Episode 104

“The magical information of Esrea Magic Ore can sometimes try to resist depending on the direction of change. But there were parts in my processing that weren’t a problem. That’s the dialogue with Esrea Magic Ore.”

“…I-I kind of…might understand…?”

“Esrea Magic Ore indicates itself through resistance in its magical information. So it’s important to process it in a way that the Ore can accept.”

“But that means it might not evolve in the direction we want…right?”

“You have to negotiate well there. Gain the trust of the Esrea Magic Ore and guide it to evolve in the desired direction. That is the most important thing when processing Esrea Magic Ore.”

“…I-I feel like I understand, and also like I don’t…”

I closed the book, set it on the table, and applied heat to the processed Esrea Magic Ore.

Recalling the earlier explanation, I attempted to converse with the Esrea Magic Ore.

‘I’m hot, idiot! Be gentler!’

I felt rebuked by the resistance in the magic.

Okay, okay.

I’ll melt it at a moderate temperature. Now it’s not hot enough? …You selfish thing.

Then a little hotter…now it’s too hot? My bad, my bad.

This fine-tuning is hard, so cut me some slack.

Conscious of the dialogue, I varied the heat and melted it down.

Once the whole thing was melted, I tried to combine it with Eirea Magic Ore, and even there I conversed.

…I see. That’s different.

I prepared a cup to contain the melted ore.

It had a long handle and a shape suitable for scooping liquids like water. Of course it was heat-resistant and used in smithing.

I poured the mixture of Esrea Magic Ore and Eirea Magic Ore into the cup. Then I began removing the parts the Esrea Magic Ore disliked.

It was like skimming off the scum as you would in cooking.

This Esrea Magic Ore was really picky. It clearly rejected the parts it hated.

If those hated parts aren’t removed, they won’t blend properly.

I understood that from the resistance of the Esrea Magic Ore.

After removing a bunch, the Esrea Magic Ore started to protest as if saying, “Not enough!”

There was no more Eirea Magic Ore.

But there were several Birea Magic Ores.

I picked up the Birea Magic Ores and carefully selected the ones I thought Esrea Magic Ore would like.

What I realized there was the individuality of the Magic Ore.

Even Birea Magic Ore seemed to have a small sort of will.

I had been neglecting that until now.

From now on, smithing will need to take that aspect into account.

For now, this Esrea Magic Ore.

When I melted the chosen Birea Magic Ore, the Esrea Magic Ore…accepted it.

Eirea, Birea, and Esrea Magic Ore.

The three of them melted together.

I poured it into a mold and reshaped it into a single iron plate.

I checked its magical information once more.

There were a huge number of spots to correct. And Esrea Magic Ore would resist each of those corrections.

Ha, it’s going to take an enormous amount of time.

“…From here, huh.”

I’ve only just stood at the entrance so far.

The real processing of the Esrea Magic Ore begins here.

I wiped the sweat on my brow with a towel and looked at Alicia.

Let’s take a break and have something to eat first.

“Alicia, it’s about lunchtime, right?”

“Yeah, I noticed.”

“W-well.”

“You were so focused on the smithing, I thought you might skip the meal.”

“I’ll definitely eat.”

I laughed as I left the smithy with Alicia.

Then I looked at her again.

“…Thanks for the notes earlier.”

“No, I’m glad I could help.”

“…You’ve already been helping me all along. Thank you, really.”

“…Do your best, Faik.”

“Yeah, of course.”

After eating, I’ll have to get back to the smithing.

…It’s going to get busy from now on.

But at the same time, there was a thrilling excitement.

Just how many swords will be completed? I don’t even know.

I was simply excited to see the finished products.

Lord Goral and Bertie were also at the lunch table.

It’s rare for everyone to have lunch together like this in the afternoon.

I thought my body was dirtier than usual because I’d been so absorbed in the smithing earlier.

…That isn’t rude, right?

As I took my seat thinking that, Lord Goral glanced over at me.

“Faik. I want to hear a bit about your progress.”

An abrupt question.

Last time I hesitated to answer, but now it’s different.

“Yes. I read the first headman’s notes and obtained a hint. At this rate, I think I can manage it.”

“…Is that so? If that’s the case, good.”

“Did something happen?”

Lord Goral’s serious expression caught my attention.

I wonder if something happened?

While I watched Lord Goral, Bertie answered instead.

“Oh, is that so? Maybe you’ve moved forward?”

“That’s right. But it will still take a bit of time. I aim to have it finished by tomorrow or the day after.”

A week has already passed since I took the commission.

They probably can’t be kept waiting any longer.

For the shop as well.

“Oh, it seems quicker than I thought. It really was the right choice to commission Faik.”

“I’ll work hard so I can bring the finished product soon.”

I was also worried about the Horned Dragon’s movements, but if Bertie says so, it seems it’ll be fine.

I let out a small breath and then ate lunch.