I've Inherited the Summoning Skill, So I'm Going to Try to Master It! - Episode 30: In Other Words, Let Sleeping Gods Lie

Episode 30: In Other Words, Let Sleeping Gods Lie  

Legendary weapons were crafted by the gods. So it’s understandable that they’d be considered OOPArts (out-of-place artifacts). However, it seems that even aside from those, ancient civilization was more advanced than our current one.  

Perhaps the reason why Brother Gilliam was so obsessed with the Mukube Vase was that modern technology simply couldn’t reproduce it.  

“Professor, do you know about the Mukube Vase?”  

“The Mukube Vase?! Oh my, oh my! Of course! I never expected Prince Rufus to be familiar with it—how wonderful! I’ve heard that one is said to exist somewhere in the royal treasury. Have you, by any chance, seen it yourself?”  

“Well… you could say that I have.”  

Though to be precise, what I saw was a Mukube Vase practically preserved in its original state. It was retrieved from Tora-chan. I had no idea whether there was one in the treasury.  

Judging from his reaction, the professor probably hadn’t seen the real thing before.  

“Professor, you’ve never seen one in person?”  

“No, unfortunately not. I’ve only heard that they’re kept in the mansions of high-ranking nobles. It’s one of my greatest wishes to lay eyes on one before I die.”  

The professor’s distant gaze spoke volumes.  

Apparently, among enthusiasts, the Mukube Vase was considered a legendary artifact. If I showed him one now, he might just faint on the spot.  

Yeah… better not.  

“It must be incredibly valuable, then. But in that case, why not simply recreate the Mukube Vase with modern technology?”  

“Recreate it? With modern technology?! Impossible! It cannot be replicated! The Mukube Vase possesses a special power, you see. Are you not aware?”  

“No, I’m not.”  

Oh. He’s looking at me like I’m some kind of fraud.  

Well, he’s not wrong—I’m neither a history buff nor an antiques enthusiast.  

Still, this professor… he’s seriously nerdy. He reminds me of Brother Gilliam.  

Wait—could he be Brother Gilliam’s mentor?  

“Flowers placed inside a Mukube Vase last far longer than usual. However, we still don’t know why.”  

…Wait.  

Doesn’t that sound like there’s a bunch of copper coins inside?  

If the vase’s interior was coated with a glaze that emitted metal ions, it could easily prevent bacteria from growing in the water. That alone would extend the flowers’ lifespan.  

But of course, I wasn’t about to point that out.  

“That’s fascinating! What other incredible things existed in ancient times?”  

“Let’s see… I’ve heard of boxes that produced wind without the use of magic, and lanterns that emitted light as bright as the Light spell. There were all sorts of devices that seemed to replace magic entirely.”  

Ah, I see.  

So electric fans and flashlights, huh?  

In other words, ancient civilization had technology at least on par with modern science.  

Which means…  

There might be appliances buried inside Tora-chan.  

“Have none of these artifacts been excavated from ancient ruins?”  

“Oh, they have been unearthed. However, none have been found in a functional state. If only we could repair them. But to this day, no one has managed to do so.”  

The professor let out a deep sigh and shook his head.  

He looked utterly dejected.  

He must have dreamed of seeing a working relic at least once in his lifetime.  

“If even a single device were found in working condition, we might be able to learn something…”  

“The world 1,200 years ago must have been an incredible place.”  

I forced a bright, innocent smile as I feigned ignorance.  

No way would he suspect that the Third Prince was sitting on a treasure trove of working ancient artifacts.  

I needed to investigate before Brother Gilliam’s inventory list arrived.  

Depending on what I found, I might have to pretend it never existed.  

—

After class, I returned to my room.  

I could have gone to the Summoning Guild. But I had a feeling that’d be a disaster waiting to happen.  

If I caused any more trouble, His Majesty the King might actually go bald.  

Sure, people in this world generally had strong hair roots, but that didn’t mean there weren’t bald men.  

“In the name of Rufus Eladoria, I command you—manifest, Tora-chan!”  

“You called.”

“I’d like to take a look inside. My lessons are done for the day, so let’s summon the others, too.”  

I summoned all of them at once.  

My room was spacious enough that I could call out even more if I wanted to.  

Leaning against Beartolt on my bed, I placed Lagios on my lap. Tora-chan sat dignified atop the side chest.  

The others were lounging around as they pleased—some sprawled out, others perched on chair backs, grooming themselves.  

It was quite a pleasant sight.  

“Hey, Tora-chan, do you have anything inside you that can create wind?”  

“Hmm… Yes, I do. Here it is.”

With that, Tora-chan opened its mouth and produced a square box.  

A white box with a round hole in it.  

The material… it looked just like plastic.  

This was incredible.  

When I pressed what appeared to be a switch, a WHOOSH of air came blowing out.  

“Wait… This is just a box-shaped fan. It doesn’t seem to have an oscillation function, though.”  

“This is a device called a Wind Box.”

“How does it work?”  

“That, I do not know.” 

Well, that made sense.  

Tora-chan was a Trap Box, not a technician.  

If I wanted to find out, I’d have to take it apart myself.  

It didn’t seem to need an external power source. So there was probably some kind of battery-like component inside.  

I gave the box a shake, but there was no rattling or jingling sound.  

Could it be powered by the usual “magic stone”?  

…No, unfortunately, magic stones don’t exist in this world.  

Maybe they had existed 1,200 years ago, but not anymore.  

“Master, what are you planning to do?”

As I fiddled with the device, Lagios curiously spoke up.  

The others must have been interested as well because they gathered around me.  

Wow. A fluffy paradise.  

Though some of them were more smooth than fluffy.  

“I was thinking of taking it apart to see how it works. Tora-chan, do you have any more of these?”  

“Yes. I have three more.”  

“Then I guess breaking one wouldn’t be a big deal.”  

Original Author’s Comment:

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Thank you so much for reading this far!

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Thank you in advance! 

(Here’s the link to the Original Author: https://kakuyomu.jp/works/16817330653906747006.)

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