Chapter 170: Brief Respite

The magistrate, having received the demands from the self-proclaimed Avalushi Giant Corps, immediately made copies and dispatched the original to the royal capital by express horse. At the same time, he sent another express horse to Lord Rubin, the lord of the region.

Meanwhile, having confirmed the contents of the declaration, Isamu and Gascoigne returned to the inn where they were staying.

“I said that at the meeting, but they probably need attributeless magic stones to operate a magic giant like Golem.” 

Isamu conveyed the gist of the demands to all members.

“It’s already known that attributeless magic stones are needed for magical adjustments after activation, but it’s unlikely they know they can acquire them in large quantities just because the price went up.” 

Gascoigne added.

“Indeed. Even if you want to acquire them cheaply, the risks of the methods used are too high.” 

Eto and Annemarie nodded in agreement.

“Yes. In that case, it’s safe to assume it’s the work of someone who doesn’t want the usage known, and someone in a position where purchasing through normal channels is difficult.” 

“But, hey, won’t such an obvious approach fail? Even the most incompetent wouldn’t just say ‘okay, understood’ after hearing this.” 

Gascoigne interjected, arms folded.

“That’s the problem. Using the guise of Avalushi, they can just cut off the tail if they fail… But they’re willing to lose many magic giants and a fair number of soldiers.” 

Gascoigne pointed out.

“Well, regardless of the content, an official statement has been issued, so from here on, it’s become a national issue. As planned, let’s confirm the situation as concerned merchants of the affected company.” 

“Yes, let’s do that. Should we depart immediately, or wait for the magic car arriving from the capital as planned?” 

Felix confirmed the future plans.

“Let’s wait for the magic car for now. We’re not going in large numbers, but there will be messages from Selfers-san and, more importantly, I want to meet up with Silvio.” 

While it’s uncertain if they can make it to Capolfi, Isamu intended to bring Silvio along as it would be tough to just sit still while the guild is in trouble.

“Understood. Then let’s prepare to depart while waiting for the magic car’s arrival.”

With the plan set, the group checked their luggage and vehicle, manufactured additional magic tools, and played around with Orihime, passing the time until around noon when two freight magic cars arrived first.

These magic cars were intended to transport magic tools and attributeless magic stones to the Balsham Knight Corps stationed ahead.

Since freight magic cars operate faster than light magical carriages, they arrived first.

“Thank you for hardwork. Were there any issues on the way?” 

Isamu congratulated the knights who arrived.

“Thank you! It’s comfortable and faster than a horse-drawn carriage, so it was quite pleasant.” 

The knight answered with a smile, while Gascoigned frowned behind Isamu.

“However, the road to the neighboring Count Discaf territory seemed to be closed for repairs or something. Since this is the northernmost part of Balsham territory, we took the northern route via Kalenberg territory, so there were no issues.”

“The road to Discaf territory… What about the troops heading to Balshan?” 

Isamu asked with a somewhat troubled expression.

“The troops heading to Balshan heard about a ship at the riverside in Yanseil that belonged to someone Isamu-sama knew, so they chartered it and are traveling by sea. It’s apparently faster than regular ships.” 

“Ah, Captain Revvechio’s ship, then. That’s reassuring. That ship is fast and comfortable.” 

Isamu’s expression softened upon hearing the knight’s answer

The western side of Bisseling territory, where the Klaufeldt family resides, roughly has the following territorial arrangement:

“`

　×◇△

　●〇△

　◎□★

“`

– ★: Count Bisseling Territory

– □: Count Discaf’s territory

– △: Kalenberg territory

– ●: Margrave Balsham Border 1 (Border Town/Current Location)

– ◎: Margrave Balsham Border 2 (Balshan)

– 〇: Margrave Balsham Border 3 (Other than above)

– ◇: Marquis Felker territory

– ×: Kingdom of Plazzo

To travel from Klaufendam to the town near the border, one must pass through Count Discaf’s territory or Kalenberg territory. Although Kalenberg territory involves a bit more uphill travel, it is shorter in distance due to the northern route, so it’s generally preferred.

On the other hand, if traveling to Balshan and the road through Discaf territory is unavailable, the overland route becomes quite circuitous.

The route down the Lusarsa River would suffice with just a few carriages, but if there are many magic cars, they cannot be loaded onto the ship.

Chartering Captain Revvechio’s large ship this time was quite lucky, considering the circumstances.

“I informed via Hawk to have the magic stones delivered to the garrison, but circumstances have changed slightly. Could we reduce the amount transported to about 10%? Please leave about 30% of the magic tools here.”

“Understood! Should we deliver them to the barracks?”

“Yes. Arrangements have been made.”

“Got it!”

The knight energetically replied and directed the magic cars towards the courtyard of the barracks.

“What about the magic stones, though?”

While watching the magic cars heading towards the barracks, Gascoigne asked Isamu.

“Originally, I planned to use various magic stones and, if lucky, use them to activate captured magic giants like Golems… But I felt it wouldn’t be wise to bring too many magic stones to the front lines.”

“I see… Considering the demands, it’s indeed risky to leave them at the front lines. The barracks probably have minimal defenses and structures.”

“Yes. It could complicate matters if they’re used aggressively. It’s just a precaution.”

As they discussed this, the unloading finished. The knight driver saluted and departed from town towards the garrison.

Later, when Isamu returned to the inn, he retrieved the pressure-sensitive magic circle used in the ruins from his locker and began brainstorming prototype designs for new magic tools during his spare time.

“What are you going to make this time?”

Annemarie, who was sitting behind Isamu so as not to disturb him, asked.

“I’ve been making rather grim things lately. I plan to make a hobby magic tool for a change.”

“A hobby one?”

“Yeah. I’m thinking maybe I could make a musical instrument.”

Isamu’s expression shifted to one of excitement.

For now, since it’s a provisional version, he proceeded with the prototype using whatever was available, disregarding the appearance.

He prepared one wooden box about 35 cm wide, 10 cm deep, and 3 cm thick, along with 15 wooden pieces about 2 cm wide, 10 cm long, and 1 cm thick each.

Additionally, there was one small board that fits inside the box and several small boards about 5 cm square, along with attributeless magic stones—a simple configuration.

First, he lined up all the wooden pieces inside the box and lightly noted their positions on the base.

Once that was done, he drew similar magic circles at each position.

After completing all the drawings, he took out three small boards and drew similar magic circles on them, calculating something along the way. Then, these completed small boards were connected to the large base.

“For now, this should do. Let’s try tuning it first.”

Isamu attached the magic stones and activated it, pressing the leftmost wooden piece.

**Beep**

From the connected small board, a sound similar to an electronic tone could be heard.

Isamu nodded with satisfaction, and as he pressed several more wooden pieces, each one produced the same **beep** sound.

“Yeah. This seems to produce the sound I wanted.”

Continuing from the left, Isamu pressed the second and third wooden pieces.

Again, **beep beep** sounded out.

“Amazing… And it seems the pitch is a bit higher…?”

Annemarie was surprised each time a wooden piece was pressed and made a sound.

In this world of Ethersia, of course there are musical instruments. Percussion instruments, as well as string instruments like harps and lutes, and various types of flutes, are often played in taverns and festivals. However, for some reason, keyboard instruments similar to those found on Earth, whose prototypes can be traced back to ancient times, are completely unfamiliar here.

“You remember when we unlocked the password in that ruins the other day, and it made a sound, right? I’m using that.”

When the unlocking was successful, it made a beeping sound like an electronic tone, but the part that produced that sound could now be parameterized.

Since it seemed possible to change the volume, length, and what appeared to be frequency values, Isamu decided to experiment first with adjusting the length and frequency.

“Yeah, this seems to correspond to frequency. Increasing the value makes the pitch higher. But, you know, I’m not quite sure about the units. Should I just go with harmonic doubling?”

Isamu had previously created a simple piano-type music device for work. He learned then that pitch could be represented by frequency, and doubling the frequency of the original sound resulted in a pitch exactly one octave higher. By equally dividing that range into 12, you could create the widely known 12-tone scale.

Since the adjustable values didn’t seem to be straightforward frequencies, Isamu decided to start by doubling and quadrupling the frequency of the reference sound to see how much the pitch changed.

If he had perfect pitch, it would be easier, but unfortunately, Isamu didn’t possess such an ability. Instead, he had some experience with relative tuning from his high school days when he formed a band with friends and played the guitar.

Using that experience and the logic of setting values, he made predictions and continued adjusting the sound.

After two hours of rewriting numbers and testing sounds repeatedly, he finally tentatively settled on a one-octave scale.

Since Isamu was just an amateur, the tuning might not sit well with those sensitive to sound, but it should suffice for a prototype.

Once this commotion settled, Isamu planned to ask Selfers if any of his noble acquaintances knew anyone knowledgeable about music.

With the standard established, he slightly increased the volume and processed it to make the sound longer according to the time the key was pressed. Then, he consolidated the connected magic circles into one and placed them all inside the case, lining up the wooden pieces as keys.

He left space on the right side for inserting magic stones, completing the prototype of the magic piano.

It might not be like a piano with its white and black keys divided, but it covered a one-octave range, so it should suffice as a prototype.

Isamu immediately tried playing a simple tune on the newly completed magic piano.

He played classic songs that fit within one octave, like “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,” “March of the Saints,” and even “The Black Mouse March,” a slightly unusual choice from Urayasu where black mice live.

The sounds **beep beep beep beep** were a bit cheap, but they formed proper musical scales.

“Amazing! Isamu-san, you can play music too! I’ve never heard these songs before. Are they from your original world?”

Annemarie was astonished as Isamu continued to play one song after another.

In the world of Ethersia, nobles don’t typically indulge in musical instruments as a form of culture and refinement. Most who play instruments are specialists like minstrels or musicians. Nobles and wealthy merchants who enjoy music usually hire or invite such specialists for their entertainment.

“Haha, thank you. Yes, these are songs from my original world. They’re all simple tunes that children practice.”

Isamu replied modestly, blushing a bit.

“Yeah, somehow it seems to at least function minimally as a musical instrument. If I were to ask for more, I’d want to change the tone as well…”

While muttering about that, Isamu continued to play tunes like “Buzz Buzz Buzz” and “Jingle Bells.”

“Nya Nya Nya Nya Nya Nya, Nya!”

Orihime started to jump and dance lightly, singing along to the music as if keeping rhythm.

“Oh? Orihime, that’s amazing! Singing and dancing, you’re like an idol!”

Isamu’s eyes widened in surprise for a moment, but soon he continued playing the music happily.

“Nya Nya Nya Nya Nya Nya, Nya!”

Orihime seemed to be enjoying herself, hopping, bouncing, and twirling around.

Upon closer inspection, her body was faintly glowing. However, neither Isamu nor Annemarie noticed, perhaps because they were in a brightly lit area near the window.

Isamu knew Orihime was the household deity, but he had no idea she was also a goddess of music.

After finishing playing a variety of songs, Isamu, who found the brief respite from his magic instrument-making unexpectedly enjoyable, began working on creating a larger magic piano with more keys.

The news that the light magic car detachment from Klaufendam had arrived came just after they finished dinner and night had fallen.

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