Magicraft Meister Part 1

"What?　Is that so, Jin?

"Oh. It's not sweet enough. And there is some garbage in it, so I think you should strain it.

Saki looked disappointed, but regained her momentum after hearing Jin's words.

"Oh, I see. Well then, Jin, take care of it."

"What?"

"No, no... Jin is a magical engineer, isn't he?　A top-notch one. That's why you're asking him. He's asking you to make that kind of magic tool.

Reinhardt gently tapped Jin on the shoulder as he was about to retort, "No, I didn't ask you to do that.

I'm sorry, he's like that. Get used to it. ......

Well, it's not that Jin doesn't like it. It's just that he couldn't follow Saki's groove.

Saki looked at Jin and Reinhardt and smiled.

"...... got it."

Jin, who was a little annoyed that he was somehow taken for a ride, brought magi crystals from the materials cabinet indicated by Saki and a small iron ingot from the materials room.

Without saying a word, Jin began to work on the magic tool.

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

First, steel parts are made. Deformation and shaping are done at once, and the surface treatment is finished.

<>. <>. <>"

He also wrote the Magi Formula into the Magi Crystal in one stroke.

The speed at which he worked was so fast that even Reinhardt could not keep up.

"Oh, oh, oh!"

Even Reinhardt, who knew Jin's true identity, was astonished. As for Saki...

"What? ............."

She froze with her mouth hanging open in shock.

"Well, this is a , a magical device that uses fire magic to heat things on top of it. You can adjust the heat with this knob."

Ignoring Saki who froze, Jin explained to Reinhardt.

"Mmmm, this is nice! <

"Yes. It's actually a higher-end model than the one I developed before. The one sold in the Klein Kingdom uses magi sand, but this one works with magi crystals.

"This can be used for boiling and cooking, can't it?　This is amazing for something this big!"

In fact, the Shoro Empire had a heating magical tool. However, it was in the form of a bread oven, and was not something that could be carried around.

"It is the evil of an electorate.

Reinhardt smiled ruefully as he explained to Jin.

"There were no magical engineers who went to the trouble of making such a magical tool for the common people.

While we were having this conversation, Saki finally seemed to reboot,

"Jin, Jin, you're amazing!　......I honestly thought Reinhardt was just exaggerating. I apologize for underestimating you."

Saki bows her head.

"I'm not a liar, despite my personality.

Reinhardt followed up. Jin nodded his head.

It's a bit of a detour, but they decide to heat the maple syrup on Jin's stove.

As a side note, Jin made it from a copper ingot since there was no suitable pot.

Now, it takes time for the syrup to boil down. Jin told Reiko to watch (and stir occasionally, of course) so that it would not burn.

In the meantime, Jin took another look at the contents of the vat that he had noticed earlier.

A black, viscous liquid. It irritated him when he touched it. Sap.

"Is it lacquer ......?"

Actual lacquer sap is not black. It is brownish-gray and not very viscous. It is only when it is refined that it becomes the black, shiny paint, but even Jin did not know that much about it.

However, it was not lacquer itself that was there, so it was the same thing.

"Jin, what did you say?　Uroshi?

I said, "Uroshi. It looked a little like a natural paint I know."

Saki nodded.

"I see, so this can be used for paint, huh?　Actually, a traveling merchant left me a barrel of this stuff, but I heard it can be found farther south. I was checking out the properties and that's what I found."

He probably touched it with his hand and rubbed his face with it.

"Next to it is ......."

The next tub contained a viscous liquid. But it was white in color. Jin had seen this one before.

"Is this sap from a tea tree?"

The answer was also Saki's.

"Tea tree?　Tea is from another tree. This is the sap of the perilla tree.

The tree we call the tea tree in the village of Kaina is called Perhya. But what is more important than the name is the nature of the tree.

Jin had just seen sulfur in the materials cabinet, so he goes and gets it.

"Jin, what are you going to do with sulfur?"

Jin laughed at Saki's doubtful look and used his engineering magic to measure the amount of Perhias sap and added the appropriate amount of sulfur.

"Now, Saki, may I have a word?"

Jin beckoned Saki to him.

"What are you doing?"

"Well, I'm going to make you something useful, so stick your hand in here."

"Hmm?　Well, if you say so.

Saki said, and without hesitation, he stuck his hand into the sap of the Perhias.

"Okay, give me your hand. ......<>"

The cross-linking reaction between the Perhya sap and sulfur proceeded ...... and the result was a rubber glove.

"<>"

The rubber glove attached to the hand is separated.

"Jin, what is this?

"These are rubber gloves. You can use them when you handle lacquer or when you touch something you don't want to touch with your bare hands. Well, they get steamy if you wear them for a long time.

Saki looked at the rubber gloves that fit her hands perfectly, then closed and opened her palms.

"I see, this is nice!　Jin, thank you. You really are an amazing magi engineer, aren't you? No wonder Reinhard praises you.

Right?　I'm very proud of you.

Reinhardt was also proud. Saki laughed at him.

"Hmmm, Reinhard, you really have a crush on Jin, don't you? I can see that. I'm falling in love with you too.

Saki's face was once again covered with a lonely shadow as she joked.

But it was only for a moment.

Saki put on a pair of rubber gloves and immediately reached for the vat of lacquer-like sap.

This stuff doesn't dry very well," she said. I applied it to a wooden board, but it hasn't dried in a whole day.

Saki touched the surface of the blackened board beside him with his rubber-gloved fingertips. The fingertip turned black.

"......It's still not dry after all."

Saki says regretfully as she wipes her fingertips with a rag.

She probably got a rash because she kept doing that with her bare hands.

"Ummm, wait a minute."

Jin recalled what little knowledge he had about lacquer.

In the first place, in an ordinary life, one would hardly have a chance to see lacquer as a paint, let alone lacquerware.

However, Jin barely remembered the word "burnishing.

It is because the armor of warriors, as represented in the Warring States period, was often colored with lacquer, and the term "baking" is well established in Japan. I had heard these two things on TV or something.

"Maybe if you raise the temperature, it will dry ...... or even harden."

Jin advised her to do so. Saki's face lit up when she heard this and she approached Reinhardt.

"Did you hear that, Reinhard!　Come on, come on, please!"

"...... You haven't really changed, have you?"

"I haven't really changed, have I? I don't want Persica to grow up to be an april tree.

After such an exchange, Reinhardt approached the black-painted board with a wry smile,

"<>"

He used engineering magic to heat the board. Of course, he did not set it to a temperature that would cause it to catch fire.

After a minute or so, the wet glossy surface seemed to lose its luster.

After another minute or so, the surface became completely matte. Reinhard seemed to notice this and stopped using the magic.

Saki gently poked the paint with the fingers of her rubber-gloved hand. The paint did not stick to her hand. It has dried or hardened.

"Oh!　It's done!　Jin, you were right!　I didn't realize that I just had to heat it up.

Saki looked happy.

"This sap similar to Uru-Urushi can be used as a paint!　Now we just need to find out what its properties are. That's something to look forward to.

Saki looked out the window and frowned.

Jin was curious about this gesture, so he decided to ask her directly.

"Saki, I apologize if I'm wrong, but don't you have ...... good eyes?"