Chapter 79 (2/2)

It's a radio.

It had an antenna and a k.n.o.b used to turn to change frequency. Clearly not brought from j.a.pan since it was made of wood and metal, not plastic. Its name was ”Metal Box”. Well-made, it even had speakers.

Why'd they make this?

With the use of radio and radio waves, an information revolution would definitely occur. But a radio tower was necessary for them to work. In the first place, this world didn't have ”electricity”. Long-distance communication - almost like a telegram - was done through sorcery with the use of an expensive catalyst.

「Are you interested in that?」the princ.i.p.al asked Hikaru who'd been staring at the picture.

「Um… it says here usage unknown. What do you think?」

「This is a very strange relic. The weapons in the next pages are not as complex as this item. A magic item researcher in the academy had been studying this Metal Box, but they haven't had any noteworthy results.」

「Where did they find this?」

「In the back regions of Zubura. Inside a tower where they found a lot of other relics.」

A tower… It must be a radio tower, then. But that doesn't make any sense.

「How old are these relics?」Hikaru asked.

「Eight hundred to a thousand years. Before Zubura was even founded.」

Let's say these things were 800 years old and the person who made them back then knew about radios. In j.a.pan, eight hundred years ago would be the Kamakura period.

The time periods didn't match.

Does that mean time flows differently here than on Earth? Or perhaps time periods are connected randomly? But that only raises more questions. If someone from j.a.pan got sent here after me and ended up in the past, that would result in a parallel universe. The flow of time here is just different and irreversible. I think that makes the most sense.

「Hikaru? You're not reading the rest? I thought for sure you wanted information on weapons and such.」

「How is that?」

「Well, you came from Ponsonia. I don't think you're related to the army, but I heard you're quite strong. It's only natural for those who seek power to seek artifact-cla.s.s weapons.」

「I see. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't interested in them.」

Hikaru flipped the page. Weapons and more weapons. Rifles, shuriken, pistols, and cannons.

「What makes these weapons superior is that they're all magic items.」

「Oh…」

「The blade of this sword extends when you pour mana into it. And this star-shaped throwing weapon disappears for a moment if you load it with mana.」

The sword's design was unfamiliar to him. It looked similar to the wakizas.h.i.+ he bought.

Maybe the one I bought is actually the real deal. I'll check later.

「Are these magic effects really that rare?」

「They haven't been replicated until now.」

「Oh…」

Hikaru was genuinely impressed. Whoever made them must've worked really hard.

「What about this one? It says you need to load it with mana beforehand.」

The weapons Hikaru wanted to see. Pistols and rifles.

「We believe this is a magic item that allows one to load magic in it and then shoot it out afterwards. We have plenty of things like this everywhere.」

「Really?」

「Yes. We have items which you can use to ”store magic in and use it afterwards”. It doesn't have to be shaped like these. They could be rings or staffs.」

「Ah, yes. I see what you mean.」

「But that's not what makes this weapon incredible.」

「What makes it incredible then?」

「Normally, the magical power from magic items is weaker than when a magic user casts the spell directly. But these weapons… the power they emit is on par with an actual magic user casting spells, or even stronger.」

Hikaru groaned. So basically the energy conversion is at a hundred percent or higher.

「Is that even possible?」

A hundred percent or lower made sense. But over that was just physically impossible.

「Yes. I thought it was strange too, but the researchers said this thing called ”holy mana” makes it possible.」

A familiar word came out of her mouth.

<script>