The first thing we do when we get home is to separate Krull from the cart. Krull, now out of his gear, shakes his head in a slightly regretful manner.
　Lucy walks up to his feet and cries, "Woof! Krull gently rubbed his head against Lucy's, and Lucy flapped her tail.

　Seeing this, I felt a sense of warmth (while also thinking that it was time to equip my shoulder armor) as I unloaded the cart.
　As usual, I took almost all the items into the warehouse first. Spices and seasonings are placed in the storage room at the house.
　It's easier to replenish them here when the ones in the kitchen run out.
　And the other item. The box that was chained up has been taken to the forge.

　Thanks to Krull, it was still time for lunch even after I came back and brought in my stuff.
　I spread out a rug on the terrace, sat on it, and decided to eat lunch with Krull and Lucy.
　It was fun to eat lunch together, but I couldn't help but feel a little sad that Helen was not there.
　I guess it's better for her to get used to this kind of thing now, since it's quite possible that she'll return to mercenary work sooner or later.
　As if she cared about me, Lucy sat on my lap and asked me to feed her some meat.

"Okay, okay, you're being nice.

　I gave her some unseasoned meat and patted her head, and she wagged her tail in a good mood. I wonder if this is what I'll be like when I have kids.
　...... I have no plans or intentions to do so at this time.

　I'm not sure if Krull saw this, but he poked his head out from outside and I petted him.

"Krull.

　He makes a throaty sound and licks my face.

"Hey, that tickles.

　My girls are really good. The next thing I knew, everyone was looking at me with kind eyes, so I brought my own soup to my mouth to hide my embarrassment.

Now, let's see what we've got.

　Lunch was over and we were gathered in the forge. Normally, this is the time for us to do whatever we want.
　But today, there is something different. A box strapped with chains.
　I inserted the key Marius had given me into the lock and twisted it.
　There is a crunching sound and the lock comes off. I am interested in the lock itself, but I am more interested in the contents of the box.

　Gently opening the box, I found a small leather bag wrapped in a cotton-like material.
　Somewhat reverently, I took it in my hand, and felt a very solid response.
　I placed it on the altar and clapped my hands on it once before I opened the bag at ....... I prayed, of course, for the success and safety of the work to come.

　With everyone staring, I took out the leather bag. A golden lump appeared. It looks like an ordinary gold nugget in terms of weight.

"Which one?

　When I placed it gently on the anvil and pressed it with my finger, there was some resistance, but it depressed into the shape of my finger. As I recall, pure gold can be scratched by a fingernail. Compared to that, it seems to be quite soft.
　If so, it must be more ductile than gold. It is said that one gram of gold can be stretched to almost three kilometers.
　When I held it in my hand and squeezed it tightly, the inner side of my hand came off. I have no use for it at all.
　It is completely clay, but it feels like a cool, smooth metal. It feels very uncomfortable.

　Now that I know how hard it is, I'll let anyone who wants to touch it. Well, I mean all of them.

"Is this clay-like stuff really hard?

　said Samija, kneading it with her hands to change its shape. That question is natural.

I've heard that it can be made hard. ......

　They say that even ordinary gold can be made somewhat harder by heating .......
　However, this one can be made harder than that, so it must be more than just heating.
　If it were that simple, any blacksmith would have the technology to do it. The first thing a blacksmith usually tries is to heat it up.

There's no magic in it, is there?

　Rike, who is observing from various directions and not fiddling around too much, mutters.
　It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for.

If that's the case, then the process of making it hard is going to involve magic.
Are you one of the few?
Maybe.

　I nodded at Deanna's question. If it was the blacksmiths who were involved in the processing who could contain the magic power, it would make sense to some extent that some of them were successful.
　I am not the only one in this world who can contain magic. In fact, Rikke has been taught by Liddy and has become somewhat able to do so, and for the purpose of use, this technique is essential for the Elven treasure sword.

I'm sure you'll be able to figure out how to make it work.

　You'll be able to get a lot more out of it than you think. All you have to do is to put a lot of magic power into it and that's it.
　I've never done it before, but I suppose it's possible to remove the magic power by using cheats. If so, it would be possible to use it at will.

But then there should be more success stories, right?
"That's true, .......

　I twisted my head at Anne's words. I'm not sure how many blacksmiths are capable of storing magic power, but the number of those who have succeeded in processing megistium is too small for that.
　Then, it is natural to think that something other than magical power is involved. I have no idea what it is.

Let's leave it for today and try some things tomorrow.



　I placed the Megistium on the altar, and after making sure everyone had left, I closed the door to the forge.
　Just before I closed the door, I saw that the megistium seemed to be glowing slightly in my eyes.