Chapter 337 – How to Stop Mjolnir’s Lightning #3

Earl Harold was watching me with a puzzled expression as well.
I was told to express my opinions ‘freely’ only in words so as not to offend the sympathy of the meeting participants, but it probably did not mean that they were really free to speak freely.

‘In fact, we played the role of a sack of barley borrowed from this meeting.’

Sit still, and when Delia and the owner of the Magic Tower come up with good opinions, follow them.
That was what the adventurer’s guild that Bella and I belonged to had to do.

Now I’m breaking the tacit flow of the meeting and stepping out to give my opinion.

“Lu, Luke? You have something to say too? I’m grateful for your opinion, but I’d better listen to the words of the Mage Tower Lord first…”
“Isn’t this an obvious opinion anyway? At best, it’s a plan to mobilize all the wizards and nuns and put large barriers on major buildings in the city. But barriers can’t completely block Mjolnir’s lightning.”

The best solution other wizards could come up with was, after all, a barrier.
The plan is to block Mjolnir’s lightning by covering the city with a barrier with magic and divine power.
Just in case, I asked James directly.

“Isn’t the barrier plan I’ve been preparing for correct? Master of the Mage.”
“I see. I don’t know what the successor of Nyingard will do, but our Mage Tower adopted a method of using barriers. If we mobilize all the supermen in the city to deploy the barriers, wouldn’t we be able to withstand Mjolnir’s lightning for a little bit?”
“Exactly how long can you hold out? Are you sure you can hold out until reinforcements from Nyingard arrive?”
“That… I don’t know exactly how long it will take, but it will be very difficult. Even if we succeed in holding out, most of Yoensuu’s buildings will be struck by lightning and destroyed. Think of it as being destroyed.”

Mjolnir possessed the power to pin hundreds of lightning strikes to the target per hour.
The barrier plan is unlikely to succeed, but even if it does, Yoensuu will suffer a devastating blow.
With just such a plan, it could not be seen that the city was protected.

“Delia, what plans do you have?”

When I asked Delia, an answer similar to that of the Magic Tower Lord came back.

“Huh…? Ninegard has a plan similar to that of the Mage Tower Master. Isn’t there only barrier magic to block thunderbolts? You can use other protection-type magic, but in the end, barrier magic is the best to block physical impact.”
“I have a better way to stop lightning strikes.”
“Does it make sense that there is a better way?”

Delia looked at me with her curious eyes.

“I wonder what Luke has been thinking. First, tell me your plans.”

James also took the attitude that he would listen to my plan.

“Are you saying that the archmage candidate devised a way to stop Mjolnir? That sounds like a lot of fun. Let me explain.”
“Thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak. First, I will share the necessary materials with you.”

I handed out the blueprints for the obelisk to the heads of each faction, one by one.
The blueprints raised by telekinesis flew through the sky and landed on the table.

Having learned telekinesis magic is convenient at times like this.

“What I have shared is the blueprint for an ancient artifact called ‘The Obelisk.’ You can say that it is a magical lightning rod built by the gods in Asgard. If you build the obelisk, you can induce 100% of the lightning that falls on the city, and it can withstand even Mjolnir’s lightning. You can. The obelisk can completely neutralize Mjolnir’s lightning.”

There were some attendees who couldn’t understand the blueprint, so I explained the function of the obelisk directly with my own mouth.
Earl Harold heard the explanation and immediately spoke to me.

“Oh, really? You said you could protect the city just by building this steeple? Is it realistic to be able to induce 100% lightning strikes?”
“Yes. This artifact called the obelisk is a lightning rod designed by the gods.”
“I can’t believe I just heard about it… There’s no way a person who is ignorant of magic like me could understand it even by looking at the artifact blueprint.”

Earl Harold grunted at the blueprints and gave up on interpreting them.
Instead, Count Harold consulted the other two wizards at the meeting.

“Delia-sama, James-sama. What do you guys think about this obelisk? Can it really stop Mjolnir’s lightning?”

Delia and James were just staring at the plans for the obelisk.
I don’t know what the heck you’re thinking.

In the first place, did those two know about the ancient artifact called the Obelisk?
It would take a really long time to explain whether obelisks actually exist.

Fortunately, I didn’t have to explain the function of the obelisk at length.
Delia and James already knew about the obelisk.

“This…Isn’t it a legendary artifact that can only be found in records? I know what an obelisk is. We, Ningard, have had interactions with the Celestials in the distant past. A blueprint identical to this one is also stored in the temple’s warehouse.”

The blueprints for the obelisk are also in Ninggard?
That was the first thing I found out.

“Once upon a time, the mages of Ninggard attempted to build obelisks on the ground as well. That’s why they received the blueprints for the obelisks from the celestial gods. They failed to build them due to lack of resources.”
“I know what an obelisk is. I came to know about it naturally while studying the civilization of the Celestial World in the past. When I visited the temple of Nyingard, I saw the same blueprint. It is said that there is an artifact in the Celestial World that can block any lightning strike. He said. If we can build an obelisk, we can easily block Mjolnir’s lightning.”

Delia and James not only knew about the obelisk, but had seen the same blueprints.
As it turned out, it seems that the ancients had already tried to build an obelisk on the ground in the distant past.
That record has survived to this day and is known to Ninggard and the Mage’s Tower.

“M-Can you stop it? Then I’ll have to build an obelisk right away! If it’s budget, the Northern Kingdom can cover it as much as we can, so please ask for it!”

Earl Harold was very excited and chattered.
As the lord of the city, he must be happy to hear that there is a means to completely block Mjolnir’s lightning.
But it was still too early for him to be happy.

“…If only we could build obelisks on the ground. With such an amazing artifact, why hasn’t even a trace of an obelisk been found on the ground until now? All attempts to build obelisks have failed.”

The echo of James’ voice shattered Earl Harold’s hopes neatly.
Master James of the Mage Tower was sighing heavily as he looked at his blueprint.

“Luke.”
“Yes, Lord of the Tower.”
“Do you know what materials are essential for making an obelisk? No, have you ever looked at the blueprints properly?”
“Of course I’ve seen it properly. In order to create the obelisk, Orichalcum, the metal of the gods, must be entered.”
“It looks like you’ve looked through the blueprints. Then I wonder why you brought something like this to the conference room…”

The wrinkles on James’ forehead deepened.
James raised his head and looked at me.
James’ expression now was like that of an old professor at university looking at an idiot student pathetically.

“Orichalcum is a metal that does not exist on the ground. Orichalcum, which has tremendous heat resistance, is essential for the lightning absorber of the obelisk. If you build an obelisk without Orichalcum, it will be destroyed by Mjolnir’s lightning.”
“Exactly.”
“Then what the hell are you talking about? You’re going to build an obelisk when you don’t even have Orichalcum? Can you call it an obelisk? Are you going to blow up the materials and budget needed to build it?”

James’ questions driving me down came like a rapid-fire cannon.

“Let’s listen to the story first. I’m thinking of transforming Orichalcum. Orichalcum is a material that was created through a fusion reaction between the magic and divine power that permeated metal. If there is, then Orichalcum can be synthesized even on the ground.”

Shall we explain in more detail?
Orichalcum was briefly introduced as ‘a metal that is created by artificially injecting divine power’, but mana had to be injected in order to transform Orichalcum.

The birth process of Orichalcum is roughly like this.
If the fused energy of magic and divine power permeates metal, that is Orichalcum.
This fusion did not mean simply mixing, but meant that magic and divine power were combined in an atomic unit.

The celestial world is a region where magic and divine power are far more abundant than on the ground.
Orichalcum was born when the magic and divine power that permeated the metal for thousands of years were fused with a rare chance.

The fused energy is called Holy Magic, and if you can create this Holy Magic, you can create Orichalcum even on the ground.
The difficulty of the fusion experiment was insanely high, so no one was able to synthesize it.

“So, your plan is to conduct a holy magic fusion experiment from now on?

I want to do a holy magic fusion experiment!
Having correctly understood my plan, James reacted with a bewildered expression.

“Haha…”

James, who let out a dejected laugh, soon hardened his expression and spoke to me.

“Sounds like something! The Holy Magic Convergence Experiment is a project that has failed every year even in the Mage Tower! Nygard’s rune mages have never been as successful as the Holy Magic Fusion Experiment! Am I wrong, Director of the Delia Research Center?”

Delia answered James’ question.

“It’s not wrong. Experiments to create holy magic artificially have failed every time in Ningard. I’m spending money every year, but…”
“It’s the same with the Mage’s Tower, where we’re pouring in our budget. That’s why we know how far-sighted this experiment is. It’s impossible to make the experiment a success in just 9 days.”

Even before James heard my detailed plan, he concluded that the holy magic fusion experiment was impossible.
It sounded like it wasn’t even worth listening to the plan.

“It was a waste of time. After all, even a candidate for the archmage is just a wandering wizard?
“It’s not an empty dream. Sacred magic can be created by human hands… But are you just ignoring me as a wandering wizard?”

What did the wandering wizard just say?
Did that old man openly dissing me for being a wandering wizard?

“…Kuhm.”

James sighed when I argued.
He seemed to know that he had said something rude, but he seemed unwilling to apologize.

“I didn’t mean to ignore it, I just said it because I thought that since I was a wandering wizard, I wouldn’t know how difficult the experiment was. Isn’t it true that wandering magic knowledge is relatively lacking?”
“Under…”

If that’s not ignoring it, what is it?
Is it the Mage Master’s job to personally mock the wandering wizard?

I couldn’t do it anymore because I was getting angry and angry.
It was when I was trying to properly argue with the owner of the mage tower.

“…I can’t just listen and pass it on.”

Suddenly, Delia’s voice rang out, and I had to stop her words.

“James, Master of the Mage Tower, you’re being rude. You’re a wandering wizard, so you’re not going to listen to the plan? Is that what you’re going to say to a junior wizard who’s attending a meeting to save the city?”

Delia, who seemed like an immature kid, was showing off her charisma that overwhelmed the entire conference room at this moment.
An unimaginable sense of intimidation emanated from her slender body.

“Ugh… De, Director Delia? That’s not what I meant…”

It was at this moment that James was about to make an excuse.
Delia kicked off her ground and got up, then she let out a cool roar at James.

“Shut up!! Stuck old man!!”

In an instant, the faces of the attendees in the conference room were colored with astonishment.
Now, Delia was openly shouting at the Master of the Magic Tower.

Only for me!

‘… Did he eat something wrong?’

I don’t know why Delia is doing this all of a sudden!
I shouted so violently that I, the person who should be angry, calmed down.
I was relieved of my anger because I openly insulted him for being a stuffy old man.
In other words, insulting personality was countered with insulting personality.

“Kuh…!”

James’ face turned white after being criticized.
The enraged Delia’s words continued.

“Even though Luke does not belong to Ninggard, he is a rune mage like me. Insulting Luke is the same as insulting a rune mage. As the heir to Ningard, I cannot overlook your words and actions.”

Delia’s voice, which was quite chilly, reached James.

“Right now, on the honor of the Master of the Mage, apologize! To the Rune Mage you insulted.”

Even the mage lord could not ignore the words of Delia, the successor of Ninggard.
Delia is also pretty smart to bet on the fact that I’m a rune mage.
In Ninggard, we will never tolerate any damage to the honor of our members.

In the end, James had no choice but to formally apologize to me.

“No, I apologize for the rudeness, Luke. This old man made a mistake.”

The 120-year-old old tower master gave up his stubbornness and apologized to me.

“Don’t do that from now on. Stuffed old man.”
“…I see.”

I couldn’t help but calm down when I saw James with his head down.

I don’t know what Delia was thinking when she accepted the apology on my behalf.
Wasn’t that little boy an eccentric character that I liked the more he was in trouble?
I thought you would fan my anger by calling me a crap again.

“Here’s Bella.”
“Why?”

I asked Bella about Delia’s psychology.
Bella was Delia’s childhood friend, so she must know something.

“Do you know why Delia is like that? Why is she suddenly mad at me for swearing at me?”
“Uh, well? I don’t know, noona either. I was thinking of arguing with the owner of the Mage Tower, but I felt embarrassed for Delia because she was like that. Did she get attached to you because she kept fighting with you?”

But Bella knew nothing.
Bella, who was trying to be just as angry as me, she was just reacting with embarrassment now.
Even her childhood friend, Bella, seemed unable to understand Delia’s psychology.

“…Huh.”

Delia was still glaring fiercely at the master of her mage tower.

Anyway, should I say thank you?
After the meeting, I’ll have a talk with that half-elf.