Chapter 223 - The Night That Was Filled With Stars (1/2)
Rebecca might have the worst talent for magic, the worst noble etiquette training, and a headache-inducing character, but from a young age, she was always the most pampered in the clan. After all, the Cecil Clan had already declined completely at her generation, and the seniors of the clan didn’t have anyone else to nurture or care for.
As such, Rebecca had received plenty of presents from a young age, so many that she couldn’t even count them properly.
However, those presents seldom left a deep impression on her.
Be it beautiful clothes, new magic books, or history books, Rebecca didn’t feel they were interesting. She wasn’t like a normal young noble lady who liked flowers and new clothes, nor was she interested in history or etiquette. However, when her old ancestor lifted his coffin, she finally found someone who recognized her and was always able to bring her a refreshing feeling. As an ancestor from 700 years ago, Rebecca originally thought that Gawain would be the most inflexible and stern senior of the clan. She never expected this Lord Ancestor to be so interesting, and the wonderful ideas in his mind weren’t inferior to hers at all.
Even the presents that he gave to her were very intriguing.
However, when she was holding onto this thing called the “telescope”, Rebecca was rather confused or still peeved with herself. “I don’t like to watch the stars! I haven’t liked them since I was young. What’s so interesting about them?!”
Gawain merely smiled and dragged this foolish young lady to the balcony of the feudal lord residence. In front of the surprised Heidi, he helped Rebecca to fix up the telescope on the frame and adjusted the focal distance on the lenses. He then pressed that stubborn girl’s head and placed her eye on the lens.
Half a minute later…
“It is truly interesting to watch the stars!!” Rebecca let out a voice that was void of all moral backbone.
“Ancestor, this is… Rebecca’s present you mentioned?” Heidi was also drawn to the commotion over here and couldn’t help but put down the star observation plate in her hands and come over. “There aren’t any magic waves… What is this?”
“You can try it.” Gawain smiled and said, “Mm… It might not have the star atlas, and it might not be as professional as the star observation plate, but if it is only used to observe things far away, it might be easier to use than your magic tool.”
Heidi used a great deal of effort before she could squeeze Rebecca’s head to the side. She then took a glance into the lens and instantly revealed a surprised expression.
In this world, the Eagle Vision spell and the “star observation plate” that was developed with the Eagle Vision spell as a basis had been used mainly to view things remotely and to observe the stars. Even though they were restricted to being used by the spellcasters, these two spells had held back the people from the research of optics. The basic physics of optics in this world wasn’t any different from Gawain’s otherworldly knowledge. However, with the ability to view things remotely with a single spell, who would think of putting a concave and convex lens in a combination to create a telescope?
After all, the “technology” route for spells and optics was simply too different.
Rebecca was at a complete loss as she looked at this amazing metallic device. She walked around it for a few rounds and couldn’t see a single rune or magic material. She couldn’t help but scratch her hair in a bewildered expression and asked, “But why is it like this?”
Heidi had also lifted her head and asked curiously, “Yes, why?”
After hearing their question, Gawain’s mouth made a smirk.
They finally learned how to take the initiative and ask why. They were seeking the principles instead of being satisfied with it being functional. This was the ideology he had been striving to impart to the technical personnel on the territory. All the hard work had finally paid off and could be seen from his two descendants.
“We will need to talk about the physics of light.” Gawain pondered for a moment before deciding to explain in a simple manner. “You should at least know about the magnifying glass, right?”
Gawain explained about the effects of a concave lens and a convex lens, and also the principle of the telescope. However, he didn’t provide an overly in-depth or overly certain explanation. He tried his best to use conjectural answers to describe the effects of the telescope, and this was a necessary caution…
This strange world’s laws of physics were very odd; who could be certain that just because the telescope was working that, therefore, the physics of optics here were the same as Earth’s? Perhaps, in this large world, the laws of light and refraction were only performing in a way that he was familiar with? However, if one day they were to research the very details of this subject, what should Gawain do if they discovered that this world’s “light” was actually fundamentally different?
He knew about the significant influence that he had on Heidi and Rebecca. Even if they had the suspicious nature that made them qualified to be researchers, the words that he said would always leave a deep impression in their hearts. As such, he had avoided speaking about the principle of magic with an excessively firm tone in front of the duo. Unless the knowledge had already obtained practical and adequate proof. This was to avoid himself from influencing their research minds in the future.
Rebecca was at a loss as she listened. She knew about the theory of magic, mathematics, machinery, and even some theoretical knowledge on alchemy, but she had never imagined the physics of this world could be explained from such a perspective. This gave her a great and fresh sensation: “It turns out that the light that is everywhere… can actually be so interesting?”
While speaking, she placed her eye onto the telescope and watched the stars in the sky in high spirits. She imagined those remote stars going through a long journey and passing through the atmosphere that was overflowing with magic before finally entering a set of lenses. Through the lenses, the stars became clearer and larger images. She was able to see more and brighter stars that she had never seen when she was young. She was also able to see the indistinct celestial structures that were originally hidden within the stars.
Due to the limited craftsmanship of the first telescope, the magnification rate wasn’t very high, and it wasn’t possible for her to see the secrets within the stars. Despite the case, the stars that were much more dazzling than she imagined were enough for her to be amazed.
“In the past, I had always wanted to throw Large Fireballs into the sky to blast those stars down.” Rebecca lifted her head and blinked her eyes while saying, “But they are so far away…”
“Do you know that all the stars in the sky are also burning fireballs,” Gawain smiled and said. But he quickly supplemented, “Of course, this is just my conjecture.”