Chapter 1
Chapter 1
Translator : Elizabeth
Chapter 1
“Young Master! Are you alright?!”
“Ugh….”
On his seventeenth birthday, Archion Enersis lost his footing and tumbled down the stairs.
And so, Archion, now with a massive bump on his head…
“Who… are you?”
…realized he was a reincarnated soul in a Romance Fantasy world.
An engineering slave who made a wrong choice under the temptation of a professor. While preparing for a lab lecture, his body weary from overtime, he died of electrocution from a short-circuited experimental device.
That was Archion’s past life. Anyone would agree it was a miserable ending, but—
“This is the life.”
Abundant mines, fertile lands, and a commercial city. Add to that a Count’s family with a lineage of Archmages. Looking through the history books of this place, the tropes of Romance Fantasy were visible everywhere, so he didn’t have to worry about an apocalyptic ending.
Reincarnated as a young master of a Romance Fantasy Archmage family with a "cheat" background? On top of that, a world where magic is omnipotent!
This much could be considered an equivalent exchange.
Zap!
“Wait, no magic…?”
Except for the fact that his magical talent converged to zero.
Despite having overflowing mana thanks to his bloodline, his brain simply couldn't comprehend magic. Because of this, Archion had been looked down upon as incompetent since he was a five-year-old toddler.
His intended purpose was to be sold off as a live-in son-in-law to the family of a Northern Grand Duke on the day he reached adulthood in two years.
“Mm-hmm, All is Well.”
But even that is much more affluent than the lives of commoners.
Equipped with a modern sensibility, Archion’s positive mindset was unstoppable.
“All is NOT well. Dammit.”
Actually, there were plenty of things around to stop him. It was due to a daily life that was more than just subtly uncomfortable.
No matter how much you decorated the bathroom, it was still an outhouse. At night, they used candles or torches to light the darkness, making it far too dim.
Food preservation was difficult, so meat was used immediately after slaughter—and they would pour spices over it to mask the fishy taste of the blood. On top of that, the efficiency of heating and cooling was abysmal, making both winter and summer a path of suffering.
Above all, when it got like this in the summer, they would mask body odor with perfume, and that… it was no joke.
“This primitive world needs salvation….”
Hygiene concepts were established, such as encouraging washing and eating with forks, but that wasn't enough.
Magic? It could supplement things, but for some reason, magic had hardly developed in the direction of daily life. The excuse was that they were too busy keeping other human forces in check and fighting monsters… but the bigger reason was: "Does it make money?"
“I’ll have to improve this.”
But by what method?
Though Archion possessed no magic, the scientific and engineering knowledge of his past life remained.
How an incandescent bulb glows. How water fills and flushes in a sit-down toilet. How the motor of a washing machine operates.
As it happened, the scientific laws he knew worked exactly the same in this Romance Fantasy world. If so, implementation would certainly not be difficult.
Therefore, first:
“I need to study at night, too.”
Let’s make an incandescent bulb first.
How can I research all night if the room is dark?
Lately, a rumor has been circulating in the Enersis Count’s Estate.
“The youngest master, apparently…” “He’s going to practice alchemy!”
It was the news that Archion had opened an alchemy workshop.
What is alchemy? Mages referred to it as the materialization of magic. It allowed magic to be placed even in the hands of a mere commoner. In other words, even commoners without talent could dabble in it—as long as they had magical knowledge. Dabble, that is.
“He should have just stayed quiet as he’s been living. Tsk tsk.” “Just leave him be.”
Because of this, people were busy pointing fingers at Archion.
If you’re incompetent, stay still.Are you planning to waste the Count’s fortune?Are you trying to act like a mage after all?
“Like I care.”
Archion ignored them all.
The slander of scoundrels who monopolized magic and neglected progress? To Archion, they were fools who chose regression for the sake of power.
The fortunate thing was that his biological father and the Head of the House, Delford Enersis, was a benevolent man. When Archion brought up the alchemy workshop, he promised full support.
Looking at his past behavior, it seemed he was trying to incite competition among the siblings… but Archion didn't care. He wasn't interested in the Earldom.
His priority was the improvement of daily life.
“Cough, cough!” “Oh my, Young Master! Are you alright?!”
Inhaling smoke from a charcoal kiln, he created carbonized bamboo filaments for the light bulb.
“Ugh…” “Young Master. At that part, relax your wrist and then—”
Struggling with metalwork under a blacksmith for the metal wires to hang the filaments.
“So… you are asking me to separate a gas that has almost no alchemical reactivity from the air? Young Master. How could such a component exist—” “It does. Nitrogen should do.”
Coaxing and soothing a mage who was suspicious of everything because he didn't know about inert gases, he filled the inside of the light bulb.
“Huff, huff…” “Hick, Young Master! A nosebleed…!” “It’s fine.”
Even if he poured blood from his nose under the dim candlelight, he did not let go of the light bulb's development.
For a better daily life.
One day, after three months had passed—
Tap, tap, tap!
A dog-beastman maid, with drooping ears wagging, knocked on the workshop door.
“Young Master, Young Master!”
It was Goldie Heritage, the dog-beastman who served Archion.
The illegitimate daughter of Baron Heritage, a mage, she was a brave woman who had left her family early since she wouldn't be able to inherit the title anyway.
The Enersis Count’s family recognized her talent and hired her as an attendant. In exchange, they agreed to teach her magic.
“It’s mealtime! Young Master!”
Her mission was specifically to serve Archion. Just to make sure he didn't die until he reached adulthood. Exactly that much. Since it was a simple mission befitting Archion’s status, she thought it would be an easy job, but…
Thump, thump, thump!
“Young Master!”
“I’m coming out, I said I’m coming out.”
To her surprise, the Young Master declared he would do alchemy.
Once again, what is alchemy? It was the materialization of magic, a way for even commoners to access magic easily and quickly.
“Aah, you’re covered in soot again! Since you're a magic-idiot, why are you suffering so much! Do you want to die?”
“You really are honest.”
To put it another way, one slip-up and you could be gone in a magic accident. Is this Young Master fearless?
“And you throw out biting remarks to your master without hesitation.”
“Heehee, but you don't scold Goldie!”
To Archion, paradoxically, it was the warmest concern he had received in these 17 years. It suddenly occurred to him that among dog-beastmen, there were many outspokenly loyal subjects. Perhaps that was why Goldie was so honest.
“Right. More importantly, come inside for a second.”
“A-ah! Young Master! I told you, you have to eat lunch!”
Because of that, more than his father the Count, or his siblings— He wanted to show it to this doggy friend first.
“Ta-da. I finished it in three months.”
“……Wow.”
The light bulb he had just completed!
A transparent glass sphere sparkling in the sunlight. Various parts intricately connected inside. Everything combined to look like a metaphysical work of art.
To think this was the "incandescent light bulb" Archion had been talking about… Goldie approached with sparkling eyes at the bulb, which was much prettier than she had imagined.
“It’s like a jewel. Can I… hold it once?”
“You can hold the brass part at the bottom.”
Goldie was incredibly careful, as if the bulb might break.
“Wow… it’s beautiful. I didn't know when you said you’d learn metalwork, but I never expected such a refined piece of art.”
“Pffft, what piece of art.”
Watching her from the side, Archion almost burst into a silly laugh.
Strictly speaking, it was inferior to a factory-made bulb, which is the pinnacle of human engineering. If she saw thousands of them pouring out of a factory, how surprised would Goldie and the people of this Romance Fantasy world be?
Anyway, there was another reason he had brought Goldie in.
“You see that socket part at the bottom? Cast lightning magic there. With moderate output, continuously.”
“Ah, yes.”
The attendants of the Enersis Count’s family could use magic, and Goldie was also a mage whose main specialty was lightning magic. There could be no better talent for infusing this bulb with constant voltage and current.
Wooooong…!
Goldie’s hair flutters. They say that when using magic, a wavelength is created while managing mana. That was what made her hair fly like that.
To Archion, who couldn't use magic, he didn't even know what the principle behind that was. He just…
Flash!
“Whoa!”
It was enough if that light bulb shone brightly. Like right now.
“O-oh-wa-wa! Ooh-waah!”
“Is it that surprising?”
From nosebleeds to fainting from overwork. These short three months were the moments he had worked hardest in his 17-year life. If he included his past life, maybe not, but anyway.
“Wow….”
“See? This is engineering.”
Now, he had to make a device to supply electricity to this. A battery, a generator to charge the battery, and so on… there was a long way to go, but at least it was at a level where he could brag to those around him.
Once that was finished? Then all that remained was to light up the subtly primitive nights of this Romance Fantasy world!
“Young Master… how on earth did you make this?”
“I told you, this is all engineering. Based on the numerous scientific laws established in this world—”
“The mana I pulled up to use lightning magic… the light bulb is eating it!”
“Huh?”
Wait. Not electricity, but mana?
The only things that emit light by "eating" mana are mana lamps that use magic stones. But those have atrocious mana consumption efficiency. Only 10% of the mana in a magic stone is used, and the rest evaporates away. It's the height of inefficiency.
Furthermore, magic stones are dirt cheap because they have no other use, and mana lamps are classified as luxury items.
“It’s five times brighter than a mana lamp, but it consumes incredibly little mana! Wow, waah! Is this engineering?”
“No.”
It’s still not magic. It’s engineering.
“Engineering is amazing! On what principle does it work?”
Archion tried his best to shake off Goldie’s wide-eyed, twinkling gaze. How was he supposed to explain it when it had become a field he no longer recognized?
“A-as expected! It’s something like an Archmage’s secret! I understand, Young Master! Goldie will keep her mouth tightly shut!”
“You don't have to.”
“Hick! Then shall we write a contract of oath?! Would that put your mind at ease, Young Master?!”
“I said you don't have to….”
Archion spent the entire lunch sweating as he tried to calm Goldie down.
“Then… just as you always said, do you want to make it so everyone can enjoy this precious artifact?”
“I told you, it’s not an artifact.”
Stroking the head of the finally calmed Goldie… Archion pursed his lips.
When he experimented just a moment ago with a magic stone he had bought for research, he confirmed that the light bulb flickered on while sucking the mana out of the stone.
According to Goldie, who had good mana sensitivity, the mana consumption efficiency was equivalent to nine times that of a mana lamp….
“I hope so, but let’s light up the mansion first.”
Archion thought of the very first thing he wanted to do. To completely illuminate the mansion at night, which had relied on torches, candles, and mana lamps. He would chase the night out of the Enersis Count’s Estate.
“Let’s go get a budget from Father!”
“Yes!”
To do that, he would have to introduce this "hot item" to the sponsor and master of the house, the Count. Archion moved with excited steps, cradling the incandescent bulb in his arms.