***
“Why does this place only sell eel?”
“Because the concept of this place is ‘Ancient Forest Species.’”
“And what does that have to do with eel?”
“I heard that the staple food of the Ancient Forest Species was eel.”
I tried to solve one mystery, only to be met with a deeper one.
Before eel, what the heck is the Ancient Forest Species?
“What’s that? You otaku.”
“What’s an otaku?”
“Never mind that, what is the Ancient Forest Species?”
“Me! Me! I know!!”
I had asked the black-haired guy, but out of nowhere, Linia raised her hand and jumped up and down, pretending to know.
“Alright. Tell us.”
Honestly, I didn’t trust her, but seeing her make such a fuss, she must know something.
“Ah, ah, you don’t know?”
Once she was called on, Linia placed the backs of her hands on her hips and continued speaking with a smug expression that made me want to punch her.
By the way, that way of speaking seems to be a direct imitation of how I berated her in the elevator.
It’s strangely infuriating.
“The Ancient Forest Species is an intelligent race from the forest that has already gone extinct. They had long lifespans, loved the forest, and their staple food was eel.”
“My, what a messed-up species.”
“It’s known that their physical characteristics were that they were all handsome men and beautiful women with long ears.”
Wait, as I listened, something came to mind.
[Aren’t they elves?]
‘Was the staple food of elves eel?’
It seemed similar to the elves that would appear in fantasy novels, but the fact that their staple food was eel was a bit of a letdown.
“Why was eel their staple food?”
“I heard they farmed them where they lived.”
Not only was eel their staple food, but they also farmed them.
“If it’s a forest, aren’t there plenty of other things to eat? Like fruits or vegetables.”
“Would a species that loves the forest eat plants?”
That part was strangely convincing.
“Then what about fire? Did they eat the eel raw?”
“How can you eat eel raw? I heard they used fallen branches or leaves from the trees for fire.”
So they compromised on that part.
What a troublesome species.
“They’re some really picky folks. I wouldn’t want to meet them.”
“You couldn’t meet them even if you wanted to. They’re extinct, you know.”
Ah, right. The ancient species that loved the forest and farmed eel was said to be extinct.
“Why did they go extinct?”
“I heard that because of their long lifespans, they were fundamentally lazy, had no desire to reproduce, and the only thing they really did was farm eel, so they just naturally went extinct.”
So the guys who were said to be handsome men and beautiful women acted no different from pandas.
It’s not actually true that pandas have no desire to reproduce, but that’s the image they have.
“What a strange species.”
“Right? What’s even more peculiar is that I heard that ancient species is the one that created the magic that’s still used today.”
“They’re getting more and more incomprehensible.”
“That’s why they’re a staple in novels! The one I’m reading right now…”
I let Linia’s ensuing story about her favorite novel go in one ear and out the other.
I had wondered why Linia, of all people, knew so much, and it turned out it was because it was in a novel.
A species that created magic, but their staple food was eel, they loved the forest, were lazy, had no desire to reproduce, and went extinct.
Taken separately, they were just okay, but putting it all together, they deserved to go extinct.
“Come to think of it, I have also heard something.”
As I was half-listening to Linia’s story about the Ancient Forest Species taking up eel farming after returning to the countryside, this time El began to speak.
“I heard that the way the distant ancestors of today’s mages obtained magic was by exploiting that Ancient Forest Species.”
“Exploiting?”
“They took over the lands where they originally lived, enslaved them, and eventually drove them to extinction, I heard.”
Linia’s story ended on a ridiculous note, but El’s story was quite gruesome.
However, this didn’t add up.
“According to what Linia said, they went extinct because they were lazy.”
“That is merely a hypothesis. What I have just said is also a hypothesis, and the exact reason for the extinction of the Ancient Forest Species has not been revealed to this day.”
I see. It was a hypothesis.
I glared slightly at Linia, who had spoken as if it were a confirmed fact, and Linia hurriedly avoided my gaze.
“If we’re talking about the ancient species, I know something too.”
This time, the black-haired guy who was wiping dishes at the counter chimed in.
“This continues from El’s story about the mages driving the Ancient Forest Species to extinction. It’s said that the spirits of the Ancient Forest Species, unable to find peace, wander around mages.”
Fantasy, academia, and now a ghost story?
Personally, it wasn't my preferred genre.
“The spirit of that ancient species wanders around every night and curses any human it lays its eyes on…”
“A useless story.”
“Hey, the other kids’ stories weren’t that nutritious either…”
“That’s enough.”
I immediately cut off the black-haired guy.
[Are you scared?]
‘Shut up. It’s just that nonsensical stories are physiologically disagreeable to me.’
I hate nonsensical stories about spirits and curses.
[As for curses, I am aware that they definitely exist in the field of magic.]
‘The curse of a spirit and the curse of a human are different!’
I quickly shut down the AI’s nonsense as well.
Ghosts and curses, that kind of talk is truly without any nutritional value, utterly useless.
“Raniel, don’t tell me… you’re scared of things like ghosts, aren’t you?”
I had shut up the AI, and now it was the black-haired guy.
“Come to think of it, Raniel often sleeps with the lights on in his room.”
To reveal such useless information, you useless Linia-like Linia!
“Hoh? Be careful. I heard that the Ancient Forest Species drags any being it lays its eyes on into the forest. And that person will forever…”
“Shut up. Instead of spouting such nonsensical stories, just go study.”
These guys, I give them an inch and they start spouting nothing but nonsense.
“There are a mountain of ghost stories related to the ancient species at the academy.”
“Oh? Sounds fun! Quick, quick! Tell me the story!”
“My break is starting soon, so count me in.”
They’re having a grand old time all by themselves.
“I have something to do, so I’ll be leaving first.”
“Huh? Raniel, where are you going?!”
“We’re about to start the story, where are you trying to go?”
“You guys do it! I’m going to borrow a workshop and do some research!”
I quickly escaped from the scene that was about to turn into a ghost story session.
Anyway, I don’t know why they like such non-nutritious things so much.
[Aww. Why don’t you stay a little longer? It seems like it would be fun.]
‘Shut up. Be quiet. You have no human rights and no right to choose!’
I left the shop and took a rough look around the commercial district.
‘I should buy some Miranium and a Mana Stone and head back.’
[You mean Miranium, the most commonly used metal in this world, and a Mana Stone, which is like a battery on Earth, right?]
‘What’s with the sudden, contrived explanation?’
As the AI said, I planned to purchase Miranium, a metal with moderate strength and good mana conductivity used to make various appliances in this world, and a Mana Stone, which can be charged with natural mana and used like a battery.
[So you’re finally starting the production of the particle cannon replica!]
‘That’s right. The materials are starting to come together, so it’s time to try making it.’
In this world, both metals unique to this world and modern metals commonly used on Earth exist simultaneously, but modern metals are quite hard to come by.
With my current knowledge alone, it felt a bit lacking to make equipment using only this world’s metals, so it took some time to acquire familiar materials.
It wasn’t as convenient as online ordering or delivery, but it was a relief that there was a somewhat similar system.
‘Come to think of it, this is a really peculiar world.’
[The modern-like infrastructure made it easy to adapt, didn’t it?]
‘Well, that was fortunate. And there are also unique energies derived from mana.’
In a way, it’s a superior version of Earth.
Except for the slightly inconvenient living infrastructure.
After purchasing some usable materials, I headed straight for the Magical Engineering workshop.
<><><>
The main building and the workshop didn’t look much different, but since the purpose was practical application rather than lectures, the attire of the people walking around looked very comfortable.
After a simple verification process, I followed the guide’s directions and headed to the vacant workshop room 102.
I opened the door to the room marked 102, and an interior that was not spacious but had everything it needed came into view.
The facilities were quite well-equipped, and it was free for academy students. This alone made it worth coming to the academy.
I immediately started up the furnace.
I turned on the power with mana and set the desired temperature.
The feeling of operating it was just like a microwave.
After confirming that the temperature was rising, I put the Miranium I had purchased into the furnace.
And then I activated the fabrication tool next to it for making the mold.
The furnace for melting metal was just a furnace, but this fabrication tool was quite well-made, to the point where it could be compared to a modern 3D printer.
Of course, it didn’t have that level of freedom, but instead, there were no restrictions on materials, so that part was good.
In a word, it was perfect for making tools.
In this case, I was creating the mold that would become a part of the particle cannon.
After all, I didn’t have the time, leisure, or money to carve each one out.
After the mold was created, I poured the molten Miranium from the furnace into the mold and let it cool.
While the mold was cooling, it was time to start making the detailed parts.
There were no off-the-shelf replacements for these, and they required a lot of delicate work, so handcrafting was the only answer.
I carved out the parts one by one, and in the meantime, combined the cooled parts with the handmade components.
Then I embedded the core component, the Mana Stone.
I proceeded with the design and manufacturing almost simultaneously.
“Hmm, as expected, the output from just a Mana Stone is…”
[Not just the output, but the strength is also weak, so continuous firing seems impossible.]
“I know. I know! But there’s just no good substitute.”
[The Miranium you’re using now is an excellent metal, though?]
“Still, it’s a shame.”
The more I made, the more I felt it was a shame.
A metal with higher strength!
A metal with higher conductivity!
“It would be great if I had some Aether Crystals.”
[How are you going to find something here that barely even came out of the Gates?]
“I did find one before. A small amount, but still.”
The Aether Crystal I had obtained for some unknown reason after slaughtering goblins in my territory before.
It was such a small amount that it was difficult to use for weapon manufacturing, but thanks to it, I was able to increase the stability of the Aether engine.
[After that, well, there’s no way to get more…]
“There isn’t.”
What can’t be helped can’t be helped, but it was still a shame.
“Well, what can I do. I should call it a day.”
[You’ve worked hard, Master.]
After making some progress, I decided to end the work for today.
It didn’t feel like I had done much, but it was already dawn.
I had requested the workshop for a generous amount of time, so I just had to lock up properly and leave.
After locking up, I left the workshop and walked for a bit.
In the middle of it, I spotted the black-haired guy in the distance, heading somewhere.
Did his part-time job just end?
Without much thought, I waved my hand to acknowledge him, but he didn’t even glance this way.
“Hey, black-haired guy!”
While I was at it, I even called out to him, but the black-haired guy just walked on unsteadily with a somewhat gaunt look and a hunched posture.
[Maybe it’s because his name isn’t black-haired guy?]
‘No, but there’s no one else here. If someone calls out, you should at least turn around.’
Feeling puzzled, I was about to just let it go and turn back, but.
[But Master, the black-haired guy’s condition is a bit strange.]
‘Huh? What is?’
[That hunched posture, for one, but his steps are also staggering, and his eyes are currently unfocused.
He seems to have a bit of anemia as well… It’s an abnormal symptom, as if he’s hallucinating!]
Isn’t that a bit dangerous?
The story I had heard from the black-haired guy today flashed through my mind.
-I heard that the Ancient Forest Species drags any being it lays its eyes on into the forest.
“…”
[Master, are you concerned?]
‘Who would be concerned about a bland guy like him.’
[But when I scan your physical data, Master, it measures a high level of interest directed toward the black-haired guy.]
‘I’m just curious about the truth behind the ghost story. No, and in the first place, you’re the one who made me concerned!’
I really want to disassemble this thing.
[Hee hee, you pretend you’re not, but you’re secretly concerned! This is how a sticky, school-life friendship begins!]
I really need to smash the head of the bastard who made this AI learn from light novels.
[Ah, but Master.]
‘Now what. What is it. What!’
[While we were talking, the black-haired guy went into the forest.]
“Ah.”
When I came to my senses, the black-haired guy had completely disappeared from sight, and instead, a dense forest could be seen in the direction he was heading.
“Is the charge level okay?”
[Of course! With the current energy reserves, even if we fall into the middle of that forest, we can escape at any time!]
Right, right. What could possibly happen?
‘I might even be able to meet the ancient species.’
I nodded my head and started walking toward the forest.
“Let’s just go in for a bit.”