Magicraft Meister Part 1

A chilly wind began to blow on September 17.

The demons have settled down for the most part. However, Lardus and Archel are still unknown.

As for Lardus, the old man should be able to detect him with his magi radar, if he knows the patterns of magical power,

<

However, this was an unusual situation.

The old man said, "He is either in a place where magic cannot penetrate, or he is no longer of this world.

In any case, Jin had done what he had to do in the demon territory and had come to the clan territory of <>.

Not by <> but by Jin himself.

After making an agreement with them, he finally received the OK from Reiko and the old man, as there was almost no danger anymore.

Of course, he used the warp gate of Capricorn 1 and switched places with <>.

I guess the most important motive was that I wanted to see the artifacts with my own eyes and hands.

"Oh, so this is what it looks like: ......"

<".

The structure is simple. A camera itself. Light passes through the lens and forms an image on a film, or . Of course, it has a shutter.

It is a large old-style camera that uses a glass dry plate, if you can call it that.

Jin wanted more information about the , or , than the structure of the camera.

The photosensitive agent, though old and altered, seemed to be a kind of magi-crystal powder.

The photosensitizer was applied to a photosensitive plate made of flattened crystal <.

Jin had some idea about the photosensitizing agent, so he decided to talk to Saki and Toa about it later.

Next was a <. It was a clock. It had only an hour hand and no minute or second hands. Still, it was practical enough.

What is it?　Is ...... the power source that moves the hands?　This."

"Father, is there something you don't understand?"

"Oh, Reiko, just look at the relationship between this magi device and the free magical element (ether)."

Jin pointed at the magi device which seemed to be the heart of the time indicator.

"I see. . ...... This appears to be tracing the flow of free magical element (ether)."

"I guess so. ...... raises a few questions. ...... but that's OK. This < has a magi device that tracks the movement of the sun and displays the angle of the sun as the time of day.

The heart of the clock is the element that detects the free magical element (ether) emitted from the sun and turns in its direction, and uses it to move the hour hand.

By the definition of time, this method is surely correct. However, if the clock is overturned, the display would be out of order.

In this way, Jin was allowed to examine all the ancient artifacts of the clan, and finished analyzing their structures.

"Jin, are you done?"

Theon came in and said tea was ready.

"Yes, thank you. I'm coming."

Theon, Istaris, and Rorona were waiting for him.

"I made some tea that Jin gave me, how do you like it?

The tea Jin brought was the leaves of the , or as it is called in the village of Kaina.

He also brought seedlings so that the village would eventually be able to supply itself. Theon and Istaris liked it so much that I suggested they grow it here too.

"Yes, it's delicious!

Jin said after taking a sip.

"Yes, it's good."

Zion called out to Jin as he relaxed.

"...... Hey, Jin is going home soon, isn't he?"

"Yeah. In a couple of days.

"Yeah,......."

Zion looks a little sad.

Although he is not very sensitive to the feelings of love, he is sensitive to the feelings of younger children.

"But you know, sometimes I come to visit you."

"......How?"

Zion looks at Jin with a skeptical look, as if he is merely trying to put him in a good mood.

"You know, if you fly..."

"...... Oh, an airship. If it's not dangerous, we can use it.

At least now that he knows that he is not lying, Zion's mood improves.

"Oh, is the tea getting cold?"

"No, I have a cat tongue, so this is about right."

Saying this, Jin drank half of the tea in one gulp.

At that moment, Jin remembered the question he had wanted to ask on this occasion.

"By the way, Zion, Istaris, and Rorona, I have a question.

"Yes, what is it?"

Rorona, the mother of Theon and Istaris, answered Jin on behalf of the others.

"Well, I heard from Zion that Lucas and Netros are a follower tribe. But it doesn't seem that other clans have such followers. ......"

"Oh, that's right."

Before Jin could finish, Sion nodded his head and began to speak.

"As Jin said, we are the only ones who have followers. I heard that most clans used to have them, but ......"

"Compared to us demon clans, the lifespan of a follower is shorter, so now only the < clans have them."

Istaris explained, taking over from Sion.

"Then, the follower clans are now ......."

"So now there are ten of us left."

"Ten, you say?

That's quite a few. At least 10 people can't survive as a species.

"Oh, on rare occasions, they have children with their followers. In most cases, the child will have the characteristics of a demon tribe.

It seems that in the case of mixed blood, the genes of the demon tribe are dominant.

Jin decided to explain why he had asked such a question.

"...... I see. Actually, I was wondering where the follower race came from.

The roots of the demon tribe come from Hale, the so-called .

They intermingled with the native races of this world, the planet Arus, and became the <>.

It is highly likely that those whose blood is thicker than that of the originals have become <>, and those whose blood is thinner than that of the originals have become <>.

Then, what about the <>?　There is no such race in the known world. Therefore, Jin thought that the follower race might be the <>.

"...... of course, purely out of intellectual curiosity."

After a brief explanation, Jin added at the end.

"......I think your hypothesis is correct."

After a moment of silence, Lorona spoke up.

"The lore says that the squire race was brought from the south."

Jin nodded silently. His dark skin was not appropriate for this northern land. It was more reminiscent of southern descent, which was the source of his discomfort.

"If I visit the south someday, I might meet Netros or Lucas's people..."

Another goal of Jin's has been set.

* * * *

"This is ......."

Jin had come to visit the <> ore deposit.

He explored the deposit by <> and found that the geometrical distribution of the ore is quite beautiful.

(I think the closest thing to this is that something dome-shaped has been buried.)

(I think the closest thing to a buried cubic zirconia deposit would be a dome city like in science fiction, and the buried cubic zirconia deposit would be what made up the dome.

I think so, but I won't say so. I cannot prove it. But it was a likely reason for the cubic zirconia to be here, which would not have been produced naturally.

As a corollary speculation,

"There may be something deeper, or rather underground, in the deposit.

If it is a dome, then it is being protected. If it is a dome, there must be something it was protecting.

However, we know that there is a calcareous rock at Jin by the current .

Jin guessed that it was probably the end result of a building that resembled concrete.

"At the current pace of mining with these reserves, it should last 50 years."

Jin thinks we should trade it little by little. Eventually it will be possible to synthesize it.

"Well, that clears up a few questions for me.

Straightening his back, Jin looks up at the sky at dusk.

The wind was a little cold on his skin.

"...... Jin."

Jin turned around at the sound of a voice calling out to him and saw Zion. Her hair was flowing in the evening breeze, and she looked sunken, perhaps because of the light.

"Are you finally ...... leaving tomorrow?"

"Yes. Yes, I'm going to.

"I see. Thanks ...... for everything."

Jin patted Zion on the head as she turned her head slightly and said sadly.

"You're a very studious person, Zion. I was surprised.

"What?"

Theon makes a puzzled expression at the sudden compliment.

"See, I explained you many things during the meeting, didn't I?

"Ah, yes. I read about them in a book I read at Jin's castle.

"Even so, that's amazing that you only read it once."

This was Jin's honest impression. Hearing this, Zion's face brightened a little.

"Is that so?"

"By any chance, are all the clans of <> amazing?"

"I'm not sure what you're asking about, but I've heard that the name <> was given because of its knowledge of many things.

Jin decided to take this opportunity to ask what he wanted to ask.

"Then, do all the clan names of the demon tribe have such meanings?"

"Uh......n. You could say that, or you could say that they don't."

Before Jin could ask what he meant, Zion began to explain.

"In the old days,...... yes, when the clans had just split up, they could certainly say such things. The <> clans were good at slave magic, and the <> clans had a way of thinking that was ...... a little unthinkable."

"I see."

"But now, with all the marriages between the different clans, it makes little sense."

Jin was convinced that as the blood thinned out, the characteristics of the clan had disappeared.

"But Zion may be worthy of the name ."

"Huh?"

Zion let out a stupid voice, not understanding the meaning of Jin's comment.

"I'm sure that Zion will become an adult who can lead the people of the demon tribe with his knowledge, I thought.

Zion's face turns red as he is told this.

"What?　Compliments don't get you anywhere!"

Her reaction is that of a young girl, as befits a young girl.

"It's okay. "Good luck with the demon tribe, Theon, not with me!

Jin patted Zion's head again.

The stars began to twinkle in the bright western sky, and the shortening autumn day was drawing to a close.