Rebuilding a Kingdom - Chapter 43, Chapter 44, Chapter 45 (Patreon)

A Tank as an Idea
Thanks to the arrangements made by Brother Roland, Aria was given a room inside the castle, and it has been decided that Knight Commander Bamberg and Captain Lyshiria will take turns guarding the room.

Both the Knight Commander and Captain are warriors that the Kingdom prides itself on.
It would be difficult for anyone with mediocre skills to defeat these two.
Additionally, Orlan was accompanying Aria.

With this setup, we should be fine even if assassins sneak into the castle.

As I was quietly reading a book in my room, Brother Adel barged in through the door.
He plopped down on a chair and ran a hand through my hair.

"I've used the Royal Castle Knights to thoroughly investigate the Royal Capital over the past two weeks. We shut down three locations holding illegal gambling and dismantled a drug distribution route, but we couldn't catch the Spider's trail. It's really frustrating."

As expected of Brother Adel, he achieved impressive results in such a short period.

However, if Brother Adel continues to act like this, he might clash with the Black Ravens before encountering the Spider.
I need to somehow divert Brother Adel's interest.

Brother Adel crossed his legs and narrowed his eyes.

"I heard from Brother Roland that you've taken in a magician from the Elfast Magic Kingdom. It's only a matter of time before the Magic Kingdom finds out. Sooner or later, they'll demand we hand over the magician. If we refuse, our relations with the Magic Kingdom will worsen. There's even a risk of military conflict."

"Yes, Brother Roland is aware of that too. That's why we need to prepare for any direction things might turn."

"I'm not good at thinking about complicated stuff. I have no idea how to handle this, so I'll follow your lead, Ian."

"Why me? You should cooperate with Brother Roland and Sister Emilia."

"I refuse to follow their orders because it pisses me off. Besides, I've always watched you, Ian. Among our siblings, you've always entertained me with your unconventional ideas. So, just tell me what you need. I'll help as much as I can."

Brother Roland and Sister Emilia are close in age to Brother Adel, so he probably feels rebellious against them.
Having someone as proactive as Brother Adel on my side is a big help.

"Then, I want you to select a few soldiers from the Royal Castle Knights and train them to operate the magic vehicle. Then, take them to the forest around the Royal Capital to hunt magic beasts and bring back their blood. Since fresh blood is essential, I need you to use the magic vehicle to transport it to the castle as quickly as possible."

"Understood. I'll pick some soldiers and head to the forest for training while hunting magic beasts for their fresh blood. Easy enough. I'll go right now."

Brother Adel stood up briskly and left the room in a flash.

Since it was almost noon, I instructed a maid to bring Emmy.

In the afternoon, Emmy appeared in my room.
I asked her as she sat on the sofa.

"How are the dwarves in the workshop?"

"The magic vehicle factory is getting on track, and our guidance to the workers is almost complete."

From the start of the factory's operation, the dwarves in the workshop have been instructing the workers.
Since the people gathered for the recruitment were new to making machine parts and assembling magic vehicles, the dwarves had to teach them everything.

At this pace, it should be fine to pull the dwarves out of the factory.

"I need to ask the dwarves in the workshop for a favor. I want them to make about sixty metal magic vehicles like the prototype they made before."

"Didn't you say those were too heavy and expensive before?"

"I can't go into details right now, but the situation has changed a bit. I want to prepare these in case of emergency. Also, I want them to remove the speed limiters."

"Removing the speed limiters would make them prone to tipping over on rough terrain. The tires wouldn't last either. Why do you need such dangerous magic vehicles? I can't help unless you explain."

Although it's still a topic just among us siblings, we need Emmy’s and the dwarves' cooperation for what's ahead.

The dwarves are stubborn, so Emmy won't help without understanding the situation.

I quietly explained the circumstances with the Elfast Magic Kingdom.
After hearing the story, Emmy frowned and looked troubled.

"I understand the situation. So, there's a chance we might clash with the Elfast Magic Kingdom. That concerns us dwarves living in the Primitivian Sea of Trees as well. Since you told me everything, I'll cooperate. But we need to solve the tire problem; otherwise, removing the limiters would be too dangerous."

"I have an idea for that. I'll draw it out."

I quickly sat at my desk, spread out some parchment, and began sketching my idea.

Of course, the idea comes from my memories of Earth from my previous life.

I showed the completed sketch to Emmy.

"We should use caterpillar tracks instead of tires."

Yes... With caterpillar tracks, made of metal, they can handle rough terrain without any problem.

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Regarding Magic Circles (2)
Emmy, who had been visiting my room, left for the workshop with the design drawing of the tank equipped with caterpillar tracks.

Three days later, the dwarves at the workshop began making the magic tanks, and I explained the situation to Brother Roland and Sister Emilia.

Although Brother Roland seemed sad, he seemed to understand.

Brother Adel, who had quickly chosen soldiers from the Royal Castle Knights after our discussion, departed for the forest around the Capital to train the soldiers in operating the prototype magic vehicles.

The plan was for the soldiers to get accustomed to operating the magic vehicles and then hunt magic beasts in the forest, bringing back fresh blood.

Two weeks had passed since Aria was sheltered in the castle.
During that time, more than ten groups of assassins had snuck into the castle, attempting to kill her.

However, Knight Commander Bamberg and Captain Lyshiria managed to thwart all assassination attempts.
Some assassins managed to sneak into the room, but they were dealt with by Orlan.

I was unaware of this until Orlan mentioned it when he came to visit my room.

Brother Roland and Sister Emilia might have kept it from me to prevent me from worrying.

Given that assassins managed to infiltrate the castle, it’s safe to assume that the Elfast Magic Kingdom is already aware of Aria being protected here.

A week later, Brother Adel returned to the castle.

Barrels filled with the blood of magic beasts were loaded onto the back of the magic vehicle.
It took two days to hunt the beasts and transport their blood to the castle.

Given the time frame, the blood should still be fresh... probably...

I asked Brother Adel to carry the barrels to Aria's room.
I wanted to use my room, but the maids refused.

When I headed to Aria’s room, I found Orlan and Brother Adel glaring at each other.
Aria was flustered, seeking my help.

"Please stop them quickly!"

"What’s going on?"

"Prince Adel suggested to Orlan that they should test each other’s skills."

I see, Brother Adel is a natural warrior.
He must have recognized Orlan's strength at a glance.

I sighed deeply and spoke to Brother Adel.

"Please stop picking fights with my friends. Why are you here, Brother Adel?"

"Oh, I brought the barrels here. I was also interested in the magic circles that magicians use. Then I saw this interesting guy and couldn't resist."

"In any case, no fighting here. If you do, I’ll have Prime Minsiter Sylberg give you a lecture."

Hearing my words, Brother Adel grimaced.

Brother Adel is very curious.
It makes sense he'd be interested in magicians.

I gave a stern warning to Brother Adel and Orlan, so they shouldn't cause any trouble now.

I turned to Aria and explained my purpose for coming.
After hearing my explanation, Aria smiled brightly.

"You want to see me draw a magic circle in action, right? We have fresh magic beast blood, so it’s no problem."

Aria calmly took a glass bottle from the shelf and walked over to the barrels.
She uncorked one and poured the beast's blood into the bottle.

Then she placed the bottle on the desk and began drawing a magic circle on parchment with the blood using her own special pen.

I had previously heard from her that this pen, made from processed mithril, allows her to infuse her magic into the magic circle through the pen.

Still, being able to draw such a perfect circle without a ruler is amazing.
Magic circles won’t activate if there are even slight distortions or mistakes, so Aria’s concentration is truly remarkable.

After finishing the magic circle, Aria murmured something.
Suddenly, a small flame appeared above the magic circle.

"This is a basic fire magic circle. Large-scale magic circles require a significant amount of magic. Usually, this is supplemented either by the magician's own magic or by using magic stones, like in magic devices."

"I understand. But I noticed you murmured something. What was that?"

"That was the incantation to activate the magic circle. It’s dangerous if the magic activates immediately after drawing the circle. So, every magic circle requires an activation key in the form of an incantation."

I see... So, an incantation is necessary to use a magic circle.

Wait, something doesn’t add up.

"I've never seen anyone murmuring incantations when using magic tools. How does that work?"

"That’s because we adjust the amount of magic when drawing the magic circle. When the magic flows into the key part of the circle, the magic activates."

Adjusting the amount of magic when drawing a magic circle...
That’s something only a skilled person could do.

I didn’t know that fresh magic beast blood was necessary to draw magic circles, nor did I know about the activation incantation until recently.

Before meeting Aria, I thought magic circles could be easily used just by analyzing and drawing them...

It’s no wonder that the technology of magic circles hasn't advanced much in the Kingdom of Critonia.

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Magic Circle Seal
Even with Aria’s guidance, it will take a long time to train magicians capable of drawing magic circles.

The Elfast Magic Kingdom already has research facilities for training magicians into sorcerers.
Even if we do the same thing, we won’t be able to catch up with their technology.

Thinking about this, I raised my hand slightly towards Aria.

"Do you always use the same magic circle for a particular spell? For example, when you want to use a fire spell, you use a fire magic circle. Is it always the same design?"

"Yes, that's right. If it's the same scale of magic, we draw the same magic circle every time."

"You said you infuse magic from the body into the magic circle, but does it have to come directly from the person?"

"Not necessarily. I used my special mithril pen to draw the magic circle. As long as the magic circle can hold a certain amount of magic, it doesn't have to come directly from a person."

Listening to Aria, I suddenly realized something.
Brother Adel, noticing my expression, grinned.

"You look like you’ve thought of something. Spit it out. I’ll help."

"Alright, please fetch Emmy immediately. I’ll explain my idea once she’s here."

"I’ll go get her."

Brother Adel, using his strength, activated his blessing and dashed out of the room.

Brother Adel's blessing is Holy Swordsman.

When he activates his body-enhancing abilities, it might be stronger than my Assassin’s blessing's enhancement.

After Brother Adel left, the room became strangely quiet.

Curious, I looked around and saw Orlan asleep on the bed, hugging a blanket.

As an assassin, Orlan probably isn’t interested in magic circles.
And as long as she’s asleep, she won't get into a fight with Brother Adel, so I let her sleep.

After a while, the door burst open, and Brother Adel returned, carrying Emmy under his arm. He tossed her onto the floor.

"I was just assembling a magic vehicle! Why do I have to go through this!"

"I didn't expect Brother Adel to bring you so roughly."

While I bowed my head repeatedly, Brother Adel pointed at Emmy and laughed.

"Just shut up and listen to Ian. It’s something you’ll like."

"Something I’ll like?"

"Yes... I want you to make a machine."

I explained my idea of making a magic circle stamp to Brother Adel, Emmy, and Aria.

By coating the stamp with magic beast blood and stamping it onto metal plates, we could mass-produce magic circles.

This was my idea.

Aria nodded.

"It's a good idea. But my concern is whether we can reproduce the precise details of a magic circle with a stamp."

"You’ve already given me a hint about that. You mentioned that complex magic circles are composed of multiple overlapping magic circles. That means we can break them down into individual parts before combining them."

"I see. By layering multiple stamps, we can create a single magic circle."

Aria smiled happily, understanding my explanation.
Next to her, Emmy exclaimed in excitement.

"For example, if there are four stamps, and you press them in sequence, they form a complete picture. This means even complex magic circles can be made with stamps. I've never heard of such an interesting machine idea."

This idea came from the woodblock prints in my previous life in Japan.
The images I saw used different blocks to reproduce colorful designs.

For a while, the four of us discussed what kind of stamping machine to make.

Aria and Emmy quickly bonded, discussing which magic circles to draw.
Brother Adel, nodding next to them, probably didn’t fully understand but pretended to.

Suddenly, a problem crossed my mind.

Getting magic beast blood from the forest around the Capital is fine, but it takes days to hunt and transport the blood.
This affects the freshness and is a hassle to do repeatedly.

While it works for now, it might be better to explore other options for the future.

The Elfast Magic Kingdom cultivates magic insects in their research labs for an efficient supply of materials for drawing magic circles.

I clapped my hands and looked at Brother Adel.

"Brother Adel, I have a place I’d like you to go."

"I’m willing to help. Just tell me."

"Could you go to the sewers of the Capital and catch some slimes?"

Brother Adel made a disgusted face, sticking out his tongue.

Oh right, I forgot.
Brother Adel is surprisingly neat and tidy.

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