Chapter 71
Finally, I managed to turn the rock mixed with the yellow-green material into iron-like material.
I never imagined I'd have to mix the two materials completely.
The week it took me to figure that out felt long.
I learned that the rock and the yellow-green part had to be softened with magic until they were like clay.
Kneading them until the colors completely blended turned them into iron-like material—an utterly mysterious substance.
A material straight out of another world.
What's more, who would have guessed that if I wanted to keep using it, I'd have to heat it to a high temperature first, or it would quickly crack?
I was delighted and used it, only for it to crack with a snap on the third day.
That really brought me down.
I got genuinely depressed and became reckless.
...Well, thanks to that, I did learn that heating it to a high temperature was the answer.
I was really desperate then.
The iron I saw on Japanese TV was melted at high temperatures and poured into molds.
So I used magic to fuse the cracked frying pan back together, then heated it to a high temperature.
It didn't melt; instead, black smoke suddenly billowed out, and I panicked.
While I was panicking, the smoke settled, revealing a frying pan with a black sheen.
It had originally been somewhat blackish, but it wasn't pitch-black.
And it was glossy.
I found myself staring at the frying pan, unable to understand what had happened.
With my heart pounding, I headed to the kitchen.
A perfect frying pan, exactly like the ones I knew, had been completed.
The meat and vegetables I cooked came out beautifully browned, with perfect char marks.
But if this turned out to be another false hope, I felt I'd hit rock bottom for real this time, so I watched it for a week.
And even after I kept using it for a week, it showed no sign of breaking.
I was moved by the finished pan—and by my own achievement!
I was in a slightly unhinged mood all day.
The next day, I remembered how unusually worried everyone around me had been.
I decided to forget about it.
...
I worked on making frying pans as a change of pace while clearing the area around the house.
Clearing the area took more than a month.
Since I worked on the frying pans only in between, it took almost the same amount of time.
Looking back, I realized it hadn't been much of a change of pace.
It had only increased my stress.
Next time, I'll think things through properly before trying something.
Before I knew it, the temperature had gotten quite high.
This kind of heat had continued for the past few days.
Could it be summer?
If so, summer in this world is fairly comfortable.
Well, I can't let my guard down yet.
When I woke up and went to the dining room on the first floor, all sorts of things had been placed on the table where I ate breakfast.
They seemed to be ingredients brought by the Farming Corps.
Could this be their way of telling me to eat everything and identify it?
...I'd rather do that after breakfast.
I glanced to the side and saw the two members of the Farming Corps staring intently at me.
...I'm not scared!
I'll eat them, though.
This is rough right after waking up.
I did my best, though.
I found something that seemed to be a seasoning, like pepper.
This is great.
Then I found grapes.
I don't care if they're five times the size of Japanese grapes—as long as they taste like grapes... I can make wine!
I wanted beer, but that's impossible, so wine will do.
For now, I'll ask the Farming Corps for a few extra grapevines.
Still, I'd rather avoid anything with a tongue-tingling flavor first thing in the morning.