After taking Sophia to the Adventurers Guild to test her elemental affinity, one more item was added to her daily routine—whenever they stopped to rest on the road, Sophia would practice magic.

Derek didn’t expect Sophia to conquer the world for him with magic. But if she couldn’t even cast a first-tier spell properly, then she wouldn’t be able to use alchemy at all.

Alchemy demanded extremely precise control over magic power.

Sophia had high water affinity, so naturally, she trained in a first-tier water spell: Water Ball.

Where did the spellbook come from? Obviously, he bought it.

The Adventurers Guild did provide beginner magic books like this.

It was a little pricey, sure. But if he didn’t buy the book right in front of the rich girl, how was she supposed to feel how thoughtful he, Derek, was?

He treated the expense like money deposited straight into his own bank account.

And sure enough, after he spent money on Sophia, the way she looked at him instantly turned much hotter.

Still, when Sophia actually started practicing, Derek was a little surprised.

He’d thought that once people awakened their magic, first-tier spells would come naturally to them. Who knew Sophia’s very first attempt at Water Ball would fail?

The water shot that was supposed to gather into a sphere collapsed into a splash of clear water and spilled onto the grass, leaving it wet and soggy.

That made Derek deeply realize the gap in character potential. Sophia only had R-rank potential, so this performance already seemed pretty decent.

Thinking that, Derek naturally had to show off a little and demonstrate how cool he was... no, be a good example so his companion could learn properly.

Every one of his stats was above the protagonist Leon’s. His total potential was even five points higher than Leon’s. Among SSR characters, he was the absolute top tier.

Crackle.

A shining ball of lightning shot out, and once again stole Sophia’s heart.

...

Derek estimated that at Sophia’s current growth speed, it would still take quite a while before she became useful.

But after just one day, she already proved useful.

Not because she’d made some huge breakthrough. It was just that the weather...

Looking at the blazing sun overhead, Derek felt extremely irritated.

When he had first reincarnated as Derek, it had been early summer. Beautiful tulips had been blooming in the courtyard.

Now that he was heading to Dakelos, it was the hottest part of summer.

Heat alone would’ve been one thing. But before they had even reached Dakelos, everything nearby had already begun drying out so badly it was visible to the naked eye.

The wild grass by the roadside had turned yellow and withered. The tree trunks looked dry and shriveled too. Every now and then, a few branches and leaves would shake loose and fall. It was a miserable sight.

Traveling through this desolate wilderness, even finding a water source to resupply had become difficult.

At times like this, Sophia’s half-baked Water Ball became especially useful.

The spell couldn’t form a proper water sphere, but it could still condense water. That made it perfect for cooling off and quenching thirst.

It was just that every time he drank, Sophia would watch him with burning eyes.

Who knew whether it was from the heat or from the strain of casting magic, but her cheeks were flushed red.

“Young Master Derek is drinking my... heh~ hehe~”

Her dreamy muttering came with a silly, lovestruck giggle.

Of course, Derek had no way of peeking into the girl’s thoughts.

After watching Derek finish drinking, Sophia became even more enthusiastic. She produced cup after cup of water, until her magic was exhausted and she staggered straight into his arms.

Derek believed she was acting like this because she’d gained a sense of accomplishment.

Seeing Sophia completely worn out yet still not uttering a single complaint, Derek was touched, but also had a headache.

There was nothing bad about Sophia. She just got a little weird sometimes. She often pushed herself until she looked sickly and limp, then collapsed against him.

Kids these days really had no sense of moderation~

Sophia being willing to contribute for his sake made Derek very happy.

In a certain sense, Sophia had now become a juice-squeezing girl. But what he wanted was a rich girl. No matter how much girl juice there was, it wasn’t worth much.

Watching Sophia produce water to quench thirst, Teresia was extremely envious. She wanted to learn magic too and make a little wave dance in her palm.

But she hadn’t even awakened magic power yet.

Come to think of it, the spendthrift woman with R-rank potential had already gotten started, while the Holy Lady with SSR potential still hadn’t awakened at all. Wasn’t that a little embarrassing?

With Sophia supplying water, the carriage trip continued without any major problems, just like before.

But everything outside the window grew more barren the farther north Derek went.

The drought in Dakelos, the northern province, was probably already very severe.

On the afternoon of the seventh day, Derek saw vast stretches of dried farmland.

The fields had lost all moisture after the long drought and split completely apart. Cracks spread like spiderwebs, sketching the scenery outside their window as they traveled onward.

Then, a towering fortress appeared before his eyes.

After nearly a week of travel, they had finally arrived at Dakelos.

A line of guards stood at the city gate.

Under the blazing sun, they all looked exhausted.

When they saw the carriage approaching, the guards moved forward, intending to question them.

But after getting closer, their expressions changed in shock. They immediately backed off, then quickly split into two lines and bowed in welcome at the gate.

“Do not provoke a carriage bearing the blue iris” was clearly more than just a kingdom legend.

As the carriage entered the city, Derek got his first look at Dakelos’s streets.

Because of the drought, the people on the streets didn’t look well at all.

A run-down, destitute atmosphere hung everywhere, making all of Dakelos seem even more decayed.

The carriage continued deeper inside until it arrived at a luxurious estate.

This was one of Duke Wudewen’s properties in Dakelos. Since he preferred living in the royal capital, the estate had been left vacant.

Now that Derek had arrived, he could move in directly.

Derek glanced at the still lush, vibrant greenery inside the estate and felt a little surprised.

Looks like even with Duke Wudewen absent, someone had still been taking care of the place.

After he set down his luggage, the person who had received word of his arrival appeared...

“My name is Hufu Duolunduo, steward of Dakelos. After reading the Duke’s letter, I have been eagerly awaiting Young Master Derek’s arrival. And now that I see you in person, Young Master Derek truly is extraordinary in bearing and handsome in appearance.”

Hufu Duolunduo had originally been a merchant.

Duke Wudewen saw that he was shrewd and capable, so he handed Dakelos over to him for temporary management.

But Hufu knew very well that those strengths were secondary. What really mattered was that he was excellent at kissing up.

This year, Dakelos had been hit by drought, which gave him a huge headache. So he wrote to Duke Wudewen, hoping the Duke would allocate him some funds.

That way, he could calm those lowly commoners and, while he was at it, improve his own quality of life a little too.

Who would’ve thought Duke Wudewen would get angry?

Luckily, this time the Duke had only sent over some wet-behind-the-ears young master.

As Hufu looked at Derek, he laughed inwardly.

A brat like this would be the easiest kind to deal with!

While Hufu was sizing Derek up, Derek was also examining Hufu, who wore luxurious clothes yet couldn’t hide his own obesity.

The moment he saw that obviously well-fed figure, Derek smiled.

Before arriving in Dakelos, there had been one thing bothering him the whole time—

Money.

Sure, Duke Wudewen had given him living expenses for the next two years. But when it came to money, the more the better.

Besides, he hadn’t come to Dakelos just to live.

Raising pigs cost money, right?

Investing in a rich girl so she could play with alchemy cost money too, right?

Anyway, as someone with experience, Derek could tell you this much: once there were women around you, the money in your wallet was never enough!

Hufu looked filthy rich. He definitely hadn’t skimmed a little here and there over the years.

If it had been some honest temporary administrator, Derek really wouldn’t have been able to make a move.

But now?

What do you mean, make a move?

Let’s discuss the fastest way to get rich...

Obviously, robbery.

Derek had no martial ethics?

Sorry. Villains really can do whatever they want~