The princess fidgeted with the desk in her Imperial Palace office and muttered.
"So I've returned after all."
The Imperial Palace office, which she hadn't visited in a long time, felt quite unfamiliar. The Magic Tower visible outside the window felt like a building from another world. 'You must be engrossed in your research right about now.'
The princess smiled, thinking of someone at the Magic Tower.
"Is there anything I can do to help..."
The princess's gaze swept across the office.
"Chief Secretary."
"Yes, Your Highness."
"Recommend someone who is most proficient in trade with the Free City and can move like a shadow."
The Chief Secretary tilted his head for a moment.
"Your Highness, if this is regarding young Isaac's 'Newton Company' matter... I believe it is a ghost company with no real substance, so it would not require a separate workforce."
Isolde lightly tapped the copy of the contract and said.
"Since young Isaac has set the stage, I must give it the proper backing. Even if the company is just a nameplate, it will eventually need staff."
"Find someone who can handle money matters 'well'. So that he can focus solely on his research."
I was left all alone. The dormitory hallway was so empty that my footsteps echoed. The familiar faces I always saw had all returned to their hometowns.
Even Senior Giuseppe had left the capital, saying he would use his long-overdue vacation.
Perfect freedom.
I flopped down on the lawn of the Magic Tower's central courtyard and looked up at the blue winter sky.
"But what do I do now?"
Suddenly, the marvelous regenerative ability of 'Red Ear' came to mind. Should I try researching that? If I knew genetic engineering or molecular biology well, I might have given it a try.
'But I only know physics.' I gave up. To think of working even during the break, I must have been crazy for a moment.
I am not a workaholic, absolutely not. Just then, I saw a familiar silhouette in the distance. It was the floor leader, Elara.
"Where are you going, master's graduate?"
At my call, she turned around and frowned.
"I told you not to call me master's graduate... it's awkward."
Elara had recently passed her thesis defense and become a master's graduate. It was thanks to her not having antagonized the doctoral examiner who was her opponent. I said to her.
"I even received a gift, so I must treat you with the utmost respect."
Elara's gaze shifted to my feet.
"Mm. They suit you well. I'm glad I bought them for you."
"Thank you."
As soon as her thesis was approved, Elara had given me a pair of leather shoes as a gift to thank me for my help. I am still wearing the shoes now. Elara said, "Take good care of them.
Those shoes were made at the 'Labor and Days' leather workshop."
"Is it a famous workshop?"
"Of course. The waiting list there is in years."
"Well... I suppose so."
"What. You're not impressed?"
In a pre-modern era, making a single item like this by hand takes a surprisingly long time. It would be the same not only for leather workshops but for other places as well. I said to Elara.
"But how did you manage to get something so precious?"
"... A carriage overturned during transport, so the purchase was canceled."
"Aha."
A kind of salvaged item, I see. That's just how pre-modern transport technology is. It's not like the carriages in this world have suspension, so one wrong turn on a hill and they flip over.
I asked Elara.
"So, where are you off to now?"
"I'm going for an interview. At the Hans Mercenary Corps you introduced me to."
Her face was a mixture of anticipation and anxiety.
"I looked into it, and that mercenary corps' reputation has really skyrocketed lately. I'm scared I might not make it."
"Good luck. You'll do great."
"Thanks for the support. You have a good break too."
Elara waved and walked out of the Magic Tower's main gate. I heard that commoners without money stay in the capital during breaks to find work. Climbing the social ladder is truly arduous, no matter the world.
As I watched her back, I suddenly felt the urge to go outside the capital. The rural scenery I hadn't been able to see properly because of the orcs last time flickered in my mind. Now is the season for winter wheat to grow, so it's the perfect time to go see it.
I immediately hired a coachman and headed for the city outskirts. But my expectations of a peaceful journey were shattered the moment the carriage entered an unpaved road.
Clatter, rattle!
"Ugh...!"
Motion sickness hit me without fail. It wasn't an emergency, so it felt awkward to use magic on my body. I just had to endure it.
And so I fought a battle with the damned medieval carriage that didn't even have suspension.
"Should I create a suspension spell...?"
I can make it. Let's do it. I immediately shouted to the coachman.
"Please stop for a moment!"
"Yessir!"
After getting out of the carriage, I immediately crawled under the chassis. Then, using mana, I created a virtual 'suspension' that absorbed and dispersed the impact. Of course, I didn't make a real suspension with springs.
I'm not an engineer, so I don't know how to do that. A moment later, after finishing the spell, I got back into the carriage.
"Please depart."
"Yessir!"
Once I was back in the carriage, the world had changed.
Clip-clop, clip-clop.
The only sound was that of the horse's hooves. The sound of the wheels had noticeably decreased. Comfort without the shaking.
Indeed, this is Science. The coachman shouted.
"A... amazing. This is the first time in my life I've ever traveled on a dirt road like this."
Hehehe.
I was quite satisfied myself. But there was a problem. This 'fake suspension' spell worked by having me calculate and offset all the shocks in real time.
In other words, even at this very moment, I am calculating the impact amount based on the angle of the road surface. It's not a one-off spell, so the calculations are demanding. ... I can somehow manage for up to five minutes, but anything beyond that would be impossible.
It's a good thing I didn't use it when I was coming to the capital. If I had, I would have been in big trouble when I encountered the orcs.
"Coachman, I'm sorry, but please turn the carriage around."
"What? You said you were going to see the winter wheat. The view just over this hill is really magnificent..."
"Something came up. I'll pay you properly, so please just turn the carriage around."
"If you say so..."
I need to hurry back and make a real suspension, not a fake one like this. Returning to the lab, I immediately began working on the design.
"This is harder than I thought..."
But unlike the 'Excel' magical device, this one was difficult to produce. It wasn't that I didn't know the principle. The principle for Excel was actually more difficult.
It was a primitive computer, after all... The problem was with the materials. There was no suitable material that could withstand the weight of a carriage and endure countless impacts from an irregular road surface.
"Springs would be the best for this..."
But creating them was next to impossible with the technology of this era. Spring steel itself was a product of highly advanced modern metallurgy.
"It seems... I'll have to collaborate with some real engineers, won't I?"
And I needed the best technicians in the Empire. After asking around, I went to the most renowned metal workshops in the capital. But everywhere I went, the answer was the same.
"I'm sorry, sir. If you place an order now, you'll have to wait at least half a year."
The popular workshops were all fully booked with reservations from noble families and large merchant guilds. Should I reveal my identity and use the princess's name? I could probably make it so they couldn't even say a word.
'No. Let's look a bit more.' This is just something to do for fun during the break, so there's no need to rush. At the last workshop I visited, I heard a slightly different story.
The receptionist said.
"You must never say that I told you this, but..."
He wrote an address for me on an old piece of parchment.
"His skill is said to be decent... but he's a commoner and he really got on the bad side of the nobles, so his place is on the verge of closing down."
"That's perfect."
Whether it's a white cow or a black cow, as long as it does the job, that's all that matters. I took the address and headed to a secluded alley in the workshop district. I looked at a shabby building with a sign that was so worn it was decaying.
It was doubtful whether it was even open for business. There was, of course, no sign of anyone.
"... Maybe they just open a bit late?"
I found a spot in front of the workshop and waited while munching on a chicken skewer I bought from the market. It was then.
Crash!
With a rough noise from inside the workshop, a young technician came running out. He cursed at the workshop door.
"I can't stand this filth anymore! This damn place with not a single job! I'm leaving now, for good!"
A sturdy old man who followed him out shouted.
"Yeah, get lost! If I ever see you again, I'll break your shins with a hammer, you hear me!"
It seemed they had a lot of pent-up feelings for each other.
Munch, munch. Gulp.
The chicken skewer went down smoothly at the rare sight. There's nothing as fun as watching a fight. For the record, watching fires isn't that great.
Once I could make fire with magic, my interest faded. The young technician, who was getting farther away, came to a sudden halt. With his back still turned to his master, he said.
"You just watch, you old geezer! I'm leaving this crappy place, and I'm going to make it big!"
Yeahhhh.
Start from the bottom. This is totally hip-hop.
"Yeah, you punk! Eat well and live well!"
The craftsman threw a heavy pouch at the technician's back.
Clink.
"It's your severance pay."
Thud.
The pouch hit the young technician's back and fell to the ground. The technician who was hit by the money pouch muttered.
"Crazy old fool..."
Fumble, fumble.
The technician picked up the money pouch that had fallen to the ground. The old man added nonchalantly.
"It's winter. Be careful not to catch a cold."
"...!"
The technician's hands trembled slightly. A moment later, he cried out in a tearful voice.
"I've... been in your damn care for a long time, Master!"
The technician bowed deeply and disappeared down the other end of the alley. '... What was that all about.' I feel like I've witnessed something far too private.
Perhaps that's why, at some point, I couldn't even properly eat my chicken skewer. Still, I have to do what I came here to do.
Ahem.
I cleared my throat awkwardly and approached the old man. As soon as the old man saw me, he recoiled and said.
"What, did the landlord send you? I told you I'll pay soon! Believe me!"
"!"
"Dammit... no matter how important money is, let's not harass people at a time like this!"
The old man was wiping away tears.
"That's not it... Would you like to work on something with me?"
The craftsman's wet eyes turned towards me.
"Work... you say?"
He glanced at my shoes and scoffed.
"Young master. I'm sorry, but I don't make the things you noble sirs want."
"I'm not a noble, I'm an orphan."
"Abruptly, the old man's movements stopped. I held out the design for the 'suspension' in front of him. The old man wordlessly took my design.
"This is genius!"
The old man continued.
"Not just for merchant carriages... the Imperial Army will be lining up for this!"
"Is that so?"
"Of course! I can see it. This is something that will change history."
The old man's eyes gleamed as he asked me.
"So, how do we make this?"
"That's what the two of us need to figure out now."
"..."
"What?"