Chapter 153 - 153 Employment Opportunities for Fire Attribute Mages
That day, Steve was at Aurora's castle in Sowell Land, invited by her.
"I heard. You got involved in a marriage proposal for a noble from Prince Carter's faction."
Aurora chuckled.
"It started with looking for someone who could compose music for the music box, and before I knew it, that's how it happened. I didn't deliberately stick my neck out."
"Thanks to that, you were hated by Prince Alex and thanked by Prince Carter."
"It's the first time I've heard that, but if Lord Sowell says so, there's no public movement, so I suppose that's how it is."
Aurora had grasped the information from the Royal Capital and knew that those who instigated Bartholomew were people connected to Count Cutter. It was the first time for Steve to hear this. After hearing that information from Aurora, Steve understood.
"I thought Bartholomew's actions were out of the ordinary, but there was such a situation behind it."
"That's right. But in the end, everyone was able to marry the person they liked, so wasn't that good? The Archibalt Territory also secured the talent it wanted, after all."
"Well, that's true. So, what is the purpose of your visit today?"
"I want to buy the wooden box for making the music box."
Aurora's order was unexpected, and Steve was surprised.
"I can take orders for the music box itself."
"I want to make one that suits my own preferences. Ah, I like the one Leo gave me. So, I liked it so much I wanted more."
Aurora had decided to make a music box herself. She ordered a craftsman to make one, but she was refused the spring parts. The reason was that it couldn't be easily imitated.
So, she decided to buy the wooden box from Steve, combining research with the purchase.
"Understood. Then, right here now."
Saying that, Steve took out the wooden box he had stored in the sub-space. This wasn't prepared specifically for Aurora; he had been making them whenever he found spare time using surplus magic power.
"It's a relief to get things done quickly. I'll instruct Oclair Trading Company to handle the payment."
"Understood."
Neither Steve nor Aurora checked the amount here, trusting each other, and the deal for the wooden box was concluded.
However, the conversation between the two did not end here.
"By the way, about the manufacturing method for matches, could you disclose it to us as well?"
"If it's Lord Sowell, I don't mind, but why again? For now, you can't make head medicines or side medicines without magic."
"We finally managed to prepare a Separation Magic user. We are also searching for a scientific separation method in parallel, but with the current situation, supply isn't catching up to the demand for matches."
Aurora had been looking for a Separation Magic user. She had even conducted magic aptitude tests at her own expense for children outside the nobility. She wanted to find a child with Industrial Magic if possible, but so far, none had been found.
However, a Separation Magic user had been found.
With this, the creation of fertilizer for fields, which was being done at the Royal Research Institute, could now be done at her place. And next, she intended to make matches.
Regarding the separation of substances, they had not yet reached the level of modern Japan. Large-scale plants were still far off.
Steve readily agreed to Aurora's wish because supply wasn't catching up to the demand for matches. It was a waste for only a few to use such a convenient tool, and he wanted to supply it cheaply to commoners if possible. The Royal Research Institute was also rushing research, so they couldn't have Separation Magic users focus solely on mass production; they were selling matches made alongside their research.
"The flint industry will probably complain, though."
Aurora was imagining the complaints from the flint industry that would eventually arise and thinking about how to deal with them.
When new things appear, old ones are driven out. This is the history of industry. Matches will also be driven out if lighters become widespread. Pagers and PHS are the same, and word processors and headphone stereos are things we can no longer see today.
Both Steve and Aurora believed that it was the duty of a lord to present new jobs rather than forcing this inevitability upon commoners. It was the act of a foolish lord to leave the old things behind and impose hardship on others.
"Even if it doesn't disappear completely until much later, sales will certainly drop compared to now. Besides, it might not disappear completely either."
Steve remembered lighters and thought that flints would remain in a changed form.
"Regarding the manufacturing method, Sir Cyril has compiled it in more detail than I have, so I will pass it on to him."
"I'm sorry for doing something that breaks the monopoly."
Aurora said that without any shame whatsoever. However, Steve was glad that she would participate in match production. Petitions to increase production volume would be dispersed from his place.
Unlike clothespins, which could be completed entirely by magic, matches couldn't be handled by his magic alone, so there was a limit to increasing production volume.
Those who found it difficult to speak directly to Steve would take their requests to Emmanuel Trading Company, so Emmanuel was also struggling with the order of deliveries.
The initial requests from the military had been delivered. After that, orders poured in from nobles who heard the rumors. Furthermore, large orders had come in from the church and foreign countries as well. Demand was completely ahead of supply. And unlike glass cups, which are used and then gone, there were quite a few repeat orders because they were consumed upon use.
"I was wondering what to do with the production increase requests coming to us."
"If we forcibly cut in line, we'd just make enemies of others. It would be better if we could produce them ourselves. With the war over, all fire attribute mages who had nothing to do but fight fires would have retired, I suppose."
"We are also overstocked with them in our territory. There are fewer things they can do compared to water attribute mages."
Water attribute mages had plenty of work due to the demand for hot springs. Rather, since the danger of losing their lives on the battlefield was gone, and their added value had risen further, they were grateful to Steve.
In contrast, fire attribute mages were almost unemployed.
Before Steve's appearance, this was a flashy attribute that burned down many enemies alone and was valued and well-treated on the battlefield. Now, mages contracted at the previous standards felt out of place and were pointed at from behind, and newly discovered fire attribute mages had wage levels significantly lower compared to other attributes.
To make matters worse, matches had appeared.
"It's hard to think of other uses. Even for steam engines, there are no mages with enough magic power to boil water all day long, so it's better to burn wood or coal. Besides, if you make hot water with water magic, you don't need to replenish the water, so water attribute is better."
Steve had also received inquiries about how to use fire attribute mages. However, so far, no good ideas had come to mind.
"If you have an interesting idea, I'll pay for it."
"Understood."
With that, the conversation ended, and Steve returned to his residence.
Afterwards, he met with Cyril and discussed telling him the manufacturing method for matches for Aurora. At that time, they also consulted on how to use fire attribute mages.
"What can fire attribute magic be used for now that there is no war?"
"To use it for steam engines, given the magic power limitations, it is inferior to coal. Aside from that, perhaps localized heating for soldering?"
"If we make mages do that, the unit price of the product will go up."
If a high-paid mage acted as the torch for torch soldering, labor costs would be passed on to the price, causing competitiveness to plummet instantly. So far, nothing with enough value to sell even at that cost had been found.
"But there seems to be something that could work as a torch or burner."
Steve decided to think in that direction.
"What kind of thing uses a burner?"
The first thing that came to mind was the gas burner used to sear the surface of sushi. It might be necessary for cooks, but he rejected the idea of turning mages into cooks now. There were also things like cutting, but the demand for cutting was low to begin with.
While he was wondering if there was anything, Cyril spoke up with an idea he had thought of.
"I understand that hot air rises. Could we use that for something?"
Through the knowledge brought by Steve, it was known that heated air rises. When told this, Steve had a flash of inspiration.
"Let's try making a hot air balloon."
"A hot air balloon?"
Cyril did not know the word hot air balloon. It was natural since balloons did not exist.
Steve explained balloons to Cyril.
"Balloons are tools for flying in the sky. There are hot air balloons and gas balloons. Hot air balloons fly by heating air, and gas balloons fly using gas lighter than air. For a fire attribute mage, it would be a hot air balloon."
Steve drew a sketch of a balloon on the paper in front of him. It was the hot air balloon he remembered.
"You send warm air into this inflated part to make it fly."
"So, the mage's job is to heat that air, right?"
"Yes. If you load wood or coal, the weight increases, so a mage is optimal."
"I understand how it flies, but how does it land?"
"Attach a valve at the top and open it to let the warm air escape. Well, if you stop heating, it will naturally come down. The problem is that the direction is left to the wind."
"If we combine it with a wind attribute mage, we should be able to move freely in the sky."
Hearing Cyril's proposal, Steve thought, "I see."
Since this world had magic, the flight direction of balloons could be controlled by magic. It was strange that no one had thought of it until now.
"Then, first, I'll do the test flight. Since I can use Teleportation, I won't die even if it fails."
"Originally, flying might be considered blasphemy against God, so Sir Steve, who is recognized as an Apostle by the church, is the most suitable candidate."
"There's that too."
On Earth, Bartolomeu de Gusmão, who invented the balloon, was accused of heresy, and his research was cut short. The idea that the sky is God's domain is seen in other religions as well. Among indigenous peoples of the American continent, there is a belief that areas higher than corn are the domain of God.
And in the Fries Holy Church, since God is believed to be in the heavens, flying might not be religiously permitted.
That was why Steve was the one.
However, since nylon doesn't exist, there is the issue of what material to use for the balloon envelope. That is exactly what the Royal Research Institute is for, to take care of all such things.
"First, we should start with a small model, and once research results come out, we can gradually make it larger."
"Yes. However, if we can fly, will the way castles are built change? We will have to prepare for attacks from the air, assuming that."
"First, they will likely try to develop weapons to shoot down enemies in the sky. And once that is completed, they will consider designing castles that can be installed."
Weapon development is always a cat-and-mouse game. When a groundbreaking weapon is developed, means to counter it are developed. There is no end to it.
However, Steve was not thinking of the balloon as a weapon, only considering it for sightseeing flights in the sky.
"Maybe military purposes would make it easier to get a budget, but let's start with a small model. If we prove that heating a bag makes it float and gradually make it larger, if a budget is approved, we should be able to hire fire attribute mages at a decent salary. If we publish the principle, nobles who already employ fire attribute mages might conduct their own research as well."
Steve was only thinking of the hot air balloon as a relief for fire attribute mages and had no intention of commercializing it in the Archibalt Territory.
Cyril was excited about the hot air balloon story but was also curious about the gas balloon that came up in the middle.
"How do you make a gas balloon?"
"You put hydrogen or helium in it. With hydrogen, you could make it by reacting sulfuric acid or hydrochloric acid with iron. No, securing the amount might be difficult."
It was that thing done in middle school science class. Hydrogen could be generated that way, but the amount needed for a giant balloon like a dirigible would make one dizzy with such a method. And there was no container to hold the hydrogen.
It was purely a theoretical discussion.
"If we continue talking about gas balloons, the work for fire attribute mages won't increase anyway. Let's leave that for later."
Thus, the concept of the hot air balloon was conveyed to the Royal Research Institute via Cyril.
Controlling magic that heats the air without burning the envelope is required, and as an attribute necessary for research, fire attribute mages were recruited.
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