Chapter 333 - Backyard of Stray Priest 13
This is a story that begins around the first half of Chapter Eleven, the War Arc.
The Nakanohara Town Guard Workshop consists of a three-person team: an old man in his late forties called 'Pops,' a man in his thirties named Jones, and Matilda. However, most of the time now, only two are there. This is because Jones is traveling around the toilets and livestock sheds of the villages throughout the Nakanohara area to collect niter.
Since the Town Guard crossed the border into Regnentes, the members of the workshop, who have more free time, are each doing what they want to do.
Jones often disappears for various reasons. According to the old man who runs the workshop, that guy is probably a special guard, so he let him be free. Hiring Matilda was also to fill the hole during Jones's absence.
Whenever she has free time, Matilda makes accessories to sell at the Class of 175 Shop. They are mainly relatively small items like rings and earrings using silver, brass, or bronze.
For larger items that use more material, like hair ornaments and bracelets, she has Beatrix draw designs while consulting with her, makes only samples, and then makes the rest while consulting with customers. Those customers are also gone now.
War had not yet broken out in southern Sertoria. Every time stories were heard from far away, so to speak, like war breaking out in the north or King Seldic of Engrio setting out for battle, anxiety and impatience only increased.
The women of Nakanohara, preparing for if something happened, spent money on stockpiling food and securing daily necessities. While they might buy precious metals that are convenient to carry when abandoning the town and fleeing, there was no one who would buy cheap, everyday accessories.
That day too, Matilda was in a corner of the workshop, using tools that Jeanne and the others had bought in the capital, meticulously carving a grass-like pattern onto a silver ring.
"Yo! Matilda. You're working hard even though it won't sell."
The workshop old man called out. He had been drinking several glasses of beer since daytime. The old man had his own theory that once war broke out, he wouldn't know when he could rest, so he had to rest his body before the war.
Now, following that theory, he was doing nothing, simply resting his body.
"I gotta make 'em all together while they ain't sellin'. If war breaks out, I won't have time."
Until early spring, he had been helping with the portion where the vigilantes, conscious of the outbreak of war, were incessantly bringing their respective weapons to the town's blacksmith to have them maintained. But since Engrio hadn't attacked at all, the orders had stopped. Both of them had time on their hands.
"Hey, there was that guy who was a former Kingdom Army soldier, right? The one with one leg. Look, he lives behind the water tower."
"Gareth?"
"Oh, yeah. Gareth. I'm sure that was his name."
"Hey, hey, ain't you drinkin' too much? So, what about that Gareth?"
The Gareth the old man was talking about was a man whose right leg was swept by a sword in the previous war, and the part from the shin down was sliced off.
Now, he used a wooden prosthetic leg with an iron ring fitted to prevent wear for his lost right leg, and walked with a cane.
That Gareth apparently said he wanted to get a new prosthetic leg in preparation for the coming outbreak of war.
"He says he wants to be able to move a bit more."
"Does he intend to go to the front lines? It'd be like goin' to die."
"No, he's a vigilante archer. His skill with a bow is certain. It's just that with his current prosthetic, he can't make it in an emergency. He wants to do somethin' about it."
"An emergency, huh..."
She put down her tools and crossed her arms. She was likely trying to form an image.
"How about it? If you're free, why don't you try it?"
"Fine, but I ain't ever handled one. I don't know if I can do it."
"I don't have a clue either. In short, if it's shaped like a leg, won't it work out somehow?"
"Is that okay? With just that?"
It was an extremely haphazard beginning.
However, Matilda was a skilled blacksmith and had the passion and desire to make good things. Thinking about it later, in a sense, that passion would accelerate her subsequent struggles.
First, to actually see Gareth's prosthetic leg, she went to meet the man himself.
Gareth's house is in a section behind the water tower. It's a place one block east from the northwest corner of the town, with poor sunlight and ventilation, where many people in poverty live. It's a cheap rental among them. Taking advantage of his title as a former Kingdom Army soldier, he serves as a guard for the riverboats on the Nakanohara River.
He's not good at melee combat, but since his skill with a bow is certain, he always carries a bow and a quiver.
The old man said he's off duty today.
When she knocked on the door, Gareth's wife came out to receive her.
"Oh my, if it isn't Matilda. It's good of you to come."
To Matilda, she was a familiar face. Occasionally, she comes to help with the lunch box service. Since her husband has a job and they have no children, they aren't that troubled in life. There's no need to live in this section, which is said to have poor public order, but because she is also connected with the widows of Kingdom Army soldiers, she can interact with people in poverty, and the wife moved here by her own wish. Daily, she looks after the people around her in various ways.
She seemed to have heard the story about the prosthetic leg and called her husband immediately.
"Yo! Pops! You came for me!"
He came walking with a clunking sound on three legs, including his cane.
"Well, yeah. I don't know if we can do it, but I thought I'd let us take a look. But it ain't me, it's Matilda."
"Oh! Matilda's gonna do it for me. I've heard the rumors."
"They're probably no-good rumors anyway, right?"
"No, no, I heard you're good at fine work."
Well, come in, he said, and they entered the room. There was only one living room that also served as a kitchen. For the toilet, they used a communal one outside. The furnishings were also the minimum and simple, but it was clear at a glance that it was kept clean.
To avoid gaining momentum, he put both hands on the table and sat in the chair his wife had prepared.
"Well, have a seat."
"Oh! Before that, a gift."
They placed the wine barrel they had carried on their backs on the floor.
"Let's talk while havin' a drink. One's for you to have a drink with the folks livin' around here later."
"Oh, thanks. Hey, you have a drink with us too. Prepare four cups."
He called to his wife standing beside him.
"Oh my, thank you very much."
The wife's face brightened, and she went to get the cups.
After a toast and a bit of small talk, they finally got to the main subject.
"Even if I look like this, I'm a vigilante archer. If Engrio comes to Nakanohara, I gotta stand on the town wall and shoot arrows. But with this wooden stick, it takes time even to walk. I want somethin' a bit better."
He put his prosthetic leg on the table with a thud.
Matilda gazed at it for a while.
It was the first time she had looked at it closely. She had been taught that staring at a person like that was rude.
"Are prosthetic legs generally like this?"
"Yeah. Well, the rich have better ones made by exclusive craftsmen who also maintain them, but for commoners, this cheap one is the best we get."
It's light and apparently easy to remove. Since it's cheap, he can get a new one immediately if something happens.
"You were a Kingdom Army soldier?"
"You bet. Former light infantry."
"By any chance, are there former female soldiers usin' prosthetics too?"
"Well, yeah. I know two of 'em. Now they're workin' as assistants to the paymaster at the Kingdom Army garrison."
"The same prosthetics as this?"
"Yeah. 'Cause they're cheap."
"I don't like that."
Matilda furrowed her brow.
"If you want to make it stable, I think you just gotta change the shape of the tip. But the problem ain't there. It's bad to say, but it don't look good."
Gareth tilted his head.
"I don't care about looks, as long as I can move a bit more."
"You might be like that. The problem is the female soldiers. Can a woman walk through town wearin' a prosthetic like this?"
The one who clapped her hands at Matilda's words was the wife.
"Matilda-san. You said it well. It's just as you say. The former female soldiers wearin' prosthetics usually wear men's trousers. They don't wear skirts."
"I thought so. 'Cause I ain't ever seen 'em come to our shop. We don't handle men's stuff."
The wife, having interactions with people in poverty daily, knew the actual situation well.
Apparently, they care about their appearance and don't go out much even on their days off. It seems some young female soldiers who suffered injuries severe enough to lose a leg refused treatment and chose to die as they were.
Even those who fitted prosthetics, despite their honorable wounds, have a hard time finding a husband.
"Pops, I'll try it. I've started wantin' to make somethin' a bit better."
"Fine, do as you like. Right now, we got both materials and time. First, a test with Gareth."
"Gareth-san. Could you be my model?"
"M-me? Am I gonna wear a skirt?"
No way, he said, waving his hands.
"What are you talkin' about? A model for the prosthetic. Who'd be happy seein' you wear a skirt?"
He was smacked on the shoulder by his wife with a 'bashin'.
"W-what, it's that side? Then that's fine."
He took a sip of wine as if relieved.
"But then, wouldn't it be better if the former female soldiers usin' the prosthetics were the models?"
"No. Until it becomes somethin' to some extent, I'll have Gareth-san be the model. Showin' it to them is after that. Otherwise, I'll just make 'em expect too much."
"As expected of the manager of a girls' shop. You understand, Matilda."
Thus, Matilda's prosthetic leg making began.
First was the ease of movement Gareth desired, but Matilda already had a plan.
The reason humans can walk without much trouble is that they can place their feet firmly on the ground. It's natural to struggle with a wooden stick because of the difference in the area in contact with the ground. Then, she should just make it the same size as the healthy left foot.
Thinking so, she measured the size and shape from the left ankle down, and tried attaching a wooden foot model the old man made to the end of the wooden stick. She fitted a horseshoe to the contact surface so it wouldn't wear down.
In a standing state, it certainly was stable. However, when he tried to take a step to walk, from the time the heel touched until the sole touched, his weight shifted forward all at once with a 'gattan,' and it looked like he would easily fall. Moreover, when the impact was large, there was a possibility that a wooden stick would split.
Human walking is possible precisely because the movement of the knee, ankle, and toe joints absorbs the impact from the ground. This was completely unexpected for the beginner Matilda.
As an improved version, she made an iron support and made the front and back of the wooden foot model rounded like a boat. As a result, it wobbled.
Next, she investigated the range of front-back flexion and made an ankle that bent vertically. It wobbled, and instability increased. This is because human feet can control movement with muscles.
Furthermore, she fitted a spring so it wouldn't wobble. The base was standing upright, but she adjusted the strength so it could bend when weight was applied. She replaced the spring many times and repeated the tests.
As a result, she was able to obtain a certain degree of ease in walking.
"It ain't as good as I thought."
Matilda clicked her tongue as she watched Gareth test it.
"Is that so? It's gotten a lot better."
The client, Gareth, seemed satisfied, but Matilda was not convinced.
"It's the difference in materials. Human feet are soft, but wood and iron are hard. It can't be helped."
"That's it!"
At Gareth's words, Matilda clapped her hands and set about removing Gareth's prosthetic leg.
"W-what are you gonna do!"
"Wait. I'll make you somethin' that'll hit you right in the looks and the movement."
Matilda, who dashed out of Gareth's house clutching the prototype prosthetic, visited various shops and collected materials. Thus, while repeating making and breaking many times, she worked meticulously in the workshop. Sometimes, she borrowed the old man's wisdom. After more than two months of struggle, she somehow finished the prototype.
She went to Gareth's house and showed the finished product, saying "How's this?"
"What's this, it's a shoe, ain't it?"
"That's right. I made a shoe to cover the prosthetic. I stretched leather over the gaps. Since I used long lace-up shoes, it'll look like nothin' but wearin' shoes, right?"
"Heh, you thought about it. It certainly looks like wearin' shoes."
He tried it on immediately. First, he took off the trousers he was wearing. His lower body was in just a single layer of undergarment. Otherwise, he couldn't fit the prosthetic.
Matilda fitted the prosthetic. For the sake of the future, the wife also helped.
Shoes that looked the same were also prepared for the left foot. She had bought one pair and disassembled the right foot portion for the prosthetic.
He actually tried walking slowly.
Aiming for weight reduction, the support was changed to wood molded in the shape of a leg, and iron was used for the ankle part. On the bottom of the prosthetic, she stretched leather instead of a horseshoe. He was made to wear the shoe so as to wrap that prosthetic.
She layered many pieces of leather shaped like a foot on the bottom of the shoe. Because she made the prosthetic slightly shorter at the toes, a gap was created. She stuffed the empty gap with a wooden model shaped like an extension of the prosthetic, wrapped it in soft leather, and made it so the tip of the shoe would bend to some extent when weight was applied. When he actually walked, the impact was far smaller compared to wood with a horseshoe, and the movement had a much softer impression.
"Considerin' the price, this is my limit for now. Of course, it needs improvement. To make a better one, I need to devise more, and I gotta polish my skills."
"It's cool, isn't it? It looks like both legs have grown back."
Matilda said, and the wife praised.
"Oh? Is that so?"
Gareth slowly raised his inconvenient right leg and placed it on the chair. As it was, he slowly entrusted his weight to his right leg, and when he placed his right elbow on his right knee bent at a right angle, he put his left hand to his chin and struck a pose.
It didn't look like a prosthetic leg.
"How is it? Madame? Am I lookin' good?"
He winked at his own wife.
"It's good. I've fallen for you all over again."
She blew a kiss back.
"Though you look like a pervert with just a single layer of undergarment on your lower body."
"Madame. You shouldn't say that."
Seeing him shake his head with a dead serious expression, Matilda burst out laughing.
Afterward, the three of them visited the former Kingdom Army female soldiers. It goes without saying that Gareth was wearing his trousers properly.