Chapter 71

"Zee... zee... something... wasn't the pace a bit fast?"

"It's just your imagination."

"No, no! Ha... even the four guards protecting Chelina are out of breath!"

The guards protecting Chelina were slightly out of breath, though not as much as I was. The carriage's pace was definitely faster than usual.

"It's a trivial matter, isn't it?"

"Yes, Lord Akira, it must be your imagination."

"Chelina! Was this your doing?"

"What are you talking about?"

She replied with a smile.

Damn, there's no one but enemies here.

"Anyway, please check the charcoal for Mr. Hag, and the corn and cassava, as well as the compost situation for Mr. Yarrai."

"Alright, that's fine."

"Got it."

Hag and Yarrai went to their respective places without hesitation, probably feeling safe with so many guards around.

"Lord Akira, this way."

I was led to a spot where the experimental site was barely visible, along with Chelina's four guards. When Chelina gave the signal, the four guards moved to the north, south, east, and west.

"Shall we begin?"

"Begin what?"

"Of course, the test of the new Kūrigi."

"Ah. But is that already decided?"

I was brought to an empty lot all of a sudden, and I thought it would be impressive if I could understand it right away.

"Looking at the crowd, I thought you would understand immediately, Lord Akira."

"I'm not a psychic, you know."

"Psychic?"

"Ah... I'm not a magician, so I can't understand that."

"I think it's a matter of observation and situational awareness."

"I don't have either of those."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah."

Psychic... that doesn't work here...

"Well, let's get to the test."

"Sure. ...First, please use it as you like, Lord Akira."

"Alright... but if I use it carelessly, it might break again."

"Last time, I noticed that the light of the Kūrigi became unstable just before the light sword broke. It's probably a symptom that appears when it approaches its limit."

I remember that happening last time.

"Hmm. So, when the Kūrigi starts acting strange, I should stop, right?"

"There's no certainty, but it's better than having no guidelines. Shall we start then?"

I took out the new card-type Kūrigi. I arranged them in front of me, so I could see which Kūrigi they were. The illustrations were stylized, showing lighting, cleaning, wind, fire, and a light sword.

"Kūrigi can't be used simultaneously, right?"

I remember someone saying that before.

"Yes. ...However, since it's Lord Akira, perhaps you can..."

Chelina, who had been smiling, suddenly looked serious and started thinking.

"..."

"Let's try it a bit. Lord Akira, can you use lighting and cleaning at the same time?"

"I feel like you're making an unreasonable request, but I'll give it a try."

I held the lighting Kūrigi in my left hand and the cleaning Kūrigi in my right, putting the rest in my pocket. I tried to activate them simultaneously by touching the center of the cards, but it failed.

"Doesn't seem to work."

"That's a relief."

"Is it a relief...?"

"If they had activated, Lord Akira's legend of being unconventional would have grown even more."

"Don't make up weird legends."

She's really disrespectful.

"Wh-What?"

"Huh? No, nothing."

Did I say that out loud?

I wiped the sweat from my forehead and held the cleaning Kūrigi in my right hand, fanning the others with my left.

"Let's continue the test."

"Why are you reading it so monotonously?"

"Kino sei, Kino sei."

I activated the cleaning Kūrigi to clean my clothes, trying to cover up my nervousness.

"The activation itself is fine."

I brushed off the fine sand that came off my clothes.

"Right. But you're cleaning multiple layers of clothes while wearing them...?"

"Is there a problem?"

"No, I guess it's hard to do that even for a laundry service..."

"Right."

"Lord Akira..."

"I get it. I'll avoid doing it in front of people from now on."

I think I've used it a few times already, but I'll keep it to myself.

Chelina sighed deeply. I wonder why.

"Well, let's move on to the main event."

"The main event?"

"You've already used the light sword, so we just need to test it later. However, this is the first time you're using the wind and fire Kūrigi, right?"

"Yeah, I've only used the cleaning, lighting, and light sword Kūrigi so far."

"Then let's practice using them as well."

"Sure."

But what do I do with wind and fire?

"Wind can create a gentle breeze, right?"

"That's what I've heard."

"Hmm... a gentle breeze..."

I held the wind Kūrigi card between my fingers and imagined a fallen branch being blown away. I prioritized the image of an air compressor at a gas station, which produces a very strong air pressure. I couldn't really picture a gentle breeze.

With a roar, sand flew up in a straight line from the card, and the branch was blown away straight. It was a light branch.

"..."

Chelina stopped moving, and her eyes seemed to be wide open, but I decided to ignore it.

"Next is..."

I picked up a stone about the size of a ping-pong ball and placed it on a rock. I imagined compressed air. When air is compressed to its limit, it can launch a bottle rocket into the sky and even make a car move. Its potential is infinite.

I realized from the previous branch that this wind can be controlled quite directionally. If I can control the compression and release vectors, I should be able to produce a strong, focused wind.

With a strange certainty, I first imagined the compression. Compressing a soccer ball-sized space into a ping-pong ball-sized space, then a human-sized space, then a six-mat room, then a twelve-mat living room, and then... oh, the light from the Kūrigi started to flicker. It seems this is the limit, so I reduced the image to about an eight-mat room, and it stabilized.

I imagined moving the compressed air, now the size of a ping-pong ball, next to the stone, and then releasing it only in the direction of the stone... all at once!

With a "bang," the stone flew away, describing a parabola and landing about 100 meters away.

"Not bad."

Chelina hasn't moved since then. Yeah, I'm happy she's being quiet. Ugh, I called myself an uncle and now I'm feeling down. Well, maybe I am getting to that age...

I decided to focus on a new image to get my mind back on track. I've been using the word "wind" a bit awkwardly, so this time I'll try something more like a gentle breeze.

Let's see...

I looked out at a sandy wasteland.

Yeah, I can do that.

I decided to fulfill a childhood dream out of mischief. This image was easy. I went all out.

"Ninjutsu! Wind Style Jutsu!!"

I was in high spirits.

A whirlwind swirled around me, raising a cloud of sand and obscuring my figure.

Incidentally, "dō" means to escape. It's basically a technique for escaping or hiding. It's a very suitable technique for me.

"Wow, it worked. I remember someone saying that saying it out loud helps."

When I released the Kūrigi's power, the wind subsided, and the sand gradually cleared.

Now that I think about it, I did something quite otaku-like. I hope you can forgive it as a youthful indiscretion. I'm not young anymore, though.

To cover it up, I decided to move on to the next test. Yeah.

Next is the fire Kūrigi.

This is also the first time I'm using it, so it's hard to grasp the image.

According to what I heard from Halogen before, it can be used as a replacement for a flint, or to launch fireballs.

Starting a fire is easy. The illustration on the Kūrigi card is of a campfire.

I casually imagined a campfire and created flames on the ground. Yeah, that's it. I can maintain it as well. I kept it going for about 20 seconds but got bored, so I extinguished it. No problems with activation.

I'm not fighting anyone, but I'd like to try the fireball. This should be like a fireball from a fantasy movie.

I imagined a high-temperature plasma. Fire itself is plasma, so I didn't make it too large to avoid overloading the Kūrigi. I focused on the heat, imagining a plasma ball enclosed in a vacuum.

Hmm? I feel like I'm moving away from the image of a mage's fireball. Oh well.

What was created was a glowing blue-white orb about the size of a fist... Ah, right, increasing the heat makes it blue.

I tried to make the plasma ball larger, but the Kūrigi card became unstable, so I quickly returned it to its original size.

I tried to launch the plasma ball, which was enclosed in a vacuum, onto a rock a short distance away.

It flashed and exploded.

When I approached to check, I found that a small part of the surface had melted, apparently turning into lava. What kind of heat is this?

"Hey, Chelina, it seems I can create a much stronger fire than expected."

It's more like a plasma igniter than a flint.

Incidentally, when I was on Earth, I had an arc discharge lighter. It was very useful because it was USB charged and didn't need gas or oil, but it was stolen by my boss out of curiosity... Since then, I've been using a 100-yen lighter. I'm reminded of that unpleasant memory.

Looking at Chelina, who wasn't responding, her eyes were wide open like in a gag manga, and her jaw was almost touching the ground. Her cute face was ruined. I shouldn't show this to anyone but me, or she might not find a husband.

The last test is the light sword. I'll finish this quickly. I aimed the light sword, Vulcan Flank, at a large rock nearby and shattered it into pieces. If it hit a human, they'd be instantly minced. Yeah. I shouldn't aim it at people.

As a precaution, I also tested the fireworks particle effect and finished.

"It's done. There don't seem to be any problems. I'm grateful to Halogen."

The card-type Kūrigi I made on a whim turned out to be very easy to use.

"It's a good result. Making it so that you have to touch the center of the card to activate it was a good decision. The idea of using cards for magic... or Kūrigi, is a bit otaku-like."

Since I can't actually use magic, it's otaku-like, but if I can use it practically, it's just a tool.

So even if I'm a bit excited, it's no different from being excited about a new PC. Probably.

Speaking of PCs, I do have a laptop. I haven't used it at all. Since my SHOP level has risen significantly, I might think about securing a power source... No, if that plan works out, it will be solved. Patience is key. The necessary item for that plan hasn't been approved due to insufficient divinity...

By the way, is it time to break Chelina's petrification?

"Hey, Chelina. It's done~"

When I tapped her shoulder and spoke to her, she started to tremble.

"H..."

Oh, she's speaking.

"H... H..."

Is she giving birth? Hihippu.

"Unconventional!"

Whoa!

"AH! Lord Akira! You... I knew it, I knew it, but why are you so unconventional? Are you trying to overturn the Kūrigi of this world? Are you a revolutionary?"

Chelina burst into speech. And I'm being scolded. It's unreasonable.

"O-Oh"

"That face shows that you don't understand a single thing you did! Do you understand? In what world does a wind Kūrigi create an attack like a cannon, wrap you in a sandstorm, and a fire Kūrigi melt rocks with a fireball? Unconventional! Yes! Lord Akira is a complete bundle of unconventional! Rather, it's not an exaggeration to say that unconventional is walking around! Do you understand!?"

I don't understand at all.

If I tried to argue, it would be like throwing high-octane gasoline on a fire. I plastered a fake smile on my face.

"Um, what can I say, well, I'll take it back and thoroughly deliberate and consider it after..."

"...L-Lord A-Akira...?"

"Yes, I'm sorry."

I immediately prostrated myself. I'm good at apologizing!

"What did you do wrong?"

"Sir! No! Sir!"

"Sa-?"

"Mam! I don't understand at all! Mam!"

"Even though I don't understand some parts, I understand that you don't understand, right?"

"Yes. Honestly, what was wrong?"

"Everything, everything."

"Even if you say that..."

I was just told to use it for the experiment, and I don't think this treatment is fair.

"Ha... Well, for a wind Kūrigi, it's used for room ventilation or as a bellows for a blacksmith. For a fire Kūrigi, it's used as a lighter, and only very experienced users can produce a fireball. There's a separate Kūrigi for fireballs, you know."

"I remember Halogen saying something like that."

"I don't know the details, but it's related to the purity and strength of the Kūrigi stone. But why does it become so dangerous when Lord Akira uses it..."

"Hmm... Maybe it's a matter of knowledge."

"Knowledge?"

"Yes, I don't know how much the physical laws of the world I was in and this world align, but in my country, the physical laws were quite well understood."

"That's interesting."

Actually, the mystery of water clusters and why warm water freezes faster than cold water haven't been solved.

...Wait, wasn't the ice mystery solved?

Anyway, in that sense, it can't really be said that science has advanced, but it wouldn't do any good to tell her that.

"Well, we haven't reached the point of curing all diseases or knowing the truths of the universe, so I don't know how far it has advanced, but I think it was more advanced than this world