That was the thing that Elon picked up.

　Yes, it's a ceramic plate we're working on.

　However, it's still an unfinished prototype.
　We were going to discuss the future of the elves, but they had somehow returned to the workshop where they had been working until just before that.
　And what's going on with the plate?

　It's an unfinished product, so I'd be embarrassed if people stared at it too closely....

No, I'm just wondering why this plate doesn't have any glaze on it.
What?
That's why the surface is rough, and it will absorb water if you use it as is. It's not even close to being perfect.

　That's exactly what I'm saying, sir...?

What?　How do you know how to get it to completion?
Well, I do.... Well, can I have the remaining ashes in that kiln over there, please?

　Yes?
　Hi.

"You dissolve these ashes in water to make a glaze. You apply it to a plate and bake it to make sturdy pottery.
"Seriously?

　I never thought I'd get a clue from a place like this!
　Let's try it out as soon as I say.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　* * * *

...I really could.

　I took my time and fired the plate as instructed by Aileron, and it really is my target pottery.

　The surface was shiny and slippery, like glass. When I flicked it with my fingers, it sounded cuttin' and metallic.
　This was the pottery I had been looking for!

Glazing the clay pottery is the basics. The ashes melted in the glaze are baked at high heat and melt and become glassy. It covers the vessel and makes it strong enough not to be broken in a hurry.

　I see!
　Anyway, this is going to make our dining room table even more spectacular!

But how did you know that, aileron? How did you know that, aileron?
Every elf knows this much.
What?

　What do you mean?
　Earlier, you said that elves are a race that only uses the nature of the forest........

There's a certain amount of ingenuity that goes into the use of nature. When it comes to making tools to enjoy the bounty of the forest, the elves are the most skillful.
It's been said that if you let them make such fine things, there's no one better than the elves!

　Even the other elves started to brag about it.

''Yeah........?

　There is.
　It's what elves are good at.

　Moreover, it is the technique that our farm needs the most at the moment, but its owner is nowhere to be found.

　After listening carefully, I found that the elves' survival skills in the forest were much more profound than I had imagined.
　By cutting, scraping and kneading materials found in nature, they could easily create items that would allow them to live comfortably in the forest.

　However, this is limited to small items that can be carried around with you.
　Elves who only enjoy the bounty of the forest are willing to make more efficient use of that bounty, but they consider actions that remake nature itself to be taboo.

　They are spoiled as much as they can be spoiled by the forest, and when they begin to wither or lose weight, they move on in search of a new home.

　That's why they don't build houses or do any other large-scale construction work, and they throw away all the small things they can't keep before they move.
　It is said that there are people who pick up such trinkets from the abandoned elves at the site of the camp and sell them at the market.

''What, if you had that kind of skill, you should have told me about it earlier.
No, I don't know...!　That demon race over there...!

　A demon?　Is this about Verena?

"Because of how he was staring at me with a 'don't say anything unnecessary' stare,
"I'm a bad girl!

　Oh?
　Verena broke down in tears.

'I actually knew, right from the beginning!　I knew that elves are good at these kinds of clumsy crafts!　But pottery making is my exclusive work, which was just given to me by the saint!

　Ah...!

''I thought for sure that if the saint found out about the elves' dexterity, he would send me to the pottery making business!　Before that, I'm a bad woman for thinking of handing her over to the demon kingdom!　Please scold me!

　A series of Verena's words and actions felt unnatural, but was that it?
　I didn't know she was that afraid of being unemployed.

　I'll have to think of something for her to do.

　I'll turn the pottery-making job over to Elon and the others mercilessly, though.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　* * * *

　After all, Elon and his band of elves had certainly earned their place in the farm's knick-knacks department.

　As forest folk, the elves were skilled at making all sorts of tools, and they knew how to make not only earthenware, but also woodworking tools.

　So, the original band of 20 elven thieves were divided into four groups of five members each, and one of them was assigned to make pottery exclusively.

　The other three groups were asked to decide what they wanted to make and work on their own.
　One group paid attention to a monster skin that had been thrown into a warehouse without knowing how to process it.
　They tanned the skins with chemicals made from special berries picked in the forest, turned them into leather, and processed them into various products.
　They make bags, belts, and other items of clothing in partnership with Bati.

　Another group is woodworking.
　They carve wood into various useful tools. They are most skillful in making the elves' signature weapon, the bow and arrow. By layering a variety of different timbers together, they are able to create a bow that bends better than expected and is sturdier than expected.

　Okubo and the rest of the monster army, who had previously only fought with close weapons, quickly learned how to use their bows and arrows, and their hunting in the dungeon seemed to be progressing more and more.

　........Only, when I saw them consulting with Lamp Eye and developing a magic arrow with explosive potion in the arrowhead, I wondered what I should do.

　High-powered explosive potion to attack from long range, the strongest?

　I don't know about that.
　I don't know. I don't think so. I think the upgrades are within the realm of common sense, don't you?

　The other was glass making.
　This delighted Prathi and the other mermaids.
　They need a lot of test tube flasks and other glassware for potions preparation.

We used to have my brother bring in new glassware, but now we won't have to ask him to do that anymore!

　Of course, the glassware could be diverted to dishes and glass windows as well as mixing tools.
　That's how the elves easily adjusted to our farm.