Founding Festival Preparations (2)

The capital is divided into several districts because it's so large.

Each district—and each character's state—triggers different events.

In the commercial district, you can catch swindlers or obtain rare items.

In the temple, you can learn blessing skills, and in the nobles' quarter there are events that raise your affinity with specific people.

Of course, it's not all good things.

If you choose the wrong option, your reputation can drop, and there are traps that strip you of your money if you wander into the wrong alley for no reason.

Even here in the workshop district where I am now, all kinds of events happen.

You can find rare equipment, raise your dexterity, or have your hand slip and destroy the equipment you already have.

But what I needed right now wasn't those little rewards.

An incident.

I needed the merit that came from solving one.

Of course, it was nowhere near the feat the emperor demanded, but it would be more than enough to raise my standing for now.

"Should we take a look inside here?"

The place I found for that purpose was the 'Belkman Workshop,' located deep inside the workshop district.

An old iron sign engraved with crossed hammer and mana lamp emblems.

The building's exterior was exactly like the workshop I'd seen in the game. Seeing it in real life felt strangely new.

"Belkman Workshop. It's a pretty famous place, isn't it?"

"Is it?"

"I've heard most of the capital's mana lamps come from here. So why here?"

"Um..."

"You know we're on duty right now, don't you? We can't waste time on personal matters."

Fair enough.

Very fair, actually.

If only it weren't for you, the one who had casually rearranged the squad for selfish reasons.

Of course, there was a reasonable excuse, but there was no way I could say the truth.

I saw it in the game.

The mana lamps made here all explode on the day of the Founding Festival.

If I said that out loud, wouldn't I instantly be treated like an accomplice?

So I came up with an excuse.

"It's input."

"Input?"

"Her Highness the Princess asked me to. If I want to write a good work, proper research is a must, after all."

"Research. That's important."

"So, would it be all right if I just stopped by for a moment? Good inspiration related to mana lamps is almost about to strike."

"Then we definitely have to stop by."

This man really is honest about his desires.

I don't dislike him for it, since it makes him feel more human.

Thanks to that, I was able to enter the workshop without any suspicion.

I opened the door and went in.

A blast of heat hit my face.

And the sound of hammering echoed from all directions.

It looked busy from the outside too, but inside was far more chaotic.

As I looked around the workroom, I spotted a mountain of mana lamps piled up on one side.

"That's a lot."

"I guess it's because they have to replace the mana lamps before the Founding Festival. That's why most workshops are busy making them right now."

"Hmm."

I picked up one of the mana lamps.

Mana stone.

A stone that holds mana.

In this world, where electricity doesn't exist, mana stones are used throughout daily life.

They light the dark, heat water, and are sometimes used in weapons.

In other words, they're like batteries.

If there's one major weakness, it's that depending on how you handle it, it can also become a bomb.

"Hey! Who told you to touch other people's things without permission?"

A sharp, angry voice flew out from amid the relentless hammering.

A man was striding over.

An apron stained with grease.

Arms covered in soot.

A middle-aged man with a face that looked perpetually angry.

'Belkman.'

Belkman Workshop's owner, Belkman.

He definitely had a nasty temper.

Even from the illustration I thought he looked rough, but seeing him in person was much worse.

"I don't know if you're a customer or what, but this isn't a playground for kids! If you break something by touching it, are you going to take responsibility?"

"Hey, Master Belkman."

"What?"

Rosanna stepped forward.

Belkman casually glanced over Rosanna's face, then lowered his gaze to her armor.

More precisely, to the emblem of the Imperial Knight Order engraved on her chest.

In an instant, the fierce look in Belkman's eyes softened just a little.

Just a little.

"…You were with the Knight Order?"

"I'm Rosanna of the Second Knight Order. With the Founding Festival coming up, I'm making rounds through the workshop district to check for anything unusual."

"If you want an inspection, the patrol came by yesterday. We don't have any problems."

"That's them, this is us. If we say we're doing it, then we're doing it."

He looked more like a thug than a knight, but thanks to that, things were a lot easier.

Belkman twisted his lips with a dissatisfied look.

"As you can see, I'm swamped. We're behind on Founding Festival orders, so I don't have time to deal with knights."

"Sorry. Still, we'll be leaving soon, so please bear with us a little longer."

While Rosanna dealt with Belkman, I rolled the mana lamp in my hand around, studying it closely.

Then Belkman deliberately let discomfort show on his face.

"Who is this man? He's wearing something strange around his neck."

"A new recruit who recently joined the Knight Order. That thing around his neck is... because he has a taste for strange things."

A strange taste, huh.

I have very wholesome tastes, thank you very much.

Why can't you just boldly say, 'This guy is a slave'? Did you suddenly get embarrassed on my behalf?

Rosanna and I exchanged glances.

It was a look that said we should keep our stories straight so things wouldn't get complicated.

Well, what choice did I have?

I had to yield.

I turned back to Belkman.

"How exactly do mana lamps work?"

"What?"

"I just got curious."

"Can't you hear that I'm busy?"

"Please, explain it to me. It's not that difficult, is it?"

At Rosanna's interjection, Belkman clicked his tongue and reluctantly began to explain.

"...It's nothing special. You cut and polish the mana stone, set it in place, engrave the markings to direct the mana flow, then use a light-emitting plate to spread the light."

"So they're all turned on manually?"

"What a stupid thing to say. There are several thousand of them hung throughout the capital—do you think we'd send people around one by one to turn the lights on and off?"

Belkman waved a hand as if it was bothersome.

"Usually, they turn on when the sun goes down and turn off when daylight comes."

"Convenient, isn't it?"

"Of course. That's why they're expensive."

"Wasn't this sort of thing called magitech?"

If magic is the art of directly moving mana to create fire, magitech is the technology of embedding that process inside a tool.

The user doesn't even need to know how to use magic.

Money is all you need.

‘So this is how science and engineering rule the world everywhere.’

So what are the humanities and the arts supposed to live on?

Still, when I thought about it, maybe it was a blessing that I wasn't in science and engineering.

If I had been, I probably wouldn't even be able to go outside like this, and I'd be locked away in some lab as a slave assistant.

Slave assistant?

Why are two words with the same meaning repeated?

From now on, call me a true slave.

"Hey. What are you spacing out for? I've got work to do, so if you're done, get out already."

"Yeah, Leon. Let's go. We still have other places to check."

"Hmm..."

"Leon?"

Under Belkman's sharp glare, Rosanna seemed to find it hard to stay any longer and kept urging me on.

So I let out a sigh like an artist struck by inspiration.

"It's come to me."

"What is?"

"The highlight scene for my next work."

"Really? What is it?"

Rosanna's eyes changed instantly.

"I think I can use it for a festival scene."

"A festival scene?"

"The capital at night. The central square. Right before the male and female leads confirm their feelings. That's when the mana lamps around them all light up at once."

"Hmm..."

Rosanna fell into thought.

She didn't seem to be able to picture it very well.

So I added an explanation for her.

"The lights turn on in sequence. Starting from the end of an alley far away, they flow like a wave past the place where the two of them are standing and all the way to the imperial palace. Like the Milky Way."

"Hmm."

"If the color changes, even better. Blue at first, then gradually turning gold, and finally the entire square shines like dawn."

"Oh... That sounds kind of convincing. But can it be done?"

"Who knows."

I glanced at Belkman.

"Could something like that be possible?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Turning the mana lamps on intentionally, or making them react in order. Like directing a play."

"..."

Belkman didn't answer right away.

A tiny silence slipped in between the hammering and the heat of the forge.

"In theory, there's nothing impossible about it."

Then Belkman said curtly,

"If you engrave the same formula on each mana lamp and send a signal from one side, that's all."

"A signal?"

"A mana signal. Think of it as a resonance formula. Objects engraved with the same formula respond to the same stimulus."

"Ah."

I nodded.

"Then how about engraving such a spell formula into this mana lamp? I think people would really like it."

"That..."

"I guess that's difficult? There's not much time left until the festival."

"...That's right. It'd be impossible to remake this many now. Maybe next year, though."

"So that means this mana lamp doesn't have that kind of formula engraved on it, right?"

"..."

Belkman closed his mouth.

This silence was long. Even when I waited, all I could hear was the hammering.

"Master Belkman?"

"...No. These are goods supplied to the nation. Why would I carve something like that in on my own? Even if I did, I couldn't activate it myself."

At that answer, I smiled a little.

"I understand. Thank you for answering. That was good research. Let's go, Rosanna."

"Right."

"Ah, and Master Belkman. If it's all right, may I take one mana lamp with me? I'd like to use it as a reference."

"No."

Belkman refused firmly.

"Why are you being so picky? It's just one mana lamp. If you need payment, I'll pay."

"As I said, we're still short on stock. Even if you paid me, I can't let it out."

"It's only one. Skimp on sleep and make another. You're a master craftsman in name—surely you can manage that much."

"..."

"Then I'll assume you've agreed and take it. Thanks for your hard work."

I took one mana lamp and left the workshop.

I started walking.

As if we'd agreed beforehand, we were heading back toward the imperial palace rather than to the next patrol area.

Rosanna asked in a low voice,

"Looks like there's something up with that mana lamp."

"You noticed?"

"It's obvious from the other person's reaction. He was acting like he wanted to hide something no matter what."

"It seemed that way. I only noticed something odd at the very end myself."

A lie.

I knew from the beginning. That's why I kept tossing out leading questions, and every time, Belkman couldn't hide his flustered look.

Rosanna must have caught on to that too.

"But Leon. You really didn't know? You looked like you already did."

Still, if I tried to hide it as much as possible, maybe I couldn't completely shake off her suspicion.

Rosanna gave me a skeptical look.

"I'm a slave, but I'm also Her Highness the Princess's writing assistant."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Do you happen to know what a writer's basic skill is?"

"What is it? Writing skill?"

I shook my head.

"Imagination."

I had just been imagining myself earning merit and getting freed.

"Let's hurry back. I think I'll be busy tonight."