The arts and crafts class at Jin Castle was a resounding success.
With the snow piling high this season, farm work had ground to a halt, leaving the villagers with far too much time on their hands.
"…This many people came?"
Almost all the village children had attended. In addition, five housewives had joined the group. Even Barbara, the Village Chief’s niece and Erik’s wife, was among them.
"I didn't set an age limit, but still..."
Jin pondered the logistics. He didn't think it would be right to treat the adults exactly the same as the small children.
"Let’s split them into two groups."
He decided to keep the content the same but adapt his instruction for each group. Or rather, he simply decided to use separate rooms.
To that end, Jin asked Barbara and the other housewives to move to the room next door. He felt that having parents and children in the same classroom might be a bit awkward for everyone involved.
Thus, for the first day, Jin took charge of instructing the children, while Elsa instructed the adults.
"Alright, today let’s try making vessels out of clay. You can make a plate or a cup—whatever you like."
"Okay!"
"Yes, sir!"
The children, who adored Jin, accepted his words with enthusiasm.
"I will now distribute the clay," Reiko announced. Serving as Jin's assistant, she began handing out portions of clay to each child.
Jin had selected a clay with a fine grain and good elasticity, specifically chosen for its ease of use for beginners.
"Alright, listen up. You have to lean your weight into it and knead it well on the table."
"Okay!"
"Moisten your hands with the water from the bucket next to you to help it blend."
"Okay!"
Since Jin had only done pottery a few times himself, about half of his instructions were based on information he had gathered from Laojun.
As a rule, if the clay for pottery isn't kneaded thoroughly to remove air, "voids" will form, making the piece prone to cracking during the firing process.
"If you knead it well, the air and the particles in the clay become uniform and smooth. That makes it less likely to crack when it dries."
"Okay…?"
The last part of the explanation seemed a bit too technical for the children to grasp.
"Oh, and one more thing. Just try to make it about thirty percent thicker and larger than you want—well, just make it a bit bigger overall. Clay shrinks as it dries, you see."
"Okay!"
Jin walked among the children, offering advice as they intently kneaded their clay.
"Large plates are a bit tricky. The weight of the clay can cause the shape to slump."
"Got it!"
Despite the simplicity of his advice, the more dexterous children seemed to grasp the concept immediately, setting to work on their various vessels.
(Thinking about it, this is really just an extension of playing in the mud.)
As Jin suspected, most of the children in Kaina Village had spent plenty of time making things out of clay as a game. Of course, they had never fired their creations, and they weren't practical for actual use, but it had been enough for them to learn the basic feel of the material.
Meanwhile, Elsa was teaching the adult group with Edgar assisting her.
"This is the clay. It has been roughly kneaded already, but please knead it thoroughly once more."
"Yes, we understand."
Even among the adults, almost everyone had played with clay as children. They had no trouble handling the material.
Elsa’s instruction proceeded smoothly, and before long, everyone had completed a vessel in their preferred design.
"Alright, let's dry them then."
"Yes. We shall begin the drying process."
Jin and Elsa spoke to their respective classes as they stood before their students' finished work.
"Dry."
Using Craft Magic to dry an object ensured that moisture was removed uniformly rather than just from the surface, preventing cracks from forming.
"When you aren't using Craft Magic, you have to let it dry slowly in the shade," Jin explained.
"Okay!"
"If you try to dry it too quickly, cracks will appear, or in the worst case, the whole thing might shatter," Elsa warned her group.
"We understand!"
Things proceeded well on Elsa’s side too, and both groups finished the drying process.
"Well then, let’s fire them."
Jin placed the vessels made by the children and adults into the firing kiln he had prepared—a device made from a modified bread oven.
"Wake up."
As this was a magi-device, it responded to a keyword.
"Now, they should be finished in about two hours. Until then… let's have lunch."
"Yay!"
It was around 11:40 AM. It was a bit early for noon, but they decided to eat.
"Anyone who wants to help, step forward."
"Me!"
Everyone in the class—adults included—raised their hands.
"Then let's split up the tasks. Today's lunch is nabeyaki udon!"
Jin suddenly realized he should have shown them the earthenware pots for the nabeyaki udon before the lesson. He made a mental note.
(Alright, for the next pottery class, we'll have a lesson on making earthenware pots.)
After everyone washed their hands thoroughly, they began the preparations.
The group split up: some chopped green onions, some sliced kamaboko, others boiled leafy greens, or prepared the dashi and the soup base. The adults took charge of frying the tempura.
As they worked, Jin thought to himself that this had unexpectedly turned into something resembling a home economics class.
"Alright, make sure it's boiling properly before you eat."
"Yes, sir!!"
Each person was provided with a magic stove, upon which sat an earthenware pot making a steady bubbling sound.
"It should be about ready now. Be careful, it's hot. You can scoop it into a small bowl first if that's easier."
Jin had individual serving bowls, chopsticks, and renge spoons ready for everyone. The people of Kaina Village had become quite proficient with chopsticks lately.
"It’s also delicious if you sprinkle some kryptona (mitsuba) over it."
Jin loved the aroma of mitsuba, so he added some to his own steaming pot. For extra seasoning, he had also prepared yuzu (imitation) and shichimi togarashi.
This shichimi blend consisted of red chili pepper, hemp seed, sesame, Japanese pepper, dried orange peel, poppy seed, and nori. Depending on the shop, ingredients like ginger, perilla, or green nori were sometimes included.
Incidentally, the original shichimi was something Jin’s agent, "John Dini," had sourced in Mitsuho. Because it had likely been named by the Magus—who hailed from Tosa—it was referred to by the Kansai name "shichimi" or "shichimi togarashi." (In the Kanto and Tokyo regions, it was more commonly known as nanairo togarashi.)
"It's hot, it's spicy, and it's delicious… This is perfect for cold weather!" Barbara said, eating with gusto.
"Wow, this is so good."
"It really is!"
"Hey, your nose is running."
The children were also eating intently, their noses running from the heat of the soup.
Watching the heartwarming scene, Jin—who was sensitive to hot food—savored his nabeyaki udon at his own careful pace.