Magic tools are devices used to cast magic.
Simply put, a spell is embedded into a magic tool, and it activates when the user presses a switch or speaks a keyword.
Whether the user can naturally cast that spell or not is irrelevant.
Anyone can use it as long as they know how.
It is extremely convenient.
However, it cannot be used endlessly. Once the magic power stored in the magic stone set inside the tool is depleted, the tool stops functioning.
Replacing the magic stone with a new one allows it to be used again.
Since the number of uses varies depending on the type of spell embedded in the tool and the size of the magic stone installed, determining how long a magic tool will last requires a fair amount of experience.
I cannot tell at all.
Incidentally, a magic wand is not considered a magic tool.
Although a spell is embedded in a magic wand, it uses the wielder’s magic power rather than a magic stone.
In contrast, a magic scroll does not contain a magic stone, but it also does not use the user’s magic power when activated, so it is generally classified as a magic tool.
Personally, I feel that a magic scroll is not really a magic tool either, since magic power is used when creating it and the activation is merely being held in place.
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Golems are tools created through magic.
Most are humanoid in shape, but they can also consist of only arms, only legs, or even take the form of floors or walls. Their forms are entirely flexible.
Depending on the creator’s magic power and the magic stones used as materials, a golem can be taught movements or controlled directly.
Because of their nature, golems do not normally cast magic.
That said, it is not impossible.
If they are built with a structure capable of activating spells, even a golem can use magic.
However, such a golem becomes extremely complex and advanced.
According to Loo and Tier, it is far more efficient to give a golem a magic tool than to create a golem capable of casting magic on its own.
A golem’s weakness is its power source.
That would be either the creator’s magic power or a magic stone.
If a golem runs on the creator’s magic power, it can no longer maintain its form once that magic power is exhausted.
If it runs on a magic stone, the golem retains its form even after the stone’s magic power is depleted, but it becomes immobile.
For that reason, the golems used in the production factory of Village Five have two magic stones serving as power sources. Even if one runs out, the other allows the golem to keep operating.
When one stone is depleted, the golem signals that the stone needs to be replaced, so unless both stones run out simultaneously, the golem continues working.
That said, Loo and Tier mentioned that there have never been problems caused by having too many power stones, so some golems even have three or four power stones installed.
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Well then.
The Flying Carpet, the Intelligence Box, Quentan the Intelligence Sword whose master is a ghost mage, and also the Universal Ship and the airship Trois Rose.
Are these self-aware tools considered magic tools, or are they golems?
Apparently, the classification depends on the person.
Even old books use a variety of terms.
The most common classification is neither magic tools nor golems, but a separate category called Intelligence Items.
Ah, no, that is not quite right.
The overwhelmingly most common term is Troublesome Items.
「It was obedient until yesterday, and now it suddenly gained a will of its own and changed its behavior! If it does not perform the same actions at the same time every day, that is a problem!」
「What is the point of a door that stays open all the time? Also, do not lock your master out!」
「A signboard should not change its display based on its mood!」
Comments like these often appear alongside the term Troublesome Items.
For the most part, they are treated as nuisances… no, as troublesome objects.
However, many self-aware items apparently never caused any problems.
After all, records are usually kept only when trouble occurs.
So it is reasonable to assume that most items that gained self-awareness caused no issues.
Yes.
The Flying Carpet, the Intelligence Boxes, the Intelligence Sword, and the Universal Ship in my home do not cause any trouble…
They are fine.
They have not caused any.
At most, one of the boxes occasionally goes on a rampage together with the mountain elves.
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Now, the main topic.
If a golem gains self-awareness, is it still a golem?
Or should it be treated as an Intelligence Item?
Apparently, the owner can decide however they like.
That is what Loo, Tier, and the mountain elves told me.
So they decided to call them Thinkers.
Some might complain that this implies ordinary golems are not intelligent, but for now…
Yes, for now, that is simply a temporary name.
If anyone has a better suggestion, I am willing to accept it.
Feel free to propose one anytime.
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That was why I had been thinking about such strange things. I had been busy.
After finishing the summer harvest, it was time to prepare the fields for autumn.
I worked hard.
Really hard.
The autumn fields are important for surviving the winter.
And personally, I enjoy it.
It is the same as Loo, Tier, and the mountain elves making golems.
Enjoying it is what matters most.
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Ursa left with Ice, the ice monster, and several angels.
Their destination was the city that Ursa had been using as her base.
No, now Big Tree Village is Ursa’s base, so I should say the city that used to be her base.
If I do not phrase it that way, Hakuren and Zabuton will be scary.
In any case, Ursa traveled from Village Five by airship.
Asa and Earth are in the city that used to be Ursa’s base, and we stay in regular contact, but there are still things that only Ursa can handle.
Asa and Earth said that returning next year would be fine, but Ursa decided to bring them some of the summer harvest as a gift.
The plan was to stay there for one or two nights, but no one knows how it will actually turn out.
Ice was there as Ursa’s bodyguard and also to make sure she returned to the village.
Before departure, Hakuren and Zabuton smiled at Ice so warmly that Ice held its stomach area, but do ice monsters even have stomachs?
The angels were there to protect Ursa as well, but their main objective was to gather information about the city that used to be Ursa’s base.
That information would be used to choose locations for workshops producing soy sauce, miso, mayonnaise, and other products that Ice had successfully negotiated to bring there.
Some people, such as the high elves, had visited before, but the city was developing so quickly that they wanted the latest information.
After all, a place that had been empty before Ursa returned to the village might now have something built on it.
Normally, I would have liked to send one of the civil official girls, but they were busy arranging storage and sales for the summer harvest.
As substitutes, the angels were chosen because each of them could fight and make sound judgments.
Since they are angels, they can return on their own even without using an airship.
I am counting on them.
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Oh, right. Speaking of angels, seven more have been dispatched to serve as managers for the production factory in Village Five.
As a result, ten angels are now managing the factory.
The dormitory we prepared had extra capacity from the beginning, so there should be no problems with their living conditions.
As for work… they are doing their best.
Apparently, they are so busy that they do not even have time to slack off.
Personally, I would like to create an environment where they can take turns resting.
However, Malbit, the chief of the angels, and Ruincia, the vice chief, were pleased and said that the current workload suits them just fine.
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The magic cooling devices produced at that factory, the refrigerators, both small and large, have been well received in every village.
People are happy that preserving food has become much easier.
We first distributed them to acquaintances among the nobles, but word spread quickly and purchase requests have already started arriving.
They are fairly expensive, though.
I have left the decision of who gets priority in purchasing them to Michael-san of the Goroun Company and Miyo of Shashaato City.
If we can lower the price a little more, we will probably be able to move forward with general sales as well.
As a side note, refrigerators use magic stones, so the value of magic stones has increased.
Apparently, the purchase price for magic stones in Village Five has gone up slightly.
I expect great things from the adventurers.
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Tracking Cargo Cart: 「I was overtaken by something that came later…」
Refrigerator: 「My existence had been hinted at long before that.」 (I am the senpai.)
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