Kunon’s business finally calmed down around midday.
“That’s good enough for now.”
Kunon nodded and put down his pen.
The reason he hadn’t gone on Harmony’s expedition—despite wanting to—was on the table before him.
It was a list of the things he wanted to do during his second year of magic school. He tried writing down all the vague ideas he had for experiments, development projects, and research he’d like to work on. The list represented his goals for the upcoming year.
He wrote down everything that came to mind, so there was no guarantee he would actually do it all. He didn’t know how long each task would take, how much help he would need—if any—or whose assistance he would want.
There was much to consider before he got to work.
“……”
Okay, what to do?
He looked at each item on the list. After observing them all, he picked out a few he felt he could pull off.
His first idea was to produce a high-speed boat.
Technically, he wouldn’t be making the boat itself, but a magic tool that increased the speed of boats.
His interest in this idea waned a little after observing the flying ship, but what he had in mind was different. Kunon wanted to make a conventional vessel that traveled over water. If he succeeded, he thought it could be very profitable.
High-speed vessels already existed; they were propelled by wind sorcerers. But Kunon’s proposed magic tool would allow people other than wind sorcerers to do essentially the same thing. Kunon could use his invention to launch a shipping company, or he could simply sell the tool itself.
He hadn’t yet decided if the magic tool should produce wind or use the water on which the boat was traveling.
His second idea was cultivating sacred herbs.
The Saint had a monopoly on the plant, but Kunon was wondering if someone with a water attribute could grow it as well.
The impetus for this idea was his previous work with hydroponics. Kunon had surprised himself with the fruits of that project. He hadn’t expected the water used to have such a great impact on what grew. Thanks to those results, he’d begun to think he might be able to pull off such a project.
There was one problem, however: He needed to wait for the plants to grow, so this experiment would take time.
And more importantly, sacred herb seeds and seedlings would be extremely expensive. He had savings, but he would quickly drain them if he wasn’t careful, and he felt it wasn’t yet time for that.
However, he could easily cultivate plants while working on other experiments.
He decided to start on a small scale and approach the project with a long-term mindset.
Planting one or two and observing them wouldn’t be a bad idea.
His third idea was to survey holy land.
There were special places in the world called “holy lands” and “consecrated grounds.” Put simply, they were places where the soil was rich with special magic power. There were some varieties of plants, including sacred herbs, that only grew in such environments.
Kunon wanted to see one of these places for himself. He couldn’t see it literally, of course, but that was beside the point.
He was especially interested in the water found there. Holy land was called that because of its special soil. But what about the water?
If the water was special, too, Kunon definitely wanted to investigate it. And once he was done, he wanted to try replicating it with water magic.
“…Okay.”
Those were the three items on Kunon’s list that he could manage right away without any help. The other ideas would require assistance. He would have to approach others and convince them to give him their time, just like last year, when he’d developed the magic-containing box.
“I guess I’ll start with sacred herb cultivation.”
That was a project he could start immediately. He had a plan, and all he had to do after planting the seeds was wait.
Feeling energized, Kunon stood up. Just then, someone knocked on his door.
“Hello, Kunon,” his visitor said after he asked them to come in. It was Jenié, his first instructor.
“Oh my, you’re especially gorgeous this afternoon,” said Kunon. “It must be tough incurring the goddess of beauty’s jealousy every day.”
“Yeah, I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Jenié replied, brushing off the boy’s frivolous remark. “Are you busy?”
“I have time. But of course, I can always spare a moment for you, no matter how busy I am.”
“Spare a moment, huh? …Are you sure it’s all right?” Jenié asked again.
“Yes, I am,” Kunon said. “I was just thinking about what I want to do this year… Oh, how rude of me. A gentleman should never make a lady stand. Please, come in and find a seat.”
“Thanks, but this will only take a moment,” Jenié politely refused. The room was so messy she didn’t think she could find a place to sit anyway. “I’m just here to convey a message from Professor Satori.”
Jenié hadn’t seen Kunon over summer break, so she was curious about what he’d been up to. He seemed busy, however, so she decided to simply deliver the message and leave.
“Professor Satori?” Satori. Kunon’s eyes light up at the name, though they were still hidden behind his eye mask. “You have a message from the fallen angel who was cast out of Heaven because of the goddess of beauty’s jealousy?”
“Uh, yeah. Sure. A message from Professor Fallen Angel,” Jenié said, getting a little annoyed. “Do you remember that bug?”
“The water-dancing bug? Of course.”
That was the creature he’d seen in Satori’s office that could purify water of toxic substances. They’d performed a variety of experiments with it.
“The professor said she’d finished the necessary experiments, so she’s going to perform some field tests. She wants to know if you’d like to accompany her as an assistant.”
“Absolutely! I’d love to! …Is what I’d like to say, but I can’t commit before hearing the schedule.”
This was an invitation from Satori, a teacher Kunon greatly admired. He wanted to accept immediately, but once again, he found himself in the same situation he had regarding the Harmony Faction’s expedition.
If the trip was going to last only a few days, he would happily go along. But if it was going to last longer than that, he’d need to prepare. A longer journey was difficult on such short notice.
“I’m not sure about the schedule, actually,” Jenié said. “I can’t go because of my classes, so I don’t know the details… You should talk to her if you’re interested.”
“Understood.”
Kunon decided to go to Satori’s classroom with Jenié.