Kays Translations

Just another Isekai Lover~

Chapter 219: The Path to High-Speed Magic Vehicles

“Oh, you’re back.”

“Ah, welcome back, Isamu.”

“I’ve just returned.”

Isamu was greeted by Eto and Willem as he re-entered the research lab.

“How’s the battle going?”

“It seems the outcome hasn’t been decided yet, but the margraves’ reinforcements arrived in time. The real fight starts now.”

“I see. For now, that’s good news.”

Eto and Willem, clearly concerned about the situation, looked relieved at Isamu’s response.

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“Indeed. I’m really glad we set up local production for the magic vehicles…”

“Yes, making that decision early turned out to be the right move.”

Initially, the plan was to keep the production methods of magic vehicles secret, even among allied factions. However, after the Avalushi incident, the strategy was changed, allowing semi-knockdown production of magic vehicles in allied territories, excluding some core components.

The lords, skilled in warfare, quickly recognized the utility of the vehicles and diverted all available resources into production. As a result, they managed to deploy elite troops to the frontlines faster, successfully halting Zun’s invasion just in the nick of time.

“So, the next step is making the magic vehicles faster?”

After wrapping up the discussion about the battle, Eto brought up the next topic.

“Yes. Speed is power, after all. I also want to quickly deploy the newly created magic giant transcription golem writer to the frontlines. I’d like to achieve double the current speed.”

“Double!? That’s faster than a horse at a canter, isn’t it? And unlike a horse, it can keep running as long as there are magic stones, right?”

Hearing Isamu’s goal, Annemarie’s eyes widened in surprise.

A canter—the practical maximum speed for a horse during a march—allows for a pace of about 20 to 30 kilometers per hour. However, the daily travel distance at this speed is limited to about 30 kilometers due to reduced efficiency.

Galloping, which is seen in horse racing, can reach speeds of 60 kilometers per hour but can only be sustained for about five minutes, limiting the daily travel distance to around five kilometers. Hence, galloping is only useful for short bursts, like charges in battle.

“The problem is, with the current magic vehicles, increasing speed any further makes cornering too dangerous…”

“It’s because you don’t have that ‘def,’ thing, right?”

“Yes.”

What Eto referred to as “def” is a differential gear, commonly known as a “diff.”

This mechanism, standard in modern four-wheeled vehicles (with few exceptions), absorbs the rotational difference between the inner and outer wheels during cornering. Without it, four-wheeled vehicles cannot turn smoothly.

The current magic vehicles lack a differential gear, which causes one wheel to lift slightly or forces the vehicle to drift when turning. This has been manageable due to the relatively low speeds, but any increase in speed would make cornering unmanageable or lead to a high risk of rollover.

Using a single driven wheel, like on a tricycle, can alleviate some issues, but higher speeds introduce other complications.

“Unfortunately, I don’t fully understand the detailed mechanics of a differential gear…”

Even among car enthusiasts, while the concept and general workings of a differential gear might be familiar, few would know its exact internal design. Designing one from scratch would require exceptional expertise.

“Considering future prospects, I’d love to make it practical, but for now, I plan to create a two-wheeled version.”

“A two-wheeled version, huh? Like the land yacht you made earlier? Just on two wheels?”

“That’s one possibility, but increasing the speed of the land yacht makes the sails too large…”

The first prototype Isamu made for the magic vehicle was a land yacht, a tricycle powered by wind sails. While increasing the sail size could boost speed, it came with significant drawbacks.

Many roads run through forests, making large sails cumbersome. They also leave little room for cargo and are highly conspicuous on the battlefield, a dangerous flaw. Most critically, they’re severely limited against headwinds.

“So, I plan to use a vehicle called a ‘motorcycle’ from my homeland as a reference.”

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As Isamu spoke, he began sketching on a piece of paper.

“Wow, there are so many designs.”

“Yes, but I won’t know which one is practical until we build and test it…”

Isamu chuckled as he sketched designs resembling American-style bikes, racing bikes, and scooters.

“Will you use a spinning wind ball for the power source?”

“That’s the plan. I have a few other ideas for power sources, but since I want to build it quickly, I’ll go with the proven wind propulsion ball.”

The power source doesn’t necessarily have to involve rotational motion like a motor; even reciprocating motion, like an engine, can be converted into usable energy. With the various magic circles and monster materials, such as Metal Leech, available, there are potential approaches Isamu could take to develop new power sources.

However, to prioritize practicality, he planned to base the design on the well-established wind propulsion ball.

“This time, though, I’ll aim to make it as compact as possible without sacrificing power.”

“Really? Can you even do that? It sounds contradictory.”

“Probably.”

Isamu replied, smiling as he began drawing diagrams to explain his approach.

“Ah, I see. Using multiple ones does increase the power…”

“Yes. Even when the Kurifū Ball (Air Propeller Sphere) is downsized, the range of wind it generates becomes smaller, but the intensity doesn’t seem to change much. That’s why I thought of attaching multiple units like this.”

Eto gazed at a mock-up model created by Isamu, deep in thought.

The model resembled a vertical-axis wind turbine with a cross-section shaped like an asterisk (*). It was about 40 centimeters wide, featuring six blades, with three smaller Kurifū Balls mounted between every other blade. All of this was enclosed within a slightly larger case.

Incidentally, the mock-up was made of Metal Leech material. Although it was extravagant, the property of Metal Leech—softening when infused with magic power and hardening immediately after—made it ideal for prototype creation.

“Previously, we had attached a large windmill directly to the axle for rotation, but this time, I plan to make it an independent power source.”

What Isamu aimed to build was a simplified air motor or air turbine. Unlike an ordinary electric motor that spins via electromagnetic force, an air motor uses air power for rotation.

In Earth terms, such motors are often used in environments with fire hazards or extreme conditions because they do not produce sparks and are reliable in harsh environments. However, due to the complexity of rotor design for high efficiency on Earth, Isamu chose a simpler structure based on his knowledge.

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Moreover, Earth’s air motors rely on external air supplies, but the Kurifū Balls could directly manipulate surrounding air, further simplifying the structure.

“By fixing the Kurifū Balls slightly apart from the blades like this, I believe the wind will hit the blades efficiently.”

“Hmm, I see. This design ensures the wind generated is fully utilized by the blades.”

“And since the Kurifū Balls spin along with the windmill, they’ll continually receive airflow.”

“Exactly. Theoretically, this setup should work smoothly. However, since I can’t predict how the windmill will behave at high speeds, I plan to run experiments first.”

While theory provided insights, some aspects could only be verified through experimentation. Even basic adhesives had bonding mechanisms not fully understood. Thus, Isamu decided to proceed with testing the mock-up.

Using Metal Leech materials allowed for quick prototyping, another significant advantage of the material’s properties.

First, small Kurifū Balls were fixed to the blades using metal parts. These parts were inscribed with magic circles to link the activation array and function circles, effectively serving as connection cables.

Once the Kurifū Balls were fitted with wind magic stones, and the rotor shaft protruded outward, the windmill was encased and made ready. The casing featured viewing holes to observe the internal mechanisms during operation.

“Alright, let’s get this thing running.”

Isamu said.

When he touched the activation magic stone embedded in the windmill’s center, a familiar fwoom sound signaled the activation of the Kurifū Balls, which began generating wind.

The wind strength ramped up gradually—characteristic of the Kurifū Balls—and after a few seconds, the windmill started spinning. A few moments later, the rotation stabilized at the set wind strength.

“Wow, it’s spinning!”

“It’s turning at a decent speed without any issues so far.”

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“Yes, the Kurifū Balls also seem to be functioning properly.”

The three of them smiled as they watched the windmill whir, producing a distinct whoosh sound.

They observed the setup for some time and found no abnormalities. However, an issue arose when they attempted to stop the windmill.

“Ah, stopping this thing is harder than I thought…”

Isamu hesitated as he reached out to touch the activation stone to halt the system. At the windmill’s center, the magic stone continued to spin rapidly.

Even though it was only running at 10% of its maximum output as a test, the rotation speed was still significant. It wasn’t fast enough to cause serious injury but was intimidating enough to make him pause.

“What in the world are you doing…?”

“Ahaha, I didn’t think this through. Since the windmill itself rotates with the attached Kurifū Balls, it’s tricky to channel magic power separately to stop it.”

Isamu replied with a sheepish grin, eliciting an exasperated sigh from Eto.

For Isamu, who could draw magic circles, magic tools worked as long as the magic stones were connected via the circles, enabling the supply of magic power. This flexibility allowed him to place the magic stones wherever he liked.

In this case, attaching the activation magic stone to the outer casing and drawing magic circles to connect it to the rotating shaft in contact with the windmill allowed for the supply of magic power.

However, since the point of contact rotated, the magic circles would also rotate with it.

While the magic ink used to draw the circles had considerable strength once hardened, continuous rotation would quickly wear it down, severing the connections.

To prevent this, Isamu had attached a magic stone to the central part protruding from the moving windmill’s casing. However, it seemed he hadn’t considered how to address the problem of stopping the system.

“I see. At this rate of rotation, it would indeed wear out quickly…”

“Hmm, this is a problem I’ve never had to think about before.”

“Exactly. Even magic giants like golems have stationary parts. This might be the first time we’re dealing with a magic tool that moves continuously.”

Hearing Isamu’s explanation, Willem and Eto fell silent, pondering the issue.

“Um, excuse me…”

The unexpected person to break the silence was Annemarie.

“Isn’t it possible to transmit magic power wirelessly?”

“Transmit magic power wirelessly?”

Annemarie, who had been quietly observing until now, raised her hand slightly as she spoke.

“Yes. Speaking of the magic giants, golems—wasn’t the first generation capable of transmitting motion by converting it into neutral magic power and sending it wirelessly? Couldn’t that method be applied to this magic tool as well?”

“!!? That’s it! That’s the solution!! I’d always thought of it as just data to replicate movements, but you’re right—it’s neutral magic power being transmitted!”