“You guessed it,” I said before Ira could finish. “We’re going to keep experimenting with all kinds of configurations. Does the energy collection efficiency go up with size, and if so, how far does it go? We’re going to run tests to get our answers.”
“…This is going to be backbreaking work,” Ifriita muttered.
✦ ✦ ✦
At the end of our investigation, we learned that the upper limit for increasing a primitive mana trap’s ability was a one-and-a-half-meter cube. Basically, the radiator-type mana trap worked better the larger it got.
“…I’m tired.”
“…Are we done?”
“Ha ha ha. Well done, ladies.”
Ira and Ifriita were totally exhausted after meditating through round after round of mana trap tests, so I pulled out some roasted apples and tea for them. Roasted apples were great because they came out sweet and delicious. All I needed were apples, so I always kept a bunch in my inventory. I could also use them to make apple pie and fruit cakes, so they’d become one of my go-to ingredients for sweets.
“I’ve got a good sense of the ideal size for now,” I said. “Next, I want to check whether the density or thickness of the internal fins affects energy-collection efficiency.”
Both women’s bodies twitched in response, and they both stopped munching on their roasted apples.
I swore I could hear their joints creak as they looked toward me.
Uh oh. There was no life in their eyes.
“No worries,” I added quickly. “We’re not going to go super in-depth this time. We already know the optimal size.”
Granted, all of these experiments assumed that Ira and Ifriita’s energy collecting abilities were the same, so ultimately I was only getting loose data on what direction to head in. I wasn’t some career scientist with years of experience under my belt; I was just feeling things out as I went along. And quite frankly, considering the future, I didn’t really know if this size was optimal or not. I had no way of knowing if the magic energy collection device would perform the same way with the same collection abilities as Ira and Ifriita.
At the end of the day, though, that was research. Like stumbling in the darkness as a total amateur.
There was no telling if this radiator-style form was the most effective either. My hunch about surface area might’ve been totally wrong. Maybe other forms I’d yet to experiment with would actually work better. You know, like a parabola dish or…one of those antenna-looking things you saw on rooftops back in my old world, the ones that looked like fish bones. Maybe that was more effective at gathering energy.
“Basic research sure is important,” I mused.
“Agreed,” Ira said. “Magic and formulas both developed gradually thanks to accumulated research over a long period of time… I hope you can use your otherworldly knowledge and technology to create something new.”
“I’ll do my best. Anyway, once you’re done eating, let’s get back to it.”
“…Right.”
“…Okay.”
Even though they were completely spent from this basic work, they still stuck with me. I’d have to do something nice for them later.
When we were finished, I would take their requests for dinner.