"You just said, 'Courtesy comes from a full stomach,' did you not?" Mariosa de Faures asked. "Those are the words of the ancient Magus, Shuuki Tsetse. How is it that you know them?"
"How, you ask...? Well, Shuuki was my father."
Upon hearing this, Mariosa’s eyes widened in sheer astonishment.
"What! You were the Magus’s Ojou-sama? Your surname was Tsetse, so I had my suspicions, but..."
"Did you know my father?" Adriana asked.
"Yes, I am a grand-disciple of your father. My own father apparently learned directly from him; I grew up hearing him boast about it since I was a small child."
"I see."
At that point, another envoy spoke up.
"My name is Jortes de Ruban. I am not a disciple, but I happened to see your father twice during my youth."
Jortes appeared to be over fifty. Adriana nodded inwardly; it made perfect sense that he might have crossed paths with Shuuki during her father's travels through the various nations.
The meeting had veered off course, but Adriana—the person herself—thought it was all for the best. The revelation had completely silenced the Garandora Kingdom’s condescending attitude toward them.
"Now then," the envoy continued, "we were dispatched here because we heard reports that this country has begun producing sophisticated golems."
"Ah, so you have come to inspect them and see their capabilities for yourselves," Adriana noted.
"To put it plainly, yes."
In reality, they had been ordered to investigate the truth behind the rapid development of a small country that was practically a vassal state.
"Continuing where we left off," the Crown Prince interjected, "the plan is to use golems specialized for simple labor to drastically improve our efficiency."
The Crown Prince spoke with practiced ease. Adriana realized his earlier wink had been a signal—he had been gauging the perfect moment to make this public. His declaration surprised not only the Garandora envoys but also the senior officials of the Garandia Kingdom.
"I will let the developer explain the details," the Crown Prince prompted.
Adriana stepped forward. "Golems do not tire. They do not require Sleep. They possess immense strength. There is no reason not to utilize these traits, is there?"
Whenever the conversation turned to her field of expertise, Adriana became quite talkative.
"But golems are expensive..." someone countered.
"We will use Stone Golems," Adriana replied firmly.
"A Stone Golem cannot perform precise movements!"
"They can, to a sufficient degree. It is simply that the methods used until now have been inefficient."
As they listed difficulty after difficulty, Adriana overturned every objection, speaking as if the solutions were the simplest things in the world.
"...I see."
"Indeed, the benefits seem immense."
"Even so, I wonder if the reality matches the theory," the envoy challenged. "I would like you to create one of these Stone Golems tomorrow."
"Understood."
Adriana was not speaking idly.
The next day, after gathering low-quality magi-stones, Adriana demonstrated the creation process before a watching crowd. First, she lined up magi-stones about the size of pickling stones and used Fusion to merge them into a single mass.
"O-Ohhh!?"
"By doing this, we can effectively utilize even low-quality magi-stones," she explained.
She then carved a magi-formula into the body, completing the golem.
"...And that is the process. What do you think?"
"U-Ummm."
The bogan left over after mining magi-crystals and high-grade magi-stones consisted of low-quality magi-stone that had previously been discarded as useless. Transforming this waste into material for Stone Golems was a massive innovation.
"Of course, since the material quality is low, they cannot handle complex orders. Their primary uses would be simple tasks like tilling fields or mining ore."
"No, no, that is more than enough to replace human labor!"
Since they could work day and night without rest, their efficiency was roughly tripled. When combined with the fact that their strength was three to four times that of a human, a single unit could perform approximately ten times the work of a person.
"This is truly a revolution."
"I am thoroughly impressed. Truly, you are the Magus’s daughter."
With that, the summit’s objectives of building friendship and exploring ways to increase national strength concluded as a resounding success.
＊ ＊ ＊
"...Amazing, amazing! The Predecessor really was incredible!"
Even as a listener, Marikka found Adriana Barbora Tsetse’s exploits heartening.
"It seems the Predecessor enriched and developed the Garandia Kingdom in that manner," Jin said.
"I was so nervous for her at first, but she met people who finally understood her. I'm so relieved," Elsa added.
"By the way, advanced versions of those Stone Golems are still mining ore deep underground on Hourai Island today."
"I-Is that so?...Um, they've been moving for a thousand years!?" Marikka’s eyes went wide.
Jin nodded. "That's what makes them so remarkable. They divert surplus magical energy to maintain their structural integrity. Quite literally, they keep moving as long as their magical energy doesn't run out."
Jin then continued the story.
＊ ＊ ＊
Years passed, and the year was now 2371. Adriana was thirty-one years old.
Her magi-craft classroom had grown to over two hundred students, and more than a dozen graduates had already completed their studies. These graduates had entered the service of the royal family or high-ranking nobles, putting their skills to work for the nation.
Some even dreamed of making a name for themselves in foreign lands. The name of the Magi Craft Meister, Adriana Barbora Tsetse, was now known both at home and abroad.
Then, on a day in May.
King Harodolf Silage Garandia, who had favored and heavily relied upon magi engineers and magi craftmen like Adriana, passed away. The Crown Prince, Iars Lanece Garandia, immediately took over the affairs of state. His formal enthronement would not take place until the three-year mourning period concluded.
"Why is it three years?" Adriana asked Sane.
In her experience, the mourning period in other countries was usually one year.
"It takes about three years for a child to no longer require constant care, does it not? Therefore, to repay that debt of grace, the mourning period for a parent is three years."
"I see..."
As someone who deeply respected and loved her father, Adriana found the reason perfectly acceptable.
As the new head of state, the Crown Prince continued his father’s policies while introducing his own initiatives. One such goal was the reduction of the price of magic tools. Under the policy of making magic tools affordable for the general public, Adriana immersed herself in research every day.
"A way to make them cheaper... According to what Father taught me, it starts with cost reduction... That means mass production, and... what else was there?"
Until then, the only magic tool commoners could barely afford was the magi-lamp. Adriana tried creating a bare-minimum magi-lamp, stripped of decorations and dimming functions, but it wasn't what she truly wanted.
"Let's see... was it 'you get what you pay for'?" Adriana recalled the words of her father, Shuuki. "He also spoke of the 'division of labor,' didn't he?"
The division of labor involved breaking the manufacturing process into individual tasks, with different people handling each stage. Since the work assigned to one person was simple, they could master it quickly, and tasks could be assigned based on a worker's natural aptitude.
"I see. Let's try it."
She consulted Sane, and the idea was adopted immediately. By this point, Adriana’s influence in the palace was considerable.
"Hoho! You say productivity has increased more than tenfold?" Crown Prince Iars laughed with satisfaction upon hearing the report. "Adriana-dono is truly marvelous. The Former King’s wise decision to employ her deserves every bit of praise."
Over the next ten years, the Garandia Kingdom would see its national power grow by leaps and bounds.