CHAPTER 68: 68. A VEHICLE FOR A TOUR

Greg couldn’t stop thinking about the talk he had with Lylia and Seraphine. Even though he was trying to focus on his regular work and teaching his students, the idea kept coming back to him like a fly that wouldn’t go away.

There were many villages, each one weak and scared, and each one could have used a Guardian like the one he had made. But there was a problem.

Making the Guardian Reborn almost killed him, and doing it again would need the same level of desperation and emotional intensity. He couldn’t just make that kind of moment happen like it’s, like, a daily thing.

He couldn’t put himself in danger of death over and over again for every village that needed protection. There must be an alternative solution.

...

Three days after their trip, Greg was sitting in the workshop’s meeting area, staring at a blank piece of paper and drawing ideas without thinking about them. Bork was working on a commission nearby, and the steady sound of his hammer hitting something was coming through his headphones. Elwen was practicing spells at her station and muttering corrections to herself from time to time.

Felix said, "You’ve been thinking really hard about something," and then he was suddenly next to Greg’s chair.

Donetta was right behind her with a tray of snacks and tea. "That’s the face you make when you’re about to do something crazy."

Greg said, "I don’t have a crazy face."

"You really do," Donetta said as she put down the tea. "Felix showed me pictures he had drawn. You look like you’re trying to solve a puzzle that could blow up."

"Why the fuck did you draw my face...?" Greg frowned while looking at Felix.

"Just for some research, of course!"

"You ain’t Seraphine."

Lylia yelled from the kitchen, "They’re not wrong. I’ve seen that look at least a dozen times, and it always means something crazy is about to happen."

Greg let out a sigh and put down his pencil. "Okay. I’ve been thinking about what Seraphine and Lylia said. It’s something about making Guardians for other villages."

That caught everyone’s attention right away. Bork took off his headphones, Elwen stopped in the middle of her spell, and even Mira showed up to listen.

It’s the first time that happened when Greg cared for somebody else. Maybe slowly, he starts to get his own character development, that’s what Felix first thought.

Greg went on, "The problem is that I can’t easily recreate the Guardian Reborn. Creating the Guardian Reborn consumed all my energy, and I nearly died in the process."

"I can’t keep doing that for every village that needs help."

"So what kind of plan do you have in mind?" Seraphine came closer.

"Care to tell us?" Seraphine asked, looking up from her notes.

Greg said, "My first plan is that I go visit every village if that’s possible."

"I can’t bring Guardians to every village, but at least I can bring myself, like going from place to place, seeing what each community needs, and making protections that are just right for them."

"Like a blacksmith on the road," Elwen said, her eyes lighting up. "That’s actually great!"

"Each village has its own problems and needs. It would be better to make protection that is unique to each place than to try to copy the Guardian everywhere."

"But how would you visit all the villages here? You know there are a lot of them, right?" Bork asked in a practical way. "Your forge needs tools, materials, and space. You can’t just throw everything on a cart and hope for the best, Boss."

Greg pointed to his drawings. "That’s what I’ve been doing right now."

"Planning to make A big carriage that can hold portable forging tools and supplies. Something that could work as a workshop on the go."

Felix leaned over to look at the drawings, and his face changed from curious to excited. "Sensei, this is great! But I have an idea that could make it better."

"Should I be worried?"

"Maybe, but listen to me!" Felix brought the paper closer. "In my old world, we had cars that didn’t need horses or other animals to pull them."

"Engines powered them, which meant that controlled energy moved them forward."

"What if we made something like that? An enchanted carriage that moves on its own instead of with animals?"

Everyone in the workshop was quiet as they thought about this idea.

Bork said slowly, "That’s crazy, and I fucking love it!"

"You’re a fucking genius at making good ideas, kid!"

"It would take a lot of work to enchant it," Seraphine said, already taking out new notes. "The power source would have to be stable, renewable, and strong enough to move a big vehicle."

"But it could happen," Elwen said as he stood up. "If we collaborate and apply our expertise, we have the potential to create something unprecedented."

Greg looked at the people he had found and saw the excitement growing on their faces. The Brotherhood of Peace was supposed to be about working together to make something that helped people, something that promoted peace and safety without violence.

"Okay," he said, feeling more and more excited. "Let’s get it done."

"But we do this the right way by planning everything out, making sure it’s safe, and having everyone help."

"This is a massive group project."

"Yes, yes, yes!" Felix made a fist. "I’ve always wanted to make a car that works like magic!"

Bork asked, "Awhat?"

"Forget about old-fashioned language. Let’s start making plans!"

...

The next week was a flurry of activity that made the rush for dungeon gear look calm in comparison. As the team worked together to come up with and improve ideas, Greg’s sketches turned into detailed blueprints.

The basic idea was simple, and that was a big, closed carriage that could hold a lot of people, tools for making things, and supplies. But the execution was far from simple.

Bork reviewed the plans and said, "The frame needs to be light but very strong."

"We can keep the weight down while keeping the structure strong by using a mix of reinforced steel and lightweight alloys."

Seraphine said, "I’m worried about the power source."

"We need something that gives us energy all the time without running out. Mana crystals from the past won’t work because they would need to be replaced all the time."

"What about a spell that makes things move all the time?" Elwen said. "It could theoretically run forever if we make a circular energy flow that feeds back into itself."

Seraphine said, "That’s forbidden magic in most kingdoms," but she didn’t sound like she was against it. "Starting up such a system would take a lot of energy."

Greg rubbed his head. "Let me guess, you’re going to tell me to use my terrible crafting skills to brute force a solution?"

"Well, you’re the only one here who accidentally makes SSS-rank items when you think about tea," Seraphine said.

"That’s a good point."

Felix had been hushed, writing notes and drawing plans for machines. Finally, he looked up with wild eyes. "I have an idea for how the movement system should work."

"Vehicles in my world had wheels, but not just any wheels. They had systems for braking, steering, and suspending."

"We could make something that moves smoothly over any terrain if we put those ideas together with magical reinforcement."

"Show me," Greg said, and Felix started to explain, mixing mechanical engineering with excited anime references. Most of it, surprisingly, made sense.