That Time a Shut-in for 300 Years Continued to Make Antiques , but All of It Turned out to Be Cheat-Level Magic Tools - Chapter 55

“Now then, when creating magic tools, what we magic tool craftsmen must do isn’t just constructing the formula. Creating the vessel is also crucial. You understand that, right?”

“Ugh, Edson-kun, you’re underestimating me way too much just because you’re a kid. It seems like you’ve forgotten, but I’m the older one here!”

“……”

I looked at this unfortunate woman with eyes as cold as absolute zero. Even if we put aside the matter of our actual ages, and even if I were truly the child I appear to be, there’s no way she could be the older one. Absolutely not.

“Wh-what’s with that super cold look?! Your eyes are frozen solid!”

“If that’s all you have to say, let’s move on.”

“Your attitude is cold too! Feh~n, Mei-san!”

“There, there.”

“Mei, don’t pamper her too much.”

Mei was patting Alecto, who had buried her face in Mei’s chest. It wasn’t an unpleasant sight, I must admit.

“So, what is this ‘vessel’?”

“Of course, it’s the magic stone made by processing the magic core!”

Well, at least she understands this much. She’s giving me a smug look, but if she didn’t know even that, we’d have a real problem.

Anyway, I’ve prepared what I think is necessary for processing the magic core into a magic stone, so for now, I’ll watch how Alecto does it.

“Alright, go ahead and process the magic core into a magic stone using your method. Use the practice ones over there.”

I’m not about to let her use Shokuyoku’s magic stones right off the bat. So, I secretly had Mei collect some practice cores for her to work on.

Now then, let’s see what she comes up with.

“Okay! I’ll give it a try!”

Then, Alecto casually pulled out a hammer. A hammer?

“Here I go, ei! Ei! Ei!”

—Bang! Bang! Bang!

“Hold it right thereeeee!”

“Feh?”

Alecto reacted with her usual dumbfounded expression. No, no! What are you making that clueless face for?!

“What on earth are you doing?”

“Huh? Come on, I’m processing it into a magic stone. Or… wait, don’t tell me you didn’t know? You really are just a child, huh? Upupupu.”

“Mei, hit Alecto on the head with that hammer right now.”

“Understood.”

“That’s scary! ‘Understood,’ you say?! What kind of terrifying thing is this child saying so casually?!”

“If we hit you, maybe that sorry excuse for a head of yours will get a little better.”

“Master, while I did agree, I cannot deny the possibility that it might worsen instead.”

“Ugh, Mei-san can be harsh sometimes.”

With tears in her eyes, Alecto—

—Bang! Bang! Bang!

“Stop hitting it, you idiot!”

“Why not?!”

Does she really not understand?

“Oh! Could it be that you’re worried about the magic core exploding, Edson-kun?”

“…Magic core explosion?”

“That’s right. Huh? You didn’t know? If you hit a magic core too much, it will explode. So before it explodes, you stop for a bit and then resume the work after it’s calmed down. This is the key skill of a magic tool craftsman, you know!”

She proudly lectured me, pointing her finger upwards.

“Then tell me, do you know why the explosion happens?”

“Huh?”

Alecto tilted her head from side to side before suddenly clapping her hands.

“Maybe it’s because the core is sensitive to vibrations~?”

“Is that so? Then let’s experiment by hitting your head with a hammer.”

“Yes, Master.”

“Nooo, don’t just agree like that!”

I thought hitting her head until it explodes might make it a little better, but…

“Jeez, what’s your problem?!”

“Everything, you idiot. The moment you push the magic core to the brink of explosion, you’re disqualified as a magic tool craftsman. You’re a third-rate failure!”

“Ehhhhhhhh?!”

Seriously. Is this really common knowledge nowadays, or is she just this hopeless?

“Listen. A magic core is essentially a super-compressed form of magical energy known as Maif. And Maif contains both Law and Chaos. Are you with me so far?”

“…?”

Nope, she doesn’t get it.

“Just think of the core as containing both Law and Chaos.”

“But isn’t it weird that a monster’s core would have Law?”

She does pick up on strange details…

“The Law and Chaos here are a bit different from what humans think of them. In this case, think of stress-inducing factors as Chaos, and non-stressful ones as Law. However, the core has a nature that tries to maintain a balance between Law and Chaos.”

“So, you’re saying it’s balanced?”

“Simply put, yes. But if you apply excessive stress in the wrong way, the force trying to maintain that balance will swell up all at once. And a prime example of what not to do is hitting it repeatedly with a hammer!”

“Ugh!”

Alecto flinched. It seems she finally understood what I was getting at.

“You mentioned an explosion earlier, right? That’s because the swelling Chaos is suppressed by Law to the point where it exceeds the limit, leading to a mutual annihilation reaction. Naturally, when it explodes, the magic core disappears. And even if you stop right before the explosion, the core is already worn out and deteriorates rapidly. Got that? It deteriorates!”

“U-ugh… You don’t have to keep repeating it. I didn’t know any of this in the first place…”

She really didn’t know… Judging by her face, she seems genuinely clueless.

“Just to confirm, is this method really standard practice nowadays?”

“Yes, it is. Honestly, I’m surprised a kid like you even knows such things, Edson-kun.”

Well, that’s obvious. I’m the one who conducted research on Maif and established this theory. I wrote it down over 300 years ago and handed it to my comrades at the time.

That guy who was called a hero back then should have understood it too. I heard he later became an emperor, and if that’s true, it’s strange that this theory hasn’t spread at all.

Hmm, if the theory had evolved, I’d understand, but the fact that it’s regressed is baffling.

But this does explain why the quality of magic tools I saw in town was so absurdly low.

Sigh Anyway, we need to teach you the proper method of processing magic stones first.

“Ugh, I’m shocked to find out I’ve been doing it wrong all this time… So how exactly should I hit it?”

“Don’t hit it! The very act of hitting it is wrong!”

“Ehhhhhhhh?!”

She’s completely stunned. Honestly, this is giving me a headache.

“Didn’t you think anything of the materials I prepared here?”

Around us are jars of powders and silicone oil I bought from Rote’s shop. There’s also a bucket of metal powder I took from the Adamantine blacksmith shop. Naturally, Alecto hadn’t paid any attention to these.

“I thought they were just toys for you to play with while waiting, Edson-kun. I was thinking how cute and childlike that was…”

“Right, we should definitely hit her. Maybe that’ll improve this clunker a little.”

“Understood.”

“Stop saying ‘understood’ so casually!”

Good grief, the road ahead looks rough…