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Volume 4 Chapter 6.1

Translator: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes

「Just a little more… like this…」

As Haruna glared at the blade, which was glowing red, she muttered to herself as if to measure the timing. After failing to craft many knives, she finally started to get the hang of it. If this goes well, this would be the fifth blade she has successfully crafted in a row today.

「Okay, now!」

After observing the blade intently, she decided that the blade was in the right condition and quickly pulled it out of the fire and dunked it straight into the water. The blade made a loud shriek as it quickly cooled down and solidified its form.

「… I think it went well …」

She lifted the blade out of the water and checked for any significant cracks or strain that she wouldn’t be able to fix it. Seeing that there were none, she gave a sigh of relief.

「After this, I just have to temper the blade and finish it up on the whetstone.」

The two blades which she tempered before was already at the cooling process. Unlike quenching, she couldn’t let the blade cool down quickly. So, when she finishes tempering this blade, that would it for today.

「I wonder if the first blade would be cool enough now?」

The first blade she crafted has already gone through quenching and was already at the cooling process of tempering. As it has been cooling down since this morning, the tempering process should be done by now.

「… hm, it’s perfect.」

Haruna commented out of happiness as she inspected the finished product of her knife. As soon as she shapes the other blades, that would be it for today. However, no matter how much she would hammer the blade, the quality won’t be any better than a cheap knife. Yet this was still an improvement for her compared to her crafting skill when she was just teleported over to this universe.

「I’ll give it another shot tomorrow and once I can craft knives like these without a struggle, next thing to work on would be improving the quality.」

Although she has barely started her training, her skills as a blacksmith was improving. Haruna enjoyed developing her blacksmithing skills so much that she forgot about her original aim of wanting to get better at crafting. It was these aspects of her that she gets often told how she fits the societal concept of an ideal woman, yet it can be somewhat disappointing.

「Misses, you’ve gotten your skills up a lot.」

The dwarf who owned the workshop commented while Haruna was checking the other blade as it has cooled down enough for her to touch it with her bare hands.

「Really?」

「For sure! When you first started, I couldn’t bare to look at the final product no matter how much you hammered it. But with these blades, if you do the finishing touch properly, you should be able to sell them.」

「Do you think so?」

「Of course, it needs a lot more work for it to reach a high-quality product but it should be just fine for everyday use.」

As a professional complimented her work, she was happy to see that her intuition wasn’t too far off.

「While you’re at it, why don’t you give those two blades a finishing touch?」

「Can I?」

「You have to wait for those ones to cool down before you can take it back home, right? If that’s the case, I don’t mind you staying at the workshop until you finish those blades.」

The dwarf said as he pointed at the last blade which was being tempered. The blade was still too warm for her to handle it with her bare hands.

「If you don’t mind, I can give you some advice?」

「Are you sure?」

「Of course. Although I can’t give precise advice like the owner of your workshop, I can explain it better than that expressionless girl who comes in every day.」

The dwarf stepped in as he subtly hinted at being better than Mio. Looking at the blacksmithing skill alone, there wasn’t much difference between Mio and this dwarf. However, Mio does produce a better final product as she makes adjustments to the weapon with enchantments and other things. Yet aside from such arrangements, the dwarf could likely craft better equipment than Mio. Also, due to the greater age gap, it gave the dwarf some sense of pride in teaching the younger generation.

Mio isn’t a bad teacher either. She’s good at explaining things that show clear results like medicine and alchemy. However, with blacksmithing, each process is based on how it feels. Therefore, Mio found it more difficult to explain the process clearly. Also, most of the time she’s not sure if she should say something or not which makes it difficult for her to give good advice.

「Then, I would like to hear your advice.」

「Not a problem.」

Accepting the dwarf’s offer, Haruna started to give the knives a finishing touch as she received advice from the dwarf. After she gave the finishing touch to the first blade, she got the basics and for the second blade, she barely needed any advice.

「It looks like you got the hang of it in general.」

「I guess?」

Haruna gave an uncertain response to dwarf’s compliment. Although her skills have improved, she still couldn’t tell what part of the blade needed adjusting just by looking at it. Although she was finishing it off on the whetstone, there was no way she could craft a beautiful blade on her first go. She poured ink over it, polished off any bumps and placing the blade on a wooden board to check for any dents. However, even with all that work, she still couldn’t craft a knife that would make a clean cut every time. She had no idea how long it would take her before she can polish off bumps and dents just by looking at the blade-like Hiroshi and the dwarf.

「Considering your age and that you only recently started to take blacksmithing seriously, I’d say you’ve got more than enough skill. If anything, I think your workshop owner and that expressionless girl is not human.」

「hahaha…」

Haruna gave a dry laugh to dwarf’s comment. From someone who was born in this universe, Hiroshi and Mio have practically cheated their way up. So it was a little awkward to receive such comment wholeheartedly.

Although the two cheated their way up, they still managed to level up their skill in a field where there were many dropouts even after corrections were made. Mio had a mentor, but Hiroshi built up his skill just by exchanging very little information with his acquaintances. It was admirable how far he has come considering he received almost no help. That was what Haruna, Makoto and Tatsuya who didn’t take crafting seriously thought.

But that still didn’t change the fact that they cheated so Haruna still felt awkward about what the dwarf said. All she could do right now was to keep checking the tip of the blade.

「Haruna-san, have ya finished yet?」

「Oh, Hiroshi-kun.」

As Haruna was caught up in her own thoughts, Hiroshi who finished the meeting popped into the workshop. It seems that he came to get Haruna after hearing that she was still working back at the workshop.

「Are those ya work from today?」

「Yeah.」

「… Considerin’ ya background I think their real good.」

「Really?」

As Haruna answered nervously, Hiroshi picked up the knife which hasn’t been neatened to check the progress.

「… If ya manage to craft five more blades like this, I’d say tis it for ya knife practice. Don’t ya agree, old man?」

「Yeah, something like that. Normally, you would spend about another six months crafting knife but you’re a quick learner so it might be good for you to try crafting different things.」

Haruna smiled with joy as she got confirmation not only from Hiroshi but from the dwarf as well. If she was a normal girl, she wouldn’t think that it was something she should be happy about. But the fact that she was honestly happy with the progress she made, made it her positive trait and a disappointing trait as well.

「Anyway, that’ll be it for today. Mio finished a while ago ‘n caught up with brother ‘n others already.」

「Got it,」

With Hiroshi’s help, they cleaned up the workshop and Haruna got all of her belongings. As she checked that all the equipment was put back in place, she turned to the dwarf.

「Thank you for helping me until so late today.」

「Old man, thank ya for helpin’ Haruna-san.」

「Don’t sweat it, it’s part of my job to help motivated young people like you.」

The dwarf replied, feeling somewhat bashful after being thanked by two young people. It was always nice to meet people like Haruna and Hiroshi who could interact with others regardless of race.

「There’ll be more meetin’s ‘n explain’ to do tomorrow ‘n tis gonna take up the whole day. So Haruna-san, ya’ll be back practicin’ blacksmithin’ again. Welp, if there was somethin’ else ya wanted to do, I don’ mind if ya do that instead.」

「No, I’m starting to enjoy it so I will practice again tomorrow.」

「Gotcha.」

Hiroshi nodded as he replied. It seems that she is slowly but surely becoming a craftsman.

「Welp, tis seems to be the case so please look after Haruna-san tomorrow as well.」

「Of course!」

As Hiroshi asked while checking that all the windows and doors were locked, the dwarf replied confidently. Although she wouldn’t be considered as a possible romantic interest, she was definitely good looking even from dwarf’s standard. To see a girl like that working hard towards her goals, an old dwarf like himself couldn’t help it but give all the support he can. He couldn’t slack off when young people depended on him. He’s motivation increased as he thought about it.

The dwarf was really grateful for Haruna’s interest as he was getting paid to teach the younger generation. But even without the income, he enjoyed helping young people who were working hard towards their goal. So, he didn’t have any reason not to help.

「Then I’ll see ya tomorrow.」

「Take care.」

The dwarf did another round of check to see all the fires have been put out as he watched the two walk off; looking like any normal couple, only that they were consciously keeping 85cm gap between them. The dwarf’s interest was in helping Haruna improve her blacksmithing skill. But even he couldn’t help it but notice Haruna’s feelings towards Hiroshi. However, he could also tell that Hiroshi had a sever gynophobia and that Haruna was compromising for that.

「What a complicated pair of youngsters.」

The dwarf left the workshop, remembering Hiroshi and Haruna who are opposites in every way and feeling somewhat sympathetic towards Haruna.