Chapter 27: The Utility of Law (3) While the proprietor, Lorenzo, went down to the basement to fetch materials, I turned back to Armand. The boy's eyes were wide, still glaring at me.
"······."
However, he remained silent. He wore his discontent plainly on his face but didn't open his mouth.
I spoke to him.
"It was an item that shouldn't have been sold in the first place. Even before the legal issues, it was a defective product."
I delivered the facts without emotion. Tears welled up in Armand's eyes—not out of sadness, but out of indignation.
I looked at the fragments of the shattered waterwheel. Moments ago, I had perceived the principles of mana that Armand had utilized.
It was an ability I hadn't possessed before my regression—likely a talent bestowed upon me by the virus.
"······You don't know anything."
"Try carving mana circuits into the framework of the waterwheel."
"Hmph. That's ridiculous—"
Armand stopped mid-sentence. His face went blank, as if he had suddenly fallen into deep thought.
"Embed the circuits inside the waterwheel to internalize the mana, then anchor them in place with mana stones."
It was a principle similar to reinforcing concrete with rebar. It was difficult to explain in detail, but I somehow 'felt' it to be true. It felt as though I were being forcibly fed knowledge that wasn't mine.
"······!"
Armand seemed to grasp the principle instantly.
"If I plant mana circuits inside the waterwheel, the mana's tendency to spread through matter will naturally coat the exterior! Then it won't be easily worn down by the mana in the atmosphere. Its durability will be much higher!"
His face brightened as he looked up at me, but then he suddenly slumped again. I wondered if a child this young could have bipolar disorder.
"······But you said it violates the law anyway."
I shook my head.
"I said there was 'room' for it to be a violation."
Language is a matter of nuance.
If the argument that this waterwheel absorbs natural mana to generate 'natural mana stones' is accepted, it's legal.
If the argument that it artificially converts natural mana to 'synthesize' mana stones is accepted, it's illegal.
In truth, who makes the argument matters more than the validity of the argument itself.
What if the one making that claim was an Ebenholtz?
The mana waterwheel might go down in history as a decent invention.
"But why is making synthetic mana stones forbidden? Even if they're less efficient than natural ones, we could make so many more of them."
"Because mana stones are a product of the establishment."
"The establishment?"
Manufacturing synthetic mana stones is treated as a crime more serious than drug trafficking in the Empire.
The ownership of mana stone mines is almost entirely monopolized by noble families. Consequently, they label the technology of synthetic mana stones a 'profane act against the laws of nature' and suppress it ruthlessly.
"······For now, the cost of making synthetic mana stones is much higher than mining them."
"That's only for now. If the technology improves, it'll get better. If mana stones become cheap, everyone will be better off."
"A world where everyone is better off cannot exist. The world would be destroyed before that happens."
Armand blinked. With his buzz cut, he was a cute kid.
"Did you say you were the proprietor's apprentice?"
"No. I'm just Armand. The boss just uses me for labor."
"······."
That couldn't be true. Lorenzo seemed like a prickly man who wouldn't keep someone around unless he truly liked them. He must have already recognized Armand's talent.
"What about school?"
"I don't go. I tried, but there was nothing to learn."
"Family?"
"Don't have any."
Armand's appearance deviated subtly from that of a pure Imperial. There was a high probability he was a sub-species.
However, origins can be forged. Since he was still young, it would be possible if I started the process now.
"Armand!"
Just then, the proprietor emerged from the basement.
"Go downstairs. Now!"
"······Yes, sir."
Armand scurried down to the basement. Lorenzo greeted me again with a softened expression.
"If you return next week, your order should be ready."
I nodded.
"I'll send someone then."
"Understood."
"Why don't you send that boy to school?"
I gestured toward the basement where Armand had disappeared. Lorenzo gave a bitter smile.
"Even without something like school, that child—"
"I suppose so. You could teach him the theory yourself, Mr. Giorgio."
"······."
Lorenzo—no, Giorgio's face stiffened.
Giorgio Chirico. Why would a man who was once hailed as a genius scholar turn his back on the world to hide in a shabby place like this?
His story was quite famous before my regression. It was one of the cases used to highlight the corruption of the Imperial nobility.
Giorgio had proposed an innovative theory that became the foundation of the Empire's magi-engineering technology, but it was stolen entirely by a certain noble who had been his student. He fought a long, grueling legal battle, but he naturally lost. It was because Giorgio was a commoner.
"Inductive Mana Field Formation Theory. I heard the theory that led to the invention of modern mana coils was your achievement. Though, currently, the Listman family monopolizes the patent."
Talent is a curse. Especially talent bestowed upon a commoner.
"If you ever need my help, please let me know."
Lorenzo gave a wry smile. He rubbed his ruined knee and spoke softly.
"······May I be honest with you?"
I nodded.
"That will likely never happen, my noble lord."
It wasn't just stubbornness; he had become a man who could no longer trust the nobility.
"Then I shall be honest with you as well."
I took a Sentinel business card from my wallet and placed it on the table.
"You are free to change your mind at any time."
I spoke as I pulled my flat cap down.
"Mr. Giorgio. You know the reason why you lost."
In a distorted world, the essence of the matter isn't about being right. Giorgio had argued for his own righteousness, but that was precisely why he lost.
"You didn't lose because you were wrong. You lost because you lacked power."
Ebenholtz possesses the power to correct that distortion, even if it is belated.
"Well then, excuse me."
I turned and left the shop.
* * *
Inside the darkened mana shop—「Lorenzo Carione」.
Lorenzo sat in an old chair, lost in deep thought. The flickering candle on the table cast a red glow over his weathered face. Numerous tools hanging on the walls wavered in the shadows.
At that moment.
Clink—
The locked shop door opened. A man walked into the darkness. He was an old friend of Lorenzo's. He leaned against the counter and looked at Lorenzo.
Lorenzo asked, "What is it this time?"
"······Listman is looking for you."
Lorenzo's expression hardened. Karl, the eldest son of the Listman family. He was once Lorenzo's most promising student, but he was a traitor who had stolen his theory and fled. He must be in his forties by now.
"······Me? After all this time?"
"Yeah. His performance has been stalled for quite a while now."
Lorenzo gritted his teeth.
"It won't take them long. You know the influence the Listmans have these days."
"······Thanks for letting me know."
"Are you going to run again?"
The friend looked around the interior.
"You've decorated this shop quite well. Why don't you join us for the cause—"
"Shh."
Lorenzo put a finger to his lips.
"Don't say such things to me. I don't want to have to report you."
"······Right. Thanks. Take care of yourself."
The friend left with a bitter smile.
Clink.
"······."
In the shadow-drenched shop, Lorenzo fell into a deep reverie.
Once, he had devoted his entire life to his studies.
But what had he achieved? What was left?
Only stolen honor and a permanent disability that would never heal.
"Boss! Boss! Look at this!"
A cute commotion broke out. It was Armand, excitedly coming up from the basement. In his hands was a brand-new waterwheel.
"I rebuilt the frame just like that knight said, and it's so much sturdier! The mana efficiency is better, too!"
"······."
Lorenzo looked into the child's shining eyes and asked weakly.
"······Do you really have to make that?"
"Huh?"
Armand looked confused.
"Come on~ You always said, Boss! If you make just one really good thing, you can live well for the rest of your life! Of course, since this might violate the law, I'll keep it well hidden for now!"
Lorenzo gave a bitter smile. Armand went back down to his workshop, excited once again.
Even if it was an item he couldn't sell, an item he couldn't show the world, he was a pure soul who rejoiced in the act of invention itself.
He was the spitting image of Lorenzo's own youth.
But if Listman found him, if he had to run away again...
He couldn't take the boy with him.
Lorenzo suddenly looked into the old mirror in the corner of the shop. There stood the face of an old, exhausted man who had wasted far too many years.
"······."
Armand.
You must never end up like me.
Lorenzo slowly picked up the knight's business card lying on the table.
* * *
The weekend arrived.
Even knights rest on weekends. While I was at it, I came to the Magic Tower for some sightseeing.
The Imperial Sentio Magic Tower.
As the name 'Sentio' suggested, it was a place dedicated to researching magic and training the Empire's highest-level mages.
I walked through the Magic Tower's grounds.
The Magic Tower was attached to the Imperial Central University, so it was essentially a campus. I could see university students sitting on the grass, reading or chatting.
Having gone through the military academy, with its strict discipline and training, I found the sight quite enviable.
Ah, of course, knights can attend university too. The same goes for me.
Some of my peers would already be coming here to complete the advanced curriculum related to 'Active Residual Traces.'
"Eh? Max?"
Just then, someone called my name. It was a familiar face.
Ezel.
"Max, what are you doing here······ Ah~"
She thought to herself and reached her own conclusion. I was dumbfounded.
"What do you mean, 'Ah'?"
"You came to learn the advanced course for Active Residual Traces, didn't you? You struggled with that a lot."
"No."
"Then?"
"I just came to the Magic Tower to hang out. I was curious."
"······Don't tell me, did you come to see me?"
"Are you insane?"
Ezel narrowed her eyes suspiciously. I raised my middle finger.
"Before I punch you."
"······Pfft. I'll break that finger."
"Since I'm here, give me a tour of the tower."
"A tour? Whatever······ just follow me."
We entered the Magic Tower. The first-floor lobby was decorated like a massive library. To enter, we had to pass through an identity authentication gate.
Beep.
Ezel tagged something that looked like a card.
"Alright, come in. This is the Magic Tower Hall. It's usually called the First Floor Grand Lobby. It looks like a library, but it doesn't matter if you talk. Everyone here is good at concentrating······."
I watched Ezel as she explained the tower. Her gestures and voice felt so familiar. She seemed just like that young child who, at eight or nine years old, had excitedly shown me the garden she had tended.
"That person passing by is a professor. He retired recently and moved to an honorary position. That's Professor Deslain."
Ezel pointed toward a white-haired old man.
"And······"
Thump—
Suddenly, my heart raced. Without showing it, I looked around. A person caught my eye.
Pexy von Arjen.
The woman I had seen at Kerios Mansion, who was strongly suspected to be Jun Kandel's lover and whom I was certain was a 'Head-Eater' Izenheim.
Perfectly beautiful, she walked along, capturing the gazes of the mages on the first floor...
"Oh, Mage Pexy?"
Ezel waved at her. Pexy also gave Ezel a bright smile and waved back.
What kind of expression was I wearing as I looked back and forth between the two? What kind of expression should I wear?
The answer was simple.
As if nothing was wrong, as if nothing had happened.
I simply had to smile.
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