The next morning, Jin placed some of the apple-like fruits in a basket and headed to Beena’s house. Reiko was staying behind again today—or rather, she was busy building the house.
"Beena, you there?"
The door swung open with a bang the moment he knocked.
"Jin! You're here!...Huh?"
"..."
Jin had been knocked flat by the door’s momentum.
"Ouch..."
"S-Sorry!"
A bump had formed on Jin’s forehead. Seeing it, Beena looked incredibly apologetic.
"Ah, it’s fine....Cure."
Jin cast healing magic on himself. Beena’s eyes went wide as she watched.
"Y-You can use healing magic too!?"
"Hm? Even if I can, this is it. I can only heal minor injuries I get while I’m crafting."
"Still, that’s amazing..."
"So, why were you in such a hurry?" Jin asked after the bump had vanished.
"Oh, right! That popcorn is selling like crazy!"
According to Beena, people had only bought it for the novelty at first. However, those who’d taken some home found the taste so addictive they’d come back for seconds. Others saw the commotion and decided to try it for themselves, and as a result, she had sold through all ten kilograms of corn by the afternoon.
"So, I wanted to give you your share—or a thank-you, I guess. Here."
Beena held out three silver coins. It was roughly equivalent to 3,000 yen.
"That's impressive. You really made a profit."
"Yeah. And because of that, four of the magi-lamps I put out next to the stall sold as well."
"Oh. Just as planned."
For Jin, the popcorn was merely a hook to draw customers in; selling magic tools was the primary objective.
"I decided I'll open the stall this afternoon and focus on making magic tools this morning."
"Oh? Did you come up with an idea?"
"Yeah. I’ve got two in mind right now," Beena replied. "One is a magi-lamp that’s easy to carry around, and the other is a magic tool for starting fires."
Jin thought for a moment after hearing her proposal.
"A magic tool for starting fires? I don't really cook much, so I'm not sure how useful that would be."
"Really? See, most people can't just start a fire with magic. Households either have to keep their embers alive or use a fire-starter."
A fire-starter was a tool used to generate heat by rubbing wood together.
"There are magic tools that produce fire, but they're expensive—not the kind of thing commoners can afford. So, I thought it would be enough if it just produced enough flame to light an ember."
Jin was impressed. What Beena was describing was, in essence, a lighter.
"Yeah, that sounds like a great idea. Do you already have a concept for it?"
"Yeah, listen. First, you take a magi-stone..."
After listening to Beena’s explanation, Jin nodded.
"I think it’s solid. Let’s get to work."
"Yeah!"
They immediately began production.
"I want it to be small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, and I want it to produce fire when you grip it."
"Hmm, 'gripping' is a bit vague. How about doing it like this?"
Jin explained the concept of a push-button.
"Oh, that’s perfect! When you press here, the magi-stone makes contact with the magi-plate and activates... like this."
And so, the lighter was completed.
"Since the magi-stone can be tiny, we can make these really cheap."
By crushing their current magi-stones into fragments the size of a grain, the tool could be used about a hundred times.
"One for 100 Tolls... no, that's too much. Maybe around 50 Tolls?"
That was about 500 yen. If it could be used a hundred times, it cost 5 yen per use. It seemed like a fair price point.
"Plus, how about telling them that if it runs out of juice, they can bring it back and you'll refill the magi-stone for a fee?"
"Oh, I like that! Would 20 Tolls be alright for a refill?"
"Sounds about right. Also, I suspect this will be imitated soon, so it's better to sell as many as possible and earn what you can before that happens."
"You're right. There's definitely a high chance someone will copy it," Beena agreed.
"Ah, also, I think from now on you should put a mark on all your work so people know it's yours."
"Eh? Why?"
"To distinguish your work from imitations, for one. Also, if you’re going to make a name for yourself, it’s better to start building your brand now."
At that, Beena’s face flushed slightly.
"D-Do you really think so? I never considered something like that."
"I'm not just flattering you. I'm sure you'll become famous in the future, Beena."
Because Jin said it with such a straight face, Beena turned even redder.
"I-I'll become famous? N-No way..."
As she started squirming bashfully, Jin gave a wry smile.
"I said 'in the future.' Think of a design for your mark, okay?"
"A-Alright, fine."
As it happened, Jin’s sense for design was just as poor as his sense for naming.
They settled on a design featuring a 'B' (the characters of this world closely resembled the alphabet) set inside Beena's favorite flower, a lily.
"Alright, let's engrave it on the lighter."
"Lighter?" Beena asked.
"Ah, yeah. Since this magic tool lights things, I thought we'd call it a 'lighter'."
"Lighter, huh. Yeah, I like it! Between this and the refrigerator, you've got great sense, Jin!"
It was a complete misunderstanding, but Jin wasn't foolish enough to correct her.
After making about twenty lighters during the morning, the two of them ate bread, vegetable soup, and apulul for lunch. As it turned out, apulul was a relatively common fruit.
"The kids are really happy, too."
Since Jin had been bringing various fruits, both of her siblings were starting to get their appetites back.
"Oh, but maybe the apulul is a bit hard for them?" Beena asked, worried because their gums had been bleeding.
"In that case, why not make juice or bake them?"
When Jin suggested it, Beena’s eyes went wide.
"Bake? You can bake an apulul?"
"Yeah. You core it, put in sugar and cinnamon, and bake it in a frying pan."
Hearing Jin's explanation, Beena sighed.
"Sugar is too expensive, so that's out. Besides, what's cinnamon?"
"Ah—right, sorry. That's just how we ate them back home. In that case, how about grating them?"
Jin had almost accidentally said 'apple' again.
"Apple? So that’s what they call apulul where you’re from. Yeah, let's go with grated apulul then."
With that, Beena grated the fruit and carried it off to serve with her siblings' meal.