Chapter 46

As winter ended and spring arrived, Ricardo's paper shocked many magicians, causing a surge in the number of magicians who revisited the great magical compendium of the sage Manuel. This impact was not limited to the capital but spread to the territories of the nobility across the country. It was the first time a single paper had such a profound effect. The magicians searched for the author, Earthling Matou, but naturally, they could not find him.

Around this time, General Samuele of the Royal Guard was summoned by the king and spent an unpleasant time.

"General Samuele, how long do you intend to keep the underground passage sealed?"

Baron Alfredo, the king's aide, asked in a reproachful tone.

"For the time being, I believe it is necessary to keep it sealed to prevent spies from entering."

The king, looking displeased, signaled to Baron Alfredo with his eyes. Alfredo nodded.

"The king believes that the need for the seal has passed."

"But if we lift the seal, we will be vulnerable to intrusions from below."

"I have heard that the hole used to enter Vizer Castle has been filled and sealed. Is that not so?"

"Indeed, it has been sealed, but it is possible to dig it out again."

Upon hearing this, the king sighed and spoke up.

"General, I have heard that you are using many soldiers to keep the underground passage sealed. Baron Alfredo suggests that regular patrols would be more efficient. What do you think?"

"That may be so, but I believe we should not spare any effort to ensure the safety of Vizer Castle."

"I understand your loyalty, but... I think we should adopt Baron Alfredo's suggestion. Lift the seal on the underground passage and implement patrols."

There was no choice but to follow the king's order. General Samuele lifted the seal and began organizing the soldiers for the patrols.

After seeing the king off to the harem, Baron Alfredo, avoiding prying eyes, headed to the mansion of Duke Melvis.

Admitted to Duke Melvis's room, Baron Alfredo bowed to a tall, sharp-eyed woman in her late forties.

"Your Grace, I have lifted the seal on the underground passage as instructed."

"Good work. Now we can proceed with the plan."

Duke Melvis is led by Giovanna Melvis, the daughter of the previous head. Known as the cold empress, she has many nobles under her influence and is the leader of the Amatide L'Acqua, the largest organization in the kingdom, which means 'noble blood.'

"But what about the patrols? Will that be a problem?"

"There are several hidden rooms in the underground passage. We can use them to avoid detection and send people to dig the hole to Vizer Castle again."

"By the way, how is the crown prince doing?"

Baron Alfredo smiled slyly.

"He is active in the Yorgul territory, fighting against magical beasts."

"Ho ho... We are fortunate, it seems."

"Yes, as long as the magical beasts are active, he won't return to the capital."

"This is our chance. Prepare the hole to Vizer Castle as soon as possible."

"Understood."

Baron Alfredo left, and Duke Melvis, left alone in the room, smiled thinly as she gazed at the map of the kingdom on the wall.

At the same time, Ricardo was making storage amethysts as requested by Bernardo. Given about forty purple tree fruit crystals, he made ten storage amethysts. They were not refrigerated storage amethysts but regular storage amethysts because Bernardo had a merchant's mind. He decided to start selling refrigerated storage amethysts when the season turned to summer.

When comparing refrigerated storage amethysts to regular storage amethysts, the latter had a slightly larger storage capacity. In exchange, refrigerated storage amethysts had a temperature regulation function. When the sale of refrigerated storage amethysts began, buyers would likely be torn between the two.

"Phew, finally done."

Ricardo, having made ten storage amethysts, relaxed and let out a sigh of relief.

Looking around the workshop, he noticed the beds where Dario and the others slept and the wooden lockers where they kept their personal belongings. It was a rather bleak scene.

They must have spent cold nights during the winter. A small stove was set up near the beds, but it was too small compared to the size of the workshop.

"This winter, it's too pitiful to have them stay here. I should build a proper dormitory."

Leaving the workshop, Ricardo checked on the magical trees. The breeding ground, which had been brown during the winter, was now turning green. The magical trees, well-fed during the winter, had grown steadily and were almost ready for the harvest of Shuram tree fruits.

"Are you done with your work?"

Antonio's voice was heard. He had finished moving the apricot magical trees from the fifth plot to the sixth plot and had returned.

"Yes, it seems you're done too, brother."

"Yes, the magical trees seem to have perked up after being moved to the lush plot. That's good."

The magical trees, which had remained still like real trees on snowy days during the winter, were now lively, and Antonio was relieved.

"Brother, what are we going to cultivate in the eighth plot?"

The two had been discussing what to plant in the eighth plot. Antonio suggested that something similar to potatoes, which grow well in barren land, called mor potatoes, would be good.

Ricardo also wanted to cultivate soybeans and vegetables, so he suggested growing them in small quantities.

"Then, let's plant mor potatoes on thirty percent of the land, soybeans on twenty percent, and various other crops on the remaining land."

After some thought, Ricardo proposed this, and Antonio agreed.

"Sure. We can't be sure it will work from the start, so let's try various things."

They decided to try different crops to see what would grow well in the land.

"Well, shall we go home today?"

"Phew, it's so far to get home."

"Shall we take a shared carriage from the Second South Gate?"

Antonio, concerned about Ricardo's tired appearance, suggested.

"Sure, let's do that."

The two walked to the Second South Gate and boarded a shared carriage heading to the commercial district.

"Maybe it was a mistake to rent a house near the commercial district."

Ricardo muttered.

"But the Magician's Guild is close by."

"That's true, but it's a hassle for you to commute every day."

"Yeah... Maybe we should buy a small horse and have it pull a small, simple carriage."

"Horses... I heard taking care of horses is a lot of work."

Even if they took the carriage to save effort, it seemed meaningless if they had to take care of the horse afterward.

"Maybe I should make a magical vehicle."

"Eh, is there such a thing?"

Antonio exclaimed in surprise.

"If the research I'm working on is successful, I think it can be applied to make one."

Ricardo was trying to reproduce the magic of the "Magic Lathe" using factor letters. A few days ago, he succeeded in making an object rotate using a magic circuit with factor letters engraved on it, and he had just started thinking about how to apply it.

After getting off the shared carriage in the commercial district, the two went to Bernardo's shop to deliver the storage amethysts.

When they asked a shop assistant if Bernardo was in, they were told he was in the back. Fortunately, he was still there.

"Bernardo, I've made the storage amethysts."

"Oh, you're quick."

Ricardo handed over the storage amethysts and the purple tree fruit crystals that didn't work, and Bernardo was pleased.

It was late, so Ricardo and the others took the processing fee and went home.

A few days later, Manfred, a merchant who dealt in magical tools, passed by Bernardo's shop.

Manfred's shop was a top-class magical tool store that sold items like storage aquamarines and magic cannons, and he was proud of it.

"Hey, what's this?"

There was a notice of new products at Bernardo's shop. It seemed he had started selling a magical tool called "storage amethyst."

Recently, Bernardo's name had been mentioned among merchants and was attracting attention. The magic rod Unavolta, which he started selling last year, was selling out as soon as it arrived and was a very popular item.

Moreover, the magic gun he presented to Prince Gaius was sold at an auction for a very high price because the materials needed to make it were hard to come by.

With a new product, it was inevitable that it would catch the attention of merchants.

"Storage amethyst... Is it not a mistake for storage aquamarine? But I haven't heard that Bernardo has acquired a craftsman who can make storage aquamarines."

He entered the shop and looked for Bernardo. He was writing something in a ledger behind the counter.

"Bernardo, it seems you've started selling a new product."

Bernardo smiled at Manfred.

"Did you see the notice? This is the first magical tool I've ever handled. I would appreciate your advice, Manfred, an expert in magical tools."

"Bernardo, a merchant of your caliber doesn't need advice. What is a storage amethyst?"

Bernardo explained about the storage amethyst. Manfred's expression changed as he listened. He was surprised not only that the useless purple tree fruit crystals had been given a storage function but also that they were surprisingly cheap compared to the storage aquamarines with the same function.

Of course, the storage capacity of the storage aquamarines was much larger, but since the purple tree fruit crystals were cheap, the price of the storage amethysts as a product was much lower.

"Isn't it too cheap?"

"No, I can collect purple tree fruit crystals for about one gold coin each. This price still leaves a good profit."

"I see... But will it sell?"

"I believe it will. Merchants can use it to store money and valuables, and magicians and monster hunters can use it to carry catalysts and weapons."

Manfred thought of other uses. It could be used to transport fragile items. Some jewelry and magical tools were expensive and fragile, and using a storage amethyst would make it easier to transport them.

Of course, storage aquamarines could be used for such purposes, but the large storage capacity of storage aquamarines made them best suited for transporting large quantities of goods.

Manfred decided to buy a storage amethyst.

"Manfred, how is your magic control? Have you studied magic before?"

"I studied magic when I was young. I can control magic to some extent."

"I see. Then you won't need a magic control circuit or a magic conduction rod. Would you like me to embed the storage amethyst in some jewelry?"

It was decided to finish it as a pendant-type storage amethyst.

After that, merchants and magicians who saw the notice came to the shop and bought storage amethysts. Surprisingly, all ten were sold out the day after the sale began.

Although magical tools were expensive, Bernardo himself had not expected them to sell out so quickly.

After adding "Sold Out" to the notice, many customers still asked what a storage amethyst was, and Bernardo had a busy time.

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When the storage amethysts went on sale, Ricardo spent more time at the Emilia workshop.

There, a craftsman named Vigor, who was skilled in metalworking, was present. Ricardo had started developing a vehicle with him.

The vehicle they were developing was something like a scooter. In this country, there seemed to be no vehicles with two wheels arranged vertically, so it seemed that motorcycles or bicycles had not been developed.

Emilia and Vigor tilted their heads when they saw the scooter diagram Ricardo had drawn. They seemed to doubt whether such a thing could run without falling over.

Initially, they planned to make the entire vehicle out of metal, but it would take too long to make, so they decided to use metal parts only where necessary and make the body out of wood. Although it might break if it fell, the metal parts made by craftsmen by hand would be expensive, so it couldn't be helped.

The power source for this scooter was a magic-driven flywheel. It consisted of an iron disk sandwiched between two metal plates with a magic circuit, and by gradually infusing brown dragon stones with magic power, it would activate a magic to rotate the flywheel when a certain amount of attribute-activated magic power was stored.

The flywheel, like a top, would store kinetic energy and become the power source to rotate the rear wheel of the scooter. The magic circuit would give rotational energy to the flywheel every time attribute-activated magic power was stored, and it would replenish the energy lost by rotating the rear wheel.

In the original world, flywheels were used in combination with car engines, so it was a familiar principle to Ricardo. However, it was something new to Emilia and Vigor, who were amazed and excited.

"This is incredible. You're a genius."

Ricardo felt a bit embarrassed when he was praised. It wasn't something he had invented but rather a principle he knew with the addition of a magical element.

Emilia had an idea.

"Can't this magic circuit be applied to a magic cannon?"

Ricardo thought for a moment.

"It's not impossible, but the timing to activate the magic would be when the attribute-activated magic power is stored, so it might not be practical."

"That's right... It would be difficult without developing a technology to store attribute-activated magic power."

Attribute-activated magic power would dissipate into the surroundings if left unused without activating magic.

"If it were possible, we could make a magic cannon fire without a catalyst cartridge."

Emilia's idea was possible but would not be practical for combat.

"Hey, is this vehicle for sale?"

Emilia had noticed a fatal flaw in the vehicle. It consumed a lot of magic power. An average magician's magic power would make it difficult to use the vehicle effectively.

"No, I'm making it for my brother to use."

"So, you're planning to recharge it with magic every day?"

"Yes, I know that improving the magic efficiency of the magic-driven flywheel is necessary for it to be a viable product, but I'll take my time to research that."

Ricardo told Emilia that he would recharge it every day, but he actually planned to increase the capacity of the magic battery so that it could be used for a week without recharging.

The magic-powered scooter was completed just before the annual magician certification exam.

When asked where to conduct the test drive, Emilia suggested using the training ground of the Magician's Guild, with Isarco's cooperation.

They loaded the magic-powered scooter onto a cart and transported it to the training ground. A few magicians were training there.

As Emilia and the others started preparing for the test drive, Isarco and General Samuele appeared. Some of the magicians who were training also approached out of interest.

"Hey, General Samuele is here too."

Emilia greeted the general.

"I came to consult with Councilor Isarco."

Isarco looked at Ricardo.

"I heard you developed a vehicle for your brother."

"Yes, the Unius breeding ground is far away, so it's a hassle."

Emilia smiled wryly. Developing a magical tool was not supposed to be that easy, but Ricardo had managed to do it in a short time.

It was as if he already knew the final form, Emilia thought.