Chapter 23
“The idea seems really good. But building the whole thing from scratch is impossible.”
Senior Estelle spun her fountain pen around her finger and continued.
“So this semester’s goal is to start by making a communication crystal orb powered by a built-in mana engine.”
“Yeah. Sounds good.”
First, for today’s first class, we’d start by recreating the existing communication crystal orb exactly.
“It’d be nice if we had some reference material...”
At Senior Estelle’s words, I took out the item I’d prepared, as if I’d been waiting for the chance.
“I brought it just in case.”
It was none other than the communication crystal orb issued by the Deputy Head.
“Huh? Where did you get this?”
“Don’t ask where it came from.”
“It’s not in use... right? Can I take this apart?”
“Yeah. You can even smash it.”
I nodded without the slightest hesitation.
In fact, I had another ulterior motive for bringing this communication crystal orb.
I was planning to skip one report to Deputy Head Albert by using the excuse that I’d used it in class practice.
Of course, Senior Estelle had no way of knowing what I was thinking.
“Luna, you’re seriously committed...!”
Senior Estelle let out a cry, as though moved by my experimental spirit(?).
After wiping away nonexistent tears for a moment, she soon pulled out dismantling tools.
“I’ll never forget your sacrifice! Sob!!”
Even as she said that, the corners of her mouth were curling up into a grin.
Senior, be honest. You’re enjoying the chance to smash a high-end magic tool for free, aren’t you? Right?
The crystal orb, whose value was impossible to measure (I genuinely had no idea), was split in half, revealing its internal structure.
“Look closely. This crystal here is the core, and this thin line here carries mana. This small crystal transmits sound, and the magic circle engraved on this plate...”
Senior Estelle explained each and every component of the crystal orb to me.
...Honestly, I couldn’t tell what was what.
But the brain installed in my head was annoyingly high-spec.
Even though I hadn’t understood it properly, I shoved all of it into my head first.
In other words, I memorized everything Senior Estelle said, brute-force style.
So I was in the so-called “Hmm... I get it all!” state (I understand none of it).
“By the way, I’m not sure whether we can make it using only the standard materials here. Honestly, I’d like to use the dismantled parts.”
“If that was the plan, why dismantle it in the first place? You could’ve just submitted the communication crystal orb as is.”
“Pfft! Yeah, that’s true too~”
Senior Estelle briskly organized the dismantled parts and began sketching a circuit diagram on paper.
“Now then, our apprentice? Could you bring me the materials listed here? They’re heavy, so let’s split them up and...”
“Why bother making me go back and forth? I’ll just bring it all at once.”
With a light flick of my fingers, the parts began to rise one by one, floating in the air.
“Seeing it like this, it looks really convenient. Maybe I should seriously learn magic too?”
“It’s nothing special. Just lie in bed for about five years, meditate, and flick your fingers, and you’ll get this far.”
“...How could you live for five years doing nothing but breathing?”
“I think even fifty years would be manageable, not just five.”
At my half-joking remark, Senior Estelle’s face turned ghostly pale.
“Could you maybe be a polymorphed dragon or something, Luna?”
“...Huh?”
“I saw it somewhere, you know? Dragons have something called a dormancy period, so they can sleep for decades or even centuries. Aren’t you like that too?”
“If I were a dragon, I don’t think I’d take even one step outside my lair.”
“...True. If it were you, Luna, you really would.”
The materials gathered on the table.
Senior Estelle began making it, alternating her gaze between the communication crystal orb’s internal structure and the circuit diagram.
I sat quietly beside her and yawned.
“Luna, draw a magic circle over there. For signal amplification.”
“Here?”
“Yeah, there. And fill this crystal with some mana.”
Whenever Senior Estelle asked me to do something, I’d just flick my fingers as needed.
Mmm~ this ride is so comfortable.
Riding along like this is the best. It’s such a thrill.
Once again, Senior Estelle looked different to me.
As expected, this person is the one who’ll bring the Fourth Industrial Revolution to my bed life.
...At this rate, letting her get expelled from the academy would be... such a waste... a truly valuable talent... hmnya.
“Luna! How can you nod off the moment I’m not looking?”
“Eek?! N-no, I wasn’t sleeping...”
“Right, of course you weren’t~ You were sleeping in perfect tempo like a professor!”
*
The work pace was noticeably fast.
With Senior Estelle’s technical skill added to my telekinetic magic, the synergy was no joke.
No, come to think of it, ours was the only team actually tinkering away at something.
Looking around, the other first-years were only just examining the materials one by one. The second-years were still scribbling something on paper.
Just as I was looking around at the other teams, the other students were also watching ours.
“What are they making already?”
“Whoa, they’re moving through it like crazy.”
“As expected of the top students, they’re on a different level.”
Amid the murmurs of admiration, the communication crystal orb was almost complete.
At first glance, it looked pretty decent...
“Good, let’s test it as is.”
Senior Estelle carefully infused mana into the crystal orb.
“...?”
“...”
But nothing happened.
“I-it’s weird?”
Senior Estelle muttered, wiping sweat from her forehead.
“Where did it go wrong?”
Senior Estelle took the orb apart in a panic and checked its internals again.
She checked each circuit connection one by one and carefully inspected the magic circles as well.
Even so, apparently unable to find the problem, Senior Estelle’s brow furrowed.
“I’m not sure, but should we draw in one more magic circle for now?”
“Huh? Uh, sure.”
I tried layering the magic circle that had suddenly come to mind over the core.
Even then, there was no particular change.
“It looks like the budget-grade materials are dragging mana efficiency down a lot?”
After thinking for a moment, Senior Estelle spoke as if she’d made up her mind.
“I’ll try putting in a bit more mana.”
“Should I just cram some in? Haaam...”
“I’ll adjust it once first, and if it still seems lacking, I’ll ask you.”
Senior Estelle placed both hands on the crystal orb and began pouring in mana in earnest.
Soon, the crystal orb began emitting a dazzling blue light.
-Sizzle. Sizzle.
With a staticky crackle, aurora-like light swept across the crystal orb’s surface.
At the same time, relief spread across Senior Estelle’s face in a smile.
“Thank goodness~ I guess it really was lacking mana. The mana efficiency seems to be the problem, but that’s unavoidable since we used budget-grade materials—”
Before Senior Estelle could even finish speaking.
Sparks suddenly leapt up over the calmly glowing crystal orb.
“Huh? This... s-something’s weird here?!”
The moment Senior Estelle jerked her hands away in surprise,
the crystal orb began flickering wildly and spewing sparks.
-Boom! Kaboom!!
Then a foreboding sound rang out.
Wait... is that thing about to explode?
“W-what is it?!”
“What on earth is that sound?”
At this rate, it felt like I’d be branded an academy serial bomber, so I sprang up from my seat.
First, I stretched out my left hand and grabbed at the air with all my might.
Mana responding to my will firmly pressed down the space around the crystal orb.
At the same time, I rapidly sketched a magic circle in the air with my right index finger.
A trail of icy light etched itself into the air, then quickly cooled the communication crystal orb.
After confirming that the sparks and flames leaping over the orb were gradually settling down, I shouted to Senior Estelle.
“Senior, lay some paper out on the desk. As much as possible.”
“Huh? Ah, okay.”
“And let me borrow your pen too.”
After confirming that Senior Estelle had laid a stack of paper across the desk, I swept my right hand once more.
Senior Estelle’s fountain pen spun around once in the air, then raced across the blank paper.
-Scratch, scratch
While the fountain pen blackened the paper.
In my head, all kinds of magic theories unfolded, mixed together with what Senior Estelle had told me.
Mana efficiency, interference between circuits, the limits of budget-grade materials, mana to spare...
The thoughts in my head were transferred onto the paper exactly as they were through the fountain pen.
“You’re calculating all of that? While using magic too?”
“Amazing...”
A hushed voice echoed only in my ears.
I was too busy focusing on the voices in my head to pay attention to anything else.
How long had it been?
When I came to my senses, the many sheets of paper in front of me were already filled with magical theory.
“I tweaked the circuit layout so it could run even with budget-grade materials.”
Based on the calculations written on the paper, I readjusted the placement of some of the crystal orb’s components.
I twisted the position of the silver lines, and overlaid the magic circles two and three layers deep.
I still kept the space around the crystal orb suppressed with telekinesis magic. If I let it go carelessly, something might blow up at any moment.
“The downside is that it’ll consume several times more mana than the original communication crystal orb, but anyway, it should work properly.”
Senior Estelle looked back and forth between me and the crystal orb with a dazed expression.
The other students who had gathered around us by then all swallowed hard in unison.
I released the telekinesis and cupped the communication crystal orb in both hands.
“Then let’s turn it on once more.”
This time, I poured mana into it myself.
Among the students here, I was probably the only one with enough mana to drive this thing.
The translucent light seeping from my palm swirled and was sucked into the orb.
I could feel the air around us crackling and trembling.
Silence fell over the classroom.
Everyone held their breath and quietly watched Senior Estelle and me.
Soon, the crystal orb began glowing pure white.
Gentle ripples spread over its surface.
Before long, a familiar voice flowed out.
-Hm? Wait, this mana wavelength... Miss Lunaris? What are you contacting me about at this hour?
It was none other than Deputy Head Albert’s voice.
“W-what? It really worked?”
“You could make something like that with cheap mass-produced parts?!”
Seeing the communication crystal orb working normally, gasps broke out all around.
“It’s nothing special. Everyone’s making too big a fuss.”
“I mean, all I did was pin it down with overwhelming mana.”