Chapter 90: The Box of Secrets

The next day after returning from the quest to defeat the Kobolds, Tauro was sipping miso soup for breakfast at the Resting Pavilion(Ikoi-tei).

“It’s soothing…”

He was alone and relaxed at the taste.

Every few days, miso is made first thing in the morning at the resting pavilion.

The cooks also prepare the miso, but it takes time for it to mature.

For now, they were relying on Tauro’s dark magic to let it mature.

So today was the day and I made a lot of it.

It should last for a week.

If they were running out, the cook would send a messenger to the inn.

That’s how it always was.

This would have to last for another six months to a year, by which time the miso would have matured and would be ready to eat.

Well, it was a win-win situation, since Tauro got paid for his time and effort every time he made it, and he got to eat for free.

“Oh, Tauro, there you are. What are you doing today?”

Aeris walked into the store, noticed Tauro and called out to him.

“I have something to do today, so the three of you can continue as usual.”

“What are you going to do Tauro?”

Aeris took a seat across from him as if she was interested.

“I’m going to discuss product development with Mr. Marches.”

“You mean the merchant company nearby?”

“Yes, we’re going to discuss with the representatives of the woodworkers and the blacksmiths…”

“Is it okay if I go with you?”

Aeris asks meekly.

Or rather, she seems to be full of enthusiasm to come along

“I think it’ll be boring.”

“Why? I’ll decide that for myself!”

Tauro’s attempt to persuade Aeris failed miserably.

***　

A room at the Marches chamber of commerce.

The woodworkers and blacksmiths were gathered in the room.

To an outsider, the presence of the children Tauro and Aeris in the midst of all this is a ridiculous situation, but the people involved, with the exception of Aeris, are quite serious.

“Okay, Tauro, give us the blueprints.”

As the facilitator, Marches started the conversation.

“Yes, this is it, then.”

Tauro took out a blueprint from his magic storage and unfolded it.

“What’s this?”

At first glance, it appeared to be just a box.

However, It was a box made of wood and steel.

But it was Tauro’s blueprint and he had helped the development of this village before by providing them with technology they didn’t even know existed, so it couldn’t be just a box.

“It’s a box.”

“Eh?”

The craftsmen, except for Marches, who had heard about it beforehand, asked in unison.

“Technically, it’s a refrigerator, a box to keep things cool.”

“Reizouko (refrigerator)?”

“Yes. It’s a box used to keep food cool and prevent it from spoiling. As for the cooling mechanism, I thought about buying some processed magic stones from a mage, but they were a bit expensive, so I made them myself.”

Tauro also took out two stacked boards from the magic storage.

“What are these boards?”

“This board is tacked up, but there’s a magic circle on the inside.”

“A magic circle?”

“Yes, if you place a magic stone here, which is dropped by a monster…”

Again, I took out a few scrap magic stones from the magic storage this time and placed them on the board.

Then, light leaked out from the gap between the matching boards for a moment and they saw that the magic circle had been activated in response to the magic stones.

In the next moment, cold air began to leak out of the magic stones.

“Oh! It’s amazing that cold air can come out of an unprocessed magic stone without any magic power flowing through it!”

Usually, magic stones are nothing more than mere stones if they‘re not processed.

This is why the power of a mage is needed to process them and because each one is done by hand, the processed magic stones cost a high price.

Because of this, they’re only popular among wealthy families and aren’t affordable for the common people.

While the craftsmen were amazed, Aeris was also amazed at the sight.

To be honest, magic circle research is a field that is hardly advanced.

In fact, most magic can be done by chanting without drawing a magic circle, so it’s considered to be of little use.

“How the hell does this work?”

The craftsmen and Aeris were curious.

“The special magic circle on the inside of this laminated board was used to make the magic stone emit cold air. I happen to know a lot about magic circles, so I made one.”

I can’t say that I studied magic circles in my previous life and used them to reincarnate here on my own.

“I’ll tell you how it works after I sign the contract with you, but it’s a top-secret trade secret, so be careful with it. Now, let me briefly explain the structure of the refrigerator.”

I explained that it uses double doors to prevent cold air from escaping and that since airtightness is important, the skills of the craftsmen were required.

The craftsmen listened intently and shared their opinions.

For some reason, Aeris was included in the discussion as if it was natural and Tauro was confused, but the craftsmen were listening to her seriously because he brought her.

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