Chapter 9: The Magic Research Laboratory
In the end, our discussions at the magic academy ended up focusing mostly on political matters, leaving no time to exchange information about magic circles and spells.
Balbrea told me we’d definitely make time for that next time, and with that we left the academy for the day.
By the way, it seems the students were given a proper tour of the academy. They were talking about the lecture styles and content, which apparently differed from Fidic Academy in interesting ways. Even without my saying anything, it’s wonderful that the students seem to be studying magic diligently.
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The next day, Crown-Windsor came to greet us.
We had just finished breakfast in the dining hall and were chatting, so his timing was good. But as soon as he arrived, without even properly greeting us, he insisted we go to the research lab.
“Good morning. I’ve been wanting to show Aoi the research lab. Let’s go! What should I show first? Perhaps I should start with our advanced healing magic research. Or maybe I should show our works in progress and get Aoi’s opinion…”
He seemed to be trying to guide us, but Crown got a bit overexcited and started talking to himself midway. Seeing him fret, I told him to calm down.
“Crown, please relax. We’ll go as soon as everyone is ready.”
Hearing that, Crown said “I understand” but then started pacing around restlessly.
As I watched the fidgety Crown, I thought he looked like a child waiting in line for an amusement park ride. He reminded me of Owen when he had just completed a new magical tool.
When the women returned from preparing in their rooms, Crown perked up again.
“Alright, shall we head to the lab? First, I’d really like to show Aoi our water magic.”
“Water magic?”
“Yes, I can’t forget the ice magic I saw before. I want the researchers to see it too.”
“I see.”
Chatting like this, we followed Crown’s lead to the research lab. His footsteps were light as we walked, and he talked a lot, probably due to excitement. Though I found him a bit noisy, watching him again reminded me of Owen, bringing back nostalgic feelings.
The research lab was built to be somewhat hidden behind the royal castle. It was all single-story buildings in a semicircular shape. This stood out as odd, since most other buildings were combinations of squares and triangles.
Also, there were always square buildings attached around the semicircular ones. These were about half the size of the semicircular structures. Crown pointed to one of the square buildings and explained:
“These buildings are for researching magic of each element. They also store materials used in the research.”
Saying that, he headed towards the building directly in front. Like the others, it had pure white walls, but the door alone was made of what looked like black iron plates.
“This is the water magic research lab.”
Crown said just that and opened the door without knocking.
It was dim inside, and as light from outside streamed in, the interior gradually became visible.
There was a long table in front, behind which stood three people, two men and a woman. They seemed to have been discussing something spread out on the table, but now stood frozen in surprise at the sudden opening of the door.
Behind them, bookshelves lined the walls, packed tightly. Were they all magic books?
This should be quite interesting.
As I was thinking this, Crown entered first and called out to the men and woman inside.
“Good morning. I’ve brought Aoi, a senior instructor from Fidic Academy. Show us the magic you’re currently researching right away. I want to hear their opinion.”
“C-Crown-Windsor?! W-What’s this all of a sudden…?!”
“A senior instructor from Fidic Academy?! We can’t possibly show them!”
The two men furrowed their brows and shouted at Crown, who had appeared suddenly with such an outrageous statement.
Not only was his introduction problematic, but his demand was clearly unreasonable by any standard. Perhaps Crown had said yesterday he had business at the lab, but hadn’t actually informed anyone?
For now, I lightly tapped Crown’s back.
“Excuse me for a moment.”
Saying that, I stood beside Crown and looked at the three people behind the table. All three were eyeing us suspiciously.
“We’re from Fidic Academy. My name is Aoi Kōnominato. These are two fellow instructors and some students. Today, with permission from His Majesty Diagio, we’d like to tour this research lab.”
I showed them the bracelet I received from Diagio, conveying that we had proper permission, and bowed slightly. The three hesitated for a moment, then exchanged glances.
“F-From His Majesty?”
“I did hear about this. Though I didn’t know it would be this specific lab…”
After whispering amongst themselves, the three turned back to us in unison. With expressions that seemed to be gauging the situation, they nodded slightly.
“…Aoi, was it? We’re uneasy about Crown’s involvement, but if you have His Majesty’s permission, we have no objections. Please, feel free to look around the magic research lab.”
Finally seeming to have reached an agreement, the woman standing in the middle granted us permission to tour.
Indeed, if one explains carefully and mindfully, people will understand.
Thinking this, I nodded and spoke:
“Thank you very much. Then, to start, could you please tell us about Maple Leaf’s unique water magic?”
Having judged that we’d gained their understanding, I made this request. For some reason, the three tensed up and froze.
Then they exchanged glances and started whispering again.
“…Hey, isn’t this just like Crown?”
“Are they really authorized by His Majesty?”
“That’s what we’ve been told, but…”
After some back-and-forth, we were finally able to convince them.
However, they seemed to have some reservations about Fidic Academy, as their gazes remained stern.
“We understand and agree to disclose our magic research. However, it seems unfair for this to be one-sided. If you could teach us some magic unknown in Maple Leaf, that would be good.”
The female magic researcher spoke these challenging words, her tone polite but her eyes defiant.
The magic research lab, composed of the nation’s top magicians like court magicians – how much magic could there be that these researchers didn’t know?
Their confidence and pride were evident in their gazes.
However, I too am a disciple of Owen, who spent many years in research. There’s likely magic unknown to Maple Leaf as well.
Thinking this, I pointed towards the door.
“I understand. Then, we’ll provide information about our magic first. Let’s go outside. We need a bit more space, for safety.”
I made this suggestion thinking we shouldn’t damage the lab, but the three researchers all smiled wryly.
“All research labs have specially reinforced experiment rooms. These are built to withstand even the highest-level magic being researched in Maple Leaf. Please, use this experiment room.”
The woman confidently pointed to a door at the back. Strauss and the others started to say something, but Crown quickly raised a hand to silence them.
“How interesting. Let’s certainly take a look.”
As Crown said this with a knowing smile, the researchers exchanged glances and tilted their heads in confusion.
Moving to the experiment room, I was surprised at how spacious it was. About half the size of a tennis court, it had thick metal doors and seemed to have metal plates lining the inside as well.
The ground level was lowered by about 1.5 meters, with stone slabs laid at the bottom.
“This design was developed through numerous experiments. Many court magicians have tested high-level magic here, but since adopting this form, there’s been no damage to the outside.”
Saying this, they descended the stairs to the lower level and turned to face us. I nodded in understanding from the top of the stairs.
“Indeed, lowering the ground level and making the upper part spherical to resist shock and pressure makes sense.”
Murmuring this while looking down at the three, I descended the stairs. As expected from its appearance, the floor at the bottom felt hard.
Perhaps due to the enclosed space, my footsteps echoed loudly. I felt everyone’s eyes turn to me at once because of this.
“…Well then, let’s start with advanced water magic.”
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