Chapter 421, Part 2 A Scary Thought
Alicia took out a wooden box that was on the library shelf and placed it right in front of Sara.
Inside, there are 2 conical-shaped magic tools, about 5 centimeters in diameter and 10 centimeters tall.
"This is a small prototype, but it allows you to set the entrance and exit for magic tools."
Alicia moved the magic tools about a meter apart and turned on each switch.
"Now, a pathway has formed at the tips of each magic tool. Let's do a little experiment."
Alicia took out a feather pen that she had tucked into her chest and pushed the feather part into one of the magic tool's holes.
Then, the tip of the feather part that was inserted peeked out from the opposite hole.
"Ah, the tip of the feather is coming out from the other side!"
"Basically, it operates on the same principle as your movement magic. In other words, it's an application of space magic. Since this is a prototype, it connects paired magic tools, but the space that can be opened is very narrow, allowing only something like a pen to pass through."
"Is there a distance limitation between the paired magic tools?"
"There is no distance limitation, but you need to exchange coordinates when activating it. We are utilizing the power of Magi for that communication."
"Is there a unit for communicating with Magi inside this small magic tool?"
"I've managed to miniaturize it, focusing only on the function for sending and receiving coordinates."
Sara looked closely at the moving magic tool, but all she could see was a complex pattern on the surface of the cone-shaped magic tool, and it didn't even look like it had a magic stone inside.
"The magic stone is on the bottom, and can be replaced. The attributes of the magic stone you set don't matter, but you need to cut a high-purity magic stone to make it smaller."
"So if it's not a standard product, it can't be replaced, right?"
"That's right. And since it consumes magical power at an incredible rate, even if you use a magic stone of high purity, it will be empty in about 5 minutes once the gate is connected. Look, the gate we just opened is going to close soon, right?"
"Wow, that's true. What happens if the gate closes while something is being sent?"
Then, Alicia smiled broadly.
"Well, of course..."
"O-of course, you don't mean!?"
"It would be cut off abruptly..."
"Gyaaah!"
"...but that won't happen. For safety reasons, it has been designed to forcibly throw you back into the original space."
"Oh thank goodness. Don't scare me like that."
"Haha. It's a scary thought, isn't it? But if it was the magic circle that grandpa drew at first, we would have been separated in tears between here and there. I can't use it for movement, it's too frightening."
Apparently, Rihito hadn't considered safety much.
"Grandpa called this a 'mobile portal.'"
"That sounds just like a name Rihito would come up with. But, Alicia... this is amazing."
"I think what's really amazing is that it's Sara who doesn't need any magic tools."
"No, I think it's really impressive that it's made into a magic tool that anyone who can't use magic can still use."
Sara is impressed, but as a developer, Alicia begins to explain the various problems that have yet to be solved.
"As I said before, to be able to use this teleportation portal, you must first activate both magic tools in a pair and have them memorize each other's coordinates. This requires the support of Magi."
"Does that mean that the mobile portal needs to be equipped with a communication unit with Magi?"
"No, that's not necessary. The prototype communicates to rewrite the coordinates every time it starts up, but if you just want to place a portal in a fixed location and use it, you can use a golem connected to Magi at the first startup to support it."
"Is it okay if I just have a communication unit with Magi, not a golem?"
"Of course it's okay. To the Magi, they're all just terminals."
'That means, even if I hand over the mobile portal to the royal family or other noble houses, it can be set up so that communication with Magi is not possible.'
Sara, who assumed a situation where it was placed in a place out of her sight, felt relieved that communication with Magi was unnecessary except during setup.
"How far can we move?"
"As long as it's a place where Magi can communicate, distance doesn't matter, and the amount of magic consumed is the same."
"So, whether it's close or far, the amount of magic used to move is the same?"
"That's correct."
"The amount of magic consumed is determined by the mass that can pass through the gate and the time the gate is open."
"So, to move something large, it requires a lot of magic, right?"
"Exactly. To put it simply, the amount of magic changes based on the size of the gate you open."
"I see. That makes sense."
As Sara nodded, Alicia revealed that there was an even bigger problem.
"But that's precisely the problem. A mobile portal that allows practical-level traffic would consume a large amount of magic with just one use. It certainly can't be casually called a magic tool. Even so, it's much more efficient than the magic circle my grandpa first designed."
"So the original magic circle required even more magic?"
"Yes. It was too complicated to be engraved on a magic tool, and the magic consumption was extraordinary. After all, even my grandpa couldn't activate it himself."
"If Rihito can't do it, then neither can the members of King Avalon's room. In the first place, if no one can activate the magic team, they can't even experiment with it."
"I think Grandpa has great imagination, but he doesn't seem to be very good at making magic circles simpler and more sophisticated, or at increasing efficiency and reducing magical consumption."
"Alicia improved Rihito's complicated magic circle, right?"
"That's right. Analyzing and improving magic circles is my special skill. Ah, it's also a hobby."
She has thought this many times since she started working with the maidens, but they are truly talented.
Alicia, of course, but Amelia and Teresa are also really wonderful.
'I wonder if the royal family realizes that letting such a wonderful talent go to waste would harm the country's interests.'
"Sara, you have a furrow in your brow. It's ruining your cute face. You're thinking about 'If Alicia were attending the academy again...' aren't you?"
"How do you know that!?"
"I've told you countless times, Sara is really easy to read. Shouldn't a lady be better at concealing her expressions?"
"Maybe so, but since we're at home, I want to be myself."
"That's true. It's important to have a place where you can relax."
Alicia pressed her finger against the wrinkle on Sara's forehead and gently rubbed it.
"Now, about the actual amount of magical consumption, even using the large magic stone that my grandpa secured for backup for Magi, the limit is to keep a hole big enough for one adult to pass through open for 5 minutes."
The magic stone for Magi is one of the largest that Sara produces.
It has a purity close to 100% and is said to hold enough power to activate the attack magic Inferno more than 10 times, which can only be used by direct male descendants of King Avalon.
"So, who can activate it?"
"As far as I know, I don't think anyone besides Sara and my grandpa can activate it. Maybe Blaze might be able to in the future."
"Yeah. It's not practical at all."
"Right? That's why I'm thinking of something like this... Can you help me?"
Alicia spread out a large blueprint in front of Sara.
"Is this a magic tool that accumulates magical power?"
"As expected. I knew Sara would figure it out right away. It's not just a portal, it's a versatile design that can be used for other purposes. It's a device that you can pour magical power into little by little on a regular basis, so it's ready for emergencies. You see, I've heard that nobles want to drain their magical power from childhood, so I thought something like this would make them happy."
The magic tool in the blueprint has a large box filled with a large number of refillable magic stones neatly arranged, with a gauge showing the accumulated magical power.
The part for infusing magic splits off so that multiple people can pour in magic at the same time, allowing several individuals to replenish their magic while extracting it from this magic tool.
"...Alicia, for those of us who have the technology to refill magic stones, I can understand that this magic tool is a simple clever idea. But I'm too scared to make this public."
"Why?"
"Because it's an incredible technological innovation, maybe?"
"Are you afraid of technological innovation?"
"How should I put it... For example, the Inferno magic in the King Avalon room can only be accessed by direct male descendants of the royal family, and it activates by channeling a specific attribute of magic into a magic circle. It seems there are individual differences, but by minimizing the metabolic functions necessary for sustaining life and chanting a spell over several days while pouring magic into the magic circle, you can finally activate this attack magic just once. Oh, and this is classified state secret, so don't mention it outside."
"Don't casually reveal kingdom secrets!"
Alicia can't hide her agitation at Sara's statement.
Because she immediately understood what Sara was trying to say.
"But, with this tool of Alicia's..."
"You mean sucking magic from a lot of magic-wielders and using Inferno freely?"
"Yes. But it seems that you'll need to channel a specific attribute of magic, so some modifications will be necessary, but generally speaking, I think that's how it will play out. So, Alicia, what do you want to do? You might just become the first palace alchemist who has never attended the academy."
"Absolutely not. I have no desire to use alchemy as a weapon."
"I know how you feel"
But Sara and Alicia have noticed.
Magi and golems, magic stones that can replenish magical power, mobile portals, and magic storage devices... all of these technologies can be used for military purposes.
Even if the two of them developed a technology to enrich people's lives, the users do not understand the developers' intentions.
The two, who were caught up in a frightening thought, met each other's gazes in silence for a while, but it was Alicia who spoke first.
"Putting aside the future, let's focus on the task at hand for now. How about embedding a magic power storage device into the mobile portal that can activate a gate for people to pass through for just 10 minutes? It would be a way to gradually accumulate magic power in case of emergencies."
"I think that's a good idea. After all, we don't intend to sell it to the public anyway. Worst case, it will be stored in the royal palace..."
"In that case, I think it would be fine to take a golem disguised as a person. Sara should be able to replenish the initial magic power, right?"
"Of course, I can do that. By the way, about the magic stones we'll use, how about lining up a bunch of small magic stones instead of using a big one? If it's too large, we might get asked where it was mined when it's decomposed."
"It would turn into quite a large magic tool though."
"The bigger, the better! It gives off a more impressive vibe as a magic tool."
The two began to coolly seek realistic solutions.
Both of them were positive thinkers, so even when faced with difficulties, they searched for ways to avoid the worst case scenario.
"For now, I plan to make the mobile portal as soon as possible, but it seems we'll need to prepare magic stones that are uniform in size."
"How many do you think we'll need, Sara?"
"If we have around 100 of the larger magic stones that are in the golem units, I think that should suffice for 10 minutes. If it's just one pair, we'll need 200. If we want to make more, then we'll need that many."
"Wow. It's going to cost about the same as a national budget to produce just one pair."
"And I can't believe this is a magic tool made by a girl who calls herself an alchemist."
"That's true. Yes, I'll have to discuss the exact location with my grandpa, but I think I'll have to place them in Grandchester Castle and Grandchester Mansion in the Royal Capital."
"Is there a possibility that His Excellency Marquis Grandchester uses this on a regular basis?"
"If there are handy tools, it's only natural to want to use them. I feel like I might be assigned the role of replenishing magical energy."
"For now, I'll try to make the activation process as simple as possible."
"Thank you. I'll make sure to create a magic stone before I forget."
As Sara instructed the golem to bring an empty wooden box, she started tossing the magic stones she had made into the box.
Since she was used to making the magic stones used in the golem units, high-purity magic stones were quickly being created, falling out one after another.
"It's an impressive sight every time I see it."
"I think so too."
"When I'm in the Maiden's Tower, I tend to forget, but I don't want to take it for granted that magic stones can be used like this."
"Why's that?"
"Because I might lose an important perspective as an alchemist. Being resourceful with limited materials is also important."
"I think I understand what you want to say."
While Sara was making magic stones, Alicia was diligently drawing a magic circle.
It was so complex that even Sara couldn't understand it at all, but the refined design of the magic circle was strikingly beautiful as art.
"Even so, Alicia doesn't run away."
"What do you mean?"
"If it were Rihito, he would probably hold onto secrets by himself and sleep for decades again."
"That may be true for my grandpa. But unlike my grandpa, I can't live long. Escaping reality won't solve anything."
"I see"
For the first time, Sara realized the difference in lifespan between herself and the maidens, and felt a sharp pain deep in her chest.
'I see, Rihito has felt this pain many, many times...'
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