TL: NyX
ED: Onihikage
Enjoy~
Chapter 17 – Duplicate
I couldn"t help tilting my head at Klusan"s reaction.
「……Is something wrong?」
「This makes no sense! H-how can you make furniture in an instant straight from the raw materials? That"s impossible!」
Wait, really?
I"d never seen how other craftsmen make furniture, so I had no idea. Klusan was still in shock, but I wanted to confirm something else.
「So, what about being able to make things with only magical power, to some extent?」
「C-can you… really make it just like that? You"d still need some raw materials… right?」
「Actually… I don"t necessarily need anything at all.」
「……」
Klusan just stared at me, mouth agape.
「C-can I ask you to show me?」
「Yes, but again, I can only make things that have once been destroyed with my hammer, please be aware of that.」
I recently remembered I was a Blacksmith, after all, so I can"t make anything from scratch except weapons and such.
「That alone is already unbelievable.」
Well, from my point of view, I think it"s more amazing for a person to make something original.
I made another chair. Klusan looked from me to the chair, then back to me.
「…You can really make anything, huh.」
「Y-yeah, well… it"s just by breaking the finished product once, you know… that"s all.」
「It"s more than enough! This means a single object, once made, can be easily ma.s.s-produced. You don"t even need to produce them in pieces, but all at once――and this newly created chair is actually better than the original!」
Klusan walked around the chair, observing it carefully.
「It"s the same as the original, but… I"ve only adjusted it a little.」
「Uh, no. It"s definitely superior to the original one. I"ve met the person who made the original furniure for this inn before I come to meet you.」
「Is it that much of a difference?」
「Yes. However… well, it"s just… I"m trying to figure out exactly where the difference is.」
Klusan was having trouble putting it into words.
…Certainly the original chair was equivalent to E-Rank. The one currently sitting in this room is S-Rank. The difference may be significant.
Maybe… maybe if someone doesn"t have an eye for detail, then even if they actually sit on it, they won"t immediately be able to tell the difference in quality is so extreme.
If they don"t look closely, they won"t notice. That"s why I"m so lucky to have this eye.
At the same time, I could see the resolve in Klusan"s eyes. She"s a merchant, after all.
「You said you couldn"t make the original from scratch, didn"t you?」
「Yes, so… I can"t make all the unique designs that aristocrats would want.」
「No… on the contrary, I"m thinking you"d be better at making copies.」
「What do you mean by that?」
「Currently, prices for furniture and accessories vary highly from top to bottom as they reach the general public. The ideal situation is to make something cheap, high quality, and in large quant.i.ties, but no combination of craftsman and merchant has been able to manage all three. That"s because craftsmen aren"t really capable of making the exact same thing at the exact same quality over and over again.」
「And you"re saying that"s where I come in?」
「Yes. Of course, the only part I expect from you is the ma.s.s production. Once I bring you an original piece, I"ll have you create some number of duplicates.」
I see. It"ll be good if I can have more free time than a typical craftsman.
「How is the money split up between the merchant and craftsman?」
「It starts at 70% for the craftsman and 30% for the merchant. However, if there are special circ.u.mstances such as the need for particular materials, the distribution can change.」
「……..」
In other words, I"m going to make money while improving my skill.
「How long will you need me? I want to keep working at this inn, if I can.」
If I don"t keep working, the inn might not be able to stay in business. At best, it would be difficult, until the new employee gets used to the work and we get one more person to replace me.
I don"t want to bother Oji-san and Obsan, so that"s my priority.
「Let me think… I haven"t confirmed anything yet, but I do have a warehouse we can use. What would you think about visiting there one day a week to ma.s.s-produce the things we specify? After that, I"d handle the sales while keeping an eye on the market.」
「……..」
This proposal wouldn"t restrict me at all.
「I understand. I"d like to accept that plan.」
「R-really!?」
「Yes. That said, we haven"t talked about the details yet, so…」
「Of course! I will compile a written doc.u.ment with the details and come back later!」
「Mm, I see, thank you…」
Klusan smiled joyfully and shook my hand. Her chest stood out again as she left, and my eyes were drawn to it, but she didn"t notice.
I"m not particularly attracted to them, but… they"re just that big.
After recovering for a bit, I went back to my room. I remembered my plans to someday find a way to help Lynn, and it struck me that even making simple necessities like this might help her out a little.
Furniture craftsman, huh?
Though I still don"t know what I"ll be doing, specifically. No use thinking about it right now, I should ask Klusan for more details later.
Even so, there was one thing that surprised me.
No one else makes furniture the way I do.
I was ashamed of myself for not realizing that sooner.