“Oh, you want me to take off my clothes?!”
“Yeah. I need to check everything.”
Don’t look at me with those disdainful eyes.
Isn’t it written in the contract? ‘No matter what happens, I will follow the employer’s orders.’
I sighed as I saw Viola backing away, covering her chest. I really don’t want to waste time like this when there’s little to spare. I turned my head towards the workshop door and shouted.
“Millia!”
“You called?!”
There she was. I sparkled my eyes and pushed Millia away with my palm, pointing at Viola.
“Take off half of your shirt. Just enough so I can see the amputated arm.”
“Johann, you pervert?”
Don’t ask with those pure eyes. If you look at me like that, I might actually look like a pervert.
“I need to check Viola’s arm condition.”
“What are you planning to make with my body?”
“A prosthetic arm.”
“A prosthetic arm?”
“Yeah.”
“What’s that?”
…Looks like there are no prosthetic arms in this world either.
I thought a fantasy world would at least have prosthetics, but sadly, that doesn’t seem to be the case. If I become the world’s first prosthetic maker, it might actually bring in some decent money.
The problem is, making a prosthetic is definitely not an easy task. It means I have to purely reproduce human joints with technical skill, which is far from simple.
I heard that in the 21st century, they still couldn’t properly recreate the elbow joint, so could it be possible in this delicate process of a world like this?
…I thought about it but realized there might be a fairly simple solution.
With that thought, I decided that the product I would develop during this summer vacation would be a “prosthetic arm.” This was a change in course thanks to Viola’s employment. Originally, I was just going to make some bombs that are good for dungeon hauls, but I decided to develop a prosthetic arm to efficiently exploit Viola’s usefulness.
If I succeed, it will be a good thing for both Viola and me.
Who knows how long I can survive safely in this world?
“Viola, have you learned about golems?”
“Golems? I learned about the theory in the first semester, but I’ve never made one.”
This was the simple solution I had in mind. Golems. The ones I had been smashing to get my witch certification. The ones I encountered in the dungeon. From the ridiculously simple ones that are just a few stones stuck together to the more human-like ones, golems come in a variety of forms.
The biggest feature of these golems is that they move on their own rather than needing to be controlled by someone once they receive commands.
“I’m thinking of making a golem arm and attaching it to your arm. If the experiment is successful, I might be able to break free from being a one-armed fellow.”
“You’re going to make a golem arm and attach it to…my arm?”
Viola shook her head, showing a negative reaction to my idea.
“No, Uncle…do you know about the golem materials? The materials needed to make a golem are all heavy. You could end up with an arm heavier than me?”
“What if we inscribe lightweight magic on it?”
“You know that inscribing lightweight magic costs a fortune, right? Plus, if you want to make sure it doesn’t interfere with control magic and the mana circuit…you’d need to be a great wizard to pull that off.”
“Or we can find a lightweight material to make it.”
“Most regular materials will break under the pressure.”
So it seems there are a lot of issues regardless.
“I do think it’s a good idea, but this is something that couldn’t be attempted without significant capital. I doubt you have that much money…”
Money. It all comes down to money.
My pouch is pretty much empty.
I’ll make a bit of cash in a week after raiding the dungeon, but no matter how much loot I get, it’s hard to see it exceeding 100 gold coins. Not unless I hog all the rewards for myself.
Is there any way to fund this…oh.
Why didn’t I think of that?
“Viola, sorry, but I need to get ready and head out right away.”
“Huh? What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
“Johann, where are you going? Can I come along?”
Millia, who was listening to our boring conversation, suddenly butted in like a cat, asking. I waved my hand at Millia and replied.
“I’m going to do something boring, so don’t follow me.”
“But whenever I follow Johann, something fun always happens!”
Do I look like a clown? I glared at Millia incredulously. Yet, it seems she has some conscience as she averted her gaze and subtly hid behind Viola, which irked me a bit, so I said with a smirk.
“Weren’t we supposed to have lunch and study with Karina after this?”
“…Tch.”
Was she already thinking of skipping class? The signs of a delinquent student popped up in Millia’s expression, so I playfully gave her a light smack on the head and turned to Viola, who was looking at me and Millia with a somewhat dazed look.
“I’ll get ready to head out, so wait here.”
“What? All of a sudden? Where are we going?”
“To collect money.”
Isn’t this the perfect time to ask for help?
———————–
“So, you mean to say you want me to fund research for a new magical tool?”
“…Ah, no, I didn’t mention anything about the principal…”
She followed me with a puzzled look when we reached the main building, but when we stood in front of the principal’s office, she wore a confused expression. Finally, when she faced Principal Merlin, who was sipping tea, Viola turned pale and was about to jab me in the ribs but stumbled and whispered.
Merlin seemed to find Viola’s reaction amusing, giggling like a child as he set down his teacup and said,
“I never expected you to reach out so soon! May I hear what your idea is?”
I fully explained my idea for the prosthetic arm to Principal Merlin from start to finish. Luckily, Merlin wasn’t given the title of the world’s greatest archmage for nothing; as he listened to my explanation, he pounded his palm with a fist and exclaimed,
“What a marvelous idea you have!”
“So I’ll need quite a bit of funding.”
“Count me in!”
“Are you saying you want to participate directly in the development?”
“Indeed! Don’t leave me out of such a fun task!”
What’s this all about? I sighed internally as I looked at Principal Merlin, who declared he wanted to join in on the excitement. Suddenly, he wants to get involved in prosthetic development? I was just hoping to get some money.
“…With you joining us, it might be a bit overwhelming on our side.”
[If the contractor had enough mana, I could have just brainwashed him to do my bidding.]
…As tempting as that is, it’s impossible. With my tiny amount of mana, that’s not happening, plus if I fail, I’ll have to fight right away, and there’s no way I can defeat that monster.
The odds are less than 10% even if I set the game rules to the limit here.
It wouldn’t be completely impossible to overpower him if I went all-out.
“Don’t worry! I won’t micromanage you! I’ll listen to most of your ideas!”
“If that’s the case, then I won’t refuse, but it might be a bit challenging.”
“Don’t underestimate me, I’m an archmage after all.”
“I plan to create a prototype within a week.”
“A bit too hasty, don’t you think?”
“Isn’t that enough time if a great archmage is participating in development?”
I initially thought it would take about half the vacation to find the time, but with the archmage involved, I could manage to create a usable prosthetic arm within a week just barely, perhaps?
“Hm, let’s give it a try.”
“Uh, um, Principal…isn’t it a bit much for you to personally participate?”
“Viola, don’t overthink it. It’s just the concern of an educator who doesn’t want to see a promising student get discouraged.”
“Principal…”
[Did you just take the delicious part for yourself? Contractor, aren’t you going to sweet-talk him like usual?]
When did I ever? I blankly watched as Viola teared up with gratitude, while Principal Merlin patted her shoulder.
Ah, I want to go back.
——————-
“Y-Young master Johann?”
“This is my first time seeing you, Saint.”
“Since I’m older, you can call me Karina. Principal Merlin.”
“Hoho, how could I ever dare to call the Saint by her name?”
“You don’t have to worry about that. I’m going to be a student soon anyway, so it’s uncomfortable for the Principal to act that way.”
“Then would it be alright if this old man calls you Karina?”
“Of course.”
[Wow, look at her pretending to be modest.]
Karina couldn’t hide her surprise as she looked from me to Principal Merlin in disbelief, alternating her gaze. What on earth was going on?
I gently explained to Karina in a smooth voice so she wouldn’t get shocked.
“He’s come to help with the research.”
“Y-you mean Principal Merlin came to help with the research?”
“Indeed.”
It was the first time I had seen Karina look so surprised. I mentally captured a screenshot of her adorable expression to save for later. I’ll pull it up when I’m feeling down to boost my mood.
“P-p-principal?”
“She’s fainted. I sighed as I looked at the principal and then at Elisa, who had collapsed in the corridor. Well, let’s take her to the room first. I picked Elisa up and turned to Principal Merlin, who looked rather perplexed at the sight of Elisa in my arms.
“What a strange experience…”
“I’ll settle her down and be back.”
“Sounds good.”
I immediately laid Elisa down on the bed and returned to talk to Principal Merlin, who was chatting with Karina.
“Principal, let’s head to the workshop.”
“Oh, it’s already that time? Take care, Karina.”
“I’ll see you later, Principal Merlin.”
[You really have a talent for making a mess, huh?]
“…Shut it.”
I was trying to rush things along and completely missed these details. I guess it’s more accurate to say I get so wrapped up in my own world that I forget about these things?
Anyway, when I arrived at the workshop with Viola and Principal Merlin, I quickly grabbed some paper and started sketching the blueprint on the spot. After all, the prosthetic I knew mostly came from movies and animations from eons ago, so I could just sketch whatever came to mind.
“You draw so fast and accurately, like you’ve done this many times.”
“I had it planned out beforehand.”
“Still, having that level of certainty while drawing is impressive.”
“It normally takes several hours to sketch even a simple blueprint…how can you do something so complex in an instant?”
“You just have to do it.”
I acknowledged Viola’s admiration and looked towards Principal Merlin. He stared at my blueprint deeply, lost in thought. I decided not to disturb him and waited for him to speak.
About five minutes passed, and finally, the previously closed mouth of Principal Merlin opened.
“I don’t understand any of it.”
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