Chapter 366 - 263: Elsa’s Family Are All Treasures 3.0 (Part 2)

Chapter 366: Chapter 263: Elsa’s Family Are All Treasures 3.0 (Part 2)

She had, however, learned how to write clickbait titles.

She named her tutorial series *Learning Runes with a Star Instructor from Repin Academy*.

But the content didn’t feel like an introduction to Runes at all.

How to describe it? It was like a video titled *Learn Algebra with an Ivy League Professor*, but when you clicked on it, the lecture immediately jumped into group theory.

It was only because most YouTube users were currently distinguished graduates from prestigious academies that Furin’s videos could even make it onto the trending charts.

’How can I get more entertainment-focused videos on the website?’

’It seems like everyone thinks that just because they’re being recorded, it has to be a serious affair.’

’Looks like I’ll have to take matters into my own claws and guide people to make some more lighthearted videos.’

Zog pulled out his little notebook of ideas.

’Movie and TV commentary videos?’

’Not feasible. There aren’t enough movies and shows to support a dedicated commentary channel. It’d probably run out of content in six months.’

’Talent-show videos?’

’This could work. Singing, dancing, that sort of thing. I mean, *proper* dancing. There’s a genuine adult section here, so suggestive dancing wouldn’t be competitive.’

’There are also game streams, travel vlogs...’

’Oh, right!’

’I could have those Adventurer parties take cameras with them on quests and film their adventures.’

’Adventure stories are already popular on their own. People would love to watch them as videos.’

’The only thing is, they’d probably have to be scripted. People only like the glamorous parts of adventuring, not the reality of the actual quests.’

’Most of the time, adventuring isn’t fun. There are no Princes or Princesses, no Elf Treasures, no Legendary Heroes. The most common jobs are things like a Ghoul showing up in some village, or some bigwig’s kid wanting an uncommon pet...’

’Besides, being an Adventurer is a high-mortality profession. Snatching victory from the jaws of defeat is a privilege reserved for protagonists in stories.’

’Even the wimpiest Ghoul can kill a rash, greenhorn newcomer.’

’It’s just for entertainment. You can’t have the content creators actually dying in their own videos.’

’And since we have Adventurers, why not have Adventurer gear reviews...’

Zog jotted down a number of scattered ideas.

"All right, this’ll do. We’ll start by filming these. Elsa!"

Elsa walked in.

Zog ordered, "Contact the Magic Shadow Factory. Have those guys who can’t land any real filming gigs shoot these kinds of videos and upload them to YouTube."

"Of course."

Elsa took the proposal, but she didn’t leave. Instead, she just stood there looking troubled, wringing her hands like she wanted to say something but was too embarrassed.

"What’s wrong?" Zog asked. "My good sir Stone, why the sudden bashfulness?"

"You’re the ’sir Stone’!"

"Are you getting married then? Did that blind date your mom set up for you work out? Don’t worry, we’re very generous with approving marriage and maternity leave around here."

Elsa was already over twenty-two and approaching twenty-three, which was considered well past the marrying age in this era.

’Let’s see...’ Zog thought, ’is giving cash for weddings a custom in the Sutton Kingdom?’

’Doesn’t seem like it. At most, friends and family just give some presents to show their congratulations.’

’A fine custom.’

’He remembered a time when his own salary was nothing to write home about, and suddenly all his peers started getting married.’

’What was even worse was going home for the New Year and realizing it was now his turn to give cash gifts to the younger generation...’

"Oh, no, it’s not that. It’s just... it’s just..." Elsa finally summoned the last of her courage. "My dad... has some inventions he wants to show you. He was wondering if you might invest in producing them."

She let out a long sigh of relief after she finished, as if a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

"Sure, that’s not a big deal," Zog agreed readily. "Why are you so nervous? Are your dad’s inventions that shameful or something?"

"Uh, well, I mean, anyway... Oh, forget it. You’ll understand when you see them."

Elsa looked like she’d just given up.

「A few days earlier.」

Elsa’s family was having dinner when her father, Robert Stone, mysteriously plopped a mechanical device onto the table.

With an incredibly smug look on his face, he said, "Elsa, your boss loves investing in all sorts of inventions, doesn’t he? I’ve got a genius idea here. You should go tell him about it."

After Elsa’s mother, Susan, became a singer, she received numerous performance invitations. Since traveling from their old hometown was inconvenient, the family had settled down in Twin Tower City.

With three of the four family members in Twin Tower City, her father certainly wasn’t going to go back to the village all by himself, so he moved in with them.

However, after moving in, her father, a man in his fifties, found himself at a loss.

He had nothing to do.

His wife, son, and daughter were all high-earners. They could have supported a hundred of him without issue, so there was no need for him to work.

But he couldn’t stand being idle.

Back when he was a farmer, he’d dreamed every day of not having to work. But now that he truly didn’t have to, he felt restless.

Old Robert tried looking for a job in the city, but his only specialty was farming, and there was no need for farmers in Twin Tower City.

Proper factories considered him too old, and his family wouldn’t let him work at the less-reputable ones.

It wasn’t like the family needed the money, and if he had an accident at some shady place, they would regret it forever.

So, with nothing to do and being home alone during the day, Old Robert chose to spend his days drinking.

So, the question was, what other group of people loves to drink heavily during the day?

The answer, of course, was Dwarves.

Old Robert, who frequented the city’s various taverns, quickly became good friends with an old Dwarf.

That Dwarf was called Bane Furnace.

The friendships between two drunkards are often forged in strange ways.

For instance, this Dwarf and Human pair didn’t even know each other’s names after being acquainted for some time.

Old Robert always called Bane "Big Beard."

Bane, in turn, always called Robert "Beanpole."

"Beanpole" soon discovered that "Big Beard" had a special talent—he seemed to be an expert with machines and the like.

Old Robert said he wanted to learn.

Bane said sure, he’d teach him.

If it weren’t for the fact that every "lesson" took place after they were completely sloshed, Old Robert might have become a decent Mechanician.

Because of this "minor" deviation, Old Robert’s journey into mechanical research and development took a bizarre turn.

"I call this invention of mine the Dwarf Punisher!"

Old Robert announced solemnly at the dinner table.

"The what-now?" the other three family members asked in unison.

"I met a Dwarf at a tavern, a guy named Big Beard. We play dice, and the loser gets a flick on the forehead."

"How old are you?" his wife, Susan, asked, finding it hard to believe that her husband, a man in his fifties, could be so childish.

"Shouldn’t the punishment for losing at a tavern be to drink more?" Yuno’s point of focus was, as always, a bit strange.

"Because for Dwarves, drinking is a reward, not a punishment, so we do forehead flicks," Old Robert replied. "But that’s not the point."

"Then what is the point?" Elsa asked.

"The point is, Big Beard’s forehead is too damn hard! It really hurts when he flicks me, but when I flick him, he doesn’t feel a thing! I thought, ’This won’t do! I’m getting the short end of the stick here!’ So, that’s how the Dwarf Punisher was born!"

Saying this, Old Robert began to demonstrate how to use the device.

The so-called "Dwarf Punisher" looked like a metal thimble, with springs on the sides and a metal winding mechanism on the back.

Old Robert slipped it onto his middle finger and began to turn the winder, coil by coil.

The thimble-clad middle finger retracted along with it.

"So you have to turn the winder because the spring is too strong to retract with just your hand?" Yuno, a graduate of the research academy, understood the principle immediately.

"Exactly. As expected of my son."

He spent a full two minutes winding it, for who knows how many rotations, before it was finally ready.

Old Robert then stood up, aimed his hand at the wall, and turned his head away.

"Get ready! Counting down! Three... two... one..."

BANG!

With a tremendous crack, a chunk of a brick in the wall was smashed out.

Pulverized, even.

"This thing..." Elsa was dumbfounded. "It’s just for flicking foreheads?"

"You old fool!" her mother raged. "Did you really have to aim it at our wall?!"

"Let’s not worry about that for a second. Just tell me, isn’t this thing incredible? If we mass-produce it, won’t it be a huge hit?" Old Robert was still basking in his own pride.

The other three shook their heads in unison.

"Your vision is too limited, you just don’t get it! You can’t see the massive business opportunity here! Zog will understand, that’s why he’s the boss! Take me to see your boss!"

"I’d rather not," Elsa refused.

As the esteemed assistant to the president of the Zog Group, she really didn’t want to suffer this embarrassment.

"Oh, woe is me, I’m old, my children don’t listen to me anymore, they just leave me at home all alone..."

Old Robert resorted to whining and throwing a fit.

And so, that led to the scene of Elsa bringing her father to Zog to demonstrate the Dwarf Punisher.

Old Robert finished his demonstration.

Elsa was hiding in a corner, completely mortified, and temporarily wanted to disown her father.

"Hmm..."

Zog pondered for a moment.

Elsa covered her ears, not wanting to hear. She knew what Zog was like when he was being sarcastic. If she didn’t listen, she wouldn’t have to feel the secondhand embarrassment.

Zog took a deep breath and said excitedly.

"A genius!"

"Huh?"