The following morning, Adriana woke to the subtle rustle of Baise getting out of bed.
"Oh, did I wake you, Ado? I’m sorry," Baise whispered.
"No, I’m used to early mornings."
Kururu and Maruru still seemed to be fast asleep.
After washing her face at the well in the dirt-floored entryway, Adriana met F-002 to receive the magi-craft materials she had requested the night before.
"This should work. If I do this, and then this..."
Adriana remained completely absorbed in her work while Baise prepared breakfast.
"There. Please take this," she said, handing a completed magic tool to F-002 just as Baise called out to her.
"Ado, breakfast is ready!"
"Good morning, Mother. Good morning, Father. Morning, Ado," Maruru said as she emerged.
"Mnn... morning, everyone..." Kururu followed, still sleepily rubbing her eyes.
"Let’s eat," Adriana said, initiating the meal.
Breakfast was a simple barley porridge. Once again, it was seasoned with herb-scented salt, which gave it a pleasant, savory flavor.
"Let’s eat!"
"Let’s eat!"
Following Adriana’s example, Kururu and Maruru joined in the greeting before digging in. The herb salt made the porridge so appetizing that Adriana went back for two helpings.
"Thank you for the meal," Adriana said as she finished, offering the post-meal thanks that had become second nature during her years with Shuuki.
Kururu and Maruru echoed her, thanking the table for the food. Adriana wasn't sure if the habit would actually stick in the village, nor did she feel a particular need to force it, but she had certainly made a small ripple in their local customs.
"Ado, what are you doing today?" Kururu asked once the table was cleared.
"Are you going back to look for more stones?" Maruru added.
"No, today I’m heading back to the workshop to see Master Phaitos."
She had managed to obtain a small amount of nickel and chromium the day before, which she figured would be just enough for a prototype. With five grams of chromium and two grams of nickel, she could produce a single fork made of 18-8 stainless steel—eighteen percent chromium and eight percent nickel—assuming the final product weighed about twenty-five grams.
When they arrived at the forge, smoke was already billowing from the chimney. Phaitos had clearly already lit the furnace and started his day.
"Grandpa!"
Phaitos, who had been about to set a hunk of iron onto his workspace, turned around.
"Oh, Kururu. And Maruru, and the little lady. What brings you by so early? I was just about to see if I could hammer out a prototype fork from this iron."
Standard blacksmithing in this region involved heating the iron, hammering it flat, and then meticulously shaping it with chisels and files.
"Actually, about that—I brought some metals that make iron resistant to rust when you mix them in," Adriana said.
"What?! Such a thing exists?" Phaitos stared at her, stunned. Kururu and Maruru shared his surprise, though as non-experts, their reaction was more of a mild "I didn't know you could do that."
Phaitos, however, was visibly vibrating with excitement. "If... if we can truly make iron that doesn't rust, it would be a revolution!"
Adriana offered an apologetic smile and shook her head. "It won't be quite that easy. For now, this is all I have."
She opened her hand to show him the small samples of chromium and nickel.
"That’s it? Just that tiny bit...?" Phaitos’s shoulders slumped in disappointment.
Seeing his reaction, Kururu puffed out her cheeks. "Grandpa! The three of us worked really hard to find those yesterday!"
Phaitos hurriedly waved his hands in apology. "Oh, Kururu, I didn't mean it like that. I just got ahead of myself thinking about how wonderful it would be if we could make a lot of it."
"Let’s start with the prototype," Adriana interjected. "We can figure out the mass production side of things later."
"Well, you’ve got a point there," Phaitos conceded, setting his iron ingot down. "So, how do we go about mixing these in?"
While most people simply called it "iron," the term actually refers to a specific element. In practice, pure iron is rarely found on the market; what people use is "steel," an alloy of iron and carbon. "Cast iron"—or pig iron—also carries the name, but it contains between two and 6.7 percent carbon, making it a precursor to refined steel. In the broader world of metallurgy, pig iron melts at a relatively low temperature (around 1200 degrees Celsius) and flows well, making it ideal for pouring into molds. On the other hand, true steel can be hardened through heat treatment, making it the perfect material for blades.
But that was a digression. Adriana intended to add her chromium and nickel to a relatively soft steel with low carbon content.
"May I use a bit of this?" she asked, inspecting the iron ingot Phaitos had prepared.
"Go right ahead. That’s what it was there for." Phaitos seemed to have realized that a fork didn't need to be excessively hard, which proved his competence as a craftsman.
"Alright. Let’s see... Separation."
"Hoh?" Phaitos watched closely.
After separating approximately eighteen grams of iron, Adriana continued with her Craft Magic.
"Fusion. Alloying."
She incorporated the chromium and nickel, binding them into a single alloy.
"There. This iron should be stainless steel now. Oh, and 'stainless' just means 'rust-free.' I think 'stain' refers to the rust spots, and 'less' means without."
"Stainless... rust-free steel. Now that’s a fascinating prospect."
"Phaitos, could you try shaping this into a fork?" Adriana handed the twenty-five-gram lump of 18-8 stainless steel to the blacksmith.
"You bet, little lady. Let’s see what this stuff can do."
Phaitos tossed the lump into the furnace and began pumping the bellows. The fire roared, and the small hunk of metal soon glowed a brilliant red. He snatched it out with his tongs, set it on the anvil, and began striking it with his heavy hammer.
"Hmm...?" Phaitos tilted his head as he worked.
"Is something wrong?" Adriana asked.
"It feels... tenacious. It has a certain pull to it."
Despite his observation, he worked with practiced ease. After two more rounds of heating, Phaitos had hammered out the rough silhouette of a fork.
"Now I just need to cut the tines with the chisel."
He pulled out a small chisel, lined it up against the prototype, and struck.
"What the—?!"
Phaitos cried out in surprise at the sheer resistance he felt. Stainless steel is incredibly tough, which makes it notoriously difficult to process through cutting or machining. Adriana had seen this struggle before while working with Shuuki, so she had a good idea of what Phaitos was experiencing.
"It’s not that it’s hard, exactly... but it’s a nightmare to cut..."
"Yes, that’s both its greatest strength and its biggest flaw," Adriana explained.
"I’ll say. It’s sturdy, but if it’s this much trouble to work with, it’s a hard sell."
"It’s difficult to sharpen, too."
Because it was so resistant to standard whetstones, modern crafters often had to use ceramic or diamond tools.
"I see... Then it definitely isn't suited for making in large quantities," Phaitos said, a look of disappointment clouding his face.