Magic Maker - How to make magic in another world - - Chapter 27

Magic Maker – How to make magic in another world –

Chapter 27   Glast’s request 2

“Wow…”

I couldn’t help but let out an exclamation. Given the circumstances, I felt it was entirely justified. The spacious warehouse was filled with thunder stones, and they intermittently emitted bright and dazzling flashes. Rows upon rows of lightning stones, each spaced several centimeters apart, presented a breathtaking sight. They were neatly aligned on the floor, as if they were carefully organized.

Visually, it was not without its beauty, but there was no denying that it was a dangerous situation. Any accidental contact or sparks would turn this place into a hazard, likely causing a fire. Danger was ever-present.

I turned around, and Father had his head in his hands, my sister clung to my arm, staring blankly at the thunder stones. Mother looked distressed, and Glast offered a strained smile. What were we going to do now? I’d heard about this, but seeing it in person, it was, well, terrifying.

“If it was just shining all night, it would be fine, but the crackling noise is too loud. There have been complaints. They told me they won’t rent the warehouse unless we figure out a way to eliminate the noise. We have until three nights from now to resolve it. There aren’t any other suitable warehouses around.”

“So, the deadline is in three days?”

“Yeah, well, if you can’t do it. We can always return the stones to the mine. But even putting them back would cost some money. Plus, it would result in a significant loss. I’ve been entirely focused on the thunder stones lately, and I haven’t opened the shop much.”

The deadline itself didn’t bother me much. Failing to meet it wouldn’t incur any significant loss. However, I quickly realized that the situation was worse than I had imagined. When you heard “one hundred,” it might not sound like much, but it looked like a substantial amount in reality. Fortunately, even the largest of the lightning stones was of a size that I, or even an ordinary person, could carry, which was a small relief. I had been expecting them to be much larger.

I observed the situation within the warehouse, thinking that it was essential to memorize the circumstances accurately. However, amidst all this, I couldn’t help but have a small question.

“Why do you keep a distance between the lightning stones?”

“Well, you see, when they get too close, they enter a peculiar state.”

“A peculiar state?”

Glast picked up what appeared to be a piece of fabric hanging on the wall. It seemed to be stitched together from mica or something similar, and he had probably improved it himself since the last time I saw it. Glast used it to push one lightning stone closer to another, causing both to emit a noticeable surge of electricity. They interacted and began to conduct electricity between each other.

“In such a state, the electricity flows quite violently, making it dangerous. That’s why I keep them separated.”

Electric reactions, it wasn’t an individual occurrence, but rather an interaction between the stones. While the electricity generated individually was intermittent, in this state of mutual reaction, it was relatively stable.

“Have you processed the thunder stones?”

“Yeah, I did. I extract them and forge them. The low melting point made it straightforward, and my smelting furnace was sufficient for the task. However, there’s an issue, so let’s return to my shop.”

There was more to this story. We followed Glast, passing through the dim shop, and entering a room in the back, which appeared to be a blacksmith’s workshop. Inside, there was a large furnace, blacksmithing tools, and the walls were lined with hammers, files, and other equipment. It was clear that these tools had seen considerable use.

At the corner of the room, there was a pile of bricks. Glast handed me a metal object from a table at the room’s edge. It felt lighter than it looked, and it appeared to be made of something other than iron, with a slight bluish tint.

“This is?”

“It’s the metal obtained by refining and forging thunder stones.”

Despite that, it appears like regular metal, somewhat resembling blue-tinged iron. Its purity is decent, and the surface is smooth, suggesting effective refinement. However, the distinctive electric properties of thunder stones are nowhere to be found.

“Does it exhibit any electrical reaction when in contact, similar to what we observed earlier?”

“Try it.”

This reaction implies that Glast had already experimented with it. I touched both metals to check.

The anticipated reaction didn’t occur.

“Um, well, how is the metal of thunder stones carried out? What’s the process?”

“Oh, I see. First, you crush the lightning stones with a hammer, reducing them to a coarse state. After that, you put them in a refining furnace with several special materials and burn them with charcoal. You remove impurities, and then you pour it into a mold before it solidifies. At that stage, it was quite crude, so I hammered it as a form of forging. The strength improved, but it’s still inferior to regular metal.”

“At what point does the electricity generation disappear?”

“At the moment they were crushed, there was just a hint of electrical reaction. Afterwards, it might be when they reach the melting point during combustion. From that point, it’s a seamless process, so the specifics are unclear. I don’t know if it’s due to combustion, the extraction process, or perhaps the quality of the materials added.”

From what I gather, it feels somewhat akin to the process of making pig iron. If you delve deeper, the forging techniques are likely to differ, and the extraction process would be unique. The presence of bricks might indicate the use of a blast furnace in steel production. Large-scale equipment like a blast furnace, which operates with water wheels, would be challenging for an individual blacksmith to possess.

Electrical reactions were still occurring when the stones were crushed, which implies they lost their characteristics at some point afterward. By conventional thinking, it might have been due to combustion or overheating, as when a solid turns into a liquid.

Nonetheless, conventional metalworking typically involves melting or heating at some point. While I’m not well-versed in the specifics, it seems like there isn’t much other metalworking technology in this world. If that’s the case, we should perhaps consider a premise that involves burning them.

Burning… When it comes to burning, the first thing that comes to mind is a “Flare.” A Flare is a small spark discharge of fire magic ignited by a firestarter. In this era and world, igniting a fire seems to be quite challenging. Therefore, at home, we often use my magic to light fires. It’s blue fire, but it’s not much different from regular fire. Or is it regular fire? What is regular fire, really? Fire is still fire, but magical fire. It may appear blue and be fueled by magic. Of course, magic is used to ignite it, but it doesn’t require ongoing magical input once it’s ignited. It continues to burn on its own. Perhaps it’s worth a try. It’s just an idea.

“Father, is this okay?”

I took a portable firestarter from my pocket and showed it to my father. Just by this gesture, he seemed to grasp my intention, and after a brief pause, he nodded.

“Sure, that’s fine.”

There didn’t seem to be any particular hesitation, did there?

Well, it’s alright. It’s not a big deal.

It doesn’t seem like something easily figured out, and I’m not that interested anyway.

I turned to Glast and spoke.

“I’d like to try something. Could you prepare the refining process?”

“Well, I don’t mind. What are you planning to do?”

“It’s a surprise,” I said with a grin.

Although he looked puzzled, Glast didn’t press for more information and began to prepare the refining process. The furnace contained crushed charcoal.

“Alright, it’s ready. So, what are you going to do?”

“I’m going to ignite the fire now. Then, please proceed with the refining process as usual.”

“Is that all?”

“Yes. It may not have much significance, but it might just work.”

This was a trial and error for problem-solving, and also an experiment with my magic. I gathered magical energy in my right hand and struck the firestarter. The released magic ignited, creating a blue flame.

“Whoa!? Wha-what the heck is this!?”

Leaving a bewildered Glast to his own devices, I lit the kiln. The wood charcoal ignited vigorously, housing the blue flames within.

“Alright, let’s continue working.”

“No, no, no! W-wait! Don’t just act like nothing happened! What was that just now? Fire appeared out of thin air from your hand!”

“It’s magic.”

“Magic?”

I cast a brief glance at my father, who subtly nodded.

“Yes, magic is…” I provided a simple explanation, and Glast was still quite stunned.

“I can’t believe something like this exists… so, Gawain and the others knew about it?”

“Yep, they knew.”

Glast and my father exchanged glances, but I couldn’t tell what exactly passed between them. However, Glast seemed to relent, sighing and offering a wry smile.

“I see. Well, I’ve seen it with my own eyes, so I can’t help but believe it. So, this is magic, right? If we use its flames for refining, does it produce different results?”

“Who knows? I don’t.”

“What? You don’t know?”

“No, I don’t. I’m still researching and don’t really understand much about magic. So, this is just an experiment. If it doesn’t work, we’ll have to figure out another way to utilize the ore. As things stand, it seems quite challenging.”

For instance, creating a handy tool using small pieces of thunderstone would be quite challenging. The reason being, as the pieces become smaller, their discharging capacity diminishes, making it harder to utilize them effectively. To secure a certain amount of electrical power, you need a mass roughly the size of a palm. While I have a few ideas, it would be preferable to have relatively pure materials in a compact, lightweight form. Throughout any era, small and convenient tools tend to be valuable.

“I see. Well, then, I’ll give it a shot for now. It’ll take about an hour, so feel free to wander outside.”

“No, I’m curious about how it will turn out, so I’ll stay and observe.”

“If Shion is staying, then so am I.”

Upon my words, my sister immediately chimed in, still clinging to my arm. It’s not that I mind, but it does make it a bit hard to move. Also, Glast’s expression seems quite complicated, and that makes me feel a bit complex too.

“Emma and I have some business to attend to, so I’m entrusting the two of you to them.”

“Sure, leave it to us.”

“Shion-kun, Marie-chan, see you later.”

We waved our hands towards our mother, who was fluttering her hands, and watched our parents as they left the blacksmith’s shop. Glast stood in front of the refining kiln, his back facing us. Adults look quite different from a child’s perspective, in many ways. Although I should be an adult myself, there are times when I forget that I am one. Walking through life for the second time is, in a way, a peculiar sensation. The fire flickered brilliantly. The room temperature rose, and my skin became slightly sweaty. But my sister didn’t let go.

“I forgot to mention this, but after we finish, I do intend to offer some form of gratitude. Please think about it. Ah, whether the attempt is successful or not, I plan to do it.”

Glast spoke to us with his back turned.

“In that case, I have a few ideas.”

“A few, huh? Just don’t come up with anything too extravagant.”

“You don’t need money for either idea, so it’s okay.”

“Oh, I see. That’s a relief. So, what are your ideas?”

“Before that, I have a question. You used to travel with my father, right? He’s skilled in swordsmanship, and can you also fight?”

“Yeah, that’s right. Being a blacksmith who works with weapons, most of us can handle weapons. I’m reasonably skilled myself. I’m no match for Gawain, but I can hold my own.”

“I see. In that case, it’s fine. And the favor I mentioned earlier can be fulfilled only if the attempt succeeds. So, I won’t discuss it now.”

“No need to be so reserved. A child like you shouldn’t feel obligated. It’s a bit pathetic for me, the one making the request, to treat you like a child.”

“It’s not so much about being reserved as it is about my emotional perspective. To be clear, even if it fails, I have a feeling you’ll still offer to help.”

Glast paused, his hand halted, and he glanced back over his shoulder.

“…Kids these days are so thoughtful, it can be exhausting.”

“Well, this is just who I am. I don’t consider myself particularly thoughtful.”

“I see. So that’s why Gawain says things like that, huh?”

My sister and I exchanged glances.

“Did our father say something?”

“Yeah, he said that you’re too responsible and undemanding. He wished you’d be more selfish and ask for more attention. He said he doesn’t hear it often these days.”

“Oh, I see… I guess I’ve been keeping him busy with my recent experiments.”

“But your father seems happy about it, so it’s okay, right?”

“Yeah, maybe…”

I didn’t want to inconvenience people too much. But from a parent’s perspective, would they be happier when their child relies on them? Come to think of it, my father seemed lively when we conducted experiments together. As I contemplated this, I observed Glast’s work. My sister, on the other hand, seemed to have gotten a bit restless. She moved a little away from me and sat down, resting her chin on her hand. And so, for the next hour, we patiently waited.