Konbini Ossan Volume 2 Chapter 21 – The Old Man’s Grand Plan
Shuri-kun’s sudden scream left Marceline and Arisa with startled expressions. Well, that was quite the outburst to come out of nowhere.
But Shuri-kun remained completely overwhelmed with excitement. He clutched his head, speaking feverishly.
“What have you done, Otogin?! If this really works, I’m not exaggerating — it would rewrite the entire history of enchantment magic!
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No, not just that! It could change the world! This is a dream technology that everyone’s tried and failed to create, and now it might actually be real?!
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I seriously can’t believe it! You’re insane, old man!”
“Those words are a mix of praise and insults, but thank you nonetheless.”
“I am praising you! Or, well, I’m too shaken to know what I’m doing anymore!”
Shuri-kun went on babbling excitedly, while Marceline and Arisa remained skeptical. Their wary eyes followed his strange behavior.
“Come now, Shuri-kun. Why don’t you explain it to the others so they can understand? Let’s go ahead and reveal the answer.”
“Yeah, you’re right. I want to confirm Otogin’s thoughts directly, too.”
Clearing his throat with a small cough, Shuri-kun launched into his explanation.
“First of all, this light crystal magic stone works thanks to the combination of two skills:
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«Light Absorption» and «Illumination». You both knew that already, right?”
Both women nodded in agreement, and Shuri-kun continued, satisfied.
“The key part here is how the «Light Absorption» skill functions. It absorbs ambient light and converts it into mana.
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It’s a simple skill, but one that’s been studied for ages. People have long wondered whether they could extract energy from Light Moss.
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They could—but the results were disappointing. Light Moss itself consumes mana, and it doesn’t store much energy to begin with.
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Growing it in bulk just wasn’t worth the cost. Since the return didn’t justify the effort, research into harnessing mana from Light Moss was eventually shelved.”
So there had been prior research into this field. I hadn’t known, but now that it’s been pointed out, it makes sense that someone would’ve tried.
Light Moss that stores energy from sunlight — it’s only natural to want to use that power.
But it’s a plant. It has a limited lifespan, is costly to cultivate, and performs poorly in direct sunlight.
When you account for the weak output and the farming expenses, it just wasn’t viable.
“But Otogin’s light crystal solves all the flaws of Light Moss! You don’t have to grow it.
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Once made, it keeps functioning until it physically deteriorates. It stores more mana than Light Moss, too.
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And since it’s not a living thing, it doesn’t consume mana on its own. All the energy stored via Light Storage can be used without loss!”
Exactly. As Shuri-kun pointed out, my light crystal is a magic tool that overcomes the shortcomings of Light Moss.
Even when focusing solely on the light storage feature, it outclasses Light Moss in every way.
Which makes the idea of reusing the stored mana in practical settings far more realistic.
“So, what you’re saying is — Otogi-dono's light crystal has basically become a reusable mana stone?!” Marceline exclaimed, the realization finally clicking.
Shuri-kun nodded enthusiastically and elaborated further.
“Exactly! And here’s the thing: mana transfer between magic stones is already a mature, widely used technology.
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If we prepare a massive number of light crystals with «Light Absorption», we can keep harvesting sunlight and converting it into mana forever.
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At this point… isn’t it obvious? Even the enormous mana needed for enchantment magic becomes achievable!”
“Precisely, Shuri-kun. You nailed it.”
I confirmed with a nod, and Shuri-kun relaxed, clearly pleased.
“So that was your plan all along, Otogin!”
“Yes. Once the issue of energy supply is resolved, I no longer need to be the one performing the enchantments.
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That’s why the first step is to build a factory that generates mana from Light Storage magic stones — in short, a mana plant.
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After that, we mass-produce those stones using the energy we’ve secured. The amount of mana available to mankind will increase exponentially.”
The total usable mana surging by several orders of magnitude — it wouldn’t just revolutionize enchantment magic.
Countless other technologies, previously limited by energy constraints, would suddenly become viable.
And from those technologies, new ideas would emerge. With that momentum, technological advancement would accelerate.
It would be a world-altering breakthrough.
“That’s why I need a huge amount of money. First, to build the plant that extracts mana from the Light Stones.
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Then, using that mana, I’ll create a factory that can produce magical tools without my involvement.
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Once I remove myself from the bottleneck, we’ll be able to produce them in quantities that were previously impossible.”
“And that’s why you’re asking the country for a loan, huh?”
“Exactly.”
And just like that, we circled back to the original question — why I was seeking so much funding.
Now, I think they finally understand.
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E/N:
So basically solar energy but much more efficient?! Hot damn. It might be reaching near perpetuality! What's next? Stay tuned!
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