The Happiest Moment
While Akion was focused on developing the hair dryer,
"Ahh…."
In the Papal Court in the capital Drakir, deep within a grand monastery.
Inside a secluded cabin there…
- Swish, stroke.
The Saintess, her injuries now fully healed and bandages removed, was tenderly caressing the hand lantern Akion had given her.
Each touch was filled with devotion, as if handling a holy relic of the Lord.
"It's so beautiful…."
Akion had made two types of hand lanterns.
The head lanterns distributed to the other holy knights, and for the Saintess, a slightly larger one that filled both hands when gripped.
Crafted from bronze and wood, coated with black glaze for a smooth finish.
And enhanced with the Tower Master's magical knowledge to withstand the Saintess's output—a Saintess version incandescent bulb.
As Goldie put it, a "metaphysical work of art."
- Stroke.
Yet the Saintess was about to do something reckless to this precious treasure.
- Click.
She covered the lens where the light emitted with a lid featuring a vertical groove.
Then,
- Whirr…!
Activating her halo above her head with holy power, she began infusing holy energy into the hand lantern.
- Crackle…!!
"Ahh……."
The holy beam protruding from the groove took the form of an endless sword.
Its edge so sharp it could slice through anything if mishandled.
- Clack, clack.
- Creeak.
Gripping it, the Saintess stepped out of the cabin…
"Saintess, here is the test subject you requested."
"Kek, kehek!"
Before her stood a goblin bound for experimentation.
Because she wanted to test this precious hand lantern from the faithful Akion.
"Hold it steady."
"Yes, ma'am!"
"Kieek?!"
Two holy knights restrained the goblin's limbs,
while the bewildered creature thrashed about, unaware of its fate.
"Kerak! Keyaak!!"
The goblin was confused.
What was happening?
Who were these burly white-armored brutes?
- Clack, clack.
- Whoosh!
And above all, why was this stunningly beautiful human female, enough to stir lust even in a goblin…
"Poor thing."
"Kiheeek…."
She felt far more terrifying than the ogre it had first encountered!!!
- Shake, shake!
The goblin wanted to live. Tears like chicken droppings streamed down as it shook its head frantically.
Please, spare me!
Did its desperation reach her?
"Monsters like you… are like orphans who lost their parents."
At the Saintess's pitying gaze, a flicker of hope lit the goblin's eyes.
"But those parents were demons──!!"
"Kieek?!"
Not quite.
- Whirr!!
- Chiiiii!!!!
"In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Saintess──!!!"
Fanaticism gleamed in the Saintess's eyes as the hand-lantern-sword(?) ramped to maximum output.
"A──Men!!"
"Kiyaak!!!"
The sword, swung while invoking the Lord,
- Slash!
"Kkureek?!"
neatly bisected the goblin.
And cauterized the wound for good measure—brutally efficient!!!!
"Kku, kkueh. Ehgek."
"Ha, haaaaaah…! Haat—hahahahaha──!!!"
A fitting end for filth whose only parents were demons!!
For the Saintess, who had once nearly lost her life to a vampire, nothing could be more exhilarating.
"A superb overhead strike!"
"Turning a hand lantern into a sword of light! As expected of our Saintess!!!"
"A-hahahahaha! From now on, we'll call this the Holy Light Sword!"
"Long live the Saintess!!"
"Long live the Lord──!!"
It was the birth of the blade holy knights would draw in emergencies.
The moment the Holy Light Sword was born.
*
"Ugh."
"What's wrong? You suddenly shivered."
Akion in the Energies Mansion.
He trembled from a sudden chill.
"No idea. Caught a cold maybe?"
"Days are warm, but nights are cold… Shall I summon a priest if needed?"
"No, it's fine. This is more important right now."
His condition was peak despite the "cold," so Akion brushed it off.
More urgent matters lay before him.
"No good options for hanging the coil."
A coil to serve the same role as the incandescent bulb's filament.
It had to heat the fan-blown air… but nothing suitable to secure it.
"Young master, what about mica?"
"Shatters if dropped. Needs to withstand heat, be sturdy, durable, and mana-insulating."
"Tricky conditions…."
Non-conductive to electricity, shock-resistant, heat-resistant.
Akion had learned from his engineering studies here:
Insulators don't work when mana substitutes for electricity.
"Rubber?"
"Might melt. Maybe the porcelain from the toilet trials?"
"Didn't that break too?"
Thus, the need for an insulator to suspend the coil… but no suitable material.
Most were vulnerable to external shocks.
"Young master, young master."
"What, what?"
"Like with the bearings… couldn't we use a damper?"
"Oh?"
Why hadn't he thought of that?
A damper as cushioning for vibration and shocks—wrap it and done.
And Goldie suggested it first!
"Ooh, our Goldie is so smart."
"Hehe! Pet me more!"
"Heh, really. Goldie, you love praise so much."
Akion and the Tower Master showered Goldie with affection, making her the happiest dog beastkin in the world.
"Then, wool felt for the damper."
Wool felt, common in modern handmade dolls.
Possibly invented before weaving, its air layers perfect for insulation, sound, and vibration absorption.
Plus, protein fibers make it fire-resistant!
"Lacquered wood inside the case, ebonite outside."
"What's ebonite…?"
"Black rubber from mixing natural rubber with sulfur—"
For heat resistance: lacquered wood frame, ebonite shell.
"For heat-resistant wood… there's Drakirblood. Pretty red hue, lacquer-dried and unburnable."
"Ooh, sounds like something dragons would use."
"Grown on dragon blood. The one in my tower… hehe, fed my own."
"Gasp."
The Tower Master provided materials expertise again.
A whole precious Drakirblood tree she grew herself!
"Hehe. A gift for my grandnephew. The least I can do."
"Ugh, only the Tower Master thinks of family!"
"F-Family?! You mean you and I as family…?! Ahem, well. Akion, you've admired my beauty, so falling for me is understandable—"
"Not that."
The Tower Master sulked midway at his denial.
Akion and Goldie frantically comforted her. Anyway.
"Gasp, Drakirblood!!"
"Carve carefully. It's for imperial delivery—the inner lining."
"Yes, ma'am…!"
Akion entrusted the ultra-hard Drakirblood wood to the carver,
"Watch. This is ebonite."
"Ooh…!"
and taught the workshop artisans its production for mass manufacture.
First, mold some, have the carver trim inner and outer to fit the wood frame precisely.
"And since it's rubber, heat to expand, fit like so…."
- Thud thud thud!!!
Finally, assemble parts, soak ebonite shell in hot water to expand, fit over frame.
Then groove with carving knife, dye gaps, or lacquer wood handle for heat isolation.
"Complete…."
A hair dryer engraved with a red golden dragon. Finished.
*
The completed hair dryer wasn't sent straight to the princess—
"Ugh, my hair feels frizzy."
"As expected… high heat isn't good for women's hair."
no.
As mentioned before crafting, they compared pros/cons with three early adopters.
"Hmm. Son."
"Just this once."
"Thank you…. High-heat strong air dried it fast but left it frizzy. For women with long hair like me, it needs slightly warm or lukewarm wind—that's why I mentioned it."
Akion had added a 3-stage switch to control coil heat before assembly.
And airflow: weak or strong.
"In this one's view, high-heat strong wind is best for drying scalp skin beneath."
"Hmm. For the hair itself, mid-low heat strong wind? Goldie loved strong wind as long as not high heat!"
"I agree with the Tower Master and Goldie."
Hair's protein keratin is heat-vulnerable.
Wet hair traps moisture in open cuticles; rapid high-heat evaporation damages it.
"Here's the evaluation from the Tower Master, Countess, and Goldie!"
"Thanks."
Akion, being male with short hair that dries quick, hadn't considered it.
But the princess had far longer hair than all three combined.
And barring natural curls, most nobles here…
"Might as well start a hairstyling culture."
He'd never seen twisted or waved hair like in modern times.
If used for styling, wouldn't the princess take pride in her long locks?
With that awkward motive,
- Tap tap.
"Thanks for your hard work, everyone."
Akion finalized the hair dryer with a manual.
"Hweeeek, vacation at last…."
"Hmm, young master. That hair dryer… if more are made, could I take one for my wife—"
"Planning a cheap version later. For now… imperial delivery."
"Gasp, yes…!"
Now left was,
"Tower Master. Best to engrave your name for the princess?"
"Hehe, borrowing my name fully? Clear a day for me and Goldie."
"Sigh, deal…."
"Hehehe! Good!"
Truly sending the hair dryer to the Seventh Princess.
With the manual incorporating the early adopters' know-how.
* * *
The current emperor of the Khalid Empire.
He had seven children.
Even with priests, infant mortality was high… necessitating many births.
"Wh-why does it grow every day?! Why is it dirty?! Sniff, waaah…!"
"Calm yourself, our distant descendant. There, no more tears."
Among them, Seventh Princess Flair was the youngest, like Akion.
"Hmm. This…."
"A problem with Flair, elder?"
"Didn't watch the birth closely, but the child has thick dragon blood."
"Then…."
The mutant imperial with the thickest dragon blood among siblings.
Some dragon said she might be closer to dragon than human; the emperor broke into cold sweat.
"Flair's hair growing endlessly is likely her happiest moment fixed in time."
"Due to dragon blood?"
"Indeed. Dragons engrave their happiest moments on body and soul. I'll ensure bodily growth continues."
But it's the cruelest blessing. Even for me, millennia old….
- Chirp chirp chirp!
"………."
The princess wanted to know why she dreamed that day.
"Haaah."
Held in her emperor father's arms, praised for her flowing red silk-like hair.
After that day, fixed… endlessly growing to match her body, this red hair pile.
- Stroke.
Foreign matter on the silk strands mimicked her playful romps in the palace garden.
Bed soiled again.
Maids would change sheets once more.
"Haa."
The usual morning scene.
As Flair reached for the bell to summon maids,
- Chirp chirp chirp!
"……Huh?"
A rare predawn bird chirp.
To wash her long hair in time, she needed to start at dawn before sunrise….
"Wha—huh?! Aaaah?!"
Sunlight leaked through the window.
"Bea, Beatrice!!"
- Ding ding ding!!
Flair urgently summoned her head maid, Beatrice.
"You called, Your Highness?"
"Why didn't you wake me!! I'll be late for the court council, ahh…!"
Beatrice waking her late for once.
As worry filled Flair for the meeting,
"No need to worry, Your Highness. Plenty of time."
"How can I not—! Huh? What's that in your hands…?"
Flair noticed something in Beatrice and the maids' hands.
A pretty artwork: matte black exterior, shiny gold foil interior.
Its end like a bird's wide beak, perfect for airflow.
And a familiar, pleasant scent.
"That smells familiar and nice…."
"You noticed. A magic tool, hair dryer, carved from Drakirblood wood cultivated by the Ridaside Tower Master."
Ridaside Tower Master!
Her distant kin and ancestor provided that precious Drakirblood wood.
Flair was shocked once, then recalled who the Tower Master collaborated with….
"Th-then, surely this is!"
"Yes, Your Highness. A hair dryer from Young Master Akion."
Twice shocked that it would free her from daily hair-drying torment.
"Young Master Akion and the Tower Master enclosed a manual on optimal drying by hair condition. We tested it—performance is revolutionary."
"Really?! I wanna try it now!"
The genius alchemist, developer of artifact-grade magic tools, Akion Energies.
And her distant ancestor, Ridaside Tower Master.
Their combined genius birthed… this era's latest beauty magic tool.
Forgetting the soiled bed, Flair bounced like a child.
"First, you must wash your hair."
"Ah! Right. Hurry, help me!"
At her command, maids wrapped and lifted her hair,
Beatrice at her side, heading to the washroom.
"When did it arrive! You should've told me sooner!"
"Hehe, if I'd known you'd be this delighted, I would have."
Watching the princess, dark circles faded from extra sleep, with warm eyes.