I’d been told that they’d managed to nab a rather large deer today, and I’d decided to clean out some of our food storage to create room for fresh meat.
“We did,” I replied.
I’d felt silly for struggling so hard against the first bear when Helen had skillfully and gracefully taken down another with little effort. That was when we’d managed to pick up Lucy, who’d been a wolf pup at the time. My daughter had grown since, though she still had a slender physique, but back then, she could’ve curled up and fit on my lap.
In any case, it seemed we’d gotten rid of not one, but two predators likely responsible for keeping the population of herbivores in check. Many deer and rabbits had been spared as a result, and they were prospering in the Black Forest.
“Should we not kill bears from now on?” I asked. “Just firmly encourage them to head back?”
“I wonder...” Lidy murmured, having already polished off her plate. “We got rid of quite a few predators in the elves’ forest, but doing so didn’t really cause any trouble for us.”
“I see...”
“And,” she said, glancing at Lucy before she continued, “our Lucy is just fine, but if a large predator becomes overly aggressive, we’ll have a difficult time taking care of it when it morphs into a magical beast.”
One of my beloved daughters, Lucy the wolf, was a magical beast. She showed no aggression, though. I wasn’t sure if this was due to her environment—she’d been raised showered by love from her family—or if she had heightened intelligence thanks to her magical beast qualities. Lidy’s guess was that if Lucy wasn’t aggressive at this point in her life, she likely would remain docile.
On the other hand, a large black bear was already an aggressive beast to begin with, and its transformation would make it more bloodthirsty still. Lidy explained to us that there was a very good chance a bear like that wouldn’t kill for food, but just for sport. Diana and Anne shuddered when they heard it.
“I’ve only seen one once, but I wouldn’t want to lay eyes on a beast more aggressive than that,” Diana said.
Anne nodded at that. “I’ve never seen one before, but from what I’ve heard, I feel like it’s best if I don’t. I guess things won’t be so easy. Meeting one sounds almost inevitable.”
The topic shifted to what measures we could take if we ever ran into a vicious beast, and the discussion continued after dinner and well into the night. A normal large black bear could be handled, but if we ever ran into one that turned into a magical beast, we’d face it with whomever was present at the time. And in the case that battle turned grisly, we settled on retreating, regrouping at the cabin, and rushing out again to defeat it. We had to gauge the degree of danger accurately, and we probably had to take preventive measures as well—that is, to get rid of black bears if needed.
⌗⌗⌗
The next morning, Rike, Maribel, and I got back to work on the orichalcum knife. Everyone else was tasked with forging the usual weapons for our order, and I also asked if they’d patrol the forest.
“Going forward, there’ll probably be more cases where the two of you are too busy to forge the orders, yeah?” Samya asked. “Best to do a practice run here so that we can help cover for you guys if necessary.”
Diana nodded. “Plus, I want to test my skills and see what I can make.”
They have been my assistants for a long while... I had no plans to stop them—I was honestly super grateful for their help, and I just asked them to do their best.
Team Orichalcum can’t dawdle, or we’ll get beat. All right, I’ll give it everything I’ve got! Now that I knew magical energy was an important factor in this process, I knew what to do. I just wasn’t sure if our strength and magic would be able to shape this stubborn, precious mineral.
“I wonder if we can figure out a more efficient method...” I mused.
“Yeah...” Rike murmured, looking thoughtful.
We both stood there trying to come up with a plan; Helen mentioned later that we looked like a father and a daughter at a loss about what to do next. Couldn’t we at least pass as siblings or something? I think in terms of the age difference, we’re in that range.
Oh well. Back to work. I need to figure out a way to concentrate some magic.
“You want to hammer in a lot of magical energy with every strike, right?” Rike asked.
“Yep,” I replied.
Is there a way for me to work harder and compensate for Rike’s fledgling magical abilities? Or does she have to conjure up enough magic within herself? Hrmmm...
“What if we use a magical jewelstone?” Rike suggested.
“Well...”
To forge meghizium, I’d needed to create a dense, enclosed pocket of magical energy. And the byproduct of forcibly creating an area thick with magical energy was a magical jewelstone—a crystallized drop of pure magic. Jewelstones were powerful enough to cure fairies who were ill with the disease that sapped their energy away. If I could use one when working with the orichalcum, I could possibly harness the crystallized magic.
The issue, then, was time. Orichalcum cooled down alarmingly fast, and magical jewelstones didn’t last long before they dissipated. If I waited too long or missed the timing, our efforts would literally go up in smoke. This meant that I had to make the jewelstone while Maribel was heating up the orichalcum and then immediately try to fuse the two together.
I explained this entire process to Rike and Maribel.
“Yeah, that sounds difficult,” Rike said.
“It does?” Maribel asked with a tilt of her head.
I nodded. “If we can’t match our timing, the already narrow window of opportunity we have for shaping the orichalcum will decrease drastically.”
If I could finish the magical jewelstone just as the orichalcum reached temperature, that would give us the longest period possible to work with the metal...theoretically. I said as much to Maribel.
“Uh... I...see?” she replied.
“I can coach you on the timing—I just want you to match that rhythm,” I said.
“Oh, you can leave that bit to me!”
She pounded her chest and accepted this request. My cheats will help me find the perfect timing.
“Okay, let’s get to work.”
“Yes, Boss!” Rike exclaimed.
“Gotcha!” Maribel cried.
I heightened my focus and got to work creating a magical jewelstone. I knew how to make one, or to be more precise, I knew one of the methods for producing crystallized magical energy. I would need to find a more efficient way to generate them sooner or later, and I also wanted to experiment with keeping the jewelstone in its solid form for as long as possible.
I prepared the magical jewelstone kit that I always had at the ready in case of a fairy emergency. It was just a hollow steel box, but the metal was filled to the brim with magical energy. And since the steel was already full, when I hammered in more magic, it would densely flood the empty space inside the box and crystallize into a jewelstone. During the meghizium forging and the fairies’ illness, speed had been of the utmost priority—the faster I could make the jewelstone, the better. But this time around, that wasn’t what I was looking for. I had to match my stride with Maribel. This would require me to slow down to give her enough time to finish heating up the metal.
“I’m starting now!” Maribel called out.
“Roger that,” I replied.
When I saw her flames roar, I began hammering magical energy into the steel box using a decent amount of my power. Cling! Metallic rings filled the room, and the sound was much sharper and clearer than the times when I hammered normal steel. Metal imbued with magical energy had a beautiful resonance. Mithril, for example, sounded like glass. But right now, I didn’t have the time to enjoy this sweet symphony. I glanced at the orichalcum in Maribel’s hands while I hammered away at the steel box.
Was she more fired up (literally) than usual? The orichalcum was getting hotter quicker than usual, and I began to rush a bit too—hasty swings of my hammer rang out. I almost felt like the orichalcum was getting hotter with every strike; this was actually ideal, since I needed to sync up the timing of our tasks.
“Hnnnngah!” Maribel groaned, giving it her all. Her bluish-white flames flared proudly.
“Hup!” I grunted, refusing to be left behind.
Her flames, my hammering, and around us, everyone else bustling away—all of this created a small concert of sorts, illustrating our busy daily routine. I noticed Rike staring at us intently, hoping not to miss even a moment of my teamwork with Maribel. She was the only one who was able to enjoy this little symphony.
“I think it’s ready!” Maribel announced.
“Aye aye!”
I managed to finish up the magical jewelstone just a moment before she got the metal to temperature—this was still well within the margin of error. With the help of my cheats, I swiftly used the tongs to place it on the anvil as I opened the lid of the steel box and dug my fingers inside. I felt something knock against my fingertips, and as I thought, I’d managed to create a small crystal. I pinched it between my fingertips and placed it on top of the orichalcum, which was already resting on the anvil.
“Give it all you’ve got!”
“Yes, Boss!” Rike shouted.
She carefully but energetically swung her hammer down—if she was careless, the magical jewelstone could fly out and hit someone. My apprentice expertly hit her mark; the wave of impact shot through the magical jewelstone and into the orichalcum. Riiing! No longer did I hear a metallic cling, but rather, the clear sound of bells. It was deafening as it reverberated within the forge. The sound was so beautiful that I almost stopped working, though I knew that I had to hammer in tandem with Rike.
“Looks like it’s going well,” I observed.
“Seems like it, Boss!”
We continued to hammer away, allowing the clear ringing to fill the room. We swung our hammers down on the orichalcum, and the magical jewelstone didn’t shatter—it gradually grew smaller and smaller before it vanished.
I peered at the orichalcum. “Looks like it’s slowly beginning to take shape.”
Rike scrutinized it too. “Yeah, I can see the progress.”
The orichalcum had cooled down to the point where we couldn’t hammer it anymore, but it was still very hot and dangerous to touch. It was a lot closer to the shape of a knife than it had been yesterday. We’d managed to work fast enough too.
Now, only one more question lingered within my mind.
“Lidy, sorry, but could I borrow you for a sec?” I asked.
Lidy jogged over to me. “What’s wrong?”
“Could you take a look at this? It’s still really hot, so be careful.”