episode_0156

“What’s the problem?”

I urged the senior faculty member and the head researcher, who were keeping a bit of a distance as if they were having an argument, to get straight to the point.

The two people rolled their eyes for a moment as if observing each other, and then the senior school member, who could be said to have a slightly higher status, began to explain the whole story.

“That… … . We first decided to conduct an experiment to see what direction we should take in combining alchemy and metallurgy.”

“Experiment?”

“Yes. We conducted an experiment similar to the one using gold that you mentioned. We decided to further increase the purity of iron by using a method that can extract high-purity gold. However, a problem arose here.”

While saying that a problem had arisen, the senior academy member’s gaze briefly turned to the senior researcher.

Just by looking at it, you could tell that a discord had arisen between the two in the process.

Anyway, the senior academy member, who briefly glanced at the senior researcher, continued his explanation.

“There is an alchemy to increase purity, but in order to use this method, you must know the weight accurately. This is because it is possible to administer reagents or control mana. however… … . The standards for the weights we use and the weights used by researchers were different.”

According to their standards, 1kg was equivalent to about 1.1kg based on the researchers’ standards.

It may not seem like a big difference at first glance, but alchemy meant that even a drop of difference could cause an explosion. Of course, the difference was significant enough to significantly change the results.

“… … So there was a bit of controversy. We say that our standards are correct, and researchers say that the researchers’ standards are correct.”

“Hmm, well, we have no choice but to insist that both sides are right. Because you will have to change all the previously written materials. You’ll have to do the calculation again.”

The senior academy member nodded when I said he understood.

It was natural that if the weight standard changed, all records of the results and research logs written so far would have to be changed. Although the records from the Alchemy School were extensive, the research and development headquarters also had extensive research logs, so it was inevitable that both parties insisted that they were correct.

In particular, researchers who have recently been conducting research on alloys under my direction seem to have been recording the weights of various metals even more intensely because they have recorded so many weights.

“Hmm… … .”

Therefore, I had no choice but to worry while looking at the two people. The reason these two people came to see me like this was, in fact, to ask me to set a standard.

Perhaps this world is related to my past life, and the units used in the world of my past life were spread out. Of course, I don’t know if it came from another world, but there were also strange units. Because there were many warriors who appeared throughout the history of the continent, there were several units representing length.

Anyway, some knowledge and units were spread through warriors who came from another world, but there was a problem. There was no exact standard for those units.

A warrior said that this is 1 meter, and if you divide it into 100 pieces, it is 1 cm! That’s why the standard was set. If you do something like this and that, it’s 1 meter! It was said that this was not the standard.

As a result, the original standard was worn out by the winds of time, or errors were introduced in the process of duplication, causing it to change. As is the case now, there were often cases where standards differed by region within a single country.

Just looking at my case right now, when I was researching through the books my grandmother left behind, I was using the same weights that my grandmother used. Because magic is something that can have a completely different power if it changes even slightly.

So I couldn’t help but be very worried. It is a self-evident fact that unification of standards is necessary for two organizations to produce results through collaboration, but if that changes someday, it will be very difficult.

Even if it changes only slightly, my lifespan is about three to four hundred years, so it could change drastically by the time I die.

Writing it in proportions, such as ‘1 part flour, 1 part water’ in my mother’s baking recipe, could be a solution, but it was not an effective alternative. Just by adjusting the ratio, there may be cases where 10kg of ingredients that were previously added in 1kg may be added.

If magic was performed that way, it would have been perfect for a very serious accident to occur.

“How about creating a new standard?”

Therefore, what I chose was to create a new standard. The idea was to create a new standard that would almost certainly not be broken.

“New standard… … What do you mean?”

“Yes. We are creating a new standard that can be measured accurately. There may be a situation where you have to change all the existing data, but you can’t use inaccurate standards forever, right?”

The two people reacted with trepidation to having to revise all the vast amounts of data, but slowly nodded as if they felt the need to create clear standards.

“Then what will you use as a standard?”

“Sure.”

However, I couldn’t easily make a decision about what to use as the standard right away. This is because once you set a standard, it is very difficult to change it thereafter.

However, I couldn’t leave this to someone else. There is a princess who can be said to be the master of the school, but it takes two months to hear her opinion. Although it was possible to communicate through magic, this was not immediately possible due to her status as a princess.

In the end, I was told that it was up to me to set the standard, so I had no choice but to worry about what to use as the standard.

Crash.

Even after thinking about it, I couldn’t come up with a good solution, so I tapped my fingers on the armrest of the chair I was sitting on. As I thought about it over and over again, I felt thirsty for no reason.

The moment I felt thirsty and thought I should drink some water and think, a memory from my past life suddenly came to mind.

“… … Water?”

“Yes? My lord, do you need water?”

“No, no. Wait a minute.”

Because of memories from my past life about water, I said the word ‘water’ and the alchemist appeared trying to create water using magic. Although I felt thirsty, something more important than water came to mind right now, so I waved my hand roughly.

Then, after roughly organizing the memories from my past life that came to mind at random, I looked at the senior school member and the head researcher.

“Water. Let’s use water as the standard.”

“Yes? water… … Are you talking about the water you drink when you are thirsty and pour it over your body when you wash? … ?”

The expressions on the faces of the senior faculty member and the senior researcher turned ambiguous when they said to use water as the standard. It was as if he was asking how on earth he could use water as a standard.

“The weight is determined based on the amount of water that goes into a bowl of a certain size. When that certain size is made into a cube, the corners are used as the standard for length.”

“In the bowl… … ? If you do that, won’t there be a problem? The weight may vary depending on the impurities, and even if the volume is the same, the weight may vary depending on the temperature. From what alchemists have discovered, although the amount is extremely small, it can be quite an important factor in the realm of alchemy.”

“That’s because you distill water, so you only need to use water. Isn’t it enough to distill seawater or muddy water? And, if it changes depending on the temperature, you can accurately measure the temperature and create that environment. Whether it’s an ice world or a fire world, it’s easy to meet the conditions if you use magic.”

“Ah… … ! you’re right. That will do!”

The senior academy member seemed to have realized something from what I said, as he raised his eyes wide and nodded repeatedly.

However, the head that was nodding like that creaked for a moment and suddenly stopped.

“Lord. But how do you measure temperature? If the level at which a person feels warm is taken as a standard, wouldn’t the temperature be different for each person?”

“That’s no problem either. You can quantify the temperature by setting the freezing point of water to zero degrees and the boiling point to one hundred degrees, right? If there is an effect of changing the freezing or boiling temperature of water, wouldn’t it be okay to set a separate standard and quantify it?”

“Oh, oh! That’s right! Understanding and quantifying everything in the world! That is definitely the first step to realizing the truth!”

The head of the senior school member, who had stopped creaking his head, nodded frantically again. Meanwhile, the gazes we met from time to time contained something like envy or awe.

Of course, even though he was a senior researcher, he was not reacting indifferently.

Although they did not seem to be very interested in becoming a new standard per se, they were showing great interest in temperature. I think it was because temperature was one of the most important factors in the smelting and steelmaking process.

It was clear that they thought that if they could accurately determine the temperature and keep it constant, it would be possible to produce higher quality iron.

As I was watching the two people’s reactions, a senior class member who seemed to have calmed down suddenly stretched out his hands towards me.

“Lord! The Lord spoke of a vessel that would serve as a standard for weight and length. Lord, can you make that bowl?”

When a senior class member asked me to make a vessel that would serve as a standard for weight and length, I immediately had a strange feeling.

This is because the request to make a standard bowl meant that 1cm and 1g would be the standard depending on what I made.

You could say it’s nothing special if other people don’t use it, but the fact that what I set becomes the standard still made me excited.

In the end, I created a cube that would serve as a new standard, just as the senior academy member wanted. It was an object made by clumping together the bones of skeletons. If you put the same volume of water as this, it would soon become 1g, and its length would soon become 1cm.

“Take it and make an accurate weights and measures based on it.”

Since it was made from bone powder made by using dark magic, the object, which was a very intact cube, was thrown to the senior school member. Because the direction was controlled in the air with black magic, it immediately landed on the senior school member’s outstretched palm.

“Thank you! We will complete it as soon as possible!”

The senior school member who received the bone cube rushed out of the mansion, holding it in his arms very preciously, as if he had received a treasure. Of course, the head researcher who came with us also followed.

“Are you going to make something that can measure temperature first?”

“There are parts of water that change slightly depending on the temperature, so it is true that the temperature must be measured first. Oh, you think temperature is important? In that case, I will first create an artifact that can specifically measure temperature. Even so, one of the school members who followed the branch is a school member who has completed at least basic education at the Artifact School.”

“Oh! That’s a relief!”

“In return, you should also help. I understand that the process of making artifacts requires the help of blacksmiths.”

“Of course. Just tell me what you need!”

The two people clung to each other and moved as if they were half-running toward the magic tower, to the point where it seemed like they were the same people who had been fighting over the standard of weight.

And, in just a few days, they established a new standard for weights and measures.

However, having established standards for weights and measures, they no longer paid much attention to weights and measures. This is because only the standard of weights and measures that the warriors spread in the first place was changed, and there were many things more important to them than weights and measures.

In order to unify weights and measures according to new standards, they only announced it to the outside world and were concentrating all their efforts on various research.

Of course, those who could be said to be the youngest were concentrating on revising all existing materials to meet new standards.