She Professed Herself The Pupil of The Wise Man Chapter 17

Chapter 17 Mira plays with Robots!

ED: Hey guys, if you find anything awkward in the phrasing of the sentences or just general mistakes let us know in the comments! Btw, should the homescreen be updates or the ToC? Let me know in the comments.

Actual title – Refining

The test firing of the accord cannon succeeded safely. The scientists and engineers began analysis of the data.

Accompanied with Solomon, Suleiman and the nobility, eight engineers and the lead engineer spread on a desk the data about the Accord Cannon moved into development room and  began a discussion about the military use and the mass production.

Quickly withdrawing herself from the tortuous discussion about state affairs, Mira started to examine content of shelves in the room. She couldn’t recognize a single thing there.

“By the way, Thomas. It seems we managed to complete the first stage without any issues but did we have any problems left?”

“No. We managed to completely control the recoil too. It should already have some military use, I guess.”

Solomon nodded with satisfaction at that confident answer of the lead engineer Thomas.

“By the way, what are we going to do with the mass production? My Wesleyan family can easily help fund the mass production.”

Following him, all rest nobles expressed agreement.

“Speaking about that…”

Speaking those words, Tomas presented one document on the table with a discouraged face. This document revealed information about the shells of the Accord Cannon and explained the operating materials.

“One refined gem and two sealed gems are necessary for the Accord Cannon to fire once.”

Following that, Thomas explained the principles of the Accord Cannon design.

In the summary, a refined gem works as a shell. The power for this shell is extracted from sealed gems.

Refined gem is a jewel able to store a peculiar power made through the combining of several materials. In production process it’s tuned for extremely easy power accumulation.

Sealed gem is a general term for substances containing some amount of a specific magic inside.

The Accord Cannon shoots by means of extracting and amplifying power from sealed gems. A refined gem is used as the shell guides this amplified to the limit chaotic force. In other words, it’s used as a self-launching lighting rod.

The refined gem utilizes this raging force to launch destroying itself in the process. The size of the refined gem affects the time until destruction and, consequently, the shooting range. So, the last thing you need to use the Accord Canon is a sealed lightning gem. Basically, this cannon operates on  electricity.

“That is what we are dealing with. Considering all your aid it is not hard to start the mass production but supply of refined and sealed gems is a problem.”

Telling that, Thomas made a large sigh. Refined and sealed gems. A specific crafting skill becomes necessary here. While sealed gems occur in nature too, all refined gems are made by people. Crafters are a must here.

The difficulty mentioned by Thomas is the difficulty in providing the necessary sealed lighting gems and refined gems.

There are several people with the required to produce refined gem skill in Arkite Kingdom. Still, they can’t make gems above the middle grade. The supply of sealed gems is barely enough to operate the cannon too. But even under those circumstances, the capability of the Accord Cannon is quite high.

There are no issues with the mass production. The supply of shells is somehow fine. But it is only enough to display the minimum capability of the Accord Cannon. Thomas, who devoted long years of his life to development of the cannon, stared at the document with a discouraged feeling of being unable to allow his child to display full potential.

“I believe we can solve it right now.”

While Thomas face was still cloudy, Solomon with a joyful mood placed some jewels at the table. Some of the jewels cast a weak light.

“Is it… Turquoise and moonstone, I believe. And those are… sealed gems? But, your highness, the grade of those gems is not that high, how exactly are you going to resolve anything with that?

Turquoise and moonstone. All around natural gems, they’re capable of holding power so they have utility besides being decorations: sealing the magic.

The jewels placed by Solomon weren’t that special — just common gems. It wouldn’t be strange to doubt his words but people here were already used to his suggestive behavior so they quietly waited for the explanation.

“Okay, come this way~”

“What? What this time!?”

A confused girl’s voice rang from a corner of the room. Everyone turned their eyes to her.

Cheerful Solomon chuckled a bit on the sight. Hugged by Luminaria, Mira struggled like a child in her breast.

Placed down by the table, groaning Mira stared at Luminaria but noticing she just attracts even more attention, backed off.

“So, what is it this time?”

“I beg my pardon. I have a request.”

Without a single regret in his smile, Solomon took several gems from the table and showed to everybody.

“Mira, can you please make a refined gem from this?”

He offered two turquoises and three moonstones to Mira.

“And that’s all thou want?”

Mira tried to stretch hands out to get the gems but her hands were already busy with the awkward robots she got from the shelves. A blue robot in right hand, a red one in left hand. They were labeled as “combining robots” and Luminaria grabbed her right in midst of her attempts to combine them.

“….”

“Ermm… Can I hold them?”

“Yes, please.”

In the indescribable silence Suleiman humbly offered a hand and Mira with a short answer gave him awkward clanking robots.

When Mira took the gems in her now free hands, Luminaria came carrying a large board. She placed it on top of the table with the aid of some magicians in robes holding the edges.

“Is it a refining stand?”

Thomas named it seeing the numerous figures and symbols on the board.

Refining stand is a magic tool used to refine items. Figures expressing dismantling, combination, alteration, converting and compression formed a circle on the top of it.

“Are you going to start refining now? Doesn’t it take a while?”, Edward raised his doubt.

When you get used to refining, experience and understanding of process become crucial to reduce the required time. However, even the best refiner in the Arkite Kingdom needs 30 minutes to make a single refined gem.

Nobles and experts with knowledge about refining nodded at his words.

“Well, you will understand when you see it. All right, Mira. Do it please.”

“Good grief, just when I almost made it.”

Moaning her complaint Mira stood before the refining stand. Two robots left in a corner of the table reflected in corners of her sight. A little more time and she could have understood how to combine them. So, Mira placed gems and set her hands up above the destined position to finish with the task already.

After a short time the circle started to glow. Under the delicate process of pouring strength and detailed control over the starting figure she dismantled the gems and, leaving only the power essence, compressed it to combine it back.

Shortly after beginning, Mira removed her hands from the refining stand.

“Ah! She removed her hands in the midst of refining…!”

Thomas started to panic yet when light particles, which appear only after completing the refining, whirled over the refining stand and stopped the moving, he fixed his eyes on the stand unable to breathe.

“I… It.. It’s”

When the light faded only one large transparent stone lay atop of the stand in the place of several gems. With an unbelieving expression Thomas stared at that stone, sticking his face right to it.

“A refined gem… Impossible… To make that in such short time…”

There was nothing strange in this astonishment. Mira made this refined gem in less than a minute.

“I thought I said you she is a pupil of Dunbalf, right? Mira inherited everything from him.”

Solomon puffed with pride like it was his achievement. Rather than inheriting everything, she obviously was Dunbalf himself but it was a convenient explanation to keep her secret so Mira confirmed it without making a fuss.

This crafting skill itself, 【Refining】, was developed by Dunbalf. This skill is about extracting, fusing, attaching peculiar power: some elemental power or a boost for stats. It makes it possible to extract this power from gems and attaching it to equipment reinforcing it or, vice versa, extracting this power from equipment and sealing it into gems.

The amount of power inside of each gem have a fixed limit but by combining several gems it’s possible to make refined gems. Due to a higher limit on the power they hold refined gems are more valuable and useful than usual gems. Mira can be called the pioneer of this technique even although her appearance is not the same. She has more experience and understanding of the process than anyone and it leads to higher efficiency, proportionally reducing the required time.

“I heard that the refining skill is developed by Dunbalf but by no means I could expect that even his pupil had such talent.”

Thomas moved his look from refined gem to Mira. A girl reflected in his eyes could be the person who let Accord Cannon display it’s full potential. When Thomas realized that, a feeling similar to excitement arose from the bottom of his heart and filled his body.

“And while you are still at that, Mira, could you please combine those with that refined gem?”

Solomon gave three sealed gems and Mira, answering with “Hmm”, placed those stones to the designed spot and started refining again.

And this time again it haven’t took a minute for the light to fade and the shining refined gem now contained all the power extracted from the sealed gems on top of the refining stand.

“Is that enough?”

“Yes, thank you.”

Solomon delightfully nodded, taking the newly created sealed gem. After the refining, the sealed gem was shining with new strength and clearly contained considerable power.

“I believe she should be able to solve all our issues with refined and sealed gems.”

With those words Solomon gave the sealed gem to Thomas.

“Yes, of course, it should be enough.”

Thomas answered with a smile, cautiously holding the gem on his palm.

When everybody started even more deep talk about the military use of the Accord Cannon, Mira grabbed robots from the table and, sitting in a corner of the room, began to play with with them. Seeing that, a man in a robe came to her.

“Mira-chan, can’t you please make some time for me?”

“I’m busy now so come later.”

Mira answered while gazing at joints of the robots in a passion. A man in robe with slightly troubled face leaned over her and pleaded “Can you please work something out?”

After a sigh Mira turned to this man. He was a handsome young man in black and blue robe with gold, shining hair falling to shoulders and good-looking face. And Mira knew that face.

“Creos?”

“Oh, you know me?”

Of course he saw Mira for the first time.

Creos was a half-light spirit and half-elf attendant of the Tower of Summoners. Due to a special ability of light spirits he eliminated the need to think about illumination even in dark dungeons and for that reason was often being dragged along by Dunbalf.

“That’s right. I happened to hear about thou from my teacher.”

She knew him by face but because she let it slip without any consideration, Mira chose a simple excuse. Creos with a pleased face answered “So that is why you know me.”

“Then, once again. I am Creos, the vice-elder of the Tower of Summoners.”

“I’m Mira.”

They exchanged simple greetings. Right after that, Mira recalled one word Creos had said.

“Speaking about that, I heard from Graia that after the Elders disappeared, the vice-elders started to work instead. Looks like thou was one of them.”

“Well, it almost was forced on me. I was recommended because I was with Dunbalf for the longest time. Honestly, the rest of the vice-elders are in a similar situation.”

“So that’s how it went.”

Mira remembered that she dragged Creos along due to his utility. But she also understood it was a good decision to pick him. Even if you are judging by strength, Creos who constantly accompanied her in all those dangerous fields was probably the strongest attendant in the Tower of Summoners.

It should be the same for all the rest vice-elders. When you’re dragged through the highest level fields, you’ll become stronger no matter if you want it or not.

“By the way, is it fine for thou to not take part in this discussion? It should be an important weapon, right?”

Saying that, Mira pointed with her eyes at Solomon’s group talking at the table.

“It is fine. After all, as vice-elders we came here just to look at the performance.”

“By ‘we’ thou mean that they all are vice-elders too?”

Mira looked again at figures of the magicians near the wall. Just like Creos, they were without any particular interest and were busy with their own things.

“The important discussion already finished and they are already discussing about the mass production. It is the domain of Solomon and nobility.”

“That’s why thou came to talk with me?”

Saying that, Mira returned her eyes to the robots in her hands and resumed trying to rotate and bend the parts to find the place of combination.

After that, they continued easy conversation but at the end because Creos switched to grumbling about how absurd was Dunbalf’s decisions to drag him through all that places Mira just listened with aizuchi to him with a bitter smile. ED: aizuchi is basically small interjections within the conversation in order to feign that they are actually paying attention. Like yes, uh-huh, etc. Its often used when you zone out like when a teacher or parent is lecturing you…..