Magicraft Meister Part 1

"Thank you very much for your help. Thank you."

Jin thanked Duston.

"Hannah, did you see that?　Hannah's grandfather used to make all kinds of things like that.

"Yes, I see. She's very different from her grandma. ......

Jin patted Hannah's head,

"Yeah, I can't make things like that."

He said. And to Elsa,

"What do you think?"

He asked her. Elsa answered with a slightly upturned face.

"Hmm. I learned that knives and other blades we usually use are made in this way. It was informative."

"Yes, it was. And the final hardening and tempering, those are very important for iron and steel.

He explains. Naturally, Elsa asks questions.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, steel, which is a kind of iron, is heated to the color of Citran and then cooled rapidly to make it hard. That's quenching."

That's quenching.

If it is left as it is, it is hard but brittle, and it breaks easily. That's why tempering is done to make it sticky. Keep it at a temperature so high that the droplets of water that fly off will form into dancing balls, and then cool it slowly."

"Hmm, okay."

"Knowing this will make all the difference in your magecrafting.

As Jin was explaining all this, Duston came in with a grim look on his face.

"Hey, young man!　Who told you this secret?　Usually you are only taught this knowledge when you are recognized by your master as a full-fledged master.　I was taught it when I was over 30 years old!"

He was surprised that Jin, who looked 20 years old, knew about it (Jin was already 21 years old).

"Who?" "My teacher.

"Your teacher is so generous...he's amazing. ......"

Duston looks stunned.

"Hey, let's see how you make it, too.

"Nmm.... I'd like to see my brother Jin make one too.

Hannah and Erza were saying such things to Jin, and he laughed as they encouraged him,

"May I use your workshop?"

He asked Duston.

"Yes, I'll show you what a magecraftsman does!

Duston readily agreed.

Jin immediately went to the iron ingot.

"<>......mmm......"

After checking the quality of the iron, Jin called Erza to study it.

"Elsa, come here for a minute. ......Note that the analysis is to find out the composition of this iron, but you can't understand what you don't know. That's why we need knowledge."

Jin then cast the Analyze spell, and after checking it again himself, he asked Erza to try it too.

"Hmmm..." he said. <"

This worked the first time,

"I got some idea of ...... iron. But the others are so jumbled up that I can't understand them at all......."

Elsa frowned.

"Ha, that's understandable. Listen, <> copper. <> silicon. <>Sulfur. >Phosphorus."

Jin applied four extractions to the original ingot. This separated copper, silicon, sulfur, and phosphorus, albeit in small quantities. All of them are small enough to fit in the palm of one's hand, but as impurities, they are too large to be ignored.

Look, these are the impurities. Each one of them is already a pure substance, so let's analyze each one of them.

"Hmmm... >......

"How is it?"

Jin asks Erza, who looks a little surprised. Elsa's cheeks flush,

"I know a little about copper and sulfur.

Perhaps because both substances were relatively familiar to her, Erza was now able to distinguish between them.

"Good. I don't want to take up too much of your time, so today's lesson is over. You can watch the rest."

"Hmmm..."

Jin finishes his lecture to Erza and resumes knife making. Behind him, Duston's jaw is about to drop off, but he doesn't notice. Reiko stands proudly beside him.

"<>. <>"

Jin separates the necessary amount of iron with engineering magic. With the next magic, the iron changed its shape in Jin's hand and became a kitchen knife.

"Okay, so that's the shape. I'd like to say that the rest is heat treatment, but there is a little less carbon.

Jin confirmed that the carbon content was about 0.5 percent. The amount of carbon is the factor that has the greatest influence on hardening hardness, and for knives, 0.8 to 1.2 percent is suitable.

<>"

The carbon is extracted from the carbon dioxide in the air and mixed with the iron. Since this magic can only contain carbon on the surface, we use the engineering magic of homogenization to homogenize the components.

After repeating this several times, the carbon content reached 1 percent. It's about time.

"All right, Elsa, keep an eye on it. "

Erza, who had been observing the magic flow, could feel that the knife held by Jin was heated for a moment, then quenched, lightly heated once again, and then returned to room temperature.

"Isn't it hot?"

Elsa asked worriedly as she sensed that the temperature had risen to the point where the iron turned citran (orange), albeit only for a moment.

"Yes, I'm fine. What Elsa sensed was only a change in the state of the iron, not its temperature. That's the beauty of engineering magic.

Jin handed Erza the knife. Erza realizes that it is indeed not hot.

Behind her, Hannah's eyes are shining, and next to her, Duston's eyes are wide as if they are about to fall out, following his jaw that is about to come off.

"Let's put the blade on last. . Let's clean the surface too,<>."

The blackish knife shines silver-gray.

"Okay, it's done. Mr. Duston, do you have a pattern for this one? ......?"

When Jin turned around, Duston looked at him with an inexpressible expression on his face.

"Hello, Mr. Duston. Hello, Mr. Duston.

When Jin called out to him, Duston finally reactivated.

"Ah, ah. I was surprised to see a magecraftsman at work for the first time. So, wait a minute, what did you do to that ingot?

He is saying that Jin separated the impurities from the ingot.

"Yes. There were some impurities in the ingot, so I separated them.

"...... can you even do that? ......"

Daston was a bit out of it.

"So, the handle. This is the standard handle I use.

A kitchen knife handle made of hard wood. The knives made by Jin were almost the same size as Duston's, so he just put them on and that was the end of it.

Gloria, who had been watching Jin's work as well, was still absent-minded, but she rebooted herself.

"Jin, Jin-dono!　You are amazing!　I knew Licia was telling the truth!　Can you please make me a sword as soon as possible?"

The unfortunate beauty was showing her true colors.

Jin nodded,

"I know. So what kind of sword do you want?

He asked.

"We female knights have a short sword as our official equipment. The blade should be 50 centimeters long and the handle about 20 centimeters long.

The shortsword here is called that in contrast to the longsword wielded on horseback. It does not mean a short sword.

"I understand.

Jin said, and secured the necessary amount by separating the ingot from the one he had just used. Knowing Licia's sword, he has a rough idea of the quantity.

Then, after deformation (forming) and carburizing (carburizing), heat treatment (heat treating), forming (shaping), and finishing (finishing).

After further hardening, the body of the sword is completed.

Erza, who had been watching the work, asked a question.

Brother Jin, why did you carburize the sword less often than before?　And you didn't use homogenization.

"Oh, you've been paying attention. The worst thing for a sword is to break. The ideal sword is one that doesn't break, doesn't bend, and cuts well. Composite materials can achieve this.

Jin explains.

"Composite?"

"Yes. In other words, we use relatively soft iron for the core and hard steel for the blade. And harden the surface."

After I said that, Erza looked up at me and said, "I understand.

"The core is soft so it won't break easily. If we carburize (carburize) only the surface to make it hard, it will not bend easily. And if you harden it, it will cut better."

"Correct."

When Jin praised her, Erza's cheeks turned a little red with happiness.

"Oh, you, you, you!　I've never heard of that process before!　You can't just talk about such a secret recipe like that!"

Daston, who was listening in the back, said excitedly.

"Yes, it's okay. I've been using Duston's workshop, and he's been sharing his iron with me. Do you have materials to make sword sheaths and hilts?

Jin said so matter-of-factly that even Duston was taken aback, and his excitement subsided.

"Yes. You've brought a great guy with you.

Saying this, he points to a shelf of materials in the back.

"Use whatever you can find there."

Jin then rummages through the shelves.

He chooses thick leather for the scabbard, bronze for the tsuba, and hard wood for the handle. These too were quickly shaped and processed by engineering magic, and finally the shortsword was complete.

"Thank you very much for your patience, Gloria. Please check it."

"Yes, thank you."

Gloria received the shortsword, sheathed it, and lightly shook it.

"How do you like it?　I can adjust the weight a little, so don't hesitate to ask."

"Yes. I think the tip is a little heavy.

At Jin's request, Gloria gave her impression.

I understand. You can keep it. ......<>"

Jin further strengthens the tapered shape a little.

"How about this?"

Gloria swings the short sword again,

"Yes, that's better!　Thank you, Jin-dono!

She thanked him with a big smile on her face.