Chapter 87

As Ricardo sat in front of the magic light, lost in thought, Greta's voice came from outside the door. Ricardo remembered that it was the day to teach Greta magic.

"Come in."

When Greta opened the door and entered Ricardo's laboratory, she found the room's owner staring at the magic circuit in his worn-out clothes.

"Did you stay here overnight?"

"Yes."

"Is this research so urgent?"

Ricardo shook his head in denial.

"No, the deadline is in six months, so there's still plenty of time."

Greta tilted her head in confusion.

"If that's the case, why did you stay here to work on it?"

"I wanted to finish the request I took on as soon as possible to restart my own research."

Greta looked at him with a somewhat exasperated expression.

Ricardo realized that he seemed to like his job as a researcher. He remembered that his childhood dream was to become some kind of researcher.

Today was the day to teach Greta magic. Studying with Greta seemed to be a mental break for Ricardo as well.

Just talking to Greta made him feel relaxed.

"Today, I'll teach you the intermediate-level magic of Life, 'Healing.'"

Ricardo explained in detail the catalysts, incantations, and imagery used for 'Healing.' After teaching her, he had her try to activate it.

To demonstrate, Ricardo made a small cut on the back of his hand with a small knife and activated the 'Healing' magic. Greta watched intently as the bleeding stopped and the wound closed.

"Your turn, Greta."

Greta hesitantly picked up the small knife and brought it close to the back of her hand. Despite her nervous movements, Ricardo waited patiently. The small knife moved, and blood appeared on Greta's hand.

"Now, activate the magic."

Greta, with tears in her eyes, managed to activate the 'Healing' magic, and the wound healed.

"I did it! I succeeded!"

Greta exclaimed happily.

Ricardo nodded in satisfaction.

"Let's practice to activate the magic a bit faster."

"It was slow?"

Greta's mood dropped instantly.

As Greta's study time was coming to an end, a knock on the door echoed. When Ricardo responded, Isalco entered.

"Greta is here too. Good morning."

"Good morning."

Ricardo and Greta greeted him. After Ricardo declared that the study session was over, Greta thanked him and left the room.

"Is there something you need?"

"I came to apologize for pushing the Naspetti family's request onto you."

Isalco recalled the council meeting where he had to push the troublesome request onto Ricardo. When Reuben suggested that Isalco take responsibility and assign it to Ricardo, he couldn't handle it well and ended up burdening Ricardo.

He should have suggested that the request be given to another researcher since it was too heavy for Ricardo. However, Isalco, who highly valued Ricardo's abilities, couldn't bring himself to do it, and ended up causing trouble for Ricardo.

"There's no need to apologize. Since it's a request to the Alchemy Bureau, it's natural for one of the researchers to take it on."

Research requests from guilds and families are an important source of income for the Mage Guild once they are officially accepted. Someone will take it on, and if the request is completed, it will be a significant achievement for Ricardo.

"But didn't you think it was a troublesome request?"

"That's true, but it's a rewarding job."

"Isn't it too much for you to handle alone? Maybe you should get an assistant."

Ricardo declined the offer. There were no researchers who understood his way of thinking, and he believed he could make more progress working alone.

"If that's the case, I'll leave it to you... Have you made any progress?"

In response to Isalco's question, Ricardo turned on the improved magic light.

"Wow, white light."

Isalco exclaimed in surprise. He then observed it closely.

"Hmm, the brightness doesn't seem to have changed."

"That's right. The brightness hasn't changed, but the magic consumption has decreased slightly."

"Amazing! You've already achieved such results?"

Isalco was surprised.

"If I'm lucky, I might be able to produce results sooner."

Hearing this, Isalco's expression turned serious.

"No, wait. If you submit the results early, Reuben might push another request onto you."

"Are there that many requests?"

"There are pending requests in the Alchemy Bureau's administrative department."

It seems there are quite a few pending requests. The reasons for the delays include the difficulty of the request content, making it unlikely to produce results, or the lack of compensation that matches the effort required.

This request would typically be considered too difficult to produce results and would be put on hold.

"Why did I end up taking it instead of it being put on hold?"

Isalco's mouth curved into a frown.

"I suspect Reuben received a bribe from the Naspetti family."

For the family, it's beneficial to offer a small bribe to get the research done. If the research is successful, they can make a profit, and even if it fails, the information gathered during the research can be valuable for future projects.

However, if the research fails to produce results, the payment to the Mage Guild is significantly reduced. For such research requests, both an initial payment and a success reward are paid, with the success reward being the larger portion.

The Naspetti family knew that the completion of the new magic light would bring them great profits, so they desperately wanted the research to proceed. However, their favored researchers couldn't find a breakthrough, so they desperately needed the cooperation of the Mage Guild's researchers.

For the researcher who takes on the request, a request from a large guild or family is beneficial. If the research is successful, it becomes a significant achievement for the researcher, and the success reward is substantial.

Therefore, researchers often compete to take on requests that are likely to produce results.

Ricardo and Isalco talked for about ten minutes.

"Because of this, even if you produce results early, please wait until the last minute to submit them. In the meantime, I'll try to find evidence of Reuben's misconduct."

"Understood."

The deadline for the request is six months, but for long-term requests, progress reports must be submitted monthly. Isalco asked Ricardo to release the results gradually in these reports.

"This is quite troublesome."

"Please do your best."

After their conversation, Isalco left, and Ricardo was left alone.

"I'll continue my research."

Although he was told to delay the submission, Ricardo wanted to solve it early to focus on his own research.

It was discovered that limiting the wavelength of light reduces magic consumption. He chose an appropriate wavelength within the visible light range and modified the magic light to emit blue light. When tested, a blue light orb appeared.

The brightness should remain the same since the intensity of the light is specified in the magic circuit, but it seemed slightly darker due to the blue color.

Upon measurement, the magic consumption was reduced by about 30%.

"Limiting the wavelength might dramatically improve the efficiency of converting magic to light. However, blue light isn't practical."

He recalled the invention of the blue LED. Once the blue LED was completed, it was possible to create white light.

Using the three primary colors of light, it should be possible to create white light. The challenge was to produce three colored light orbs and combine them into a white light orb. The wavelengths of each color were unknown, but he could research them gradually. With six months, he could take his time.

With the magic light research progressing, he decided to return home.

Upon entering the dining room, he heard a strange sound.

"Chirp, chirp."

Pamela, holding a strange chirping creature, walked towards Ricardo with a smile.

"Look, it's Mel."

"What's with that chick?"

"Antonio brought it. Isn't it cute?"

Monta ran over and climbed up Ricardo's body.

"Mel, Monta's sidekick."

"Is that so? But can you communicate with a bird?"

"Don't worry, Mel is a wise beast."

"A wise beast... a bird wise beast. If it's as smart as Monta, it could be a valuable asset."

Mel seemed friendly and didn't mind being held by anyone. It looked like it would become a part of the family, just like Monta.

In the evening, Antonio returned and explained the situation with the new employees and Mel. Hiring new employees alone wouldn't solve the problem; they needed to be trained and integrated into the workforce.

For a while, Ricardo focused on the magic light research, methodically investigating the wavelengths of light and successfully creating white light. Although producing three colored light orbs increased the magic consumption, he managed to achieve a brighter light with less magic by reducing the intensity of each color.

Finally, with the new magic light research completed, he planned to integrate the magic circuit into the prototype combustion chamber from the Galofaro workshop to complete the magic furnace. However, before he could do so, Antonio informed him of the situation at the breeding facility.

"Training the new employees is taking all our time. Can we ask the young servants to take care of the children from the slums and teach them as well?"

"I'll talk to Robson and the others."

The next day, before returning from the Mage Guild, Ricardo visited the employee dormitory.

"It's been a while."

At the dormitory, Robson and the other young servants were preparing dinner.

"Ricardo, what brings you here? Is there something you need?"

Robson approached and asked.

Most of the young servants, except for the new ones, had learned reading, writing, basic arithmetic, and history. They had also learned basic magic from Ricardo and were now polishing their intermediate-level magic skills.

Ricardo explained the situation at the breeding facility and asked if anyone could help.

Robson and Nicola volunteered.

"However, it might take about a month for the handover and approval from the council."

"That long? I'll manage in the meantime."

Ricardo formally asked Robson and Nicola to work at the breeding facility.

The next day, Ricardo went to the breeding facility with Antonio.

"Is it okay to take time off from the Mage Guild?"

"I'll continue my research while taking care of the children, so it's fine."

"Alright, if you say so."

At the breeding facility, eight orphans from the slums had started their new lives. Five of them, including Mikol, were living in one room of the male dormitory. Antonio suggested splitting them into two rooms, but they preferred to stay together.

The five of them woke up as soon as the sun rose, got dressed, and headed to the fields.

Pavan was staggering. Although his cold was completely gone, he was weak in the morning.

"Pavan, be careful. Wake up properly."

Mikol called out.

"But I'm so sleepy."

His speech was slurred. They harvested the vegetables for the day and took them to the kitchen.

In the kitchen, the girls who were Mikol's friends were helping with breakfast preparations alongside the weavers.

"Here they are."

"Good job, wash your hands and wait."

Mikela responded.

After washing their hands, Mikol and the others sat at the table, waiting for breakfast.

"Smells good, it's the smell of baking bread."

Pavan whispered happily. At the breeding facility, they baked bread for the day in the morning. A stone oven had been built in the kitchen, allowing them to bake bread.

Mikol felt incredibly fortunate to be living here. If they had continued living in the slums, they might have died before growing up.

"I should be grateful to Antonio."

Mikol muttered. The other children nodded in agreement.

After breakfast, Antonio and Ricardo arrived.

"Ricardo, is it okay to take time off from the Mage Guild?"

"I'll continue my research while taking care of the children, so it's fine."

"Alright, if you say so."

At the breeding facility, the girls went to the workshop for weaving, and Ricardo and Mikol's group were left behind.

Mikol looked at Ricardo.

"Ricardo, what should we do?"

"First, we'll clean up."

They started cleaning the dining room and then moved on to the common areas of the employee dormitory. Ricardo patiently taught Mikol and the others how to clean.

After cleaning, they took a short break. Suddenly, Mikol asked,

"Hey, Ricardo, will we study too?"

Dario and Jessica had one hour in the morning and one hour after lunch set aside for study, with the goal of learning to read, write, and do basic arithmetic.

"Do you want to study?"

Mikol nodded shyly.

"I want to study. I want to become a proper person."

Hearing this, Ricardo smiled. He thought that with such motivated students, a teacher could really try hard.

"If you want, you can join the study sessions."

During the study time after lunch, Mikol joined. Antonio was teaching the new employees, so Ricardo was the teacher.

The other children seemed to be full and sleepy, and some started dozing off.

After the study session, Ricardo woke up the sleeping children. In the afternoon, they spent about an hour weeding the fields and then played freely. Some asked to read books, so Ricardo had no time for his magic research.

Fred finished his work early and returned.

"Ricardo, I'll take over."

"Alright, thanks."

Ricardo couldn't spend the whole day with the children, so he left them with Fred and went to the Mage Guild to prepare the report on the new magic light.

While organizing his research materials, Patrick brought some ominous news.

"Ricardo, the town of Kilmon was attacked by pirates."

Patrick burst into the laboratory and shouted.