Kays Translations

Chapter 456: Machine

While I was having tea with Brother Alex and the others, Lionel returned to the training grounds, the full recovery potion naturally still in his hand. He is probably going to tell everyone about it now. When he does, I am sure he will warn them not to mention the potion to anyone. I’m counting on you, Lionel.

“Speaking of which, glass pens made by the Heine Trading Company were being sold in the royal capital. A great many people were looking at them through the display window.”

“Is that so? I did send several particularly well-made glass pens to the capital. Other trading companies are selling them for us at present, but I would eventually like to establish a branch in the royal capital.”

“Oh, I think that is a wonderful idea. Opening a shop in the royal capital is a dream, after all.”

Sister-in-law Daniela smiled as well. She called opening a shop in the royal capital a dream, but that idea probably came from one of the novels she had read. Otherwise, someone who had always lived in the capital would hardly dream of opening a shop there.

“You’re right. Now that the Heine Trading Company is finally on a firm footing, perhaps we can consider opening a shop sometime next year.”

Brother Alex answered with a smile. Would that really be all right? I thought we would need to expand the production line. Or had the craftspeople improved enough to mass-produce goods in a short time?

If not, we would need some kind of countermeasure. Should I cause an industrial revolution through mechanisation and automation? No, that would be dangerous.

“I’m thinking of visiting the Heine Trading Company tomorrow. I want to see how the craftspeople are doing.”

“I’d appreciate that. I’m sure everyone will be delighted. They have been working hard so they will not be outdone by you.”

Hmm. Is it really wise to use me as the standard of comparison? That means no one has surpassed me yet, doesn’t it? I would like to settle down and concentrate on making things soon.

After that, Brother Alex and Sister-in-law Daniela told me more about the Heine Trading Company. Apparently, not only Rosalia but Sir Edward had been helping with production. Naturally, they were being paid for their work.

After leaving the salon, I headed to the workshop. Rosalia and Sir Edward should have been making the new star-shaped magic tool there; I had already given them the blueprints. I wondered whether Mira was with them.

“Kyuu!”

The moment I opened the workshop door, Mira leapt at me. Had they been bored? I stroked them as I went inside and found Rosalia and Sir Edward staring intently at the blueprints. They were so absorbed that they had not even noticed me.

“How is it going, you two?”

“Oh, Brother Julius! How did you ever think of something like this?”

“Huh?”

Rosalia rushed over to me. I did not think it was especially difficult; I had merely designed it to rotate with gears. Come to think of it, I had never made anything with a mechanical structure like this before.

Until now, magic tools had generally worked by activating magic circles—for example, a lamp’s magic circle would emit light, or a water magic circle would produce water. Perhaps mechanisms that used such effects as a power source to create movement had scarcely been developed.

“Lord Julius, this rotating mechanism made with gears is revolutionary!”

“Ah, no. I merely took inspiration from the clock tower in the territorial capital of the Mulan Marquisate.”

That was a lie. I had invented the excuse on the spot. Still, I was almost certain that several large gears were used inside the clock tower. Pocket watches existed, so gears had to be used inside them too… probably.

Wait—what if they were not? What if watches used some kind of clock magic circle instead? That was a frightening thought.

I had also given the sprinkler a mechanism that made it rotate on its own… No, that one turned because of the pressure of the water! Had that still been a dangerous invention? Well, I had already given it to House Mulan. Thank goodness no one there seemed interested in magic tools.

“This part is difficult. The number of teeth has to match, doesn’t it?”

“That’s right. Let me see it.”

I took the wood from Rosalia and used my Craft skill and tools to make a gear. Then I used several gears to reproduce a working mechanism. This should make it easier to understand.

Huh?

“A-amazing. This is on another level.”

“Brother Julius…”

“Lord Julius…”

“Kyuu!”

Ah, Mira, my source of comfort. Mira alone seemed genuinely delighted. Good Mira, good Mira. The four others, including Lelie, looked utterly astonished. Was it really that unusual?

“To make something this complicated in such a short time… I still have a long way to go.”

“You were far too fast for me to imitate. So this part moves like this… Amazing!”

“Kyuu!”

Rosalia assembled a simplified version to test the movement. Mira found it amusing and began smacking it repeatedly. Were they a cat? I had always thought they were more dog-like. Holy dragons truly were mysterious creatures.

“These mechanisms work by linking together. That is why the number of teeth on this gear must match the blueprint exactly.”

“It is an amazing mechanism. What is this system called?”

“A machine… I think?”

“Machine.”

Everyone except Mira murmured the word. Perhaps I should not have introduced that term. Had I known this would happen, I would have asked what the mechanism was called when I visited the clock tower. I never imagined it would come to this.

After that, I taught Rosalia and Sir Edward while we completed the new star-shaped magic tool. It seemed Sir Edward had successfully acquired the Craft skill as well, although his proficiency was still low.

His proficiency should improve with repeated use, provided he continued making magic tools. At this rate, perhaps he and Rosalia would eventually open a magic-tool shop together. That would not be a bad outcome; the Heine Trading Company could commission work from them.

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