Field Trip (1)

On the day of their arrival, a tour of the mine and temporary research institute was scheduled. The students were split between six carriages that headed for the King’s Forest. Arthur, Kleio, Isiel, the twins, Nebo, and Fran all rode together in the last carriage. The twins had fallen asleep, all their energy consumed that morning, so it was a little quiet.

“What, what happened on the Lei train? The seats were so comfortable because they were first-class.”

Arthur leaned against the window and poked Kleio, who was looking outside.

“It’s not such a problem…”

“You suffered from the twins? Still, stretch out and stop sobbing.”

“I don’t feel like I’m going to be strong right now.”

“Then talk to me. The wine for dinner will be awesome.”

“Wine?”

“These days, everyone brings up the mines when Dubris is mentioned, but the red wine made in the Tarsus Vineyard at the foot of the forest is also delicious.”

Cel intervened at that, clearly excited by the thought of drinking.

“It’s delicious! The production of Tarsus wine is so low that only VIPs at our hotel can get it. This time we can drink a lot.”

Only then did Kleio’s mood start to improve.

‘Yes, hold on while thinking about that wine…’

After riding for about twenty minutes, the plains came to an end, and the forest scenery began. As the carriage climbed the wide but less compacted road for a while, all he could see were trees and piles of dirt, as well as the occasional cargo tracks. In the distance, he could also see a tall vertical shaft. He could be sure of one thing.

‘The development of the mine was coming along before it showed up in the newspaper.’

Finally, they reached the entrance to the mine. After getting off the last wagon, Kleio was exhausted from the long travel as he noticed the students’ flurry.

“There must’ve been a lot of hardships along the way. I hope you will be comfortable and learn a lot.”

Melchior’s beautiful voice echoed clearly from far away, causing Kleio to almost fall to the ground. He wanted to hide back in the carriage but instead mustered his courage to glance to the side at Melchior like he was some fearsome beast. The prince was dressed in a simple outfit and leather hunting gloves, with only two attendants. One was a sturdy knight with short black hair, and the other was a scholarly woman. Not only the students but also the teachers were shaken by the unexpected welcome. Even the old professor Maria stuttered in front of the prince.

“Wow, it is an immense honor to be welcomed directly by the crown prince.”

“No, not at all. These students are the ones who will be responsible for Albion’s future. It is no waste to put in some effort myself. Then, please take a look around.”

Even though the prince was asking them to be comfortable, the mostly noble children treated him with the utmost courtesy.

‘What sort of idol signing event or Pope’s visit is this? It’s crazy, crazy.’

Kleio stood behind Arthur and Cel, waiting for Melchior to leave. However, the crown prince gracefully greeted the students and reached the end of the carriage. Kleio hurriedly turned on Separation and Perception.

“It’s been a while, Arthur!”

“It has been, brother.”

“Ahaha, you seem to have become more dignified.”

“My brother is still the same.”

Melchior pulled Arthur into a hug. Arthur was tall for his age, but Melchior, a full ten years older, was slightly bigger. Of course, Arthur, a trained swordsman, was stronger. When it came to strength, he couldn’t lose to his brothers, but Arthur concealed his displeasure and tolerated Melchior’s friendliness.

‘As an outsider, it seems like a heartfelt relationship.’

Melchior stared clearly at Kleio with eyes of bronze and reddish gold. In fear, Kleio reflexively held the hidden ring around his finger. Melchior was interested in Kleio as well.

“How are you, Sir Kleio?’

“I see the crown prince is doing well.”

Kleio barely managed a greeting as Arthur came to his rescue.

“Brother, let’s be comfortable, be comfortable.”

“Yes, please call me as before…”

“Hahaha. If you like it better, I welcome it.”

“Then, you said hello, so why don’t we move on? Since you’re here, no one’s leaving.”

“Oh my, I’ve become a bit of a hindrance.”

‘Go if you know that. Don’t get stuck here…’

Kleio, sweating as he tried to deduce the prince’s purpose, looked back as he felt movement behind him. It was Fran.

“But now that I’m here, let me say hello to Count Werner Nils Hyde-Wight’s son. Francis, this is my first time meeting you.”

“…Nice to meet you.”

Fran raised his chin unconsciously as he responded. At that moment, Promise let out a golden string of words, showing that the prince was activating his unique skill, Structural View.

‘In the end, he’s using that?! Ahhhh!’

Preparing for the world to shake, Kleio tightly closed his eyes. A few seconds passed.

“What are you doing?”

Cel struck him in the back as he heard the peaceful sounds of the twins playing. Nothing had happened. Melchior was facing Fran with a compassionate expression while Arthur seemed restless under his smiling face, and Cel was regarding him with confusion.

‘Is it not happening because I’m not the target?’

It was the moment he was about to let out a sigh of relief…

Fran fell like a puppet whose strings had been cut.

“Fran!”

“Are you okay?!”

Kleio, who tried to catch him, fell with him instead. He noticed the back of Fran’s hand, covered in sweat, was faintly shining for a moment.

‘Is this also some skill conflict?’

Indeed, the skill of Propaganda didn’t seem to match the prince’s talent. Even so, Fran, an ordinary person, couldn’t have stopped Melchior.

“Teacher! There is a student who is sick.”

The chaos ended after Isiel grabbed Kleio and raised him as Cel quickly called over a teacher. Meanwhile, Melchior seemed seriously concerned about the student. If he hadn’t heard the whispers between Melchior and his knight, even Kleio would’ve been deceived.

“Was there resistance?”

“Some, but confirmation was possible. It’s surprising.”

“They don’t appear to care about age anymore. It’s evidence that the organization is breaking down.”

“I know. Tasserton.”

Hearing the conversation through Perception, Kleio also felt like he wanted to pass out and lie down.

‘What was Fran doing?! Melchior’s serious!’

It was clear Fran’s real goal wasn’t at the level of posting articles in magazines and sprinkling propaganda. Words like conspiracy and rebellion began to spin around Kleio’s mind.

.

.

.

As he explored the temporary laboratory and the mine shaft, Kleio’s thoughts began to drift. His spirit had barely returned after the first cup he had with dinner. It was thanks to that delicious wine that his eyes were opened.

‘It’s a multi-layered wine?!’

The red wine, which had a black currant and chocolate scent, had a rich color, but the taste was soft and creamy. It went well with the butternut squash soup, smoked trout, creamed veal, and autumn mushrooms that were served.

‘I’m glad I at least don’t have to look at the prince’s face while we eat.’

The spacious hall of the winter palace had lights on each wall with the dinner table placed in a row in the middle. The crown prince, Arthur, and the professors were seated at the uppermost corner. The twins and Cel were also near Arthur. Most of the students had hurried to sit close to the prince, so Kleio was able to take up a further seat. Thanks to that, he could enjoy his food correctly.

‘With the prince nearby, I wouldn’t have known how delicious this food was.’

Someone made a loud noise next to him as he concentrated only on his meal.

“No, no, the main dish has already been released!”

It was the freckled woman with curly hair that had accompanied the crown prince. She was a scholar of mining, but because of her small stature and simple clothes, there didn’t appear to be an age difference between her and the students sitting nearby.

“Here, fill up some liquor! Also, bring the veal dishes!”

As if the dinner served by the prince was some tavern affair, the researcher loudly called out to the servants and looked carefully around after taking a shot of her drink.

“Good morning. I am Freda, a researcher from the mining bureau.”

Kleio, still chewing on his last piece of veal, responded a beat later.

“…Hello. My name is Kleio Asel; thank you for your kind guidance.”

Freda, who frowned down at him for a moment, laughed openly and laid down her empty glass.

“You didn’t listen to my explanations, but you’re good at greetings! Kleio… let’s see, are you aspiring to be a wizard?”

“That’s right.”

“Oh, but you’re still not interested in tiplaum?”

“No, I’m very interested. However, I was worried since my friend suddenly collapsed…”

“Ahahaha, friendship is more important than anything else when you’re a student. Would you like me to explain it again? Do you have any questions about Tiplaum?”

Freda wasn’t really asking for his consent. She was just an otaku who wanted to talk about her virtues. Of course, that meant she was a great source of information for Kleio.

“Yes, I am curious. In particular, I would like to know how far the tiplaum problem has been solved.”

“Wow, you really are interested! Listen, as Master Zebedee made the suppression collar before, instead of activating the ether of the tiplaum by changing its shape or engraving magic into it, it is said the function must be engraved after activating the ether from the start. All researchers’ opinions agree on that.”

“That’s why it isn’t possible to process it without a high-level wizard?”

“Yes. There are only fourteen wizards advanced enough right now to process it, but those precious and troubled people can’t be sent to a factory line. Even low-level wizards and ether users have to change the conditions so that they can process tiplaum according to their purposes.”

“Is it possible to solve the problem of invalidating the magic formulas engraved by wizards below level 6 by permanently activating the ether?”

“I think it can be solved theoretically, but it hasn’t succeeded yet.”

‘What, are you almost there? Can it be done without Fran? Have a look, Albion Mining Bureau!’

“But, I’m not looking for a stable formula that keeps tiplaum’s etheric activity. After a few successes, I had no hopes, but now my failures feel more bitter.”

“Did you find a catalyst to engrave the formula?”

Looking back at the last manuscript, it wasn’t easy to make the formula or to engrave it on tiplaum. If it were scraped in with a chisel, it would be erased within a day due to the nature of tiplaum. It had a similar melting point to iron and could be processed similarly, but even after making a finished product, it would return to its original form after about a day.

‘If it’s alloyed with another metal, it will separate.’

So even with a formula engraved into it, a catalyst that could corrode tiplaum was necessary. Until now, advanced wizards of level 6 or higher processed it directly with ether and inscribed the magic formula to suit its unique purpose to maintain its shape. One of the representative objects of that technique was Zebedee’s suppression collar.

‘If it’s making one or two, that’s fine, but now that a vein has been found, they want to mass-produce it.’

“Among them, the engraving of adamantium has remained the longest, but it was erased after a while. Ha, all I have to do is solve this problem, but the feeling that the answer is hidden under my nose is so terrible!”

Freda pretended to stab the air with her fork. She already had three drinks, so it was inevitable she called for more alcohol. Kleio, meanwhile, was thinking about eating the chocolate mousse topped with salt caramel. In the last manuscript, the revolutionary formula for maintaining tiplaum’s etheric activity was published as the sole work of Fran, a genius wizard. The document described how wonderful it was, but the exact formula wasn’t stated…

‘I wish I knew exactly what it was!’

Indeed, it was the sorrow of literature that he felt.