Three days had now passed since Reinhardt, Berthie, and Saki were officially welcomed into the Hourai Island family .
It went without saying, that they all enjoyed themselves during that time .
Reinhardt completed the paddleboat that he had wanted to make, and Saki increased her knowledge on various materials .
As for Elsa, she was gaining experience by making magic tools that Jin had made up until nowâŚsuch as vacuum cleaners, refrigerators, lighters, popcorn makers, distillers, and magic lamps .
As for Berthie, who was neither a Magi Craftsman or an alchemist, she studied under Pelidolida, one of the golem maids . And she learned how to cook new things and expanded her repertoire .
But it was not as if Edgar, Ehr, Neon, and Noir were standing around and doing nothing either .
Edgar was with Laozi, Ehr with Butler 1, and Neon was with Soreiyu and Rulna . And Noir learned a lot from Land 1 .
âHmm . Jin, this development environment is wonderful!â
Reinhardt said happily when he came back from testing his paddleboat at Tatsumi Harbor . For now, he had Marine 50 and 51 driving the boat .
âI donât think I can go back to using an ordinary workshopâŚâ
Reinhardt muttered with a smile . While he stayed in the workshop during the day, Berthie always dragged him out during the night, so he was getting enough rest at least .
âReiko . Would you mind helping me?â
It seemed like Elsa was going to start something with her again . Recently, Reiko had been listening to any problems that Elsa had . And Elsa really relied on her .
âWhat is it?â
âYes . This time, Iâm thinking about making an accessory instead of a magic toolâŚâ
âI understand . You want a design . â
Through Laojun, Reiko had all of the world information that Quinta had gathered .
And that included designs that were popular among noblewomen .
âJin, I want to talk to you . Is that alright?â
As Saki saw things differently from Magi Craftsmen like Jin, he always found her interesting .
Saki was currently dressed in white . It was made of cloth that was weaved from the webs of a Grand Spider . Jin had given it to her as a present . It stayed clean and was very durable .
She looked like a mad researcher . Her glasses really suited her .
âWhat is it?â
âYes, itâs about engineering magic . Uh, what is engineering magic?â
âHmm? âŚItâs magic you use for Magi Craft . â
It was the most obvious answer . But Saki was not satisfied with it .
âNo, no . Thatâs not what I want to ask you . Hmm . Maybe I should rephrase it . â
Saki said as she looked out of the crystal window .
âYou, Elsa, Reinhardt and Magi Craftsmen can use a magic called âForming,â right?â
âAh, thatâs right . That is engineering magic . â
âAnd you can process Adamantite if you can use Forming?â
âYes . â
âAdamantite is the strongest metal known to man . And you canât affect it with magical energy . So if they can change its shape, shouldnât it require incredibly powerful magic?â
âI see . â
Jin understood what Saki was trying to say .
For instance, it required almost limitless power to bend Adamantite . However, Forming made it possible with only a little magic energy . Why was that?
âHmm . I hadnât really thought about thatâŚâ
Jin had a few theories of his own . He decided to organize them in his head and then explain them .
âForming is the affecting of atoms or molecules of substances, wherein weakening their binding power, you can change their shape . â
âI donât really understand . So, are you saying that you weaken it first and then change the shape?â
Saki didnât really understand terms like atoms and molecules . But she seemed to grasp the general idea .
âWouldnât that make Forming one of the strongest kinds of magic? Swords, armor and even castle walls will become useless if you change their shape, right?ââHmm . But it doesnât really work like that . First, the user must be touching the object . And the thing that you can transform must be proportionate in size with the amount of your magic energy . â
âHmm, hmm . In other words, you must be touching it and have a lot of magic energy . â
âYes . And it also takes time to activate . You touch it, send the energy into the object, and then change its shape . This is time-consuming . Itâs not like unleashing a fireball . â
While Jin was an exception, for most people it would be impossible to use Forming to bend a sword that was swinging towards you . Similarly, making a path through a castle wall would take way too much energy .
âI see . I understand it perfectly now . Thank you . â
They had a lot of small conversations like this .
This one was on the first day . And on the second dayâŚ
âJin . Is it true that engineering magic doesnât work on living creatures?â
Saki asked him .
âYes, thatâs right . For instance, you canât use Shaping on a tree . Yet you can use Wind Cutter to cut it down . â
âThen at what point can you use Shaping? Can you use it once it is cut down?â
âYes, you can . Whether itâs the trunk or branches, you can use Shaping once it is cut down . â
Saki heard Jinâs answer and seemed to be deep in thought . And then she looked up again after having pondered over it for a full minute .
âLetâs leave the difference between a tree and wood aside for a moment . âŚWhat is the real reason that you canât use Shaping on a tree?â
Now it was Jinâs turn to think . He came up with a theory in less than 30 seconds .
âWith Shaping and Forming, which we talked about recently, I think they are affected by Ether and not Mana . â
All living creatures in this world carried Mana without exception . They took in the Ether and converted it into Mana inside of their bodies .
Apparently, Mana circulated inside of bodies . So, while this Mana was circulating, engineering magic did not work . That was Jinâs theory .
âHoho! Thatâs amazing, Jin! I never heard that theory before! Then that means, in order to become a Magi EngineerâŚor Magi Craftsman, you need to be able to control Ether!â
Thatâs how the conversation went .
As for the third dayâŚâJin . I just thought of an interesting experiment . Will you please help me?
Saki suggested to him .
âWhat is it?â
Saki always had interesting ideas . And this seemed like no exception . So Jin had high expectations as he waited for her to explain .
âI was wondering if it is possible to melt Grand Spider webs . â
âWhat!?â
Grand Spider webs were incredibly strong . And while coming in the shape of threads meant they were easy to use, you were also limited in what you could use them for .
âI seeâŚâ
There was a resin known as nylon . Well, it was a polyamide resin, to be precise . Nylon 66 was particularly famous, as it was known for being âstronger than steel and thinner than a spiderâs web . â
And polyamide reside was not only fiber, but it could also be used like plastic .
âSo, you want to know if it can be used like natural resin . I never thought of that . â
Jin was quite enthusiastic about it .
âGrand Spider web is immune to magic, isnât it?â
Sakiâs question hit the nail on the head . The web of a Grand Spider could not be burned even with the most advanced fire magic . It could not be melted .
âDidnât you say that Grand Spiders eat Ether? So, wouldnât that mean that Grand Spiders are like great blobs of Ether?â
Jin had thought about it as well . If they lived off of Ether alone, then surely their body must be made of it as well .
âFather . Rulna said that she once inspected a dead Grand Spider . â
Reiko sometimes offered unexpected information out of nowhere .
âApparently, Grand Spiders have a very long lifespan . But this one had been crushed when the cave it was nesting in collapsed . And so she brought it back to see if it could be used for materials . â
âTh-that! Tell me more!â
Saki said excitedly as she rushed closer . Reiko was unaffected by this and continued to talk calmly . âAccording to her, 80% of its body contained Ether . â
The Pelshika of Hourai Island also contained a lot of Ether . So, the same could be said about the Grand Spider .
âPerhaps you could say that the Ether changes shape and turns into the webs . â
Jin said . Saki agreed .
âI think that itâs very possible! Wouldnât that explain why normal magic is unable to penetrate it?â
Then they noticed that they were being distracted a little . They had originally been talking about the possibility of melting the web .
âHehe . Itâs because it is so fun to talk with you, Jin . I sometimes forget myself . â
âUhh . You want to know if you can melt the web of a Grand Spider, yes? As you can connect webs through Fusion, it should be possible . Reiko, bring us some Grand Spider web now . It can even be a scrap of cloth . â
âYes, father . â
Reiko brought an extra scrap that was from the white clothes that had been made for Saki .
âWait for a minute . âŚHmm, you do this here, and⌠Okay . Dissolute . Forming . â
Saki looked on with surprise as Jin used the original âDissoluteâ which was a modified version of âFusion . â But she pushed that feeling aside and concentrated as she watched him melt the Grand Spider web .
The web was semi-transparent once melted, and Jin used Forming to spread it out like a sheet .
âYou did it, Jin!â
âYes, it went well . â
Saki was happy that her idea had worked . And Jin was happy that they had discovered new possibilities for the Grand Spider web .
After thatâŚ
âMaster Jin . This bathroom . I would like to adopt the same thing for my own house!â
âJin! Jin! That toilet is wonderful! I want one when I get back as well!â
There were two more people who were now obsessed with the toilet which had features including a washlet, deodorization, sterilization, and decomposition .