“Tek here, I liked science experiments during my highschool days--among them, I especially liked ones like electrolysis, which separates oxygen and hydrogen. I feel that making Magic Tools bring the same kind of excitement these days.”

 

Not less than half a day after we passed through the farthest inhabited village, which had a population of 200 people, the road becomes overgrown with weeds to the point that it’s barely visible.

 

“The road’s condition is just like we heard, isn’t it? Are we really going to use this road?” Arisa asked.

 

“Yeah, let’s cut it for now.” I got off the wagon while speaking.

 

“Leave it to me!”

“I’ll work hard!”

 

Pochi and Tama chased after me, after taking sickles from the toolbox in the wagon--they paused for a second, before beginning to push their way through the grass and thickets.

 

Wait girls, I’m going to use some of my Magic here.

 

Since the two of them are so eager, while looking like they’re having so much fun, I can’t really bring myself to stop them. I guess I’ll wait until they get tired.

 

“Master, permission to participate in the strategy meeting. Reporting for a different style of grass cutting.” Nana says, watching Tama and Pochi with interest.

 

I don’t know why she found it so interesting--I took out a grass sickle, with an extendable handle, and passed it to her.

 

“Master, it looks like the three are motivated to cut the weeds, but we don’t know how long until we arrive at the base of the mountain. How about we hire people from the village earlier to cut through it, or spread oil and burn the weeds?” Liza asks me.

 

“It’d be bad if it turns into a forest fire, so burning is forbidden. I’ll cut the rest with Magic after Pochi and the others are tired.”

 

That reminds me, I heard that Mia created a road in the forest on their way back to Muno City back then, but when I asked her, she replied, “Impossible”. She can probably only use it for a short distance.

 

Since there are ingredients for Potions and Lulu can use for food mixed in with the weeds, I ask Arisa and Mia to gather them. I ask Lulu and Liza to prepare for lunch.

 

“What is that?” Lulu asked as she saw what I was constructing for her and Liza to use to make Pizza from the recipe that we had figured out.

 

“It’s called a kiln.”

 

Arisa had told me about how she had seen people in a manga cook pizza using a kiln--and I knew how to make one for working with clay and Mara had helped me design one because Dwarves had used them a lot, in their past.

 

Lulu looked happy as I took the ingredients out of storage and gave them to her and Liza--Lulu really liked cooking.

 

After eating one slice of Pizza, Liza sets her sight on the steak that was cooked at the same time--she’s really unwavering.

 

***

Since Pochi, Tama and Nana are satisfied with the amount of grass and weeds that they had ‘terminated’, to use Nana’s phrase, I decided to open the path with Magic.

 

First, I fire Wind Scythe which flies close to the surface of the ground, along the road. The wind blade released from the wand cuts the weeds, around 10cm above the ground.

 

It continues on, cutting through some slightly elevated ground, and bushes along the way. In the end, it finally stops after 200 meters, in a 5 meter tall cliff.

 

“You, you really should learn to stop overdoing it.”

“Nn, destruction of nature.”

 

Was it too shocking?

 

Arisa is grumbling in a strange tone.

 

The fact that the trees along the road are cut is within my expectations, but for even the cliff to be cut in two, and crumbling, is beyond them. If we were to just continue going now, it was likely that the horses would sprain their legs, so I still had to Earth Magic to fix it.

 

This time I’m not going to use Wall, but another Magic, from a Scroll I had bought in the first Scroll Shop in the Duchy Capital. The Magic was not only used by the army, even the general populace often used it--it’s called Flatten Earth.

 

I set the range to be the length of the road, and cast the Magic. Since the ground is covered by weeds, I don’t know how well it worked, so I checked the map--it seems to have been leveled correctly.

 

Since the cut weeds are hindering the horse’s legs, the wagon hadn’t sped up. The wheels also seem like they could slide at any time, so I instruct Lulu to keep the wagon running slowly, at only several kilometers per hour, we go while opening the path.

 

I use Magic Hand to clear the way, as much as possible, Tama and Pochi are walking while picking up herbs and Medicinal Plants from the cut weeds. Liza and Nana are moving the small branches and bushes that I miss with my Magic Hands. Arisa and Mia are sorting out the materials that Tama and Pochi gather.

 

However, it’ll inevitably take some time. Naturally, the road to the mountain range isn’t just straight, there are also undulations--particularly when the road goes around hills, low-laying mountains, and valleys.

 

I decide to camp on the bank of the streamlet 10 kilometers ahead. Although there are around 20 Goblinkin a kilometer away from our planned camping ground, they seem to have been frightened by the sound of us cutting the vegetation, and ran away very quickly.

 

It should be safe tonight.

 

While Lulu was making dinner, I went back to where I cast my Magic, I put a rough, 100 meter wide mud wall there. This is to stop any rumours about the sudden appearance of a strange road.

 

***

That night, I assembled an aerodynamic engine which had been half completed--I had been working on it during our travels since we left the Duchy Capital, and at Puta town, and tonight it will be finished.

 

However, controlling it is very difficult.

 

After enough Magic Power was poured into the engine, it suddenly rotates and spins a few times before falling to the ground, before shooting off and into a nearby tree.

 

Apparently, the fins, that comprise the principal components of the Aerodynamic Engine, each have their own fixed output--and due to this, you can’t just pour Magic into it, like normal Magic Tools, as it will rotate off-balance and then suddenly accelerate.

 

It looks like it needs a Control Circuit to control the tuning of the output, unfortunately, there’s nothing about that in the documents I currently have on hand. These documents don’t have anything about how difficult it is to control the Aerodynamic Engine either. I am starting to get the idea that the author may not have actually assembled himself.

 

“Or maybe the control itself isn’t something that’s impossible to do?”

 

Although the frame of the Engine, that has hit the trees and shrubs, is broken. The fins and Magic Circuit themselves are fine, so, I’m going to challenge it again. I can more or less make the Aerodynamic Engine float for about 30 seconds, but since I have to concentrate on it at all times--so it’s bothersome.

 

I continue searching for any other hints until late at night.

 

***

The following day, we’re going to travel by air.

 

Of course, it’s not like I’ve found some breakthrough in the way to control the Aerodynamic Engine--I just switched my way of thinking.

 

If it can’t be done with Magic, then I can just make use of science!

 

I’ve only just noticed that I’ve become too reliant on Magic just because I can create some Magic Tools. I will just make normal balloons and use them for traveling in the air.

 

Although it was difficult, even after I came up with the idea. At first, I wanted to make a hot-air balloon, but when I considered the number of people and the horses, I abandoned the idea--it would be too heavy to get off the ground.

 

Therefore, I decided to fill the balloon with a light gas, like a blimp.

 

The first problem is what material to use for the balloon. When I was doing the preliminary calculations, it seemed that it was necessary to make an ark big enough to carry the people and horses in the air.

 

I search through the storage, and some of the parts from the parasites which fed off the Great Monstrous Fish, seem usable. The specimen that stole power until it reached level 50 had grown quite big--I will use that one.

 

Since there wasn’t a place nearby that was convenient, I flew back to the open space in the underground labyrinth at the Duchy Capital. The place I use this time isn’t the normal one, it’s an even lower floor that’s half-submerged in water.

 

The reason I chose here to make the balloon for the blimp here is because the water gives me access to Hydrogen.

 

I successfully made the balloons from the parts of the parasites, but I couldn’t make something too big, only ones with barely enough length--but not enough buoyancy. So, in the end, I decided to make multiple balloons which were around a meter in diameter, and then stuff them into a big web.

 

To create the Hydrogen, I make use of Pure Water, Discharge, and Lightning Magic’s Electronic Control. Since I could use Air Control to prevent the separated gases from mixing, it progresses much more simply than I worried. I might as well store the oxygen in different balloons.

 

I made a mistake during the operation, once, and the balloon that I was working on--exploded. I immediately deployed Shield, so I managed to save my clothing from being destroyed--although, it did surprise me.

 

I’m glad the labyrinth is sturdy--and that I went far away from the campsite.

 

Since the force of a Hydrogen explosion was greater than I expected, I combined the hide of the Great Monstrous Fish and the Armoured Newt’s bones to make a fire and blast proof ceiling on the ark. The hide of the Great Monstrous Fish is something I separated from the meat--when I cut the meat so that Lulu could cook it.

 

Since the Hypodermis is too thick, I only use the Epidermis this time.

 

As a test, I make another Hydrogen balloon explode as a test--it looks like the ceiling can defend against the blast without a problem. With that done, I go back to where I experimented with the Aerodynamic Engine, and place the ark, and balloons there--securing it to the trees so that it won’t float away.

 

I go back to the camping ground. I can’t wait to see everyone’s face when they see the airship.