Konron 3 sped toward the fire.
"A-Ahhh..."
Jes, the villager they had brought along, was in a panic; it appeared this was his first time flying.
"Calm down. Right now, just focus on putting out that fire," Jin said. His calm voice seemed to settle Jes slightly.
From their vantage point in the sky, the scale of the disaster was clear.
"It hasn't rained lately, so the flames have really taken hold..."
"So it seems."
The forest below was a sea of crimson flames, and smoke was already rising from a portion of the adjacent village. Though the fire reached quite high, Konron 3 flew over it without any trouble.
"The area is wider than I expected," Jin noted.
He pondered the best way to extinguish it. Without a nearby water source, water-attribute magic would be inefficient.
"Absolute Zero would certainly put it out, but..."
He didn't want to use it because it would freeze every living creature in the area solid.
"Then there's a barrier..."
He considered covering the target area with a wind-attribute barrier; the fire would die out once it consumed the oxygen inside.
"Alternatively... I could use the transporter to bring in containers of water."
He weighed these options as they approached the site and ultimately decided to modify the Absolute Zero spell. While the original Absolute Zero reduced an object's thermal energy to absolute zero, he planned to adjust the magi-formula to cap the cooling at forty degrees Celsius.
Combustion requires temperature, oxygen, and fuel. By lowering the temperature to forty degrees—well below the ignition point of the fuel—the fire would cease.
It was important to distinguish between the ignition point and the flash point. The flash point is the temperature at which a substance will ignite if exposed to a spark or flame; this mostly applies to volatile liquids. In contrast, the ignition point is the temperature at which a substance spontaneously ignites in the presence of oxygen. Sulfur, for instance, has an ignition point of 232 degrees Celsius.
Since the fire was primarily in the forest, he only needed to bring the temperature below the 250–260 degree range where wood ignites. He chose forty degrees Celsius because it was close to the body temperature of mammals, ensuring minimal harm to local wildlife. It would cause little damage to the trees and would have no ill effects on any humans who might be caught in the area. Even if there were minor side effects, Jin reasoned it was far better than burning to death.
As a side note, the ignition point of white phosphorus is thirty degrees Celsius, but it is not a substance found in large quantities in nature. Furthermore, matches once used white phosphorus because they could be struck anywhere, but they were eventually banned due to their high danger and toxicity; modern matches use red phosphorus instead.
"...Change this here, and then..."
Jin used a combination of the 'cooling' magi-craft spell and the Absolute Zero sequence. Within a minute, he had engraved a new magi-formula into a magi-crystal, rearranging the magi-sequence to suit his needs.
An improvised cooling magi-device was complete.
"Alright, Reiko. Can you use this to put out the fire?"
"Yes, Father. Please leave it to me."
Holding the bare magi-crystal, Reiko leaped out through the emergency hatch of Konron 3.
"Ah!" Jes cried out in shock.
"It's alright. Just watch," Jin said, patting the man's shoulder and pointing out the window. Jes's eyes went wide.
Reiko wasn't falling. She was flying at an altitude just slightly lower than Konron 3. Noticing Jin watching from the window, she signaled with her right hand, pointed the magi-crystal downward, and poured in her mana to wake up the device.
"Oh, it worked."
The magi-device functioned exactly as intended. In an instant, the flames within a thirty-meter radius beneath Reiko vanished. Once she confirmed the effect, Reiko surged forward at a speed that left Konron 3 behind, using the magi-device to systematically extinguish the raging fire from above. The forest fire subsided with incredible speed.
"It seems we've succeeded."
Jin breathed a sigh of relief. He decided then that he would refine this magi-device into a proper fire-extinguishing tool and provide it to various nations and the World Security Guard.
By the time Jin finished his thoughts, the fire was almost entirely gone. He waited about thirty minutes to ensure there was no reignition, but the flames appeared to be completely quenched.
"Father, I have returned."
Reiko climbed back in through the emergency hatch. A fire of that magnitude couldn't even singe her clothes, but Jin checked her over just in case. Once he was sure there were no issues, he praised her.
"Good work, Reiko. You did a great job."
"Ah...! Th-thank you very much!" Jes stammered, bowing deeply to Jin.
"Not quite finished yet. Is that your village down there?" Jin asked, pointing to a small cluster of buildings.
"A-Ah, yes!"
Nearly a third of the village was charred. There were likely many people suffering from burns.
"Edgar, land in the plaza on the outskirts of the village."
"Understood."
Konron 3 touched down while several villagers watched from a distance. When Jes was the first to step out, the fearful locals were visibly relieved. Jin and Reiko followed. Tension returned for a moment, but Jes’s shout quickly dispelled it.
"These people are the ones who put out the fire!"
"Oh!"
"Thank you so much!"
Jin raised a hand to quiet the crowd.
"We have come from the house of your lord, House Randol. The fire is out now. Are there any injured or burned? Please gather here so I can provide Healing."
"Oh, the lord sent help!"
"Bless you!"
Three men ran off into the village to spread the word. It seemed Moritz’s reputation as a lord was quite good.
After five minutes, about ten villagers arrived, all suffering from either injuries or burns. Jin confirmed that none were in critical condition and began applying healing magic. He regretted not bringing Elsa, but it was too late now.
Fortunately, no one was severely hurt. Since Jin himself wasn't an expert in high-level healing magic, he handled the minor cases and left the rest to Reiko. There were eight people with burns, one with an injury, and one with both. Since none of the burns were severe enough to have carbonized the flesh, they were able to heal them completely using the mid-level Healing spell, Heilung.
"Thank you, thank you...!"
The villagers bowed so low their foreheads nearly touched the ground.
"It's fine. Are your homes all right?"
When they informed him that no houses had been completely lost, Jin felt truly at ease.
"I will send relief supplies shortly," he promised.
With that, Jin boarded Konron 3 again and took off into the twilight sky. The villagers watched with eyes full of gratitude as the craft flew south toward the Randol Mansion.
Upon returning to the estate, Jin gave his report to Moritz.
"...And that is the situation. I apologize for acting without orders."
"No, Jin-dono, I cannot thank you enough. Please, do not apologize for taking initiative."
Moritz bowed deeply.
"Given the emergency, the damage would have been far worse if you hadn't acted immediately. So, if I send supplies now, they should be set?"
"That is correct," Jin nodded.
"Then I shall arrange for food and building materials at once."
Moritz made the decisions instantly and began organizing the logistics with practiced efficiency. Watching him work, Jin thought once again that his brother-in-law was truly an excellent lord.