I decided to test the Magitris Workshop.
First, I needed to determine how it was used.
When I turned the box over, I found instructions written in an ancient language on the underside.
This is a miracle capable of creating magic stones from every substance that exists in this world. Place the substance inside, then recite, “Formare.”
As expected, it could not create magic stones merely by placing something inside.
For the time being, I decided to test it with a pearl necklace.
When I opened the lid, I found the interior lined with velvet and a magic circle engraved at the bottom.
I placed the pearl necklace atop the circle, closed the lid, and recited the incantation.
“Formare!”
The entire box began to glow, and a magic circle appeared for a brief instant.
When I opened the lid, a pure-white magic stone lay inside.
It glittered brilliantly, making it clear that it was a high-quality stone.
I would probably learn more if I examined it with appraisal magic.
“Reveal its nature, Analyze!”
The moment I recited the spell, information about the magic stone appeared before me.
Item Name: Magic Stone
Attribute: None
Rank: ★★★
Description: A high-quality magic stone. It is traded at a high price.
As I had suspected, it was an excellent magic stone.
Next, I gathered several ordinary rocks from nearby and attempted to turn them into a magic stone.
Just as before, I placed them on the magic circle, closed the lid, and recited the spell.
“Formare!”
The box emitted only the faintest glow before the magic circle appeared.
When I opened it, I found something resembling grains of sand inside.
I used appraisal magic on that as well.
Item Name: Magic Stone Powder
Attribute: None
Rank: ☆
Description: A failed magic stone. Perhaps gathering enough of it will create a complete stone?
Apparently, not everything could be transformed into a proper magic stone.
The amount of magical power contained within the original substance was probably important.
At the very least, I had learned something useful.
◇◇◇
It seemed my stepmother had helped herself to the dowry Father had prepared for me.
Her actions incurred Father’s wrath, and he immediately demanded a divorce.
The steward and I had deliberately stored the dowry somewhere conspicuous.
My stepmother had fallen neatly into our trap and spent it without permission.
The divorce was approved without difficulty, and she was sent to live in a convent.
Her daughter Carlene apparently treated the matter as though it had nothing to do with her and showed no concern whatsoever.
What a heartless daughter, I thought.
Whatever the case, we had successfully prevented my stepmother from squandering the family fortune in the future.
Father’s health was also steadily improving, and I was told he would soon be discharged from the hospital.
As a precaution, I warned him to be more careful regarding his relationships with women.
Father promised that he would never remarry and would protect the family assets properly from then on.
◇◇◇
I also investigated the Limburg Margraviate.
The territory lay at the farthest edge of the kingdom. Beyond the towering mountain range was an enemy nation.
Its development had begun relatively recently, approximately three hundred years ago, while the land itself had only been cultivated for the past century.
The region was cold for most of the year. During winter, the sun did not rise at all, and the entire land was buried beneath thick snow.
The territory appeared to have been established between several tall mountains, placing it directly in the path of powerful winds. As a result, storms formed there easily.
It was home to numerous ferocious monsters, and the climate was severe.
Ordinarily, it would not have been considered suitable for human habitation. However, the territory was also a strategically vital location created to guard against invasion from the neighboring enemy nation.
The population numbered only around one hundred.
No one willingly chose to relocate there. Anyone who did probably had circumstances that left them with no other choice.
As for the ruling family, the current head, Lord Hartwig, was said to have no immediate family of his own. However, his uncle’s family lived with him.
The household consisted of his uncle and aunt, both in their fifties, and their thirteen-year-old twin daughters.
Lord Hartwig was apparently so occupied with subjugating monsters that the estate was primarily managed by his uncle’s family.
I wondered how they had interacted with Carlene during my first life.
I remembered Carlene complaining that there had been “a pair of horrible, spiteful twin sisters.”
Then again, since their opponent had been Carlene, perhaps their relationship had deteriorated because of her behavior.
In any case, I wanted to build a good relationship with them.
I decided to send Lord Hartwig a letter.
Rumors claimed that he spent nearly the entire year hunting monsters, so I did not expect a reply.
However, half a month later, a response arrived.
His letter expressed gratitude that I had accepted the engagement. It also explained what kind of place the Limburg Margraviate was and included several warm words of concern for my well-being.
It was the first time I had ever received such thoughtful words from a fiancé.
Perhaps Lord Hartwig was not as fierce as the rumors made him seem.
Along with my reply, I enclosed a pair of fur-lined gloves as a gift.
Hoping to establish a friendly relationship with his uncle’s family as well, I sent them an assortment of sweets from the royal capital.
Soon afterward, letters of gratitude arrived from both Lord Hartwig and his uncle’s family.
They did not appear to resent or reject me.
For the time being, that was enough to put my mind at ease.
◇◇◇
The Limburg Margraviate would be struck by the great storm three years from now.
I had to devise some form of countermeasure before then.
I began considering what I could accomplish with the Magitris Workshop.
Magic required magical power, but the amount possessed by any individual mage was limited.
How, then, could someone cast a spell that consumed an enormous amount of magical power?
The answer was simple.
Magic stones could be converted into magical energy and used to sustain the spell.
Magic stones could serve as a substitute for a mage’s own power, making them essential tools for sorcerers.
Ideally, we would establish an enormous barrier capable of protecting the entire territory at all times.
The question was how many magic stones such a barrier would require.
I visited a sorcerer’s workshop and asked.
According to the mage, maintaining such a barrier for only a few minutes would require approximately one hundred high-quality magic stones.
Magic stones were currently becoming scarce. Purchasing one hundred of them would cost around ten gold coins.
The great storm would arrive in three years.
Could I produce enough stones before then?
Next, I attempted to hire a mage capable of using barrier magic.
However, the moment prospective candidates learned that their workplace would be the Limburg Margraviate, they became reluctant.
Even when I limited the contract to a period beginning three years from now, they only grew suspicious and questioned why the employment terms were so unusual.
At this rate, learning barrier magic myself would probably be faster.
I already had an aptitude for support magic, and barrier magic was classified as one of its highest forms.
I paid a mage to accept me as an apprentice and devoted myself to mastering barrier magic.
