Magi Craft Meister

20-11　Models and Experiments

In the conference room, as soon as they moved, Jin made a request to Christoph.

“Christoph, do you have any Magi Resin?”

“Hmm? …I have some reserved for Golem maintenance.”

Magi Resin is the common name for resin that can be easily deformed by magic, commonly used as the core material for Golems. It’s essentially resin imbued with magic, akin to magical pine sap.

“I’d like to get some of that.”

“Well, it’s reserved for Golem maintenance, but…”

Christoph called a soldier outside the room and ordered him to bring a sizable amount of Magi Resin. In a few minutes, the soldier returned carrying Magi Resin in his arms.

“Thank you. …Now, can I use this?”

Jin looked at the Magi Resin placed on the conference table, and with everyone’s curious eyes on him, he began contemplating something. The others were eager to see what Jin had in mind.

Eventually, Jin seemed to organize his thoughts and calmly used engineering magic.

“Separation” “Transformation Forming”

For a moment, a faint glow characteristic of engineering magic occurred, and the mass of Magi Resin on the table fragmented and transformed into a… ship.

“Oh…!”

“This is…”

“Incredible!”

The onlookers were amazed by Jin’s swift work. Only Reinhardt and Elsa were unfazed.

“Um, I’ve made a roughly 1:100 scale model. I thought it might be useful for our discussions.”

A model about 40 centimeters in length, representing a conventional single-hull ship.

“Yeah, I think it’s better if the bottom of the ship isn’t flat. In cases where there are waves, if the bottom is flat, it might break when lifted and slammed onto the water’s surface.”

Impressed by Jin’s precision and speed, no one spoke until Reinhardt broke the silence.

“I think it’s better to make the front of the ship slightly higher since waves hit there.”

Elsa also chimed in. Clearly, her experience in the Golem boat race in Potluck had paid off.

“Alright, like this? ‘Transformation Forming.'”

Following their suggestions, Jin made adjustments to the details of the model.

By then, the initially astonished crowd had regained their composure, realizing the effectiveness of this approach.

“Shouldn’t we make the bow a bit narrower?”

“Is this about right in terms of length and width?”

“The sides should be curved rather than flat to prevent the deck from being washed by the waves.”

Using a “mock-up,” a model, in product development is common sense in modern Japan, but it was a fresh idea for these individuals.

After about 30 minutes of exchange, the approximate shape of the hull had been rapidly refined.

“However, this method is quite interesting.”

Christoph, taking a break, expressed his admiration.

“No one would have thought of this if Lord Jin weren’t here.”

“Is this what you call a ‘mock-up’? It’s far more understandable than drawings. It’s a shame, though, that it seems to require expertise in magical engineering.”

Cobalt spoke resignedly. Jin reassured him.

“No, no. It may take time, but you can make it with wood or clay.”

“Indeed, that’s true.”

Rodrigo nodded in agreement.

And so, with Jin’s model-making, the shape of the ship’s hull was rapidly refined.

Water was poured into a large container, and the model was floated to identify various issues and make necessary corrections. With this phase coming to an end, the discussion shifted to the next stage.

“Now, let’s move on to the installation of the Wind Thruster, the magical propulsion device.”

“Yes, we need to decide on that; otherwise, determining the hull shape won’t make much sense.”

“Indeed, let’s proceed with the considerations for the thruster.”

Jin agreed with Christoph’s suggestion, and the others also nodded in agreement.

Here, once again, Zenelos and Creia started a heated argument.

“I’m telling you, it’s more stable if we attach the thrusters on both sides!”

“But wouldn’t that obstruct getting on and off? It’s better to attach it along the ship’s centerline!”

“But making a 40-meter Wind Thruster on both sides, is that necessary? It seems like a waste, doesn’t it?”

“Hmm…”

(Those two, are they on bad terms?)

(No, they’re probably just similar personalities, so they clash.)

Elsa quietly asked Reinhardt, making sure not to direct her question to Jin. Jin, on the other hand, watched the exchange between the two with a slightly exasperated expression.

“Generally, if you attach it that low, water might come in, not just wind!”

“Considering the structure and principles of the thruster, splashes shouldn’t be a problem. But if it’s debris or algae, that could be an issue.”

“…But during a storm or when we need propulsion, it would be troublesome if it malfunctioned, wouldn’t it?”

“We can use wind magic to blow away sand and small stones. Water shouldn’t be a problem.”

“It should be a problem! It involves the lives of the crew!”

To prevent the discussion from dragging on endlessly, and since Jin couldn’t let the argument continue, he decided to intervene.

“…How about experimenting with that too, with a model, or rather, a prototype?”

“Good idea!”

“Yes, that makes sense!”

Jin asked Christoph to arrange for bronze and magic crystal MagiCrystals. Using these materials, Jin made a Wind Thruster about 50 centimeters in length this time, which is not at a 1:100 scale but still small enough to test. By now, the speed at which Jin worked didn’t astonish them as much as before, but everyone, except Elsa and Reinhardt, still stared wide-eyed.

“Now, this is not a 1:100 scale. It’s a Wind Thruster that should be enough to move a hot air balloon. By testing this with water, we can see if it works properly.”

Once again, Christoph was the first to regain his composure.

“Y-yes, right. Was Lake Wass nearby? Let’s test it on a general-purpose Golem.”

“Indeed, it’s right there. Let’s have a Golem perform the experiment.”

So, everyone headed to the shores of Lake Wass.

“Now, let’s get started.”

Christoph activated the Wind Thruster. As the wind blew, the general-purpose Golem restrained it with its strength.

“Hmm, yes. This Wind Thruster made by Lord Jin has quite a bit of power.”

Cobalt, who had been observing, expressed his admiration.

“Then, please immerse it in the water,” Jin said.

“Is it alright?” Christoph hesitated. However, Jin smiled and nodded.

“All right. Go ahead and immerse it in the water.”

Christoph commanded the general-purpose Golem to immerse the Wind Thruster in Lake Wass. Immediately, something unexpected happened.

“Whoa!?”

The general-purpose Golem, weighing over 200 kilograms, was dragged down and pulled into the lake.

“At a time like this!”

Dragging gravel from the lakeside, the Golem was about to submerge completely when…

“Hurry, bring the Wind Thruster above the water! No, make it face upwards!”

“Golem! Stand up and use whatever you have!”

Following Jin’s instructions, Christoph hurriedly gave orders.

By standing the Wind Thruster upright, the Golem was finally able to stop being dragged into the water.

“We don’t have the power to lift 200 kilograms into the air. The Golem came back, dripping water.”

“Lord Jin, what was that? Could you explain?”

“Of course. Let’s head back inside for that.”

Everyone returned to the meeting room. Naturally, the Wind Thruster had been stopped.

“Now, about the phenomenon you just witnessed…”

Looking at the eager faces of those who wanted to know the reason, Jin began to speak slowly.

By the way, Elsa and Reinhardt already knew the reason.

“The Wind Thruster is an application of the Wind attribute magic, ‘Strong Wind.’ This ‘Strong Wind’ magic affects air molecules…”

Jin started to explain but hesitated.

“Um, air is composed of tiny particles that are invisible to the naked eye. …There might be questions, but first, please understand that aspect.”

Suppressing the urge to speak that was evident on the faces of the listeners, Jin continued his explanation.

“‘Strong Wind’ is what moves those particles of air. And anything within the effective range, regardless of whether it’s made up of air particles, will be moved.”

A small exclamation of understanding could be heard. Jin continued.

“Even, for example, if there were sand particles. …You know how ‘Strong Wind’ can blow away dust, smoke from a fire, right? That’s a practical example.”

This time, there were nods and no audible responses.

“So, water, too, is made up of water molecules…tiny particles of water. That’s why it can be moved with ‘Strong Wind.'”

Here, Jin paused, looking at everyone’s faces, except Elsa and Reinhardt.

“Water is much heavier than air, so the Golem was dragged down. However, that doesn’t mean it’s commendable to use the Wind Thruster underwater all the time.”

“Why is that?”

Christoph asked, representing the group. Jin answered promptly.

“Because it’s less efficient than the Water attribute magic ‘Water Stream.'”