Chapter 596: An Alternative Approach
Chapter 596: Another Way
“Ah, yes, Nick. “
Tennyson replied with some frustration.
“How so? My family …… was involved a bit with the rebellion a while back.”
“Wow!” Nick’s mouth opened into an O, full of surprise, “I’m surprised you weren’t in prison …… some people I know.”
“Ahhhh, as usual, you can’t talk.”
Tennyson knew that his opponent had no bad intentions, so he didn’t take the somewhat offensive remark to heart.
He took the initiative to explain, “The lord asked me to study the mysteries of the changing nature of steel, and if I succeed I will be able to pardon me and my family.”
“Ah, that’s quite fortunate.” Nick patted him on the shoulder and smiled, “I’m sure with your talent in chemistry, you should be able to get it done quickly.”
Tennyson shook his head with a bitter face, “There’s been a little progress, but it’s stalled.”
Nick frowned, he had never seen Tennyson distressed like this, the previous Tennyson was a guy who was always innocent and carefree.
“Are you asking for dinner? Whole hell I’m going to, come on, talk to me slowly.”
In the cafeteria of the academy, Tennyson told Nick about the progress of the experiment, and the problems he was having.
“You see, the problem right now is this, we want to isolate the monomers of combustibles, not the fire kind of form, but the temperature is not known how to reach it.”
The food in front of Tennyson was barely touched in one bite as he patronized the narrative.
Nick wiggled his knife and fork, sticking the tines of his fork in and out of the mashed potatoes on his plate, patiently listening to Tennyson finish his sentence.
“Maybe!” He forked up a bite of mashed potatoes and brought it to his mouth, “I can help you with that.”
“Oh?” A bright light abruptly glowed in Tennyson’s eyes, could this classmate in front of him, who didn’t get along with chemistry and alchemy, be able to help?
“I’m …… now,” Nick put down his fork and traced a circular trajectory in the air in front of him with both hands, “making a special kind of lens.”
“Lens?”
“Yes, a lens. You know the magnifying glass?”
“Ah, a magnifying glass? I know.” Tennyson nodded.
“In my company here at …… I’d say mine, heh heh. We generally call it a convex lens.” Nick continued, “Convex lenses have a very special property, you know?”
“Doesn’t it just magnify the pattern?” Tennyson was a little puzzled.
“Did you ever burn ants with it when you were a kid?”
“Oh, you mean that?”
“Yes. Why does a convex lens burn ants? Because it converges the sunlight that was previously dispersed into a single point, and the heat from the sunlight is converged into a single charge.”
Nick explained the nature of the convex lens to Tennyson thus.
“You …… mean that?” Tennyson perked up, Nick’s description giving him hope for a solution to his dilemma.
“Yes, with the power of sunlight!” Nick nodded and said with immense confirmation, he pointed to the sky, “The sun, every day, provides endless heat to everything in the world, if even a small part of it could be gathered, it would produce terrifying heat.”
“But a magnifying glass …… convex lens so small a ……” Tennyson was suddenly a little skeptical.
“We could try making a bigger lens!” Nick said with uncanny certainty, “As long as we can keep enlarging the lens …… I mean in the shape it’s in, there’s theoretically an infinite amount of sunlight we could converge on.”
Hearing Nick’s words, Tennyson’s heart surged as he looked at the other man and said, “I beg you to help me make such a lens!”
Nick smiled, “Of course, my friend. I’m honored to be involved in an interdisciplinary study.”
—
Thumping ground hurried footsteps sounded down the hallway. Shortly afterward, the door to Paul’s office slammed open.
“Oh, Bernard! Is it something urgent?” Without looking up-he was now reviewing a document-Paul judged from the sound of the footsteps that it was his secretary, and that he was the only one who could open his office door without knocking.
“Lord Graiman! The Exploratory Team …… Eastern Exploratory Team is back!” Bernard replied, coming up for air.
Paul drew himself to his feet, his heart filled with great joy.
“I want to meet the members of the Exploration Team immediately.”
Bernard said, “I think they are already on their way to Lakewood, the messenger from Port Fullan told me that the Quest Team will send out men to come to Lakewood after a short rest in the harbor, and I think that will include the captain, Mr. Nigel.”
Paul clasped his hands in excitement.
After more than three hours of waiting in an anxious mood, he finally waited for the men he wanted to see, five in all, Nigel, his first mate, the other two captains, and Ensign Allen, the flagship’s gunnery officer, Ensign Allen of the Navy.
“Lord Graiman, my crew was in so much need of relaxation that I took it upon myself to give them a vacation, I don’t think you’ll blame them for not coming to Lakewood to pay you a visit.”
Nigel told him with a smile, vicariously stubbled from when he had set out to think.
“Oh, of course!” Paul said, “The warriors need their rest.”
He patted Alan on the shoulder, “You’ve grown taller, Ensign!”
Alan saluted him, “You’ve grown taller as well, Lord Graiman.”
Hahahaha! The crowd burst into laughter.
After exchanging pleasantries with the other two captains as well, Paul greeted them and sat them down.
“Now, let’s ask you all to tell me a good story about your experiences in the far east.”
All five men took their seats in the lord’s parlor, and the servants served them delicious wine.
Nigel, as the chief commander of the exploring party, told the story of their journey slowly.
“We sailed the ship, crossed the great peninsula of Nassar, where the Order is located, and continued our voyage to the far east ……”
“It’s a vast expanse there, and talking to me our exchanges with merchants on shore, it turns out that the Gabella Empire is not far inland, and I swear that no Aldorian has ever reached Gabella’s southern flanks by sea in a ship.”
“We continued sailing east and came across a narrow isthmus ……”
“Isthmus?” Paul asked.
“Yes, like a strait separating two lands, an isthmus is a narrow strip of land separating two oceans.”
Paul asked, “Or a narrow strip of land connecting two continents?”
“You could say that.” Nigel nodded.
He continued, “The people there call the southern land that the isthmus connects – the Emerald Forest, and yes, that is covered with dense forest. Do you know what lives there?”
“What?” Paul’s curiosity was piqued.
“Elves!”
“Elves?” Paul jumped.
This was the second fantastical race he’d identified as existing in the world, after the dwarves. Oh, and here we’re talking about civilized races, those disgusting kobolds don’t count.
(End of chapter)