Kays Translations

Chapter 28: Notification of Functional Circle Decryption Completion

After obtaining the functional circles that could be read from Willem, Isamu spent a full three days locked in his laboratory, engrossed in their decryption. He did make a point to have his meals in the dining room, but there was little to no conversation beyond greetings. Once he finished eating, he immediately returned to the laboratory.

While Isamu worked on decryption, Eto, who couldn’t read magic circles, observed him and created an optimized activation circle for magic lanterns.

During this time, Selfer’s condition was improving thanks to Isamu’s proposed dietary therapy, but Nicolette seemed to want to talk to Isamu about something, and she was completely ignored. Annemarie also wanted to ask about Isamu’s casual use of water magic for washing vegetables but was similarly ignored. Thanks to Nicolette’s pet therapy, the dissatisfaction among the women had been kept beneath the surface, and three days had passed without major issues.

And on the morning of the fourth day, with most of the decryption of the obtained functional circles complete, Isamu was having breakfast while conversing with a cheerful expression.

“Oh, that means Selfers-san’s condition is getting better, right!? Oh, I’m so relieved that it’s working…”

The first topic that came up was the progress of Selfer’s dietary therapy for expedition disease. It seemed that Selfers, who disliked vegetables, still had difficulty with soups, even at this stage. Apparently, when Nicolette finally lost her patience and told him that if he didn’t eat, she would end their relationship, he hastily began eating. He seemed to be an adamant vegetable hater.

There were others besides Selfers who had scurvy, but this condition resulted from a deficiency of vitamin C. Upon their return from the expedition, they had fresh vegetables and had all recovered. Therefore, Selfers, who rarely ate vegetables both before and after the expedition, had become seriously ill.

“Really… It wouldn’t be a laughing matter if the lord had died due to a dislike of vegetables! From now on, he’ll be forced to eat vegetables regularly. Thank you, Isamu-san. Thanks to you, I didn’t have to suffer any embarrassment.”

“Hahaha, I’m glad it worked out. Vitamin C not only prevents expedition disease, but it also boosts resistance to other illnesses. However, it’s not something that accumulates in your body when you consume a lot of it at once. It’s best to eat it regularly.”

“Wow, I see. But it’s surprising that Isamu-san is knowledgeable about medical practices…”

Nicolette’s words received a nod of agreement from Annemarie.

“In my world, I think most people had this level of knowledge, even if they weren’t doctors. We learn these things as common knowledge in school, along with math and reading and writing. Oh, do you have schools here too? It’s a place where children of the same age gather to study and are taught.”

“Do you mean schools as in academies?”

“That’s right. There are several academies here where you can learn various things. It’s not just about studying but also about learning magic in the magic academy or combat techniques in the knight academy. By the way, Annemarie and I both attended the magic academy. My husband was the eldest, so he attended the nobility academy. If there are similar institutions here, was Isamu from the noble class over there? Or perhaps the child of a major merchant?”

In this world, academies were few in number, with high tuition fees and exclusive to nobles and the offspring of a few major merchants. The only exception was for those who excelled in magic or martial arts. In such cases, even commoners could attend as scholarship students.

“Actually, I’m just an ordinary commoner. In my world, we start going to school at age 6, and the basic expenses are covered by the state until age 15. So, almost everyone goes to school until they’re 15. Or rather, parents are punished if they don’t send their children to school. After that, if you want to continue learning, it’s at your own expense. Still, most people attend school until they’re 18 or 22. I went to school until I was 22.”

“Free until 15!? Starting from age 6… That’s unbelievable. It’s no wonder medical practices are common knowledge. Here, graduation is typically around 15 as well, but you start at 12.”

“I see. Well, I haven’t learned about magic or combat here, so I don’t know if what I’ve learned will be useful.”

“Oh, don’t say that. You just saved my husband recently… I was so focused on your skills, but maybe your knowledge is even more amazing.”

Ha-ha-ha, Nicolette immediately refuted any such idea.

“If I’ve been of help, then that’s good. By the way, vitamin C might be beneficial for women as well.”

Since he didn’t want to keep receiving excessive praise, Isamu changed the subject.

However, it turned out to be a bad move.

“What do you mean?”

“Vitamin C is a nutrient that boosts your body’s resistance, but it’s not just limited to the inside of your body.”

“??”

“It also makes your skin beautiful.”

“!!!!”

Isamu’s words landed as a critical hit on the two women who didn’t quite understand what he meant.

“…Isamu-san, could you please explain that in more detail?”

“Madam, I’ll cancel the morning magic training today. Rudolf, inform everyone. So, Isamu-san, please take your time and tell us about that.”

“Eh, ah, yes…”

In the face of the overwhelming pressure from the mother and daughter, Isamu had no choice but to respond this way. Their seriousness might even surpass the moment they found out he could read magic languages.

And so, during the morning of that day, Isamu was forced to lecture on modern Japanese skincare due to his thoughtless remark.

“Haa, I had a rough time, Orihime. It’s a bad idea to underestimate a woman’s passion for beauty… Wait, Orihime is a woman too. Do you care about the gloss and condition of your hair? Well, even after coming here, your hair color and luster are the most beautiful in the world!”

Having talked at length about skincare in the morning, Isamu was finally released after having lunch. He was brushing Orihime in the laboratory and looking completely exhausted.

“What are you doing…”

Eto, who had arrived earlier, looked at Isamu in exasperation.

“Nnnn…”

Orihime, on Isamu’s lap, let out a small sound as if agreeing.

“Well, it’s fine. By the way, you’ve finally succeeded in decrypting the functional circles that you couldn’t read before, right? We couldn’t read them at all before, so what changed?”

“I still don’t know why we couldn’t read them before. The truth is, I happened to obtain circles that could be read.”

“I see. You mentioned buying them in the magic circle graveyard on Garakuta Street, right? In that case, they are probably part of an artifact. Even if they are expensive artifacts, magic circles with unknown uses by themselves have almost no value as magic tools. They’re in demand only by people like Willem, who are eccentric, or some researchers. If it’s confirmed that there’s something readable inside an artifact, it might be a treasure trove for you.”

“Right. If possible, I’d like to continue acquiring them. I’m even considering discussing the possibility of hiring Willem exclusively with Annemarie.”

“Hmm, that might be a good idea. By the way, Isamu, what were the effects of the decrypted functional circles?”

Eto, who had been restless all this time, finally couldn’t contain his curiosity and broached the main topic.

“There were a total of four readable magic circles. Two of them are fire-based, one is water-based, and the last one is something I can’t quite figure out.”

“You couldn’t understand something? Even for Isamu, who can read magic circles, there’s something you can’t comprehend?”

“Yes, even though I can read them, it’s more like I understand the meaning of the words as they come to my head. As for the one I can’t understand, it’s because it’s either written in a theory I can’t comprehend or it doesn’t make any sense to me… There are some words and expressions I partially understand, so I might be able to comprehend it once my understanding catches up. Until then, I think I’ll set it aside.”

“I see. Well, it’s probably best to start with the ones whose meanings you do understand first.”

“I think so. For the fire-based circles, one of them has the effect of warming the target, and about 90% of the magic circle is still intact. The other one is likely for igniting fires, but only about 40% is remaining, so I can’t be certain. However, fortunately, the missing parts for the first one are still there. So, this time, I’m thinking of making a functional circle and magic tool for warming the target. As for the water-based circle, it seems to be for creating water. About 60% of it remains, so I can’t reproduce it immediately, but with trial and error, it seems somewhat feasible.”

“I see. So, you can create functional circles that work right away… That’s extraordinary.”

“Well, for some reason, the functional circles I can’t read are many times larger, so they might end up quite large when turned into magic tools.”

Isamu chuckled and pointed at the Heat enchantment magic circle. But Eto flatly disagreed.

“What are you saying? This is something nobody has achieved before—developing original functional circles. The size doesn’t matter at all. If this is put into practical use, it could turn the world upside down. Not only will we be able to create magic tools even without moving artifacts, but the possibility of creating ‘favorite magic tools’ that we’ve dreamt of for years will emerge.”

“Haha, you’re right. It’s an inspiring thought. I’ll do my best to make it happen!”

“Yes, that’s the spirit. I don’t know how much help I can provide, but as a fellow magic tool craftsman, I’ll definitely acquire the skills and contribute. I’m sorry, but I’ll be counting on you from now on!”

Isamu and Eto shook hands, and they were now embarking on the prototype development of magic tools.

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