Chapter 63 - Chapter 63: Pot
Steve leveled up.
[Industrial Magic Lv4]
· Steel Creation
· Copper Creation
· Glass Creation
· Oil Creation new!
· Industrial Machinery Lv1 Bench Lathe, Grinder, Pasta Machine
· Industrial Machinery Lv2 Pipe Bender, Spinning Machine
· Industrial Machinery Lv3 Winnowing Fan, Contour Machine, Hand Lift
· Industrial Machinery Lv4 Welding Machine, Press Machine, General Lathe, Drill Press
· Measurement
· Work Standard Manual
The Oil Creation magic now allows oil ranging from cooking oil to gasoline to be created.
Additionally, as industrial machinery, welding machines, press machines, general lathes, and drill presses can now be created.
These operate using human mana as power, usable by an average adult for eight hours.
Everyone possesses mana; magicians are those who can shape it.
This was a byproduct discovered through this industrial machinery magic.
These machines were promptly brought to the Royal Research Institute through Cyril to verify if they could be replicated with domestic technology.
Arc welding machines and spot welding machines are being researched, and other types of welding machines are planned for future research.
While busy verifying these new magics, Steve received an invitation to attend the Victory Ceremony, so he was at the Royal Castle today.
Previously, the predecessor Margrave Adams' funeral was held as a state funeral, which he also attended, so he has been coming to the Royal Capital frequently lately.
By frequently, it means he has been teleporting back and forth between his territory and the Royal Capital many times.
Nick, originally a blacksmith, was extremely excited about the general lathe and drill press.
He stayed locked in the prototype room fiddling with the machines, and if Steve didn't warn him, he wouldn't do his work as Factory Manager at all.
Considering the trouble he had caused until now, Steve found it hard to speak strongly to Nick and intended to overlook it somewhat, but it had become too much to bear, so he was now monitoring Nick closely.
Instead of such Steve, Christina was handling other nobles in the Royal Capital.
In this Victory Ceremony, her biological father, Count Mackintosh, was being promoted to Marquess.
And since her brothers were given titles and territories to become the leading family in the north, many were trying to curry favor with them.
Additionally, since her fiancé Steve was the main protagonist of this event, she inevitably became the center of attention.
She was currently greeting nobles along with her father and brothers.
With the number of visitors, she was thinking she was getting tired of her fake smile.
"It's almost time for His Majesty's entry."
Count Mackintosh checked the time.
Christina was anxious because Steve hadn't returned yet, but just then Steve returned.
"I'm back."
"That's good. His Majesty's entry is almost upon us."
Just then, an official came to announce the King's entry.
From there, King William's congratulatory address and the announcement of ennoblement and promotion of rank continued.
Steve listened while stifling a yawn.
Since the order of precedence followed the royal family, Steve was in the front row, and if he yawned, he would definitely catch the King's eye.
Since the obtained territory was vast, this announcement took a long time, and once it ended, the talk of bestowal of honors began.
"Lord Steve Archibalt, I bestow the Dragon Head Medal upon you."
"Huh?"
Steve made a strange sound at the sudden news.
Laughter arose in the solemn venue.
Even Margrave Cleiman, who had strongly opposed the previous Dragon Wing Medal, did not show opposition this time.
As Marquess Mackintosh, formerly Count Mackintosh, feeling that his son-in-law Steve, in addition to his sons, had received the unprecedented Dragon Head Medal bestowed upon someone other than royalty, felt it was his springtime.
In the end, it ended wrapped in laughter, but thus the Victory Ceremony concluded.
Once the Victory Ceremony concluded, Steve and Cyril hurriedly returned to Archibalt Territory.
Christina and Aila left behind looked at each other's faces.
"Lady Christina, you were left behind."
"Lady Aila, let's leave the busy ones aside and have some tea. Since we're in the Royal Capital, we should be able to get good tea leaves."
"Then I would be delighted."
Since Christina was still unmarried, there was no problem using the Mackintosh family's townhouse.
So she invited Aila to have a tea party there.
The ladies around who heard this eagerly offered to participate.
Christina intended to invite only Aila, but since it had come to this, she decided to utilize it as a social occasion and gave permission to the ladies who offered to participate.
When Steve and the others returned to Archibalt Territory, they called out to Nick and headed to the prototype room.
In the prototype room, a Metal Spinning machine improved from the General Lathe was installed.
Metal Spinning is a method where material is rotated and a mold is pressed against it for plastic working, and in Japan, there was even news footage of the front of a Shinkansen being made.
What was made here was not the front of a Shinkansen, but an All-Purpose Pot.
Steve's image was a Wok.
He wanted a Wok for cooking and had been creating it with magic, but since high-quality iron suitable for Metal Spinning could now be produced in a blast furnace, he asked Cyril to procure it and try making a prototype here.
Steve's level up also made it possible to procure processing oil, making the spinning process easier, which was significant.
Regarding processing oil, he made several with different viscosities and submitted them to the Royal Research Institute.
If this could be replicated, the range of processing would expand at once.
Now, returning to the Metal Spinning talk, Nick connected his own mana to the working machine and started the rotation of the material.
Then he fixed the spatula against his own body.
Then he pressed the tip against the material and began spinning.
Then the iron plate turned into the shape of the mold one after another, and a pot was completed.
"How is it, Wakasama?"
"No, it's a good result. Maybe my mold was good?"
"I'll get upset."
"Sorry, sorry. It's a good result. With this, the heat transfer should be uniform, and you might be able to cook delicious food. I'm thinking of selling it to restaurants in the Royal Capital."
When Steve praised him, Nick's mood improved.
"Also, you're making stainless steel and copper cups, right?"
"Yes. I'm making those to sell to nobles, so they must be beautiful."
"If we sell Wakasama's glass cups along with these Metal Spinning cups, just that alone might bring in a lifetime's worth of money."
"Glass cups will become something even craftsmen can make soon. The profit is only for now."
Steve was selling glass cups at high prices to nobles with Edo Kiriko as a reference.
This was because Oclair Trading Company didn't find enough profit in just dragon figurine orders, so Steve thoughtfully provided new products.
Glass cups with his family crest sold at high prices as intended.
And there, cups made by Metal Spinning were also lined up.
Also, although Nick won't be made to work, there is a plan to carve wooden cups on a lathe and sell them with mother-of-pearl inlay.
Steve had learned the mother-of-pearl craftsman's technique, but the technology was too advanced to do at the Archibalt Territory factory, so he gave up.
"When wealthy commoners appear, I want to mass-produce metal cups too."
"If pots sell, we'll think about cups. Also, I want to make square copper pots."
Square copper pots refer to Oden Pots.
Since dishes in Archibalt Territory, which were previously tasteless, could now use dashi, they decided to make Oden Pots here and create a new specialty.
They had already made prototypes and served Oden to the family, and it was very well received.
However, this copper pot is shaped by hammering at the finishing stage, but since there is work hardening, if it fails, that's it.
Therefore, skilled technique is needed, so he thought mass production would be difficult again.
"Wakasama, I have a request."
"What is it?"
"I want to quit being Factory Manager and keep making this forever."
"Rejected. There's no one else to act as Factory Manager right now."
"Well, several people have grown, so please interview them."
"In that case, if you put a Factory Manager in the Second Factory and reduce Nick's work, I'll consider it. That way you'll have time to handle working machines too. Besides, since this runs on mana, if you keep moving it too much, you'll faint from mana depletion."
Steve warned Nick.
He had taught many times that since mana is power, overuse would cause fainting, but somehow he got too absorbed and did too much.
However, Steve also felt he wanted Nick to step down as Factory Manager and take charge of prototyping, as Nick was the only one who knew metalworking thoroughly.
It was painful that labor was short and usable talent was limited.
"If that happens, please give up on making copper pots. I'll use this General Lathe between Factory Manager duties, so I can't do the work of making pots by hand."
"That's troubling. But the Royal Research Institute probably won't bite on pot-making work anyway."
Steve glanced at Cyril.
"They were very interested in this Metal Spinning and General Lathe, but copper pots can be made well enough with current technology, so they won't be a research target. The Oden was delicious, though."
"I have confidence it will sell. By the way, I should deliver it to my father-in-law in the Royal Capital and spread Oden in the north."
"Won't Lord Sowell glare at you?"
"Come to think of it, I should dig up demand in the west. It's troublesome to be targeted by His Excellency."
"Nowadays, Your Excellency with the Dragon Head Medal is higher in precedence, so even she cannot confront you face-to-face."
Cyril smiled wryly at Steve, whose old habits hadn't left him.
Steve also smiled wryly in response.
"I'm not good at that. Besides, Lord Sowell doesn't confront face-to-face. She'll attack with an indirect approach."
"I vaguely understand. But unless we do that, it's difficult to unite the western region. The nobles guarding the four directions of the nation are all not easily handled people."
"Absolutely. If only this steel were as compliant."
When Steve said that, Nick said it was outrageous.
"Wakasama, that's a terrible misunderstanding. Steel is not compliant, which is why it's difficult to handle."
"That's true. I've been made to cry a lot too."
"Right? It breaks suddenly when it breaks. If only it broke the same way every time, but even if we think we're handling it the same, it doesn't turn out the same."
"Well. But since the nation is deciding standards to make it as compliant as possible, it should get better soon."
The Royal Research Institute was creating various industrial standards.
For steel as well, they created standards and classified them into fine types.
This prevents processing simply under the broad category of steel and not being able to process it the same way.
The ability to remove impurities arbitrarily with Separation Magic also contributed to subdivision.
They succeeded in separating carbon content arbitrarily, allowing them to change the hardness of steel as intended.
"But most of the good steel made by the country ends up as weapons or armor, right? We can't use it unless it comes our way."
"That's right. That's why I'm making steel with magic like this."
As Nick said, the steel made by the country was consumed as military supplies as preparation for the Empire, and didn't come to civilian goods.
To compensate for that, Steve was producing steel with magic.
Railway rails and steam locomotives also used steel created by Steve's magic.
They were shipped to various places through Emmanuel Trading Company, meeting the domestic steel demand.
Even so, since there was excess mana, they were making clothespins or materials for Metal Spinning that Nick processed.
"I wish war wouldn't happen and things would stay like this."
Contrary to Steve's words, each country was rushing towards war.