Chapter 77

Good morning from room 0304. It's the 15th of November, and today is seminar day. I'm Herman. It's already November. Soon it will be a year. I don't know if it's been fast or if too much has happened, but I think it's been a pretty intense year. ...There's still a month left, but it feels like it's almost over, this time of year. I was basically in the dormitory. I mostly just wandered around the free market. However, the Alchemy Academy is busy even in winter. There are classes, too.

The Eimei School's November class is Applied Healing. Well, I only get a bad feeling at the basic level. It's a complete Eimei School punishment. It's worse than a regular death penalty because it involves pain. This time, three people were brought in. Just the fact that there are three people means that if you make a mistake, they die. I thought that too. ...It's cruel, grotesque, and insane. It's not an application; it's a torture. Limbs were flying, and one person's head was cut off. If your head is cut off, even the Supreme Potion can't heal you, they said, and they cut off the head. Is this class okay? ...This could kill 60 people. Two people a day for 30 days, 60 people. ...It's not okay at all. What did these people do to deserve the death penalty? What do you have to do to get the Eimei School's punishment? ...I understand the necessity. Learning that the Supreme Potion can heal a crushed bone, but that you can use a Superior Potion if you gather the bones with magic, was very educational. But do you really need to experiment to see if the Supreme Potion can heal a decapitated head? I don't think so. The Eimei School, a den of people who have been swallowed up. I hope there aren't only people like this. The Supreme Potion was used like water, and the class cost a lot of gold coins. That's not an exaggeration.

The Tetsu School's trip to the magic realm lasts four nights and five days. Unlike the Eimei School, the focus is different, but this is more healthy. At this time of year, Mizuchi and Stinara are gone, so you can go deep with peace of mind. Let's hunt as many Kelpies as possible. It was a meaningful time. Ted seems to have decided on the Yume School and taught the method of making Wuz. He was surprised but said it was necessary to remember. I learned the flying sword from Ed. I practiced a few times against goblins and can use it now. The image is to extend the sword flash like a whip when you swing the sword with magic, but it feels more like extending it rather than throwing it. I also learned the strong strike. The technique is to hit with magic by breaking it at the moment of impact while keeping it in the sword. Ed took a Kelpie's head with that strong strike alone. ...I thought he could do it alone. Glen attracted them, and we three pinned down the Kelpie while Ed used the strong strike to cut off the head. On the third day, we used this style. I thought it was the fastest.

The Zou School's class was creating golems for carriages. Well, I used a lot of magic stones for the joints and bones. I used over 250 as required. I made two carriage golems with detailed joints. I want to go as fast as an express carriage when I move by myself. It's fine to be fast when moving. I'm not a merchant, so it's fine. The only thing left is the carriage. I have everything I need, so there's no problem.

The Dawn School's class was making a cauldron for the alchemy pot. Well, I just solidified it with magic mushrooms. The people who will use this will be entering soon. The first-year students should look forward to it.

The Yume School's class was creating an optional skeleton. I made one skeleton from three goblin corpses. By the way, it has the same strength as a regular skeleton. I was disappointed. I was disappointed. I made something like Cerberus, but ... it's fine, it's just going to be purified.

So, it's a seminar, but there's nothing to report today. There's nothing. It can't be helped; I couldn't do anything. Well, I did make a few things, but most of them were failures. ...The Yume School made a garbage dump for failed items. They seem to be using Wuz. The Yume School has become hectic because it was doused with gasoline. The Dawn School isn't that busy. The Fertility Association has become a bit more secretive, but it's probably fine. Well, it's time for Serena to come.

"Alright, it's time. Let's start this month's Fertility Association. First, I'll report. I revealed the Wuz that Herman made. As a result, a garbage dump for failed items was created. The Yume School has given a reward of 20 large gold coins. Half of it is for Herman. Please take it."

"Thank you."

"Alright, that's all from me. Is there anyone else who has a report?"

...It seems no one has a report. This can happen.

"That's unusual. No one has a report?"

"It's still in the growing stage, so there's no report."

"I'm still in the planning stage."

"I don't have anything either."

"...In times like this, we should bring out Herman. Come on, do you have anything to report?"

"Unfortunately, I don't have anything to report."

"It's unusual for Herman to have nothing. Don't you have anything you're thinking about?"

"I have some ideas, but nothing concrete. I was just thinking about making a diagonal well in my house."

"...A well can't be diagonal. The water won't come up."

"That's right. Even if you make it diagonal, the water won't rise."

"I'm using skeletons to make it rise. I'm using a spiral."

"I'd like to see it. I'll go to the experiment room and make it."

"Is it okay to dig a well in the experiment room?"

"Sure, as long as you make sure it doesn't collapse or bury it."

"I have plenty of time today, so I'll go right away."

So, I went to the experiment room. It feels like it's been a while, but it's not just my imagination. Let's make it.

"Alright, let's make it."

So, I dug a hole diagonally to the bedrock. ...It's quite deep when you make it diagonal. Well, it's fine. Then, I made a spiral inside a tube the same size as the hole. ...Some people might know what I mean by Archimedes' screw. It's that. When you turn it, the water rises. I made it by throwing in magic mushrooms. ...Then, I made a platform for the skeletons to turn. I made a gear to convert horizontal rotation to diagonal rotation. It's complete. Now, I just need to make the skeletons turn. The 8 skeletons started turning slowly. ...Was it a bit heavy? I should have made it a bit thinner.

"The water should come up soon. ---Ah, it's coming. 'Stop the skeletons.'"

"...It's really working. I don't know why, but it's working."

"The 8 skeletons barely managed to do it. I'll need to make it a bit thinner and reinforce it for my house."

"...Why does the water rise? I don't understand."

"Having this mechanism will change the way we manage water. This is useful."

"More importantly, this mechanism to connect the rotation. With this, we can do a lot."

"...I thought you had gears when you made the grinding machine?"

"...Well, if you make the grinding machine's mechanism more detailed, it would be like this. ...I didn't have the idea to connect them like this. I just needed to think of a mechanism to crush while turning."

"Well, it seems useful. ...I don't know specifically what for, though."

"...When I made the magic clock, I had an image like this."

"Don't ask me to imagine such a mechanism. Who was your teacher?"

"Serena."

"Ah. I don't think Herman's magic clock is like other things."

"No, I made it based on my talent, so it should be fine."

"...Is it fine...? Can I see it? ---Good, it's normal."

"However, this spiral is useful. When making a reservoir, you often need to pile up soil. With this, you can draw water from a low pond. You can also draw water directly from a river. Using golems is expensive."

"Speaking of which, are there crops that need a lot of water?"

"There's rice, a grain different from wheat. You can produce more than wheat, but you need to flood the fields. ...It hasn't entered the capital. In the south, rice is more common than wheat."

"Is Herman from the north? The south is very particular about water. Water management is so important that they fight over it."

"That's right. In the kingdom, rivers flow from south to north, but they go underground after the capital. The further north you go, the thinner the rivers become. ...The further north you go, the more rivers there are, but the land is a plateau. The wells in the plateau are deep."

"Ah, I remember when I was a child, the wells were deep, and I couldn't get water without body strengthening."

"Indeed, the wells in the south are shallow. Moreover, waterways run through the villages. Children play in these waterways, so if they are too large, children might be swept away. Therefore, they must be shallow and wide."

"That's right. But the north... There aren't many people from the north in this seminar."

"I'm from the north. I'm from a nearby duchy. I don't know much about the further north."

"The south is easier to participate in because of water management. In fact, the most people are from the south. Next is the west?"

"Right. The west is easier to produce food. The land in the north is poor. When you reach the border lord's territory, it becomes fertile again, but the plateau is poor."

"That's right. That's why the north grows a lot of wheat. If the land is fertile enough, it will produce a good harvest. The wheat was created by the people of this association in the past."

"That's right. When they added that characteristic, it could only be harvested once a year. It takes longer to grow, so it can't be harvested twice. It's not very resistant to snow. There was a type that was more resistant to snow, but the yield was low, so it stopped being made."

"Ah, that's why the village where I'm from only grew enough vegetables for themselves."

"That's right. It also depends on the lord's intentions. It changes based on how taxes are collected."

"Right. In my place, there are no specific rules about wheat or rice. Taxes can be paid in vegetables or gold. Wheat is easier to produce in large quantities, so there's more wheat. Rice is also common, but it's impossible without water. In terms of storage, wheat and rice are better. Vegetables don't last long."

"The lord's intentions change how taxes are collected. I didn't know that."

"Well, they do. In the south, it was rice. Rice is more troublesome, but you can get twice as much as wheat. It requires a lot of water, though."

"The west is varied. It changes more from the south to the north. In my place, we grew rice."

"If you're from a town, you wouldn't know. Both were there."

"Are Melanie and Eleena the only ones from the capital?"

"That's right now. The capital doesn't have rivers. There are magic realms and spirit lands, though."

"The east is also rare. Me and... Manuela, right?"

"Probably. The east focuses on dairy farming. The land is poor, so they focus on dairy farming. This is the domain of the Zou School. They were talking about creating animals for dairy farming. Herman suggested more."

"The north doesn't do much dairy farming... The lord is considered mediocre and incompetent."

"Ah, in that area, there are only barons or viscounts between the marquess and the border lord."

"Right. There shouldn't be any counts in the north."

"To be a count there, you'd have to be very competent. The land is comparable to a count's. I don't know how large it is, but the important thing is the magic realms and spirit lands, right?"

"Probably a competent person a few generations ago. Wasn't that magic realm right next to another territory?"

"Yes, it was almost adjacent to the viscount's territory."

"It's certain. A few generations ago, the magic realm was completely taken. Now, it's either a tie with the neighbor, or the neighbor is very incompetent. ...If things go badly, the neighbor might become a baron."

"What's a baron split?"

"It's when an incompetent count or viscount family is destroyed, and the land is divided into several baron families. For a marquess, it's called a viscount split. If barons are densely packed in small territories, it's evidence of a baron split a few generations ago."

"If a bar