Ms. Erien, who suddenly asks where I live.
"Why is she asking where I live?"
She hasn't even seen my face, and suddenly asks for it?
And she even calls me the future Child of the Forest.
Is opening the document really that important?
[Um... I did some research, oppa.]
Yeah.
[You know the number of blacksmiths among the dwarves is almost extinct, right?]
I know.
That's right. The demand for blacksmiths is high, but the Descendants of Fire have dried up, so it's quite a problem.
[The concept of the Descendant of Fire among the Fairy Race is exactly the Child of the Forest...]
Ah...?
Wait a moment.
[Honestly, Yuna thinks not only the Fairy Race...]
[But the Sun Dwarves are probably looking for you too, oppa... 🙄]
During my ordinary undergraduate days.
There was a day when the lab work wouldn't solve no matter how shitty it was until dawn, so I ended up stuck on it until the next morning.
And when I turned my head to leave, the professor was sitting behind me, though I don't know since when.
-I'll teach you one good thing.
With those words, I was dragged to the professor's office... and since that day...
Let's not talk about it.
Anyway.
So that means I'm a talent that much needed by the group.
It would be quite troublesome without a graduate student.
[Not a graduate student, but it seems like there's no professor...?]
That much...?
Anyway.
I understand why Dolores is desperately trying to hide me.
"Then should I ask only what I'm curious about?"
So, I'll just ask questions.
Minimize providing information, like that.
[Yuna thinks it's good]
Okay.
I ignored the DM for now and read the crafting section.
That very irritating line I saw earlier.
'Gem crafting begins with physical labor.'
Why, why on earth?
It said that because the Fairy Race is small, they developed in a direction that uses less strength.
And the words that follow, as if betraying expectations.
[The Fairy Race, with small bodies and small hands, can perform detailed work that other races cannot imitate.]
"........"
So, as much as their hands are small.
It means they can do delicate, intricate work.
This place has its own hardships too.
I kept turning the pages.
Regardless, the first step must be indulging in theory books.
If you master the theory thoroughly, any application is possible.
It just takes time.
One hour.
Two hours.
I read for hours without knowing how much time passed.
The core I wanted to extract from this textbook was one thing.
' How on earth can I make something like that stocking material from minerals?'
Tmir's footrest is said to be made of woven gems.
I couldn't figure out how to make gems like cloth like that.
And the conclusion is...
"Fuck, is this for real?"
Along with a shocking process.
When I thought the research was roughly done.
Slam.
The workshop door suddenly opened.
It was Dolores.
"...... Mama?"
I looked at her wondering what was going on.
Dolores's eyes were moist.
She strode over and hugged me tightly before I could stop her.
"Quack."
' W-wait a moment...'
Even without any devices like caffeine, I was barely driving away fatigue with dopamine and concentration.
"I'm so upset, I can't take it..."
She suddenly burrowed into my arms. She locked my body tightly with both arms so I couldn't move at all.
The cool chill felt on my back due to the Nine Yin Severed Meridians... and soft, squishy... body...
It was soft and comfortable, as if wrapped in a cool mat. What is this...
Drowsiness comes.
Feeling the sleep debt I had postponed again and again being paid off in an instant, my eyes closed.
"S-sleep, th-that..."
With closing eyes, I pointed at the warm shoes.
'Please just throw that away...'
In the end, I couldn't finish speaking.
I fell asleep just like that.
***
I opened my eyes.
"What the."
My last memory is.
Not an ergonomically designed soft cool mat...
But fainting in Dolores's arms.
I did overdo it. I just fainted.
As soon as I opened my eyes, what entered the air was a floating message window.
[New Message][56]
Oops, seems they're a bit urgent.
I got up and went out to the hallway.
Actually, I'm a bit impatient right now too.
The steps before going to the lab the next day after mastering all the theory are the most exciting.
Just like I get most excited when I hear a rhythm game company has released a new chart.
Having encountered a new crafting method, I was currently very excited.
I immediately got up.
"How many hours did I sleep?"
[From 6 PM yesterday to 11 AM, about 17 hours?]
I slept well.
Maybe because I caught up on lost sleep, my body feels refreshed.
I quickly threw myself out into the hallway.
Since I hadn't eaten anything for 24 hours, I headed to the dining hall intending to grab anything.
Just then, there was a ciabatta on the table... so I just picked it up and stuffed it in my mouth as I walked to the workshop.
Munch munch.
On the way to the garden.
What the fuck?
Except the path is refreshing and flowers are blooming, it feels similar to when I was commuting to the lab sipping coffee.
Didn't I graduate from grad school?
Thoughts for a moment, body moves. I opened the workshop door and went inside.
Ruby and Mama Dolores seemed to have left for magic training in the nearby forest.
I overheard it while passing by.
Thanks to that, the house was empty.
I was able to focus on work.
As soon as I went in, I turned on the water full blast into the huge tub.
Creak.
Cool water fills the tub.
It's the Cooling Bath. You can think of it as a place where heated minerals take a cool water shower.
"Phew..."
While the water filled, I swallowed the ciabatta and recalled yesterday's theory book.
The core of crafting I realized yesterday.
The technique of crafting.
Munch munch.
I had roughly pictured in my head what to do.
'Make the Sun Dwarf's warm inner shoes with materials extracted using the Fairy Race's crafting techniques.'
The preparations are simple.
We need to extract thread and cloth from gems and minerals.
How? Normally, that's impossible.
Even if you can extract thread from minerals like asbestos or basalt, gems are different.
It's an area close to impossible even with modern technology.
Gems like diamond, ruby, and sapphire are hard, but they don't have the property of being drawn out long like fibers.
However.
This place is different.
I took out a few Flame Ores from the mineral pouch.
The red gem was giving off a faint heat.
This heat is mana.
Raw Ore in this world contains mana. That's why mages and blacksmiths use it as a material.
And that mana is said to be clustered inside the raw ore while also wrapping the surface in layers like a net.
'Peel off that net.'
Peeling off the mana membrane contained in gems or minerals and extracting it as cloth.
For normal minerals, it's called 'melt spinning' where they are completely melted and pushed through a nozzle to extract thread.
The process is slightly different.
That is the theory that forms the basis of all Fairy Race crafting techniques.
Mana Overknitting.
Seeing once is better than hearing a hundred times.
I had simulated it in my head over 100 times.
I locked the filled water and called Yuna.
"Yuna?"
[Yeah]
I laid out in words all the processes I had conceived and understood from reading.
"...Send a DM to the Great Chieftain asking if it's possible to do it like this. Oh, and tell them I couldn't see the messages because I was sleeping."
I should be polite.
Now, just the final cross-validation.
Once I do the final verification of whether the theory is correct or not, it begins.
Ding.
The message arrived immediately.
[Erien]: Child of the Forest, you're awake!!
[Erien]: To examine crafting as soon as you wake up, truly the Child of the Forest. Our predecessors were always like that too. There's a saying passed down through generations that they move their fingertips as soon as they open their eyes...
Long.
Eighty percent of the content is admiration, and ten percent is boasting about Fairy Race ancestors.
I scrolled all the way down and checked only the conclusion.
[Erien]: The method you mentioned is the orthodox way used by previous Child of the Forest! There's no problem at all!!
Okay.
"Can you tell them thanks?"
[Okay]
[Erien]: Thanks?! How could you say that? It's something I should naturally do!!
[Erien]: By the way, I'd like to send a gift, could you tell me your address?
I closed the DM window and focused on work.
The verification was done.
"...This is my first time with fire."
I picked up the black stone placed next to the furnace.
Ignition Stone, I had roughly heard about it while listening to the workshop explanation before.
They said if you hit it a few times with a hammer and put it in the furnace with charcoal, it lights.
Somehow it seemed like it would increase stamina and skill haste.
After placing that black stone in front of the furnace, I picked up the hammer.
"Earthbone Hammer."
Long time no see.
Sorry, I only touched the Enchant Hammer and couldn't meet you.
"Don't worry."
Today, I'll use you until I'm sick of it.
Thump, thump.
After hammering the Ignition Stone a couple times, I threw it into the furnace with charcoal.
Soon.
Whoosh!!
The red stone cracked red and flames caught on the charcoal pile.
I looked down at the Flame Ore in my hand. A faint warmth soaked through my fingers.
While the Warm Gloves and warm inner shoes so far only had a 'warming' effect and a slight heat-generating effect due to the Sun Dwarf's engraving.
This is a direct heat-generating material.
A mineral that looks like translucent red glass, ambiguous to call a gem.
I will use this.
The fire burned to some extent.
I poked the charcoal with tongs and buried one ore inside.
Then, covered it with charcoal again.
"Phew..."
It starts now.
Crrreeeak...
I stepped on the pedal.
The bellows push out wind, the charcoal takes in oxygen and feeds the fire.
It was said to be lighter thanks to lubricant, but it was still hard labor.
Creak... creak...
Drip... drip...
Sweat flowing from my forehead falls onto the pedal.
The workshop heated up in an instant from the heat the furnace spewed.
I opened all the windows, but it's no use.
Crrreeeak...
Stepping on the pedal in a trance.
At that moment when sweat soaked my whole body and I had to keep wiping it away because it blocked my vision.
"...How many minutes?"
[20 minutes]
Flame Ore starts melting from 30 minutes.
"Enough."
I immediately poked the charcoal with tongs and took out the red-hot Flame Ore.
And then.
Sssssss!!!
I dipped it straight into the Cooling Bath where I had put water earlier.
Bubbling...
The water boiled in an instant and steam covered my vision.
Bubble.
Bubble.
Bubble.
Bubbble.
I rode the beat to the timing of the water boiling...
"Now?"
Thump...
I raised the Earthbone Hammer and struck the side of the Cooling Bath.
Thump, thump, thump...
Strike continuously with a steady rhythm.
They said to strike as on-beat as possible.
I'm confident. This is my specialty.
It feels like playing a Rhythm Game during work. If I imagine a Hit Circle in front of me, I do better.
The vibration spreads through the water...
Soon.
A red aura rose above the water surface like a heat haze.
Something that doesn't mix, like oil floating when sprinkled on water.
That's it.
I immediately picked up the sieve next to me.
Not too early, not too late, before the membrane disperses.
In that instant.
Swish!
I pushed the sieve in and carefully scooped up the membrane floating on the water surface.
Due to the rapid temperature difference, the mana held on the surface of the mineral separates along with the surface.
The principle is that it rises in the form of a thin membrane.
The Fairy Race's crazy crafting theory.
"Thermal Shock Exfoliation."
I immediately moved the limp membrane scooped with the sieve onto the wooden frame propped nearby.
Before it cools and hardens, I need to shape this cloth first.
Spreading the limp, hot texture with my fingertips.
Swish...
I hung it under sunlight to dry.
The warm sunlight and the heat contained in the cloth itself meshed.
The moisture of the damp membrane dried up in an instant.
"........"
When wet, it was just like a limp transparent shell.
Now, the inside is faintly visible...
"Silk."
It had become red silk.
Holding the result in my hand, I plopped down right there.
Silk the size of a palm.
"Ha..."
To make one of these, it feels like I poured out 2L of water from my body.
The repeated process itself is simple.
I just need to repeat this until enough cloth accumulates to comfortably make warm inner shoes.
"Is the water hot?"
[No. It's not hot.]
"The stone?"
[That's not hot either]
I put my hand into the Cooling Bath and took out the Flame Ore.
It had subtly shrunk in size.
"So I just need to repeat this."
Peel off the mana wrapping the outside layer by layer as cloth.
Until the mana clustered inside is revealed.
"........"
I swept back my sweat-soaked bangs.
As I sat there blankly.
[Um... hey, oppa? Yuna thinks this turned out incredibly well. Really, really.]
[You know I don't praise you, oppa]
I know.
I know, but I'm too tired to say anything right now.
"Can you take a picture and send it to see if this is done properly?"
Let's get confirmation from the Great Chieftain.
Click.
[Anonymous]: (photo)
[Anonymous]: Is this done well?
The Great Chieftain read it immediately again.
However, this time there was no answer for a while.
"......What's with this person..."
They don't answer when it's important.
"........"
Well, leaving judgment to others. I don't think that's a very excellent method either.
It looks similar to the Mana Overknitting result shown in the textbook, so it should be fine.
I got up and picked up the tongs.
"...Again, again."
Swish.
I cleared the charcoal and threw Flame Ore inside.
Crrreeeak...
It was time for bellows work again.
I stopped counting how many times it was.
On the workbench, a fair amount of translucent red silk was piled up.
But that much something must have drained from my body as well.
I guarantee it. There's something like sari.
Messages kept coming, but I didn't look at them.
Creak.
Just then, the workshop door opened.
It was Dolores.
Looking outside, the moon had already risen.
"...Lady Dolores."
"...Lionel."
"That bread..."
I'm hungry...
But this time too, before I could finish.
Dolores pulled me into her arms.
"Ah...?"
My head was buried in her chest.
Baang...? No, this isn't the bread.
Bread... baang...
"Your body is hot, Lionel..."
"I have work to do..."
I can't resist this...
From the moment I was held in her arms, strength drained from my body.
Coolness and softness are emotions I shouldn't be feeling right now.
"Lionel? I still respect you so, so much."
"Ah......"
"I don't want to interfere when you're absorbed in something. Even if you stay up all night or skip meals, I try to just watch as much as possible."
Dolores's voice trembled little by little.
"But the reason I came like this is..."
"........"
Dolores's arms pulled me a little deeper.
"Because I thought your body would be damaged."
"........"
"Whenever it seems like you'll cross that line, I'll come like this again and again."
Dolores's eyes looking down at me waver faintly.
It seemed like tears were welling up.
Me, who had been stuck in front of the furnace all day.
She seemed to have been watching while enduring quite a lot.
"Don't overdo it, okay? Lionel. Your body is more important than mine."
"......Yes."
Her face smiling brightly.
Rub rub.
Along with the cool sensation of stroking my bangs.
I collapsed into her soft arms.
Through closing eyes... taking Dolores's face into my eyes.
I fell asleep.
***
A single photo in front of my eyes.
How on earth should I accept this?
"W-what?"
Great Chieftain Erien's mouth hung open, unable to take her eyes off the photo.
She zoomed in on the screen with trembling fingertips.
Red cloth.
Mana Overknitting.
Thermal Shock Exfoliation.
I understand it all. I can comprehend everything.
Because it's a technique that previous Child of the Forest have devoted their lives to refining.
But what surprised Erien wasn't the technique itself.
"...How on earth is the yield this high?"
How is such a large and wide cloth coming out?
Thermal Shock Exfoliation.
The membrane that can be extracted from one ore is at best the size of a pinky finger.
A huge ore. Countless times. Heating and cooling.
Only after striking and striking again does one piece of cloth come out.
But the cloth in the photo is almost the size of a palm.
If so, it's impossible to explain unless they handled an ore the size of a house.
Of course, it's said that yield varies with crafting ability.
A difference this large is the first she's seen in her XXX years of life.
Is this the shock the Dwarf Race felt when they first encountered the Company?
What was it called, the Industrial Revolution... that.
"......Does this make sense?"
Tap tap.
Erien hurriedly tapped the keyboard.
[Sir,,, I could not,,, help but admire,,, ^^, could you,,, teach me a lesson...^^?]
Tap.
The young Fairy Race standing next to her quietly took over the keyboard.
Tap tap.
[No, Child of the Forest!! How on earth did you do it?! Could you tell us the method?]
It was corrected into an appropriate reply.
Tap tap...
[It's fate~~~^^ Gift-giving time for you,,, sir,,,~~~!!!!!]
In the end, Erien, who had been typing, sighed and shook her head.
"Ha... This messaging is too hard. Ask for the address, the address too."
[I want to send a gift to the Child of the Forest who achieved a miraculous result!! Please tell me your residence!!]
Tracking the residence was also not forgotten.