"Forming."
With a single word of power, Adriana reshaped the half-finished fork into its final design.
"Wow! That’s incredible!"
"Ado, you truly are skilled."
"Hmm. Magi-craft certainly is an impressive art," Phaitos added, sounding impressed.
"Finish."
Adriana concluded the process by polishing the surface to a mirror-like shine.
"This is the standard style of fork used in the royal capital these days."
"It looks just like silver. I can hardly believe it started out as iron," Maruru murmured, gently picking it up.
"I don't know... the shine seems a bit dull, or perhaps a little dark..."
Phaitos had a keen eye. Even with a mirror finish, 18-12 stainless steel cannot match the reflectivity of silver, so it tends to look darker by comparison.
However, silver tarnishes quickly due to sulfidation if not maintained, whereas stainless steel tableware stays bright. It is also harder and less prone to scratches, making it ideal for everyday use.
When Adriana explained these advantages, Phaitos nodded repeatedly in agreement.
"I see. Still, using such rare metals and having them be so difficult to work with is a significant hurdle."
Indeed, those drawbacks meant that even on modern Earth, a clear distinction was made between the uses of stainless steel and carbon steel.
"I suppose it will remain a material best suited for magi-craft for the time being..." Adriana mused. After all, the very concept of creating stainless steel by adding chromium and nickel was far from common knowledge.
"I imagine so. Still, it's a fascinating material," Phaitos added, offering a bit of comfort as Adriana’s shoulders slumped slightly.
"Thanks, Master."
Hoping to see how the magic tools she had entrusted to F-002 earlier that morning were performing, Adriana decided to head down to the shore.
"Kururu, Maruru, I’m going to the sea for a bit."
"Oh, I’ll come too!"
"I’ll wait here at the house," Maruru said.
While Maruru headed inside, Kururu tagged along as Adriana made her way to the beach.
"Hey, Ado, what’s out at the sea?"
"It's a surprise."
"Boo."
The two girls chatted as they walked.
"Wait, hey! This is the wrong way!" Kururu called out, noticing Adriana heading in a different direction than the rocky area where they had searched for stones the day before.
"Oh, it's fine. We aren't looking for stones today."
"Oh, okay." Kururu still sounded like she was having the time of her life.
Eventually, they arrived at a stretch of sandy beach. Adriana’s ship was anchored nearby.
"Whoa! That’s a huge boat! Hey, Ado, is that the one you came here on?"
"Yes, it is."
As expected, Kururu began to bounce with excitement.
"Wow! I want to go inside!"
"Sure, but give me a moment. I have to finish my business first."
After soothing the energetic girl, Adriana called out to F-002.
"How is it looking?"
"The operation appears to be proceeding smoothly, Master."
F-002 pointed toward a silver-gray mass sitting near the magic tool.
"Yeah, it’s definitely gathering. Analyze... Analyze... Yes, that’s chromium and nickel. A total success!" Adriana cheered.
"Hey, Ado, what is that thing?" Kururu asked, unable to contain her curiosity any longer. She was pointing at the magic tool itself.
Adriana thought for a moment before answering. "Well, it’s a magic tool designed to extract specific substances from seawater."
Almost every element is dissolved in seawater—gold, silver, platinum, lithium, aluminum, magnesium, and even uranium. And, of course, the chromium and nickel Adriana needed.
However, because these elements exist only in microscopic traces, the effort required to extract them is usually not worth the cost. On modern Earth, the only extraction process that remains practically viable is that of sodium chloride—common salt.
In this world, however, magic changed the equation. Using her specific techniques, Adriana had made the extraction viable at a practical level. The technology used by her Successor, Jin, to separate and collect helium from the atmosphere had its origins in this very method.
"Yeah, it’s gathered quite a bit."
In just half a day, the tool had collected twice as much as they had found yesterday.
"If we keep this going, we’ll have a huge supply. Actually, it might be better to make one or two more."
Adriana set to work, crafting two additional units of the magic tool—which she dubbed the Material Extractor—and submerged them in the water. She placed them a good distance apart in areas where the currents and tides ensured a constant circulation of fresh seawater.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Kururu."
"It's okay! That was really cool!"
Adriana had worried she was being rude, but Kururu had been mesmerized, watching the process of magi-crafting for the first time.
Next, Adriana led the way to the ship. Before giving a tour, she introduced her golem crew.
"This is F-003, and this is M-002. That one over there is M-003. And you already know F-002."
"Incredible! Did you really make all of them, Ado?"
"I did."
She led the wide-eyed Kururu through the ship. Though it was a large vessel at ten meters long, the interior felt a bit more cramped than a house.
"This is the Cabin. This is where I stay while we're sailing."
"This is the Engine Room. When M-002 and M-003 turn the handles, the screw spins and pushes the ship forward."
"And this is the sleeping area. Usually, we pull the ship onto the beach to sleep, but these beds are hanging units just in case we're at sea; it helps keep them steady when the ship rocks."
"This is..."
Adriana continued her tour, and while it was hard to tell how much Kururu actually understood, the girl’s eyes remained bright with wonder. Finally, she let out a small, wistful sigh.
"I wish I could go out to sea..."
"Why don't you ask your father?" Adriana suggested. She had seen plenty of boats at the Green Coast yesterday. Surely the Village Chief would allow his daughter a quick trip on the water.
Kururu shook her head sadly. "I can't."
"Why not?"
"It’s the village law... or maybe a superstition. They say that if a woman goes out to sea, the waters will turn violent."
"That’s ridiculous..." Adriana frowned. She was a girl, after all, and her voyage had been perfectly calm.
"Yeah, but it’s okay for you, Ado. You’re an outsider. The rule only applies to the people born in the village."
"I see..."
Whether it was a local tradition or just a groundless superstition, it was another nuance of the world Adriana hadn't noticed back when she traveled under her father Shuuki's protection.