Chapter 98: Build-to-order manufacturing

After we talk about the order, all we have to do is go home. We then bid goodbye to Camilo and leave the store. When I think over it, other than the custom orders or those items I sold myself, I mean, those items I sold to him and the additional orders (when the Halberd was ordered), this may be the first time that we make something that is properly requested. I’m glad that it was Camilo on the onset.

I slightly bowed to the guard at the entrance of the town and passed by. When I glanced at him, I saw that he was still holding a spear. I wonder if the halberd training is still being carried out, and I consider whether there is really such benefit in doing that. The fact that he asked for more halberds suggests that he intends to let the guards in this town use it too. If not, he can just send the first ones to the guards in his mansion.

Anyways, that’s for Marius to think about. There’s no point in me worrying about it. I put the halberd out of my mind and focused on keeping my pace with Rike.

On the way back, the scenery on the road was still peaceful. Sometimes I feel like I don’t need to be careful because there’s nothing to be careful about. However, Camilo mentioned that there are occasional bandits and Helen even said that she had defeated a large group of bandit a while back so I can’t get that out of my mind. This kind of thing can happen the moment we let our guard down…

As expected, on this day as well, nothing appeared on the main road. Ordinary people would have been more careful inside the forest ahead but it was different for us since we are familiar to it. Or rather, it is easier there.

However, we don’t want to unnecessarily provoke the animals in the forest so Samia take the lead as usual while she keep an eye out to avoid running into them as much as possible. We passed by some animals often but we did not encounter any trouble. On the other hand, we didn’t see the little wolf that Diana had been longing for, which somewhat dampened her spirits.

Once we got home, we carried the luggage inside and after that, we had a free-time for the rest of the day. I decided to prepare some molds in advance for the mass production that would start tomorrow. It’s been a while since I asked Samia and Diana to do it. I put clay on the wooden mold and let it dry to make a mold. I repeated this process until it was time to prepare dinner so I made quite a few pieces. With this, we don’t have to worry about the mass production tomorrow. I nodded my head and went back inside the house to prepare for dinner.

The next day,

After we had our breakfast, it was time to divide up the work. Unlike the usual chat while we stay seated around the table after our breakfast, we moved to the workplace. After we worshiped to the Kamidana, we started our meeting.

“As you already know, Eizou Workshop has been asked to mass produce longswords. So from today onwards, we will all be working on it, myself included.”

When I said that, the three of them replied with different words but the meaning is the same.

“Let’s move as efficiently as possible. Diana, keep on working on making molds.”

“Understood”

“Samia, your work will focus on filling the mold. You don’t have to do deburring today.”

“Okay”

“Rike and I will do the finishing.”

“Yes, I understand”

“Our speed is important but be careful not to cause accidents by rushing. It’s okay to move slowly and do it one at a time. Just make sure that you do it safely. 「Slow is smooth and smooth is fast. 」Please keep this in mind when working.”

“Is that some kind of saying in the North?”

Samia mixed up my words.

“Well, it’s something like that.”

Actually, it’s a phrase often used in my previous world for training special forces.

“Alright, let’s get started.”

「「「Yes」」」

In this way, the first mass production of our workshop started.

Although we were fired up, we couldn’t start until the fire was lit in the fire bed and furnace. Until the fire is lit and the temperature rises, all four of us spend our time making molds. These molds will all be used up by the end of the day at the earliest.

The molds can be reused to a certain extent because the firing process does not change the structure of the molds. However, there will be some loss so we eventually need to stock up on them. Perhaps it will also be necessary to replenish new clay by the time this mass production is completed. But for now, we are just working for the purpose of mass production.

When the temperature of the furnace rises, iron ores are thrown inside and the melted iron is taken out. After that, it is poured into a mold and cooled down, and until that point, it’s not yet my and Rike’s turn. At this time, Samia is the busiest person. She’s pouring the melted iron into the mold and then she throws more iron ores into the furnace. At this pace, it’s unlikely that she’ll be bored after we start finishing. Well, there’s that possibility in Samia’s case, but if that happens, we’ll be able to keep her busy with the mold making.

When the sword was cooled down, I took it out of the mold, grabbed it with the pincers and hammered it to remove the burrs. Then I put it in the fire bed to heat it up, took it out at the “right moment” and then I hammered it and start finishing. I started first, but Rike was not to be outdone, she proceeded to hammer and start finishing one too. When I glanced at it, it’s not up to a high-end model, but it’s a good workmanship for a general model.

The sound of the two hammers echoed loudly, mixed with the sound of the fire and wind, along with the sounds of Samia and Diana working. We’ve had this situation many times before, but this time, perhaps because the work was done with a proper purpose, the whole family seemed to be working together even more than usual.

Then, I completed the first longsword of the whole family.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.

---

Previous ⚜ Table of Contents ⚜ Next

---