kscans

Chapter 244 - Episode 29: Part Two, The Last Struggle

"Can't we handle it as an extension of the sorcery staff?"

Maytyl said. In her hand, she held the energy core for the magic laser. Beside her, Noel was preparing a new tube. It was a custom model made in anticipation of a new hypothesis.

"Of course, that's our main plan. But that thing was on a whole different level. I'm not comfortable with just one set of countermeasures. I want to do everything we possibly can."

I spoke while facing the papers I had scribbled all over. As usual, the only thing I could do was to fish for useful ideas from my past life's knowledge. But there was no way I could easily find an idea better than the laser.

I looked at the paper I was just writing on. On it were the words not "Charged Particle cannon," but "Magic Particle cannon." That's a particle accelerator, right? There's no way I can build that. My modern knowledge is shaky enough as it is, and here I am escaping into science fiction. I need to cool my head.

"I'm going to check on the Magic Catalyst."

"Then could you call Fulsy for me? I'm having trouble interpreting the latest report from across the river."

◇◇

"Come on, it's just a little cut. A bit of spit will fix it right up. Besides, the bleeding's already stopped..."

"Absolutely not. We must treat this immediately."

"That's right. The Great Sage is a national treasure."

In the hallway of the new wing, Fulsy was being half dragged along by two mages. Seeing him hold up his index finger, it looked like he had cut it. Both mages, by the way, were women of a respectable age.

"It's tough being important," I muttered to myself as I entered my destination.

"So, please, try not to let your hand pass over the petri dish..."

"Could you check the catalyst activity of this extract, please."

Sherry and Vinaldira were giving instructions to the mages. They were now working together quite well with the seconded team, who had been awkward at first. Though it seemed Leonard had quite a hard time.

"What's wrong, Vinder? Lady Alfina isn't here," Vinaldira said, noticing me.

"Please don't say it like I'm always chasing after Alfina. I came to see the catalyst."

I flipped through the documents summarizing the test results using the array. Several Magic Catalysts had been discovered from the samples of the glacial lake on Dragon's Peak Mountain. However, the evaluations for difficulty of generation and mass production were uniformly harsh. Perhaps the bacteria's growth rate was slow because it came from a cold environment. Or maybe it was the oxygen...

"Speaking of which, how are the experiments related to magic particles going?"

I remembered the last time I was here. It seemed the particle cannon idea hadn't left my mind.

"Unfortunately, we haven't had the time to get to it."

"Sorry, of course you wouldn't. My bad for adding to your workload."

Mass production of the laser required a large amount of Magic Catalyst. On top of that, they needed a different catalyst to create the special model that had suddenly come up. I heard Natalie had even closed her shop to help.

"Well, the Director... the Great Sage does pop in from time to time. Just a little while ago, he broke one of the arrays..."

"...They're expensive because they're made by grinding ordinary glass. Well, he himself said he'd found something good, though."

So that was the injury on his finger. Come to think of it, something similar happened before.

"Something good... which catalyst was he looking at... Ah, this one."

I picked up the broken glass slide that was on the table. It had radial cracks. On the Magic-sensing Paper beneath it, a strange pattern had certainly appeared. It was distorted because the array had broken, but it looked like the magic was forming a pattern of concentric circles.

"The Great Sage said it might be a substitute for dragon crystal."

"I see. This pattern indicates that a separation of magic wavelengths is occurring. Dragon crystal is valuable, after all."

That's Fulsy for you. I was wrong to suspect even for a moment that he might be indulging in a hobby. Still, it wasn't something we needed right away. I pushed the broken glass aside.

"What are you holding, Vinaldira?"

"Preparations for testing the catalyst to dye Lady Alfina's 'cloth'," Vinaldira said. In her hand was a piece of cloth dyed with dots of many colors. I see, a cloth array, not a glass one.

"So that you can work with peace of mind, Vinder," Sherry teased me.

It doesn't sound sarcastic when you say it with a face that exhausted. I could only bow my head.

An image of Alfina controlling the Purple Magic generator flashed through my mind. I wanted to reduce that ominous light, the same as the crystal's, even if just a little. As I thought that far, something clicked.

"Wait a second, that light's..."

I looked at the broken glass again. The cracks seemed to originate from the dot of the Magic Catalyst. If this was caused by the Magic Catalyst... Did the magic particles do something...

"Magic particles, and the refractive index of magic... The image of that light... I see, could it be..."

Countless pieces of information formed a network in my brain, connecting with entirely new meaning.

"It's worth... checking. Sherry, Vinaldira. Sorry, but could you bring me a sample of this. And could you also lend me the longest glass rod you have."

"Wait right here."

Sherry stood up immediately and headed for a shelf.

"...Should I culture the Mucus for this too?" Vinaldira asked.

"There's a chance it'll be a swing and a miss, but..."

"We don't have time, do we? It's fine, Natalie will be back soon."

Vinaldira laughed off my hesitation. I thanked them both and headed for the old wing with the items they had prepared.

◇◇

"Let me borrow the optical bench, Noel," I said as I ran up the stairs.

Incidentally, Fulsy, his fingertip now twice as thick with bandages, was there reviewing a report with Maytyl.

"What are you going to do?" Noel asked as she pulled out the optical bench.

"I want to do two experiments. The first is on the speed of magic."

"Ricardo, you're awfully fixated on the speed of magic. Is it really that important that the speed of magic and light are the same?"

"It's not that important for practical purposes, but..."

If magic moved at the speed of light, then the particle that mediated magic, corresponding to photons or gravitons, would have zero mass. It was important for various reasons. But practically speaking, even if the speed of magic were a tenth of the speed of light, it wouldn't be a problem for the laser. Whether it's 300,000 kilometers per second or 30,000, no one can dodge it.

However, for what I was about to do, it could be important.

I placed a glass rod horizontally on the optical bench and put a sheet of black paper in front of it.

I had Maytyl pass a laser through it. The light produced indirectly from magic was cut off by the black paper, but the magic laser passed straight through the glass rod. Inside the glass, the magic created new light. I observed the color of the light before and after the paper, in the air and inside the glass rod.

"Doesn't look like anything strange is happening."

"Yeah, that's fine."

Maytyl tilted her head. The speed of magic is slower than the speed of light... at least less than sixty percent. Alright, the possibility has increased. On to the next experiment.

I looked at the catalyst solution Sherry and her team had prepared. It was a yellow, fluorescent liquid dissolved in oil.

"Hm, this is what I was just..."

"Yes, in your view, Director, it has the effect of separating magic like a dragon crystal. Is that right?"

"That is what I believe. But are you modifying Iris now?" Fulsy said, watching me set up the device on the optical bench to the Iris specifications.

He was right. This wasn't something I should be doing at this time. But if my prediction was correct, this catalyst could be used to cause an entirely different phenomenon.

◇◇

"It's morning."

I spoke as I watched the sunrise. The day of our departure from the Royal Capital had come. The sun was half hidden, as if promising clear skies.

That was because a long cannon barrel was sticking out of the lab window. It was Noel's masterpiece, made by melting down a large quantity of the knight order's magical metal armor.

In a corner of the room, an exhausted Noel was slumped over her desk.

"This is ready too," Maytyl said, bringing over a cylindrical bottle filled with a fluorescent liquid. Even through the glass, I could see the dark circles under her eyes.

"Senpai. Here are the calculation results. I should mention, this involves some very bold simplifications and rough approximations. I hate to say it, but it's more like a hunch than anything."

"If Mia can't do it, no one can."

I couldn't help but pat her head. She had come back from the Chancellor's Office and stayed up all night with me. Now, all that was left...

"Ricardo-kun. I've brought it."

The door opened and Alfina came in. In her hands rested a carefully wrapped round object. The final piece was in place.

We made it just in time.