kscans

Chapter 252 - Episode 2: Part One, The Demon's Principle

"Oh, honestly. Why does it have to be me."

I flung my arm out, not caring about my disheveled cuffs. The motion was forceful enough that it might have torn the paper, but I was not concerned. This thing called a ballpoint pen is made with a rotating sphere at its tip. As the one who was made to create it, I know that better than anyone. Including just how convenient it is.

"Hah, this is no time to be thinking about that..."

I collected myself and looked at the rectangular blueprint on the paper. The structure was simple, like a cupboard you might say. The only difference was the hole in the back and the fact that the shelf boards were hollow.

A larger opening is easier to use. That much is the same as a shelf. But a smaller opening is more efficient. This is a major constraint that shelves do not have. I have to consider the balance, but to do that, it is vital to weigh it against the output of the magic circuit that serves two roles in the rear, and the magic catalyst used for regulation.

"Unlike a magic staff it’s a flat surface, so it’s nice that the relationship between area and output is simple... I wonder if I can make it a little smaller..."

I have to tell Maytyl about the change. Then, I also need to review the efficiency of the magic catalyst with Vinaldira. There is no time. No time. I have to prepare for my next lecture, too.

"Oh, honestly. Why me."

I glared at the pen I had raised. The man who made me create this, he is the root of all this trouble. I recalled the events of about ten days ago.

◇◇

"I have secured some young wine. The quality is not bad, at least."

"You drank some."

"I cannot judge it without drinking it. And I am over twenty in my ‘original’ age, so there is no problem. Besides, what kind of rule says you cannot drink until you are over twenty?"

"Well, I guess it is fine..."

"When we get back, I will have you taste some as well, senpai. With me."

I could hear the voices of the two of them bantering in the hallway outside the window. They had finished their explanation to us, which is to say they dumped everything on us, and now it seemed they were discussing buying wine. It was intensely unfair.

This was the university’s boardroom. There were three of us in the room. Me, a professor. Maytyl, a visiting professor. And Vinaldira, a part-time special engineer. The chancellor was back in the Royal Capital.

"Well, as usual, that was quite the absurd story, wasn’t it."

Vinaldira and I gave a wry smile at Maytyl’s words.

"Well, it is important for the Empire too, so I suppose it cannot be helped."

Maytyl looked at the stone slate again. A ridiculous picture was drawn on it. It was a humanoid figure with goat horns and bat wings, and even a tail. It had its hand on the door of a box held in its left hand, watching two different colored balls pass by.

"I wonder what a demon is," I said.

This clumsy drawing was the work of the man who just left. Apparently, it was called Maxwell’s Demon. A ridiculous name and a clumsy drawing, but what it represented was quite extraordinary.

It was the principle behind what we were about to create. We could create a change in temperature without using fire or ice by utilizing the properties of air. Just understanding the abstract concept depicted in the silly drawing was enough to make my head ache.

And yet, the main topic was the idea for a magic tool that uses it. A box that stays at winter temperatures all year round, supposedly called a refrigerator. Naturally, it was something that did not exist anywhere in this world.

"In any case, let us first summarize the principle," Maytyl said.

Fortunately, Maytyl seemed to understand it perfectly. It was apparently deeply related to Blazefire magic. It seemed that when Ricardo went to the Empire-occupied Kurtheite to rescue Mia, he had shown a simplified version of this story to Maytyl.

"Alright, first, these balls..."

Air is made up of a vast number of balls, and these balls collide and rebound, giving and taking energy from one another.

It was not impossible to understand. I imagined countless balls being thrown into a small room. The movement of the balls themselves is the wind, so with no air resistance, the balls would continue to move forever.

The speed of those balls is apparently what we call heat. For example, if the balls of air hitting our skin are fast, we feel hot, and if they are slow, we feel cold.

In essence, when a fast ball hits you, it gives energy to your skin, so your skin warms up. When a slow ball hits you, it receives more energy from the things that make up your skin, which are also apparently balls, so your skin cools down.

The air in summer has many fast balls, and the air in winter has many slow balls. That is how it works. The important thing is that whether in summer or winter, the air is a collection of balls of various speeds.

He had casually said, "Heat doesn’t actually exist. All that exists is the speed of individual balls and their distribution."

"Yes, the problem is that the difference in the balls’ speeds spontaneously forms a distribution."

Maytyl pointed to the graph Mia had drawn. Then, she opened her palm.

"Even in the air right here, there are a few hot balls that could boil water, and a fair number of cold balls that could freeze water mixed in. I will actually try it. Just watch."

Maytyl picked up a fire magic staff. The staff activated with its tip held near the window. Red, heated air gathered at the tip. Conversely, the air around us grew chilly.

Maytyl quickly stopped the staff. Air came in through the window, and the temperature immediately returned to normal.

"It is like this. If you gather only the hot balls from the air at the tip of the staff, what remains are the cold air balls. In a manner of speaking, the staff’s magic circuit is sorting the balls by speed, just like the demon written about here."

The demon on the stone slate was holding a box. When a hot ball was about to approach, it closed the door. When a cold ball was about to approach, it opened the door. As a result, the inside of the box became filled with only cold balls, and the outside of the box became filled with only warm balls.

"That is not an impossible story to understand," Vinaldira said.

Now that it was explained, it certainly was convincing. Well, I was a little worried about Vinaldira, who had been trained to the point where she could be convinced by this.

Calling her a mere engineer was preposterous. She possessed some of the foremost knowledge of magicology in the kingdom.

"I am surprised you let him go home safely after hearing this," I could not help but say sarcastically to Maytyl.

"I was shown the magic catalyst circuit you all created. That is why I misjudged," Maytyl shot back with sarcasm of her own.

At the time Mia was abducted, I thought the Empire was unforgivable, yet here I was, cooperating with Maytyl, their leader, for the same purpose. We had done this many times now, but when I really thought about it, it was a strange situation.

"Both of you, let us get back on topic. In any case, this means we will be collecting the not-hot air from the Blazefire into a box. And with that, we can make a box that maintains winter temperatures even in summer. ...It is amazing how a strange thing can be made without any strangeness," Vinaldira said, looking exasperated.

Creating cold air with a Blazefire magic circuit that emits heat comparable to a real flame. But the principle was the same.

The way he comprehended the world was, above all else, abnormal. And his methods for utilizing that comprehension, too.

"Considering its role as a magic tool, the problem is magic efficiency, is it not."

I confirmed with Maytyl. Maytyl nodded. We were no longer in a position where we could just be surprised by the incredible knowledge we had been told.

We had to give shape to the refrigerator he spoke of. And we had to do it in time for the coronation ceremony.