This is a summary of the situation so far.
The results of the NaroCon were announced today on the official broadcast, and it has been decided that this work has won an award.
The author is still in a daze, but the details regarding this matter are written in the activity report, so please check it out.
The excessive cost of the Divine Power Engraver had been a major problem for Crown.
Although the Divine Power Engraver had been updated several times since its first appearance, including its performance, such dramatic changes as this time had not occurred frequently.
Moreover, as Sarasa mentioned, if the cost could be reduced to one-tenth, the burden on Crown would be enormously reduced.
By the way, the very first Divine Power Engraver that Kousuke created was made using a great deal of national treasure-class materials.
Even if there was no worry about such a thing being stolen, it couldn’t be installed one after another.
Incidentally, the Divine Power Engraver was provided by Kousuke entirely out of his “goodwill.”
To begin with, there are no items in this world that are comparable to the Divine Power Engraver.
Given that the Divine Power Engraver alone created such a situation, it’s natural that even if Kousuke were not an Avatar, he would have been treated as something close to it by Crown’s upper echelons.
Even now, Kousuke is treated as an Avatar, but more importantly, he is recognized as the most crucial person for Crown’s continued existence.
Even though the cost of creation has decreased, the Divine Power Engraver is unequivocally a Divine Tool.
There are many Magic Tools that cannot be replicated with current technology, but among them, there was a clear distinction between Divine Tools and others.
The difference divided items into those that were judged to be reproducible with future technology, and those whose operational power was completely unknown.
To put it more simply, Divine Power is a completely unknown force, so there is no prospect of analyzing it.
In such a state, anything completely unknown is treated as a Divine Tool.
On the other hand, tools powered by Magic Power or Holy Power, despite their high technological capabilities, are only deemed irreproducible with current technology and are therefore considered potentially developable in the future.
In this context, the Divine Power Engraver is treated as an unknown tool because Crown never releases it to the outside world at all.
Moreover, since it is a machine that only exists in Crown’s Headquarters or branches, there is no opportunity to examine it in detail.
There are no plans to even request an investigation.
It is sufficient to know that it is a Divine Tool that can serve as a catalyst for an Avatar to be recognized as an Avatar.
However, since Kousuke himself does not think it is necessary to publicize it, Crown also does not attempt to publicize it on its own.
Given the situation with the Divine Power Engraver, it is completely unknown how the Crown Card, which can be said to be Crown’s biggest feature, is produced.
Of course, everyone can see the machines that issue the cards when they go through the registration process at Crown.
Although there have been attempts to duplicate the Crown Card since its debut, there has been no success reported to date.
There are countless organizations, groups, and countries that feign amiability on the surface while desperately trying to duplicate it behind the scenes.
As expected, since the display of Status is recognized as the work of the gods, duplication should be impossible.
Still, the fact that such attempts never cease might indicate human greed.
When the branches of Crown expanded from the Central Continent to other continents, there were some who hoped for the outflow of even a part of the technology from those countries.
However, countries that initially wished to establish Crown branches within their own borders already had faith in Crown, and therefore did not act in a way that would betray that trust.
In other words, there was no room for those who sought to engage in illicit activities behind the scenes.
As a result, the secrets of the Divine Power Engraver and the Crown Card remain preserved to this day.
♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦
With that as a premise, Schmidt turned his gaze to Sarasa.
“In that case, it seems like more scoundrels will be plotting in the shadows.”
The “scoundrels” Schmidt is referring to are those who try to steal the technology of the Divine Power Engraver and the Crown Card.
Sarasa’s answer was simple and clear.
“I think we should let them do as they please. Of course, it’s better to take visible countermeasures.”
“Well, that’s true.”
Several members of the upper management gave a bitter smile, listening to their conversation.
What Schmidt is implying is that as Crown grows larger, there will be more opportunities for scoundrels to infiltrate.
Naturally, there will be countries that become connected to them.
On the other hand, Sarasa’s response is that since the crucial part related to Status cannot be stolen anyway, they should be allowed to do as they please.
Incidentally, the Divine Power Engraver itself has numerous security measures in place to prevent it from being easily stolen.
If one possessed the technology to bypass such measures and steal it, they would likely have already developed Magic Tools or Divine Tools and made a fortune.
They had never heard of any Magic Tools created through such innovative development techniques.
In other words, with the current level of technology, even stealing the Divine Power Engraver is impossible.
Furthermore, those present know that the parts of the Divine Power Engraver related to Status are created by the Avatar himself.
There is not a single person here who would dare to try to tamper with a divine artifact created by a god.
“So, how much more can we actually produce?”
“He said as much as we want, as long as we don’t have to worry about the distribution of available materials.”
“That… we’ll have to check the materials we use.”
Several people nodded at Schmidt’s words.
What Sarasa is essentially saying is that if they use all of the relatively scarce materials that are in circulation, they can produce that many.
However, doing so would undoubtedly cause market confusion.
The members of the Merchant Division would never allow such a thing.
Therefore, they intend to check the necessary materials and then consider how to secure the portion of materials that can be allocated to the Divine Power Engraver.
Furthermore, while it is not a problem for Kousuke to create a few Divine Power Engravers in cooperation with Isunani, they cannot rely on them indefinitely if they are to proliferate worldwide.
Even if Kousuke must create the parts related to Status, it would be better to delegate other necessary tasks to others.
Otherwise, mass production will remain a distant dream.
“…Eventually, the production of Divine Power Engravers seems like it will become a specialty of Headquarters.”
When one of the upper management members murmured that, everyone had a cheerful expression.
“I see. That’s certainly true.”
“First, to achieve that, we need to establish branches in various regions.”
Sarasa and Schmidt nodded in agreement.
If Crown branches are established worldwide, that future will undoubtedly arrive.
It is uncertain, however, whether Kousuke himself will be involved in the production of Divine Power Engravers until then.
The report on the Divine Power Engraver, which was initially a lively conversation, continued amicably afterward.
As the number of branches increases, so does the workload, but it also brings in more income.
For the upper management supporting the Merchant Division, this is generally a welcome development.
This is probably because everyone present is a merchant.
However, the cheerful atmosphere did not last.
It was a little later that the bomb dropped by Sarasa caused everyone in the room to stiffen with tension.
In the end, I ended up spending more than one chapter on the Divine Power Engraver.
But it was necessary, so it couldn’t be helped.
Without this, there would be a lack of explanation again, and readers might feel left behind.
