Chapter 127 : Chapter 127
Chapter 127
After finishing the conversation, I headed to Spinel’s workshop tucked away in one corner of the Metis building.
At first, his workshop had been outside, but recently I had it moved here entirely because the efficiency was not very good. As Spinel rose to management level, the number of matters requiring discussion with him had also increased.
Of course, it was a little unsettling that he often carried out alchemical experiments as well, but nothing could be done about that. If it caught fire, we would just have to move.
Still, we had made all the minimum preparations for fire suppression and evacuation, so even if a fire broke out, it should not be too difficult to deal with.
“You’re going to burn a hole through that blueprint at this rate.”
When I went inside, Spinel was sitting at the desk, staring at the blueprint. Perhaps he was using a lens, because the light was focused on the desktop.
It looks like some kind of substitute for a desk lamp, but is that not going to ruin his eyes?
Spinel replied with his usual smile.
“There is bound to be an even more precise one inside your head anyway, Master, so what does it matter if this one gets a little worn through?”
“Drawing it again would be a pain. Can’t you tell how valuable it is just by looking at it? Treat it carefully. And do not doodle on it too much. Other people need to look at it too.”
“Every time this happens, I end up thinking how wonderful it would be if there were some device that could copy paper exactly as it is.”
“Then try making one.”
The copier was a common sight where I used to live. But this place was different. If there had been no Twilight of Mana, it might have been achievable through magical technology.
By now, after reading various books, I had come to understand the continent’s history to some extent.
During the age when mana could be handled freely, technology advanced at a rapid pace, but after the Twilight of Mana, it declined just as sharply, leaving the world in an even stranger dilemma.
The level of science and technology here was, frankly, so unorganized that calling it science and technology at all felt embarrassing.
That did not mean I intended to dismiss it. It was only delayed a little.
“If I had never met you, Master, I would probably have gone on dreaming forever. But now I think I might actually be able to do it. At the very least, I do not think I will starve to death.”
“You look like you would have eaten well and lived well even if you had never met me. Your skills are too good.”
“Skill declines with age too. If you wait until you’re old, you’re bound to fall behind. What matters is accomplishing something great before your eyes begin to dim.”
“You’re underestimating yourself too much.”
From my perspective, as someone who could see the Status Window, he did not seem like the sort whose talent would diminish simply because he grew older. His vigor might weaken, perhaps, but not his skill itself.
Only then did Spinel set the blueprint down.
“So have you come to check whether I’m doing my job properly? Strictly speaking, it’s after working hours.”
“As if. I just came to see your face before I go.”
Spinel laughed. Perhaps because his Favorability had risen, I felt as though he was treating me a little more warmly than before.
“Are you planning to go straight back to the Royal Capital?”
“Not immediately. Since I came all this way, I need to take care of some things before I leave.”
I still had to meet Young Master Hamel, and there was also the matter of managing my estate. Since my schedule made it difficult to visit the estate in person, I was planning to summon a proxy instead.
Spinel spread both hands with a look of regret.
“If I have one wish, it would be to eat delicious food and drink beer while exchanging ideas with you all night, Master. Of all the people I have met, you are the most learned when it comes to theory.”
“That is flattering, but it will be difficult for a while. There are too many things I still need to resolve.”
“I understand. You are always busy, Master. That is why I called it a wish. Wishes are difficult to fulfill by nature, aren’t they?”
“You do realize you’re saying that so I’ll hear it?”
“Hahahaha! So I was found out.”
I felt that I would only be getting in the way if I stayed too long, so I explained the real reason I had come.
“You’ve already guessed that I intend to increase the range of office supplies and make them more specialized in the future, haven’t you?”
“Of course. This item too looks simple, but it will become an extremely innovative object. Your products always suit the word innovation.”
“So I came to give you one piece of information.”
Spinel’s eyes lit up. When it came to making things, he was exactly the sort of man who looked like a beast that had caught the scent of prey. That was precisely the expression on his face now.
“What is the substance used when you want to stick something together?”
“Obviously adhesive.”
“This may sound rather out of the blue, but an era is coming when adhesive will be used in an extremely important way.”
“That does not sound a little out of the blue. It sounds completely out of the blue. Do clerks or butlers even have any use for adhesive these days?”
“Listen to the end.”
I took out a square slip of memo paper about the length of a finger. Then I wrote “Development of Multi-Purpose Adhesive” on it and fixed it to Spinel’s desk.
Since it was not a slip coated with adhesive like a Post-it, I had to pin it in place with a thumbtack.
Around it were already countless traces of other memo slips being attached and removed. The surface was riddled with holes left by thumbtacks.
“A friendly Butler once told me that using these little memo slips while handling office work is extremely convenient. It makes schedule management easier too. You are less likely to forget things.”
“You can just pin them up like that with a thumbtack, can’t you?”
“What if there were an easier method? Think carefully. When we normally say adhesive, we imagine something extremely sticky, something that does not come off easily once it has been attached.”
“Of course. That is what it was made for.”
“But what if you created a special adhesive that kept its sticking nature while still allowing it to be attached and removed easily?”
Spinel fell into thought. Then his eyes widened slightly and flashed. That was the sign that a good idea had occurred to him.
“You mean you could fix it anywhere without using thumbtacks or any other tools?”
“Exactly. If one side of a memo slip were coated with a special adhesive, then bound in stacks of one hundred or two hundred and sold in bulk, people could jot down notes, tear off one sheet at a time, and stick them wherever they pleased.”
“That’s incredible. This truly is innovation among innovations!”
In other words, I was planning to create the immortal masterpiece of 3N Company: the Post-it.
When I was a graduate student, I had used Post-its so often that I could practically have drawn a map with them. The fact that you could not even find coated paper here was enough to make me lament.
And this was not a problem unique to Post-its.
Having experienced advanced technology with my own body, I found many parts of life here inconvenient, and there were many areas where efficiency could be improved simply by changing things a little or coming up with a single idea.
In truth, the business plan I had established for Metis had been inspired by 3N Company’s slogan.
“Science. Applied to Life.”
Science brought into daily life.
In other words, I believed that changing everyday life through science was the best thing I, as someone with an engineering background, could do in this place. People always sought out what was familiar to them. Rather than becoming a Swordmaster or a Mage, this felt far more appealing to me.
Things that had been ordinary where I used to live were turning into miracles here.
And the lives of the people here were changing little by little. That alone gave me immense joy.
It felt like performing magic.
In that sense, Spinel would play a central role in the business Metis would carry out from now on.
That was why it was important to hold onto his heart.
Because winning over people was far more difficult than making objects.
“How in the world can you come up with ideas like this? Master, are you a god?”
“As if. If I were a god, I would not be asking you to make things for me. I would just make them myself.”
“Isn’t there such a thing as Divine Providence? Giving humans appropriate trials so that they may grow, and all that?”
That almost made me laugh.
At this rate, maybe I really ought to start a religion.
“I’m an ordinary man.”
“Ordinary? Can ordinary people change the world?”
“Why not?”
“Great discoveries are monopolized by a small handful of people, aren’t they?”
Spinel’s question was filled with both reverence and doubt. He was right, but there was one thing that should not be overlooked. After a long time, I found myself recalling my Advisor’s teaching.
“It’s true that a small number monopolize them. But it only becomes possible because of the noble sacrifices of ordinary people. Do not disregard the achievements they build up little by little.”
He still seemed not to understand, so I picked up one of the experimental tools and shook it lightly.
“You don’t have to look far. You can tell just by looking at this. Making tools like these is the role of ordinary people. Those efforts gather together and form a single system. We merely use their help to bring forward the time of some great discovery. But sadly, in one corner of history, only our names will remain. It is a bitter thing, but it is also something we ought to remember.”
“Ah......”
Had my feelings reached him? The doubt vanished from Spinel’s eyes. Now only reverence toward me and curiosity toward unknown knowledge remained.
It would be better to calm him down a little. As I patted his shoulder, I checked his Status Window.
There had been results.
His Favorability, which had been 80, rose to 82. It was a truly dramatic change.
Still, if I did not change the subject soon, we might really end up spending the whole night here.
“That went off on a bit of a tangent, but anyway, Eluna is going to make suitable paper for you to apply the adhesive to. So you use your alchemical knowledge and try making the adhesive. The key is that it must not be too sticky, while still keeping that stickiness for a long time. Understood?”
“Understood. I’ll finish the stapler first, then move straight into adhesive development.”
“If you need money, submit the expense immediately. You know we’ve got plenty of it, right? Spend as much as you want.”
After encouraging Spinel once more, I left the workshop.
***
As I was about to head back to the mansion, I heard sharp shouts coming from the Training Ground behind the Metis building. The owner of the voice was exactly who I had expected.
“You’re working hard.”
Kalmond, who had been swinging his daggers, put away his weapon and greeted me properly. I stepped closer.
“You’re still here?”
“My talk with Spinel ran a little long. I’m about to go now.”
“Are you returning to the Royal Capital today?”
“I’ll probably head back tomorrow. I need to meet Young Master Hamel, and I also have some personal business to take care of.”
Kalmond looked disappointed.
Whenever this sort of thing happened, I always felt sorry toward my subordinates. They were people working hard for my company, yet I could not stay with them for very long.
“I heard you’ve been training hard lately. How’s your progress?”
Before leaving, I had once checked his Areas of Interest. What had been written there was “the desire to become stronger.”
“As business has expanded recently, I’ve realized that I was a frog in a well. So I devote myself to training every day. But it’s still slow. It feels like I’ve run into a wall.”
“A wall. Right. It isn’t easy.”
“That just makes me want to work harder. If I keep going like this, I’ll be able to overcome it eventually.”
His current level was 41. Only one point higher than when I had checked it before. Considering everything he had been doing, it could not be called a large increase.
“But haven’t you ever felt a little disappointed that I always seem to talk only with Eluna and Spinel?”
“Hahaha. Not at all. I’m not some seven-year-old child, am I? There’s no way I’d think something like that. Public and private matters should be kept separate.”
Judging by his expression, it seemed sincere, but you could never truly know a person’s heart. Relationships were like that. The smallest thing could create a crack.
“It just occurred to me that I don’t think I’ve ever really had an open conversation with you.”
“You’re busy, aren’t you? It’s the same for the others too. I’m sure all of them wish they could sit down and have a long talk with you, Master.”
“That’s why I prepared a gift.”
“A gift?”
“I’m going to help you get over that wall you mentioned.”
At that one serious remark of mine, Kalmond was startled.