# Chapter 77
Arden immediately returned to the hotel and turned on the portable aether collector. Not wanting to waste any waiting time, he opened his notebook and began planning the blueprint. This was the stage before drawing the actual blueprint, where he mapped out the overall framework and considered potential difficulties in advance.
Engineers didn’t handle every aspect from design to operation. Each had their own specialized field, and Arden had mainly focused on machine manufacturing, utilizing his talent for alchemy. This meant that not only farming but even drawing blueprints wasn’t Arden’s specialty.
‘Can Arden do this too?’
‘No. I only know the basics.’
Rite looked at the densely filled notebook and became lost in thought.
People don’t usually consider this kind of thing as basic knowledge.
Arden was also wrestling with many concerns. This wasn’t his workshop, and he couldn’t get necessary parts supplied through Pini. This was his first time making such a device, and he needed to design it using materials that could be obtained locally, which presented numerous challenges. If necessary, he might even have to dismantle Irace’s music box to use even a single small gear.
Setting aside the blueprint, he put the collected aether fragments into a water bottle and headed back to the field. He had completed less than half of the design plan. Throughout the uncomfortable walk to the field, he didn’t forget to look around for anything he could dismantle.
Returning to the field after two hours, Arden stared down at the withering cauliflower. Rite also watched Arden with a tense expression.
“…Will there be any noticeable change?”
“If it works, probably. It won’t show immediately, but we should be able to confirm by this evening, or tomorrow morning at the latest.”
Regardless of the cauliflower’s condition tomorrow, he needed to complete the blueprint and solve the parts supply issue tonight, even if it meant staying up all night.
When he was at the imperial palace, he had managed even more demanding schedules, and during his time in Winterishe, he had experienced harsh conditions numerous times. So he could handle this. Arden brainwashed himself as he tilted the bottle and poured all the aether-infused water without leaving a drop. The blue liquid flowed down the round cauliflower.
Just as Arden was about to turn around and head down the hill without delay, Rite grabbed his hand.
“How can you just leave?”
“What do you mean?”
“We should at least tell the owner. Ask them not to touch this cauliflower. They might harvest it.”
Rite pointed at the cauliflower gleaming with a blue light. Now that he heard it, Rite’s point made sense, and Arden obediently nodded.
Throughout the climb up the hill, Arden’s brain continuously and diligently drafted the blueprint.
The Artalis Empire, with its small number of magicians, had made many efforts to find alternatives to replace them. One such effort was gunpowder. Though gunpowder was woefully inadequate to replace magicians and didn’t play a significant role in warfare, it was used in everyday life as a lower-grade substitute for magical tools.
While engineers were needed to create gunpowder, alchemists were equally important. This was because only alchemists could create saltpeter, an essential ingredient. For Arden, an engineer who knew alchemy, making gunpowder wasn’t particularly difficult.
The problem was power. He needed to generate enough force to shoot it into the sky.
Arden didn’t speak, but Rite instinctively kept his mouth shut and walked quietly. Even with the same expressionless face, Rite could distinguish the differences. Arden had a habit of tightly closing his lips when he was engrossed in work.
“Arden.”
Though he didn’t want to disturb him if possible, Rite reached out his hand to block Arden’s path. Despite arriving in front of the red house, Arden had continued walking without properly looking ahead. As Rite stopped him by cupping his small forehead with his palm, Arden finally blinked his eyes wide open and looked around. Though his view was partially blocked by the large palm, he could see a door right in front of him.
“Ah… sorry. I was thinking.”
“It’s okay. I’ll take care of it.”
Speaking as if it were no big deal, Rite knocked on the door. The sound of “Coming!” accompanied by footsteps and creaking wooden planks could be heard from beyond the door.
Arden abruptly began speaking, pointing to a section of the wide field.
“Ah, you came earlier. You’re back so soon?”
“I’ve applied aether to the twentieth row from the bottom, the cauliflower closest to the road.”
“W-what?”
“The surrounding soil should have absorbed it too. So until tomorrow morning, please don’t touch the nearby cauliflowers and leave them alone.”
The farmer showed a confused reaction to this sudden announcement. Watching this, Rite added an explanation.
“We’ve applied a kind of fertilizer. Before applying it to all the soil, we’ve tested it there first.”
Only then did the farmer slowly nod. He still looked bewildered, but at least he didn’t seem displeased.
“What difference will it make when you apply this?”
“We’ll come back to check any changes this evening and tomorrow morning. So…”
Just as Arden was about to turn around with a slight nod after finishing what he had to say, something caught his eye.
“Is that… possibly.”
“Oh, the self-driving carriage? It’s old, but it still runs fine. I was told so many times to buy one that runs on aether even though it’s expensive, so I made a big decision to buy it. But I’ll probably have to sell it soon too.”
The farmer rubbed under his nose with his finger, giving a bitter smile. There was a glint in Arden’s eyes.
“How many self-driving carriages are in this village?”
“One for me and one for Irace… though Irace’s is older. She bought it before me.”
“That’s fine.”
“What is?”
Arden didn’t answer the farmer’s question. More precisely, he wasn’t in a state to answer.
Why hadn’t I thought of this before? There was one in Winterishe too. Of course Menden would have them. What model year is it? For dismantling parts, older models are better than newer ones that have undergone weight reduction. With a self-driving carriage, there would be at least… gears.
Arden’s eyes moved busily, examining various parts of the carriage. If he could dismantle that, the parts wouldn’t be an issue. Moreover, didn’t the farmer say there were two carriages in the village? After finishing all calculations, Arden’s expression brightened considerably. Only Rite noticed this change.
Everything was going smoothly. With the parts procurement issue resolved, Arden’s mind worked more actively than ever, not only drawing up the blueprint but also completing the inspection perfectly. Apart from Rite forcibly making Arden eat dinner when he wanted to check on the cauliflower’s condition after sunset, there were no problems.
Quickly finishing dinner, almost leaving it half-eaten, they rushed to check the cauliflower, which had noticeably freshened even in the darkness. The once-black leaves had lightened considerably in color, and the limp leaves had become more upright and vigorous.
Arden had no time to revel in joy. After sending Rite to the farmer’s house, he immediately ran to Irace’s house. He knew it was late at night, but there was no time.
‘…Do you really need to visit at this hour to talk?’
‘Yes. There’s no time. You need to persuade her well.’
‘It’s almost bedtime anyway.’
‘I don’t have time to sleep.’
At Arden’s response, Rite’s expression hardened, but before he could say anything, Arden had disappeared down the hill.
Reaching the village center in no time, Arden knocked hard on the door. The excitement not visible in his expression was evident in his knocking. Soon, Irace opened the door, wearing only a coat over her nightclothes.
“…Eden?”
“I apologize for the late hour, but it’s urgent.”
“Um… then come inside and…”
As Irace turned to guide Arden inside, he shook his head.
“No. I don’t have time. To get straight to the point, I need to dismantle a self-driving carriage.”
“…Hmm. That seems too direct. May I ask why?”
“I’ve found a way to solve the problem. I’ll spray aether on the crops and soil. For a more fundamental solution, it would be best to consult an alchemist or pharmacologist, but for now, this is the best option.”
“Wait. Wait a moment.”
Irace’s surprised expression gradually turned serious. After listening quietly, she raised her hand to stop him and headed inside.
The sounds of hurriedly opening and closing drawers and rummaging around were heard, and soon she reappeared with a notepad and pen. Opening the pen cap with her mouth, Irace gestured to Arden with her chin.
“Simply put, I’m artificially injecting energy. Since aether continuously generates energy, it’s similar to placing gears in a music box or attaching horses to a regular carriage. It’s forcibly adding nutrients to soil that can’t produce nourishment and spraying the same on crops growing on it. I’ve just confirmed that it works.”
“So, what does this have to do with the self-driving carriage?”
Like an enthusiastic student in class, Irace wrote down each of Arden’s words in her notebook and asked questions. Arden tried to explain simply and easily. This was something he was used to from raising Rite.
“Materializing aether is not a simple task. Moreover, I don’t have proper equipment, nor the time to stay here long. And there are more fields in Menden than houses.”
“So?”
“I plan to induce rain. I’ll shoot aether upwards to create aether clouds and make it rain.”
“Is… is that possible?”
Irace didn’t hide her skepticism. Suddenly saying he would make it rain—it sounded preposterous.
“We’ll have to try. For that, I need sufficient parts, and I heard there are self-driving carriages.”
“About the self-driving carriage…”
“There’s another one, right? My colleague has gone to persuade that owner.”
That was why he had sent Rite separately. Arden didn’t have time to persuade people one by one by himself.
“You need two of them?”
“I’ll completely dismantle one and modify the other. Since they have wheels, transportation will be easy. Ideally, it’s better to shoot into areas with many clouds for a higher chance of success.”
“Then… we need to decide which carriage to completely dismantle.”
Irace put particular emphasis on “completely” as she spoke. Arden now looked a bit sheepish as he spoke.
“…I’d like to take apart your carriage.”
“Why?”
“I heard it’s more old-fashioned. Older models have larger gears.”
“As if being old wasn’t bad enough.”
Irace let out a hollow laugh. Self-driving carriages were expensive items. It was natural to be hesitant about giving them away readily.
“Alright. Damn it. The village is about to die, so what’s a mere self-driving carriage?”
Irace’s deliberation wasn’t long. The tension left Arden’s stiff shoulders. Until now, he hadn’t been aware of it himself, but he had been quite tense.
“I plan to dismantle it right now.”
“No time even to say goodbye. Fine.”
Irace shrugged her shoulders and changed her shoes. Throughout guiding Arden to where the self-driving carriage was, she sighed repeatedly but didn’t reverse her decision.
