Volume 1 Chapter 5 The Blacksmith and His Apprentice
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
About 20 days ago.
I stopped by a blacksmith in Toyoata Village and he taught me how to fix bent arrows.
The cheapest arrows sold in the weapon shop cost more than 2 hundred gold coins each.
I’m cheap, so I collected them and used them over and over, but if they bent or broke, they wouldn’t fly straight.
I heard that I could get my weapons fixed at a blacksmith, so I asked the adventurer’s guild in Toyoata Village to introduce me to Mr. Zenom, the blacksmith.
My first impression of Mr. Zenom… he was scary.
Mr. Zenom is a dwarf.
I had never seen a dwarf before, and they were all tough. Even his beard was tough.
He’s shorter than me, but his arms are thicker than Ms. Nina’s waist.
His face was scary too, like a stubborn old craftsman, and his eyes were especially scary.
But Mr. Zenom was a good person.
He fixed my broken arrows and took me to the blacksmith’s courtyard to let me try shooting them.
To my surprise, the accuracy was better than when they were new.
I hit the target like it was nothing, I felt like a sniper.
He said the repair cost was 100 gold coins per arrow, but I was happy to pay it.
But then I got greedy.
Watching Mr. Zenom repair the arrows, I thought I could do it too.
If I could fix them myself, I wouldn’t have to carry spare arrows, and I wouldn’t have to pay for repairs.
I thought it was natural that he would teach me if I asked.
At least that’s how it was at the school I went to.
The teachers’ job was to teach, and they would teach the students everything if they asked questions.
I didn’t feel any gratitude because I thought it was natural.
People in paradise don’t realize it’s paradise until they leave.
Sorry, teachers… and thank you.
I finally understand here in this world.
I didn’t understand the meaning of being taught a skill, so Mr. Zenom yelled at me, and before I knew it, I was going to live and work as his apprentice.
I thought it was strange to settle down so quickly in the village as a hero, but Ms. Nina didn’t say anything about it.
Since I became a disciple of the dwarf blacksmith, Mr. Zenom, my life has turned into a super hard mode unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.
I at least wanted the next level to be normal mode instead of this.
Before dawn, when the eastern sky starts to brighten just a bit,
I wake up earlier than my master Mr. Zenom and begin cleaning outside the forge.
I’m not allowed into the forge itself.
Next to the forge is a firewood pile that looks like a sleeping eel, and it’s my job to restock the wood and charcoal before they run out.
If I accidentally let the charcoal run low, I’ll be on the receiving end of Mr. Zenom’s iron fist.
It’s tough doing it all alone, but I can’t ask Ms. Nina for help.
She isn’t a disciple of Mr. Zenom, that’s what they say.
Meanwhile, Ms. Nina is preparing breakfast for us.
Even if cleaning is off-limits, preparing meals seems to be okay.
I don’t really understand the rules here, but Mr. Zenom sets them all.
After the meal, I check the water tank.
If it’s low, I have to refill it, of course.
In Toyata Village, almost every house has running water.
The water source is a reservoir at the top of the hill where the village head’s mansion stands, drawing water from a deep well with a large windmill.
This windmill is a magnificent wooden structure, built to withstand strong winds, continuously spinning without a hitch.
Using this windmill for power, a mechanical contraption resembling a caterpillar pulls water from the deep well.
It squeaks and grinds non-stop, yet it isn’t very efficient.
If the entire village doesn’t save water, the reservoir will dry up in no time.
Water usage is free in the village, but maintenance costs come from taxes, and the reservoir’s cleaning is done by volunteers.
Each person is allowed to use only one bucket of water from the tap each day.
There’s no meter, but if waste is found, you’ll be ostracized from the village.
Since blacksmithing requires a lot of water, Mr. Zenom has his own well.
If I fill up the water tank in the attic, I can use as much water as I want from any faucet in the house.
I use a hand pump to draw water from the well.
This village is on a hill, so the well is deep.
A regular hand pump can’t be used because it’s deeper than what a vacuum pump can handle.
Mr. Zenom solved this problem with simple brute force.
The tank in the attic holds nearly a ton of water and is made of copper.
It must be quite expensive, but Mr. Zenom can make it himself, so he probably only pays for the materials.
Next to the tank, there are 3 pump levers lined up.
To draw up water, first, you move the first lever up and down with a clatter.
After pushing for a while, you feel a resistance as the water gets stuck, so you keep moving it in time.
The trick is to imagine the water splashing and swaying; if you succeed, you’ll feel the water rising through the pipes.
Next, you do the same with the second lever, and when that’s done, you move to the third.
Finally, with the third lever, water flows into the tank.
Mr. Zenom didn’t explain in detail, but I suspect there’s a relay water tank halfway down the deep well.
A pump that can only work up to 10 meters can’t be used in a 30-meter deep well.
So, the idea is to divide it into 3 parts of 10 meters each.
The idea isn’t bad, but if I, with my high school science knowledge, were to do it, I’d find a smarter way.
There is a limit to how high a pump can draw water, but if you push it up from below instead of sucking it up, it doesn’t matter.
This is definitely something I learned during casual talks in physics class.
When I confidently shared my knowledge with Mr. Zenom, he simply said, “Show me how to make it.”
No way.
I don’t have the skills to process parts or draw blueprints.
I even realized I couldn’t picture a specific image in my mind.
Thinking about it, even if Earth’s science is better than this world’s, I’m just an ordinary high school student.
I keep doing my daily lever clattering every morning without fail.
My whole body is sore, and I can feel my arms getting thicker every day.
My belly fat is disappearing, and my abs are starting to show.
Could it be that this water drawing is actually a form of martial arts training?
By the time the sun rises, the water tank is finally full.
After getting water, I can do the hero’s job if I don’t have anything else to do.
My job is a blacksmith apprentice, and my side job is a hero.
I feel like I’m doing something wrong.
I’m already tired, so I go to the guild with Ms. Nina and choose the easiest quest.
Collecting Mugwort would be the best.
It’s a quest for kids, so the reward is only one gold.
But Mugwort grows everywhere.
The other day, I found a bunch of it growing right next to the guild hall gate, and I finished the quest in 3 minutes.
For me, I just need to finish one quest every day, any quest will do.
It sounds cool to say it’s a noble mission for the chosen hero, but it’s just a daily quest for heroes.
Heroes get a thousand gold every day just for that.
I got carried away and did the Mugwort quest every day, and the kids in the village started bothering me at the guild.
They said, “You’re a hero, don’t take a kid’s job!”
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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