kscans

Chapter 181 - Episode 2: Project Organization

Two days after our discussion with Prince Craig and the others, I gathered the members of the Magic Division in the lab. In the room on the second floor were Fulsy, Noel, and Maytyl.

"On the assumption that the prophecy will manifest soon, I want to decide on our future plans," I said to the gathered members in the lab.

"Hmm, since measuring the magic power spectrum has become possible, it's only natural, isn't it?" Fulsy remarked.

"Yes, that's right, its application range is too wide," Noel added.

Fulsy and Noel nodded.

"Hey... Is it really okay for me to be here?" Maytyl looked behind her. Leonardo was not there. He had gone to the Royal Palace to report on the completed magic wave detector. Apparently, he was reporting directly to the King. He was incredibly nervous and had been bombarding Noel and the others with questions yesterday.

Ordinarily, Maytyl should not have been present today. Fulsy had called her here using her authority as the head of the research institute. And Maytyl's concerns were valid. Normally, the proper step would be to inform Maytyl of the results after this discussion, then ask for her intentions. However, I wanted to act as quickly as possible now.

Incidentally, I hadn't taken advantage of Leonardo's absence. It was entirely coincidental. As a matter of fact, even if Leonardo were here now, what I had to say would not change.

"Please think of it as an observer's role."

"So, I have the right to speak, but no decision-making power, is that it? In that case, I won't hold back my opinions," Maytyl said.

"First, regarding the crystal's reaction this time..." I explained Alfina's condition.

"Even though the frequency of signals arriving is lower than before, the Princess is receiving a greater impact, isn't she...?"

"So Alfina-sama..." Fulsy and Noel frowned. Incidentally, Alfina was not only at the academy today, but also holding an after-school study session. From what I briefly saw, she seemed fine. She didn't appear to be overexerting herself either.

"Isn't it a stronger omen than before? Up until now, the omens were too small, and at this stage, they couldn't be perceived as omens. That's how I would think about it," Maytyl said. In other words, it's possible that even in the previous three prophecies, there were stages where signals arrived once a week or once every five days.

"If the cycle becomes shorter in the future, Alfina would have to receive even stronger signals, then..."

"That's highly probable. But isn't there something even more concerning?"

"...The possibility that the calamity itself is on a larger scale, isn't it?" Fulsy responded to Maytyl's words.

"...And perhaps distance is also a factor," Noel said hesitantly.

"What do you mean?"

"The first prophecy concerned the magic pulse fluctuation in the Western Forest. The second was Tuvil Mountain. And the third was at the border between the Royal Capital and the Western region, right? In this experiment, the attenuation of magic power due to distance was quite a concern, so I thought that..."

"We can't ignore what Noel says," Maytyl said. Her gaze turned north.

"Distance and strength, huh..." I fell into thought. Wireless information weakens inversely proportional to distance. This occurs even in a vacuum without any obstacles. Suppose information is transmitted by the lighting of a lamp. The area illuminated by the information, that is, the light, expands as the distance increases. This is true even if the power of each individual photon does not change over distance. It's easier to understand if you consider the area illuminated by the light, comparing when a box is placed over the lamp and when it's allowed to illuminate the room directly.

"Like previous catastrophes, if we can't directly investigate the cause or implement countermeasures..." This is the worst. The greater the danger to Alfina, the higher the importance of the prophecy becomes.

Calm down. If I let anxiety consume me, I won't even be able to do what I can. I intended to anticipate the worst-case scenario from the start, didn't I?

"It's not all bad. Fortunately, we have this. Iris-1, that is," Fulsy said, looking at the magic wave detector. It seemed a name had been decided. That was certainly true. We developed it to investigate the calamity of prophecy, that is, the magic pulse fluctuations, in more detail. In that sense, one could say we were ahead of the curve.

"So, what specifically?"

"First, let's organize the current possibilities." I stood before the stone tablet. First, I'd dump the information from my brain. The brain's memory capacity was extremely limited, and I used it for both memory and thought. By first offloading memories to an external storage device, I could free up brain regions for thinking. I would secure space within my brain for contemplation.

"The current magic pulse spectrum analysis, then."
"How far back can we trace past tree ring records with Iris-1?"
"The calamity of prophecy originates from magic pulse fluctuations."
"...Utilizing Iris-1 for magic catalyst screening."
"There are records of a dragon horde's attack over four hundred years ago."
"The pacification of the Empire's magic pulse activity."
"Improvement of magic circuits."
"The crystal of prophecy is an Ancient Dragon Eye, or an artifact."
......
Many possibilities were lined up on the stone tablet.

"Let's organize this. First, let's divide these listed items into information and actions."

"What do you mean?" Maytyl's eyes gleamed. It was a method unnecessary for quick-witted individuals who didn't need such detailed attention.

"For example, 'Records of a dragon horde's attack four hundred years ago' is information. On the other hand, 'Current magic pulse spectrum analysis' is an action, right?" I said.

"Now that you mention it, yes." I divided them into "Actions" and "Information."

"What's important are the actions. Next, we'll bundle these actions into projects."

"Hmm, the first one is 'Magic Pulse Spectrum Analysis', then," Fulsy said.

"Would that be divided into current and past?"

"And 'Analysis of the Prophecy Crystal.' The rest I'll call 'Miscellaneous.'"

"Analysis of the Prophecy Crystal"
　　"Analyzing prophecies emitted from the crystal as magic power spectra."
　　"Investigating the harmfulness of the crystal's magic power."
　　"Investigating records of ancient magic pulse disasters."

"Magic Pulse Spectrum Analysis"
　　"Analyzing the current magic pulse spectrum."
　　"Analyzing past magic pulse spectra."
　　"Selecting and collecting ancient magic pulse record samples."
　　"Dating ancient magic pulse disasters."

"Miscellaneous"
　　"Screening magic catalysts utilizing spectra."
　　"Miniaturizing circuits using magic catalysts."
　　"Strengthening magic staffs through circuit miniaturization."

"It's certainly much more organized now... but," Fulsy said.

"Even taking just one item listed here, it would take at least years. At worst, it could consume an excellent sorcerer's entire life." The three of them made subtle, troubled faces. The problem was prioritization. When you expand, you must then narrow down. A list is not just a memo.

"Measuring the crystal is the top priority, but it can probably be carried out soon. Therefore, I want you to focus on the magic pulse in the lab. I'm taking 'the calamity of prophecy originates from magic pulse fluctuations' as a premise."

"In other words, while progressing with the current magic pulse spectrum analysis, we'll use tree rings to investigate how far back in the past we can go, isn't that right?"

"Um. If Iris-2, which is planned for the Magic Dormitory, is completed, couldn't we entrust the measurement of the eastern and western magic pulses to it?" Noel said. In that case, the current and past magic pulse measurements could be carried out in parallel. That was important.

"Can you rush it...?"

"Well, I am a court sorcerer apprentice, after all," Noel said, puffing out her chest. In her line of sight was a half-finished optical bench. And there were dark circles under her eyes.

"I'm counting on you."

"Isn't that taking a roundabout approach?" Maytyl spoke.

"What do you mean by that?"

"No offense, Ricardo, but I prioritize the calamity of prophecy over the Oracle Princess. Especially if this current calamity is a huge one occurring far away." Maytyl pointed to "Miscellaneous."

"When a calamity occurs, or rather, even for mere investigation, we need more power than ever before, don't we? Even if we can accurately predict the calamity of prophecy, we'll be doomed if we don't have the power to counteract it." Maytyl stepped into a problem we had unconsciously avoided. It was also what she had sought since she came here. In the first place, she had come here captivated by magic semiconductors. She had the goal of rebuilding the Empire's magic forces, which had been halved.

"Ricardo and the others investigated the disaster from four hundred years ago, but..."

"Ah, yes."

"The Empire also has similar records. However, they aren't heroic tales like yours. They are simply records of people being relentlessly overrun by monsters. In the Empire, several traces remain as ruins. Incidentally, there are records of a ruined city existing north of the new territory Ricardo is aiming for, near the Blood Mountains. No living person has ever seen it, though." Maytyl's words lacked her usual audaciousness. I see, that's a plausible story. I also believe the disaster four hundred years ago was quite widespread.

And the ruined city Maytyl mentioned. That area is the current border between the Kingdom and the Empire. If the range of the magic pulse was different then than it is now, it would be natural for an ancient great nation to establish a city there.

"...Therefore, the improvement of magic staffs should be advanced as quickly as possible." We fell silent at Maytyl's words. Magic staffs that could generate powerful spiral flame with far less magic power than before. That was also what I had appealed to Prince Craig about, that it was necessary to open up the new urban areas.

"I have asked Prince Craig to proceed with negotiations with the Empire," I said.

"So, do we just have to wait for that? But is that really so simple?" Maytyl looked at me with serious eyes, as if questioning my resolve.

"..." It couldn't possibly be simple. It was a monumental matter that could greatly shake the national balance between both countries. It was an issue comparable to the strategic nuclear arms reduction negotiations between the U.S. and the Soviet Union in my previous life. Moreover, it was about enhancement, not reduction.

Even though there was a common goal of magic pulse disasters... Power, huh... The larger the calamity, the more Alfina's burden would be overlooked. In that case, at worst, it would become necessary to forcefully strike down the calamity.

Maytyl had indicated the potential danger of the Ancient Dragon Eye. Even without that, I was skeptical of the crystal's mechanism. Now that we knew the wavelength of magic power had the same properties as light, this was even more so.

Sorcery was an ultra-efficient form of information processing. Both the observation and transmission of information were closely related to wavelength and energy. Naturally, this also applied to the reception of that information.

However, my understanding regarding this was unreliable. The information physics I'd heard about in my previous life was too advanced for my humble brain.

"...Regarding negotiations with the Empire, we can only rely on His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and His Grace the Grand Duke. Once we have the crystal's measurement results, I'll press the point again." In the end, that's what I said. Thinking calmly, it should be the best approach at this point. As an amateur, I couldn't allow myself to get entangled in the political situation between the Kingdom and the Empire.

"Well, if you say measures are being taken, then we can only hope for the best from them. Incidentally, I have no objections to the policy regarding magic pulse measurement either." Maytyl released me from her gaze with a casual air. Fulsy and Noel also nodded.

◇◇

"Ricardo-kun. Um... Oh, Maytyl-denka, you're here too." The discussion ended, and as I went to the entrance to see Maytyl off as she left the lab, Alfina, who happened to be coming this way, called out to me.

"Yes, Ricardo asked me to lend my strength, so I did."

"Oh, I see. Um, I was hoping we could go home together..." Alfina looked at Maytyl hesitantly.

"I'm done here. Well then, think about what we just discussed," Maytyl said. With that, Maytyl headed towards her carriage.

"..."

"Is your study session over? How is your physical condition...?" I spoke to the silent Alfina.

"Ricardo-kun, you worry too much. See? I'm perfectly fine." Alfina spun around once in front of me. Her glossy hair swirled, and her skirt flared out softly. Yeah, cuter than usual... No, she seemed energetic.

Was the crystal's danger merely temporary? No, the transmission of prophecies had only just begun. Moreover, if they accumulated, who knew what might happen. It was even conceivable that the frequency of calamities could increase due to large-scale magic pulse fluctuations.