Chapter 9: Existing magic tools.
A few days had passed since then, during which Marie and I went out, went to the forest with Nicola and Luke, so I couldn't go to the magic tool workshop. Today, four days after that day, I was heading back to the magic tool workshop.
It was a very warm day with a pleasant breeze blowing, so my steps naturally became lighter and I arrived at the magic tool workshop faster than before, excited to learn more about magic tools.
"Hello! It's Leon."
I energetically opened the door and greeted loudly as I walked in.
The room I entered was a simple one with only a desk, a chair, and a few pieces of decor. It looked like a reception room. There was a door at the back of the room, which I guessed led to the workshop.
While I was waiting and thinking about that, the door at the back opened and Marcel entered.
"Long time no see, Marcel-san! Sorry for being late due to a lack of time."
"Oh, Leon, no problem. So, you wanted to see magic tools today?"
"Yes! I can't design new magic tools without knowing about the existing ones, right?"
"Well then, come with me."
Marcel said that and disappeared behind the door. I hurriedly followed him.
Beyond the door was a corridor with two doors on the left wall, a staircase, and another door at the end of the corridor. Marcel opened the door at the end of the corridor and entered the room.
Is this the workshop? I looked around curiously and followed Marcel into the room.
In the middle of the room was a large desk, and a large shelf was placed against the wall. There was one chair and a long bench.
On the desk were many stacks of paper, as well as things like iron and jewels. They were probably magic iron and magic stones.
"Marcel-san, is this the workshop?"
"Yeah, I think it's easier to explain with the actual objects here."
"Thank you! It's amazing!"
I was getting more and more excited. I wanted to know what kind of magic tools there were!
"As for the types of magic tools, the most famous one is this."
Marcel said that while pointing to the ceiling.
Huh? What does he mean? I looked up at the ceiling, and there was a light bulb there.
"Light...!"
I almost screamed "light bulb" but stopped myself by covering my mouth. Phew, that was close. Probably...
"What's wrong, what happened?"
"Oh, it's nothing. This is amazing! I was wondering why this room was bright even though the windows aren't open!"
"That's right. This is a light orb. It has a recovery attribute built into the magic stone. If you put enough magic into the stone until it's full, it will continue to shine for thirty days. To turn off the light, just remove the magic stone."
Hmm? Light orbs have a recovery attribute... now that I think about it, there's no light attribute in this world.
And if you can turn off the light by removing the magic stone, that means there's no switch-like remote control...
"It shines with the power of recovery magic?"
"Yes, there is also a light magic in the recovery attribute, right?"
"I don't know much about magic. I'll have to go for a magic power measurement later."
"Is that so? Magic consists of six attributes: fire, water, wind, earth, body strengthening, and recovery, but there are many types of magic within them. How much you can use depends on your magical power and potential."
That's how magic in this world works... well, I'll learn magic after going to the church.
"I'll learn magic properly after going to the church! So, you said to turn off the light, you have to remove the magic stone, but is there no switch-like thing?"
"What is a switch?"
Could it be that there is no concept of a switch in this world? That's why it's not translated into this language?
But when I think about it, if there are no machines, then there is no need for switches. They probably don't exist in magic tools either.
"Um... something like a button, where you push the button and the light comes on, and when you push it again, the light goes off. Is there no such mechanism?"
"There's no such thing, but if we could create such a mechanism in a magic tool, we wouldn't have to remove the magic stone every time, which would be convenient. But I don't know how to do it."
"I see... If I come up with such a mechanism, can you buy it from me?"
"Ah, I would be happy to buy it, but can you really do it?"
"Don't worry, leave it to me!"
I smiled at Marcel-san and thought that maybe I could figure out how to do it if I applied the mechanism of a machine, but if I could use magic, I would like to try it out.
For now, though, it's another magical tool.
"Can you show me the other magical tools?"
"Well, there are other magical tools that aren't here. The other magical tools are the flush toilet, the faucet, and the air blower."
They have a flush toilet! That alone makes me want to be a noble. And a faucet too! An air blower is probably similar to a fan.
Amazing... There are things here that I didn't think existed in this world!
I'm definitely going to the Royal Academy! I renewed my determination.
I wonder what other magical tools there are.
"If those three are okay, do you want to see them at my house?"
"You have them?! Yes, please show me!"
"Well then, first of all, this is the air blower," Marcel-san said, pointing to the square tube on the desk.
Huh? This? It's different from what I imagined as a fan.
"Is this it?"
"Yes, if you insert this magic stone into the recess on top, it will work."
As Marcel-san inserted the magic stone, a slightly strong breeze brushed against my cheek.
Amazing! The wind really comes out!
I wonder if I can adjust the power.
"Can you make the wind stronger with this?"
"That depends on the magical power you put into the magic stone. So you can change it by using up the magical power and putting in more, or by overwriting it with new magical power."
So the strength of the magical power embedded in the magic stone determines it... It's a bit inconvenient that I can't easily change it midway, but there's nothing I can do about that.
"Next is the water supply and the flush toilet. The water supply is over here," Marcel-san said, and led me to the kitchen upstairs.
"This is the water supply. If you fit a magic stone into this, water comes out," he said.
The water supply was a tube shorter and thinner than the size of a palm, with one end of the tube plugged and a spot where the magic stone could be fitted.
When you fit the magic stone into the tube, water apparently comes out from the other side.
"May I try using it?"
"Sure. You can drink it too since it's safe."
"Really? Then I'll give it a try."
I received a cup from Marcel-san and filled it with water. After waiting for a few seconds for the water to come out after fitting the magic stone, it felt similar to Japan's water supply.
"Well then, here I go."
I nervously put the water in my mouth and took a sip.
Gulp... Delicious! It had the same taste as natural water I had in Japan. Magic water is tasty...
"It's really delicious!"
"I thought so. Magic water is delicious and safe, so nobles use it for both drinks and cooking," Marcel-san said.
I became even more envious of nobles...
"Finally, it's the flush toilet."
The toilet was one of the doors in the hallway on the first floor.
The first thing that surprised me when I opened the door to the toilet was that it was a Western-style toilet, not a Japanese-style one.
And in the middle of the place where you wash your hands in the Japanese toilet, there was a spot to fit a magic stone.
You fit the magic stone for about ten seconds, let it flow, then remove it, Marcel-san explained.
It was a bit more inconvenient compared to Japan, but it didn't bother me that much.
After all, my home had a button toilet. It smelled bad, was scary because it felt like it could fall apart, and I hated it.
Marcel-san and I returned to the workshop and took a break, sitting on chairs.
"So, how was the magical tools?"
"I thought they were very convenient and wonderful!"
"That's good to hear."
Marcel-san seemed pleased as his face relaxed a bit when his magical tools were complimented. He really loves magical tools.
The magical tools were truly amazing. They were all things that I had given up hope of finding in this world. However, as I watched them, several questions came to mind.
First, which is more efficient, magical tools or magic itself? For example, I wondered which would use more magical power, using a fan to create wind or using wind magic.
Also, if you can only imbue magic stones with your own attribute magic, does that mean you can only make magical tools with your own attribute magic?
I asked Marcel-san about these questions.
"First of all, about efficiency, magical tools are overwhelmingly better. They can be used for a long time with less magical power, which is their biggest advantage. Also, it's generally true that you can only make magical tools with your own attribute magic. However, if you imbue magic into a tool of a different attribute, you can make magical tools of other attributes. In fact, this is often done in workshops."
"I see. Then what do you do if the magical power of the magic stone runs out?"
"In that case, you have someone with that attribute put magic into it. Basically, nobles use magical tools, and since nobles have servants in their homes, someone there is likely to have that attribute. Even if there is no one with that attribute, if you pay the magical tool workshop, they will replenish the magical power for you."
"I see... that's a bit of a hassle. Well, I guess it can't be helped."
Now that I understood what magical tools were like, I decided to think about machines that could be turned into magical tools!
"Marcel-san, are there any other magical tools besides the four you explained?"
"There are many failed ones, but only these are used in daily life."
"What!? Only these four!? That's not many..."
"Magical tools have only been around for a few decades. There are also many that have not been successful."
"I see... Even just thinking about it, many ideas came to mind...! This might be profitable!"
"Have you already thought of something!? Well, I'll listen to your ideas if it's just that."
"Just wait a moment."
I said that and imagined machines that could be turned into magical tools in my head.