It wasn't until the afternoon of the day after their overnight stay that Ars and Tesfia returned home.

(Are all nobles like this thinking the same thing?)

　And on the way back home, Ars was more depressed than he was going, and his shoulders were slumped.
　It's a good idea to have a good time with them.
　It's a very good idea to be able to have a good idea of what you're looking for.
　In case there's any misunderstanding, I'll explain the Tesfia's situation, due to the fact that Froese told me last night that he would forego the engagement.
　To go further in your studies.
　A condition was added that he must continue to train under Ars, but it is not so strict as a condition, as he intends to do so from the beginning.
　And it was only a reminder of the same habits as before when he returned home every semester and judged his abilities. This will not be as depressing as it has been in the past, considering that the engagement is no longer in place.

　The problem is with Ars. It's a good thing that you've been treated so highly that people have changed since the incident in the guest room.
　Of course, considering the fact that he is a guest, I feel that the previous one was vicious.
　What has happened is that they received hospitality. It started with a meal, and sometimes Ars was questioned about his knowledge of magic.
　It was a small amount of time, but if I said this wouldn't help me relax, I'd be punished for it. You must feel like you've gone to a summer resort.
　That is if you don't have a word to say on the way home.
　I'm not going to be able to say that I'm a good person.

''I have to do something to apologize for my rudeness the other day.
No, I have enjoyed myself to the fullest.

　To which Ars responds, Flosses wisely says, "Yes," as if to say that he has just thought of that.

'Would you be willing to take a daughter as an apology?
Huh...

　Ars, who was about to blow on it in a panic, could only look back at him blindingly. 'What are you talking about, this mother,' he said.

'That said, you're still students, both of you, so just think about getting engaged.
No, there's no way...

　As soon as the sound of the body tapping could be heard from the other side, as if he had expected Ars to argue, the magic car departed.
　Wait!　The voice of "I'm sorry, I'm sorry" disappears into the void.
　You can't help but feel that you've been beaten.
　The joker that Ars thought he had let go of is probably still in his pocket.
　If the other party doesn't receive it, it doesn't mean he let it go. In other words, Froese did not receive the card of non-reverence.

(Did he have to cut it off to be forced to accept it?)

　And so on and so forth, even if you regret it, it's only afterwards. As for Ars, he can only bite down on his bitterness that he was allowed to learn.
　Of course, as I told Lord Viziest, I have no intention of even getting engaged.

　The first thing to do is to look at Selva through the rearview mirror. It's a gaze that says, "Are you also a guru?" but what came back is a face of age mixed with a bitter smile.
　It's a good idea to be able to pump a sigh of resignation and sit down slyly and sluggishly. No, pump that much.

'Aren't you getting too relaxed?'

　The red-haired girl next to me, who shook her head from side to side like she knew this was why, did her best to ignore it, but.......patience.......patience......she couldn't.
　So he couldn't do it here because of Selva's eyes, but he decided that he would get even with her in training.



　After returning home, Ars, however, even that thought slipped from his mind when he learned of the situation.

''That's why Arus-sama would like you to participate in the selection match in September.
..........

　What kind of harassment.
　You should have known that, but Ars did indeed hear the sound of time being cut down like a jab, writhing and writhing.
　It's a strange noise that occurs when the gears that are interlocked are forcefully turned with foreign matter mixed in.
　The time that could be spent on research would be cut down, but even if Loki was good, Alice and Tesfia's training program was about to collapse. It's because they're definitely going to be required to train for the magic tournament.

　If this means Ars won't get out or something, the Governor will feel free to throw them into the outside world mission.
　Cutting corners and losing has been nailed down first. In other words, the participation in the magic tournament would be halfway confirmed in the Governor's mind.
　No matter what the circumstances, if Ars's name wasn't among the contestants, it was inevitable that he would be called up to the command center.

'It's a dead end,'

　The words that poured out were the conclusions arrived at by Ars, who stood dumbfounded.

　Worryingly, Loki pulled Arus's sleeve to at least bring benefit.
　The silver-haired girl thought that Ars would definitely not be interested in talking about it. Like the fact that Alice had mentioned Beric's name, she assumed that there was no escaping it, so she did a bit of research on the tournament before she returned.
　Of course, it was to gather information in advance, but that's where Loki saw something that made his cheeks break out.

''Ars-sama, but if we win........''

　Cowering, Loki thought that Ars didn't hear him, and Loki stood up and stood as tall as he could, bringing his beautiful mouth close to his ear.
　His breath, though, was at a distance where his lips were about to be attached at any moment.

'You'll get your mithril.'
Really?　

　Guffawing eyes are turned to Loki, who is close by. He nods back with a cocoon, a slight blush on his cheeks.

'The winner's trophy is made out of mithril.
'I see, and if you melt it down, you'll have enough mithril to go around.

　Of course, selling it is a fortune, but the management of the tournament cannot assume that anyone would even think of selling the trophy, much less melting it down.
　Mithril is a first-class mineral among the materials used in AWR weapons and armor. The price is also unbelievable, but with Ars's financial resources, it's easy to obtain.
　Then the reason for the change in the color of our eyes to this extent is because of the low production of mithril. Since the source of production is only in the far reaches of the outside world, it is a rare mineral that not only costs labor but also kills a few magicians every time, and it is almost never found in the market, and depending on the year, it may never be seen in Arus.
　The mere confirmation of a high rate of demons is one reason why mining is abandoned that year, or even if you can get it, it's held by a country close to the mine in Mithril.

　Unfortunately, it rarely circulates in Alpha because the mines are located almost opposite to Alpha.
　Of course, there are more minerals than mithril, depending on their uses. The AWR of Ars is one of them, and it is a cultural asset that was excavated from the ancient ruins known as "meteometal".
　However, considering the current state of affairs where demons have progressed and humanity has been forced into a corner, there is no way anyone can complain about using something that can be used, but this is something even rarer than mithril.

　Even though it's called meteorite metal, it's widely used. In terms of production, the name [Meteor] is often used for minerals such as meteorites and ancient heritage.
　They are so rare that no two are the same. Some meteorites are called meteorites, but their material structure is completely different, and the name was given to them as a gift from heaven.
　It's not possible to express in monetary terms, so the rights belong to the discoverer or the military, and in the case of Ars, it was given to him as part of the reward for discovering and reclaiming the continent.

　Except for such meteorites, Mithril is the highest level of use for AWR. This is a general value criterion, and although there is a preference depending on the individual's magic information, it is the highest grade of material in general.

　After hearing Loki's story, Ars simultaneously thought about the reward from Beric.
　Ten valuable old books from other countries have been offered as a reward. But don't take it easy here.
　Perhaps Beric would assume that Ars would be able to compete and even win the competition. If you think about it without the hassle afterwards, there's no point if the 2nd Magic Academy doesn't win.
　Ars rebalances the balance between mithril and the time consumed to get the 10 old books.
　Well, what is the result?
　The masses swinging to the left and right move up and down on each other, gradually tilting the scales of precedence slightly.

"All right, let's do it!

　Regrettably, things proceeded as Beric had intended.

　It can be said that Loki, who has obtained a certain amount of information, has given us a rough idea of the tournament.
　However, even if we say we are going to do it, what and how should we do it? Ars decided to do the work of assembling the schedule in his brain.
　First, he would exclude himself and Loki from the problem through a process of elimination. Next, regarding the training, since the manipulation of magic power with the training stick is meaningless unless it continues continuously, we'll just have to have each of you do it after you return home.
　Now, we're going to shift the time we've been spending on this training to prepare for the competition.
　I decided to ask the two people training in front of me.

''We should train for the tournament after all, right?
Isn't that better?　I'm going to represent the Academy, for one thing.

　Unfortunately, this Tesfia's statement is in the form of a question, yet it recommends training for the tournament.
　Well, it's probably a word of pride that even as a nobleman, I can't end up with an embarrassing result.

''I haven't mastered the 《Shail Wraith》 in practice either... no, it's not like I don't like the training I'm doing now or anything!

　Alice takes the liberty of waving her hands from side to side in front of her face.

''Of course. For now, I'm going to change the training time until now to one for the tournament. The training of magic manipulation is yours to do.
Yes?
"Seriously?

　Ars smiles at Tesfia, whose face twitches, as she remembers. It's a sweet way to get even, but it's just the right thing to do.

'I don't mind if you don't do it, but it would mean disobeying your mother's orders.
Ggh...!

(Whoa!　(This could work.)

　Satisfied with Tesfia's reluctance to refute him, Ars goes to his own desk, "Let's do what we always do today and start tomorrow.

　The reason he's a little buoyant isn't because he was able to get back at Tesfia, which is a childish reason.
　I tap on the virtual keyboard to activate it and open the analysis data.
　What analysis was done is the analysis of the ingot I bought from Budna, who has a shop in Alpha's industrial area [Fallen] a few days ago. Since he ran it through the inspection machine before heading to his parents' house in Tesfia, it is currently a superb moment from Ars's point of view as he looks over the analysis information obtained from there..............it's also a moment of waiting.
　It was like a child waiting for the toy he was given to buy to arrive in his hand.

　I spent a few minutes reading the information scrolling at high speed, repeatedly.
　It was the last piece of analytical information that could be run over all the equipment in Ars's lab. If there was something that I didn't understand with this, it would be impossible to analyze it, no matter where I took it. That's how advanced the equipment in Ars's laboratory is.

　You'll be able to find out what's wrong.

''Is there something wrong, Master Ars?
Sort of.

　And can I peek at Loki dubiously?　Or may I peek?　He gives me a look that says, "I'm not going to be able to do that.
　It's not so much that he refuses to do so, as Ars, it's just that he needs a break.
　However, calling Loki to his side and whispering is quite natural considering the value of this ingot.

''It's an item that you say you purchased from an artisan that Ars-sama is familiar with. It's not gold, is it?

　There was no way Loki would be able to understand the data projected on the screen when he looked at it, so he asked in a distant way.

'Of course. So, judging from the data so far, we might be able to call it a [meteo metal].
The "Hail Mary　It really is.
Yes, my AWR has meteo metal in it too.
I've never seen it before. I'm sure it's quite valuable.
Money doesn't pay the bills, does it? And no one wants to have this stuff, basically.
Why?　If that's all you have, you could live with it for the rest of your life, couldn't you?
'You can play for a few generations. But only the state would be willing to buy it. And that's not a small amount of damage to the state budget in the normal course of events. If the owners split up, there would be a fight, no doubt. The country can't be trusted, and its money is worth a dazzling amount of money.
What do we do then?
It's not a good thing to keep it forever. The materials used in meteo metal and AWR are basically unusable after passing magic power for a long period of time. I knew it.

　AWR is made of a number of minerals that memorize the shape of the material through magic, which will settle in place after a month of use.
　Basically, AWR is made of a different material than the core of AWR. In the case of a sword, it is called "shin-iron".
　Naturally, it is not just iron, but it is very similar in terms of its low carbon content.
　It is called "material" because it is the part of the sword blade that wraps the heart of the iron core.
　The material of the skin that crosses with the iron core deteriorates to the point where it cannot be forged a second time, so the material used for AWR is called "material". Therefore, even if the material used for AWR were to be reused, it would not become a weapon in the same way as AWR.

It would be more profitable to make an AWR.

　That's when Loki's eyes glittered in anticipation. There was no problem as Ars.......but there was a problem with the Meteometal.

'Sorry, this has the effect of inhibiting the electric field of Loki's lightning system.
Oh, really?
Well, expensive isn't always a good thing in this case. Having the right AWR for your characteristics isn't inferior.

　I don't mean to be comforting. It's just a fact.
It's foolish to say that with meteor metal, you can't dream of a double-digit or single-digit magician.
　It's a more effective magical aid and nothing more should be asked of AWR.
　There is even a cautionary tale that AWR beyond your stature corrupts a mage.

'I had just the right idea,'

　Ars chuckled as he looked at the data.
　This lump of metal generates low frequencies. There's a mineral similar to this one called magnetite, which generates a magnetic field with each other.
　However, this metal fluctuates at various frequencies and has properties similar to a resonance.
　The blueprint for AWR is derived from this.

　Ars scoops up the best ones from the overflow of ideas.
　Loki's existence had already disappeared from Ars's sight.
　But that doesn't mean that Loki doesn't have a faint hint of dissatisfaction. On the contrary, he happily returns to his training without even making a sound of footsteps.


　♢ ♢ ♢


　That night, Ars was visiting Budna with the ingot.
　This is because even though the composition could be made, it would still be inadequate without the craftsman's opinion.
　Meteometal and Budna's grandfather heaved a sigh of relief when he heard it.
'I can understand why you're saying, "I ain't ready to die yet.
　I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make the most of your time with us. I'm sure you'll be able to defend yourself even if it's leaked, but it's unlikely to be the case with your grandfather.
　That's why Ars has also acted carefully on the road to this point.
　I'll show him the analysis data with the content and other information.

'Can you do it in a month?'
Don't you think you've been beating your old man too hard?
So?
Well, it's a lot easier than yours, but are you sure this is what you want?
'Oh, the inimitable AWR, without a doubt. Disagree?　Grandpa.
Huh ... not a pretty boy.

　But there was a certain uncontrollable elation on his face.
　Budna laughed vigorously even though it was late in the evening and she immediately coughed, "Kehn, kehn, kehn.

It's not something I can't do. If it weren't for you, I would have told you that you couldn't make this stuff up. But you can do it even if it's just a theory, right?
I'm going to do it.

　There is no question about it.
　Ars brought it in with the certainty that he could do it, and the rest is a combination of Budna's master craftsmanship to turn the impossible into possible.

'In case you're wondering, this is the magic formula for writing.

　I show him the magic formula written on the paper. However, it is Ars's job to chop it up. The confirmation process is to get him to make room for it.
　Then Budna rubs her chin and says suspiciously, "I've never seen a magic formula before.

'I've never seen that magic formula before.'

　Budna's eyes lit up with a glaring light like a bird of prey that only a craftsman could have.
　The work of carving magical formulas is naturally part of Budna's job. However, carving an arcane magical formula requires more than just that knowledge, it requires mastery. Unless you are writing on a flat board, you need to make minute adjustments to the angles and spacing of the symbols on a curved blade. Otherwise, it's either a dud or an accident.
　The magic formula that Budna can carve is limited to the existing and popular ones. The old man, who is tired of seeing things like as per the template, will think it's a waste of time.
　Budna is not attracted to jobs that can be done by anyone other than herself. He finds work that only he can do to be worthwhile. It is truly a craftsman's luxury.
　In other words, only Ars can carve a magic formula like you've never seen before.
　That's why it's a division of labor.

'It's a light system. Of course I'm toying with it, so my basic structure is just an optical system.

　When the old man Budna heard this, he smiled more fearlessly than admiringly.
　It's a good thing that you're not too old for the feeling of tickling your inner craving to be called a craftsman's spirit.

'Interesting. 'A month, then.'
Yeah, well, I don't mind a little delay. I can make it in a month or so.
Don't be silly. You give me a month and a deadline, it's my job to make sure it happens on time!

　As expected, it was a line that could not be compromised.
　It's a good thing that you have a deep-seated craftsmanship, Ars said.

I'm sure it's all right. I'm sure it won't take you long to find out if this metal is as good as the analysis you gave me.
All right. All right, keep me posted.
That's a problem.
What about the money?
That depends on how good it is. No need for an advance.

　'Yes sir,' Ars tells me, and the job order is complete. He heads out of the shop and turns around with such a thought that it's unusual for him to see me off at the sound of footsteps coming from behind him.

　The old man reads through Ars's face like that and sniffs.

'We're out of business for the time being. If word gets out about this, the wrong people will come to you.

(Oh, I see.)

　Every day from now on, he would hear the sound of hammering metal from Budna's workshop.
　Ars made sure that the shutters of the shop were closed and peeked around for a moment... when he saw that nothing was suspicious, he ran to blend into the nighttime darkness.
　Who would know that a rare mineral [Meteometal] was brought in right now in a corner of the iron-smelling city of Fallen, a city that is not associated with tranquility in another sense even at night. One more incomparable AWR is being created by one more craftsman and the most powerful magician.