Illya had still been lost in thought, pondering the meaning of the two newly glimpsed symbols.
At the same time, she wondered whether the symbols Ron had were his own discoveries—or something he'd received from the Headmistress.
It wasn't until Ron asked her a question that she came back to her senses:
"Increasing the number of times a staff can be used, huh…"
"Well, usually that means improving the quality of the staff itself, using better materials, or enhancing it with more expensive inscription reagents—"
"Stop, stop, stop!" Ron quickly raised a hand to interrupt, rubbing his temples. "Is there any way to increase the number of uses without increasing the cost?"
Illya gave him a weird look. "If that kind of method really existed, magic arrays would already be widespread."
The reason magic arrays were so hard to popularize was mainly due to their complexity—and the expensive, rare materials they required.
Any project involving magic arrays usually meant burning money.
Illya had long been dedicated to spreading the use of magic arrays to the general public, but she was well aware of how difficult that goal really was.
Ron fell silent, his thoughts spinning rapidly. Then he suddenly asked, "So when you guys use magic arrays, you usually inscribe them onto staffs?"
"Not necessarily staff," Illya shook her head. "It can also be necklaces, bracelets, clothes, pants, shoes—basically anything you carry with you."
"What about things like spatial magic arrays or city barrier arrays?" Ron asked with interest.
Illya chuckled. "Totally different category. The first type is for personal use, so we inscribe it on personal items. The second kind is large-scale arrays, requiring much higher quality materials, and the cost is measured in tens of thousands of gold coins. Completely different league."
Even though this was basic knowledge for Illya, she was still happy to explain it to Ron.
But even just these basics were enough to make Ron's head spin.
He understood the general idea behind magic arrays, but the deeper principles? He was clueless.
Still, he thickened his skin and kept asking, "So what's the difference between a normal person using a magic array and a mage using one? Why is there such a huge difference in the number of uses?"
"Because magic arrays need to be activated," Illya replied without hesitation. "Mages can use their own mana to activate elemental stones, attracting surrounding elements directly and channeling them into the array."
"Normal people, on the other hand, can only rely on the internal power of the elemental stone to self-activate. They can't channel or guide any of the surrounding elemental energy, so most of it ends up wasted."
Ron listened carefully, taking notes on a blank piece of paper.
"So, the reason magic arrays are too costly for normal people is twofold: first, the materials and elemental stones are expensive. Second, normal people can't fully utilize the arrays."
"So if we want to popularize magic arrays, we have to solve those two problems?" he asked after a moment of thought.
"Of course," Illya sighed. "But the second issue isn't as critical. If we can get the first problem—cost—low enough, then the energy waste from normal users won't matter much."
Ron looked a little disappointed.
If only Chameleon Radish could copy every aspect of an item it replicated, including magical properties and elemental charges…
Then, expensive materials and rare stones wouldn't matter—he could just grow more.
But alas, that was just a fantasy.
Forget it, Ron thought.
He'd only been considering this as a backup plan anyway.
Now that it was clear the cost was too high, there was no point wasting more effort on it.
Still, with Illya—an expert in magic arrays—right here, it would be a shame not to ask a few more questions.
So he began discussing other topics about magic arrays with her.
Illya was happy to answer. Her usual cold demeanor was nowhere to be seen.
Knock knock.
No one knew how much time had passed when someone knocked on the study door.
"Come in."
The door opened, and Nora peeked her head in.
Seeing that Ron and Illya were sitting a meter apart, speaking politely, she let out a quiet sigh of relief. Then she whispered:
"Boss, the living room's been tidied up. Mr. Mason and Mr. Harper have gone home. Big Sister Edith is lying on the sofa—she's already asleep."
"I see... Well, you should head home too. Be careful on your way," Ron said gently.
"Ah?" Nora froze for a second, then drooped slightly. "Oh... Goodnight, Boss."
She had assumed Ron would say something like, "It's getting late—let's call it a night," and then see the two elf sisters off.
But what was this?
It was already so late—and the boss was still keeping them here?
Nora closed the door, feeling suspicious. Before leaving, she cast one last glance at Illya, only to find her still sitting there with a very interested expression on her face, clearly in no hurry to leave.
Once Nora was gone, Illya immediately followed up curiously: "You mentioned a type of iron giant earlier—can you explain that more?"
"Uh… that thing's called a Gundam... actually, never mind. It's just a concept I made up…"
Ron didn't notice Nora's mood and simply continued sharing his wild ideas with Illya.
Illya listened with great interest, occasionally analyzing his proposals from the perspective of magic arrays and pointing out why they wouldn't work.
Admittedly, most of Ron's ideas were either impossible to realize or hugely cost-inefficient even if they could be made.
But Illya was thoroughly enjoying these flights of fancy—they sparked a lot of inspiration.
For example:
A car powered solely by elemental stones—no horses needed.
A "telephone" that could let two people communicate instantly across thousands of miles.
A "magic internet"—a virtual world created with a large-scale magic array, where countless people could share information.
Illya thought the names sounded bizarre, but she admired the bold imagination behind them.
Ron, for his part, was feeling genuinely excited.
Although he usually didn't show it, he still missed his old world deeply.
Things like barbecue sauces, Elemental Cards, hotpot, and Legendary Kill—while fun to invent in this new world—also came from his nostalgia for the life he used to know.
He'd read a lot of books about magic here and noticed many parallels between this world's magic and Earth's science.
But limited by his knowledge base, he hadn't figured much out on his own.
Now, chatting with Illya about magic arrays brought all those memories back—and reminded him of all the practical conveniences from Earth.
Unfortunately, after discussing with Illya, he realized that in this world, magic materials were rare, and the cost of inscribing magic arrays was incredibly high.
Most of his ideas… just weren't realistic.
Even if some of them could be made, they wouldn't be worth it.
Take cars, for example.
Anyone who could afford to power one with elemental stones could just inscribe a Levitation Spell on their carriage. It would be cheaper and faster.
Or take Gundams.
Even setting aside the astronomical cost, the difficulty of operating such a machine would drive away 99% of potential users.
Anyone skilled enough to pilot a Gundam would already be a powerful warrior—someone who didn't need a mechanical suit and would actually be worse off using one.
In short, the grand dream Ron had of "proposing an idea and getting endless praise" simply did not exist.
He felt a little let down.
After thinking it over, he concluded—modding board games is still the most practical path forward.