Read Novel Full Chapter 420 – At the Research and Development Department
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Chapter 420 – At the Research and Development Department
“That’s quite an entrance you made…”
“Are you jealous?”
“I’m not jealous at all!”
When Isla boasted with a smug look on her face, Iphrita was furious. By the way, behind her, the blacksmith Lamia-san was muttering that she was jealous. Ah, yes. It’s quite, you know, impossible to carry Lamia-san in a princess’s hug, isn’t it? Her lower body is too long. And that snake’s lower body is a mass of muscles, so I’ve heard it’s absurdly heavy. Isla had told me before that I shouldn’t ask Lamia-san how much she weighs.
“So, um, where do we start?”
“Well, let me start with an update on the progress we’ve made while you’ve been away. As for improving the lightning cannon, we solved the reliability problem by replacing the mithril copper alloy with a mithril silver alloy for the magic conductors used in the magic circuits. It survived at least a hundred shots in a row, so I think it’s good enough.”
“Well, it’s a reasonable solution, even if it costs more.”
“Reliability is important in a weapon, isn’t it?”
The improvements are very compelling. For example, by switching to a material with lower magic resistance and higher conductivity, the magic circuitry is less likely to overheat.
“There are other minor advancements as well, but the most notable is that we have made some progress in our research on ritual architecture technology.”
“Ritual architecture?”
“The technology used in the cathedrals of the Adol religion to gather magic power. I called it ritual architecture technology.”
“Ah, I see. What exactly did you mean when you said that you had made progress in your research?”
The original idea was to develop a mana trap technology that automatically collects magic power, and then we discovered the effect of amplifying the miracle of recovery that the cathedral of the Adol religion possesses. The structure, or rather the circuit, is quite complex, and it took a long time to analyze it.
“For the time being, we have focused our research on the part that collects magic power, and the results are now available. It seems to be some kind of magic circle, a technology that could be called a three-dimensional magic circle.”
“A magic circle. There was a theory, but…”
“I don’t know if the cathedral builders of the Adol religion know about it or not, but it is an area that has been the subject of theory among mages and alchemists but has not been put to practical use at all. I wonder where these cathedral architects and others got the idea of such a complicated three-dimensional magic circle.”
“Hmm, it’s a mystery.”
Isla and Iphrita were excited about something, but I didn’t understand a word of it. To sum up, in order to collect magic power efficiently, it is not enough to simply create a fine-grained shell with mithril, which has high magic conductivity; it is necessary to stretch the magic conduit in a suitable shape. The shape of the conductor is rather strictly defined, and if the shape is not correct, the efficiency of the conductor will immediately drop.
“To be honest, just because I’ve been able to use it so far, I can’t say that I understand the details of the technology. At the moment, it is only possible to produce the same efficiency with a mithril copper alloy conductor as with the pure mithril birdcage you made, but it is not even close to being practical.”
“Further technical analysis and development is required.”
“Yes, that’s true. But if we continue to study this technology, we may be able to make the mana traps you were aiming for in the first place practical.”
“I hope so.”
If so, it will be easier to use magic-powered tools in places not near the vein hole where magic power is inexhaustible, and it may also be possible to create energy resources such as magic crystals. This would have a great positive effect on the development of the country.
“Research is also underway on a repeating magic rifle and an anti-physical barrier generator. The prototype of the rapid-fire magic rifle itself has been completed, but there have been problems with the accuracy of the parts for mass production, so we are rethinking the design from the ground up.”
“The development of air-to-air equipment for the harpies is also in progress. It is difficult to reduce the weight.
“It is difficult to do so without using mithril-based materials.”
Other employees of the R&D department also reported to me. I see. As for the rapid-fire magic rifle, I’m mostly out of touch, but as for the mithril materials, well, I’m not so sure.
“I can supply them in large quantities, but they can’t be used for mass production.”
“Since the production of magic iron and steel using vein holes has stabilized, I’ve asked the Vein Hole Research Institute in the Great Omit Wilderness to conduct research to see if the same treatment can be applied to silver and copper.”
“Oh, so that’s it.”
The vein hole center was originally developed as the main base in the Great Omit Wilderness. It was originally the capital of the Kingdom of Omit, but the surrounding area is a desolate wilderness as far as the eye can see. I built the farmlands, so there should be no problem with self-sufficiency. Now, it plays an important role as a production and research center for special products using vein holes, as well as a trading center for the elves of the Black Forest.
“Oh, and what about the ships?”
“The ship’s carpenters left in the morning with a group of woodworkers.”
“Half of the mages on board are also over there.”
Come to think of it, the R&D department is less staffed than usual. Do they go to the ship for maintenance and inspection?
“Speaking of which, where are the people in charge of food technology?”
“They must be at the cannery today. They should be working on the development of the canned food menu.”
“The new product is supposed to be fresh canned vegetables that can be eaten right out of the can.”
“They’ve been all meat-based up until now.”
The herbivorous beastmen all look happy. But what kind of fresh canned vegetables? You don’t mean something with shredded cabbage in it, do you? If it’s pickles, that’s fine… No, they wouldn’t can vegetables as they are, would they?
“Speaking of which, you mentioned they want to expand the cannery.”
“They want three more lines.”
“It’s easy to make the boxes bigger, but it takes manpower, equipment, and materials.”
If we add more lines, many preparations will be needed, including the production of cans for canning, alchemy magic tools to make lids, cooking equipment, and manpower. I will have to talk to Melty, and I will also have to check with the Merchant’s Guild about increasing the production of cans.
“For now, I’ll take care of the settlement work later, so I’ll look into it positively. In any case, we can’t let the surplus food go to waste.
The food production in the Kingdom of Merinard has gone beyond stable and is in surplus because of the farmlands I have created. Of course, there are efforts to export the food to other countries, but canned food, which can withstand long-term preservation, adds value. Of course, it is impossible to can all the food, so it will probably be made into traditional canned foods such as pickles and sold in large jars. If the grains and beans last long, they can be sold as is.
After receiving the detailed report, I left the R&D department and went to my office. Oh, I’m busy, busy, busy… with a lot to do.