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

 

 

Ice Maker, Complete

(Thank you for reading at bayabuscotranslation.com)

“Alright, the prototype is complete.” (Gentoku)

I carved the magical character for ‘Cold Wind’ (冷風) into a three-star magic stone and set it into the ice maker.

As expected, high-grade magic stones are different. The strength and temperature of the cold wind are not the same as those of goblin magic stones.

Two hours after installing the magic stone, the water in the ice tray had frozen. I took out the tray, gave it a gentle twist over a bowl, and the eight-sectioned ice blocks clattered down. I tried putting one in my mouth.

“Mmm, it’s solid ice. Yeah, this should be fine.” (Gentoku)

I decided to write up the specifications for the prototype in the office.

First, the application for the magical character ‘Cold Wind’ (冷風). If I don’t register this character, the magical character I invented won’t be recognized by society. The magical character I thought of and developed is my intellectual property.

If someone uses a registered magical character to make a magic tool without permission, they’ll be fined and punished by the Commerce Guild… For a merchant to be punished by the Commerce Guild is a disgrace and essentially makes it impossible to survive in this world. By the way, if you go to the Commerce Guild, you can find out what magical characters are already registered. They can be single characters or full words.

Even if the character ‘Cold’ (冷) is registered, if ‘Cold Wind’ (冷風) isn’t, I can register it as the creator. If someone later thinks of ‘Powerful Cold Wind’ (強力冷風), they would register that.

“Oh, right… I need to check with the Commerce Guild when I come up with a magical character, don’t I?” (Gentoku)

Strictly speaking, the Commerce Guild confirms it with the Magic Association, right? Well, whatever. If it’s not allowed, I’ll try registering it as ‘Freezing Wind’ (凍風) or ‘Super Cold Wind’ (超冷風).

“Alright. The application for the magical character, the structure of the ice maker, and the explanatory document should be good like this.” (Gentoku)

After that, I just need to take the application to the Commerce Guild and get the magical character confirmed… If there’s no problem, it gets registered. Then I can take the prototype of the ice maker along with the explanatory document and sell it to the Alexandrite Company.

From there, they’ll refine the prototype into a cooler design, and a dedicated magic engineer like Yeran will create ‘Cold Wind’ (冷風) magic stones, start production of the ice maker… and release it as a new product.

“Alright, it’s already evening. I guess that’s enough for today. Maybe I’ll grab some food and a drink somewhere.” (Gentoku)

Just as I gathered the documents and stood up, there was a knock on the guest door. This office has stairs connected to the workshop on the first floor and an outside staircase for guests.

When I opened the door, Sandrone was there.

“Huh, Sandrone. What’s up?” (Gentoku)

“I was just nearby and thought I’d stop in. Got any tea?” (Sandrone)

“Ah, perfect timing. Come on in.” (Gentoku)

Sandrone and Richter came into the office. I opened the ice maker I had left on the table, took out two glasses, and dropped some ice into them.

“!!” (Sandrone & Richter)

For the drink… I guess water is fine. Actually, that’s all I have. I should prepare some guest tea sometime.

“Gentoku!! Th-that’s… ice, right?” (Sandrone)

“Yeah. It’s the prototype ice maker. Here, Richter.” (Gentoku)

“Let me see it!!” (Richter)

As I tried to hand the specs to Richter, she snatched them away. Sandrone read through the document for about a minute and grinned. Then, she handed it to Richter.

“This morning we parted ways, and in just half a day, you made this?” (Sandrone)

“Yeah. Summer’s coming, and it’s better to have ice, right?” (Gentoku)

“Wonderful. Fufu, summer is coming… meaning if it’s ready in time for summer, restaurants can serve drinks and dishes with ice. A three-star magic stone… the cost might be a bit high.” (Sandrone)

“This time I used a cheap three-star magic stone from Dela Condor. Since it’s a prototype, I haven’t tested the durability of the magic stone yet. I’ll leave that to someone like Yelan.” (Gentoku)

“Of course. If we consider durability, we should also look into four-star magic stones…” (Sandrone)

“Also, I have another idea.” (Gentoku)

I pulled a project proposal from the desk. Sandrone snatched it and stared at it intently.

“…‘Lease’?” (Sandrone)

“Yeah. Renting out magic tools.” (Gentoku)

Industrial machines… no, magic tools like these. Instead of buying them, people can rent them. By paying a monthly usage fee, they can use the magic tool.

“With a rental fee, they wouldn’t need to pay the high price of buying the tool, and if it breaks, Alexandrite Company’s magic tool engineers can offer repair services. Though repair costs would be charged separately. Ice makers are useful in summer, but there might be no need for them in winter, right?” (Gentoku)

“…I see. With this system, even small shops that can’t afford to buy magic tools could rent large-scale ones.” (Sandrone)

“Yeah. It’s a good idea, right?” (Gentoku)

Sandrone looked at me and smiled bewitchingly.

“Richter.” (Sandrone)

“Yes, Ojou.” (Richter)

“First thing tomorrow, check the registration for the magical character. Take this prototype home today and tomorrow have Yeran and the other magic tool engineers analyze it and start the product development. The goal is summer. We aim to commercialize it within three months.” (Sandrone)

“Understood.” (Richter)

“Gentoku. I’ll pay you soon for the idea of this magic tool and the rental system. Once it’s commercialized, you’ll get royalties too.” (Sandrone)

“O-oh.” (Gentoku)

Richter held the prototype ice maker. Sandrone stood up, grabbed me by the collar, and pulled her face close.

“You really did it. On the very first day of opening, you make something this fun. I was planning to sleep peacefully tonight, but now I’m too excited to sleep.” (Sandrone)

“T-that’s… good, I guess…” (Gentoku)

“You really are interesting. Fufu…” (Sandrone)

Sandrone let go of me and left with Richter.

“I-I thought I was going to get eaten. What was with that pressure…” (Gentoku)

Anyway, the first job of my Oda Magic Tool Development Center was the ice maker. Somehow, I managed to complete it.

 

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(Thank you for reading at bayabuscotranslation.com)