CH 248

Chapter 248 – Refrigerator

Magic, magic power, and miracles―I gathered a lot of knowledge about special abilities that were unthinkable in my former world.

First of all, it was clear that all abilities, whether miracles, magic, or spirit magic, utilize magic in some form. I am almost certain that its main use is as a source of energy to cause various phenomena, but I think that the conversion efficiency is extremely high.

For example, the lightning magic used by Isla is said to have almost the same power as naturally occurring lightning. As I recall, the voltage and current of lightning are at least 100 million volts and tens of thousands of amperes. Needless to say, these numbers are out of the norm for energy generated instantaneously by a single human being.

Eh? Don’t you think it’s outrageous? Well… 5,56mm NATO bullets commonly used in assault rifles are about 1,300 joules, 7.62x39mm bullets have about 1,500 joules, and 12.7mm bullets, which are used for anti-material rifles, have about 18,000 joules of energy.

In contrast, the energy of a single lightning shot can be converted to about 1,000 megajoules. Not just joules. It is “mega” joule. In other words, one billion joules. Well, it may not make much sense to directly compare the energy in the bullet and the energy of the lightning itself, but even so, the difference in energy between the two is about 5500 compared to a 12.7mm bullet.

Isla can handle such energy with such a small body. Moreover, it is said that if her magic power is at full strength, she can fire about ten times in a row. I think you can see how magic power and magic are unthinkable in the common sense of my former world.

“So, I decided to stop thinking about the elucidation of magic power itself or the efficiency of energy conversion. I would like to leave such things to the scholars and mages of the future.”

“Hmm.”

“Are you running away from something?”

“I am not running away. This is just a change of direction.”

It’s a matter of opinion. It’s a very rational decision not to think about it because it doesn’t seem to be worth thinking about in my head. It’s a decision that makes me feel proud of myself.

“So, you know what? I’m going to go back to basics.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, that’s the thing. There’s nothing pressing on my mind, so I’m going to take up a hobby.”

This guy’s starting to declare his sabotage proudly.”

“Oh, don’t get me wrong. It doesn’t mean that I’m going to spend all my time eating and sleeping or drinking alcohol. I’m just trying to make a tool that will help people. In some cases, it may even be officially mass-produced and become widely used, dramatically improving people’s lives.”

I held my hand to Ifrita, who gave me a cold stare and held up my index finger, waving it from side to side.

“Hmm, the air board that Kosuke designed is actually being used by the Liberation Army, and a low-cost version is being tested at the moment. It should be available for sale to the general public soon.”

The low-cost version of the air board that Isla is referring to is a new type of carriage with a levitation device installed in place of the conventional wheels. It costs a certain amount of money to maintain, but it is said to be very popular because it can carry more cargo more quickly than ever before. Since there is no friction between the wheels and axle, the load on the horse is reduced, and the distance traveled per day is said to be nearly doubled.

The levitation device used in the air board was created within the scope of conventional technology, including levitation magic, so there is no particular need to conceal it. However, the propulsion device created by intentionally eliminating the recoil-eliminating technique from the magic of the air blast is a technology that can be said to be quite revolutionary, and new technology has been introduced into the operating system, so they have no intention of selling an air board with full-scale specifications at this time.

“I wonder if it’s that easy to come up with a tool that will be useful to people?”

“That’s the thing. I’m thinking of using magic to recreate useful household items that exist in my world.”

“I see.”

“Hmm… for example?”

“Well, how about a… refrigerator?”

If refrigerators become more widely used, fresh food can be made to last longer. I think they will come in handy not only in ordinary homes but also in restaurants and other establishments.

“Refrigerator?”

“What’s it look like?”

“Uh-huh.”

I explain to Isla and Ifrita what a refrigerator is.

“I see. Fresh food indeed tends to be damaged during the summer. I understand that food is less likely to spoil in a dark, cool place like a basement than in a warm place.”

“In castles, there are ice-cold rooms where foodstuffs are frozen and stored, but ordinary people don’t have such things in their homes.”

“You have a freezer?”

“It’s called an ice-cold room, not a refrigerator. When you enter it, it is as cold as midwinter, even in the summer. But the ice freezer in the castle must have been contracted with an ice spirit using such a large spirit stone.”

Ifrita used her hand to show how big it was, saying it was about this big. It’s a little bigger than a softball… about the size of a baby’s head. I’m pretty sure that spirit stones are made by elves processing gemstones. That sure sounds expensive.

Of course, I wouldn’t use something with that kind of effect. Isla, there is surely magic to make ice, right?”

“Yes, there is. Ice bullets.”

After saying that, Isla quickly held out her hand and instantly created a sharp block of ice on her hand and showed it to me.

“It’s a kind of magic that creates ice, molds it into a sharp shape, and sends it flying to where it’s pointed, right?”

“That’s pretty much it.”

“Is there some kind of magic that freezes the water in place or something?”

“…I’ve never heard of it.”

“Hmm… maybe there isn’t any existing magic. But I think it can be made by applying the ice bullet magic or snowstorm magic formula. I think it’s easy to do with spirit magic.”

There isn’t any? Is the magic of this world specialized only for offensive magic?

“It would be nice if we could just extract the magic formula of making ice from the magic of ice bullets and make it into a magic tool. I’m thinking of something called an ice refrigerator――”

I write down the outline of the ice refrigerator I am going to build on paper. An ice refrigerator is a large two-tiered box made of a material with high thermal insulation. A metal box with high heat conduction efficiency is placed in the upper tier, and ice is placed in the box to cool the air in the lower tier. The cooled air is then trapped in the box made of highly insulating material to keep the food inside cool.

Before the spread of electric refrigerators, iceboxes were widely used all over the world. There were even many ice houses that supplied ice to households at that time.

“In my world, each household could freeze and chill their foodstuffs directly without the use of ice, thanks to the electricity supply. In this world, it is difficult to supply a large amount of magic power in a stable manner, isn’t it?”

“Hmm. It’s difficult unless there are vents in the earth’s veins.”

“That’s true. If that is the case, why not put an ice magic tool on each refrigerator? It would be more profitable just to sell the box to the public as it was in your world and then make the magic tools to produce ice and run an ice shop in the country.”

“…Oh.”

“Indeed.”

I clapped my hands involuntarily at Ifrita’s point. It may be so when you put it that way. Although I had been conscious of creating a new magic tool, it would be more beneficial for the Merinard Kingdom to create a new interest and employment for the ice shop, considering the refrigerator as a commodity.

“You guys are kind of engineers, aren’t you…?”

Ifrita let out a sigh of exasperation and shook her head.

“That being said, I can’t say anything… but I think the form of creating ice with magic tools is more convenient.”

“It would be more expensive to put a magic tool on every single piece of equipment. Even if the convenience is high, the general public can’t afford such a thing, can they?”

“Kuh… That’s certainly true.”

“I am not good with money either, so it would be a good idea to talk to someone who is good with that sort of thing, such as Melty. I think we should start by making three prototypes, one with just a box for ice, one that includes a magic tool for making ice, and one that helps ice-makers make ice, and see what the cost would be. Then we can talk about it.”

“Yes.”

“Okay.”

Isla and I nodded our heads in agreement. It’s not enough to just make something with high performance and convenience.

“What’s with that eyes of yours?”

“I’ve been reflecting a lot on how I’ve been looking at people with preconceived notions.”

“I see. I would like to hear what you think of me.”

It took some time to quiet Ifrita, who was smiling with a vein on her temple, but as for the casing, we were able to quickly create several prototypes by making use of our crafting abilities as well. Let’s go talk to Melty as soon as we get Isla to make the ice magic tool.