Chapter 34 Processing Arcane Artificing Tools
"The chef at the mess hall was out with a bad back recently."
"Huh, is she okay?"
"She's a bit better after some healing magic, but she's supposed to take it easy for a while."
"I see..."
While casually chatting, the 3 of us returned to find a customer had arrived in our absence.
On the counter, there was a large something wrapped in newspaper, and the familiar sight of a ponytail made me blurt out without thinking.
"Ms. Kanae?"
"Oh, welcome back."
Just when I thought he wasn't there, Yuruyana popped his head out from under the counter.
He seemed to be fetching some hand cream.
"Mr. Tsukumo, it's been a while."
Ms. Kanae turned around with a soothing smile and gave a slight bow.
Instead of her usual work outfit and apron, she was in a soft blouse and skirt, which was a bit unsettling.
"You're the café's waitress, right? Your name's Ms. Kanae."
Damn, my loud mouth made Luka learn Ms. Kanae's name.
"Mr. Luka, was it? Hello."
"You remembered my name, that makes me happy."
As Luka approached and took her hand with a friendly smile, Ms. Kanae stumbled and inadvertently gasped, then covered it up with an ambiguous smile.
"Um, what brings you here today?"
"Captain's got a cat costume on. It's funny, check it out."
Tapping the golden nape of his neck out of habit from his active days, the sound was louder than expected, making Ms. Kanae's eyes go round with surprise before she covered her mouth and giggled.
"Sorry, that was a bit too loud, hehe."
"The captain's got a heavy hand, no mercy. So, Ms. Kanae, what did you come to buy? Hand cream?"
Yuruyana shook his head.
"Nope, the hand cream is just a bonus. Tsukumo's the real deal."
"Me?"
I was so sure Yuruyana had heard rumors about the cosmetics, I was the one taken aback this time.
What could it be for?
"The frying pan we use is old, so we're replacing it before the Founding Festival. I asked the owner where he bought it, and he said it was from Kreis General Store."
"Is that so?"
It was Grandfather's doing again.
The newspaper on the counter seems to be hiding the old frying pan.
"Rust prevention, stain resistance, and maybe lighter weight..."
I quickly checked, and the Arcane Art formula on the well-used frying pan was fading and its effects were wearing off.
Because of that, it seems to have rusted a bit.
Iron frying pans can last forever if you take care of them properly, without even needing magic to prevent rust, but that sloppy owner must have neglected it.
And Ms. Kanae probably didn't even know that it needed care in the first place.
"It was light and convenient... Are they still selling the same one?"
"I'll make one. It won't take long."
"Huh?"
It doesn't need a circuit board.
It's a general Arcane Art tool, not Arcane Machinery, so it's not difficult to process.
I took a frying pan of the same size from the end of the shop and sat down on a chair.
Since the suppliers are the same, the shape is almost identical.
"Do you remember when you bought the old one?"
"Hmm, I think it was about 14 or 15 years ago..."
"Yuruyana, can you find the ledger?"
"I'll take a look."
While Yuruyana is looking for how much it was sold for back then, I decide to carve the formula into the frying pan.
The method of writing with ink will easily damage the formula with heat or detergent, so it needs to be carved directly into the iron.
To be safe, I had Ms. Kanae move away from the counter a bit, and I placed my hand on the frying pan with the wooden handle removed, muttering.
[Fire Light]
A red line extends from the gripped handle, spreading radially over the round bottom surface to form the formula.
After the entire bottom surface was filled with red letters, they disappeared from the edge.
"So that's how you process an Arcane Art tool..."
"Haven't I shown you before?"
"I've never seen it before either."
I'll leave Luka and Thomas, who are strangely excited, for now, and I hold out the handle that I've reattached to Ms. Kanae.
"Try holding it. I think it's lighter than the ones you've used before."
"Ah, thank you very much."
Ms. Kanae's face softened as she tentatively held a frying pan in each hand.
That's the look I wanted to see.
"It's true! The old ones were light enough, but these are even lighter!"
"Ms. Kanae, let me try too."
"Um, me too..."
"Go ahead, go ahead."
A bunch of old men were making noises like "wow" and "oh," and the area in front of the counter was turning into some kind of theme park.
"I found it, the old record. ...What are you doing?"
Yuruyana returned with the ledger, tilting his head at the space, which was showing a mysterious liveliness.
After seeing Ms. Kanae bow deeply, I suddenly thought of something.
"Right. Both of you, the prototype of the knife is done, so would you try it out?"
"Sure!"
"Gladly!"
I wanted to hear not only my own opinion, but also the opinions of others who had used the old model.
Without mentioning the underground workshop, I explained the specifications and the points that were improved, as if I had just taken them from the storage room.
"The accumulator is good. It's a little heavier, but this much is within acceptable range."
"I'm not good at adjusting the output either, so a mechanism that only consumes a certain amount of magical power is helpful. If it becomes a product, please let me buy one."
It was generally well-received.
It looks like it's okay to put it into production as is.
I have to send an estimate to Dustin.
"As usual, the captain has a lot to do."
"You guys are the ones who keep adding to it."
[Fourth] gathered and came begging for dinner, Thomas was made to take responsibility for the mistakes he made, and I somehow got involved in Luka's rotten relationship with women.
"You guys get along, huh?"
Yuruyana, who had been tentatively touching the knife, was dumbfounded as he watched us fooling around.
Then Luka grinned, showing his ca9 teeth.
"Yuru-Yuru, let's play next time too."
"Huh, so it's okay as long as it looks good?"
Feeling a sense of danger from the light pickup-artist vibe, Yuruyana got goosebumps and rubbed his shoulders, and couldn't help but hide behind me.
"It's okay, Yuru-Yuru, I love the captain the most."
"Don't say it in such a disgusting way."
The serious look on his face as he nodded deeply was even scarier.
"But it's the truth!"
"Thomas, get this guy out of here, quick."
"Understood. See you later."
"Bye, Captain!"
In the end, Luka was dragged away by Thomas.
Finally, silence fell over the shop, and I let out a deep sigh.
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