quickening (2)
“Sir, success!”
1 The point at which the deadline set by the prince was one day left. The new research director calmed down his spinning eyes and jumped up from his seat.
On his desk, a reddish liquid was flowing over the flask.
Finally, a magic reagent of the same quality as the sample was created.
“at las… … !”
“Congratulations, Warden!”
The wizards in the lab stood up and shed tears of emotion.
Wizards were truly terrifying creatures. The more I changed it, the more effective it was, and somehow the result came out.
But it wasn’t over yet.
Now I had to study the process for mass production, and somehow there was only one day left.
“hehehe, hahahaha!”
Still, as long as they were good, it didn’t matter.
If the butterfly coral that will bring you a new job is really happy even though it has arrived at the palace now.
… … Meanwhile.
The distant southern land, the Elia Islands.
In this place where a fish farm was being built for trade with Esteban, a strong energy suddenly began to rise.
The place where the energy started was a sandy beach with traces of someone digging it up.
Woo woo woo woo-!
However, no one noticed this fact, not only ordinary people but also the wizards of Azran.
Even when the mana stored in the magic stone created a magic circle.
Even after the magic circle covered the coast and disappeared.
Eventually, the energy of the magic crystal disappeared without leaving a trace.
Around that time, samples of butterfly coral procured from Azran arrived in the royal castle.
Marquis Balter, who received the news from the top of the kingdom, put down the documents he was in the middle of approving with delight.
“Ohh, have we finally arrived?”
“Yes, Your Excellency the Marquis.”
Butterfly coral trade concluded under the initiative of Prince 1. However, as a marquis who had not yet heard the reason, he could not contain his curiosity.
What on earth was it that he ordered me to buy? Also for what purposes it can be used.
‘No matter how much I tried to find information, I couldn’t find it… … .’
The time to directly check the reality of such a butterfly coral has finally come.
Therefore, the Marquis hurriedly put on a coat and urged the merchant.
“So, you just arrived at the palace? I’ll go check it out.”
“All right.”
And that urgency was revealed from his attitude.
royal hallway. The servants bowed their heads when they saw the Marquis running so disrespectfully. Even the person himself would not have known that the appearance was similar to when he discovered the mithril mine.
“… … huh?”
The place he arrived after running like that was the corner of the road leading to the warehouse of the capital.
But something was strange. Where is the wagon that deserves to be, and can’t you see only the members of the upper ranks looking at some documents?
The Marquis showed a look of bewilderment and called the merchants.
“Hey, look! Where did the butterfly coral that was said to have just arrived at the palace go?”
“Ah, are you talking about the one you got from Azran?”
“Yes!”
To this, the merchant answered politely as if nothing was wrong.
“I headed for the magic tower.”
“… … what?”
“His Highness the 1st Prince instructed me to check only the quantity and send it to the Mage Tower as soon as the goods arrive at the palace.”
“This, this… … !”
The Marquis sat down, feeling his head dizzy.
In the mind of such a marquis, it seemed as if the pitiful image of himself passing through the corridors of the palace passed by.
‘What on earth is that bastard’s butterfly coral… … .’
The Marquis’ collapse continued until the bewildered merchants were at a loss.
* * *
“Hmm… … !”
“Is this the Butterfly Coral?”
The wizards stroked their chins as they looked at the items that had arrived.
I had already heard from Prince 1 that this Butterfly Coral would be used in the Magic Tower.
Just in case you have a problem… … .
“… … Are they all dead?”
The sight of the white, dried up coral was terrifying. It was hard to guess where the form that was shaking like flapping its wings in the sea went, and it was hard to guess what it looked like when it was alive.
Moreover, the fishy smell was so strong that the wizards frowned and turned their heads away.
Then, at that moment, the vice-tap owner and the head of the research center appeared.
“The goods have arrived.”
“Ah, the sub-top lord… … The goods have arrived, but they are not in good condition.”
“situation?”
Vice Tower Lord Wilford looked at the corals with a tilt of his head, then nodded towards the wizards as if he understood.
“It dried just right. It’s okay. Bring your stuff inside.”
“Uh, would that be okay? But this is still… … .”
“Don’t worry. Prince 1 already expected this.”
“… … yes?”
Deputy Lord Wilford’s lips curled softly. To the wizards, it really seemed like there was a reason for that appearance.
After a while.
I nodded as I looked at the butterfly coral brought by Wilford and the new research director.
“You arrived right.”
The butterfly coral I knew was right.
It was literally intact, unlike the past, when only a small amount made of powder was available.
It was just that I was laughing at myself thinking that way, so I almost burst into laughter at the moment.
‘I never thought it would be this easy to obtain… … .’
Butterfly coral seemed to have nothing to do with magic, but it was surprisingly closely related.
The reason was simple. It was because the dried butterfly coral’s mana resistance had converged to almost 0%.
And this was a staggering number.
Among existing materials, the one with the lowest mana resistance was diamond with a value of 13%.
You may think that the difference between 0% and 13% is small, but in terms of raw material technology, where a difference of 1% determines a good product, it is literally the difference between heaven and earth.
White coral used as a neutralizer for various raw materials.
… … okay. That was the identity of the highest quality material monopolized by the future Federation Empire.
‘As expected, it’s better to dry naturally while coming here.’
Butterfly corals do not die well for a certain period of time even in places where there is no seawater.
However, if the trade was carried out in this way, it would arrive in Esteban in a moderately well-dried state, and there was no need to dry it, so there was no need to waste time and manpower.
‘Then, the only remaining problem is that the smell is bad.’
But that was unavoidable.
If so, should the system also apply magic to what is made into a toy in advance?
That part was something I had to endure somehow.
Thanks to this, it will be delayed in revealing the purpose of the dead butterfly coral, which can be said to be an advantage.
still… … .
“In the end, processing was successful, so there must be a way.”
One of the top secrets that was more secure than information about the future emperor of the Federation Empire was the crystallization process to remove the odor of this butterfly coral.
Swoop-
As I said earlier, I crushed one of the butterfly corals I brought as a sample onto the storage box.
Then, he took off the smelly gloves and said.
“Let’s check.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Levatein, the new research director, took a handful of coral powder.
Then, slowly began pouring it into the unfinished magic reagent.
“I will mix it now.”
The test tube was then gently shaken to mix well.
Then, between the red liquid, something like a white shooting star was embroidered. And the more so, Levatein’s expression brightened.
“Oh clothes… … ! This… … !”
“Look, are things going well?”
“yes? No, are you saying that the sub-top lord does not know this difference?”
“Oh, no… … That’s not it… … .”
The sub-top owner, who made excuses as if he were in denial or not, put on a sullen expression for some reason.
“… … Isn’t it strange to know such subtle differences as you do?”
“yes?”
“Kuhm! Nothing.”
As usual with wizards, there were a lot of geeks. However, the new head of the research institute went even further.
A man who has dedicated his life to research. It was the nickname the Mage Tower called him.
Didn’t he actually get chosen by the Master of the Mage Tower, just like his nickname?
well, anyway. It was important that Wilford didn’t see much of a difference now.
“… … So what is changing?”
“In an unfinished state, the materials that were not separately combined are smoothly mixed.”
“So, originally, because of the mana resistance, ingredients that do not mix well were mixed?”
“Yes that’s right. But that’s not the end.”
Even if a diamond crystal with low mana resistance was used as a neutralizer, the recommended amount of material was fixed.
However, if the mana resistance was reduced by close to 13%, the story was different.
Levatein explained this by citing coffee from the southern continent as an example.
“No matter how hot water is dissolved in sugar, the amount is limited. No matter what, you cannot exceed the set limit, the amount.”
“That, right?”
“But not this one.”
You can mix more ingredients by the 13% resistance lost in the reagent.
In other words, the more materials used in technology, the higher the performance.
After hearing the explanation, the sub-tap owner clapped his hands in admiration.
“Oh, is it? That’s amazing.”
“This is not great! Indeed, it brings about the same wave as the revolution of raw materials for magic tools… … .”
“That, yes. Either way, it’s sure to sound great. I got it.”
The figure of 13% was astounding. It was said that even if they made raw materials with slightly lower performance than the Federation Empire, they could overwhelm them.
The deputy tap master thought so, and then looked at me and said.
“Your Highness, Prince 1, then how do you plan to proceed with your future research?”
This fact could not be shared by all wizards. It was not a shallow monopoly, but a countermeasure for technological security.
And what Wilford said was asking how to continue research while maintaining this security.
Of course, there is the simplest way.
“We divide those who research basic magic technology to make raw materials and those who lead the final process. And I will arrange the staffing for this myself.”
okay. It was only necessary to deploy those who would at least not betray Esteban. And sorting them out was simple too.
Slowly the time has come. I stood up and said.
“I’ll send you a list of researchers who will be involved in the process in the near future. In the meantime, you guys are working on ways to improve the quality of raw materials.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
With this, the matter of raw materials for magic tools was put to an end for the time being.
There are still many items left, but as long as you have crossed the great mountain of Butterfly Coral, there will be no problems if you continue as you are now.
The place my footsteps headed was a room on the top floor of the magic tower. The vast magical energy felt within it grew thicker the closer it got.
Finally facing the source of magical power, my mouth opened slowly.
“I’m glad you look unharmed.”
… … The owner of the mage tower in the Esteban Kingdom. And the master of magic, ‘Lord’ Elade.