Chapter 80

Feeling the hard shield against the back of his head, Isaac realized he had been defeated.

The suddenness of everything that had just happened left his mind in a whirl, unable to grasp what was going on.

"…Are you okay? Can you get up?"

The sensation of the shield against the back of his head disappeared, and Valletta's worried voice descended upon him. Isaac released the wooden sword he had been gripping and placed his right hand on the ground to get up. He took Valletta's outstretched hand, thanked her, and was pulled up with a force that belied her slender appearance, causing Isaac to groan as he stood.

He brushed off the dirt and fallen leaves from his body, took a deep breath to calm himself, and then turned to Valletta with a slightly frowning expression.

"Is this the power of blessing given by Kazura-sama?"

"Um… yes."

Valletta hesitated a bit about how to answer but nodded, thinking that she wasn't too far off the mark. Seeing this, Isaac scratched his head and sighed deeply.

"That's really unfair. If you're this strong, you should have told me before the fight. I said to come at me with the intent to kill, but when I took the first hit, I really thought I was done for."

"Sorry. I really wanted to win against Isaac… I thought if I attacked with all my strength without saying anything, I could catch you off guard."

Valletta had charged at Isaac head-on right after the fight started to throw him off and take control of the battle. Despite the astonishing improvement in her physical abilities from continuously consuming the food that Ichirou had brought, her opponent was a professional soldier with combat experience. The longer the fight dragged on, the more Valletta believed her inexperienced movements would be easily read, and her chances of winning would diminish. Therefore, after her first surprise attack was blocked, she repeated a similar attack to make Isaac think she was a novice with predictable attacks. As a result, Isaac took one of the moves Valletta had anticipated. Her subsequent actions were all pre-planned, simulating different scenarios in her head while hanging laundry. If that attack had been blocked, Valletta wasn't sure if she could have won.

"Indeed, you caught me off guard… I lost. Let's keep our promise."

When Isaac said this, Valletta smiled in relief. She had been a bit worried that he might be upset after such a loss, but it seemed her concern was unfounded.

"Thank you. And, please keep this a secret from Kazura. I think he'll worry…"

Saying this with a slightly sad expression, Valletta received an immediate nod from Isaac.

"Understood. I'll keep it from Kazura-sama. When you're ready to stand before him with confidence, you can tell him everything. I won't say a word about the power of blessing, so don't worry."

Hearing this, Valletta smiled happily.

"Yes, thank you."

Bowing her head, Valletta made Isaac feel very pleased inside. This girl, like himself, held a strong respect and dedication to Ichirou. While it was still unclear how much talent she had in combat, if she could display such physical abilities through the blessing, she could grow into a formidable warrior with proper training. Since Ichirou seemed to like Valletta, after training her, he could recommend her to Ichirou and Nelson as a close guard.

"(If that happens… damn, what am I thinking?)"

The conversation between Rize and Ichirou two days ago flashed through his mind, and Isaac quickly reined himself in. He had briefly thought that if Valletta were by Ichirou's side, his attention would shift from Rize to her. He felt ashamed of his shallow thoughts, recognizing them as foolish and lacking in sincerity towards both Ichirou and Rize.

"Let's start right away. First, the basic stance when holding a sword. Take your time and focus on mastering each step."

"Yes!"

Thus, Isaac and Valletta's secret training began.

---

Around the time Isaac and Valletta started their training, Ichirou was sitting on the porch of the Japanese mansion, talking to his father, Shinji, on his mobile phone.

"Five hundred kilograms of copper and tin each… what are you going to use them for? Planning to make a temple bell?"

"No, I'm not going to use them right away, but I want to have them on hand. Can you arrange for the materials to be sent to the mansion?"

Ignoring Shinji's puzzled tone, Ichirou insisted on getting the materials. Shinji ran a metalworking shop, so arranging such metal materials was no problem.

At first, Ichirou considered arranging the materials himself, but it would be too much trouble to find and negotiate with suppliers, so he decided to leave everything to Shinji. It would cost a fair amount, but since Ichirou had already deposited 500 million yen into Shinji's account, there shouldn't be any issue with funds.

"Can you have them delivered by the day after tomorrow? Can you manage that?"

"…Yeah, sure. I'll let you know when the delivery date is set. Leave it to me. By the way, if you're planning to make bronze, the ratio of tin should be around 10%. Don't just rush into it."

"Whoa, really? I didn't know that."

"Hey, are you okay? Don't do anything reckless. If you have any questions, ask me. I'll explain anything."

"Right, about the room in the back of the mansion…"

"I don't know anything about that."

Shinji's firm response made Ichirou sigh dramatically.

"Alright, got it. I'll leave the materials to you. I'll call if anything else comes up."

"Sure. Don't do anything too crazy."

Ichirou ended the call and put his phone back in his pocket.

"Don't do anything too crazy… what's that supposed to mean?"

Scratching his head, he walked towards the car parked in the yard. He turned the key to start the engine, activated the car navigation, and searched for his destination. His first stop was a burner workshop in the city. There was a lot to do while he was in Japan, so he couldn't afford to take it easy. He had already arranged for a water generator to be delivered to the mansion the next morning. First, he planned to buy and arrange the items Valletta had requested and those he intended to take to Isteria, and then he would do his research.

"Hopefully, I can get everything done by the day after tomorrow, but who knows."

Confirming that the car navigation had started the route guidance, Ichirou pressed the accelerator.

---

About an hour later.

Ichirou arrived at the burner workshop and was examining the glass rods displayed on the shelves. The rods were arranged by type of glass, with hard glass for oxygen burners and soft glass for air burners. Among these, there were clear crystal glass and opaque soda glass. The store was a three-story building, and Ichirou was currently on the second floor. The first floor displayed finished products like glass balls, while the second floor had the glass rods and tools. A sign on the stairs indicated that a burner workshop was held on the third floor.

"Hmm, which one should I buy?"

Comparing the hard and soft glass rods, Ichirou was a bit unsure which to choose. The hard glass rods looked more lustrous and beautiful at first glance. If he melted these hard glass rods into a large chunk and then shattered them into irregular shapes, it would be easier for Nelson to sell them in the market.

Next to the glass rods, there were also some special types of glass, such as dichroic glass that shimmered with iridescent colors and glass rods with various patterns like a striped candy.

"Wait, to melt this, I need a specialized burner… I should buy a set of tools and process it into the desired shape and size there."

The glass rods in the store were between 1 and 2 centimeters in diameter. They were a bit small and all similar in shape, so he would need to melt them into a larger block first.

Ichirou called over a female clerk sitting at the register in the corner of the store and asked about the tools.

"Excuse me, I want to buy tools to process this hard glass. Could you recommend a set for me? It's my first time, so I'm not sure what I need."

"Sure. The tools for oxygen burners can be quite expensive. Is that okay?"

"How much are we talking about? I've prepared some funds, but I'm not sure how much."

"The burner and the oxygen generator are quite expensive, so with the other tools, it might cost around 300,000 yen. If you're working with soft glass, you can get a set for around 40,000 yen."

There was a significant price difference between the tools for hard and soft glass. While the price of the hard glass tools was quite high, it was manageable for Ichirou, a super-rich man.

"Ah, no, the oxygen set is fine. Can you explain the tools to me?"

"Sure, this way."

The female clerk led Ichirou to a back room where various burners and oxygen generators were displayed. They were all quite expensive, with many costing over 200,000 yen.

"First, the burners. The flame characteristics vary depending on the model. You can adjust the flame size with the nozzle, but it also depends on the size of the work you want to create and how much you want to refine the flame."

"Hmm… which one do you recommend? I'd prefer something durable and less likely to break."

"The most durable one is this. It costs 250,000 yen, but it produces a good flame and is built to last."

The clerk pointed to one of the burners on the shelf.

"Alright, I'll take that one."

"Thank you. For the oxygen generator, the cheaper ones cost around 100,000 yen, but the better Japanese-made ones cost around 250,000 yen. In terms of performance…"

Ichirou listened to the clerk's detailed explanation about the oxygen generators and understood that the more expensive ones were better.

"Then, I'll take the most expensive one."

"Thank you. What about the electric furnace? The best one costs around 350,000 yen."

The clerk, assuming Ichirou had plenty of money, also explained the electric furnace. It was used for a process called "annealing," where glass products made from different types of glass were cooled slowly to prevent cracking due to thermal expansion differences.

"Hmm, the electric furnace uses a lot of power, right? I'd rather avoid something that requires a lot of electricity…"

"Yes, the larger ones can draw over 20 amps. If you don't use an electric furnace, you can place the work in a material called 'annealing medium,' which usually works fine."

The clerk handed Ichirou a bag containing small white beads, which would be sufficient for his needs since he wasn't mixing different types of glass.

"Then, I'll take the annealing medium."

"Thank you. For the container, an empty can would work well. An empty cookie can would be perfect. If you don't have one, we have specialized cans available."

"An empty cookie can… I have a suitable one, so that's fine. Can you help me choose the other tools? I don't mind if it's a bit more expensive; I want the most user-friendly set."

"Sure. Let's start with the specialized glasses and tweezers…"

Following the clerk's recommendations, Ichirou purchased more items. He was advised to buy small gas cylinders, but since he wouldn't be returning to Japan soon if he ran out of gas in Isteria, and he didn't think he would use that much, he decided to have his father, Shinji, arrange a large propane gas cylinder. In the end, the total purchase amount was nearly 600,000 yen.