Chapter 61

Summary of the previous episode ------------------------------------------------------

Tomoya suggests making a shovel.

If we can make it successfully, there's a chance we might be able to become an apprentice to a blacksmith.

The next morning, I waited at the central square of the town as Tomoya had instructed, and after a while, Tomoya arrived.

"Good morning. Did I keep you waiting?"

"No, not really. Do you usually start work around this time?"

"Work itself, yes. But today I'm off for various reasons."

"…Work itself?"

"Of course, I wake up much earlier. I train for about one or two hours after waking up, have breakfast, and then start work. I return to town before evening and train until dinner. After dinner, I go to bed, something like that."

"Is that the same for everyone?"

"Pretty much. Naoh and Haruka do some magic training after dinner, but I can't use magic, so I don't do much after dinner. It would be a nuisance to train in the dark in the courtyard of the inn."

I came here right after having breakfast in the morning.

I'm sorry, I thought, 'Tomoya is late,' but you were much more serious about it.

"Shall we go? This way."

"Ah, yes."

Tomoya led me to a weapon shop on a side street off the main road. A muscular middle-aged man greeted us.

"Hey, Tomoya, is this the guy you wanted to introduce?"

"Good morning."

"Good morning, Gantz. Yes, he's a serious guy, so please take care of him."

"It depends on the results. Hey, you're Tommy, right?"

"Yes, please take care of me."

"Am I human, and is that a problem?"

"?, No, if you can take me as an apprentice, it's not a problem at all."

Is there really a problem between races?

In my case, I've never even met a dwarf, so it's a non-issue.

"Hmm, I see. Well, that's fine. Try your best. I'll consider it based on the results."

"Thank you!"

"I've explained the details to Tomoya. Just give it a try."

"Yes!"

"Alright, Tommy, let's go. Gantz, we'll be borrowing him."

"Sure, if you mess up, I'll bill you, including the inconvenience fee! To Haruka."

"Gantz, have some faith in me. If that happens, I'll be in trouble too."

"Haha, if you use it properly, there won't be a problem. Just don't cause any trouble with the girls!"

"She's not my girl!"

While listening to their casual banter, Tomoya led me to the back of the shop, where there was a forge just as I had imagined.

"You might be able to figure out how to use it with your skills, but I'll explain it just in case. If you break anything and Haruka sends me a bill, it won't be a laughing matter."

"Yes, yes!"

I'm already in debt, so I listened carefully to Tomoya's explanation.

"---That's the gist of it. It's not that difficult, right?"

"Yes, but do you not smelt iron here?"

"It seems they buy it in the form of iron. If you think about it, it's more efficient to smelt iron on a large scale, so they probably do it near the iron ore mines."

"Still, wouldn't you need to transport coal to the mining site even if there were blast furnaces in this world?"

"Transporting coal would be costly, but what about magic? If there are magical tools that require less fuel, wouldn't it be more efficient to smelt the iron at the mining site and then transport it?"

"Is there such a magical tool?"

"I don't know."

"Really!? ...Well, in any case, it seems more efficient to smelt iron at the site of either the fuel or the iron ore."

I don't know which one is used more, fuel or iron ore, so I'm not sure about that.

A primitive bloomery might be something an individual blacksmith could do, but even then, it's not something you'd do in the middle of town.

"Alright, the first thing we'll make is a portable shovel."

"Portable? Like the ones sold at home centers?"

"No, no, let's take it step by step. Ideally, I wanted a folding one like the ones used by the Self-Defense Forces..."

"No, no, no, that's a whole different level of difficulty, more like a warp level!?"

"Ah, you know about it too?"

"Yes, I guess? I'm a boy, after all?"

The folding shovel used by the Self-Defense Forces is also known as a round spade. It has a folding mechanism and is fixed with screws when extended. It can be used as a spade when fixed at a 90-degree angle and is highly functional, but making it would be extremely difficult due to the folding mechanism and screws.

"Then, how about an old Japanese Army shovel?"

"Um, it's just the blade and the handle, right?"

"Right, that's what we'll make."

The old Japanese Army shovel is quite simple, essentially a spade blade and a wooden handle. You insert the handle when using it, and there's no special mechanism.

"It's structurally simple and small, so it's perfect for practice, right?"

"Yes."

"Alright, let's get started!"

With that, Tomoya started the fire in the forge.

"Are you making one too, Tomoya?"

"Of course. I have the [Blacksmithing] skill, and I negotiated hard. It would be a waste not to do it."

"I see. That makes sense."

I helped stoke the fire and heated and hammered the iron plate.

Thanks to my skills, I could shape it relatively smoothly.

Tomoya seemed to be struggling a bit, so that's probably the difference in skill levels.

"Tomoya, do you have the stick for the handle?"

"Yeah, I've got it. Make it fit this."

He handed me a sturdy stick about 60 cm long and 3 cm in diameter.

I measured its size and worked on making it fit.

"Is it about like this?"

After about an hour, I finished the first one, lightly sharpened the edge, and inserted the stick.

It looked like a shovel, but...

"Tomoya, I managed to make it, but..."

"Wow, you're already done? You must be a talented Level 3, right?"

"Yes."

"Why don't you try it out in the backyard through that door?"

"Okay."

I took the shovel to the backyard, which was a small, cluttered area with a lot of junk.

The ground was conveniently quite hard.

"Alright!"

I thrust it into the ground and stepped on it.

"Hmm? Hmm..."

It went in, but the feeling of stepping on it was unreliable.

If I put more force, it might bend...

When I leaned the handle, it made a creaking sound. Upon inspection, there was a crack.

"This is a failure..."

As I slumped back inside, Tomoya called out to me.

"How was it?"

"Failure. It looks like this. Maybe the iron was a bit too thin?"

I showed him the failed attempt, and he nodded thoughtfully.

"The problem isn't the thickness but the shape and the forging method. Look, compared to mine, only the part where the handle goes in is protruding. If you extend it a bit more to form a beam-like structure, it will be stronger."

"I see..."

It might be a bit different, but something like a corrugated cardboard shape might be stronger.

"Also, the shape of the scooping part. Maybe it needs a bit more work... Since it cracked, it might be better to increase its flexibility rather than hardness?"

"Tomoya, I understand the points, but... I have a higher skill level, right?"

I understand the points, but it's a bit hard to accept. I'm Level 3, and I have talent, while Tomoya is Level 1.

"This is separate from skill level. For example, if you need iron with 80% stiffness and 20% toughness, I think you can forge it accurately. I might only achieve 85% stiffness and 15% toughness. But if you don't know what you need, it's meaningless, right?"

"...I see, even if you can forge the shape you imagine, if the shape itself is wrong, it's meaningless."

"In that case, my memory is more accurate. I struggle to achieve the desired shape, but..."

While saying this, Tomoya finished shaping the shovel and carefully sharpened the edge.

He's sharpening it to the point where it looks like it could cut. Do you really need to sharpen a shovel that much?

"Probably, in terms of technique, you'll surpass Gantz quickly. But learning the necessary content to actually work as a blacksmith will take time. Don't get too cocky. When that happens, I'll come to break your nose. Well, I'm clumsy, so it might be your jawbone that gets broken."

You mean physically!?

"I understand. My motto from now on will be 'humility'!"

"Good, that's the right attitude. The women in our group will come to break your spirit."

By the way, not just Haruka, but also Shito and Komi joined us.

Even just Haruka would be overwhelming... Yes, I definitely won't forget that.

"Alright! It's a bit warped, but I'll accept it. Let's try it out."

I followed Tomoya as he went to the backyard.

Tomoya thrust the shovel into the ground, stepped on it, and used the lever principle to dig up the soil. He lifted the shovel to check, and it seemed fine...

Tomoya nodded in satisfaction and placed the shovel upside down on the ground, then started stomping on it.

"What are you doing!?"

"Well, if it bends at this point, it's no good, right? A hammer... would be too much. Is this enough?"

Tomoya picked up a stone about the size of his arms from the corner of the yard and dropped it on the shovel without hesitation.

There was a loud thud, and the stone rolled away. The shovel... seems to be okay?

"Seems to be fine for now. Tommy, you have [Strength Enhancement], right? Try twisting it with all your might."

"Even if it's fine so far, I don't think it will bend... Hmm."

I held it at the diagonal and twisted it with all my might, but as expected, it didn't bend.

"It seems to be fine."

"A bit of hammer marks are a bit concerning, but for a first attempt, it's pretty good."

"No, I think it's amazing that you succeeded on your first try..."

"That's not it. I just copied it. I think it would be impressive if you figured out this shape on your first try, but with a model and understanding of the structure, it's just a matter of copying."

But there's a Level 3 here who failed to copy it.

Is it that my memory is bad, or is Tomoya's memory good?

"Is the thickness of the iron about the same? No, a bit thicker? Can I use this as a reference?"

"Sure, if you make the same shape, you'll make a better one, Tommy."

With Tomoya's permission, I sincerely tried to copy the shape.

This time, it took less than 30 minutes. When I applied force, it was completely different from the first one, with no sign of weakness.

The thickness of the iron was only slightly different, but the shape and the way it was tempered made such a big difference.

When I tried making it again, I could make almost the same one in even less time.

"That's definitely the skill difference."

"Once you make it once, repeating the same thing isn't a problem, but initially, you don't know what shape to make. Even with a high skill level, you need to study that."

"That's true. Our group also took skills in magic and alchemy and study every day with books they bought."

"I need to study hard too."

"The problem is that books are expensive. There's no library either."

"Ah, they are expensive?"

"In yen, you'd need to be prepared to pay over 100,000 yen for one book."

"Wow! That's tough!"

Even if I sold all my assets, I couldn't afford one book.

Thinking about it, the environment where I can study almost for free is really valuable.

I didn't realize it when I was in it.

"That's why we have the apprentice system. Next, let's make the regular size one."

"Yes!"