Princess's Struggle for Survival-Chapter 193: Flying Airship?

The magical devices currently used in daily life mainly consist of two parts. The first is various types of crystal stones that serve as energy sources or raw materials, such as fire-attribute crystal stones for heating, ice-attribute crystal stones for freezing and preserving food, and water-attribute crystal stones for providing clean water.

Mages who have reached a certain level can use their mental power to draw magic circles, thereby creating their own unique spells.

In the study of magical devices, this ability can be used to imbue crystal stones with various properties, such as heating upon touch, adjusting the output scale of the crystal stone based on pressure, and various special effects.

Everything one can imagine can be achieved through magic circles.

This is why some people consider the study of magical devices to be equivalent to the study of magic circles. The latter is indeed the soul of magical devices, but it is not everything.

In the author’s opinion, the study of magic circles mainly focuses on the transformation of a mage’s mental power into magical energy and the arrangement of various elemental particles.

The knowledge of magic circles used in magical devices is actually about the transmission and planning of existing energy...

Seeing the long passage below, Astrid sighed inwardly and turned to look at Charlotte, who was sitting nearby.

The countess, whom a certain blonde girl regarded as a formidable rival, sat upright with her legs together.

A pair of gold-rimmed glasses rested on her high nose bridge, and her black hair cascaded down her back, making her appear elegant and intellectual.

"Lady Charlotte, the overall space in the publication is limited. The purpose must be clear, and we can’t diverge too much like in a classroom," Astrid said.

Charlotte’s gaze followed Astrid’s slender finger to the parchment. The part Astrid pointed out was about her discussion on the essence of magical device studies and magic circle studies.

This was a point she, as a professor of magic circle studies, had always wanted to clarify. However, it indeed didn’t fit the main theme here.

The purpose of her article was to make the nobles realize that the continued development of magical devices would be beneficial to them, not merely to explain or preach.

After a moment of hesitation, Charlotte said softly, "Then... should we delete this part?"

Astrid nodded, "Yes, delete it."

"But these aren’t completely useless. We can publish them later when needed, along with some targeted interpretations. The effect should be better."

The content of the early articles should be slightly more concise, making it easier for readers to follow.

After listening to Astrid’s words, Charlotte pursed her lips and spoke with a hint of regret, "Alright, what about the rest?"

"Let me take a look."

After discussing the crystal stones that serve as the driving force, the second part is the main body of the magical device.

To put it simply, this is the external structure that everyone can see, such as water pipes, bathtubs that provide even heating rather than single-point heating, and lever structures that can remotely activate light-attribute crystal stones.

Some of these main body devices do not require magic and can be completed with simple or complex manual work.

However, others need to be engraved with magic runes to assist the flow of elemental particles, which requires a lot of knowledge in magical forging.

If the crystal stones are considered the soul of the magical device, then the specific functional structures are its flesh and bones. The two complement each other and are indispensable.

After Astrid finished reading the entire structure of the magical device, she roughly knew how much work she needed to do to revise it.

Charlotte had written too meticulously. Readers only need a rough understanding and don’t require such a large amount of information.

Just like those noble ladies, they probably only want to know if the magical air conditioner in their room, which uses ice-attribute crystals, can have a remote control or a sleep timer function.

They don’t care about the internal logic of its operation.

"Lady Charlotte, I’ll help refine the text. You can see if it’s suitable later."

"Alright, I’ll wait."

"If it’s okay... you don’t have to just wait..."

After saying that, Astrid took out a small booklet and handed it to Charlotte, speaking softly, "Lady Charlotte, could you help me check this?"

Charlotte took the booklet and saw the name "Lyra" written in elegant handwriting. She casually brushed a strand of black hair and asked with a hint of confusion, "...What is this?"

Astrid rubbed the quill pen a few times, dipping the tip into the ink, and said softly, "These are some notes I wrote for Lyra about magic studies. Later, I also gave them to Amalia for reference. Elise thought they were fine, but she suggested I show them to someone more professional."

"Lady Charlotte, you’re one of the people closest to me, and you’ve reached the level of an Arcanist level mage. You perfectly fit this requirement, so I wanted to ask you to take a look."

Astrid was confident that these basic magic courses wouldn’t have any mistakes. Lyra’s learning had indeed been more effective after following her advice. However, just to be safe, it was better to have a powerful mage review them.

"I didn’t expect little Astr to do all this," Charlotte said with a smile as she opened Lyra’s notebook and began reading carefully.

Time passed minute by minute. Charlotte listened to the rustling sound of the quill pen moving across the paper while flipping through the magic notes.

Her long, smooth legs, clad in thin, transparent stockings, were crossed at some point, occasionally swaying slightly with the turning of pages, drawing small, graceful arcs.

As the content continued to catch her eye, Charlotte’s gaze gradually deepened.

She glanced at Astrid, who was focused beside her.

The latter’s small, delicate ears peeked out from her silver hair, along with half of her flawless, snow-white face, which looked particularly beautiful in the sunlight.

Turning back to the notebook, the annotations inside didn’t seem like something a beginner in magic could understand.

But then again, Astrid had been able to dismantle magic and obtain an activation-type magic circle with less than the strength of an apprentice, successfully applying it to perfume.

This talent far surpassed that of Fanya, so it wasn’t too surprising that she had such insights.

After finishing the notes, Astrid had also completed her revisions. Seeing her put down the quill pen, Charlotte said softly, "If these annotations were placed elsewhere, I might have believed they were made by a professional magic teacher."

Some of the opinions and views here far exceeded the level of apprentices and spellcasters. Even some archmages might not have as much understanding in certain areas as Astrid did.

"The actual concept of the Ignition Spell involves a small branch of magic circles, but no book has ever explained this basic spell in detail. How did little Astr think of it?"

Her views were somewhat too advanced, and Charlotte was genuinely curious.

Hearing the countess’s question, Astrid remained silent for a moment before answering, "I mainly combined the magic incantations with the actual sensations of casting, and after reading some books on magic circle studies in advance, I inferred those things that could barely be considered tricks."

Charlotte pondered for a moment and then said softly, "Little Astr’s talent is even higher than I imagined..."

With exceptional comprehension, high elemental affinity, and only slightly weak mental power reserves, Astrid was a natural-born material for learning magic.

"With some modifications and additions, this notebook could perhaps be used as a textbook for primary learning."

Adding thoughts and expansions on future magic circles to primary magic learning could help students solidify their foundation while also giving them a head start on their next course objectives.

Unfortunately, the academy is very strict. If we want to promote the development of basic magic studies, it’s unlikely we’ll see any progress in the next few years.

Thinking about how her proposal to slow down the teaching pace was rejected by the academy head, Charlotte sighed softly and returned Lyra’s notebook to Astrid.

Whether it’s magical devices or the admission standards for the magic academy, everything seems to be stuck in a quagmire.

She tried to break free but found resistance everywhere. Conservative forces are rampant within the empire, and these people dare not slack off even a bit.

They avoid related topics like the plague, fearing that someone might take a slice of their cake.

Seeing the helplessness hidden in Charlotte’s tea-colored eyes, Astrid didn’t say much. She silently took the notebook and asked Charlotte one more question.

"So... is there no problem?"

"Yes, be confident. little Astr, you’ve done a great job."

Originally, Charlotte had thought about giving Astrid some extra tutoring to ensure she could keep up with the teaching pace when she enrolled next year. But now, it seemed she had worried too much.

With Astrid’s level, passing the entrance exam would be more than enough. Most of the first-year courses would probably be things she didn’t need to learn.

Hearing this, Astrid looked at Charlotte and smiled slightly.

"I’ve always been quite confident..."

"...Lady Charlotte, take a look at the new draft. I’ve deleted and revised some things and added some future prospects for magical devices."

Picking up the parchment on the table, since most of it was her own writing, Charlotte read it much faster this time.

However, her expression changed more quickly as well, shifting from initial confusion to understanding, then to surprise, and finally to complexity.

"I believe it won’t be long before a hair dryer for quick drying is successfully developed, and a more precise toaster will appear in everyone’s pastry kitchen."

"The most advanced wind-assisted carriage will be unveiled within a few years. The wind on both sides of the carriage can adjust its speed and direction according to road conditions, reducing the bumps caused by uneven gravel roads and making travel smoother for everyone."

"Looking further ahead, perhaps one day in the future, magical devices will help us conquer the skies. For example, a massive airship could be built, powered by dozens or even hundreds of wind-attribute crystal stones, allowing those who haven’t reached the level of Arcanist or Crusader to board the airship and soar into the sky, overlooking the golden and splendid imperial capital from above."

Reading all the way to the end, Charlotte pointed to the large blank space Astrid had left on the format sheet and asked gently, "What’s this for?"

"A design diagram," Astrid replied, then added, "A design diagram for the airship."

It just so happened that Amalia was particularly good at drawing objects and buildings. Having her fill in for Mary, who wasn’t as skilled in drawing objects, would ensure the quality of the illustrations while also giving the little girl some psychological comfort.

After all, what Amalia needed most at the moment wasn’t necessarily tangible care, but rather a sense of being needed.

She might have always longed to do something for herself, achieving a mutual exchange of emotional and material value.

"..."Charlotte blinked, her pink lips slightly parted before quickly pursing again. For a moment, she didn’t know what to say.

"Little Astr, the things you’ve written about later, aren’t they a bit too far-fetched?"

The hair dryer and toaster could be developed in the near future, but the subsequent wind-assisted carriage and airship would require a lot of work and couldn’t be completed in a short time.

"They are far-fetched, and that’s exactly why they can keep people’s interest..."

Astrid took a sip of hot tea, crossing her left leg over her right. The smooth black stockings at her knees stretched slightly, revealing a hint of skin.

"Who would refuse a magical device that could take them into the sky, especially those born without magical talent, destined never to become archmages, yet unwilling to toil on the path of knighthood?"

"First, offer them an irresistible condition, even if we can’t fulfill it immediately."

In the past, this kind of behavior would have been called "selling dreams," but Astrid felt no guilt.

Firstly, those who were being sold the dream hadn’t actually put in any labor; they might only express support verbally. frёeωebɳovel.com

Secondly, unlike some corporate bosses, Astrid genuinely had plans in this direction. After carefully reading Charlotte’s article, she believed it had strong feasibility.

"Little Astr, what you’re saying does make sense..."

After all, Charlotte was good friends with Elowen, who came from the commercial powerhouse of the Velmont family. Through frequent interactions, Charlotte naturally understood some of the rules of business operations.

"And Lady Charlotte, have you noticed that all the examples I’ve given are magical devices that only nobles could possibly enjoy?" Astrid said softly.

Commoners couldn’t afford hair dryers and toasters. Even if these items were sold at a low price, they were still luxury furniture that only nobles would use.

These farmers and cart drivers, who worked from sunrise to sunset, wouldn’t be willing to spend money on such delicate items.

They were still struggling to make ends meet, and being able to drink an extra bottle of ale was already a great fortune.

Not to mention improved carriages and airships, these things would be even further out of their reach.

"Lady Charlotte, don’t forget our goal. First, we need to win the understanding of the nobles, gaining policy support and financial investment from the empire."

"Once we’ve secured these, then we can think about how to tackle the challenges in magical device studies, reduce energy consumption, lower usage costs, and truly make them accessible to the people."

Attempting a sweeping reform under the current circumstances is simply impossible. We must make temporary compromises.

At least until Amalia ascends to the throne.