The Mother of Scroll Magic

The Mother of Scroll Magic

In the dim room, the light from a desk lamp illuminated only us.

Across from me, Rosso-san sat in a suit, her fingers interlaced in front of her mouth in a G●ndo pose.

"Spill it and feel better."

"Well, this is—"

"Spill it and feel betterrrr!"

Rosso-san shouted as she grabbed the desk lamp and brought it closer.

As I squinted against the glare, Riko-senpai brought a pair of chopsticks toward me from the side.

"I'll make you katsudon..."

"Huh? I'm already full..."

"I'll make you katsudon!"

She pressed the handle of the chopsticks into my cheek and rubbed it around.

As I stood there bewildered, the room lights came on. Miyu-san, holding the lighting remote, was staring at us with narrowed eyes.

"I understand closing the curtains, but why make the room unnecessarily dark?"

"Because I felt like it."

"For the atmosphere."

"So it wasn't to prevent snipers...?"

Good grief, what a frightening idea.

We put away the desk lamp and chopsticks, then each took a seat.

For some reason, the three of them were seated opposite me like an interview panel.

"Now, explain everything in detail. First, tell us about the scrolls you became able to create after your spiritual rank increased."

"Relax and tell us everything! Nothing you say here can be used against you in court!"

"What's with the court? And why is this interrogation still going on?"

"Kota-san."

"Yes."

"Please explain."

"Yes."

I took the newly created scrolls from my pocket and laid them out on the table.

"...Isn't that a lot?"

"There are nine types, excluding the 'Word Spirit' scroll you just used up."

"That many...?"

"Would you be surprised if I told you I managed to make several others with a lot of potential uses besides 'Telepathy'?"

"The fact that you're phrasing it that way already has me surprised."

"Well... to explain what they are..."

I pointed to the scrolls one by one.

'Fire-Earth'

'Ice Storm'

'Thunder Spear'

'Demon-Bane Barrier'

'Guardian Barrier'

'Flight'

'Repair'

'Attribute Infusion'

'Teleportation Gate'

"There."

"Some of those names sound dangerous..."

"Don't panic yet, Rosson. You can't judge them by their names alone."

"...Explain each one."

Somehow, everyone had turned into G●ndo. Was I about to be put in a humanoid weapon for decisive battles...?

It really did feel like an interview, and my back straightened naturally.

"First, 'Fire-Earth' is magic that produces pebbles wreathed in flame. 'Ice Storm' produces icicles wrapped in wind, and 'Thunder Spear' produces spears of lightning."

"...Huh. They're more normal than I expected?"

"Yeah. Even their power is only about on par with what someone with the ordinary 'Scroll Creation' ability can make."

"Really? I thought the magic used by the young oni had quite impressive destructive power."

"Rosson. Scrolls are magic too, so their power varies depending on who's using them."

"I see. Even a mass-produced machine can dominate if an ace pilot is at the controls..."

"Probably. In some ways."

"Why are you looking at me?"

Without thinking, all three of us looked at Miyu-san.

Thinking about it calmly, wasn't she the strangest one of all?

"To get back to the subject, 'Demon-Bane Barrier' temporarily creates a space that deals slip damage to undead- and demon-type monsters. 'Guardian Barrier' is kind of like Tatsumin-san's 'Mana Barrier.'"

"Oh. So it can put up a barrier, okay?"

"Yes. You can either create a mana cube in front of you or deploy it around yourself. However, it isn't as sturdy as Tatsumin-san's, and its duration is shorter."

"...Strange. Everything's been pretty normal so far."

"Young oni, are you hiding something?"

"Kota-san. Lying is wrong."

"Hey, what happened to my credibility?"

Maybe they saw me as someone incapable of understanding the value of the techniques I created.

It was true that immediately after making something, mental fatigue lowered my ability to think, and the next day I would realize, 'Wait, did I make something incredible?'

And if I'd just suffered visual assault or had to go on a death march of retorts, things could slip through the cracks.

"Um, 'Flight' is an enhanced version of the 'Levitation' I've been using. It increases movement speed in the air, and it can be used simultaneously with other magic. It really broadens my options in a fight."

"That's just insanely convenient, isn't it?"

"However, it's less efficient with mana, so I can't call it a straight upgrade. I can't fly for long at present. It's intended for short decisive battles."

After giving a small shrug, I continued.

"'Repair' can fix damaged inorganic objects. However, since it doesn't create something from nothing, you need suitable materials, and the mana consumption varies depending on how well you understand the target. More importantly, it only joins or attaches things in a rough manner, so it can't be used on delicate objects."

"In other words?"

"It can't be used on works of art, precision instruments, or magic tools. Even repairing the wall of a damaged house would result in a large difference in mana consumption depending on whether a carpenter used it or someone else did."

"Got it."

"...Can it be used on 'Kenning'?"

"If you're only joining cracked armor plates together. But considering how long it takes, I wouldn't recommend using it in combat. It takes at least several minutes, and possibly tens of minutes."

"Understood."

"...Another one that's simply useful."

"There might be some groundbreaking uses I just can't think of on the spot. Oh, by the way, can it remove blood soaked into bandages and things?"

"...Stain removal? Not very well, I think. It probably can't remove it completely. It should be able to lighten it, though."

"Okay... So doing anything about bacteria is out of the question, huh? It's only 'rough' after all..."

This magic was useful, but it could only be used for 'gluing' or 'joining.' It also wouldn't activate unless the objects had originally been attached, so it probably couldn't be used directly in combat.

Its basic theory was interference with concepts. Given the difficulty of the formula, it was far from all-purpose.

"'Attribute Infusion' is the one from games where you cloak a weapon in fire or wind."

"Otaku-kun, have you started getting tired of explaining?"

"Not at all. I mean, this one really is just that..."

"Ha!"

Suddenly, Rosso-san opened her eyes wide.

"I've got it! If we infused ordinary stones with flame or lightning, couldn't we revolutionize the energy industry!? We could throw a pickling-stone-sized rock into the industry!"

"The industry? A stone? ...Oh, the idiom."

While Miyu-san looked up the meaning on her smartphone, I shook my head.

"The duration is too short, so probably not. At the very least, it wouldn't produce output commensurate with production costs."

"Rosson. If that were possible, everyone with an infusion ability—including me—would be working at power plants."

"Ugh..."

Miyu-san stroked Rosso-san's dejected back.

Those two had really grown close...

"Oh, right. The 'Teleportation Gate' is a knockoff of Anywhere D●or. You could throw a pickling stone into the logistics industry."

"Hold it."

"I had a feeling from the name."

"Anywhere D●... Ah, that blue raccoon."

Miyu-san clapped her hands. Apparently, it's actually a cat-shaped robot, you know?

"Wait... So it really works more or less exactly as named?"

"More or less. You operate two scrolls as a set; activating one activates the other at the same time. They warp space and connect the two points."

I had no confidence that I could explain the space-warping part any better than D●raemon.

However, unlike those stories you occasionally saw online about 'disassembling something once and then...', this really only joined spaces together.

"However, it consumes considerably more mana than the other scrolls. Also, it can't connect spaces covered in mana, such as places enclosed by barriers or locations inside dungeons."

"So it's like Tatsumin's 'Twilight Greaves.'"

"More importantly..."

"More importantly?"

"Writing them is... unbelievably tedious...!"

"Oh... right."

No, seriously, it was brutal.

Writing a single one took three times as long as the other scrolls. It consumed about three times as much mana too, and afterward I came down with something like a fever from thinking too hard.

Even though I had a relatively large mana pool and my Unique Ability kept me free of illness, my body wouldn't hold up if I tried to mass-produce these.

"There's no way to simplify this one. Absolutely not. And, to begin with, I haven't even figured out how to simplify about half of the scrolls we've used so far, let alone the newly available ones..."

"Otaku-kun is staring into the distance more than usual..."

"The 'Teleportation Gate' scroll... well, yes. Useful, but it sounds difficult."

"Nevertheless, this is marvelous magic. It would let us rapidly transport soldiers and supplies to the site. I believe our ability to respond to spiritual disasters would improve by leaps and bounds."

"...The mana concentration at spiritual-disaster sites is so absurd that I don't think you could use it right at the scene."

"Even so, being able to teleport to a nearby city would make a tremendous difference."

"Yeah..."

If I were told to make these in bulk, I would say absolutely—absolutely not. Even so, I understood how useful they were.

...Actually, couldn't other 'Scroll Creation' users make them? Seriously?

If I could make them, others surely could too. They were probably just hiding it. Besides, the output of these newly available scrolls was about the same as that of scrolls made by ordinary ability users, right?

"And now, the main point in a sense: what does 'being able to give golems correct commands' mean?"

"Right... Where should I start?"

"I'll bring coffee now."

"Oh, uh, thanks."

"Thank you."

"Much appreciated."

After Miyu-san brought coffee for everyone, she placed sugar and milk in the middle of the table.

I added plenty of both and sweetened my coffee—not as much as she did—then drank it while organizing my thoughts.

"Golems are basically idiots."

"You don't mince words."

"On top of that, they're inefficient and have low output. And they 'don't understand commands.'"

"Hmm? What do you mean? I thought they followed simple instructions to some extent. Things like 'walk straight' or 'pick up that object.'"

"That's because golems don't properly understand modern language. Their intelligence is low, but if you speak in a language they understand better, they'll be a little more flexible."

The languages used in the modern era and the Age of Gods were different. It was a miracle that even part of what was said got through.

Or perhaps words didn't get through at all, and they merely reacted to the gestures of the person giving the commands. I couldn't tell for sure.

Someone with the 'Golem Creation' ability might know more, but unfortunately I had no connections like that.

"Wait, what? I didn't know that. This is the first I've heard of it."

"Some mages and production-type ability users probably know. I don't know whether it's classified, but it doesn't seem to be common knowledge."

"Huh...?"

I had learned this just by making a single golem as a test. Other production-type ability users and people with abilities related to 'Golem Creation' definitely knew it too. The latter were quite rare, though, so I couldn't say for certain.

Anyway, if I could understand it, most people probably could too.

For some reason, Riko-senpai was looking at me suspiciously.

"Even so, they won't understand complex commands. However, creating a scroll requires 'understanding the contents of the formula' and 'infusing the correct mana into each individual character.' The simplification process takes care of the former. Then all we need is a way to channel mana into it."

"You say that so casually..."

"I have a question. If that's the case, why do we need a golem?"

"For a non-ability user, setting up a mechanism to infuse mana would be difficult. In other words, the cost wouldn't be worthwhile. And an ability user would be better off doing something else, whether fighting or producing other magic tools or potions."

"Mechanization would be easier and cheaper. Though technically, it would be golemization..."

"After that, all we need is to teach the golem the simplified formula. I adjusted the simplified version so it doesn't have to write out an entire scroll all at once. A specialized golem should be able to write it one section at a time... I think. I haven't actually tried it yet, so I can't say for certain."

If that worked, we could wage a war of attrition with simplified scrolls.

There were many monsters. But compared to humanity as a whole, there should be fewer of them.

If the Self-Defense Forces and militaries used mass-produced scrolls, they should be able to crush all but a few exceptions... probably. Maybe.

By the time they were distributed around the world, though, the mana-infused bullets Kenning had been using would probably be in circulation.

"Next is 'weaponizing golems.' Even with this, I don't think it's possible to have golems fight on their own."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. Therefore, golems are support, nothing more."

"...I see."

"So that's what you mean."

"Huh? Huh?"

Riko-senpai and Miyu-san apparently already understood.

Why did countries want to weaponize golems with low intelligence and low output? Simply because golems could recognize monsters and interact with them.

"So if we turn golems into powered suits, even non-ability-user Self-Defense Force personnel and soldiers could fight monsters?"

"Exactly."

"Oh!"

Rosso-san clapped her hands.

"That's incredible!"

"Yes. It's second only to preventing Miyu-san from turning into someone like Rosso-san."

"Please lower my priority."

"Wait. What do you mean, someone like me?"

"Rosson. Ignore that part for now."

"Oh. Okay. Got it."

Ignoring the twenty-something chuunibyou muttering nonsense like, 'Someone like me... a lady who is a model demon-world aristocrat? Or a dependable adult...?', I continued.

"If you correctly command a golem to 'follow the movements of the wearer,' it should move accordingly, with a lag of a fraction of a second. The power assistance would only be moderate at best, though."

...Actually, I once came up with something called 'The Ultimate Powered-Suit Golem I Designed.'

Despite its absurd cost, it wasn't particularly strong, and the non-ability user wearing it would almost certainly die, so I scrapped it.

In the first place, a powered-suit golem only needed passable close-combat ability as a bonus.

"The wearer makes up for the golem's lack of intelligence, while the golem provides defense against monster attacks that the wearer can't withstand. Then the wearer can defeat the enemy with attacks from scrolls... That's what I'm thinking."

"...But is there any point in wearing a golem? From what you've said, melee combat sounds rough."

"There is. Mainly for defense. Armor infused with mana is difficult to prepare..."

"Ah..."

Kenning's armor really was revolutionary. Any iron plate could be imbued with mana simply by joining it to another one.

It drove home how thoroughly ordinary I was. Something like that would take me a hundred years to create, even if I had that long.

...And the scrolls wouldn't last a hundred years into the future, either. Ten years at most.

I glanced at Miyu-san for an instant, then quickly turned my eyes forward again.

"With a golem, you can use all the mana inside spiritwood as armor instead of merely attaching spiritwood to your body. Since it's made from spiritwood, it's also highly compatible with 'Psychic Shield.' Depending on how you design it, it could become armor capable of stopping even rifle rounds."

"It's unusual for you to say that so definitively, Otaku-kun."

"Ah, well... yes. You're right. I stand by it."

Looking into Riko-senpai's fearless smile, I said it clearly.

"This is magic that will change history."

I could create something that didn't exist even a hundred years later—something that would continue to influence the world a century from now.

Even if I couldn't deliver it to the world she had come from.

That was what made me proud above all else.

"Oh, right. Could the 'Word Spirit' scroll be used to update Kenning? I'm talking about the system."

"Machine language won't work. Things like that don't have any 'Word Spirit' in them..."

"I see. It worked on the smartphone screen, so I thought maybe..."

"Machine language doesn't have any 'Word Spirit' in it..."

Please don't bring Kenning into this. Seriously. I'm begging you.

I can't beat a 'real genius' anyway. Hmph!