thought of it made me feel like my smile would not just be hidden, but burst out even wider.

So I stuffed as much meat, bread, and food into my mouth as possible to block it.

Just when I thought I might have stuffed too much.

“President!”

The mansion door burst open violently, and a man rushed in, panting.

“Alan?”

It was Alan, my father’s closest aide who managed the finances of the Rosenfeld Company.

‘Why is Uncle Alan at the house at this hour…?’

As far as I could remember, this had never happened before.

Was the damage to the Rosenfeld Company from the war between Poila and Davia greater than expected? Just as that thought started to dampen my smile.

Alan exclaimed in an overwhelmed voice.

“Sa-Samuel Drake…! That wizard finally did it, President!”

“Did it? Don’t tell me…! Did he succeed in developing the technology?”

“Yes! He succeeded in developing the technology to utilize ‘that’ as an energy source!”

“This quickly?”

“That’s right! Furthermore, after various verifications, it has been proven to be far more efficient than mana stones in every aspect!”

“Is that really true?”

“Yes! I received the call first and went to see it with my own two eyes! Not only that, but he also succeeded in developing the technology to stably drill for ‘that’ in large quantities!”

At Alan’s words, my father shot up from his seat and clenched his fists.

My eldest brother confirmed again in a voice full of disbelief.

“Is-is that really true? Did that man really discover a new energy source…”

“Yes, Young Master Jake! Now, the Rosenfeld Energy Research Institute will become the center and core of a new energy revolution!”

“Oh my! Congratulations, dear.”

“Thank you, my dear. Hahaha!!!”

My father and mother embracing each other, overwhelmed with emotion.

My eldest and second eldest brothers cheering.

In that boisterous atmosphere, only I sat there blankly.

‘What on earth is all this about…? Rosenfeld Energy Research Institute? A new energy source? And what is ‘that’? Why am I the only one who doesn’t know…?’

***

Our family immediately headed to where the wizard named Samuel Drake was.

It was a rather large research facility located on the outskirts.

A sign reading ‘Rosenfeld Energy Research Institute’ hung on the main gate of the facility.

‘Since when did our family venture into the energy business? This is the first I’m hearing of it.’

As we entered, a middle-aged man with occasional glimpses of white hair greeted us warmly.

He seemed to be the wizard everyone was talking about, ‘Samuel Drake.’

I had imagined a sharp and prickly image for a genius wizard, but he was a surprisingly cheerful person.

Well…

His research had been a huge success, so he had every reason to be cheerful.

Samuel Drake guided us to a spacious laboratory inside.

And he presented a red liquid that he said was extracted from underground using the drilling technology he had developed.

He also demonstrated the technology he had developed to operate magic using it as an energy source.

And he showed us the results of comparative tests with mana stones, which he said he had conducted multiple times.

As I watched his demonstration and listened to his explanation, something naturally came to mind.

‘……This is, aside from being red, is completely like petroleum……’

***

Samuel Drake was originally a wizard researching technology to efficiently improve mana stones at a university in the Bransia Empire.

Then one day, he had a strange experience.

Samuel’s parents worked by extracting salt from a rock salt mine. When they drilled into the rock salt layer to obtain salt, a red impurity often came out with it.

Roughly named petroleum, meaning oil from stone, it was considered useless, so Samuel’s parents would just discard it anywhere.

However, when Samuel visited his parents’ home, he happened to discover that some discarded petroleum had caught fire.

At that moment, Samuel had a strong intuition that petroleum was not just a simple impurity.

He immediately began to research petroleum.

However, the university Samuel was affiliated with refused to provide support, saying they couldn’t waste resources on such useless research.

Just when he thought he might have to give up his research.

A man who ran a trading company and a construction company in the Amelia Kingdom, an island nation across the sea, came to visit him.

Introducing himself as Joseph Rosenfeld, he began by saying, ‘I know this sounds far-fetched…’ and then asked, ‘What are the chances of developing a new energy source that is far more efficient and easier to handle than mana stones, one that could replace mana stones?’

Samuel explained about petroleum, emphasizing that although he wasn’t sure yet, it could potentially be that energy source.

Whether that appeal worked or not, Joseph said he would invest and asked if Samuel would research petroleum.

Samuel, of course, accepted the offer.

Thus, the Rosenfeld Energy Research Institute was established with Samuel as the head.

Afterwards, Samuel, along with the disciples he managed to bring over after much persuasion, devoted himself to research, even cutting back on sleep.

Finally, he succeeded in developing the technology to utilize petroleum as an energy source for magic.

After conducting various precise tests, he confirmed that petroleum was far more efficient than mana stones. He then thought that if petroleum could be drilled in large quantities, it could completely replace mana stones.

So, without resting, he immediately began developing the related technology and eventually succeeded in developing mass drilling technology as well.

Thus, a new energy technology that would completely change human life was born.

***

At my request to explain what had happened, Samuel briefly recounted the events.

When he finished speaking, my father clapped a hand on my shoulder and said.

“This is all thanks to you, Dominic.”

“Pardon? What do you mean by that?”

“The day you passed the high civil service examination, you said it. That this is an era where many new business opportunities are emerging.

You then mentioned several things you considered noteworthy, and among them was ‘researching and developing energy technology far more efficient and easier to handle than mana stones.'”

That was right.

Mistakenly believing that my persuasion to pursue business like my father and brothers, instead of becoming an official order, was working on my father.

I got a little excited and blurted out things that existed in the world before my transmigration, as they came to mind.

‘Researching and developing energy technology far more efficient and easier to handle than mana stones’ was also something I said because petroleum came to mind.

‘But I never thought something like actual petroleum would appear…’

“For some reason, that particularly caught my interest. So I sought out Mr. Drake, who was researching energy technology, and proposed an investment. In a way, this all started from that one remark of yours, so it’s thanks to you.”

‘So, this is also that damn butterfly effect…?’

I felt all the strength drain from my body.

If I could, I wanted to curse out loud right then and there.

Of all times.

A new energy source, more efficient and easier to handle than mana stones, had appeared.

To make matters worse, the Valentia region, the world’s leading mana stone production area, had become a battlefield, putting mana stone supply in jeopardy.

‘The world will rapidly transition from mana stones to the new energy source…’

Naturally, the price of mana stones wouldn’t skyrocket; it would plummet through the floor and into the abyss.

The mana stone futures I had sold to lose money would, on the contrary, yield enormous profits.

And…

‘I’ll get promoted again.’

They called me a madman, a madman, and now I really felt like I was going crazy.

“I was wondering what you think about giving this miraculous liquid a new name, ‘Mayu’ (魔油 – Magic Oil), President?”

“Mayu, you say……. An utterly appropriate name. Dominic, what do you think? I’d like to hear your opinion.”

“…It seems fine…”

“Then from now on, we shall call this liquid Mayu!”

Thus, the new energy source, petroleum, no, Mayu, was born.