New chapter of Single Old Man is out (1/1 chapter)

 

 

Potential Usefulness

(Thank you for reading at bayabuscotranslation.com)

Now then, before getting to work… there was a question I had to solve first.

“Hey, Yeran. What’s a magic tool?” (Gentoku)

“It’s obviously a tool that runs on mana.” (Yeran)

“Mana?” (Gentoku)

“It’s the energy inside the human body used to perform magic. Even kids know that… oh, right, you’re like a kid.” (Yeran)

Shut up.

Then, Yeran said…

“Sorry, sorry. Ask me anything you don’t understand. Otherwise, you won’t be able to work, right?” (Yeran)

“Yeah. Then I’ll ask a bunch of stuff.” (Gentoku)

For the time being, I spent the morning just throwing my questions at her. Thanks to that, I learned a lot. First, mana. It was exactly the kind of fantasy-world energy I imagined. Everyone in this world had mana, and each person had a specific “color”. That color represented their element, and there were six elements: Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, Light, and Dark. However, people with a colored “attribute” were apparently rare. Most people were “colorless”.

Yeah, yeah, real fantasy stuff.

“I have three elements, Water, Earth, and Wind. Pretty amazing, right?” (Yeran)

“That amazing?” (Gentoku)

“Of course it is. Normally people only have one. Two is considered talented, and three is elite.” (Yeran)

“Huh… So, you can use magic then?” (Gentoku)

“Well, yeah. I can do basic life magic and production-type magic. I’m not a magician, so I haven’t learned attack magic.” (Yeran)

This world had educational institutions too. Education wasn’t mandatory, but in normal families, most people went to school to learn about mana, magic, and general knowledge.

If you had magical aptitude, you usually became either a combat-based “magician” or, like Yeran, a “magic tool engineer”. Having three attributes made you an elite even among magicians, you could become a royal court magician, apparently. By the way, over half the people in this world were “non-elemental” and could only use simple life magic.

“I entered this field because I fell in love with Sandrone-oneesama. Onee-sama… she’s truly an amazing person, you know?” (Yeran)

“That queen-looking woman, huh…” (Gentoku)

“Hmph. I don’t need you to understand. Anyway… Gentoku, I’m going to check your magical aptitude now.” (Yeran)

With that, Yeran pulled out a sheet of paper about the size of A4 and placed it on the table.

“What’s this?” (Gentoku)

“Fufun. This is the ‘Simple Magical Aptitude Diagnostic Sheet’ developed by the Alexandrite Company!! You just drip some blood onto it and it determines your element!!” (Yeran)

“Huh, that’s pretty cool.” (Gentoku)

“Yup yup. Before, you could only determine it using a spell cast by a magician from the Magic Association. But with this, one drop of blood can tell you not only your element but also your total mana capacity! It’s the best magic tool Onee-sama ever made!!” (Yeran)

“I see… But if this spreads, won’t that Association’s magicians be out of business?” (Gentoku)

“Well, yeah. They were really against it. One of the Association bigwigs even came shouting, ‘This is unreliable garbage!!’ But Onee-sama didn’t even flinch… she took it straight to the royal family and even had a competition between the Association’s magicians and this paper to see which was more accurate.” (Yeran)

“No way… that’s wild.” (Gentoku)

“Of course, the winner was Onee-sama, hands down!! After that, the Magic Association acknowledged the effectiveness of this diagnostic paper, and now it’s become indispensable.” (Yeran)

“Wow… that’s impressive. But I’m not thrilled about having to bleed for it.” (Gentoku)

“Quit whining. Here, place your finger on this spot.” (Yeran)

There was a circular mark in the middle of the sheet. I pressed my index finger against it. Suddenly, there was a sharp tingle.

“Whoa, what was that?” (Gentoku)

“There’s a tiny needle embedded in the paper. It reacts when you press your finger, just enough to draw a drop of blood… How was it? Didn’t hurt, right?” (Yeran)

“It really didn’t…” (Gentoku)

Then, something began to slowly emerge on the paper.

“Whoa, this is amazing.” (Gentoku)

“…Wait, what is this?” (Yeran)

“Hey, what’s my attribute?” (Gentoku)

When I asked Yeran, she looked back and forth between the paper and me, as if she couldn’t believe it.

“All of them…” (Yeran)

“Huh?” (Gentoku)

“You have aptitude for all six elements.” (Yeran)

“All of them? That’s pretty amazing.” (Gentoku)

“Hold it!! A-All elements… Even the Great Sage of the Magic Association only has five!! Wait… What the heck is this?” (Yeran)

There were seven lines drawn on the paper. A rainbow-like display, yellow, blue, red, green, white, black… and purple.

“S-Seven elements…? I’ve never heard of a purple attribute before.” (Yeran)

“Seven? I thought this world had six?” (Gentoku)

“Quiet!!” (Yeran)

“Oh, okay.” (Gentoku)

S-She’s kinda scary… Uh, the elements are Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, Light, and Dark. In color: yellow, blue, red, green, white, black… and now there’s purple. Purple, huh… In fantasy terms, it feels like lightning.

“If it’s lightning, that’s kinda cool.” (Gentoku)

“Lightning… Wait, we don’t even have such an element.” (Yeran)

“Just said what popped into my head.” (Gentoku)

“Lightning… Hey, your mana… What is this absurd number…? Your total mana capacity is off the charts!?” (Yeran)

Yeran trembled as she held the paper in her hands.

This is starting to feel like something out of a fantasy protagonist story. All-elemental compatibility!! And a mana capacity far beyond ordinary people!! Oops, did I do something again? Maybe I should make a dumb smug face…

“Gentoku. Give me your hand.” (Yeran)

“Huh? Oh, okay.” (Gentoku)

“I’ll flow my mana into you. Raise your left hand slightly… now, close your eyes.” (Yeran)

“G-Got it.” (Gentoku)

No time to make a dumb face… Actually, better take this seriously.

Yeran grabbed my hand. Then, I felt something warm enter me.

“This is my mana. Now… imagine coloring that mana with ‘purple’. Slowly…” (Yeran)

“Purple…” (Gentoku)

I imagined purple in my head… and then, from my left hand, little static sparks popped.

Purple lightning. Whoa… static electricity… right?

Yeran let go of my hand.

“…No doubt about it. Just like you said, your magic can be converted into electricity.” (Yeran)

“Heh… that’s cool.” (Gentoku)

Come to think of it, I got electrocuted back on Earth… could that be the reason? I don’t know if it’s a cheat ability or what, but this is kinda fun.

“Well, whatever. I’ve got all the elements, right?” (Gentoku)

“If this gets out, not just the Alexandrite Company, the Magic Association itself won’t stay quiet.” (Yeran)

“Don’t tell anyone. Sounds like a huge pain.” (Gentoku)

“Yeah yeah. Geez, you’re some ridiculous Ossan (old man)… Now I feel embarrassed for bragging about having three elements.” (Yeran)

“Hahaha. Well, I’m amazing, apparently. Anyway… I’ve got most of my questions answered now.” (Gentoku)

To think I’d end up doing something like running a handyman business in another world. A jack-of-all-trades. Magic tool development, huh… I’m glad this didn’t turn into some otherworldly battle story. I mean, I’m an Ossan, and I’m past that age.

“Ossan, you’re looking pretty fired up. What’s up?” (Yeran)

“Well… normally you’d want to go home, right? But this world seems more fun.” (Gentoku)

My first job was to develop a fire-starting tool. I had an idea. I could use my knowledge from Earth.

The classic isekai trope of “industrial revolution via Earth knowledge”… Heh, never thought I’d be the one doing it. This is gonna be fun. I’m all in.

“Yeran, help me out with my work… and teach me more about magic. Ah, be my Shishou.” (Gentoku)

“Shishou? Ooh, that sounds nice… Sure, I’ll teach you.” (Yeran)

And so, my life in another world began.

 

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(Thank you for reading at bayabuscotranslation.com)