Chapter 45

Jill gathered all the broken cups and plates and returned to her mansion.

"What's up, dressed so warmly like that?"

Back at the mansion, Jill changed into a long-sleeved tunic and wide pants, put on an apron, and even wore gloves. Although the apron and jacket were not thick, they were indeed too warm for the mid-summer weather, as Maureen pointed out.

"To prevent rashes. I'm going to use that stuff."

"Oh, that strange sap Master collected from the forest before? I thought you started raising beetles."

"I already have a crab, so it's fine."

"If it's a dangerous job, I'll help you."

Maureen asked with concern, but Jill waved her hand dismissively.

"It's not that serious. I'm good at detailed work. I'll be working in the workshop."

"You've come up with another strange idea, haven't you? Well, that's fine. Just be careful."

"It's not strange! It's wonderful! But, unfortunately, it's not something you can try on like clothes."

"Sure, sure, I'm looking forward to it."

Hearing Maureen's half-hearted response, Jill entered the workshop.

"Well, the day has finally come to use this..."

Jill opened a wooden box under the workshop table. Inside was a small bottle containing a brownish liquid.

"I thought about using it to coat a wooden bowl to make a lacquerware, but I didn't get enough. Kintsugi would use just the right amount."

The contents of the bottle were lacquer, specifically raw lacquer.

Lacquer is made from the sap of the lacquer tree. The sap collected immediately after making a cut in the tree trunk is called "arami," and the filtered arami is called "raw lacquer."

Usually, the lacquer used for lacquerware is not raw lacquer. It is further refined into transparent lacquer or colored lacquer, which is then applied to wooden utensils to create lacquerware.

So, what is raw lacquer used for, which is unrefined and retains the color of the sap?

One answer is that it serves as a hardener and adhesive.

"First, let's restore the cup I received from Carol using kintsugi..."

Jill took out the Acacia Book from her pocket. The cover of the Acacia Book now featured a mysterious ceramic bowl. It was a black tea bowl with golden streaks running through it, like lightning.

The title read:

"First Kintsugi."

"However, the foreign tea bowl is mysterious... It has an uneven, irregular shape, yet it exudes a mysterious elegance..."

Kintsugi is a repair technique that involves using lacquer to adhere broken parts of ceramics or to fill in missing parts, and then decorating the surface with gold powder.

One characteristic of this repair technique is that it does not impair the functionality of the utensil or tea bowl. Once hardened, lacquer does not damage the skin, and gold, which is resistant to reactions with other substances, is safe for use in utensils.

Another characteristic is that it enhances the aesthetic appeal of the repaired item. Kintsugi is said to have originated in Japan during the Muromachi period in the world of tea ceremony. The repaired parts of the broken utensils were called "scenery," and tea masters viewed these repairs as enhancements rather than flaws.

When Jill first read the Acacia Book, she stayed up all night, but she didn't fully understand the content of "First Kintsugi." She thought, "The tea bowl doesn't look very beautiful, and it might be better to remake it rather than patch it up." Initially, Jill wanted to use lacquer to create black or red lacquerware.

However, after trying various dyeing techniques and making clothes by hand, she began to understand the aesthetic of appreciating the "scenery" of kintsugi. She started to see the beauty in shapes and colors that were not common in the aesthetics of Algenes Island, where balanced and pure colors were highly valued.

"If my prediction is correct, I think gold will look very good on this white cup."

Jill took out the cups and saucers she had received from Carol.

There were light green and blue imported cups, as well as white porcelain cups with paintings. However, the most common were plain white teacups with no designs.

White porcelain is a luxury item on Algenes Island.

Especially simple, undecorated pieces are very popular.

Because of their popularity, many are produced, and even commoners can afford them if they save enough money. Despite their accessibility, white porcelain has a timeless elegance. It is both a beautiful work of art and a practical item, and it is widely used by tea masters.

However, once broken, they are no longer functional. This is the general consensus.

Jill decided to challenge this notion.

"First, I'll sand the broken edges and apply raw lacquer."

Using a coarse file, she sanded and beveled the broken edges of the cup.

Once that was done, Jill used a fine brush to apply raw lacquer to the edges to reinforce the brittle, broken areas before adhering them together.

Jill carefully and evenly applied the raw lacquer and then put down the brush.

"Rebellion doesn't happen in a day. That's enough for today."

Jill placed the broken cup in a box.

Today's work was done.

Using lacquer involves a lot of "resting" time.

◆

The next day, Jill resumed her work.

The next step was to apply wheat lacquer to the cup's edges where the raw lacquer had set.

Wheat lacquer is an adhesive made by mixing raw lacquer with water-mixed flour. This is applied to the edges, and the broken cup is then joined together.

"Knead it to the consistency of an earlobe... but I'm not sure what that feels like... However, most recipes involving flour say to knead it to the consistency of an earlobe, so it must be a clear expression in the country where this book was written. ...Well, this should be fine."

While muttering to herself, Jill applied the kneaded wheat lacquer to the broken edges and joined the pieces together.

"Sticking them together... This should be good. Now, I need to secure them."

Since it takes time for the adhesive to set, the pieces need to be firmly held in place with paper coated in glue. Jill applied the glued paper to the broken edges of the cup.

"Alright!"

A strange sense of tenderness and joy welled up in Jill's heart, as if she were bandaging a wound. The cup still looked awkward and damaged, but she felt a sense of anticipation and confidence that it would be usable again.

"Okay, rest in bed until the lacquer hardens... [Dense Fog], [Fever]"

Jill cast a spell.

To harden the lacquer, it was necessary to maintain humidity and temperature.

After repairing broken ceramics with wheat lacquer, they are left to rest in a "lacquer bath" with high humidity for one to two weeks. This is because lacquer hardens by absorbing moisture from the air.

Thus, the "drying" process actually requires placing the item in a location with 70% to 85% humidity and a temperature of 24 to 28 degrees Celsius.

"Although I could directly absorb moisture with magic... I don't fully understand the properties of lacquer yet... Well, I'll try it the way the textbook says first and experiment later as I get used to it."

After letting it rest for about a week, the next step was to trim and polish the excess hardened wheat lacquer. This was a tedious process. First, she had to roughly trim it with a carving knife, then carefully polish it. She would mix "rust lacquer," made from a powder of ground rock and raw lacquer, and polish it again.

Next, she applied a layer of lacquer as a base for the gold powder and polished it again. This process was repeated three times before she could finally apply the gold powder, known as "sowing." Kintsugi involves a series of monotonous but precise tasks, such as applying, trimming, and polishing lacquer. Jill, who was good at waiting and doing tedious work, was still a bit tired. It took nearly a month to complete the kintsugi.

However, Jill wasn't just doing kintsugi. She was also working on the renovation of a branch of the general store. Through Matthew's connections, she hired a carpenter to replace the old floorboards, fix the entrance that Karappa had accidentally broken, and hang new wallpaper. This project was progressing smoothly.

Both projects were nearing completion.

Thank you for reading!

If you found it interesting and want to read more, please rate it with the stars below the ad.

(Star ratings are a great encouragement for authors, not just for my work)

Thank you very much.