Chapter 76: Potential of Non-Attribute Magic Stones

“Hey Eto-san, isn’t it the case that once activated, existing magic tools can’t adjust their strength or power?”

“Yeah, that’s certainly true…”

“Exactly. So, this magic circle here! After activating it, you can adjust the magic power by touching these two non-attribute magic stones, changing the brightness!”

Bravely explaining with excitement and breathing heavily, Isamu continued.

“For lighting magic tools, it would be convenient if you could make it bright while working and dark when sleeping, right? Also, with this, we can finally adjust the heat of the magic stoves we’ve commercialized!”

“Indeed… It used to be normal that adjustments couldn’t be made, but if it becomes possible, all the previous magic tools will be considered outdated.”

Eto, crossing his arms, noticed the magnitude of the impact.

“Yes. Since unnecessary magic power can be suppressed, fuel efficiency will also improve. Even if the price goes up a bit, if you can recover the cost in a few years, I think replacement will progress.”

“In that case, places that were selling attribute magic stones will be affected.” 

Anne-Marie mentioned, foreseeing what would happen next.

“Yeah. Sales numbers are likely to decrease. Instead, the value of non-attribute magic stones will skyrocket. After all, there are no alternatives.”

“…Non-attribute magic stones, which were only substitutes for attribute magic stones until now, may become something irreplaceable…”

In the midst of the sudden turning point for non-attribute magic stones, Annemarie struggled for words. Considering the days when she was criticized as a trash magic stone merchant, it couldn’t be helped.

“Well, to incorporate this, a reading function circle is essential, so for now, we can’t create many types… huh?!”

“Ah, thank you very much! Seriously, thank you so much…”

Haha, lightly self-deprecating, Isamu panicked as Annemarie suddenly embraced him with force.

“Hey! Annemarie-san!? Um, excuse me!?…”

Trying to hastily break free, he stopped his hand.

“Gusu, I’m, so, glad… I can finally, repay everyone… Gusu”

Choking on her words, Annemarie clung tightly, crying.

Patting her gently as she clung, Isamu waited for her to calm down. When he thought she had stopped crying, Annemarie, still burying her face, began to tremble again.

“…”

“Oh, Annemarie-san?!”

“Kyaa!!”

Unable to stay like this forever, Isamu called out, and Annemarie’s shoulders jumped grandly.

And…

“Th-th-th-th-thank youuuu!!”

Pulling away from Isamu vigorously, Annemarie, who kept bowing repeatedly, was red from the tips of her ears to her neck, worrying whether her head would fall off.

“A-ah, um, I’m really happy, so I, just… sob”

Anne Marie, still apologizing profusely, received a gentle and wry smile from Isamu as he spoke kindly.

“Annemarie-san, do you remember the day the research institute was established, when you, Eto-san, and I discussed improving the activation formation of the magic lantern? At that time, you said, ‘I want to reclaim the tarnished reputation of the Trash Magic Stone and make the territory prosperous.’ I remember thinking how kind and considerate you were to your subjects, and I felt a deep sense of respect for you. I was also saved by that kindness. When I came here, I was burdened with useless skills, but you accepted me as I am.”

As Isamu reminisced about those times, Annemarie listened intently.

“So, I’ve been working hard to be of any help since then. Finally, I see a way forward. And all of this is thanks to everyone, including you, Annemarie-san, who believed in me and let me do as I pleased. I’m grateful, too. Thank you.”

With those words, Isamu bowed his head slightly.

“And this is just the first step, right? It’s not enough to be satisfied with what we found at the top of the ruins. I’ll continue to create more and more magic tools that will turn the world upside down! Right, Eto-san, Willem-san?”

Isamu called out to the two who had been watching from a little distance.

“Of course! Eventually, I want to create my own original magic tools with my own hands. I won’t be satisfied with just copying!”

Eto laughed heartily.

“Yes, indeed. If we unravel the mysteries of magic circles and ruins, we should be able to create magic tools and circles superior to those of the ancient civilization. My skills as a relic excavator and artifact hunter will come in handy.”

Willem smiled mischievously.

“Hehe, that’s right. It’s only just begun! Thank you. And please continue to support us in the future!”

Annemarie, with a lingering blush on her face, bowed her head. The smile on her face, the most genuine Isamu had seen so far, appeared as she raised her head gently.

The next morning, not at Zambrotta Trading Company, but at the inn where the viscount and his wife were staying, the members gathered in the banquet hall.

Last night, Annemarie returned to the noble’s inn with the escort knights. She shared the outline of the magic circle she had obtained and the hypotheses derived from it with her parents.

They wanted to discuss the plan for the day from the morning onwards.

“I don’t know how many times I’ve been surprised by now, but Isamu-dono, you keep surprising me… And thank you very much for the discovery that greatly elevates the value of non-attribute magic stones. I can’t thank you enough.”

Saying so, Selfers deeply bowed his head. Next to him, Nicolette also bowed deeply.

“No, no, no, please raise your heads! It was just something that happened to be found!”

“And, because the types of magic tools that can implement adjustment functions are still limited, the impact isn’t that significant. Also, it would be great if only the value of non-attribute magic stones increased, but if the value of other magic stones decreases, it’s a negative for the entire country. There will be more envy and complaints. If the number of magic tools remains the same, it’s visible that such a situation will occur in the near future… So, I think we really need to increase both the types and the number of widespread magic tools.”

Speaking while rushing to get their attention, Isamu pointed out the realized issue.

“Well, certainly, no matter how excellent the technology is, it’s as good as non-existent if it can’t be utilized… So, what should we do? In that case, I think we have no choice but to search for new readable magic circles, right?”

Nodding slightly, Eto spoke from a technician’s perspective.

“I think so too. For now, let’s do as much as we can in the remaining three days, and then, on another day, we can conduct a more thorough exploration.”

Isamu agreed with Eto’s opinion.

“Yeah, let’s do that. Next, let’s prepare for a more thorough exploration that we can stay overnight for. It might be better to form a specialized party. In that case, it seems advisable to establish a base here. We can’t keep showing the spoils found in the ruins to anyone other than those involved, and we can’t clear out the Zambrotta Trading Company’s workshop forever. Nico, let’s visit a real estate agent later. Considering safety, wouldn’t it be better to look for a property exclusive to nobles?”

“Yes, that sounds good. There are only people whose identities are known, and with guards, it’s safer than for commoners. Let’s pick out something suitable now.”

Both Selfers and Nicolette seemed enthusiastic about the development of new magic tools and, consequently, further exploration of the ruins. They decided to prepare for a more thorough exploration to be conducted soon, and the exploration of the third day began.

“Today, we’re starting from the underground first floor.”

Since the viscount and his wife were visiting the real estate agent, Vice Captain Felix was the exploration team leader for the day.

“Yes. I wonder what it’s like… It’s exciting, but a bit scary.”

Having such a conversation, they continued further into the depths, heading towards the staircase. They had become quite accustomed to it by now. After defeating monsters with breaks in between, they walked for about two hours until they reached the staircase.

“Alright, since we don’t know what will come out, Mizeroi and I will go first.”

Carefully observing the state of the staircase, Felix said.

“Understood. Oh, please try this new type of magic lantern. Using the magic circle obtained yesterday, it now has an adjustable brightness mechanism, and we’ve incorporated a mechanism thought up by Eto-san and Willem-san to change the illuminated area.”

Saying that, Isamu handed over a prototype of the new magic lantern.

Even after Annemarie returned home last night, the three of them—Isamu, Eto, and Willem—had been experimenting to make a lantern suitable for exploration. What they came up with was a lantern that could narrow the range of light using a thin metal plate. It could illuminate the entire surroundings or focus the light forward.

Wielding the handed lanterns, Felix and Mizeroi cautiously descended the staircase.

It seemed to have a structure of turning back midway, and the lanterns were swung towards them from the landing. Seeing it was safe, Isamu and the others followed.

Following the same process, they reached the first underground floor after three turns.

The place they arrived at was a floor with a slightly different atmosphere, even though the material was the same.

On the first floor, the slits that seemed to be automatic doors were set at wider intervals, while on this floor, they were placed in a considerably narrower pattern.

Furthermore, the size of the area surrounded by the slit has also become considerably smaller.

“I wonder why? It’s not entirely unlike the previous level, but it feels like it was used for a different purpose…”

Annemarie expressed her impressions of the difference.

“Yes. I think so too. This might be a residential space or lodging space.”

What came to Isamu’s mind first was a studio apartment or a business hotel.

In an organized manner with doors lined up at regular intervals, it looked like that to Isamu.

“In the capital of the world I was in, there were many collective housing and huge lodgings like this. It was probably the result of seeking efficiency because people were concentrated in limited land. However, since there is still plenty of land here, I wonder if it was necessary to cram it in like this…”

While listening to Isamu’s story, they resumed their exploration.

The doors on this floor also had security features similar to those on the first floor.

More than half had been broken by those who explored before, but there were still untouched ones, probably because they got tired of trying them all out.

“This one also seems to have basically the same mechanism as the one above. The magic power required for activation is less here, though.”

Opening the door that seemed to be a console box and confirming the readable activation circle as usual, Yuu spoke.

He took out a blank board with the magic power to be charged left blank, which he had brought just in case, and recorded the necessary values on the spot to complete the magic circle.

“It’s truly magnificent… I’ve never seen it before, but you can really create original magic circles.” 

Mizeroi, a fervent supporter of the Orihime Deity, said with deep emotion as she watched his skill.

While it’s well-known among the knights that Isamu can create magic circles, hardly anyone has actually seen him do it.

Activating the security with the newly constructed magic circle, they proceeded until the dial floated up.

“Hmm, as expected, the password here isn’t as simple…” 

Isamu sighed, looking at the dial that was locked after the third incorrect password attempt.

Unlike the first-floor garbage disposal area (temporary), the dial was not straightforwardly dirty.

“Isamu-san, what do you mean by ‘as expected’?” 

Annemarie, puzzled by Isamu’s statement, asked.

“The one above was like a garbage disposal area, right? To be honest, even if the password or passphrase leaks, it’s not a big problem, so the management is lax. However, if this floor is, as my intuition suggests, a private room, it would be troublesome if someone else entered. So, I think the password was managed properly.”

“I see… now that you mention it, that makes sense.”

Having understood Isamu’s explanation, everyone, including Annemarie, nodded repeatedly.

“However, the security magic tools here have incredibly advanced technology… Just think about it—a function to light up the dial and make it pressable, a function to manage passwords, and a function to open and close doors using them… And probably, a function to recognize non-contact keys is also included. It’s incredible. I can’t even estimate how many attributes are combined. But precisely because of that, it feels incredibly out of place…”

Isamu scratched his head while walking.

“What do you mean by ‘out of place’?” 

Eto asked as they walked side by side.

“No, it’s just that in a facility using such complex magic tools, the functions of the magic circles we find there seem too simple in comparison. I mean, they just light up, right?”

“I see, indeed there seems to be a significant difference in technology and functionality…”

“Yes. Well, that doesn’t mean there’s an answer to that, though.”

While scratching his head, Isamu said.

“Hehe, there’s no way to see through everything. We just have to unravel it as we go!”

To that, Annemarie spoke happily.

And so, on this day, they eventually reached the staircase leading to the second underground floor but found no doors to open and no harvest.

The next day arrived, and today, the main focus was on exploring the second underground floor. Like the first underground floor, the second underground floor had a similar structure, resembling a residential area.

Since everything was arranged the same way up to this point, there was no sign of any broken parts.

Along the way, they randomly opened consoles and tried entering passwords, but, as expected, no doors opened.

Finding nothing, they reached the staircase leading to the third underground floor.

Just as they were about to conclude for the day, Eto, with night vision, noticed something on the wall of the lower landing.

“This also looks like a console box with some function…”

Isamu muttered as he looked at what he found.

In the direction they were gazing, a box of about 60 centimeters on each side was attached to the wall. And beside it, there was a lid, as they had seen countless times before.

“For now, let me examine the inside of this lid.”

Opening the lid revealed a structure composed of both readable activation circles and unreadable functional circles, just like before.

Sighing softly at the repetition, they activated it.

However, this time, instead of the dial floating on the lid, the right side of the box attached to the wall emitted a faint blue light.

“From my experience so far, blue is a sign of opening…”

Seeing that, Eto tilted his head and touched the right side of the box that turned blue.

Then, with a small sound, the door of the box slid to the left and opened.

“Wha-what!?!? It really opened!!!”

Eto was genuinely surprised by the fact that it opened.

“Wha… what is this…!!!”

And Isamu, too, widened his eyes in astonishment at what he saw inside the opened door.

“Isamu-san, what happened!!”

Seeing Isamu surprised state, Anne-Marie, who also looked inside the box, was equally stunned.

Afterward, everyone who looked inside the box was left in utter disbelief.

In the center of the box that everyone was staring at dumbfoundedly, there was a giant, attribute-less magic stone, seemingly three times the size of a regular magic stone, buried.

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