Kays Translations

Chapter 101: Wind

In the morning after the demonstration at Margrave Inocenti's estate, the Orihime Team, having spent the previous day preparing for their return and resting for the long journey ahead, gathered at the carriage stop in front of the inn to set out on their journey back.

Although they had been staying for over ten days, half of that time was spent inside the ruins, so it didn't feel like much time had passed.

As they were doing the final check of their luggage, despite the early hour, a carriage bearing the crest of the Inocenti family arrived at the inn with several mounted riders.

"Good morning, Anne."

Stepping down from the carriage was Julia, the second daughter of the Inocenti family.

"Good morning, Julia. You came so early in the morning..."

Anne replied with a wry smile. She had informed Julia the previous day that they would be departing in the morning, and Julia had replied that she would come to see them off.

"Well, of course. We won't have many chances to meet, after all. And you're returning by the Revecchio Company's ship on the Meator River, right? Since the headquarters of the company is in Viscount Jansen's territory, and I've never met their representative, I thought it would be convenient to pay my respects while you're here."

The Revecchio Company was the company that owned the ship they had traveled on down the Rusarsa River. The captain at the time turned out to be the president of the company, much to the surprise of Isamu, who had thought he was just a seasoned sailor devoted to the field

As they had promised to send them off when they disembarked, Anne had contacted the inn in this town to inform them of their return, but the president himself had come to the inn and begged them to let him arrange their return trip. Apparently, he had been waiting for Isamu and the others to return while operating the riverboat between the junction of the Inotia and Rusarsa river, rather than the riverboat down the Rusarsa River.

Gratefully accepting his offer, they had ended up in their current situation.

The group finished their final check and followed Julia carriage along the road leading to the river. Julia invited Anne to ride in her carriage, saying she wanted to catch up with her old friend.

"So, what's the real story with Isamu-san? You don't usually use honorifics with his name, so you don't dislike him, right?"

"Well, it's not that I dislike him, but it's not like that..."

Anne blushed and looked down as Julia cut to the chase.

"Oh, really!? Then can I have him?"

"Eh!?"

Anne was dumbfounded by Julia’s joyful proclamation.

"I mean, he's a wanderer and the sharp president of a prominent company. Plus, he's a first-rate magician. And he's not bad-looking, and above all, he seems kind. There aren't many eligible candidates like him, you know? If he came to me, it would be fantastic, but I don't mind going to the Viscount’s territory either!"

Currently, aside from a few nobles, not many people knew about Isamu's personality. Once his true abilities and skills, which he was still hiding, were revealed, he would undoubtedly become famous and it was inevitable that Isamu's name would be mentioned as a prospective son-in-law.

"It, it's not possible!!"

Anne grabbed Julia’s shoulders and shook her as she panicked.

"W, why did you suddenly... sto, stop it!"

After managing to shake off Anne's hands while trembling, Julia let out a deep sigh.

"Sigh... It's not like the answer is clear yet. Okay? I mean, I can ask beforehand like this and joke around, but other nobles, especially the higher-ranked ones, aren't so lenient, you know? Before you know it, they'll create a fait accompli, and you won't be able to escape."

While shaking her head slightly, Julia warned Anne.

"I, I understand, but..."

Anne barely managed to say in a faint voice.

"Well, it's your life, so do as you please. Just don't regret it later!"

"Okay, I got it."

Anne nodded faintly in response to Julia’s encouragement.

The nearest pier was only about thirty minutes away since there was a direct road from the capital of Inotia. They arrived there smoothly.

A familiar ship was docked there, and a familiar man was standing there.

"Sorry for bothering you on our return trip too, Captain Revecchio."

"No, no, what are you saying, Isamu-dono? I’m the one who is indebted to you. Let me at least do this much for you."

Apologizing to the grateful Isamu, Revecchio laughed.

"Oh, right. There's someone I'd like to introduce today. Julia Inocenti, the daughter of Margrave Inocenti."

"Pleased to meet you, President Revecchio. My name is Julia Inocenti. I wanted to greet you once, and I heard that you are acquainted with Matsumoto-san."

Introduced by Isamu, Julia greeted him with a beautiful curtsey.

"Huh? Ah? T, thank you very much. I, I'm Revecchio, the president of the Revecchio Company."

Stuttering in surprise at being suddenly introduced to the daughter of a lord, Revechio responded awkwardly. It seemed like he was silently appealing to Isamu with his eyes, as if to say he hadn't heard about this.

"Ahaha, sorry about that. It was decided suddenly yesterday... Well then, I'll help with loading."

Laughing, Isamu rushed to the carriage.

While the loading was going on, Revecchio and Julia engaged in conversation using polite language that was slightly suspicious.

“Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah, I had a really scary experience…”

“Ahaha, sorry.”

On the ship leaving port, Revecchio was talking with Isamu, his shoulders slumped and a depressed expression on his face.

The dry season has begun and the weather has continued to be sunny so far, so the flow of the Meator River is calm.

Riding smoothly on the stable current in the center of the great river, the boat descends toward its confluence with the Rusarsa River.

“But wouldn’t this make it easier to do business in Innotia?”

"Well, that's true... I'm more suited to being on a ship. Honestly, I'd like to leave the management of the Chamber of Commerce to someone else. What do you think, Isamu-sama, would you be willing to take over the role of Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce?"

No, no, that’s just impossible!”

"Hahaha, that's right... Well, if you change your mind, think about it."

Revecchio said that, as if he wasn't joking, and went up to the bridge.

Moving with the stable current of the river, the ship arrived at the confluence point with the Rusarsa River by late afternoon of that day.

They stayed there for the night, and the next day, they began the upstream journey on the Rusarsa River.

"Wow, what splendid sails!"

Isamu looked up from the deck and saw two triangular sails, one large and one small, that had never been set up before, and were filled with the wind blowing from downstream.

"From here on, we'll be going against the flow of the river. Luckily, the wind is blowing well today, so we're making good progress. Even so, it'll take about one and a half times longer than when we were going downstream, so please bear with us."

"Oh no, just going upstream on the river is impressive enough. By the way, what do you do if the wind weakens?"

"Then we use a magic tool. There's a magic tool that can generate wind in a certain direction with a certain strength. It's not powerful enough to use it when the wind is strong, so we only use it when the wind is weak."

"Eh!? There's such a magic tool!? Can I see it?"

Never thought there was a magic tool to control the wind. Isamu eagerly approached Revecchio.

"Oh, yeah... It's over by the stern, this way."

While somewhat taken aback by Isamu’s enthusiasm, Revecchio guided him toward the stern.

"This is it. It's called the 'Wind Reel.' When activated, it blows wind in the direction where this sphere is attached, so you need to hoist it up to a slightly higher position."

With that explanation, Revecchio showed Isamu a large magic tool resembling a shuttlecock from badminton, about 10 centimeters in diameter, with eight feather-like parts attached. One side of the hemisphere was flat, with an activation circle, and a magic stone for activation was visible. Perhaps for hoisting it to a high place, parts for inserting a pole were attached.

"There's a wind magic stone inside."

Saying so, Revecchio lightly tapped the hemisphere.

"Wow, you use a medium wind magic stone?"

"Yeah. That's why we don't use it unless the wind is blowing."

A medium wind magic stone costs around 1,000 Ruins, not a cheap item at all. It makes sense to save it for when you really need it.

"But it's an interesting shape. And... huh... there are magic circles drawn on the back of each feather!"

Isamu’s voice flipped upon finding magic circles drawn on the back of each of the eight feathers.

"Huh? Are you okay?"

With a puzzled expression, Revecchio asked.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Do you know where this magic tool was found?"

"I think it was from the ruins in the rocky desert next to Kempbach. It drifted here after the ceasefire."

"I see... Do you mind if I borrow it while I'm on the ship? Of course, I'll return it when I use it!"

"Oh, sure, no problem at all. You probably won't need it much with this kind of wind."

"Thank you! Then, I'll borrow it and study it for a bit!"

With those words of gratitude, Isamu headed to the bathhouse wagon, which had been transformed into a mobile workshop.

On the way to the bathhouse wagon, Isamu found Eto and invited him along into the bathhouse wagon. Inside the wagon, Willem was reviewing an activation circle.

"Oh, good, Isamu-san, and Eto-san too. What's up?"

In response to Willem's inquiry, Isamu and Eto exchanged glances and chuckled.

"We unexpectedly found a wind magic circle that I can read!?!"

"Huh!? Really!?"

"Yeah, that's right. It seems to be a magic tool that sends wind to the ship."

"Well, that's... quite lucky."

Willem smiled wryly at the unexpected coincidence. If they hadn't been on the ship, they would probably never have seen such a magic tool, so it could indeed be considered lucky.

"It's the first time I've seen a readable wind magic tool, and judging from the look of it, it seems quite complicated, so it may take some time to decipher..."

Scratching his head, Isamu said.

"Yeah, that's right. Also, this, although it's from the Kempbach side, it seems to have been found in the ruins of the rocky desert."

"What?"

"Rocky desert again..."

"I guess so..."

"You're probably right...?"

"Yeah, if you keep reading one thing after another..."

"What is that place, I wonder...? There are still a few places left to go besides the one we visited this time, so I'd like to go again if I have the chance."

"Indeed. However, not only this time, but since there may be characteristic differences depending on the region, wouldn't it be better to go around to each place first?"

"Ah, yeah, that's true. Oh, but thinking about it that way makes me excited."

"Hahaha, that's right. I'm getting more and more excited about what's going to come out."

"Hehe, you're right. Next, maybe to the east?"

In the bathhouse wagon, the eerie laughter of the three men echoed for a while.

And then, the journey by ship continued smoothly. The next morning, when they were about to enter the territory of Viscount Jansen, Isamu finally finished deciphering the wind reel.

"Ah, this was quite tough... I understand what it can do, but to be honest, I only understood about half of how it works."

Saying so, Isamu laughed awkwardly.

"This magic tool is basically divided into two major parts. It's one magic tool. There are two things;  One is what's drawn on the back of these feathers, and the other is what's contained inside this hemisphere."

The flat part with the activation magic stone embedded in it opened up, revealing another magic circle drawn inside. And at the very back, at the bottom of the bowl-shaped part, was the wind magic stone.

"So, apparently, it causes air on the outside of these feathers to move vigorously along the feathers toward the round side, creating wind. You can adjust the amount and speed of movement. There are a lot of feathers, and a lot of movement, so it consumes quite a bit of magic power. Well, it's wind strong enough to move a ship, so it's troublesome if it blows too easily."

With a wry smile, Isamu said.

"I see... It's a magical circle that seems to have various uses as long as you don't consider magic power.”

 Eto said, crossing his arms.

"Yes. If it goes well, we might be able to make a carriage that runs on magic power alone, even without horses."

"What, that's a contradiction. How can you call it a carriage when there are no horses?"

"Haha, I wonder if it's called a 'magic vehicle.' In the original world, there was a vehicle made of iron that could run all day at ten times the speed of a carriage. Well, I don't think we can make exactly the same thing, but there's a possibility of making a more convenient vehicle than a carriage."

"Ten times the speed all day long... If something like that were really made, it would be incredible."

"Well, let's try various things when we get back. There are still magic tools that haven't been deciphered yet... I'm looking forward to it."

With a smile, Isamu said, and Eto and Willem nodded with smiles.

A magic tool that can blow wind from any direction with the desired strength...

If you want to move it in the simplest way possible, you can just hoist a sail on the carriage. It might not be very efficient, but if you're not stingy with magic stones, you should be able to achieve a decent speed.

You might also be able to make the wheels move directly like a vertical windmill axle, or move forward by spinning a propeller with its lift.

Isamu is an amateur in engineering, so he has no idea which method is the best, but trying various things with everyone should be fun.

This magic tool, according to Isamu’s intuition, has the potential to bring such fun just by hinting at it.

Previous chapter | TOC | Next chapter