‘No, does this really make sense?’
Workshop Master Edgar was greatly startled by the feel of the metal in his hand.
Having worked in an alchemy workshop for so long and performed countless enchantments, Edgar had handled innumerable metals.
He had been in this line of work long enough to understand a metal’s texture, weight, and even elemental affinity simply by touching it.
Yet the texture of this metal in his hand—something that looked like silver and iron, yet was neither—was unlike anything he had ever touched before.
The reason he felt that way was simple.
‘Can a metal this size really be so light?’
It was because of its weight.
The sensation in his hand did not match the weight he was holding.
It was cold like an ordinary metal, yet none of the load a metal should normally place on one’s arm weighed upon him.
If he exaggerated a little, it almost felt as though he were holding air in his hand.
That was how overwhelmingly light it was compared to every metal he knew.
“W-What is this, Young Master?”
Workshop Master Edgar asked Eugene in shock.
Something that completely shattered his common sense had suddenly appeared before him.
He could not help but be astonished.
“Ah, that. It is something I made this time.”
“You made it?”
“Yes, you remember the commission from the Kalibore Mage Tower, do you not?”
“Ah, that….”
The commission had asked for a metal as light as a sheet of paper and with good affinity for the Lightning Element.
It was a commission from the Kalibore Mage Tower that had somehow been passed all the way down to the failing 43rd Workshop.
‘Certainly, if it is this….’
For now, it passed the weight requirement.
A metal this light would genuinely feel as light as a sheet of paper once it was rolled thin.
Mages were generally finicky bastards, but if they held such a novel metal in their hands, they would be unlikely to lodge a complaint.
How could they complain when no lighter metal had ever existed in the world?
No, more than that.
‘It might become a huge sensation once it gets out into the world….’
That possibility came to Edgar’s mind.
“Is the weight sufficient, Workshop Master? Since they wanted a prototype, I thought this should be enough….”
“I believe it is sufficient. But how on earth did you make this….”
“I'm tired, so I'm going to sleep. Ah, and please measure its affinity with the Lightning Element, conduct the tests, and handle sending it to the Kalibore Mage Tower. It's my first time doing this, so I don't know much about that sort of thing.”
“Ah, understood, Young Master!”
Perhaps because he had stayed up all night, Eugene looked haggard as he entered the lodgings attached to the workshop.
Since it was common for alchemy workshops to work late into the night, many of them had lodgings attached.
‘...I need to test it first.’
The Mage Tower’s conditions only required lightness and good affinity with the Lightning Element, but they also needed to test whether it was easy to process and whether it corroded quickly.
Edgar used the testing equipment in the workshop.
‘It has good affinity with the Lightning Element, is easy to process, and does not corrode easily?’
He discovered that it was not merely light. Its physical properties themselves were incomparably better than those of existing metals.
Its strength was not particularly impressive, so it could not be used for armor. But even just the uses that came to mind immediately were nearly limitless.
‘To create such an outstanding metal less than a few days after taking up his post….’
When Edgar had first heard that Eugene Magnus would become the manager of this workshop, he had thought it was strange.
He had never heard any rumors that Eugene had earned exceptional scores on the tests, possessed remarkable talent in alchemy, or even needed results in preparation to become an heir.
So even after hearing that a young master from the main house was coming, Edgar had not held any expectations.
And yet, the moment he arrived, Eugene had easily solved a difficult problem the workshop had been unable to resolve for a long time.
He had done so by creating a metal that had never existed in the world before.
...To be honest, for a long time, Edgar had lived thinking only of when he could quit this job.
He did not know where things had gone wrong, but from some point onward, nothing had gone right and the situation had only continued to worsen.
But.
‘If a genius like this is in our workshop….’
Could the workshop perhaps come back to life?
That was the thought Edgar found himself having.
***
A few days later.
[The Metal You Commissioned]
A letter and a package arrived at the Kalibore Mage Tower from the Magnus 43 Alchemy Workshop.
Inside the package was a small box containing something.
‘A commission? What did I commission again…?’
Ivrin Kalibore, a senior mage of the Kalibore Mage Tower, frowned as she accepted the package.
Mages of the Mage Tower were people who handled all manner of work by nature.
Since their work was research, they often ordered all kinds of things.
And because most of the items they ordered could not be made or easily obtained within the Mage Tower, they often took a long time to arrive.
Or they did not arrive at all.
Since payment was made after receiving the item, aside from the initial deposit, there was no particular loss.
For those various reasons, it was common to send out a commission and forget about it—or even forget what research one had been conducting.
‘Well, I'll remember when the time comes.’
With that thought, Ivrin tossed the package onto a desk cluttered with all sorts of objects.
Since she had received the item, it was only proper to pay for it. After completing the simple administrative procedures, she sat back down at her desk.
Then she resumed her ongoing research on [Why Do Humans Find It Cute When Penguins Swallow Sardines?].
‘This research is absolutely essential to humanity’s survival.’
That was what Ivrin thought.
At present, humanity held hegemony over the world, so penguins were creatures raised for viewing in places like zoos. But in truth, their nature was vicious beyond measure.
Especially when hunting sardines, penguins moved with a speed and agility that one would never expect from their bodies, snatching up sardines like eagles hunting small animals.
Beneath their cute appearances, they concealed the instincts of predators.
Yet people who went to zoos to see penguins watched them swallow sardines and delighted in how cute they were.
When one thought about it, that was not much different from watching a lion tear apart its prey.
It was a scene in which the strong ravaged the weak.
Yet even when penguins ravaged the weak, people regarded them as “cute,” and they remained popular among humanity.
In Ivrin’s view, that was essentially the same as penguins brainwashing humanity to alter its perception, and it was a grave crisis that threatened humanity’s safety.
Imagine that the entire world sank beneath the sea.
Humans could not swim, while penguins could move swiftly underwater. In that situation, penguins would be the “strong” and humanity the “weak.”
The situation would be reversed, turning the world into one where penguins hunted humans.
But humanity, already brainwashed by penguins, would consider even the sight of penguins ravaging the weak to be “cute.”
Then, even when penguins hunted humans, people would feel no alarm and consider them cute. The penguins would hunt humans without a second thought and fill their bellies.
That could be called a crisis upon which humanity’s continued existence depended.
Therefore, Ivrin was conducting this research to warn humanity of that terrifying future.
‘I need to finish this research quickly and inform all humanity of the danger of penguins!’
As she immersed herself in her research with that sense of mission.
TAP.
A sound came from the floor, and Ivrin looked down.
The small box from the package she had received that day had fallen to the floor.
‘Ah, what a nuisance….’
Complaining about the desk that became messy so easily even though she had organized it only a few months ago, Ivrin picked up the box.
Then.
‘...Isn't this too light? Can metal be like this?’
The package had said it contained metal, but it was far too light in her hand.
‘Did those bastards scam me?’
She had already approved the payment, so if it was a scam, she needed to confirm it quickly and cancel it.
Even if she could not remember what research it had been for, Ivrin could not tolerate being scammed. She quickly opened the box and examined its contents.
And then.
‘Huh, it really is metal?’
She was startled to see that the object inside was real metal.
‘Ah, come to think of it….’
She had commissioned a metal that had good affinity with the Lightning Element while also being as light as a sheet of paper.
She needed it for [Research on a Metal Flying Saucer Capable of Flying Through the Sky], so she had requested that such a metal be made.
The conditions had been difficult, so she had offered a respectable completion fee. But perhaps it had been too demanding even then, because there had been no sign of it being completed for a long time. That was why she had forgotten about the research.
‘But is this really metal?’
Ivrin looked dubiously at the metal in her hand, which was similar in color to iron.
Alchemy was a useful field of study, but because it had such great practical applications, many people abused it.
For example, an alchemist had once claimed to have discovered a Philosopher’s Stone that could turn all metals into gold and sold it to people. In truth, it had been a magical device that cast an illusion, making metal appear golden.
This could be the same, so it was best to inspect it thoroughly.
Since Ivrin was usually so suspicious, she inspected the metal that much more carefully.
‘...What? It really is metal?’
It passed every test.
This newly received metal was one hundred percent metal, with no possible room for manipulation.
Moreover, it appeared to be a pure metal rather than an alloy mixed with various metals.
Alloys could separate if mishandled and were troublesome because they mixed multiple properties. Pure metals, on the other hand, were easy to process and made magical variables easier to control.
‘This is interesting.’
Having completely forgotten the threat penguins posed to humanity, Ivrin shouted.
“Everyone, gather around! I have something to show you! Ah, and contact the workshop that sent this and place an additional order!”
She summoned all the Mage Tower’s researchers.
It was to introduce this revolutionary new metal to everyone.
‘Ah, come to think of it, what is its name?’
Not knowing the name of the new metal, Ivrin checked the enclosed report.
Its name was….
***
“...So its name is aluminum.”
Edgar nodded after hearing the name of the metal Eugene had newly created.
“Does the name hold any meaning, Young Master?”
“Meaning? Uh… it does not have any particular meaning….”
That was simply what it had been called on Earth, so Eugene had borrowed the name.
Strictly speaking, Eugene had only created it by borrowing knowledge from his previous life; he was not aluminum’s original discoverer. It was only right to preserve the original discoverer’s name, and Eugene thought naming it that way would be more convenient for himself in the future as well.
He did not know what else he might have to create besides aluminum. If he came up with a new name each time, would it not be troublesome to compare those names against the knowledge from his previous life?
He could not rename raw materials or minerals that already existed and had names in this world, but there was no need to confuse himself by creating new names merely because this was another world.
“R-right. The name is not what matters!”
Edgar spoke with an oddly exaggerated attitude.
‘It seems like his attitude has become more respectful somehow…?’
Eugene thought in puzzlement.
When he had first arrived, Edgar had treated him politely enough, but Eugene had sensed that he was somehow bothered by him.
During his graduate-school days, Eugene himself had found dealing with superiors a fucking nuisance, so he had not called Edgar out on it.
But today, Edgar was energetic enough to actively ask Eugene various questions, and the way he treated Eugene had changed as well.
‘He must be in a good mood today.’
Eugene did not think much of it.
“Th-Then, how did you make aluminum using this small thing called an ‘electrolytic cell’…?”
“You remember what I explained earlier, right? Melt the Albaurite and Rebosite in this furnace, then pour them into the electrolytic cell. After that, apply voltage and create a potential difference, and it will separate on its own….”
As Eugene spoke, he applied voltage with magic to the electrolytic cell created for electrolysis. Slowly, aluminum began to be refined.
However.
“Uh… voltage? So… is it a type of Lightning Element?”
“More precisely, it creates a path through which the Lightning Element can move….”
Eugene tried to explain it in as much detail as possible, but Edgar’s expression was not much different from that of junior students listening to a paper presentation during a lab meeting.
That meant he did not understand any of it.
“Understood, Young Master. I will do my utmost to learn.”
‘This is hopeless.’
Hearing Edgar’s reply, Eugene thought that it would be impossible to make people in this world understand scientific concepts such as voltage.
‘Now that I think about it, that is only natural.’
It was not as though Edgar lacked comprehension.
Science could be called humanity’s framework for understanding the universal principles of nature.
But in a world where magic existed, the way people understood nature could not be the same. Therefore, scientific explanations would naturally feel unfamiliar to the people of this world.
Of course, the fact that Eugene had nevertheless succeeded in electrolysis suggested that there were fundamentally laws shared with science. But for quite a long time, it seemed that Eugene Magnus alone would be able to make use of the laws of science.
‘A technological monopoly… well, that is not a bad thing.’
An additional order had even come in from the Kalibore Mage Tower.
He had quoted a unit price one hundred times greater than gold of the same volume, yet they had told him that was fine.
In that situation, possessing technology no one else could copy was a strength, never a weakness.
Furthermore, Eugene’s magic was far more mana-efficient than ordinary lightning magic.
That seemed to be because, rather than forcibly using mana to move charges, it induced the charges to move naturally.
Eugene’s mana reserves were not exceptional, but that was why he could produce aluminum without difficulty.
Even so.
‘It would be nice to improve the equipment….’
The small high-temperature, high-pressure furnace had been borrowed from another workshop and would have to be returned soon. The electrolytic cell was only a little larger than a soup bowl, so production took far too long.
Aluminum sold for a high price, but output was too low. Meanwhile, many materials and pieces of equipment used in alchemy were expensive because they required both precision and guaranteed stability.
They had enough money to resolve their immediate financial troubles and keep the workshop running, but not enough to improve its circumstances and try new things.
There were many things Eugene wanted to make.
Even if he made an aluminum alloy such as duralumin right away, there seemed to be considerable demand for it.
But he did not have the money for that at the moment.
‘Haah… is there no way for money to come in?’
That was what Eugene thought as he prepared to work.
***
A few days later, at the Kalibore Mage Tower.
Ivrin Kalibore, a senior researcher of the Mage Tower, was speaking with Jeffrey, Isaac Magnus’s closest aide.
“...That is what happened, but this time the Magnus Workshop sent us this metal called ‘aluminum,’ so our research finally made progress! The sample you are holding is that aluminum. I had no idea a metal this absurdly light could exist….”
However, Jeffrey was not listening to her.
Instead.
“Hoh….”
He was merely staring at the aluminum in his hand with an interested expression.