Chapter 45
“What? With this!?”
[Mana Stone-Electricity Converter (SR-)]
A compact generator that converts mana stones into electricity.
Uses a structure similar to a simple lightning magic circle.
A genius's work that somehow improved stability with modern science.
The Appraisal Eye's explanation was as follows.
But honestly, I wasn't all that interested; as long as it could produce electricity, that was enough.
In fact, the biggest reason was that it had a 220V outlet.
“But this is really heavy. Can you even take it with you?”
It had wheels, but they didn't roll very well.
In the end, I'd have to lift it.
“Hraaah!”
I tried lifting the generator.
I managed to lift it somehow.
“Wow, this is insanely heavy.”
Even with my Strength stat boosted, it was still quite heavy.
“I can't lift it. I do have abilities, but I'm more of a technician than a combat type.”
A normal person would never be able to lift this.
My Strength was C-rank.
It was at a level that could easily surpass even a weightlifter, so if it felt heavy...
'At the very least, it's in the ton range...'
“Huh? This is heavy?”
Sera grabbed the generator's handle with both hands and lifted it.
Not like lifting a sack of rice, either—more like picking up an empty box.
“…?”
I almost felt question marks popping up over our heads—mine and Kim Hana's.
Ah.
She was A-rank, after all.
I'd forgotten because we hadn't fought together lately.
She'd also arrived late earlier, so there hadn't been any chance for her to shine.
“So you were planning to carry it like that?”
“Oh, no.”
I dropped the generator straight into my inventory.
With the researchers' stares, including Kim Hana's, left behind me, I left the lab.
***
I sold some of the mana stones I had and bought only the air conditioner and batteries I needed.
'I wanted to buy more, but my inventory's full.'
My inventory was already stuffed with all sorts of things, so squeezing it in was a struggle.
After that, I returned to Reinhardt and attended Herbology class.
Since I had nothing to do, I'd memorized the herbs' opposing combinations, so it was much easier to follow.
“The next class will be a practical class. We'll be going to the Eastern Forest to gather herbs, so please get ready.”
After class ended, I went back to my dorm room.
When Aris saw the large machine I'd placed in a corner of the dormitory storeroom, she looked quite surprised.
“I, I, what is this!?”
“Heh-heh, this is called a generator. It can make electricity!”
I said with a proud expression, but...
“Hmm...”
Aris made a rather mixed expression.
Ah.
Right, they didn't use electricity here.
The world's energy sources were almost entirely standardized around mana.
“But that's why I brought this too.”
I connected the fan to the battery I'd brought ahead of time.
Once I plugged it in.
—Whirr.
The fan began spinning, creating a breeze.
“Ah, that's better.”
In truth, the season wasn't blisteringly hot right now.
It was warm enough to be bearable.
Still, I felt like a fan and some ice water would be just right.
“I-It’s blowing wind! And it didn't even use any mana!”
Aris shouted, pointing at the fan.
“This is the power of electricity. I can even run this smartphone with it.”
Aris looked at the battery from all angles and even tried poking it with her wand.
But she couldn't figure out its principle.
—Ababababa.
Aris even babbled something incomprehensible at the fan.
“As expected, Yumia is amazing! To be able to handle something like this!”
She looked at me with sparkling eyes for the first time in a while.
I felt a little awkward.
Because I didn't actually know how it worked either.
Modern people aren't geniuses. Only a tiny fraction of modern people are geniuses.
“S-So what is that thing!?”
“You can charge this battery with it.”
Aris mulled over my words and then interpreted them in her own way.
“So you operate that to produce something like mana, and store it here!”
That was an accurate interpretation.
For now, I carefully set the wall-mounted air conditioner box down in a corner of the living room.
“I, I, what is this!?”
“Let's look at the generator first.”
The air conditioner was basically unusable without a generator.
And the battery wasn't fully charged, so if I used it for the air conditioner, it'd be empty in a single day.
“All right, then let's fire it up!”
Oil-powered generators were oil guzzlers, and they also had the major drawback of producing a smell.
On top of that, bringing oil in my inventory was extremely troublesome.
But a mana stone-powered generator was different.
'If you use high-quality mana stones, you should at least be able to fully charge a few batteries.'
Mana stones could be obtained here too.
If I was in a hurry, I could buy them from the School Market or steal them from the magical beasts in the Western Forest.
“I'll show you the greatest modern invention: the air conditioner!”
“Oooh!!”
I shoved a few mana stones into the generator and started it up.
—Bwaaaaarrrr!!!
“Waaaaah!!”
I was met with an ear-splitting roar.
Ah, right, this was a generator.
I'd forgotten that generators basically make noise.
A mana stone-powered generator was no different.
But at the same time, the charging indicator lit up on the battery.
The generator ran for a few minutes, and the charging speed wasn't bad.
But if I kept this running any longer, I'd definitely get complaints.
“How do I turn this off!!”
“What!!”
I can't hear you!!
“I'm asking how to turn it off!!”
Ah.
I turned it off.
“There's a small problem.”
“That doesn't seem small at all...”
Aris, looking dizzy, said as she clutched the desk.
I'd gotten used to noise from going in and out of Gates and towers.
Aris seemed sensitive to this sort of thing.
“This needs to be fixed.”
Even so, I couldn't see any way to solve it with science.
If science won't do it, then magic will.
But the only magic I'd learned was basic attack magic and defense magic.
I needed someone who could help.
***
“Hmm. This is better-made than I expected. Ah, I'll gladly take the snacks.”
The place I took it to was Isabelle's laboratory.
I'd once brought her tea leaves and macarons from the modern world.
Her reaction was better than I'd expected.
I had originally brought it to Karnarov, but Karnarov said,
'This isn't my area of expertise. Take it to Isabelle.'
and then kicked me out after saying that.
The tea leaves and macarons were taken away.
And now, this situation.
“Huh, really?”
Honestly, I'd thought it would be enough just not to hear anything bad.
Isabelle was the type to have very clear standards of her own.
“Of course, that's only from the standpoint of someone who hasn't studied magitech at all!”
“As I thought.”
What a cold person.
But that also meant her evaluation was accurate.
“Could you bring that person here, perhaps? I'd like to talk.”
“That'd be difficult.”
“Even later would be fine.”
“Then never mind.”
Was it finally time to try putting a person in my inventory for real?
The animal tests were done.
Then now was the time to test it on a real human.
Just as I was thinking that, Isabelle pulled me out of my thoughts.
“By the way, you said noise and heat were the problem, right?”
“Yup.”
“If we move it outside, this much heat shouldn't be a problem.”
From the start, ice magic wasn't even under consideration.
It consumed a lot of mana and, as an instant-cast spell, wasn't suitable for continuously cooling one target.
We’d have to move it outside together with the outdoor unit.
“Then who's supposed to install it, and how?”
We'll think about that when the time comes.
“So, about the noise.”
“Do you have a good solution?”
“If you can use barrier magic, that would help. It's a third-year subject, but there are spells in the library that should be useful.”
“I can't borrow them, can I?”
“I'll write you a permit.”
Isabelle pulled a stylish, stiff sheet of paper from inside her office.
In an instant, she filled out the permit and even signed it with mana.
“Thanks.”
So now I just had to learn barrier magic?
“Localized barriers are difficult, but if you learn them, they'll help when you take third-year classes.”
That just meant even more work.
If I couldn't get it done by summer, I'd have to spend the whole season with just a fan.
Though of course, that was still better than having nothing.
Still, I'd at least gotten a solution.
Good is good.
Then I looked down at the generator.
'But how am I supposed to move this somewhere out of sight again?'
I was trying to be as careful as possible about exposing my inventory in front of professor-level people.
I'd somehow lugged it all the way here, and I was completely drained.
Sigh.
[Status Enhancement Selection Ticket (SR, 6th Floor) used! Strength increases dramatically! (C+ -> C+++)]
I was going to use it anyway.
So I went to the library, showed the permit to the librarian, and borrowed the book.
[Beginner Barrier Magic]
The book itself was very thick.
But as is usually the case with textbooks, you only really need to learn the basic introductory section.
Then I could find the spell I needed.
With that, I put the book into my inventory.
For the first time in a while, I was exploring every corner of the school, looking for hiding spots or places to skip class.
This was more important than it sounded.
Everyone I'd made friends with here was a study addict, so if I didn't find hiding spots like this, they'd drag me out and make me study.
'This time, maybe I'll head to the Eastern Forest...'
I was on my way to the Eastern Forest anyway, planning to give Professor Sila the macarons and tea leaves as well, when I spotted someone.
Professor Georgia of Imperial History was storming toward a corner of the Eastern Forest.
“Oh-ho.”
Interested, I followed.
“Damn it, why do I have to make up for that bastard's failure...!”
Hmm.
“Come to think of it, this is all because of that guy who handled the werewolf...”
Hmm. He really has a lot to complain about.
But isn't that about me?
I leaned in slightly to listen.
—Rustle.
“W-Who's there!”
Professor Georgia looked around sharply.
I blended into nature.
[Nature Affinity (SSR)]
A wide-open plain might be one thing, but in a forest, finding me was impossible.
Unless someone used magic properly to detect me.
Georgia relaxed and went deeper into the forest.
Then Georgia took out an egg-sized stone from within the robes.
“Encode, maximize.”
When Georgia touched the stone with the wand, it grew to the size of an ostrich egg.
And then...
I sensed a filthy kind of mana.
Mana that felt disgustingly unpleasant.
Hmm.
Something fishy about this.
Georgia buried it in the ground as it was, then hurriedly left the area.
A little while after Georgia was gone, I dug up the spot.
There was a stone buried there.
[Warning!! A demonic aura has been detected!]
The status window went wild.
What is this?
The status window had never reacted to anything other than my own abilities before.
It seemed to be because of this object with reversed rune writing on it.
[If you discover a demonic artifact, we strongly recommend destroying it immediately!]
I see.
It was definitely spreading ominous mana into the ground.
The plants were dying, and something was growing.
It was not a good omen.
I raised my wand.
“Casting, Bullet.”
—Clang!
As expected, it bounced right off.
“Should I give up and tell the professors?”
But the filthy mana was spreading rapidly through the ground.
“Ah, no!!”
At this rate, I wouldn't be able to screw over that bastard Professor Georgia... no.
I can't just stand by and let this filthy mana spread through Reinhardt!!
“Heh.”
Professor Georgia's face flashed through my mind.
That voice that always gave me crap for being a commoner whenever Georgia saw me.
Georgia even gave me demerits yesterday.
Even though the other noble students didn't get any.
“Let's see how you like it.”
—Piiing.
Dark red mana gathered around my wand.