The magic web—the cornerstone of arcanotechnical industrialization, the foundation for channeling magical power into every household, and the greatest boon behind the Cecil domain's swift rise to its present state.

Gao Yang had no qualms about teaching the technique to others. In fact, if he could, he would have wished for the magic web to spread across the whole of the Southern March—no, across the entire Kingdom of Anzu—even faster.

For he understood perfectly well that the magic web was the cornerstone of arcanotechnical industrialization, but not the whole of it. To truly raise this vast edifice, what was needed was a complete system of advanced thought, a research-and-development framework that demanded precise coordination, and a mountain of theoretical foundations that could only be grasped through deep study. With these things, new arcanotechnical machines and industrial chains would come into being; without them, the magic web would remain nothing more than a magic web.

Viscount Andrew beheld the newly laid honeycomb magic web on the northern side of the mining town: neat hexagonal rune arrays inscribed upon bases of fired clay tile, soon to be covered with protective sealing plates once the connections were complete, and finally encased in cement to finish the enclosure entirely. This wondrous, orderly rune array differed from every magic circle Viscount Andrew knew, and he naturally took it for yet another marvel of "ancient Gondorian magical technology."

"I can send craftsmen to help Tansang Mine lay its foundational magic web, and instruct your people on how it should be expanded," Gao Yang said with a smile, watching the plainly tempted Viscount Andrew. "I will also give you a set of technical manuals. Magic is a most rigorous thing—the web must be laid in strict accordance with the instructions in those manuals before it can function and establish a connection with the mana engine."

Viscount Andrew did not believe good fortune simply fell from the sky. "These things... will no doubt come at a greater price, I fear?"

Arcane craftsmanship was priceless, and ancient magical technology even more so. The mages of the Violet Kingdom in the north guarded their puppetcraft and magic-circle techniques as treasures beyond price; every magical device they sold to the Kingdom of Anzu commanded an exorbitant sum, and each was fitted with exceedingly intricate self-destruct mechanisms purely to prevent the leakage of knowledge. In his eyes, these ancient Gondorian techniques Gao Yang had displayed were every bit as precious.

"The price is lighter than you imagine. Beyond the construction costs of the first-phase magic web and the craftsmen's wages, I ask only for a closer partnership with Tansang Town. Tansang boasts the largest commercial port on the Whitewater River and gathers adventurers and mercenaries from every corner of the Southern March. I hope to obtain partial free-use rights to the trading port and the opportunity to open a merchant guild in Tansang. The Cecil family is presently building up its own industries; we have already found trade routes to the north, and if we are to expand westward..."

"The Leslie family is willing to cooperate with you," Viscount Andrew said, understanding Gao Yang's meaning at once, and nodded with a smile. "But as for the details, it would be best to wait for my commercial advisor to discuss them with you—I am hardly an expert in such matters."

Both sides negotiated, and host and guest alike were well pleased.

Viscount Andrew did not linger long. Curious as he was about this wondrous land, he was all the more eager to see those marvelous machines put to use in his own mine. To complete the handover as quickly as possible, he returned to his domain that very afternoon to prepare the payment and make ready to receive the "magic web technical guidance team." After Viscount Andrew had departed, Gao Yang did not return straight to his lord's manor either, but went with Hetty, Amber, and the others to the machinery works to inspect the assembly and trial run of the new rotary-type mana engine.

"Selling both the magic web technology and the mana engine to the Leslie family—is that really all right?" Like Amber before her, Hetty harbored certain doubts about Gao Yang's decision, though she had not voiced them earlier, because she could vaguely discern some of his thinking. Only now did she raise her question.

Gao Yang glanced at Hetty and Rebecca, and at Amber, who was following at his side, and smiled. "So there's more than one of you with questions."

"You explained a whole heap of things to me yesterday, but I'm sure you didn't finish!" Amber glared. "I went back last night and thought it over properly, and I keep feeling there's some deep scheme buried in all this!"

"Tell me—once our neighbors get their hands on the mana engine and the magic web, do you think they'll reverse-engineer rune logic and arcanotechnical industrial theory from them?"

"Not a chance," Hetty said at once, shaking her head. "Such reverse-inference cannot possibly succeed—just as, if you see a sheet of paper, you cannot deduce the name of the worker who made it. What worries me is that Viscount Andrew will try to imitate them. He shouldn't be able to counterfeit the mana engine and other mechanical devices, since he lacks the prerequisite factories and machine-tool technology—but he can counterfeit the magic web. Especially since you sold him the technical documents as well. The materials and craft of the web itself are not complicated; given the blueprints and workers to instruct him, he can lay the magic web wherever he pleases. He might even trade it to others in secret..."

"If that really happens, I'll be laughing so hard in my sleep I'll wake myself up," Gao Yang said cheerfully, the grin on his face so radiant it nearly dazzled Amber's eyes. "I wish he would go lay magic webs—I wish he'd hoodwink the whole world into laying magic webs!"

"Why?" Rebecca blinked, looking utterly baffled.

Gao Yang answered with a question of his own: "How long do you think it would take the Cecil domain, with its own strength alone, to lay the magic web across the entire kingdom?"

"Across the entire kingdom?!" Rebecca was startled. "That would take a lifetime and still never be finished! Never mind anything else—what do you do when you run into swamps, forests, rivers, and lakes...?"

"Er... I never said we'd cover all of that either..." Gao Yang's pronouncements were forever being cut short by this blunt, iron-headed little doe, and by now he was used to the rhythm, so the thread of the conversation continued without the slightest delay. "Obviously, an undertaking this vast is not something the Cecil domain can accomplish alone. It will require the efforts of countless people."

"Our arcanotechnical industry is rooted in the magic web. With the web, our machines and equipment have inexhaustible power, and our soldiers can be replenished with energy at the fastest possible speed. The technology for developing arcanotechnical machinery is in our hands, so no one can plumb the web's 'utility value' more thoroughly than we can. Even if others, with the web's help, achieve faster development than before—the boost we derive from the web will always exceed theirs.

"In the hands of Viscount Andrew and the rest, the magic web will forever remain nothing more than a magic web. The technical details it contains are simply too few; all the research and underlying principles are hidden inside an invisible black box. Add to that the limitations of this world's traditional mages' methods of study, and the most they will do is copy and extend the web. In the process, they will make use of only its crudest aspects—for instance, they will power their mage towers with it, supply energy to mana-crystal lamps with it, or conduct some spell research within its range... But we can do far more.