Volume 4 Chapter 11 People Grow By Repeating Mistakes
"Seriously. What are you guys doing?"
Alan sighed as Randy pouted and said, "I was just curious." Next to them, Liz looked smaller than ever. This was probably the first time she had messed up like this in her life.
The two were getting scolded by Alan, who was staying overnight at the governor's mansion on their way to Rivernant.
Even if curiosity got the better of them, it was understandable that Alan was upset about their crazy invention that could recreate a dragon's breath.
"Randolph, Elizabeth. And also Lady Eleonora──."
Alan's choice not to call Liz 'Miss' showed his kindness. It was the adult's job to teach them that some things are just not okay.
"I understand how you feel. Curiosity, growth, achievements. It's natural for people to be drawn to those things."
The two nodded silently at Alan's words.
"But remember one thing. Power comes with responsibility."
Both of them looked down slightly at Alan's serious gaze.
"Your power could create weapons that might destroy the world. Even if you don't intend to, there are many people out there who would misuse that power."
Hearing this made Liz look down even more. Alan was right; that device that could turn a fireball into white flames was definitely a gateway to a weapon that could end the world. Depending on how it was used, it could easily turn their country into ashes.
Plus, the amount of energy it could generate was alarming. Even if the runes used magic-like phenomena, the way that energy increased was way too extreme. In some cases, it could not just destroy the world but make it disappear entirely.
That's why ancient people put limits on runes. They wanted to prevent misuse and protect the world. They set up restrictions that normally couldn't be broken, but the great ancient magician managed to do it.
The ancient people probably never thought someone would figure it out. Only someone like Ellie could unravel such complex runes from scratch.
And who could have predicted that someone would literally modify them with magic circuits?
It was an incredible achievement, but the result was a weapon, so it wasn't something to be praised.
"I don't want you two to create weapons."
Alan sighed as he talked about the terrifying nature of weapons. It was different from Randy's personal strength; it was the fear of tools. Fighting with your own strength and will is not the same.
Weapons ignore the creator's will and cause destruction. By the time you regret it, it's too late. That's why Alan says he doesn't want them to make weapons. It's different from fighting yourself. He doesn't want innocent people to suffer and die because of things they didn't know about.
"Think carefully about how to use your power."
Alan sighed again and stood up, telling them to reflect on their actions. Instead of being scolded outright, they felt the weight of their mistakes and hung their heads.
"We messed up."
"No. I pushed you into it, Liz. The responsibility is mine."
The two, feeling down, argued about who was responsible for a while.
"But what about that part..."
"That sounds good. If we do it like that──."
They started discussing solutions to the problem. Even though they had been scolded and felt small, they soon began exchanging lively ideas like usual.
Sure, they messed up this time, but that wouldn't stop their curiosity from rolling forward.
"Are the two of them reflecting on this?"
Volcan peeked in with a smile through the door, and Alan gave a wry smile in response.
"I think it's better than just shrinking back in fear of power."
With a smile, Alan turned his back to them and started walking away.
"Making mistakes is a privilege of youth. It's our job as adults to watch over and guide you."
"Look who's talking, you little troublemaker."
Volcan laughed heartily, and Alan scratched his head with an embarrassed look, saying, "It's just youthful folly."
"Your father-in-law must know something about this. I heard a lot from your mom."
"That's just youthful foolishness."
Volcan laughed again and gestured with his glass, saying, "Come on, join me."
"Alright, let's drink."
Alan and Volcan smiled and chatted happily as they walked down the hallway.
* * *
While Alan and Volcan were quietly enjoying their drinks and talking...
"Oh, that was close."
"Y-you told me to do it!"
...Randy and Ellie were standing there, wiping their cold sweat.
To understand why, we need to go back a bit.
After getting scolded by Alan, Randy, Liz, and Ellie decided they needed to learn more about runes. They were too curious and might miss important things.
So, they thought they should deepen their understanding, absorb knowledge, and develop a better eye for things.
The easiest way to do this was to practice. They figured they should choose safer runes to see how they worked and what their limits were.
After searching for safe runes, they found an interesting one called "Repulsion."
Even though they were looking for something safe, they got excited about this idea. It was a bad thought, but it seemed fun, so they went with it.
Randy thought, "If we carve this into the sofa, something cool might happen!" So, Ellie ended up carving the rune into the sofa.
Normally, runes are carved using a dwarf's special technique, but they can carve them into soft materials too. It's more like drawing or imprinting, and Liz and Ellie were good at it.
By the way, Randy couldn't do it at all. He was completely lost when it came to runes or magic circuits. Both required super advanced magic theories.
On top of that, there were many restrictions on drawing or imprinting. The biggest one was needing the right catalyst. But for a great magician from ancient times, choosing a catalyst was easy.
So, they decided to go ahead and carve the rune into the sofa. At first, Liz was against it. She felt she couldn't face Alan after just getting scolded.
But Randy whispered that if it was just to make the sofa more comfortable, it should be fine.
That made sense. Since they were in a governor's mansion, the sofa was decent, but if the town was going to grow, they needed something more comfortable.
Plus, making the sofa comfy had nothing to do with weapons. If the sofa felt better, maybe the bed would too.
Improving the bed's comfort was probably too tempting for Liz to resist.
In the end, after Randy and Ellie convinced her from both sides, Liz gave in, saying, "It's just to make it more comfortable, okay?"
"Yes, this could bounce like a fun toy if we make it stronger!"
"Sounds fun. Let's try it!"
They thought it was safe since it wasn't a weapon, but what happened next was...
"Randy... are you okay?"
...Randy was stuck headfirst in the ceiling.
The repulsion was too strong, and he jumped up too hard, hitting his head on the ceiling.
He quickly pulled his head out, and with Ellie, they used Craft to fix the ceiling.
And then...
"Oh, that was close."
"Y-you told me to do it!"
...that silly conversation followed.
"...you're really mad."
"Of course."
Ellie said this with a wry smile, probably talking about Liz. After being told to be careful, this was the result.
"Maybe we should stop the rune experiments for today."
"Yeah, that sounds good."
The two nodded at the same time. Instead of understanding more, their curiosity just kept growing. Just when they finally decided to behave and closed the dictionary, after all the chaos they caused with the super bouncy sofa,
"Randolph..."
Alan appeared at the door, grinning from ear to ear. He must have heard the noise when Randy hit the ceiling. Even though he was smiling, there were veins popping on his temples.
"No, that was──"
"Ugh... Liz won't let me go!"
As the two panicked, Alan opened the door and walked over with a big smile.
"Lady Eleonora also... were you listening to my story?"
"Y-yes, I was. So, this time, let's make sure it's safe──."
It was rare to see Ellie so flustered, and just as Randy noticed this, Alan seemed to catch on and turned to Randy.
"I can't believe you broke our promise in just a few hours."
As Alan moved closer, Randy said, "No, this was out of my control." He explained that if the sofa felt good to sit on, the bed would feel good to sleep on too. This was a peaceful way to use it that would make their mom Grace, and Clarice and Cecil happy, so he raised his voice to emphasize how useful this experiment was.
"Sure, I went too far, but checking the limits is an important process, right?"
Even though they had failed before, confirming 'how far we can go' is still important... but it shouldn't involve modifying runes like this.
Anyway, with Randy's smooth talking, Alan calmed down a bit and said,
"So? How does it feel to sit on it──"
"Oh, Old man──."
Randy tried to stop Alan from sitting on the sofa, but it was too late.
As soon as Alan's bottom touched the sofa,
──BAM!
With that sound, Alan shot up towards the ceiling.
Alan's feet dangled as he got stuck right next to the hole Randy had made──he had fixed it, but still. Every time his feet swung, bits of the ceiling fell down.
"W-well, I don't know anything!"
As Ellie hurried to escape, Randy shouted, "Hey, you!" just as Alan's hand landed on her shoulder.
"Randolph..."
"No, I told you to stop!"
"I need to talk. Sit down."
Alan shook his head and lectured Randy until late that night.
After that, they had to fix the super bouncy sofa back to normal, and instead, they had to add runes to make it more comfortable to sit on, but that's a different story.
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