Big Brother Philip grabbed the specs with one hand and headed straight for the workbench.
"Oh, we've got a navy blue folding fan if you want one," I offered.
"Nah, I've got my own," Philip replied, shaking his head.
With that, he pulled a black folding fan out of the inside pocket of his jacket.
A Folding-Fan Magic Tool won't work if you just shrink a Cooling Magic Tool down.
You've got to fit the cooling spell, the air-blowing spell, and the Magic Circuit into a really tight space.
And it needs way more fine-tuning than before.
I bet somewhere down the line, Philip's gonna call me over to help tweak it again.
Right when Philip started drawing the Magic Circuit on the fan's frame, I got back to work on what I'd been holding off on.
I carefully added more to the spell.
When I ran Mana through it, this time there was no interference - just a steady, stable flow.
Now all that's left is the control part that lets Mana through at the set time.
The dark-attribute spell holds back the Mana flow, only letting it through when it's needed.
Nice, that feels right! This should work no problem.
Oh, right - this one uses a Magic core too, huh...
Even if a small one's enough, it still costs more materials. For this, it'd probably be best to sell the Control Panel separately, depending on whether it has the timed start-stop function or not.
I'll probably need to talk that over with Uncle Alex too.
Next up, I need to build the Magic clock circuit and the spell that receives the time setting into the main Cooling Magic Tool body, and then-
"Finn, can you fine-tune the Magic Tool circuit?" Philip called out.
"...Got it."
The fan frame he handed me had a beautifully drawn Magic Circuit on it.
"This is so clean it doesn't even need fine-tuning. The Mana flow's got no disruptions, and there's no spots where the Magic Circuits are touching each other."
"Really? I was worried since the Folding-Fan Magic Tool is more delicate than the Cooling Magic Tool."
Well, when it comes down to it, Philip's just really good at this...
"Alright, I'll go ahead and build in the Cooling Function then."
With that, Philip got back to work.
I'll keep going too.
Building it into the main body is just an extension of what I did earlier.
I drew in the Magic clock circuit and the spell that receives the time setting.
But this time, I need to control the Cooling Magic Tool itself. Not just the start and stop timing - the Mana flow has to switch over while staying stable.
Looks like I need a Mana insulation plate here too... No, wait.
For just the switching part, couldn't I have used a Mana insulation plate?
I didn't need to go out of my way to control the Mana flow with Non-attribute Magic.
Use a Mana insulation plate to separate the flow, and only connect the parts you need. That makes the spell simpler too, and it's less work for whoever's building it.
...That said, rebuilding it now would be a pain. I don't have the energy to go that far. That's a note for the next upgrade.
-When I built in the start-stop spell, I needed to make a few fixes, but I got it done somehow.
The main body and the Control Panel are receiving just fine too.
Let me try it once, so I'll set it to start in one minute.
....
Alright, it started right after one minute. Next, stop after one minute—that worked fine too.
Now, it'd probably be good to set it to start a few hours later before bed, and then check when I wake up if it's running right.
Reproducing the timer this time was a bit of a struggle. But along the way, I got one idea.
It was when Philip built the Cooling Magic Tool and turned it on for the first time.
The cooling was so strong he yelled "Cold!!"
If I use this for the existing refrigerators... couldn't I make a freezer too?
Right now, refrigerators do exist in this world. But I've never seen a freezer. They just use Magic Stones to get close to freezing, not Magic Tools.
If I make a freezer and have the Head Chef make ice cream...
This summer's gonna be perfect!
Well, that cold was probably only possible because of how much Mana Philip has. If I want to reproduce it... I'd need a medium-sized Magic core, huh.
...That's gonna cost a lot in materials.
"Alright, it's done. Let's try it," Philip announced.
While I was thinking about all that, Philip waved the finished Folding-Fan Magic Tool.
"Cold!!" Philip yelled out.
...Yep, Philip was still Philip...
"Finn, can you adjust it?" Philip asked with a sheepish grin.
"...Yeah. Overall it's drawn cleanly, but here and there the spell lines are getting thicker."
I checked the Mana flow.
"Looks like the Mana flow got boosted in this part. ...The tip of the spell-drawing pen is getting a little crushed. The one I was using was due for a change too, but it looks like this one was too."
"You can't tell just by looking at the tip."
"Yeah, you probably can't really tell the difference unless you try drawing with it."
"I use spell-drawing pens all the time, but I never noticed there was this much difference."
"Thinness matters a lot in Magic Tool making. With Magic Circuits and spells, the finer you can draw them, the better. But Philip, you're a mage, so maybe the thickness you need is different. I think you need a certain thickness to match your Mana amount."
"True. Now that I think about it, nothing I normally use is this thin."
"This thinness is a recent release, so maybe you just never had a chance to see it."
Once the fixes were done, the Folding-Fan Magic Tool ran smoothly.
"Okay, it's done."
"Thanks. It's just the right amount of cool now."
"I'm gonna go make the Cooling Magic Tool for the Captain's office that Philip asked me for earlier. What about you, Philip? You've got work tomorrow, right?"
"No, I'm off for about three days. The Vice Captain told me to take a week off, though," Philip answered.
"Oh, really."
"So I think I'll make another Cooling Magic Tool to use in the dorms too. The one with the time-setting function that you were making earlier, Finn."
Trivia:
- Philip choosing a black fan instead of the offered navy blue one shows he has personal preferences and isn't just using whatever's available.
- Finn realizes mid-project that a Mana insulation plate would have been simpler than Non-attribute Magic for the switching mechanism, hinting at his growth as a craftsman who learns from each build.
- The idea of making a freezer and having the Head Chef make ice cream connects back to Finn's modern-world knowledge and his habit of using Earth concepts to improve this fantasy world.
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.
• Alex - Owner of Lilien Trading Company. Called Uncle Alex by Finn. Experienced merchant with an eye for sellable goods and a close, familiar relationship with Finn's family. Practical about product development and eager to commercialize new magical tools.
• 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.