"Yeah.  Who knows who's listening."

"On a completely unrelated note, this has reminded me of stories of special gemstones- Ones with magic directly embedded in them and so on. I heard this from a three tailed recluse, but some gems called the Moon Tears can apparently turn someone into a kitsune, or give one new powers, once a century each. She and her wife claimed they did so themselves. If one ever wants to spread the love, so to speak. Certainly not our priority, but interesting, no?"

"...Yeah, that is interesting.

"Wish I'd had some for - well, I'm barely the third most kitsune-coded person I remember from Earth, and that's - only if you squint.  ...No point in getting lost in the past, though."

"Oh, there are people who- Let's skip to the end of that incipient rant and say 'eat the rich'. Probably not literally." She shakes her head.

The Spirit-Paths now have them climbing a long series of steps as the world around them twists. Terraces and towers, stone walls and forest huts.

"Quite.  ...Wait, aren't we about to become the rich if this works?  ...Then again, it's not as if there's magic patent enforcement...  Mm.  This might be trouble."

"We don't have to stay the rich. In Noten, there's magic trade secrets and a culture of you absolutely will get in a massive shitfit of trouble if you leak anything really juicy. Yay... And I'm talking Bill Gates rich, not successful cosmetic surgeon rich, anyway. The zero point one percent. Which we might hit for a while. Hmm... That's a point actually. Better make sure to earmark most of it for charity."

"Yeah, but I'm also thinking about...

"How much of the world this is going to break."

"It's.  Hm.

"I would be very upset with myself if I set off another Cold War, let alone World War Three, or however many.  And this is...  It's so damn simple.  If it works...  And I'm pretty sure it'll work...

"...At least it's not nukes, but I'm concerned that these things will become strategic investments."

"...Mm. Yes, I don't know about that. Part of me says the answer is 'information wants to be free'."

"It does, doesn't it?"

"Still almost makes me want to try for chemical vapor deposition instead, but...

"Well, I don't have the slightest damn clue where to actually start with that beyond knowing the technique exists.

"So it's heat-and-pressure or nothing, and I just can't pick nothing.  To be paralyzed for fear of doing harm is to never do good."

"I don't know as much about the Atsos as Noten. For major polities, you have the Federation Atsos here, Noten, and the steppe nomads- Who I know don't have many wizards. There are a number of subculture zones and colony zones, minor states, the marches, island nations, a desert nation that had a few revolts, some river states and coastal peoples and a few deep wild tribes, but those are the three great powers of the world. And both here and Noten have their points of infighting. As much as a performatively mistrust the gods... They do seem to select for and provide miracles for genuine good. Mostly. The answer might be selling the technique and tooling and training, if we manage this? So that it quickly stops being- A few people as the single point of failure whom attacking can end the whole thing."

"...You're not wrong, but I dread it nonetheless."