I peered over his shoulder in surprise. "You already got that far?"
I looked at the workbench, and Big Brother Philip had already shaped the thin iron plate that would be the main body of the Cooling Magic Tool.
"Yeah. But I'm a little worried about the warping. Adjusting the amount of Mana you wrap around a thin iron plate is still tough."
"That's because you have a lot of Mana, Big Brother Philip."
One of the reasons Big Brother Philip went down the path of magic instead of Magic Tool making was his huge amount of Mana.
When making Magic Tools, you have to fine-tune the amount of Mana you put in. If there's even a little too much Mana, the Magic Circuit can't handle it, and if there's too little, it can't show its true performance.
The more Mana someone has, the harder that delicate adjustment becomes.
So for someone like my brother, who has a massive amount of Mana, magic was the easier way to make use of his talent.
When you think about it that way, Grandpa is special.
After all, even though he has as much Mana as Big Brother Philip, he's successful as a Magic Tool maker, and because he chose Magic Tools over magic—despite hearing stories that he was scouted by the Magician Corps when he was young—I'm grateful.
"......I figured," Big Brother Philip said, staring at the thin iron plate and letting out a slightly troubled sigh.
"I don't think I can fix the warping anymore. Finn, can you finish the main body?"
"Yeah, got it." I quickly fixed the warping on the main body and handed it back to Big Brother Philip.
"Thanks. Next is the Magic Circuit, right? Is it thinner than usual?"
"Yeah. I'm drawing it with the thin version of the Magical Circuit Drawing Pen. Otherwise, the circuits would end up touching each other."
Big Brother Philip nodded with a quiet "I see," and carefully started drawing the Magic Circuit.
Now, I guess I should start improving the Control Panel too.
First, I process the thin iron plate I'll add inside the Control Panel to the same size as the existing one.
Next, I draw a Magic Circuit on that thin iron plate. This time, I'm using the Magic clock circuit as a base.
A long time ago, I was forced to make a Magic clock from scratch as practice. Thanks to Grandpa making me fix it over and over, drawing this circuit itself isn't hard.
But... as always, the Magic clock circuit is really fiddly.
As I carefully kept drawing the circuit, I heard a voice from beside me.
"How's this?"
When I looked up, Big Brother Philip had already finished drawing his circuit and showed it to me.
"I think it's good. ...Oh, this part should be fixed. It's fine now, but while it's being used, the circuits might end up touching."
"I see. You're thinking that far ahead."
Big Brother Philip nodded honestly and fixed the part I pointed out.
"Alright, how about now?"
"Yeah, I think you can go ahead with this."
"Then next, I just need to build the cooling spell into the Magic circle, right?"
Building Magic circles and spells is the field Big Brother Philip is best at.
He loves it so much that he even turned it into work, so all I can say is, as expected.
...Though I do wonder about how he's always hanging around the Magician Corps.
Well, I guess I'm not one to talk, since I'm always hanging around the Workshop.
While thinking about that, I finished drawing the Magic Circuit on the thin iron plate.
Next, I need a spell that senses the Mana sent from the Magic clock circuit when the time comes, and activates the Magic circle.
This uses Light Attribute and non-attribute... and I place them alternatingly.
No, if I place them alternatingly, the flow of Mana might become unstable.
...If I think about the flow of Mana, maybe I should place them in parallel instead of alternating-
"That would probably also cause less Mana interference."
"Whoa! You scared me... I forgot you were there, Big Brother Philip."
"That just means you were that focused."
Big Brother Philip chuckled, leaving me feeling a little embarrassed at getting laughed at.
"Are you done building yours into the Magic circle, brother?"
"No, it'll take a bit longer. This is surprisingly fiddly too. When I looked at the specs, I didn't think it'd be this bad. Caring about all these tiny details really is just like you, Finn."
"If I don't make it this detailed, the Mana flow won't stabilize."
A soft knock sounded at the workshop door. "Lord Philip, Lord Finn. I have brought tea and a light evening meal."
"Come in," Philip called out.
Noah entered and placed tea, sandwiches, and bite-sized baked sweets on the side table.
"Thank you for staying so late. You can rest for today."
"At once, sir. I shall take my leave." After bowing, Noah left the Workshop.
Big Brother Philip had apparently reached a good stopping point, because he started drinking his tea.
I'll go a little further, then have tea too.
The Control Panel is more or less done, so next is the main body.
When the time comes, it needs to sense the Mana sent from the Magic clock circuit.
Using that Mana as a signal, I need a spell to activate the Magic circle.
Using Light Attribute and non-attribute... should I place these in parallel too?
...No, wait. This would make the Mana interfere with the cooling spell.
"Maybe you're putting the spells too close together?"
I blinked, looking up from my work. "Huh?"
"What if you put a Mana insulation plate between them and separate the spells?"
"...You're right," I admitted.
To keep material costs down, I'd been using the cheapest thin iron plates I could. But here, even if it costs a bit more, I should use a Mana insulation plate.
...Even though I was born into a Marquis Household, my money sense from my past life really doesn't go away.
Trivia:
- Grandpa having Mana equal to Philip yet succeeding as a Magic Tool maker suggests fine control can be trained, not just innate, which quietly undermines Finn's assumption that high Mana makes delicate work impossible.
- Finn's reflex to cut costs with cheap iron plates reveals his past-life commoner mindset clashing with his noble upbringing, a tension that will likely resurface whenever he handles money.
- Philip's comment that detail obsession is "just like Finn" hints he has watched his younger brother closely for years, quietly admiring the very trait that makes Finn the better craftsman.
Notes:
• Philip - Big Brother to Finn and knight. Loves magic and learned Magic Tool crafting from Grandpa. Serves in the Knight Order and often moves between his room and the Captain's office.
• Finn - Third son of a marquis family and a magical tool maker. Graduated from an academy and became a full magical tool maker after apprenticing. Currently staying at the family estate during summer. Working on a prototype magical tool that can cool the air, using a fan blower's magical circuit as a base. Has a tendency to forget meals when absorbed in work, though this has improved. Finds the dining room and hallways uncomfortably hot. Wears his shirt with two buttons undone at home. Knows Noah well since childhood. Third son of a marquis family living in the royal capital. Aspiring magical tool maker who retains memories of a past life. Currently working on creating a cooling magical device to deal with an unusually hot summer. Gets absorbed in work and loses track of time.
• Noah - Finn's personal attendant. Has been by Finn's side since childhood. Knows Finn well.