Chapter 103 – The Plow and the Secret of Ije’s Village
As for making a plow, there was already something to be an example.
The plow brought from Ije’s village was very well made.
The way the parts were connected, and the angle had been thought out thoroughly.
“Ije’s village not only had great cooking, but great technical skill as well.”
“Really?”
“I think so. The quality of the metal is good.”
“Ehehe.”
Ije smiled bashfully.
“The metal that is used…was it made in the village?”
The plow was made of steel.
And very good steel at that.
If one was to prepare steel of the same quality in the old continent, then it would be quite expensive.
And so steel of this quality would not be used for farm tools there.
It would be used for armor. Very expensive armor and weapons.
“Single old man made farm tools alone in the village.”
“Is that so?”
So they had a blacksmith.
Well, perhaps he had a crafting skill like mine.
“Hmm.”
The treasured dagger that Ije got from her father. It had been an alloy of Orichalcum and mithril.
As for who made it, when and where, Ije had not known.
Regardless, they did have the ability to work with steel.
Ije’s people did not have a writing system.
However, their skills were very high. Almost unbelievably high for such a small village.
I suppose they passed it on directly.
However, skills were a gift from the heavens.
There was no guarantee that one would be born with a crafting skill.
Even more so in a small village.
“Did you and your people always live in these parts?”
“Don’t know.”
“I see.”
If they had no writing, then it would be difficult to know where they had come from.
On the old continent, when we wanted to know the history of a village, we would read the written records.
“Father said…he would tell me when I am older.”
“…I see. Sorry for bringing that up.”
“No. It fine. Ask anything. Father and the village people. We were all there.”
“That’s true.”
“Ije only one who knows. And so Ije want to talk.”
“…I see.”
She was the only one who knew. Who remembered.
And so by telling others, that memory would survive.
It was then that Kelly, who had been listening quietly, approached.
“Ije. Do you have a moment?”
“What?”
“If you do not mind talking about it, I would like to hear about your village later.”
“Yes. Okay. But. Why?”
“I am a scholar. While I specialize in living creatures, humans are also living creatures.”
“Yes.”
“And humans are very social creatures. Society is like…the way villages function, tradition. Well, it includes things like that…”
Kelly was struggling to explain.
“…Huh?”
And so unsurprisingly, Ije was confused.
“Ah, well, um. The thing is. Very broadly speaking, looking into such things is part of my job.”
“Ije not really understand, but okay.”
“Yes, you don’t need to understand. But in exchange, I will teach you our own letters.”
“Letters? The symbols with meaning? You are fine with teaching?”
“Yes.”
Kelly said as she patted Ije on the head. And then she looked at Fio.
“I could teach you as well, Fio. If you want?”
“Yes!”
“Then you two can study together.”
“Wuff!”
Kelly nodded.
“Thank you, Kelly.”
“No, it’s nothing. All part of the job. Besides, I worked as a private teacher once, so I am good at teaching.”
“I see. Well, you did earn your doctorate from the Sage Academy at such a young age.”
There would have been a lot of rich people who would want to hire her to teach their children.
“More importantly, aren’t you going to make a plow, Theo?”
“That’s right.”
I took the metal out of my magic bag.
Unlike with the sink, this time I would mix a small amount of charcoal into it.
“Well, since we may use more steel in the future, I’ll make some extra.”
There were a lot of uses for steel. Armor, weapons, tools, etcetera.
Kelly watched with interest as I made the steel ingots.
“It’s impressive that you can make steel. Well, the houses were amazing as well. So you understand the complex structure of steel?”
“Well, a little.”
In the Hero’s party, I had to be able to do everything.
And I repaired weapons and armor almost every day.
More than building houses or examining wood materials, I was appraising metal or working with metal.
In order to raise my skill, I would acquire metal that was refined by brilliant blacksmiths, and cast the appraisal skill on them over and over again.
The Hero’s holy blade, the Warriors’s magic sword, the Sage’s staff, all of their armor.
The equipment of the Hero’s party was all first rate.
And yet, they would still break. Even the holy blade.
Apparently, it would start to mend if you left it. But you could not wait when there was battle after battle.
And so, I would continuously use appraisal on legendary equipment over and over again every day.
I had probably done it over ten thousand times.
And so metal was something I was rather good at now.
“…Between adventures, I once worked as a helper for a brilliant blacksmith for a few months. With my eyes and skills, I stole this.”
Once I knew how the steel was refined, I could recreate it with the crafting skill.
It was the same as with building houses. Once I saw how it was constructed, it became easy for me to do it.
“I see. You are like a craftsman’s apprentice.”
“Exactly. Well, the convenient thing about this skill is that it shortens the training time significantly.”
And so I finished creating the metal for the plow in no time.
Once that was ready, I just shaped the wood and combined it with the metal.
And then the plow was complete.
Thanks for the treat.