Chapter 37: The Beginning of a New Era

Masaya, who defeated the Armored Boar and sold the obtained drop items, checked his bank deposit book at the detective agency and grinned widely upon seeing the incredible amount of money transferred into his account.

“You have an unpleasant expression on your face right now,”

Fuyuhiko, who had been watching him, pointed this out.

“You’re annoying. It’s my business how I want to look,” Masaya retorted.

“Poor people are all like this,” Fuyuhiko said

“I’m sorry for being a poor person.”

“Senpai, that amount of money doesn’t go directly into your pocket, you know.”

Upon hearing these words that couldn’t be ignored, Masaya inquired, “Why not?”

“It’s taxes. Taxes. It’s obvious that the tax office will take a big chunk of it.”

Masaya’s soaring excitement came crashing down with a loud bang.

“T-Taxes. What a cruel word!”

“You should consult with a tax accountant, considering the future,”

Masaya let out a sigh and nodded in agreement. Just then, Amber, the wolf-dog, playfully approached the feet of Koyuki, who had returned from shopping.

Amber had become the adopted dog of the Kanbara family. When Professor Kanbara went to the research laboratory, Koyuki would come to the detective agency, so she brought Amber with her as the dog would be left alone in the house otherwise.

“I’m back. I bought some coffee and receipt paper,” Koyuki said.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

Masaya thanked her and lifted Amber into his arms. Amber joyfully licked Masaya’s nose.

“I received a message from my father. He said they made a major discovery regarding magic essence. He wants us to come to the laboratory,” Koyuki informed.

“Understood. Since there don’t seem to be any detective requests, we’ll head there now. Are you coming too, Koyuki-san?” Masaya asked.

“Yes, I’m interested.”

Fuyuhiko hastily raised his hand.

“I’m going too.”

“What? You’re coming too?” Masaya responded with a displeased tone.

“Why not? I’m part of the team too,” Fuyuhiko retorted.

“What team? Just so you know, the information I heard is top secret,” Masaya said.

“Trust me. I have a track record of not disclosing sensitive information. No one knows that Senpai is a Cool Dreamer,” Fuyuhiko assured.

Apparently, he hadn’t even disclosed this to his own mother. After locking the doors of the detective agency, they headed to the laboratory in Koyuki’s car. The laboratory, which also served as a magic essence sales company called “Mana Techno”, was located in a quiet suburban area.

It was a former guesthouse nestled within a small bamboo grove. They entered the building and made their way to the professor’s laboratory. The second floor on the eastern side was dedicated to the laboratory, with three researchers chosen by the professor.

It was a small research facility, but their research was cutting-edge. As they entered the laboratory, they were greeted by an array of unidentified machines. The only equipment they could identify was perhaps a microscope.

Professor Kanbara was waiting for them.

“So, you’re here. What’s this? Fuyuhiko’s tagging along too.”

He said it as if meaning that Fuyuhiko was getting in the way.

“Fuyuhiko doesn’t matter, Professor,” Masaya replied.

Upon hearing those words, Fuyuhiko added, “Everyone bullies me, Koyuki-chan.”

“Alright, alright, just stay quiet with Amber, and everything will be fine,” Koyuki reassured.

Fuyuhiko was treated at the same level as Amber.

“By the way, what’s this ‘major discovery’ you mentioned?” Masaya inquired, turning to the professor.

“Fufufu, prepare to be amazed. We have developed a new propulsion system.”

Although Masaya didn’t fully comprehend the concept of a new propulsion system, he was still intrigued.

“Remember when you showed me the Mana Art that launches the magic essence ball?” the professor asked.

“Yes, the one that only worked against the poisonous bats,” Masaya recalled.

“While it may not have been useful as an offensive tool, when we applied it as a propulsion system, it yielded surprisingly impressive results.”

A few days ago, Masaya had been tasked with producing a special type of magic essence crystal by the professor. The order was for the smallest crystal possible. What Masaya created were tiny crystals resembling specks of dust.

The minuscule magic essence crystals were mixed into oil and placed in a donut-shaped tank that would rotate. It was said that a force perpendicular to the rotation surface, similar to the magic essence ball, would be generated.

“We have tested it in experiments. Use this,”

The donut-shaped tank, filled with oil mixed with the tiny magic essence crystals, had a diameter of about 30 centimeters and was equipped with a motor for rotation.

“Let’s switch it on,”

As the professor turned on the switch of the remote control, the donut-shaped tank began to rotate. It started slowly at first, gradually picking up speed.

“Just a little more,”

At that moment, the experimental apparatus attached to the donut-shaped tank began to rise. It continued ascending until it collided with the ceiling before coming to a stop.

“Is it capable of flight? That’s incredible. I wonder how much power it has.”

Masaya voiced his curiosity while observing the experimental apparatus stuck to the ceiling.

“The propulsive force of this device seems to be proportional to the quantity of the tiny magic essence crystals and the rotation speed. If we had a device with a diameter of one meter, it could serve as an alternative to the main rotor of a helicopter. We call this power ‘True Motion Power’,” the professor explained.

“A propulsion system for helicopters, huh? It could certainly sell well considering the noise issues,” Masaya remarked.

The professor’s expression turned sour at Masaya’s words.

“A vehicle equipped with the True Motion Power engine can no longer be called a helicopter. And can’t you think of something on a much grander scale?” the professor retorted.

“Well, then, what would it be?” Masaya asked.

The professor pointed upward, and Masaya looked up. All he could see was the ceiling.

“Space. Don’t you have any desire to go to the moon?” the professor revealed.

“To be honest, I’ve always wanted to confirm the Apollo moon landing conspiracy theories. But it will be decades before we can even think about going to the moon, and Japan doesn’t have the technology to make spacesuits,” Masaya responded.

The professor let out a sigh.

“Well, that’s true. But it also means that this technology holds that much potential,”

“The issue is that I’m the only one capable of creating the tiny magic essence crystals. What about that?” Masaya asked.

Professor Kanbara grinned.

“I’ve found a clue. Now we just need to confirm it through experiments.”

The clue the professor mentioned was a discovery that combining supercritical water with the True Motion Engine could potentially crystallize the magic essence in the air. It seemed that the researchers who were investigating how magic essence crystals reacted in supercritical water stumbled upon this finding by chance.

The professor didn’t share this discovery with Koyuki or Fuyuhiko. He only told Masaya, emphasizing that it was a core technology for the growth of their company, ManaTechno.

After much effort, the professor and the researchers managed to complete the apparatus for manufacturing tiny magic essence crystals. However, they could only produce them in small sizes and were unable to create larger ones.

Professor Kanbara seized the opportunity to present the True Motion Engine to the executives of a leading Japanese corporation, thanks to his connections with some former students.

As soon as the executives saw the True Motion Engine, they immediately recognized its potential.

“I knew about the magic essence crystals, but I had no idea they could exhibit such effects.”

“This is a groundbreaking invention. We would love to collaborate with our company on this,”

The executives of the large corporation started discussing potential new ventures with Professor Kanbara.

Subsequently, it was announced that Tonda Motors, a renowned automobile manufacturer in Japan, and Kawabishi Heavy Industries, known for their helicopter production, would collaborate on developing a new type of vehicle.

The announcement caused a worldwide sensation. The vehicle in question was revealed to be a flying bus. The term “flying bus” led people in the business world to envision a small jet aircraft.

However, a small jet aircraft has already been commercialized by Tonda Motors. As a result, rumors began to circulate that they might be developing a regional jet for interregional passenger transportation with a capacity of around thirty people.

In Masaya’s world as well, the significance of magic essence was growing. ManaTechno, having succeeded in crystallizing it, was taking its first steps toward becoming a global company.

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In the Beneshof territory, where they had obtained a salt field, the popularity of rye bread made with sourdough had spread. At the celebration gathering, people who tasted the bread Dennis had made were captivated by its savory flavor and sought his guidance to learn how to make it themselves.

Within the territory, the future Lord Dennis became known not only for defeating the bandit group known as the Damian Bandits but also for devising this new bread. There was a brief movement seeking to call the rye bread made with sourdough “Dennis Bread”, but Dennis put a stop to it and changed the name to “Beneshof Bread”.

Beneshof Bread extended its reach to the central city of Cliff, and the town of Beneshof became famous for producing delicious bread. Egmont complained that their accomplishment of defeating the Damian Bandits, which earned him praise even from the king, should be more widely recognized than the bread. However, Dennis thought it was fine as it was.

While the commoners didn’t highly value the defeat of the Damian Bandits, viewing it as simply the elimination of ordinary bandits, the surrounding nobles held a different perspective. They knew that the Damian Bandits were a group of former elite soldiers under Duke Uldarius. As a result, the nobles began to hold Beneshof territory in high regard.