In the private experimental zone, a muffled explosion rang out from the Mana–Element Reaction Area, like a blast trapped beneath a pot lid.
At first, Ron used to be startled by these sudden noises.
Now?
He was completely used to them.
As the lights in the reaction area gradually dimmed, the afternoon's mana inversion experiment came to an end.
Not long after, Harper and Edith walked out, carrying a thick stack of experimental data into a research room.
The equipment would need an entire night to cool down.
And during that time, Harper would analyze the data and phenomena.
This experiment was tied to one of Ron's side quests:
[Explore the Relationship Between Mana and Elements]
Ron had tried joining in a few times.
Every time—
He walked out confused.
Those data sheets were pure torture.
Definitely not something a "decorative mage" like him could handle.
So most of this puppet body's time…
Was spent with Ilya.
Well—technically—
Spent working together with Ilya.
Afternoon sunlight slanted in from the southwest, illuminating a strange object.
A massive rectangular metal construct.
To the people of this world—
It looked bizarre.
To Ron—
It looked perfect.
Ilya stood nearby, one arm supporting the other, hand resting against her cheek, staring at the machine in deep thought.
She couldn't understand it.
This thing—
Was inefficient.
Slow.
Costly.
Why build it?
But since it was Ron's idea—
She built it anyway.
After all—
He paid for everything.
Meanwhile, puppet Ron nodded in satisfaction.
Before him stood his creation:
The first true "bus" in another world.
The wheels were still wooden
→ but much thicker and 2–3 times larger than carriage wheels
The body:
→ outer metal shell
→ inner wooden structure (to reduce weight and cost)
If it were fully metal—
Too heavy.
Too expensive.
Too many magic arrays required.
But now—
It was finished.
Ron stepped to the front door, pulled it open sideways, and climbed aboard.
Inside—
Dim.
He reached for a dial and rotated it, aligning the magic circuits.
Instantly—
The front third of the ceiling lit up.
The interior revealed:
From front to rear door:
→ two rows of horizontal bars with padding
→ designed for standing passengers
Space is divided into three lanes.
Ron walked further back and activated the remaining lights.
Now—
The entire bus was brightly illuminated.
Ilya entered through the rear door.
Behind that section:
10 seats on each side
1 seat at the back center
Total: 21 seats
With standing room:
Comfortable capacity: 50+ people
Packed: 60–70 people
Ilya looked around and said seriously:
"Your Highness… even though I maximized space for the drive arrays…"
"With this size…"
"The speed will likely only match a normal carriage."
"It's far slower than our previous elemental vehicles."
Ron grinned and sat in the driver's seat.
"Ilya, didn't you say—"
"Magic arrays should be brought to ordinary people?"
"Of course," she replied. "That's my belief."
Ron turned the ignition dial.
Magic patterns lit up across the chassis.
As he pressed the "accelerator," wind-element sweet potatoes fed energy into the system.
The bus began to move.
Ron continued:
"Teaching commoners to draw magic arrays isn't realistic."
"Even mages struggle with that."
"But…"
"What if they don't need to understand it?"
"What if they just use it?"
Ilya leaned against the front railing, listening carefully.
Ron went on:
"Elemental potatoes solved energy costs."
"But materials and inscription costs are still expensive."
"So I thought—"
"Why not make something that many people can share?"
Ilya frowned slightly.
"Share… this vehicle?"
"But people have different destinations."
"How would that work?"
Ron smiled.
This—
Was the gap in perspective?
Even someone as brilliant as Ilya…
Without exposure to real commoner life—
Wouldn't naturally think this way.
Ron, drawing from another world's ideas—and Nora's stories of commoner life—guided the vehicle forward toward the convent.
Then he explained:
"I hire a driver."
"In a city, we pick a busy main road."
"At intersections, we set fixed stops."
"People wait at these stops."
"When the vehicle arrives, they board."
"When they reach a stop near their destination, they get off."
"It won't take them exactly where they want."
"But—"
"It drastically shortens the distance."
Ron glanced at Ilya.
Then finished with a smile:
"So—"
"Doesn't that let ordinary people enjoy the benefits of magic too?"
For a moment—
Ilya said nothing.
Because in that instant—
She realized:
This strange, inefficient machine…
Might not be inefficient at all.
It wasn't built for speed.
It wasn't built for power.
It was built
For people.