kscans

Chapter 237 - Episode 26: The Prototype and the Production Process

I passed through the crowded new wing of the lab and breathed a sigh of relief in the quiet of the old wing.

"Who were those remarkably well dressed old men from before?"

"They are the heads of the first through third wings of the Magic Dormitory," Alfina answered. So they were the original top brass of the kingdom's sorcery world. The ones who had sent their people to the new wing.

"I see why Noel looked so miserable."

I remembered Noel, explaining things to the old men while breaking out in a cold sweat. Leonard had been at her side. He was likely lending Noel the authority of the Chancellor's Office rather than simply assisting her.

"In any case, it's good they've finally decided to act."

"The Magic Dormitory's cooperation is indispensable if we're to make a large number of magic staves."

"We can never have enough people."

Creating the magic metal dies, mass producing the magic catalyst, and performing quality checks all required people with the right aptitude. Mages were also essential for monitoring the magic veins across the land. Apparently, personnel from the eastern and western observatories were primarily handling that.

We did not have the luxury of time to think about a mass production system after the production model was complete. We had to proceed with building the organization in parallel.

"About the division of labor for each stage leading to mass production that you mentioned, Ricardo-kun."

Alfina began to tell me about each organization. It was a chain, so to speak, that ran from research and development all the way to the factory. The old wing was where we would create the principle and build the prototype. The new wing would be the mother factory, adjusting the prototype to make it mass producible and developing the production process. The Magic Dormitory would handle the actual mass production.

Somehow, we had ended up with a monopoly on the highest levels of the kingdom's sorcery, but I decided not to think about it. I wondered who ranked higher, the head of R&D number two, Noel, or a factory manager.

The problem was the extreme scarcity of personnel on our side who could handle the management across these different organizations. We were relying on Alfina, her aide Luiza, and Leonard.

After all, the top figure in the kingdom's sorcery world was, well, him. In the middle of this chaos, he was still trying to find ideas for applying lasers to sensors whenever he had a spare moment.

Incidentally, Claudia was helping test the prototype laser. Of course, this was only when Alfina was with Maytyl. Her father, Count Adele, was the vice commander of the knight order, so that relationship also helped with coordination.

"The biggest bottleneck will probably be the transfer of information from the lab to the Magic Dormitory."

A moment ago, the gazes of the secondees standing behind Noel seemed directed more at their new leader than their original masters. Perhaps it would be fine after all.

"Yes, Noel is doing her best. I will also put in a good word wherever I can."

"I'm counting on you."

I looked over the organizational chart Alfina had prepared for me. For this kind of thing, I would rely on her as much as possible. When it came to matters like this, I was in no position to criticize Fulsy.

"Next up is the crucial prototype."

As I turned my eyes toward the far end of the hallway, a door opened at that exact moment.

"Ricardo. Prototype Number 5 is ready. Come and see."

◇◇

"This here is the main body of the magic staff that Noel finished this morning. And this is the magic crystal cartridge I just finished adjusting."

Maytyl placed a tube, thinner and longer than the one for Spiralflame, next to an object made of red and black magic crystals bonded together. I noted that the carriage bearing the Yvelg crest had not moved from its spot since yesterday.

"The fact that the positive and negative magic crystals are attached so perfectly means."

"Yes, we found a good barrier. Fulsy had thoroughly researched that type of magic catalyst using purple magic. Now, magic power, no, magic particles, flow between the positive and negative magic crystals only when a sorcerer wills them to. Thanks to that, the magic's efficiency has also improved."

They coated a magic catalyst that obstructs the flow of magic particles between the positive and negative magic crystals. In a way, it was like preparing a bullet that was ready to be fired.

"We also managed to make it so the staff's main body can be opened and closed with magic. Now the magic generated can be used for attack with maximum efficiency."

Maytyl explained the magic seal on the tube's surface. It was essentially the mechanism for opening and closing the laser emitter.

"It seems to be going smoothly, but what are the problems?"

"There are plenty, of course. First is the unevenness of the magic catalyst applied between the positive and negative magic crystals."

At worst, this unevenness could cause magic to be generated spontaneously. Even if it did not go that far, it would create an irregular flow of magic particles during use. For a laser, where generating a pure wavelength at a synchronized timing is vital, this was a major problem.

"A sorcerer can control it to some extent, but it will be used on a battlefield, so we need more precision. We can't have it depend on the user's aptitude, which makes it even more critical."

This was something that would be used while facing a swarm of giant magic insects trying to kill you. You could never be too careful. Maytyl, having led a sorcerer unit in battle, understood this perfectly.

"Instead of a brush, what about coating it with vapor?"

I suggested. It was vapor deposition, in a sense. You would line up the surfaces of the magic crystals to be coated, and from below, you would heat the catalyst and expose them to the vaporized magic catalyst. It could create a thin, uniform layer and leave no brush marks.

"I'll discuss it with Noel and give it a try. Let's borrow Vinaldira's help as well."

Maytyl nodded.

"Anything else?"

"This one is the bigger problem."

Maytyl took out two magic-sensitive plates.

"There's more unevenness when creating crimson from a combination with a normal magic crystal than there is when creating purple magic from a combination of crimson and negative magic crystals."

The magic-sensitive plates clearly showed the difference between the two combinations. For the crimson and negative pairing on the right, the magic was generated in an extremely thin layer near the surface on the negative side of the boundary. For the red and negative combination on the left, it was generated on the negative side, but it spread a little deeper.

"I see. It's impressive you noticed something like this."

I was impressed. Maytyl always had a scientific mind. If she knew the method of measurement, she could probably apply it with ease.

"The princess of the kingdom isn't the only one being trained by working with you, you know."

Maytyl sent a meaningful glance toward Alfina. Alfina, who had been taking notes on Maytyl's words, stopped her pen.

"So, do you have any leads on a solution?"

"Oh, right. I think negative crystals also have grades."

Now that the problem was this clear, even my hazy memories began to open up. I told Maytyl what I wanted her to try.

"I understand the logic. Honestly, it's one thing after another."

"I'm telling you, this is the last of it for the laser. From here on, I'll leave it to the experts' judgment, including its feasibility."

"You don't have to tell me. I'll do everything I possibly can. Otherwise, I couldn't hold my head high as Ricardo's research partner."

Maytyl said with a wink. No, in reality, I didn't have the kind of ability to stand alongside a genius like Maytyl.

"Research partner."

"That's right. You could call us partners."

The paper Alfina was holding crumpled. The air had felt a little strange for a while now.

"Princess, I'd like to consult with you about the antenna."

Fulsy's voice came from the top of the stairs. He was a troublesome leader who barely came down from the second floor despite being in charge of this large household, but he did something good once in a while.

"Ricardo-kun."

"Right. Alfina, you head up. I'll go after I check on the magic catalysts. But."

"I understand. If the laser is set not to fire, I will absolutely not approach it carelessly. Correct?"

◇◇

"So this is the array the director was talking about. It's well made."

"I heard Vinder was the one who said to make it."

I commented, looking at a glass plate like a microscope slide in the magic catalyst research lab. Vinaldira, who handed it to me, had something like dye on her cheek.

A pattern of squares had been formed on the thin glass plate. Each dot was arranged in an orderly fashion. Each dot was a magic catalyst that they had screened so far. They dissolved the catalyst in a solvent, placed it on the plate with the tip of a glass rod, and let it dry.

I compared it with the nearby experiment results.

●●●●●●●● ●●●●●●●● ●●●●●●●● ●●●●●●●●

Magic Irradiation ↓↓↓↓

・ ▶ ● ＊ ○ ・ ●

It was a magic catalyst array, so to speak. When searching for a magic catalyst effective against a certain wavelength, or when investigating under strict conditions, it could evaluate dozens of types of catalysts at once. I had thought of it to make use of the increasing number of magic catalysts as the screening from the colonies progressed smoothly. My inspiration, of course, was the DNA microarray from my past life.

"This cracked one."

I looked at a slide glass with radial cracks on the edge of the desk.

"It seems the glass for that one was too thin."

"Why would you do that?"

"The Great Sage requested that we make it thin because it's necessary for screening related to magic particles."

"I see. So it can be used to screen for catalysts related to magic particles too."

So the idea was to sandwich this glass plate between positive and negative magic crystals and run magic particles through it. They had not yet found a magic-particle-sensitive paper that could detect magic particles, but the magic generated should indirectly indicate what was happening.

"I have some doubts about whether this is something we should be doing right now, though."

"W, well, with Sherry's help, we'll proceed with cultivating the colonies too. We also have the soil Vinder brought back from the Empire."

The stuff from the bottom of the glacial lake on Flying Dragon Mountain, was it? I had a feeling something even more amazing than what was in the kingdom's Rubel Wald was dormant there.

◇◇

"Good work, Your Excellency, Court Sorcerer."

I called out to Noel. Apparently freed from the Magic Dormitory's dignitaries, she was standing vacantly in front of the magic catalyst shelf.

"This is mostly your fault. You're the director, so you deal with the bigwigs instead of me."

Noel answered bluntly. The stress from doing something she was not used to had made her quite jaded.

"By the way, who ranks higher? You, Noel, or those old men from before."

"Don't make me think about it. I don't need any more older disciples. I really don't."

This was serious. I quickly asked about the research results on controlling the distance of the magic crystals with a micropipette screw mechanism and then made my escape. It would be impossible for a while, at least. But that was fine. There was not enough time just to get the lasers to everyone with the aptitude.

◇◇

"Is the radar for magic insects complete?"

"Aye. I specialized it to detect magical beasts cloaked in crimson magic and increased its precision. Well, it's an application of what we've done before. Nothing to it."

When I went up to the second floor, the old man who was completely absorbed in his specialty showed me his results. It was much faster than I thought. Alright, that's one thing finished.

I had to get this to Fabius and the others as soon as possible. They had finished creating a rough map of the flying dragons' territory and were now conducting surveys for the construction of Central Garden City and monitoring the Blood Mountains.

If the observation precision of the Blood Mountains improved, we could prevent surprise attacks from magic insect swarms, and we might be able to detect signs of a large swarm's movement at the earliest stage.

"The princess has been a great help with matters related to purple magic."

"It is all thanks to your efforts, Director."

Alfina said humbly, but her expression was lively.

"Considering how many things must be done, I can't say things are carefree, but all is going well. What was the next item on the schedule?"

"The public test of the new model magic staff. We need to set a date soon."

"His Highness is rushing things too much."

Alfina frowned. We could not give the go-ahead for mass production until Craig, who would actually be running things, tested it. Or rather, he was the one who would give the order. For Craig, who was operating a joint army of two nations that had been at war until just recently, I think he was waiting as long as he possibly could.

What gave me a headache was that the king, the Empire's envoy, and a whole host of other dignitaries would apparently be in attendance. I wondered what was happening with the X-ray photos of the magic insect embryos I had asked the Empire for.

"Speaking of which, the normal Monster Floods will be alright, won't they?"

I asked Fulsy. It was probably a trivial matter by now, but it would be troublesome if we were flanked while fighting a massive swarm of magic insects.

"Considering the abnormalities in the magic veins, we can't be optimistic. However, it takes time for the core of a magic wolf pack to grow. Taking that into account, we should be fine this year."

Fulsy said. I see. If that was the case, I could rest easy. Alright, I could see hope on the horizon.

Winter would soon be over. In the Blood Mountains, preparations to destroy human society were probably progressing steadily. I just hoped they would hold out until early summer, just as the prophecy said.