Afterward, Adriana and Kururu returned to the village for lunch.
"It’s a difficult problem..." Adriana murmured to herself as she ate at the Village Chief's home.
"Ado, what’s the matter? Did it not taste good?" Baise asked, looking concerned for her young guest.
"Oh, um, I’m sorry. I was just lost in thought," Adriana explained hurriedly.
"If that’s all, then it’s fine... but is something troubling you?"
"No, just..."
Adriana reconsidered. Since the Village Chief, Meuto, was also present, she realized it was the perfect opportunity to ask.
"Um, I heard from Kururu-chan earlier, but is it true that this village forbids women from going out to sea?"
Meuto’s expression turned solemn as he answered. "That is correct. It has been said since ancient times. They say the god of the sea is a man."
"Oh, so if a woman goes out to sea, does he try to drag her down to the depths?" Adriana asked, recalling the common patterns in the folktales Shuuki had told her.
But Meuto laughed and shook his head. "Haha, no. It seems the sea god is quite fickle and has a wandering eye for any woman who goes out to sea. His jealous wife gets angry and stirs up the waves in a fit of pique."
"I-is that so?"
The explanation was so different from what she had expected that Adriana was taken aback.
"Of course, we don't literally believe it. But you know, ancient traditions can't be dismissed so easily."
"...Some of the fishermen still seem to believe it quite firmly," Baise added.
"In reality, I think it might be a 'kind lie' born from the desire to keep women and children away from the dangers of the open sea. But as the Village Chief, I cannot simply allow the villagers to break our established laws."
"...I understand."
Faith and superstition were deeply rooted, and Adriana knew from Shuuki's teachings—and her own travel experiences—that overturning such things was an exhausting task. Witnessing a concrete example like this gave her much to ponder.
(Father told me the Leonard Kingdom was better about this than most... I wonder if other countries are even worse?)
Adriana remained lost in thought for a while.
Despite her brooding over local superstitions, Adriana soon found herself curious about the progress of her Material Extractor magic tools and decided to head back to the beach. This time, both Maruru and Kururu accompanied her.
"Wow, what a massive ship!" Maruru exclaimed, mirroring her sister's initial reaction. "I’d love to go aboard, but I suppose I shouldn't..."
"Well, wouldn't just looking inside be alright? It isn't actually floating on the water right now," Adriana suggested. Since Kururu had already seen the interior, she wanted to be fair.
"Oh, you're right!"
And so, Adriana gave Maruru a tour of the ship just as she had for Kururu. Once that was finished, she checked the Material Extractors installed at three different spots.
"Yes, this is quite a lot."
In total, she had gathered about fifty grams of chromium and forty grams of nickel.
"If I leave them until tomorrow, I should have more than enough."
Adriana looked delighted as she secured the day’s haul. She wanted to leave a gift for the village that had been so hospitable before she eventually moved on.
"Oh, Kururu, Maruru. Who's the little girl?"
"Ah, Uncle Demi. This is Ado; she's a traveler."
They passed several people on the way back from the shore. Adriana realized she hadn't seen many villagers during the day and asked why.
"That's because everyone goes to either the mountains or the sea during the day," Maruru explained. She told Adriana that the local soil was poor, making it difficult to grow standard crops. Consequently, they relied on the mountains and the sea for survival.
From the mountains, they gathered firewood, nuts, and wild plants. From the sea, they harvested fish.
"Then tools like axes, hatchets, and sickles must be essential," Adriana noted.
"Exactly. Grandfather is always busy because he's the one making and fixing them," Kururu added proudly.
"That’s why the village feels so empty during the day."
"Yes. And at this time of year, there are plenty of berries to pick in the mountains."
They were called clary, a fruit that ripened into a deep purple.
"They're sweet and tart—really delicious. If we don't pick them, the birds and animals eat them all, so we gather them as soon as we find them. What we can't eat fresh, we dry or turn into jam."
"I see."
"...Though sugar is so expensive that we can't make very much jam," Maruru admitted.
Through these small exchanges, Adriana’s understanding of the common people's lives deepened. Previously, she had always been under the protection of the Magus, Shuuki. This direct interaction with people living such grounded lives was incredibly educational.
The roots of her future devotion to developing magic tools for daily life might have been planted right here.
By the following day, her total stock reached 150 grams of chromium and 110 grams of nickel.
"This is plenty to work with."
Adriana headed to the forge of the master blacksmith, Phaitos. Kururu and Maruru had gone back to the mountains after breakfast, so she was on her own today.
"Oho, little lady. Are you here for more 18-12 stainless steel?"
"Yes. I want to make a few things to leave behind as a thank-you for your kindness."
Phaitos’s expression softened into a slightly lonely smile. "I see... You’re a traveler at heart, aren't you? Go ahead, use as much iron as you need."
"Thank you!"
Adriana immediately began producing stainless steel with her materials. She aimed for an 18-8 alloy—eighteen percent chromium and eight percent nickel.
With 150 grams of chromium, she calculated she needed 66.7 grams of nickel and 616.7 grams of iron. Performing the math instantly in her head, she began the alloying process.
"No matter how many times I see it, it’s a marvel," Phaitos remarked. To someone unfamiliar with Craft Magic, the sight of glowing magic circles and solid iron reshaping itself was pure wonder.
"Forming."
"Ooh!?"
Focusing her intent, Adriana produced ten forks in a single casting. They were connected by thin runners, requiring only a simple separation to finish. She repeated the process three times. Using roughly 750 grams of material, she completed thirty forks. The lack of any waste was a hallmark of magi-craft.
"I tell you, if magi like you started popping up everywhere, we blacksmiths would be out of a job," Phaitos said, sounding impressed.
"I don't think you have to worry about that. Most magi wouldn't dream of making household utensils," Adriana replied.
Phaitos blinked, struck by her words. "I suppose you're right. Most of 'em only care about what brings in the gold....Does that make you special, little lady?"
"I wonder." Adriana gave a small, somewhat lonely smile. She was well aware that she was an outlier. "That’s thirty. I think the village population was 172, so I’d like to make at least 200..."
At this rate, it would take several more days. Adriana decided to increase her production capacity by making more Material Extractors. Fortunately, she had brought plenty of the necessary components from her ship.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Master."
"Aye, take care now."
Adriana went straight to the shore, constructed five additional Material Extractors, and had F-003 submerge them in a different part of the bay.
"Ah, Ado, welcome back!"
When Adriana returned to the Village Chief's house at midday, Kururu and Maruru were already there. They excitedly showed her the day's harvest: a mountain of clary berries and other wild nuts.