Kays Translations

Chapter 16: Tour of Eto's Workshop

"Uh, yeah, well," 

Isamu responded with somewhat casual words when suddenly asked about it.

“Pfft… Isamu-sama, it’s okay if you don’t force your affirmation, okay?”

Annemarie burst into laughter when she saw this.

"What's with that nonchalant answer?" 

Eto was taken aback as well but regained his composure and asked Annemarie.

"So, what's your business here? Is it related to this Isamu guy?"

"Yes, it is. By the way, are your apprentices here today?" 

"No, they'll be here starting in the afternoon. Right now, it's just me," 

"Understood. Once again, this is Isamu Matsumoto. He's a wanderer officially welcomed by Viscount Klaufeldt’s House. We haven't shared this with the townsfolk yet, so please keep it confidential," 

"!!!"

Eto, who had been acting quite nonchalant, was genuinely surprised at the mention of a wanderer. His eyes widened in shock.

"...Well, isn't that something? You've come across another rare find, Young lady.”

"Eto-san, Isamu-sama isn't an object, you know. Honestly..." 

"Hahaha, sorry about that. Isamu, was it? I'm Eto Mayer, the workshop manager here. As you can see, I'm a Halfling," 

"Nice to meet you, Eto-san. I'm Isamu Matsumoto. In my previous world, I created something similar to the magic circles used for these magic devices. May I request to see your workshop?"

After exchanging very simple greetings with each other, Isamu gets straight to the point. 

"So, you had magic devices in your world too?" 

"We didn't have magic, so it's not exactly magic devices, but the principles and capabilities are quite similar. I couldn't bring most of the things from my world, but I did have this one," 

Isamu said, taking off his wristwatch and handing it to Eto.

"What's this? It's made with incredibly transparent glass... The casing is metallic, but it's not iron. And look at how thin this hand is..." 

Eto examined the watch in amazement.

"This is a time measuring device. The numbers here are from my world. One full rotation of this long hand and a half is roughly equivalent to one hour in your world. The smallest unit on the thinnest hand represents the smallest unit of time, and when it completes one rotation, the long hand moves by one number. After two rotations of the short hand, it becomes one day," 

"I see... Each of the hands is interconnected. They're constantly moving... But what's with this face? The atmosphere is so different," 

"This is the lunar phase, representing the waxing and waning of the moon in the night sky. In my world, it takes about 30 days to complete one cycle." 

The watch that Isamu had was the Breguet Classic 7787 model. It has a moon phase window that shows the waxing and waning of the moon, and a power reserve indicator that shows what's left of the mainspring.

He fell in love with the simple yet beautiful blue needle at first sight and bought it on impulse a few years ago, and it was the biggest purchase of his life.

By the way, the price is about the same as buying a decent Japanese car brand new.

Despite his fairly high salary, Isamu's only hobbies were fishing and Orihime, so he had enough savings to buy it with cash.

"Wow... This is quite something. I don't understand the principles, but it's amazing. Thanks for showing me this." 

Eto said, examining the watch like a true craftsman, and he returned it to Isamu with a smile.

"Miss, since  you came here, does that mean you want to observe all the processes?" 

Eto asked, seeming somewhat reluctant to show them anything after such an impressive item.

"Yes, that's correct. I think it's best to start by observing how magic devices are made." 

"Got it. It's just that it feels a bit odd to show you things after you've seen something like that... Well, fine. Currently, in this workshop, I’m making handheld light magic devices.” 

Eto said, taking out a magic device that looked like a lantern from under the counter. It had a glass front and a metal casing on the back and sides, with milky-white stones fitted inside, featuring patterns drawn around them. There was a handle on the back for easy carrying and a switch-like component.

"This is a lantern designed for night guards and adventurers to use. It's called a magic lantern. The mechanism itself is incredibly simple, as far as magic devices go. It just takes the magic energy drawn from light magic stones and uses it to produce light. It's like the basics of magic devices. First, you need to master making this, and then you can be considered an apprentice."

The creation of things starts with simple basics, and this appears to be an unchanging truth, even in a different world. Isamu recalled that when he first started learning to program, he wrote a simple "Hello World" on the screen.

"First, we need to draw the magic circle. You can use any base material as long as you can draw the pattern with magic ink. Thin metal or wooden boards are commonly used. Here's the magic ink. It's made by mixing powdered magic stones with fake silver liquid," 

"Fake silver liquid?" 

"Yeah. Even though it's called silver, it's not made by melting silver. In fact, fake silver metal is quite abundant in river sand and broken stones. When heated slightly, it melts right away, but for some reason, when you mix magic stone powder into it, it remains a liquid even when it cools down. We use it as a substitute for ink. The interesting part is that this magic ink hardens instantly when you add magic energy,"

While saying this, Eto drew a simple picture of a flower on a piece of board with magic ink and held his hand over it.

In Isamu's eyes, he saw for a moment a transparent magical light coming from Eto's hand and being sucked into the flower painting.

“Look, it’s just like this.”

Eto turns the piece of board upside down to show that the ink is completely dry.

Isamu also tried touching it, but although it felt like aluminum foil, it didn't stick to his hands.

"Huh, this is an interesting property. Is it okay to put in a little magic power?"

"Ah. If you have 10 magical power, you can afford it. So, once it hardens, nothing will happen even if you put magic power into it again, and it won't melt again unless it's extremely hot.''

As Eto explained, the magic circles would function as long as the magic stone powder was arranged correctly. Therefore, there was no strict requirement to use magic ink, but there were no better alternatives, and magic ink had no significant drawbacks, so it continued to be used.

"Next is the actual process of drawing the magic circle. I've drawn this magic circle so many times that I remember it by heart, but usually, you would use regular diluted ink to make a preliminary sketch while looking at a sample. Afterward, you trace it with magic ink to complete it. First, you need to get good at making accurate preliminary sketches. That's when you'll start to be considered a decent craftsman," 

Eto showed them a wooden board, about 15 centimeters square, with faint patterns on it. The colors were light, making it difficult to discern the details, but it seemed like a collection of small symbols forming a larger pattern.

Eto skillfully traced the patterns with the same pen and magic ink he used earlier. It resembled his friend from college who had made his debut as a manga artist, working on inking their manuscripts. His hand moved confidently over the sketch, just as a skilled craftsman would.

"Well, that's about it," 

Eto said. In just a few minutes, a 10-centimeter square magic circle, gleaming silver, was completed. He then imbued it with magic energy as he had done before.

"In this case, we attach light magic stones to this part. We use a different kind of ink for the magic stones, a bit darker than the one for the magic circles," 

Eto applied the magic stone ink to a somewhat whitish magic stone with a diameter of about 3 centimeters, placing it in the upper right corner of the magic circle.

"With this, the base for the illuminated part is complete. However, a magic device can't function with just this. You also need to combine an activation magic circle, the activation circle, for some reason, is what makes it work."

Eto then presented a slightly smaller board, about 10 centimeters square.

"This is the activation circle, and there aren't many variations for it, as far as I know, there are about ten different types," 

"Eh, really!?" 

Isamu gasped as he observed it, seemingly overwhelmed, and unable to take his eyes off the magic circle.

"Hey, are you okay, Isamu?" 

"Eh, yes, I'm fine. It's just that these activation circles are quite different in size and shape from the magic circles we discussed earlier." 

"True, they are quite different. 

“Besides, there are some activation circles that have already been drawn with magic ink," 

Isamu added, nodding slightly in agreement with Annemarie, who appeared a bit concerned.

"We keep some prepared activation circles since there are not so many varieties. They come in handy for apprentice training. After that, all you have to do is attach a non-attribute magic stone," 

Eto said, taking out a small, transparent magic stone with a diameter of about 2 centimeters.

"The final step is to attach this here. Now, the base is complete. However, there's one crucial thing to keep in mind during assembly."

"What should we keep in mind?" 

"You need to ensure that the activation circle and the functional circle connect at designated points. In the case of this magic device, it's the bottom right of the functional circle and the top left of the activation circle. The two must be connected during assembly. On the contrary, if you get this part right, the base will function."

While explaining, Eto touched the exposed area of the base where the non-attribute magic stone was embedded.

As the barely visible non-attribute magic stone began to emit a faint glow, the light quickly spread from the activation circle to the functional circle. Once the light reached the functional circle, the light magic stone within it gently glowed. Finally, a light sphere with a diameter of about 5 centimeters floated in the center of the functional circle.

"Wow... This is amazing. So, this is a magical device..."

Isamu watched in awe. He couldn't help but express his admiration, his eyes sparkling, and Eto watched him with delight.

"Why are you grinning like a kid in a candy store? Did you like it that much?" 

"Yes, I did! Magic devices are incredible! These magic circles are so beautifully designed," 

Isamu replied with enthusiasm.

"Hahaha, you're an interesting one, Isamu. If you like it that much, you can take this one with you! It won't shine for a long time, but you can enjoy it for a while," 

"Really!?" 

Isamu was excited about the proposition.

"Oh yeah! As a celebration for coming to this territory, take this!"

“Thank you!!!”

"Sure thing. And when you want to turn it off, just touch the magic stone again,"

Saying that, Eto touched the non-attribute magic stone and extinguished the light. 

"So, it's used to switch between activation and deactivation," 

"Yes, exactly. Is today's visit okay?" 

“Yes… thank you for your time.”

Annemarie bows slightly.

"It's fine. But you brought an interesting one along, Isamu. If you're interested, feel free to visit anytime! If I have the time, I'll show you more." 

"Yes, thank you!" 

Isamu replied with a grateful nod. He then placed the base he had received as a gift into a bag, and the two of them left Eto's workshop.

As soon as they boarded the carriage on the way back, Annemarie, her excitement evident, asked Isamu.

 "Isamu-sama, you seemed surprised earlier...?"

"Yes, I was surprised, but only by the activation circle. I learned that something is drawn on it. I don't fully understand the content yet, but these magic circles are not just random patterns. They seem to be a collection of symbols written following some rules." 

"What!!!!?"

"Starting from tomorrow, I plan to work on deciphering it. The fact that the staffs can't read the activation circle is also quite intriguing," 

Isamu took the base he had received out of the bag and gazed at it, his eyes narrowed in apparent admiration.

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