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“With the success rate increasing this much, do we really need a large-scale incubator? Wouldn’t it be enough to provide farmers with smaller ones and simply teach them how to maintain the proper environment?”

Even that alone would greatly increase meat production.

It wasn’t a particularly difficult task either, as it only required teaching farmers how to maintain the appropriate conditions.

“It’s not because I’m lazy or find it too exhausting. I’m just saying it’s more efficient that way, don’t you think?”

At Alfoi’s words, which exuded a hint of laziness, Vanessa shook her head firmly.

“Of course, we’ll use that method as well. It would help increase the farmers’ wealth. But if we operate on a large scale within the estate, we can secure a much higher production volume than leaving it to individual farmers. That’s what the lord wants, too.”

Individual farmers’ production of meat would increase several times, but if the lord also ramped up production?

Meat prices would drop significantly, making it accessible to everyone.

The impact of that prospect made the mages gulp nervously. Upon further thought, they realized this was an extraordinary business opportunity.

And anyway, when Vanessa decided on something, it was going to happen. The mages had no authority to refuse.

She forcibly led the mages into a meeting with the dwarves.

Galbarik, who was already stressed out from developing new materials, spoke with a slightly annoyed tone.

“A scale? A sluice gate? You want to add those to an incubator?”

“Yes, yes, we need a very precise mechanism,” Vanessa replied with an excited expression as she explained the concepts and devices she had in mind.

Her proposal was to use scales to measure the weight of water.

“It’s a device that measures the weight of the evaporating water, and when it falls below a certain level, it opens the sluice gate to refill the water.”

“Measuring weight? So you’re planning to place scales all over the place?”

“No, maintaining a consistent temperature and humidity across the entire incubator is crucial. I’m thinking of drilling evenly spaced holes in the floor where the eggs will be placed, and placing water tanks underground. I need you to make it so we can measure the weight there.”

“Hmm, so you want the floor under the water tanks to function like a scale. Then, when it falls below a certain level, the sluice gate will open to refill the water.”

“Exactly. By evaporating the water, we’ll maintain the humidity. We’ll take care of maintaining the temperature to match what it would be when a hen incubates the eggs. This way, we can minimize the use of runestones.”

Vanessa showed them the blueprint she had envisioned. It detailed a design where a secondary floor, functioning as a scale, would be installed beneath the main floor where the eggs would be placed. Multiple water tanks would be positioned on this scale.

Although the blueprint was conceptual and devoid of detailed engineering knowledge, the dwarves were able to understand it well enough.

Vanessa’s eyes sparkled as she continued,

“It’ll be hard to succeed on the first try. Since the incubator is so large, we’ll need to reassess how much water is required to maintain the humidity. But we will succeed.”

Her firm determination resonated with every word, and her passion spread to everyone present.

Moreover, developing new technology was one of the greatest joys for the dwarves.

In the end, the dwarves, intrigued by Vanessa’s proposed mechanism, began enthusiastically discussing the project.

“We’ll need to create a separate space to monitor the water level and replenish it consistently.”

“We should also make vents to prevent the humidity from becoming excessive.”

“How many magic circles will we need to inscribe for temperature control?”

While Vanessa provided the baseline figures and concepts, the responsibility of crafting the precise implementation fell to the dwarves.

After several days of intense discussions with the mages, the dwarves managed to draft a blueprint for an incubator that was far larger and more intricate than anything previously used.

“Good. This isn’t a technology we can’t pull off. We’ve done similar things plenty of times before,” Galbarik remarked confidently, as though it were no big deal.

The dwarves had extensive experience using counterweights in construction. Of course, this time, the weight measurements needed to be far more precise, making it more challenging.

But for them, it wasn’t impossible. After all… this was a matter of dwarven pride.

The estate seemed to be brimming with self-proclaimed geniuses with strong egos.

“Let’s get to work right away. With this system, we can minimize the manpower required for maintenance.”

A single person, or perhaps two at most, would be enough to refill the water and monitor the system.

The incubator was designed to hatch tens of thousands of eggs at a time. If it succeeded, it would lead to an enormous surge in meat production.

However, due to the complexity of the mechanism, the initial production cost required a significant budget.

Naturally, the team headed straight to Claude to demand funding.

When confronted with the unexpectedly high budget, Claude crossed his legs with an air of arrogance and retorted,

“How can you just demand money like that? How much is this going to cost? Rune stones, workers, materials… You’re saying it costs this much just to make one? Isn’t this just a loss?”

As Claude began grumbling like an old-timer, Vanessa pulled out an array of charts and research data.

When the dwarves added their detailed explanations about the complex mechanisms, Claude quickly found himself overwhelmed.

‘…What is even going on here?’

The materials were the product of several days of collaboration between mages and dwarves. No matter how clever Claude was, there was no way he could grasp everything in one sitting.

But Claude at least grasped the basic concept.

‘This… seems plausible?’

In the end, he surrendered with a reluctant expression and approved the project, warning:

“If this fails, we’re in big trouble! The cost for every attempt is astronomical!”

“Don’t worry! We’ll succeed for sure!” Vanessa confidently declared and immediately got to work with the dwarves.

However, maintaining the proper temperature and humidity proved much harder due to the increased size of the incubator.

No matter how precisely it was built, the sheer size of the incubator made it difficult to maintain uniform conditions throughout.

The hatch rate hovered around 50%, and even then, the hatching times were inconsistent.

After several failed attempts, Alfoi spoke up with a downcast expression.

“Can’t we just settle for this? I mean, even 50% is better than nothing.”

“No way. If we settle for this, there’s no point in building a large-scale incubator,” Vanessa retorted firmly.

“Exactly! This is about our pride!” Galbarik added with conviction.

Vanessa was determined to succeed, not just for herself but for the benefit of the estate. For Galbarik, it was a matter of dwarven pride.

With both of them so obstinate, there was no stopping the project—except for one persistent voice.

“Whaaaat?! How much money is this burning through?! Are you sure this is even going to work?”

Claude showed up daily, pestering and pressuring them. With each adjustment to the design and the continual consumption of rune stones, his exasperation grew.

Considering how the estate always spent more than it earned, it was no wonder Claude was beside himself. This relentless financial drain left Vanessa feeling increasingly discouraged.

‘What should I do…? I’m causing such a huge loss for the estate. I shouldn’t have been so eager…’

Vanessa’s naturally timid personality resurfaced. She detested causing losses to the estate, and after a major mistake she made in the past, this aversion had only grown stronger.

Now, throwing away massive amounts of money every day—something she couldn’t even have imagined back when she was doing menial tasks—was eating her alive.

‘Should I just stop here? Increasing the farmers’ production is already a win. Maybe we should spend the money elsewhere instead…’

While she was contemplating giving up, Ghislain came to visit.

He had heard rumors that the project wasn’t going as smoothly as expected and decided to check in.

“Lord!”

“Hey, Vanessa. I hear you’ve been working hard lately?”

“I-I’m so sorry! I keep failing… And I’ve spent so much money…” Vanessa stammered, bowing her head in shame.

Ghislain, however, shrugged it off.

“We’ve got plenty of money. Don’t worry about it—keep going.”

“B-but… the Chief Overseer says we’re spending too much, and it’s causing difficulties…”

“That’s just him. He always worries about everything—he’s cautious by nature. If we need more funds, I’ll take care of it. Keep moving forward. And remember—if those barbarians up north lay a curse…”

“…We’ll die for sure?”

Vanessa smiled as she replied, prompting Ghislain to clear his throat and continue speaking.

“Exactly. So keep at it until it works. You said you’ve already succeeded with the smaller incubators, right? You’re almost there. If the small ones worked, the big ones will, too.”

“Yes… the small ones did… Ah!”

Suddenly, Vanessa’s eyes widened as if struck by a sudden epiphany.

Seeing her so deep in thought, Ghislain quietly slipped away. Interrupting her at moments like this would be a grave mistake.

Vanessa, unaware that Ghislain had left, kept repeating the same thought to herself.

“The small ones succeeded…? Then… why not make it smaller?”

She realized she’d been too ambitious in trying to hatch a massive quantity of eggs all at once.

“If I shrink the space, it’ll work!”

The solution seemed simple: identify the maximum size capable of maintaining optimal temperature and humidity, then create multiple units of that size and combine them.

After all, the goal was to hatch a large quantity of eggs, not necessarily to use a single massive incubator. Being fixated on scaling up had been the problem.

By reducing the size, it would be far easier to maintain the proper conditions. Even though the new design would still be larger than the farmers’ small incubators, it wouldn’t be as unwieldy as the previous iteration.

“This time, I’ll definitely succeed!”

Vanessa, reinvigorated, started drafting new blueprints.

When she announced her plan to tear everything down and start over, Claude threw a fit, but she ignored him and pushed forward regardless.

‘I’m sorry, Chief Overseer… Ugh, I swear on my life this time, I’ll make it work.’

On the outside, she tried to remain composed, but internally, she was at her wit’s end.

‘There’s so much data from the success with smaller incubators. As long as I don’t oversize it, I can make use of all that research.’

Vanessa proceeded to invest heavily once again to construct a new large-scale incubator, designed as a cluster of rooms.

Naturally, each room required separate adjustments for temperature and humidity, making the new design even more resource- and labor-intensive than before.

She even gathered every egg available in the estate, a total of 3,000. The consequences of failure would be devastating.

Mages and dwarves worked tirelessly, their eyes bloodshot from sleepless nights, monitoring the incubator’s progress.

Finally, the expected day arrived.

…Crack!

Crack, crack!

Eggs began breaking open, and chicks eagerly crawled out. It was just like the trials with the smaller incubators.

“Wooooaaaaah!”

The mages and dwarves threw their hands in the air and shouted with joy. Excluding the eggs that had issues from the start, the hatch rate was nearly 100%.

Despite a slight variance in hatching times, thousands of chicks successfully emerged in a single attempt.

“It’s a success! A success! Hahaha!”

The news spread like wildfire, throwing the entire estate into a frenzy.

Hatching such a large number of eggs at such a high success rate in one go was unprecedented, not just in the estate but across the entire kingdom.

Administrators, farmers, and onlookers from nearby areas flocked to witness the incredible sight, cheering in amazement.

“It really worked! Look at all those chicks!”

“Quick, move them somewhere warm so they can grow properly!”

“I can’t believe it actually succeeded!”

Watching the jubilant scene, Ghislain gave a satisfied smile and said to Claude,

“See? Told you—if you keep at it, everything works out eventually.”

“…”

Claude, for once, had no rebuttal. Seeing the results, he felt a pang of guilt for all the berating he had thrown Vanessa’s way.

He, too, was thrilled by the success, just like everyone else.

An abundance of meat? This could become a powerful advantage for the estate.

Overcome with joy and a bit of guilt toward Vanessa, Claude suddenly changed his tone.

“Woooooo! Vanessa did it! She’s amazing! I always knew she could do it! Vanessa is the best!”

Wendy shot him a disdainful look from the side, but Claude pretended not to notice.

Thanks to Claude’s theatrics, the crowd soon erupted in chants of Vanessa’s name.

“Vanessa! Vanessa!”

“The Wizard of Meat!”

“A true miracle worker!”

Vanessa, overwhelmed by the praise, didn’t know where to look, her face flushed with embarrassment.

While the dwarves had contributed significantly to the project, they all acknowledged that it was Vanessa’s perseverance that made it a success. Galbarik and the other dwarves clapped for her as well.

This was not a moment Alfoi would let pass unnoticed.

“I was the one who contributed the most!”

Driven by the need to receive recognition as a genius mage, Alfoi eagerly asserted his role in the success.

Acknowledging the efforts of everyone involved, the crowd extended their applause and cheers to the mages and dwarves.

Feeling a bit mollified, Alfoi couldn’t resist bragging in front of Ghislain as well.

“Of course, it all came together because of me. With my guidance, this was bound to succeed…”

Ghislain, nodding absentmindedly, interrupted him with a question.

“Right, good work. But… what’s that you’re holding?”

“This? It’s… Kkoko. My pet chicken…”

Looking a bit sheepish, Alfoi cradled a plump rooster in his arms. It was the first chick he’d ever successfully hatched, and he’d raised it himself as a keepsake. Over time, he’d grown attached, even giving it a name and carrying it around.

“…Right. Take good care of it,” Ghislain said with a chuckle before turning to address the crowd.

“Today is a day to celebrate! Everyone who participated in the project, eat and drink your fill! There’ll also be generous rewards for your hard work!”

Ghislain, always one to reward success appropriately, was met with resounding cheers from the workers.

“Woooooo! Amazing! A feast!”

With plenty of surplus grain, cheap liquor was abundant, and the estate’s experiments had left them with more than enough fully grown chickens.

“Since you’ve all worked so hard, I’ll help organize everything,” Belinda offered, taking charge of the staff to prepare the food and drinks.

Although it wasn’t a formal banquet held in the castle, it was even better for the workers. Gathered in small groups around the incubator site, they slaughtered chickens, drank, and enjoyed the long-overdue celebration.

While everyone else quickly settled into eating, drinking, and having fun, Alfoi, with his slight obsessive streak, couldn’t bring himself to join before cleaning up.

“Ah, it feels good to be clean again. Now, time for a drink. Kkoko, you’re coming too… Wait, Kkoko? Where did you go?”

Freshly washed, Alfoi glanced at the coop and froze. Kkoko was nowhere to be found.