The Rise Of The Magic-Tool Technician — I Grew Hair And Got Scouted By The King?!

Oscar’s reception room was, naturally, on a completely different level of “quality” compared to the ones in Einheria Castle—but honestly, I found this small room way more comfortable than those glittering, ostentatious halls.

“Sorry it’s cramped, bro.”

Oscar lowered his head, looking a bit embarrassed, but I smiled and shook my head.

“No, it’s a good shop. Are you making decent money?”

“Haha… enough that I’m not struggling to eat, I guess.”

Oscar scratched his head with a shy grin.

“So, bro—you said you wanted to talk about magic tools. Is there a particular magic tool you need?”

After clearing his throat, Oscar’s expression shifted slightly.

I see… this was Oscar’s work mode.

His face sharpened, totally different from the skinhead guy who’d been sobbing not even an hour ago.

“It’s not so much that I need a magic tool… I’m more curious what magic tools actually are.”

“You’ve never used one?”

“Not exactly. I at least know that things like street lamps and convenient daily-life items are magic tools.”

Though… I’d probably never used one. The stuff in the castle were those strange items powered by magic stones—this “magic tool” thing felt like a different category.

“Anyway… I want to know how they work. Is that something you can explain?”

“Sure, no problem.”

Oscar stood, took a wooden board from a shelf, and brought it back.

“This is called a magic circuit. We magic-tool technicians make these for a living… I’ll explain it simply.”

The instant Oscar said that, the entire board began to glow faintly.

“This is like a super simplified version of a lamp or streetlight magic tool. It only keeps glowing while magic power is flowing through it—so if I stop the flow…”

The light vanished.

“Lamps and streetlights, you just pour magic power in once and leave them for a while, right?”

“Exactly. For those, the pattern drawn on the board—the magic circuit—gets much more complex.”

“I see… so what it does when you feed it magic power is determined by the magic circuit.”

“Yup. And you draw magic circuits using special ink.”

“Special ink?”

“Bro, do you know what magic stones are?”

Magic stones…? Yes. Very familiar. I wasted fifty million of them recently.

“Yeah, I know.”

“This ink has magic stones dissolved into it. For the circuit on this glowing board, it uses Light magic stone ink and Null magic stone ink.”

“Light magic stone… and Null magic stone?”

…Nope. I definitely don’t know.

What are those? Attribute magic stones? Those exist!?

“Yes. You use attribute inks to make the action parts, and you use Null-attribute ink to draw the connecting lines and base structure. That’s how you create a magic circuit.”

“I see.”

I understood absolutely nothing.

B-but… I didn’t come for deep technical theory, so it’s fine.

“And once you embed that magic circuit into a tool, that becomes a magic tool. Drawing the magic circuit is basically the heart of the whole thing—and the mark of a truly skilled craftsman is how compact they can make the circuit.”

“…So even with the same circuit, the smaller and tighter you can pack it, the better?”

“Exactly! And this is… kind of my pride, but when it comes to shrinking magic circuits, I’m the best craftsman in the entire capital city! There’s an exhibition in the royal capital once a year, and last year I placed third in the ‘existing circuit miniaturization’ category!”

“Ho. That’s impressive. Third best in the kingdom.”

I had no idea how many magic-tool technicians existed in the Lumoria Kingdom, but third in the entire nation had to be a big deal.

…Was this really the same guy who’d been the crying skinhead earlier?

Had he been swapped out while I wasn’t looking?

A skilled trade. A house. A cute childhood friend who fussed over him. Good friends. Handsome. And on top of that, the third-best technique in the kingdom…?

Was he some kind of “technical cheat” protagonist about to rise to power?

…No. Put that aside for now.

I did feel a tiny twinge of regret for removing his “early-balding” weakness, but… put that aside.

“Let’s say I want to make a tool with functions that don’t exist in current magic tools. If I asked you for help—would you cooperate?”

Oscar’s proud grin vanished. His face turned dead serious.

“A new magic tool…? Bro, sorry. From here on, I’m speaking as a magic-tool technician. You probably already know this, but magic tools aren’t cheap. Even a lamp magic tool—something already widespread and well understood by many craftsmen—rarely costs less than five gold coins. That price includes not just skill and materials, but above all… the time, effort, and money it took to develop in the first place. And those costs are enormous.”

I nodded silently.

There might even be patent fees in this world, too.

“Merchants and nobles often come asking us to develop a magic tool based on their ideas. But I’ve never accepted a single one.”

“Hm.”

“‘A new magic tool’—it’s easy to say, but development takes huge funding and time. Some people bring fun ideas that really would be useful… but once we calculate the cost and timeline, they all say the same thing: ‘It won’t pay for itself.’”

Oscar’s eyes were intense, and there was a hint of frustration in them.

“I’m still a magic-tool technician… I can’t say I’m not interested in developing something new. But new magic tools are usually made by national institutions that gather the top experts and pour in massive budgets over long periods. A mere city technician like me can’t realistically…”

“I see. So you’d rather give up on creating something new, and stay a technician who only carves in the circuits others created through blood and sweat… is that what you’re saying?”

“I-I’m not saying that! But you can’t just draw a circuit with normal ink and have it work! You need special ink with dissolved magic stones to even test it! And once you use that ink, you can’t reuse it—if you fail, it’s just graffiti! Just getting to the prototype stage burns through insane amounts of special ink! And that ink is not cheap! If I could… I’d love to try making a new magic tool!”

Oscar roared, teeth bared.

He had more anger in him now than when he’d been drunk and picking a fight with me.

I could feel it—his frustration at reality, and the stubborn, straightforward desire to challenge it anyway.

“Heh… Oscar, then try it. I can’t give you more time, but I can provide money. How much do you need? One thousand gold coins…? No—ten thousand?”

“…B-bro? What are you—”

Oscar’s eyes darted around, like he couldn’t process what I was saying.

“Development funds. How about ten thousand gold coins? Sorry—I’m not a technician. I have no idea if that’s a lot or not.”

“W-wait—ten thousand… as in ten thousand coins? For development!?”

Coins were implied even before you said it.

“Yeah. That’s what I’m saying.”

“A-ah… bro, that joke’s too much! Ten thousand gold coins… that’s—haha…”

“I’m not joking. If I provide ten thousand gold coins, can you start developing a new magic tool? That’s what I’m asking.”

Oscar swallowed hard.

“Y-you’re serious? Bro. I-I’m not saying I doubt you, but—”

In this disguise, I did look like a random village guy, so yeah—no credibility.

But I had one very persuasive piece of evidence.

“Oscar. Your hair… did you forget? That was the effect of the medicine I had.”

“…Hair… medicine… d-don’t tell me… that divine—no, hair—medicine was something you made…?”

Oscar asked, stunned.

“I didn’t make it… but mass production is possible.”

“!”

Oscar shuddered.

Exactly.

With that hair-growth medicine, I was betting we’d never be short on money again.

Would this world ever see the day baldness truly vanished…?

No.

Even if we wiped it out temporarily with medicine, a second and third wave of baldness would always be born again.

As long as humans exist, they inevitably lose hair!

Unless a world arrives where “baldness is supreme,” demand would be eternal.

Of course, we were short on manpower… one person could only make one per week… though if the core developers like Otonoha worked on it, they might produce more than one.

And potions too—we didn’t need to sell them openly as a nation. We could route them quietly through… certain channels.

Eltreise seemed like she’d be good at handling “shady logistics,” so maybe I’d consult her.

Before talking to Oscar, I’d been thinking, “Let’s create convenient magical appliances and get rich.”

But I’d changed my mind.

Instead of doing it purely for money, I’d frame it as investment for a more convenient world.

Sure, if Oscar invented something incredible, we’d get returns—but for now, I could ignore profitability.

And even ten thousand gold coins shocked him… that was only about what fifty potions could earn. It wasn’t a painful expense.

“…B-bro… are you really serious?”

“Of course. I don’t have it on hand right now, so you’ll have to wait a little—but I’ll prepare it soon. And if it’s not enough, I’ll cover additional costs. So? Oscar. Will you work with me?”

“Bro… I’m just a city magic-tool technician. There have to be better people than me.”

“Oscar. I’m investing because I like you. Better people? Sure, if we search, we’ll find them. Even your miniaturization skill—there are two people in the kingdom above you. But whether I like them is a different matter. I’m inviting you because I think it’ll be fun working with you. We may add more people later… but the one I chose is you, Oscar.”

“…If you invite me like that, I can’t refuse. I’ll stake my life on improving my craft! So, bro—please let me develop new magic tools under you!”

“Yeah. Welcome aboard. …But Oscar, I forgot to tell you something.”

“…What is it?”

Oscar tilted his head.

“First—charging forward without confirming who someone is or what they really want… is dangerous, you know?”

“B-bro?”

Now you say it? Oscar’s expression screamed.

“Well… I actually like that simple side of you. But don’t let anyone else trick you, okay?”

“T-trick—Bro!?”

Oscar instantly went pale and yelped, but I smiled.

“Just be careful next time. And no, the invitation and funding aren’t lies, and it’s not dirty money. Now—what I forgot to tell you is… ‘Fei’ is a fake name.”

“A fake… name?”

“Yeah. My real name is Fels. A while back, this city got attacked, right?”

“Y-yeah… it barely counted as a battle, but… are you from that other country…?”

Oscar asked with a furrowed brow.

Hadn’t Einheria’s takeover been announced widely? Was it not sinking in?

“Not ‘that other country’… Einheria. The country that currently rules this city. I’m its king.”

“…What do you mean by ‘beating’…? You’re fighting that country?”

“It’s not ‘beating’! It’s ‘king.’ King. I’m the king.”

“Bro is… ki—king…? That word sounds familiar… Wait—king… Your Majesty? Bro is…?”

“I’m the King of Einheria.”

“…One question… This isn’t a joke, right…?”

“You think anyone can joke about being a king? That gets you executed.”

Oscar’s eyes widened—

Then he toppled backward with his chair, rolled once, and landed in a perfect prostration. He froze in silence.

“Oscar, raise your head.”

“…B-but…”

“Oscar. I’m allowing it. Raise your head.”

“Y-yes…”

Oscar lifted his face, trembling like crazy. He was ghost-white—like he’d seen a demon.

I wasn’t even giving off killing intent…

“Oscar. Sit down. And your manner of speaking can stay the same. If I permit it, no one can complain. Relax.”

“…B-but…”

“Oscar. The me you spoke with earlier and the me now are the same person. Revealing myself doesn’t change much. I’m not going to nag you about disrespect or whatever. I know it’s hard, but… try to treat me a little more casually.”

Oscar squeezed his eyes shut once, as if bracing himself, then stood up cautiously.

“…B-bro. I knew you weren’t ordinary, but… aren’t you too big a deal…?”

“Heh… You’re the little brother of that ‘big deal,’ aren’t you? Good for you. You’re joining the big leagues.”

“Ugh… R-really… is it okay to use someone like me, bro…?”

“I told you. I like you. I’m counting on you, Sir Royal Exclusive Magic-Tool Technician of the King of Einheria.”

“…Huh? I’m that…? Uh—… Bro… please go easy on me… I feel like I’m gonna pass out.”

Oscar clutched his stomach, face still pale, and said it with a near-tearful expression.