Chapter 91

I was standing in the backyard of my house with the two Dragon Kings.

Sakura had already gone back inside to prepare lunch. I wanted to finish building the hot spring before she was done, so I decided to quickly ask what I needed to know.

"Here, I have two of your scales. I'm going to use these this time."

When I tapped the scales of Lamuros that I had placed in the backyard, she looked apologetic.

"Oops, they fell here too. Sorry, Daichi."

"Don't worry about it, it's already done. Anyway, I want to bend and break these scales to make the hot spring bath. Is there anything I need to be careful about?"

Lamuros tilted her head with a blank expression.

"Be careful? Not really. My scales are just hard, they don't have any other special properties."

"Hold on, hold on. That hardness is the problem, Lamuros. You talk too casually."

Hestia quickly added, in response to Lamuros' casual remark.

"Lamuros... the scales of the Star Dragon King are the hardest. They are one of the most difficult scales to process. If you're not careful when breaking them, you might get hurt or waste time."

I see. They are that hard.

Come to think of it, Dianea mentioned something similar.

It took a lot of witches to break them.

"Wow, impressive. You really know a lot, Hestia. I didn't know that! I've never made anything with my scales, so I didn't know."

"...... Well, you're so laid-back and don't know much. If you need knowledge, ask me."

Hestia looked a bit exasperated as she watched Lamuros clap at the explanation.

These two have an interesting dynamic.

"Okay, if there's a way to break them, I want to hear it. How do I do it?"

"The trick is to apply force along the pattern that runs vertically on the scale. If you concentrate your strength here, it will be a bit easier."

Looking closely at the scale, I could see a pattern like wood grain.

So, this is the pattern.

"Still, breaking them is tough. Normally, you put a lot of magic power into it and work hard. If your strength is insufficient, you might get hurt by the hardness of the scale."

"Hmm, I see. Then I'll make my arm *Adamant*."

I equipped the Wood Armor only on my arm.

Then, I grabbed the scale and, as instructed,

"Here we go...!"

I applied force along the pattern vertically. Then,

--Crack.

With a sound like sticky metal, the scale cracked slightly.

"Wow, it cracked, but it's tough."

It required more strength than any material I had processed before.

It will take some time to get used to.

Thinking this, I looked at Hestia, and she widened her eyes and whispered.

"Sorry. To correct what I said earlier, normally, breaking them is tough. It takes years of training to be able to forge a dragon's scale..."

Hestia seemed to be holding her head and worrying, but I hope she's okay.

"Anyway, it's good that it cracked. These scales are really hard."

"Yeah, Lamuros' scales are top-notch as protective material. They are hard, strong, and resistant to aging. That's why they are rare and expensive."

"Hehe, I feel a bit shy when I'm praised..."

"...... Regardless of the person, as a material, they are top-notch."

Hestia becomes much more expressive when interacting with other Dragon Kings.

Thinking this, I touched the top-notch material.

It's not just hard; the cross-section is beautiful, and it feels smooth to the touch.

When I applied force horizontally, it bent beautifully, showing that it is hard yet flexible.

It's a great material with many possible uses.

"Yeah, bringing out that flexibility also requires tremendous strength. You are really bringing out the best in Dragon King materials..."

Hestia looked at me with a tired expression.

I just remembered that she had been fully engaged with Lamuros until now.

"Hestia, if you're tired, you can take a break."

"Mm. I'm just tired from the reaction, so don't worry about it."

I see. If Hestia says so, I'll focus on making it.

I broke Lamuros' scales and used the pieces, about the size of a hug, to build a square tub.

I made the bath large enough for about ten people to stretch their legs comfortably.

To ensure that touching the inside of the tub wouldn't cause injury, I shaved and bent the necessary parts.

"Alright, the bath is complete."

An oval-shaped bath was finished.

Next, I ran a pipe to bring in the hot spring water and filled the bath with it.

--And finally, by building a roof and a small changing room with trees,

"Anytime you can enjoy the hot spring."

This is how a semi-outdoor large bath made of Dragon King scales was completed in my house.

I'm looking forward to using it.