Published: January 22, 2026
"Good evening, Grandpa. Sorry for coming so late."
"Oh, you came just in time. I’m closing up the shop now. Why don’t you wait inside for a bit?"
Grandpa said this while moving some goods around.
"No, I’ll help you."
"Is that so? Thank you."
We quickly finished tidying up and moved to the living room.
"So, what brings you here at this hour? If you came this late, it must be about magic, huh?"
After sipping warm green tea from the teacup, Grandpa asked why I came at such a late hour.
By the way, green tea is a rare drink imported from a country in the eastern continent. It has a perfect balance of sweetness, bitterness, and astringency, and is a green-colored tea.
Although uncommon, I like it and often drink it.
"Yeah, actually I’m developing a new magic technique, and I was hoping to get some advice."
Saying that, I showed Grandpa the paper with the magical formula written on it.
Grandpa is an incredibly skilled magical tool artisan.
He’s also very knowledgeable about magic.
He’s the one who made my storage magical tool, and he’s the one who taught me the basics of magic.
When it comes to knowledge about magic, I’m nowhere near Grandpa’s level.
This is purely my guess, but I think Grandpa was a famous magical tool artisan well-known worldwide.
If you randomly asked ten people, 'Who is the greatest magical tool artisan in the world?' more than eight would answer Cavadel Evans.
And Grandpa’s name is also Cavadel.
I don’t know why he taught me magic knowledge, but I have no intention of telling anyone about Grandpa.
I do promote the shop, but no one knows that Grandpa is a magical tool artisan.
"This is an interesting magic technique. As expected of my disciple."
Grandpa smiled and praised me.
"Thanks. Hearing that from you gives me confidence."
"Hohoho! When it comes to magic development, you’re already far beyond me. So, what’s this consultation about? It looks almost complete."
"Yeah. I can see the final form, so I think I can finish it on my own. Though trial and error will be necessary after completion. What I want to consult about is the activation time. This magic inevitably takes time to activate. If I’m in a situation where I have to use it immediately, I can’t afford to wait leisurely. I think this magic will become my signature move, like the Instantaneous Ability Surge (Impact)."
"Instantaneous Ability Surge (Impact), huh... Do you really think that’s a flaw in magical theory?"
"...? What do you mean? Since it overturns the premise of support magic, it must be a flaw, right?"
"I see... So Orun’s supernatural ability is—"
Grandpa muttered softly.
I couldn’t quite catch it.
"What did you say about my mana convergence?"
"Oh, nothing. Back to the topic, it’s impossible to shorten the activation time due to the nature of the magic. You can’t simplify the spell either."
"I thought so..."
I slumped my shoulders.
No matter how I thought about it, I couldn’t come up with a way to shorten the activation time, so I asked Grandpa, but he seemed to think the same.
"How about making it a always-active type magical tool? I can make that."
Always-active type...
Many magical tool artisans are desperately trying every day to establish that technology, but don’t say it so casually...
"I think that’s possible, but wouldn’t it attract demonic beasts?"
"Indeed. Even if a few defenders are elsewhere, the demonic beasts would head straight to you."
"I don’t want to carry something that scary... Then maybe I’ll prepare it elsewhere and use it when necessary—wait! I might have a solution!"
I shared the idea I just thought of with Grandpa.
It was inspired by Will’s twin-edged sword.
"...Indeed, that might be possible. There will be an interval, but it can be activated immediately when needed. And if you build that mechanism into a storage magical tool, the effect of attracting demonic beasts should remain the same. You want me to make that?"
"Could you? If I have to develop something this complex on my own, it’d take years. I don’t have that kind of time."