kscans

Chapter 144 - 13. The Red Stars

Inside a room with its light blocked by black curtains, stars shone on a petri dish. The colonies on the culture medium glowed faintly, receiving magic from the crushed magic crystals spread beneath them. While most were red, there was a variety of colors, including blue and yellow.

"Just as expected from the red soil. This looks promising."

A light too faint to be seen from a single bacterium becomes visible when they gather and form colonies. Even so, less than twenty percent of the total colonies were glowing. I suppose this means that even in the Red Forest, most species don't utilize magic.

Or maybe I should be surprised that nearly twenty percent of the bacteria are related to magic.

"This is exciting. However, looking at the colors, there may not be as many types as there are colonies."

"The red colonies also look to be the same size. They might all be the same species."

In terms of the decomposer ecosystem in a magic-rich environment, these red bacteria could be significant. Unfortunately, given our current situation, we don't have the luxury of conducting basic research. We need something we can use.

"Won't this light interfere with the measurements?"

"I have already checked. It disappears when moved away from the magic crystals. It does last longer than it did with the pollen, though."

Fulsy lifted the petri dish off the layer of magic crystal fragments. The light immediately began to fade. Some of the colonies seemed to lose their light in an instant, as if a switch had been flipped.

In the experiment where we marked the pollen with magic to track it inside the birds, it took several days to be absorbed, and the signal was lost within a few hours.

"But if you think about it…"

"What is it?"

"Well, the materials that make up these bacteria’s bodies, the components of the culture medium, are all ordinary things, aren't they?"

To be precise, they're derived from the soil, water, and air of Dalgan's ranch. Perhaps even ordinary soil contains trace amounts of elements like Sorcery Gold. Colored molecules in living organisms sometimes have a metal at their center. The iron in red hemoglobin, or the... was it magnesium?... in green chlorophyll. Those metal elements aren't obtained from ore. They're absorbed from things that exist quite normally in the soil.

"No, it’s nothing for now."

"Well then, let’s begin the measurements. This is the moment of truth."

To be honest, we struggled to determine the culture conditions for the red soil, too. For starters, we couldn't cultivate them without supplying magic. Or more accurately, they would form colonies just fine, but none that would react to the Magic-sensing Paper. Based on the prediction that a weak, miasma-level of magic would suffice, we managed to get by using the scrap magic crystals from the slime mold monster.

Furthermore, I reduced the sugar content in the culture medium. The hypothesis was that if the bacteria could also get energy from magic, they should be able to grow with less energy from carbohydrates. Even so, the cultivation costs are significantly higher than for the black soil. Our budget increased thanks to the success of IG-1, but the cost is something we can't ignore when considering practical application. Once the war is over, we probably won't need it in large quantities, so it should be fine.

Then again, I haven't even decided who gets what share of the profits. I'm a failure as a merchant. Mia would get angry if she heard me, busy calculating ballistics in the head librarian's office.

Ten petri dishes were lined up on the Magic-sensing Paper. The procedure was the same as it was for IG-1. The only difference was the shorter magic exposure time. This assay wasn't for a simple effect like blocking magic, but to see what kind of reaction we could get in response to applied magic.

"It appears there were two types of red colonies," Fulsy said, sliding a petri dish aside. On the grayed Magic-sensing Paper, many black dots and a few white dots were visible. They seemed to correspond to the dozen or so red colonies on each dish.

The black dots must be where bacteria are absorbing magic. The white dots seem to be enhancing the magic poured from Fulsy's hand in some way. This is our winner.

"So we've obtained not only a magic inhibitor, but an activating substance as well. Calling them magic catalysts as a general term is fine, but what shall we name this one?"

"There are many types. Let's wait until we can properly refine it. What do you make of this one?"

I pointed to a white dot the size of a pinprick. It was completely white, but the spot itself was small. Fulsy's crow's feet deepened as he moved his face closer and then farther away.

"…It might be refracting the magic."

"I see."

I put the petri dish back and marked the corresponding colony. The round colony was raised higher than its surroundings. Is the colony acting like a lens? What's the principle behind that?

"What else… this one is strange, too. This one is also interesting."

Fulsy stared so intently at the Magic-sensing Paper it was as if he were about to lick it. We continued our treasure hunt, discarding one possibility after another. There were endless potential problems with mass cultivation and extraction, so we needed plenty of candidates.

In the end, we marked over a dozen colonies.

"Hmm? Did a fragment of magic crystal get stuck to it?"

My hand froze as I was about to put the petri dish away. At the edge of the Magic-sensing Paper, in a pitch-black area outside the range where magic had been applied, I saw a single exposed spot. I checked the bottom of the dish, but there was nothing there.

"Could it be…"

I placed the petri dish on the black part of the paper once more. When I lifted it, a white dot appeared again, just as I thought. The reaction was quite strong.

"Is it something like luminous paint…"

It absorbs the applied magic and then releases it later. It's like fluorescence after being exposed to light. I immediately called Fulsy over.

"Now this is interesting. Hmm, the magic being emitted from the colony is faintly wavering."

When I moved the petri dish in a straight line over the Magic-sensing Paper, the white line did indeed undulate.

"This is another candidate, then. It's quite a haul."

We have to preserve them in a pure form, so the cost per strain is no joke. Since none of the colonies had similar effects, we have no choice but to preserve them all. I'll have to calculate the storage cost per strain later. And considering the risk of contamination, we'll have to keep multiple samples of each strain.

"So, which one will you cultivate?"

Fulsy's eyes were fixed on the fluorescent colony from before. I understand how he feels, but.

"Considering our objective, I believe this one is the top priority."

I pointed to the minority among the red colonies, the one that enhances magic. Having both a magic inhibitor and a magic activator will be a huge advantage.

"I see. I wonder how long the refinement will take."

"I won't know for sure until I consult with Vinaldira. You should assume that IG-1 went unusually well. Director, will you have the time?"

"After being shown something like this, I'll cooperate as much as you need. If we start cultivating today… ah, but I'm afraid I'm not free the day after tomorrow."

"Work, for a change?"

"I have been summoned by the Royal Palace. His Majesty told me directly the other day, when we went to the First Knight Order's training grounds."

The terrifying part is that he didn't retort with, "This is my work too." And this is how he talks about an inquiry from the King himself. I'm starting to worry about the old man's ability to protect himself.

"Please try not to anger the King and get our budget cut."

"Hmph, easy for you to say since it doesn't concern you. …Speaking of the Empire, how are the prisoners of war doing?"

"We're proceeding under the pretext of applying a diluted form of the existing magic inhibitor. We've determined the concentration needed to inhibit the magic circuits on the horse-dragon riders' arms."

"So you're pretending to use an expensive magic inhibitor to treat prisoners, is that it? How ruthless."

"We really are treating them, you know. It seems two of the prisoners avoided having their arms amputated."

Just as I planned, the red, swollen arms of the horse-dragon riders subsided thanks to the IG-1 ointment. As long as magic doesn't flow through them, the patterns seem to be harmless.

By the way, I got nothing but sarcasm from Dagobard, who was also present for the treatment. What was that about "It's not like this doesn't concern you"? He sure knows how to make suggestive remarks.