/
Crunch, crunch!
Peck, p-peck!
Flap flap!
“W-what do you think?”
“This… is an approach that I have never thought of before. Amazing… it’s astounding!”
Roman jumped out from under the pile of luggage like a flash when he heard that I [found a way to solve the airship’s balance problem], and was currently observing the soul jar that had once been my hand waddling around on the ground.
From the way it pecked the dirt with its head or the way it curled up its thumb and pinky and flapped them outward made it clear that the soul jar belonged to something similar to a chicken.
“Using dark magic to extract the animal’s soul and use its senses…”
“Yeah! To be honest, I don’t know exactly how dark magic works, but you saw that the cockatrice’s soul is maintaining its balance so that its head doesn’t fall over. What if we sync those senses to the airship using magic circuits?”
I didn’t know the exact mechanisms or processes, either. But what’s important is the result. Just looking at the Death Knights, they’re the souls of dead knights that other dark mages put into a prepared body to make into monsters, and they’re able to use aura using dark magic just like before. Just like how the cockatrice’s soul still acted as a chicken even after entering ‘what was my right hand’, then it should mean that acting like a chicken was also some sort of action mechanism ingrained into the soul, so I predicted that it would be more than possible.
“A magic circuit that reacts to actions… no. It would lose its balance and fall during the delayed time. Synchronizing the senses… a soul’s lifespan… sustainability… an invited wizard once gave a lecture about the shape of the soul when I was still researching at the tower… data. I need to research for more accurate data!”
Stand!
“Professor! That reminds me, there is still one more cockatrice that you captured!”
“Huh? Y-yeah?”
“Then I do not need to hold back! I’ll be using this!”
Whoooshh!
What I just said must have sounded like permission for him to waste a soul jar for his research, as Roman picked up the soul jar and started running the moment I responded.
Bump!
“Woah! Hey, watch it! These are expensive crafts from the desert nations he—”
Thud!
“Can’t you see that I’m busy here— Roman? Hey! Watch where you’re going!”
A few moments later, surrounded by all sorts of parts scattered across the ground like a child who spilled out their toys, the sparks of a soldering iron splashed out to connect circuits.
Just as I was about to get closer to take a look, someone grabbed my sleeve and stopped me.
“Shh! Just leave that man alone. He’ll get really mad if you try to bother him in that state!”
“Hm? Who are you?”
“My god, just come over here first!”
The one holding my sleeve was a small girl. She was wearing the guild’s outfit with a not-so-small backpack on her back. She continued to hold onto my sleeves and dragged me behind the back of a cart, then, peeking out from between some of the goods, began to observe what Roman was doing.
“Lucilla Aedrann. Call me Lucille.”
“I… see. Lucille? Did you follow your parents in the guil—”
“Though I look small, I’m old enough to work, and I have been approved by the guildmaster to become an official member and partake in the journey through the Ray Line, and I am the supervisor of our newest recruit, Apprentice Member Roman Gachia Manson.”
“Uhh…”
“No need to be surprised. I just got in the habit of saying it because every new single person who meets me asks that.”
The child answered any question I could have, even before I asked them. No, since she said she’s of working age, that means she’s at least nineteen. Anyway, one could tell that Lucille was an incredibly smart girl. Unlike the other merchants who started to keep their distance from me after seeing my fighting style, Lucilla swiftly climbed up the pile of goods to be right next to my head and whispered into my ear.
“Warrior, sir, you said you’re Roman’s friend, right?”
“Ye…s?”
Flick!
“Ouch!”
“Then you should have been there for him when he was struggling. You call yourself a friend after leaving him to become that state?”
“What do you mean that state? He looks a lot happier than the last time I saw—”
Flick!
“Ow! You…!”
“How even are you the Warrior of such a famous church when you can’t even read what’s going on to your own friend? How can you call that happy? He’s ‘pretending’ to be happy!”
I was scolded.
The girl glanced at Roman, who had been wrestling with the magic circuits and was now loudly calling for Notum and Aldrich, then looked back at me and continued on with her lecture.
“Roman Gachia Manson! Man-son! Don’t you know what that name means? He’s a noble! A noble, for goodness sake! And not just any noble, but the only mage family in Rodrick, the prestigious Manson Family! That kind of person was going around the gambling houses because he didn’t have money and was even trying to steal with an awkward skill that clearly shows he’s never done it before! It’s obvious something happened between those two events, isn’t it? I thought a friend would have known that right away! You’re his only friend, aren’t you?”
“Wait, I’m not that close—”
“Why don’t you try those worthless excuses on a mirror instead? What kind of Warrior leaves such a lonely person to wander through the streets alone like that? He got disowned by his family! Not only was he always given shame for being an illegitimate, but he was called a disgrace to the family for relying on foolish tricks that only goblins would use because he had no talent in magic!”
“Huh? What are you talking about? Disowned? He got kicked out of the Manson Family?”
I was just assuming that this was just a cute little girl’s tantrum, but what she just said was something I knew nothing of. Lucilla, who stared at me with a disgusted look that screamed, ‘Where even was your head for these past few days?’ at my question, then pointed at Roman, who was bothering the two Soulbinders and answered.
“Roman Gachia Manson. Thirdborn son of the Manson Family. Born as the illegitimate son of family head Gilder Gachia Manson and maid Odette Soilin, his position within the family was very weak. He awakened his mana at an early stage, but because of his lack of talent in magic, he was only able to reach Level 2, and seeing that, Gilder Gachia Manson sent him to an acquaintance, Isaac Mandalius, and through quite experimental methods, Isaac managed to ‘educate’ Roman so he could use magic that made him seem like a Level 3 mage.”
“You… researched all of that?”
“Although the guildmaster did take him in, I couldn’t just let anyone into our guild. He told me everything after a few drinks.”
I didn’t know this. That Roman had such a backstory. He was honestly one of the Hero Units where that didn’t matter much. Unlike other Hero Units that required you to create and maintain delicate relationships with them, Roman was one of the easiest to recruit, with the support of his research budget being the only requirement. Even after he was recruited, Roman was always holed up in his laboratory, and the Player went around doing their thing and occasionally came to hear the results, so there weren’t any players who paid attention to his situation.
Whiiiiir—
Just then, they heard the sound of the magic circuits’ vibrations that had been ringing through their ears for the last several nights.
“I-it’s flying!”
“It really is not shaking! It is completely stable!”
“I-it worked! Finally! I did it!”
But one difference with the previous nights was that Roman’s airship was gracefully and smoothly flying through the air like an albatross gliding above the deep blue ocean.
With a smile as wide as a mile, Roman looked around for something, then, finding me and Lucille hiding behind the cart, waved his arm and fidgeted with the small box in his hands.
Whiir—
The Model Airship No. 3 that was connected to the silver string on the box glided through the sky and landed on top of my hand.
“Professor! Did you see that? I did it! I really! Actually created an airship!”
Roman’s entire face shone with joy. But looking at that man, there was a sort of grief in Lucilla’s eyes.
“Warrior, sir. That airship. There should be a nameplate under the figurehead. Can you read what’s on there?”
When I traced my hand around the boat where Lucilla mentioned it, I could feel the cool metallic surface on a part of the boat.
“Model Airship… No. 723?”
“Warrior, you’re smart, right? Even if they are illegitimate, it’s not common at all for a noble to be kicked out of their family. Do you know why?”
Slide—
Professor grazed his hand against the nameplate of the model airship. Unlike its smooth edges, the center felt much rougher. Seeing how there was still gold paint left on the frame, the plate would have been a fancy-looking nameplate coated with gold when it had been called ‘Model Airship No. 1’. Unlike the scratched and rough nameplate of No. 723, which would have been erased and written over several hundred times with a pen until all of the gold coating was scratched over.
The collapse of the mage tower. The sudden disappearance of Roman. And Airship No. 723 and his disownment from the family. The information he was given led him to one conclusion.
“He went back to the family to receive funds for his research. For the time it took him to make 723 expensive model airships that each took handfuls of mana stones and void stones. No matter how much resources and wealth a mage family has, there’s no way they would support Roman, who’s an illegitimate. So he would have… sacrificed something in return. Even doing all of that, all he was left with was a failure, and in the end, he ran out of funds and was kicked out.”
And after all of that, he introduced this one as ‘Model Airship No. 3’ in front of me and Ottman.
A magic scientist who abandoned their path of water magic, showing the first results of his studies in front of the friend he himself introduced water magic to and the old water mage that he considered his teacher at the mage tower. What was left after he poured everything he had was 723 failures and a toy that couldn’t even fly for 1 minute. What would Roman have been thinking when he cut off the two front digits? Reproach? Shame?
I didn’t know. Because Roman was still smiling back then, too.
“Hahahahah! I was wondering what you and Lucille were talking about! Was that insignificant story it?”
Roman, who had come to them at some point, took the model airship from my hands and smiled brightly.
“To call it insignificant, it’s a little…”
“I know! It’s quite dark! I still feel apologetic every time I think of my mother. She had spent her entire life trapped in a room in a corner of the castle, waiting for my father, who would never come back. I should have at least been there for her. But instead, I give up not just the inheritance but my right to the heir as well! Even my gentle and weak mother scolded me this time! She asked me how I was going to survive on my own! Hahahahah! My older brothers all liked it very much!”
It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from bit.ly/3iBfjkV.
Giving up his inheritance and right to be an heir. To him, who lived as the useless bastard of the family for his entire life, those two were the last two things that connected him as a part of the Manson Family. Roman had given up his last frail ties to his family in return for his research funds.
A noble who has been expelled from their family can never step foot on their territory ever again. So Roman, who was currently looking out into the distance with eyes full of longing and a wide smile, will never be able to see his mother ever again.
‘Was this what that meant?’
I finally realized what ‘that state’ Lucilla mentioned meant. The way he laughed much more than the last time I saw him, his personality became almost too bright. It was a psychological defense mechanism that Roman created. Like how a person who suffers severe shock or loss always says to himself, ‘I’m fine! I’m alright!’“
It was to beat the swarming feeling of despair and fear that sank into his heart every single time he scratched off the number on that model airship that made him laugh like that. And the smile that had been made for 723 failures—to the point where the gold coating on the nameplate disappeared—was now stuck on his face like his own skin.
He did not give up even after losing everything in failure and wandering the streets, facing the harsh reality that he had never experienced as a noble. Laughing like a madman, he became a gambler, a thief, and a guild member to ultimately come here.
“Hey, Roman…”
“Hahahahahah! Don’t make such a sad expression! It is already all in the past! Ripping off an old scab will just make the wound worse. You need not worry about it at all! Now, look!”
Creak, cr-eak! Skreek!
Roman took out a pen from one of the dozens of pockets on his worn clothes, then scraped off the old name on the scratched nameplate that seemed to symbolize his life, then engraved a new name.
[Prototype Airship No.1]
“Now, what does it say on there?”
“…”
“You, my friend, spoke as much as I did! What has made you stop? Hurry! Read it out loud!”
“Prototype, Airship Number 1.”
“Hahahahaahahah! Hathathathathat! Yes! It’s not a model! It’s small, and it can only fly within the effective area of the sorcerer connected to this soul-steering device! But this is not a model, but a real airship! It’s a success! True success! I have succeeded!!! Hahahahahah! Hahahahah! Ahahahahaha!”
He did not let out even a single tear up to the end, but Professor felt that his laughter expressed all of the emotions he felt. Because Lucilla, who was holding onto his sleeve, Ottman, even Aldrich, and the other guild members who were standing nearby, were all either sniffling or looking away, staring up at the sky.
“AHAHAHAHAHAH! HAHAHAHAH! WAHAHAHAHAHAH!”
A class title given only to geniuses who created a new era, the inventor.
Roman was not a genius. He just did not give up. He did not back down from his will until he achieved something that everyone in the world would acknowledge as a genius’s work, even through countless failures and despair.
“Hahahahahahah! I did it! In the end, I did it! Me! Hahahahahahah!!”
That was Roman Gachia Manson.
Roman, who had been sharing congratulations with the other guild members under the airship, which was circling the air as if announcing its birth, suddenly turned to me and told me to tell me its name.
“Name! Tell me the name!”
“Name? What name?”
“Why, of course, the name of this incredible technology! The ‘soul balance control device using dark magic’! Do not deny it! This is a device you created, so it is right for you to name it! Although it is just a temporary measure for now, the first invention always has value! Carve in the device’s name into this empty spot!”
“You really shouldn’t bother asking me… Why don’t you—”
“Hurry!”
I did think of just passing it over, but seeing Roman’s eyes sparkle in anticipation, I couldn’t bear to ignore him. After what I thought to be considerable brainstorming, I accepted the tool that Roman handed to me and inscribed the name of the device on the box full of magic circuits.
[Chicken Sensor]
==========
- Soygaybar : wtf
- professor : Sorry, that the best I could do.
- Soygaybar : Oh wow, the name of a magic engineering device in a world where you can literally change the world with your mind power is Chicken Sensor. You just ruined the entire invention!
==========
“Chicken Sensor… Chicken Sensor, you say! What a great, intuitive name! Thank you, my friend! Thanks to the Chicken Sensor, I can now achieve my dreams!”
==========
- professor : See! He likes it!
- Nutriagena : Like hell he does. Give me back my emotional moment!
- Highwaynachoman : What is it, a sensor that can find chicken? Are you a starving teenager or something?
- Soygaybar : I was wondering why such a smart guy was still a cherry, but it was because he has no. Damn. Sense!
- takealook : Booooooo! Change it! Right this instant! Just tell Gachaman to name it!
==========
Damn it. And I thought it was a pretty good name too. Sadly, as I am a streamer, I couldn’t just ignore what the audience wanted.
“Alright, alright, I’ll change it. Hey, Roman! About the Chicken Sensor, can you just…”
Whooosh!
As I grumbled to myself and was about to ask Roman to just name the device on his own, some sort of light started to come out of Roman’s body. From that glowing light, Roman saw the water magic that he once gave up and smiled brightly as he saw the mana dance along his fingertips.
“Yes. I see now. I had felt inferior to magic. As I could not compare to my brothers in magic, I strove to succeed in a completely different path of magic engineering to prove to my family that I was also a useful person. But why did I not know? Magic engineering is yet just another branch of magical study. Magic and magic engineering—these two will be the bridges that lead humanity to its future. Using both in a balanced manner without discrimination. That is true magic engineering. I finally… understand a little.”
Ding—! Dingdingdingdingding!
Information Update A record of history! Congratulations! You have succeeded in positively impacting one of the most important moments in this era!
“Huh… huh?”
The light coming from Roman’s body suddenly went wild, and the system message started ringing like I just hit the jackpot on a slot machine. A record of history? And that light. That’s…
“A mage’s… awakening?”
Ding—!
Information Update Hero Unit Roman Gachia Manson found his destiny and succeeded in understanding its true meaning! – A new academy of magic, the Magic Engineer is now part of the World! With the appearance of the completely new lineage of wizards, the world will pour out curiosity, or envy and rage at times! If you wish to develop their branch, be aware! The only true magic engineer in the world is currently just Roman Gachia Manson! Incredible Invention! You have witnessed the birth of the Prototype Airship ft. Chicken Sensor! – Even through harsh times, the unfortunate genius never gave up, and with inspiration from your Chicken Sensor, has ultimately succeeded in creating the Prototype Airship. This invention will play an important part in advancing humanity to the next level, and with major influence from the invention, Your name will be recorded in history.
“Uh, huhhhhh?? Whaaaaaat!!!”
No way. I only heard of this message through rumors, so it’s my first time actually seeing it. Don’t tell me! No wayyyy!!!!
==========
- Noru_is_druig : And the underdog does it again! Let us f—ing goooo! I knew you would do it Gachaman!
- Jokass : Yoooo! Airship in World 3! We’re going to have god damn machines in GG now!
- GoldmanSUCKS : This doesn’t make any sense! He was never able to do it when I helped him! How!
- Holli : You didn’t have the Chicken Sensor mister!
- Noru_is_druig : LMFAOOOOOOO the highschool gril just kicked the Wasteland’s richest man in the shins
==========
I thought that I might just be wrong, so I checked the chatrooms, but seeing how both the first and second were going crazy, it was, in fact, the message that I thought it was.
==========
- Undam_undam : Just please clear it now, please! I was an ace in the air force! Get a plane, no just anything that can fly into World 4 and I can be a ranker too!
- Speedwagon : Put an embargo on this. You could sell info abt the airship.
==========
I don’t care! I can’t hear anything! Not a single thing!
Grasp!
“Roman, you damn madman! You really did it!!!!”
“Hahahaha! It is all thanks to— cough! L-let go! I… ca—nt… br—!!!”
No, I can’t let you go! You don’t know just how big what you just did was!
“Ahahaha! You stopped annihilation! Roman! Can you hear me? You just saved about 20% of the world!”
“Grrbbhh! Let go! I can’t… die… like…!”
“Let him go, Captain! He’s going to die!”
“See, I told you this man has bipolar issues! Notum! Do something about Professor!”
“Gwurh. Laughing human man is exploding.”
I couldn’t believe it, even after seeing it with my own eyes. Even this unhelpful system message accentuated this notification.
Your name will be recorded in history.
This message is the official announcement from the system that the impact of the events that just happened will carry on to the next world!
Some might wonder why I was so excited over that, but it was important that this message appeared for the first time during this playthrough.
It means that the system has started to talk about the contents of the next world. And that meant that the terrifyingly accurate system of GG just acknowledged that I had a chance of clearing the World.
The GG system that pours all sorts of misfortunes onto the player and makes them fall into despair just admitted that I, [Player professor], was one step closer to ‘Clearing World 3’! It means that the greatest AI of all time since homo sapiens existed just went, ‘Yo, this guy might actually do it’!!!!
“Thank you, Romance Gachaman! Thank you for not giving up! Just… thank you!”
“Hahah— cough! Hah…hah! You’re saying the obvious, my friend! I’m the magic engineer, Roman Gachia Manson! Unlike magic, which uses images, anyone can understand and use magic engineering if they understand the concept of mana! After all, the failures of a magic engineer act as a record for their countless successors! There is no despair in a magic engineer’s failure! Hah! Hahahahahahah!”
Back to his normal self, Roman picked up the airship that had used all of its mana and landed back on the ground.
Tzzzt—!
As if savoring this moment, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then brought the soldering iron down without any hesitation. The metal that the iron passed through was now a single digit, shining brightly. ‘1’.
Roman… was smiling.