kscans

Chapter 267 - Inba's Magic Tool Shop 3. The Respective Thoughts of Those Involved

As they watched Yuri and his custom-ordered items, the adults around him each had their own thoughts.

First, there was Old Man Audel. He had been a little worried when he heard that Yuri, living alone in a deserted village, had ordered expensive magic tools. But upon seeing the magic tools in question, he was convinced that his fears had been baseless.

Ordering a magic tool for the sole purpose of opening and closing a window seemed like an act of madness from any perspective... or so he started to think, but he stopped himself. One might say he could just do it by hand, but the hands to do it are precisely what Yuri’s village, with its current population of one, absolutely lacks. He could understand the stance of using whatever was available, be it magic tools or anything else. What's more, Yuri had ample funds for it. After the automatic window opener, they were shown a magic tool that automatically sprinkled water. If asked whether it was convenient or not, it was without a doubt a convenient tool. Especially for Yuri’s short-staffed village, it should be called indispensable. After all, it meant that even when the village's only resident, Yuri, was away, the watering could be done by a magic tool. For Adon, who eagerly awaited Yuri’s visits, this was a magic tool to be welcomed without reservation. In fact, he had offered to pay for it himself, only to be chided by Yuri.

From the perspective of those living in End Village, his way of spending money was sometimes baffling, but it seemed Yuri correctly understood his own situation and was simply making appropriate investments in what he deemed necessary. It was not something for outsiders like them to judge or criticize so casually. He would need to have a firm talk with his granddaughter, Dona...

Next was the elf, Nagara. At first, he had looked with suspicion at the oddity his niece had assembled, but as its purpose and function were explained to him in detail, he was beginning to reconsider, thinking it might be surprisingly useful.

While not to the extent of the rumored "Yuri Village" on Salt-Sour Mountain, their own elven village could hardly be said to have an abundance of hands. Elves live longer than humans, but on the other hand, their birth rate is much lower. A human acquaintance had used a livestock-like term, saying their ‘breeding rate is low’. How rude. On top of that, their childhood period is far longer. Perhaps because of that, elven families are generally small, what Yuri would describe as a "nuclear family," and they are often busy with household chores even in the middle of work. In a large human family, one could ask someone else for help, but that is difficult in a small elven family. They are superior to humans in terms of magic power and magical skill, so they often take care of chores with magic, but there are many tasks that cannot be handled by that alone. If such chores could be done with magic tools, then this was a matter that could not be overlooked.

(Opening and closing windows can be done by oneself, but... this magic tool that adjusts its own force seems like it could have other applications.)

What's more, what inwardly impressed Nagara was that it didn't rely solely on magic, but also used mechanical contraptions to suppress magic power consumption. As a magician, this was a rather heretical way of thinking, and a purebred magic tool craftsman would probably not have come up with it. He had always thought his niece had strange ideas, but perhaps she was surprisingly brilliant.

In any case, it was a welcome fact that this had added another connection between the elves and Yuri. He would have to report this to the village at once, and he should probably let his sister know as well...

Finally, there was the shopkeeper, Inba. She had none of the excitement of the other two and was observing the scene from a very business-like perspective. She had taken on a troublesome job, but now it was finally settled. However, her perspective as an artisan seemed to be different...

(...It seems it was an interesting job for an artisan. That girl, Silica, was unusually invested. If there’s more work like this in the future, it might be good to pass it on to Silica. It seems beyond the skills of the other artisans anyway.)

Silica was forging a path that could be called heretical for a magic tool craftsman, using both magical formulas and mechanical contraptions, but this job might be the catalyst for her to break new ground. According to what Silica excitedly told her, input and output control was apparently a groundbreaking idea. That boy, Yuri, had called it "feedback control" or something... The magic tools would probably be expensive since they use magic stones and are labor-intensive. A mere farmer probably couldn’t afford them, but other uses might emerge. She thought about bringing it up with Adon, but that boy, Yuri, would probably explain it if necessary, so it was wiser not to meddle. Even more so if Silica was thinking of keeping the technology secret. It would be best to observe quietly for a while.

(Aside from it being a troublesome order, he wasn’t a bad customer. ...Though he’s certainly a strange one.)

Good grief, now that the trouble was over, Inba felt as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. But there was just one thing that concerned her.

(...That boy is looking this way with a strange grin... He's not thinking of placing another troublesome order... is he?)