“...I am sorry. This old man has made a fool of himself.”
Robak, the old mage, spoke while scratching his head after regaining consciousness.
“It is nothing, sir. Alchemy workshops do not exactly have the best environment.”
“That is not the reason, though….”
“We are working to improve the environment, but it is still lacking. If you visit next time, we will provide a better environment….”
“It is truly fine! The Mage Tower’s environment is not particularly better than this to begin with. When one manufactures artifacts, one often goes through things like this.”
“Ah, I see.”
It might not be as bad as an alchemy workshop, but Eugene did not think an artifact-manufacturing workshop would have particularly good air quality either.
Understanding that, Eugene nodded.
“Then perhaps you have a gold allergy after all….”
“...Are there people in this world with gold allergies? I do not believe I have ever heard of such a thing.”
“Well… I believe contact allergies to gold exist. Then why did you faint upon seeing gold…?”
“Ah, about that… ahem. First, I believe I need to explain again what kind of work this old man does. I am Robak, and I teach magic to disciples at the Kalibore Mage Tower. I also conduct research on artifact design.”
“Ah, I see.”
“The reason I came here is….”
Robak explained the general circumstances.
He was researching artifacts and had one artifact that he was making as the goal of his life. To complete it, he needed gold that was close to one hundred percent pure.
Normally, gold at the highest purity currently available was enough to design most artifacts. The problem was that the artifact Robak was making had a design far more complex than any ordinary artifact.
Because the artifact was so finely and intricately designed, he had constructed its circuits using very thin strands of gold. But due to the purity issue, the speed at which mana flowed through the mana circuit could not remain consistent, causing repeated malfunctions and damage to the artifact.
For that reason, he had sought pure gold with purity close to one hundred percent.
“...But no workshop in the Empire handles gold like that.”
He had commissioned workshops run by other members of the Magnus Family and even families handling precious metals, such as the Katiere Family. But nowhere could meet that purity requirement.
Then, while looking at the flying saucer created by his disciple in his state of despair, he had learned about aluminum.
“When I let mana flow through it, I felt that the metal called aluminum made by this workshop was pure metal. Am I correct?”
“That is correct.”
Because Eugene had gathered and refined aluminum molecules through electrolysis, it could be called a pure metal with purity close to one hundred percent.
“...I see. So I came to commission this workshop, wondering whether it might be able to make pure gold as well. But is that pure gold I saw when I came in?”
“Ah… it is.”
Eugene nodded while pointing to the pure gold on the table.
“Could you tell me roughly what its purity is?”
“It would be difficult to call it a complete one hundred percent, but I believe it is above ninety-nine percent.”
“Huh… above ninety-nine percent…?”
Robak was once again so astonished that it seemed he might stop breathing.
‘Hmm, I thought there would be no use for pure gold, but perhaps that is not the case?’
Eugene thought as he saw Robak’s reaction.
Since the artifacts that currently existed were being made well enough without pure gold, Eugene had thought there would be no place that needed metal with raised purity.
But hearing what this old mage had to say, Eugene thought there might be more mages in the research stage, not yet commercialized to the public, who struggled because of purity issues.
‘Right, I did not consider the concept of integration density.’
This world did not routinely work at nanometer scales as his previous world had, so Eugene had not considered it. But as integration density increased, material purity naturally became important as well.
Thinking of it that way, there might be uses for metals refined to such high purity.
‘Well, it is probably premature for now.’
Even such things needed pioneers.
In that respect, Eugene thought the artifact Robak was making might become a good example for showing people the usefulness of pure gold.
“...Wait. Let me check.”
Robak picked up the pure gold on the experimental table, let mana flow through it, and conducted various tests.
Then.
“To think something that could exist only in a megalomaniac’s delusions is real….”
He muttered that in a trembling voice.
“What do you think, sir?”
“If I had known there was a workshop with refining technology this exceptional, I should have come here before visiting other places. How in the world did you….”
Robak muttered that, then looked at Eugene with a determined expression.
“...Could you sell me this pure gold? This amount will be enough.”
“Pardon? Ah, I was not planning to sell it at the moment….”
“Please, I beg you. If you sell me this pure gold, I will pay any price!”
“Hmm….”
As Eugene pondered, a thought suddenly occurred to him.
‘Come to think of it, he said he teaches magic, did he not?’
And because a Mage Tower was a place that researched magic, it was also a place where one could learn new spells that had not been organized into spellbooks.
That meant he could obtain magic unavailable in the Infinite Library.
A place like that might teach him magic that would help him get ahead of his damned blood relatives.
Possessing weapons that others did not have was the best way to move forward.
“Then, could you perhaps teach me magic?”
“I can. Then what kind of magic would you like to learn?”
“I would like to learn magic that can help an alchemy workshop.”
Eugene explained.
“Actually, I pursue a new kind of alchemy that goes beyond the framework of existing alchemy and actively incorporates magical principles. Therefore, I have tried to learn as many different spells as possible, but regrettably, I have not had many opportunities.”
About half of that was true.
The best way to use his scientific knowledge in this world was to work through the flexibility of magic.
And it was true to some extent that money and Merit Score made access difficult.
Since Robak was someone who designed artifacts, Eugene had thought about learning artifact design from him. But techniques of such great value were usually passed down through an apprenticeship system, so they could not be learned without becoming someone’s disciple.
From Eugene’s position as someone who had to manage a workshop, it was difficult to ask for that.
In that case, Eugene judged that the best method was to learn various new spells researched at the Mage Tower, which were difficult to obtain through the Infinite Library. But because he did not know exactly what spells were being researched, he decided to seek the old mage’s wisdom.
“How can this be!”
After hearing Eugene’s story, Robak let out a sorrowful exclamation.
A talented young man who had created things the world had never seen before, such as aluminum and pure gold, was not being given opportunities.
Robak found it unbearably regrettable.
“Understood. Then could you visit our Mage Tower?”
“The Mage Tower?”
“Yes. A spell has come to mind. It could be called a spell suited to an alchemist, but an appropriate place is needed to teach it.”
“Understood. Then I will go.”
***
Eugene and Robak arrived at the Kalibore Mage Tower.
The Kalibore Mage Tower consisted of six floors. The first floor was the widest, and the building narrowed as it went upward.
Perhaps because the Mage Tower had been built in quite a good location, plenty of sunlight entered and the overall atmosphere was bright. But seeing that most windows had blackout curtains drawn over them, it seemed that the gloomy tendencies unique to researchers could not be solved by favorable location alone.
In terms of size, it was only about as large as one department building at a comprehensive university, so it could not be called large. But the building was kept quite clean, which meant that this Mage Tower had enough financial room to spend on things besides research, such as building maintenance.
‘That means they are likely to remain good customers in the future.’
It seemed necessary to keep maintaining a good relationship for the workshop’s stable operation.
After entering the Mage Tower, Eugene and Robak first went to the laboratory.
“This is the laboratory of our Kalibore Mage Tower. Many pieces of equipment for testing magic are prepared here.”
Just as one could tell from its exterior that the Kalibore Mage Tower had money, its interior facilities were also quite clean.
The dummies and reagents used to test magical performance were well categorized, and training rooms for testing dangerous magic had safety artifacts properly installed.
“The safety facilities are certainly well arranged.”
As Eugene looked around the laboratory, he noticed someone conducting an experiment.
She was a cute-looking girl with bright pink hair that had been grown out carelessly. She looked around Eugene’s age or perhaps slightly younger, but as a mage who researched here, she was using a fairly large part of the laboratory alone.
However, there was something even more noticeable.
‘...A flying aluminum-foil dish?’
In front of the girl, a thin, silver-white aluminum dish rose and sank in the air.
As Eugene looked at it in puzzlement.
“That girl is a disciple who specializes in lightning magic. She is Ivrin Kalibore, someone who will someday become the owner of this Mage Tower.”
Robak, standing beside him, spoke.
“I need to step away for a moment because I have something to prepare. Please excuse me, but I would appreciate it if you waited here for a little while.”
“I do not mind, sir.”
Eugene was left alone in the laboratory with Ivrin.
It might be a slightly awkward situation, but.
‘She will become its owner? This might be a perfect opportunity.’
Mage Towers received many goods from alchemists, so if Eugene became acquainted with the owner of such a place, he might receive steady orders in the future.
‘But it feels wrong to interrupt someone who is focused on an experiment….’
As he thought that.
Ivrin, who had looked around, met Eugene’s eyes.
She looked at him briefly with curious eyes, carefully lowered the aluminum-foil dish, approached Eugene, and spoke.
“Are you new?”
“Pardon?”
“I'm Ivrin Kalibore, a senior mage of this Mage Tower. Nice to meet you. How old are you?”
“Uh… I turned fifteen recently.”
“Really? I was going to tell you to call me Ivrin like an older sister, but I guess the age gap is a little large. Then should I make you call me Senior Mage? Hmm….”
‘...The age gap is a little large?’
That was the most shocking thing Eugene had seen and heard at the Mage Tower that day.
She looks like she could be younger than me.
But.
“My name is Eugene Magnus. It is nice to meet you, Sister Ivrin.”
That seemed to be the correct way to address her in this situation.
“...Now that I hear it, that is a little embarrassing. Ahaha.”
Judging by her reaction, it had indeed been the correct choice.
‘...But how old is she, exactly?’
At that moment, Ivrin suddenly looked as though she had realized something.
“Ah. But if your name is Magnus… are you from a Magnus workshop?”
“Yes. I am Eugene Magnus, the manager of the Magnus 43rd Workshop.”
“Wait, the 43rd Workshop… did you make this aluminum?”
“Yes, that is correct.”
“That's amazing. At your age? I think I only played around all the time when I was your age. I really need to work harder.”
Ivrin spoke with a surprised expression.
“Anyway, thank you so much. Without this, I might never have been able to conduct this experiment. Thanks to you, I was able to start it. If I save humanity, it will be thanks to you!”
Ivrin spoke while taking Eugene’s hand.
“Ah, well. It's not that great of a thing….”
It was a fairly rare experience for Eugene to receive such a heartfelt expression of thanks directly in front of him, so he awkwardly scratched his head.
‘...But save humanity?’
What was that supposed to mean?
“By the way, what did you come to the Mage Tower for? Ah, did you quit working at the workshop and decide to begin as a mage? Or….”
“Ah, it's not like that.”
Eugene briefly explained the circumstances.
“Ah, you are Master’s guest? Then you are not new. That is too bad.”
Ivrin answered as though she found something regrettable.
‘...Wait, I don't think I should let this end like that.’
And Ivrin Kalibore was someone who might become the owner of the Mage Tower.
In that case, for the workshop’s future operation, Eugene needed to turn this situation into a foundation for building a good relationship rather than simply letting it pass.
The best method was, of course.
“By the way, what kind of experiment are you conducting, Sister Ivrin?”
He showed an interest in her research.
“You are interested? Well, it's research you cannot help being interested in. Humanity’s future depends on it. What I am researching is….”
Ivrin briefly explained her research.
In her view, the Lightning Element was the fastest and lightest element, making it the best element for building flying machines.
And because metals had good affinity with the Lightning Element, they were suited for flying machines.
She had begun this research by wondering whether using lightning magic on a light metal could create a flying machine.
“If I succeed in making a flying machine like this, I can save humanity from the evil penguins’ attack.”
“...Pardon?”
“Penguins cannot fly.”
“Uh… that is true?”
“That is exactly the point.”
Ivrin spoke with a confident smile.
Eugene did not understand the context in which this conversation had emerged.
‘...I should not touch that part.’
He decided to let it pass because it felt like probing further would become troublesome.
Instead.
‘A flying machine… the approach is strange, but parts of it fit together oddly well.’
That was what caught his attention more.
This world did not yet have airplanes, but on Earth in his previous life, aluminum alloys such as duralumin had been used to make airplanes that were both light and strong.
In that respect, the approach of “using lightweight metal” itself was correct.
‘But why use electricity?’
She had said it was a light element, but for an object to fly, one ultimately needed to create lift by applying aerodynamics and supply continuous propulsion through that.
Eugene did not understand why she intended to use electricity.
‘No, more than that, was she not levitating that aluminum dish in the air?’
He had thought it might be telekinesis, but he did not understand the claim that she had used electricity.
“Then where are you applying lightning, Sister? Earlier, it seemed that you were levitating that aluminum dish… I mean, flying machine.”
“Ah, that? Lightning Element and metal originally have good affinity, so they attract each other. But lightning itself is a little irregular, which makes it difficult to give it direction. I found a solution to that.”
When Ivrin spread both hands, dense spiraling electric current began to flow between them.
“This is a new spell I made, but I have not decided on a name yet. Anyway, if I make the Lightning Element flow tightly in a spiral like this and control it properly, the metal above it rises. By applying that, I can make it fly through the sky.”
As she spoke, Ivrin demonstrated.
As electric current formed a dense spiral beneath the aluminum dish, the dish began to float.
It rose and sank slowly, and smoke rose from its surface as though heat was being generated.
‘Wow, that is incredible. She created something like that with magic?’
Even without making wires, controlling electric current in the air to maintain such a consistent shape was not easy at all.
It required both a great innate amount of mana and the precision to handle it.
Furthermore, creating a dense spiral in the shape of a solenoid coil and forming a unidirectional magnetic field within it was extremely complicated and difficult.
According to Ampère’s law, the flow of electric current induces magnetic force. If it was wound tightly into a spiral like a solenoid coil, a unidirectional magnetic field formed.
After seeing people who did not properly understand even the concept of voltage, seeing a mage apply such a principle felt remarkably impressive.
On top of that.
‘To move aluminum like that, simply applying a powerful magnetic field is not enough…. It is incredible that she can adjust the magnetic field’s strength and do that too.’
Judging by the heat rising from the dish’s surface, induced current seemed to be flowing inside it.
Aluminum, a paramagnetic material that did not strongly react to magnetic force, needed induced current created inside it by adjusting magnetic-field strength in order to remain floating in the air for so long.
The induced current created within aluminum by the changing magnetic field produced another magnetic field. Since that magnetic field interacted with the magnetic field created through magic, the dish rose and sank like that.
In terms of difficulty, it was closer to an acrobatic feat of riding a unicycle down a winding and complicated mountain road with both hands tied.
It was an act that could be called the pinnacle of inefficiency, but considering her ability, Eugene could understand why she had been chosen as the Mage Tower’s next owner.
Genuinely impressed, Eugene spoke.
“That's truly amazing. I never thought magnetic force could be controlled so precisely.”
“Huh? Magnetic force? You say interesting things. What I use is simply lightning magic.”
Ivrin laughed after hearing Eugene’s words.
As far as Ivrin knew, magnetic force was the force by which magnetite—an ore used to make magnets and compasses—pulled or pushed metal.
“I merely applied the properties of lightning magic. The Lightning Element has special interactions with metal. I made it spiral like this to see if I could use that somehow, and it simply produced a force that particularly pulls or pushes metal. Now that you mention it, there are similarities with magnetic force. It attracts some types of metal and repels others, but….”
As she spoke, Ivrin’s expression slowly hardened.
“...Is it really magnetic force?”
Ivrin muttered in a trembling voice.