Chapter 191 - Chapter 190: The Church Sets in Motion
The 5th day of the 1st week of the 1st month of Water.
After school, Mika was at Adelriese's magic tool shop.
"Here, and here."
Adelriese's beautiful fingers moved smoothly over the circuit diagram.
Mika stared fixedly at the indicated spots, calculating simply in his head.
"......? Is it okay? It's within the tolerance range, right?"
"With this assembly, there's a chance it will jump [・] up [・] suddenly [・]. If you're unlucky, it'll be one shot. Even if you're lucky, it'll eventually get taken out from here."
At Adelriese's criticism, Mika slumped his head in defeat.
The circuit diagram he had brought in with high spirits this time, after being corrected several times already, had been shot down.
Right now, Mika was creating a circuit diagram for a magic tool using a Spaelement.
The practice version with low output was finished; now it was finally preparation for the real thing.
"Is this not good either...?"
"It's not bad. You're very close. However, with an output of this scale, large noise can occur suddenly. Or, you need to make it so it can withstand that noise, or suppress the generation of noise. With either countermeasure, it will work for the time being."
"Even if I make it withstand the generation of noise, in the end, other negative effects will appear, right? Then, the direction of suppressing the generation of noise is the only choice..."
"The noise itself won't disappear. That's true even with the smallest output. It's just about how much noise you can tolerate. If the output is small, it's just noise you can ignore."
At Adelriese's explanation, Mika shook his head weakly.
"To suppress the generation of noise, I'd have to incorporate a mechanism for that... Then, I'd have to secure space for that, so I'd have to redesign the whole thing again..."
A sigh leaked out. "Haaah..."
Seeing Mika like that, Adelriese chuckled.
"That's why you should just place the order honestly. Including material costs, I'll make it for two thousand."
"Ugh..."
A magic tool using a Spaelement worth over twelve million Rats.
Including other material costs, it would easily exceed fifteen million Rats.
If it were wholesale price, could it be suppressed a bit more?
Working backwards like that, Adelriese's share would be around five million Rats.
It's high, if you call it high, but it's also a magic tool that requires that much knowledge and skill.
Rather, it's been less than a year since he started learning alchemy.
It should be said that he is far beyond the level a beginner who has been learning circuit design for about half a year should touch.
"This is a scale of magic tool that even the Court Magic Institute takes several people to make? No matter how much advice you get, trying to make it personally is something only a real eccentric would do."
Adelriese said with a smile.
Mika looked at such Adelriese with a sharp gaze.
(...That eccentric gathering shop is this place, isn't it.)
That's right.
The ones who visit this shop are all such eccentrics.
In short, Mika has joined the ranks of those eccentrics.
The regulars of this shop are people who happily tackle magic tools that even the Court Magic Institute takes several people to challenge, on their own.
To be honest, they all seem to be Paraleira-level eccentrics (tensai).
And the existence that such eccentrics (tensai) rely on is this Adelriese.
Not only her deep knowledge and solid skills, but she can even procure treasure-grade rare (rare) items that don't normally circulate.
She offers free consultation on circuits and [Enchantment] to the shop's customers, so it seems she is very famous behind the scenes.
By the way, the reason it's "behind the scenes" is...
Because the rare (rare) items they handle even include prohibited things.
Items that are so rare they are banned for general handling can even be procured, so they simply cannot do business openly.
Such a shop.
The expensive Spaelement that Mika finally plans to install is actually a prohibited item as well.
I've already ordered it on the premise that I will install it.
They said it would take a little time to procure it.
I want to know how they procure it, but I also don't want to know...
Adelriese's specialty is such materials, circuits, and the field of [Enchantment].
She says she isn't very interested in alchemy itself.
So, regarding alchemy, it seems she only has knowledge up to that of an ordinary researcher.
Still, having knowledge on par with a researcher is amazing.
She can't give advice on alchemy, but by listening to "what you are trying to do," she gives advice on how to assemble the circuits and how to apply [Enchantment] for that purpose.
And she also accepts commissions for making magic tools.
Of course, with production costs added to the material costs, but the finished product seems to be of quite high quality.
However, if it's too simple, she sometimes refuses.
"Make it yourself," she says.
She's completely gone off into her hobby.
Mika lifted his gaze from the circuit diagram and looked at Adelriese.
Adelriese was smiling softly.
"...I think I'll probably have to ask you for the [Extraction] of the Spaelement. ...Is it okay?"
"You don't have to ask me that many times. Well, I understand why you'd be worried."
Regarding the circuits for making magic tools, they are like electronic boards.
So, what is [Enchantment]?
One word for [Enchantment], but the technology varies.
The basics are mixing with 'materials with power'.
Weapons, armor, and accessories equipped by adventurers have objects imbued with special powers.
Strength increases, vitality increases, speed increases, and so on.
Such accessories are basically achieved by "mixing materials imbued with such powers with the base material."
It's not just melting and mixing, but the basics are mixing materials with power into hard, durable ores to [Enchant] them with that power.
At that time, if you also mix rare metals into the base material, the effect will increase further.
Of course, there are compatibilities between these things to be mixed, so only a small number of craftsmen and blacksmiths with rich knowledge and experience exist.
However, this method creates a contradiction.
Equipment made of pure rare metal.
If you mix in materials with power, it ceases to be 'pure' at that point.
The [Enchantment] technology used in this case is called [Extraction].
[Extraction], as the name suggests, extracts the power residing within.
It is also called [Extraction], but it seems the term [Extraction] is usually used.
A technology that transfers only the residing power without mixing materials.
Simply put, if it's something like equipment that exerts its effect when worn, you just transfer the power to that equipment.
But when incorporating it into a circuit like the one Mika is making, you must use a method of extraction where you transfer the power to this part of the circuit.
This is a very delicate task; just trying it with a trial-sized small Spaelement was difficult.
He didn't have the courage to try a Spaelement worth over ten million Rats in a single shot.
So, he decided to honestly rely on someone with steady skills.
If he failed doing it himself, it wouldn't just be dead fish eyes.
He would be depressed enough to want to die.
There is another merit to doing [Extraction].
It is that you don't have to wander around holding prohibited items.
Once the power is transferred, even if the magic tool is seen, no one will know what material was used.
If you ask Adelriese to dispose of the [Husk], you can walk around openly with a magic tool imbued with prohibited power.
...Everyone has no intention of following the law.
By the way, calling the material after the power is removed a [Husk] is a legitimate alchemy term.
That's why everyone seems to use the term [Extraction] rather than [Extraction].
In terms of [Enchantment] difficulty, using materials as-is, mixing, and then [Extraction] become harder in that order.
The reason many magic tools mix materials or place materials directly on circuits is due to this difficulty.
Mixing and using materials as-is don't have much difference in difficulty.
In fact, most commercially available magic tools are this type.
The magic tools used at the academy also used the Spaelement as-is.
But [Extraction] is very troublesome.
If you fail, the residing power dissipates.
In Mika's case, over ten million Rats would vanish into thin air.
He considered using the material as-is instead of [Extraction], but holding prohibited items is still too risky.
Moreover, it seems many of such prohibited items cannot be put inside a Magic Bag due to its restrictions.
Not that everything won't fit, but it seems quite a few countermeasures have been taken.
That makes sense.
Magic Bags are originally military technology.
Regardless of military use, there is no way they would permit unrestricted use for civilian conversion.
It would be strange if prohibited items by the country could be put in freely.
It seems they can't prevent it completely, but roughly speaking, restrictions are placed.
Even with restrictions, he had never been troubled until now.
It was a fact he only learned when he tried to do something bad.
Really, they put restrictions on with such a delicate balance.
The topic of Magic Bags came up in academy classes, but they didn't mention restrictions at all.
This was probably because they said, "I can't answer anything about specifications."
If he hadn't thought of doing something bad, he wouldn't have even known, and it wouldn't have become a problem.
The magic tool Mika is designing, once the design is complete, will first have the circuit [Engraved] onto the base material.
This is also one of the [Enchantment] technologies.
Right now, he is drawing it on ordinary paper, but for the real thing, there is a different one.
This is a special, slightly translucent paper that is normally kept in magic tool shops.
If you draw the circuit with special ink on this, you can [Engrave] it onto the material that becomes the base of the magic tool.
If there are paths you want to reinforce partially, you can reinforce them with some material at this stage.
...However, the magic tool Mika makes has such high output that all paths require reinforcement.
After that, it works by attaching materials directly or [Enchanting] via [Extraction].
In tests, the real trial Spaelement is connected via a bypass.
If there are no problems with the flow of mana, the bypass is removed, and the real Spaelement is [Enchanted] via [Extraction].
That is the procedure.
Since the amount of mana handled is so huge, just the base material and other materials besides the Spaelement cost millions of Rats.
I'm amazed at my own reckless spending of money.
But I have no intention of stopping.
After that, Mika received some advice from Adelriese.
Mika left the magic tool shop while scales fell from his eyes.
■■■■■■
On the way back from the magic tool shop, he passed under the Second Wall and was running through the Second District as usual when he encountered a group blocking the road.
A group wearing religious habits.
Mika judged it dangerous to run while running, so he slowed down and stopped ahead.
He briefly considered cutting through the crowd like a human wall or taking a detour.
But that split second could be said to have determined life and death.
A group in religious habits appeared from behind, and Mika was surrounded.
(...)
Roughly thirty people, perhaps?
Men, women, and children were there.
(What is it? Forced donation?)
He remembered students lining up by the roadside in front of the station, calling for donations as a group.
Mika sometimes cooperated with such donations.
Even if that money disappeared into the salary of some organization's staff, the students calling for donations were not at fault.
For the boys and girls hunted out by forced labor named volunteer work...
Thinking that, Mika simply handed over a single coin and said with a smile, "Good luck."
While muttering in his mind, "Beef bowl, with egg..."
When Mika looked at the group in religious habits with a suspicious expression, a man stepped forward.
That man was wearing priest robes similar to Kifrod's.
The priest had a flawless smile, so good it was almost creepy.
(...If a priest has come out, it's related to the Church...? Did Nerisfeene get exposed?)
For now, Mika's connections with the Church were Kifrod and Radi in Rish Village, or Nerisfeene.
Should he shake them off and escape with Kistil and Nerisfeene?
(But there's a possibility that will be a snake in the grass.)
If they simply had business with Mika, they would chase him if he ran.
In that process, Nerisfeene's existence could be revealed.
(There's not enough information. ...Let's see how it goes.)
Mika made a bright smile and looked up at the priest.
"Hello, Priest-sama."
When Mika spoke like that, the priest's expression twitched for a moment as if surprised.
But he quickly hid it with a smile.
"Hello, Mika-kun."
The priest responded to Mika like that.
(...He knows my name. How much has he investigated?)
Where is it related?
Academy?
Adventurer?
Noble connection?
Nerisfeene?
Did it leak from a priest in Sarbengeal?
Or is it a completely different matter?
Mika expanded his mana range to check the situation within a ten-meter radius.
Then, he noticed that behind the group in religious habits, about ten people wearing armor and carrying swords were standing a little apart.
(Temple Knights?)
He couldn't visually confirm because he couldn't move his gaze from the priest, but knights who seemed to be the priest (this guy)'s companions were likely surrounding them.
(I don't know the purpose. But...)
Mika took a quiet breath.
(If I use "Thousand Edge", you'd all be dead, you know? Do you understand?)
He could suppress this place however much he wanted.
However, the trouble was how far he could go with the huge organization of the Church against him.
It wouldn't end with just himself.
Kistil, Nerisfeene, and the important people in Rish Village.
Mika pictured each person's face and calmed his heart.
(...For now, it's a wait-and-see.)
He couldn't be careless.
Forceful action could be launched at any time.
To grasp the situation, Mika decided to obediently follow the priest's words.
He was told to come to the Great Cathedral in District 5, so while surrounded by the group in religious habits, Mika headed for the Great Cathedral with them.
■■■■■■
"Did... did you see...?"
"Yes..."
Five girls wearing magic academy robes looked at each other's faces with anxious expressions.
"What do we do?"
"What do you mean, what do we do..."
Somehow, they had encountered an incredible situation.
They had just come to buy stationery and have a little tea with friends from the same dorm...
Their heads were confused and they couldn't organize their thoughts.
"Isn't it bad, after all?"
"But, it's the Church..."
Normally, the Church is a party to rely on if something happens, not a problematic existence.
"But, that. It's not normal."
"There were Church Knights too."
A vague anxiety was in their chests.
It was something everyone felt.
They couldn't judge whether it was okay or not okay.
"Chii-chan, Koo-chan, and Kaa-chan too. Follow Mika-sama. Check where they went."
One girl gave instructions with a serious expression.
"Check...?"
"Is it okay to leave them like this!? Maybe it's Mika-sama's crisis!?"
"That is..."
The girl with the serious expression looked straight at the child next to her.
"Saa-chan, you and me to the Academy! Report to the Honorary Advisor! The three of you go quickly and don't lose sight of them! If you find out where they went, one of you come back and report!"
The vague anxiety changed into a clear sense of crisis.
The five nodded to each other, manifested [Physical Enhancement], and immediately moved out.
"...Mika-kun, with a group in religious habits...?"
At Charl's whisper, two girls nodded.
When the two arrived at the dorm, luckily Charl was in the middle of writing in a room filled with a foul stench.
If you go read someone's work, you suddenly can't tell which room you're in anymore.
In that sense, it could be said to be quite lucky.
"I'm having Chii-chan and the others check where they went. I think they headed toward the Great Cathedral, but I told them to have one of them come back and report here once they've seen them off."
"So..."
Charl put down the pen in his hand and closed the ink bottle cap.
While doing so, he thought in his head.
"...A blind spot... ...I missed such a delicious situation..."
It was an ultimate essence that could taste a rich sense of sinfulness.
Charl emitted a strong fujoshi stench.
"...Excuse me, Honorary Advisor?"
"...Just a joke..."
No, he was half-serious, though.
Deciding to write a book with this topic next time, Charl stood up.
"...If it's still this time..."
Muttering like that, Charl jumped out of the room.
The two followed, surprised but following Charl who suddenly jumped out of the room without explanation.
"H-Honorary Advisor!? Where to?"
"...Magic, practice field..."
Muttering like that, Charl suddenly stopped.
Because Charl suddenly stopped, the girls were about to collide.
They hurriedly twisted their bodies and somehow avoided the collision.
But Charl, ignoring such things, crept up to one of the girls.
"...Don't call me that title outside...! ...That much..."
"T-t-t-thank you! I just..."
Even at a time like this, Charl was still Charl.
"Is that true, Charl-kun?"
In the magic practice field, Stellan, who stayed after school for self-practice, heard Charl's story and looked surprised.
"...I'm checking the destination right now... ...But, it's probably correct..."
"Mika-kun, with a group in religious habits..."
The two girls who followed Charl were frozen, not thinking that Charl would go to a noble family's academy student.
Charl had never really talked with Stellan either.
But Stellan, knowing that Charl was Mika's friend, would normally greet Charl in the morning.
There was just no particular opportunity to talk; he wasn't avoiding him or disliked him.
...No, he did think a little, "This kid is a bit scary."
And Stellan's intuition was correct.
He would never dream that in the world of creation, he would be treated with such a (sugoi) (koto) that he couldn't even imagine himself.
"If there were Temple Knights too, it must be the Church... However, for the Church to take such action is not normal."
"...Please tell Cleiria... ...As soon as possible..."
At Charl's words, Stellan nodded firmly.
"Understood. I'll leave one of the Segerbaum family members at the Academy. Please tell me immediately once the destination is known. Leave the rest to me."
Saying that, Stellan immediately took his belongings and left the magic practice field, heading for the Academy gate.
Because Stellan moved quickly, Charl let out a sigh of relief.
Charl couldn't tell Cleiria even if he wanted to, because he had no means to do so.
He had no way to enter District 1, beyond the First Wall.
So, he thought of having Stellan, who always stayed at the magic practice field for self-practice, go to the Leventein family mansion.
Stellan's residence in the capital, as a member of a Viscount family, was naturally in District 1.
He didn't know if he knew the location of the Leventein family mansion, but a noble could probably investigate it.
Charl lowered his head, feeling a slight conflict in his chest.
Am I taking it too dramatically?
Maybe it wasn't a big deal after all.
That could happen.
But...
"...Everyone is following..."
Charl muttered quietly.
"...So, please do your best... ...Mika-kun..."
Charl raised his face, chased after Stellan, and ran quickly toward the Academy gate.