"Huh... this is like a new language? Is this the third, then? Our own, the runes of magic, and now... Morse code? Wait, no, fourth, because you did introduce your old life's language to the spies..." Sasha asked, smiling, holding one of my papers with the codes neatly laid out, explaining all of them.
"You can look at it like that! Although I modified it a little, I transformed our letters and added a few new codes to the list to complete our ABC."
"Then why not rename it to Leon code?"
"I wouldn't feel right; it's still... a borrowed invention." I answered, putting down my quill and finishing the drawing of a buzzer, an easily buildable device that I will need for my Morse code machine.
"Nobody knows that! Are you being humble, My Sovereign?" She giggled, teasing me, and plopped her bottom into my lap.
"Maybe! But it is also because I would feel really weird calling it Leon code. Nah, I am used to it being Morse code, so it will stay just like that. For my own convenience!"
"Ahaha, okay~ I won't tease you about it! But I also won't read your newest book. Brr... that is not for me."
"It's dry, I know. But Merlin loves it, and he wants to read even more. He says it gave him the perspective he needed."
"I know, he has been going on about it, wanting to introduce it into the school's curriculum. Don't worry!" She continued with a laugh when seeing I was about to stand up and go call him over, "I told him that would be a foolish move! I made him believe that this was top-secret information, so it was not for everyone."
"Good thinking. Poor kids would hate studying if he dropped this on them. Let's keep school fun as is and let those who show a talent for learning deal with it later in their life."
"This is already looking complicated enough," Sasha hummed, watching the blueprints for the Morse code machine, "electric currents and the rest... hauh... This is more complicated than magic formations!"
"Is it? I think it's the other way around. Some formations that Merlin sends me for review are beyond me. I have to sit there and decode them for hours before they make sense, and I can do it just because they remind me of how programming works..."
"Merlin is a different kind of guy, okay?"
"I can agree on that! Did you visit the building site yesterday? I was looking for you, but none of you were here."
"Yes, I took Luna and Yuri out to check where the factory is being built. The people are working really fast; they are already flattening the ground while another group is constructing the road to connect it to the main highway."
"I will have to start working on the machinery that will be installed within the factory. It shouldn't be too hard to produce, as they gained enough experience by now to follow my plans and create what I needed."
"Will you return to planning out your robot?" She asked with a smile, kissing my face.
"It's a mech, and I intend to work on it in my free time because I need to continue refining it. Now, I have gyroscopes that I can properly scale up and down, depending on what I need. I will start implementing them into the blueprint, maybe build some smaller models, and see how they perform. Then, there is the dynamo. With electricity so close at hand, I can start thinking about making a magical generator that could power its movement."
"What do you have in mind?"
"My previous plans focused solely on using magic formations to make it work. But... by now, my thinking has changed for multiple reasons. For one, it would make the mech susceptible to any type of anti-magic attacks. Like a magical EMP."
"A what? An imp? Like the monsters in stories?"
"No!" I giggled, snuggling up to her while explaining, "EMP. Electromagnetic Pulse. It refers to a burst of electromagnetic radiation that can disrupt, damage, or destroy electronic devices and systems!"
"Ugh... This is only something that Merlin would enjoy learning about."
"Don't be so mean~! A magical EMP would be a shockwave that disrupts spells. For bigger, stronger formations, you need to chant, summon it, and even use multiple mages and giant constructs to channel and focus its power. One counter-spell, anything that could disrupt it, would be enough to foil your enemy's most devastating attack. The same is true for my mech... if I go with what I planned first and such a spell hits it, it could go really bad, really quick. Just think about it! The formations that make it weightless turn-off. Then, even with safeguards implemented while building it, the structure could collapse in on itself."
"Um... I can see that happening, not just if it gets attacked but also if the CC within it runs out of energy."
"Yes, that is another big issue. Right now," I continued, pulling out the initial blueprints and pointing at it, "it has way too many formations implemented within it. I used them for their legs, arms, torso, everything. I was even hoping to use the CC strands to connect them, but we are unable to produce those... so this thing needs a rework."
"You would then make a generator to power its movements? But how? Through electricity? I don't get that... hm..."
"Well, it is a bit more complicated than that. When I mentioned a magical generator, I thought about how, inside a mech, a formation would ensure that the generators are functioning and electricity is induced. It would be a mix of science and magic. Then, through it, I could build a system that controls hydraulics."
"Another monster-sounding name. Hydras... hehehe~"
"Haaah, you are not wrong!" I answered with a chuckle, tickling her sides. "Imagine having a big tube filled with water and two pistons, one on each end. When you push down on one piston with a lot of force, it pushes the water in the tube, and because water doesn't easily compress, the force gets transferred to the other piston, pushing it up with the same amount of force. This is the basic idea behind hydraulics—using the pressure created by pushing on one end to move something else at the other end. It's like magic, but it's all about understanding how fluids, like water or oil, can help us move things around easily, no matter their weight."
After a minute of silence, she asked, "Hmm, so you would use this to move its legs? And arms?" Tracing her fingers along the mech's drawings, which made me beam with happiness. Even if she said she didn't understand something, she just wanted to be humble because she already knew where those hydraulics would fit.
"Exactly." I whispered, holding her close, nestling up to the back of her head while she sat in my lap. "As for what type of fluid I would use, I would need something oily and something that would not corrode the metal. Well, that part will be Marca's job. She had already concocted some interesting oils that help reduce swells and deal with muscle pains, things I had never seen before. This world has plants that my previous life did not have, and we didn't even mention the beasts that come over in the winter. So, it will be up to her to come up with a fluid that would be perfect for what I need. Time is one thing she will have a lot of to experiment with different solutions!"
"What else would you throw out? I mean, from the blueprint of formations?"
"I wouldn't say, throwing out, more like... changing things up. For example, why not keep the weight reduction but make it something that can be toggled instead of being constant. I was thinking about a solution that the pilot could turn on and off at will. Imagine it wanting to jump over a high wall. He just flicks the formation on, reducing the mech's weight, effortlessly flying over it. Or, if I can develop proper shock absorbers, it can increase its weight at landing, creating a deadly shockwave. The options are endless, but until I am watching the prototype move around, these ideas remain nothing but theories."
"They will be more feared than the Empire's flying ships~!"
"Maybe." I murmured, imagining piloting a completed model, looking like a giant, mechanical knight, the child of magic and science... heh. Maybe I could even stomp the beasts with it? If we could build a huge one...
...
....
......
"Um... Should I just start playing?" Mikan asked, unsure of what she was expected to do.
Just that morning, Merlin arrived unannounced, bringing along a strange, big box with a complex, magical formation within it. The runes were all made out of wooden blocks, like a child's puzzle, but the only difference was that they were assembled into a formation instead of an image. At first, she thought it was about her request to find a solution to control Elyzien within herself, but that notion was quickly shot down after Merlin began explaining his reason for the visit.
"I have been studying sounds, waves, and all these things—too many to explain briefly, Miss Mikan! The summary is that I came up with something that could record sounds—waves in the air! You'll see after we test it out!"
"Slow down, I... I barely caught half of it!"
"I want to test it out on something different than just my voice! So, I thought about surprising our Sovereign. I heard him mention that he misses listening to music while working, so I want to record a song and present my findings to him through it! It would be a proper gift and showcase of what I have made!"
"So... Should I just start playing? That's it?"
"Yes, yes! Please!"
Fixing her position and placing her fingers above the piano keys, Mikan began playing a calm, happy melody after a brief, final pause. It evoked the feeling of the coming summer, painting the image of a lush field in those minds who heard it. What she missed by closing her eyes and focusing on the melody was that the formation under Merlin's fingers had come to life, glowing in a bluish, silvery color.
Although relatively small, barely 20 centimeters in diameter, it contained two CCs. One was standing, facing north, while the second was placed towards the south. If Sasha had been present, she would have been able to tell that the northern one was from the beast's core, filled with magic, while the southern one was uncharged and empty. While Mikan was playing her song, Merlin did everything to make as little noise as possible, breathing ever so slowly, focusing on operating spells, and watching it rotating ever so slowly.
"Um, should I play more?" Mikan asked after finishing four songs in a row.
"It should be enough; thank you very much, Miss Mikan!" Merlin answered her happily, plucking out the previously 'empty' CC, which was faintly colored now and slightly covered in a tinge of blue.
"Was it... successful? I don't really understand it, but... you tried to record the music?"
"Yes, yes! And it worked! When I was testing it previously, I was recording my voice, but that alone was not enough to prove it functions as intended!"
"Can we listen to it?" She asked, getting herself excited, her curiosity getting the better of her.
"Of course, I just need to change two runes..." He answered hurriedly, picking out two from the blocks and interchanging their places. "Ooo, I am excited!" He giggled, activating it once again. Only a second later, Mikan was listening with amazement as the songs she had just played began echoing within the temple's walls once again. It wasn't as crisp as when she was doing it live, but it was still a wonderful experience, something she didn't know would be even possible.
"Magic is magic, after all... I can't believe it!"
"It works perfectly, ahahaha! The formation captures sound; you see, Miss Mikan, I learned that sound is made of waves! I have been experimenting with this and came up with a formation that detects and captures those waves! It records them in the second CC, which can then be replayed! Also, if you are bored of the songs on it, you can always record new ones over it! It will function until the CC itself breaks down, which will be a long time because this places a very minuscule strain on it, ahaha! Oooo, I hope Leon will like it!"
"I am sure he will!" She answered, just as happy, clapping, bouncing a little up and down, letting her breasts sway. "Can I be there when he first listens to it?"
"I insist!" Merlin nodded, grinning from ear to ear, "Even better, let's go! I can't wait for him to see it!"
"Huh... this is like a new language? Is this the third, then? Our own, the runes of magic, and now... Morse code? Wait, no, fourth, because you did introduce your old life's language to the spies..." Sasha asked, smiling, holding one of my papers with the codes neatly laid out, explaining all of them.
"You can look at it like that! Although I modified it a little, I transformed our letters and added a few new codes to the list to complete our ABC."
"Then why not rename it to Leon code?"
"I wouldn't feel right; it's still... a borrowed invention." I answered, putting down my quill and finishing the drawing of a buzzer, an easily buildable device that I will need for my Morse code machine.
"Nobody knows that! Are you being humble, My Sovereign?" She giggled, teasing me, and plopped her bottom into my lap.
"Maybe! But it is also because I would feel really weird calling it Leon code. Nah, I am used to it being Morse code, so it will stay just like that. For my own convenience!"
"Ahaha, okay~ I won't tease you about it! But I also won't read your newest book. Brr... that is not for me."
"It's dry, I know. But Merlin loves it, and he wants to read even more. He says it gave him the perspective he needed."
"I know, he has been going on about it, wanting to introduce it into the school's curriculum. Don't worry!" She continued with a laugh when seeing I was about to stand up and go call him over, "I told him that would be a foolish move! I made him believe that this was top-secret information, so it was not for everyone."
"Good thinking. Poor kids would hate studying if he dropped this on them. Let's keep school fun as is and let those who show a talent for learning deal with it later in their life."
"This is already looking complicated enough," Sasha hummed, watching the blueprints for the Morse code machine, "electric currents and the rest... hauh... This is more complicated than magic formations!"
"Is it? I think it's the other way around. Some formations that Merlin sends me for review are beyond me. I have to sit there and decode them for hours before they make sense, and I can do it just because they remind me of how programming works..."
"Merlin is a different kind of guy, okay?"
"I can agree on that! Did you visit the building site yesterday? I was looking for you, but none of you were here."
"Yes, I took Luna and Yuri out to check where the factory is being built. The people are working really fast; they are already flattening the ground while another group is constructing the road to connect it to the main highway."
"I will have to start working on the machinery that will be installed within the factory. It shouldn't be too hard to produce, as they gained enough experience by now to follow my plans and create what I needed."
"Will you return to planning out your robot?" She asked with a smile, kissing my face.
"It's a mech, and I intend to work on it in my free time because I need to continue refining it. Now, I have gyroscopes that I can properly scale up and down, depending on what I need. I will start implementing them into the blueprint, maybe build some smaller models, and see how they perform. Then, there is the dynamo. With electricity so close at hand, I can start thinking about making a magical generator that could power its movement."
"What do you have in mind?"
"My previous plans focused solely on using magic formations to make it work. But... by now, my thinking has changed for multiple reasons. For one, it would make the mech susceptible to any type of anti-magic attacks. Like a magical EMP."
"A what? An imp? Like the monsters in stories?"
"No!" I giggled, snuggling up to her while explaining, "EMP. Electromagnetic Pulse. It refers to a burst of electromagnetic radiation that can disrupt, damage, or destroy electronic devices and systems!"
"Ugh... This is only something that Merlin would enjoy learning about."
"Don't be so mean~! A magical EMP would be a shockwave that disrupts spells. For bigger, stronger formations, you need to chant, summon it, and even use multiple mages and giant constructs to channel and focus its power. One counter-spell, anything that could disrupt it, would be enough to foil your enemy's most devastating attack. The same is true for my mech... if I go with what I planned first and such a spell hits it, it could go really bad, really quick. Just think about it! The formations that make it weightless turn-off. Then, even with safeguards implemented while building it, the structure could collapse in on itself."
"Um... I can see that happening, not just if it gets attacked but also if the CC within it runs out of energy."
"Yes, that is another big issue. Right now," I continued, pulling out the initial blueprints and pointing at it, "it has way too many formations implemented within it. I used them for their legs, arms, torso, everything. I was even hoping to use the CC strands to connect them, but we are unable to produce those... so this thing needs a rework."
"You would then make a generator to power its movements? But how? Through electricity? I don't get that... hm..."
"Well, it is a bit more complicated than that. When I mentioned a magical generator, I thought about how, inside a mech, a formation would ensure that the generators are functioning and electricity is induced. It would be a mix of science and magic. Then, through it, I could build a system that controls hydraulics."
"Another monster-sounding name. Hydras... hehehe~"
"Haaah, you are not wrong!" I answered with a chuckle, tickling her sides. "Imagine having a big tube filled with water and two pistons, one on each end. When you push down on one piston with a lot of force, it pushes the water in the tube, and because water doesn't easily compress, the force gets transferred to the other piston, pushing it up with the same amount of force. This is the basic idea behind hydraulics—using the pressure created by pushing on one end to move something else at the other end. It's like magic, but it's all about understanding how fluids, like water or oil, can help us move things around easily, no matter their weight."
After a minute of silence, she asked, "Hmm, so you would use this to move its legs? And arms?" Tracing her fingers along the mech's drawings, which made me beam with happiness. Even if she said she didn't understand something, she just wanted to be humble because she already knew where those hydraulics would fit.
"Exactly." I whispered, holding her close, nestling up to the back of her head while she sat in my lap. "As for what type of fluid I would use, I would need something oily and something that would not corrode the metal. Well, that part will be Marca's job. She had already concocted some interesting oils that help reduce swells and deal with muscle pains, things I had never seen before. This world has plants that my previous life did not have, and we didn't even mention the beasts that come over in the winter. So, it will be up to her to come up with a fluid that would be perfect for what I need. Time is one thing she will have a lot of to experiment with different solutions!"
"What else would you throw out? I mean, from the blueprint of formations?"
"I wouldn't say, throwing out, more like... changing things up. For example, why not keep the weight reduction but make it something that can be toggled instead of being constant. I was thinking about a solution that the pilot could turn on and off at will. Imagine it wanting to jump over a high wall. He just flicks the formation on, reducing the mech's weight, effortlessly flying over it. Or, if I can develop proper shock absorbers, it can increase its weight at landing, creating a deadly shockwave. The options are endless, but until I am watching the prototype move around, these ideas remain nothing but theories."
"They will be more feared than the Empire's flying ships~!"
"Maybe." I murmured, imagining piloting a completed model, looking like a giant, mechanical knight, the child of magic and science... heh. Maybe I could even stomp the beasts with it? If we could build a huge one...
...
....
......
"Um... Should I just start playing?" Mikan asked, unsure of what she was expected to do.
Just that morning, Merlin arrived unannounced, bringing along a strange, big box with a complex, magical formation within it. The runes were all made out of wooden blocks, like a child's puzzle, but the only difference was that they were assembled into a formation instead of an image. At first, she thought it was about her request to find a solution to control Elyzien within herself, but that notion was quickly shot down after Merlin began explaining his reason for the visit.
"I have been studying sounds, waves, and all these things—too many to explain briefly, Miss Mikan! The summary is that I came up with something that could record sounds—waves in the air! You'll see after we test it out!"
"Slow down, I... I barely caught half of it!"
"I want to test it out on something different than just my voice! So, I thought about surprising our Sovereign. I heard him mention that he misses listening to music while working, so I want to record a song and present my findings to him through it! It would be a proper gift and showcase of what I have made!"
"So... Should I just start playing? That's it?"
"Yes, yes! Please!"
Fixing her position and placing her fingers above the piano keys, Mikan began playing a calm, happy melody after a brief, final pause. It evoked the feeling of the coming summer, painting the image of a lush field in those minds who heard it. What she missed by closing her eyes and focusing on the melody was that the formation under Merlin's fingers had come to life, glowing in a bluish, silvery color.
Although relatively small, barely 20 centimeters in diameter, it contained two CCs. One was standing, facing north, while the second was placed towards the south. If Sasha had been present, she would have been able to tell that the northern one was from the beast's core, filled with magic, while the southern one was uncharged and empty. While Mikan was playing her song, Merlin did everything to make as little noise as possible, breathing ever so slowly, focusing on operating spells, and watching it rotating ever so slowly.
"Um, should I play more?" Mikan asked after finishing four songs in a row.
"It should be enough; thank you very much, Miss Mikan!" Merlin answered her happily, plucking out the previously 'empty' CC, which was faintly colored now and slightly covered in a tinge of blue.
"Was it... successful? I don't really understand it, but... you tried to record the music?"
"Yes, yes! And it worked! When I was testing it previously, I was recording my voice, but that alone was not enough to prove it functions as intended!"
"Can we listen to it?" She asked, getting herself excited, her curiosity getting the better of her.
"Of course, I just need to change two runes..." He answered hurriedly, picking out two from the blocks and interchanging their places. "Ooo, I am excited!" He giggled, activating it once again. Only a second later, Mikan was listening with amazement as the songs she had just played began echoing within the temple's walls once again. It wasn't as crisp as when she was doing it live, but it was still a wonderful experience, something she didn't know would be even possible.
"Magic is magic, after all... I can't believe it!"
"It works perfectly, ahahaha! The formation captures sound; you see, Miss Mikan, I learned that sound is made of waves! I have been experimenting with this and came up with a formation that detects and captures those waves! It records them in the second CC, which can then be replayed! Also, if you are bored of the songs on it, you can always record new ones over it! It will function until the CC itself breaks down, which will be a long time because this places a very minuscule strain on it, ahaha! Oooo, I hope Leon will like it!"
"I am sure he will!" She answered, just as happy, clapping, bouncing a little up and down, letting her breasts sway. "Can I be there when he first listens to it?"
"I insist!" Merlin nodded, grinning from ear to ear, "Even better, let's go! I can't wait for him to see it!"
