Under Gajeel's lead, we entered his forging workshop. Inside were a furnace, an anvil, and a full set of blacksmithing tools.
"Karen, I tried forging the tire before, but no matter what I did, it never came out right. Do you have any ideas?"
Gajeel pointed toward a corner. I saw several misshapen iron rings—failed attempts.
Then I suddenly remembered: Why was I even trying to forge a tire?
There was a much simpler method, just like making gears and chains. The only reason I hadn't done it before was the lack of rubber and welding techniques… and because blacksmithing took a ridiculous amount of time.
"Do you have any wooden planks?"
"Follow me."
We went to the back door of the shop. A pile of wooden boards of various lengths and sizes was stacked there. I picked one large plank and four long planks, each close to a meter in length.
I sawed the large plank into a square, then sawed the long planks to equal length. Using iron nails, I connected the four long planks upright into a square frame and nailed the large plank to the bottom—forming a box-like container.
Next, I asked Lina and Gajeel to melt iron. Lina used wind magic to raise the furnace temperature, making the metal melt faster.
During that time, I conjured dirt and filled the wooden container completely. I hammered the soil tightly, leaving no gaps. Then I tied one end of a string to a nail and the other end to an awl. I pinned the nail at the container's center and used the awl like a compass, drawing a large circle in the packed soil—creating a mold for the ring.
Gajeel approached, holding a pot with tongs. It was filled with glowing red molten iron. He poured it carefully into the mold until it was full.
"Let it cool naturally. Then just grind down the uneven surface," I said.
"That's definitely much faster."
"Next, we make the tire surface."
We poured a tiny amount of carbon black and sulfur into the buckets filled with rubber sap. Gajeel heated the bucket while I stirred the mixture with a thin iron rod. The originally white latex gradually turned pitch black.
We poured the mixture into a rectangular container to cool and harden. Afterward, we reheated it slightly and used the freshly carved stamp to imprint a tread pattern on the rubber.
The tire would be solid rather than inflatable—roads here were uneven with plenty of stones. If there were inner tubes, they'd probably burst constantly.
The iron ring hadn't finished cooling yet, so we didn't know the exact required length of rubber. I explained the next steps to Gajeel.
"Once the iron ring is ready, measure its circumference, cut the rubber to length, and attach the ends together. Make sure the patterned side faces outward."
"I get it. And the rest is made using the same process, right?"
"Right. We'll come back tomorrow."
"Alright."
After Lina and I left the shop, the sky had already dimmed. The once-crowded street was nearly empty now. Too many things had happened today, and we still hadn't found a place to sleep.
"Let's look for an inn."
"Mm."
We only found one near the Adventurers' Guild. When I opened the door, I saw a middle-aged lady standing behind the counter.
"Welcome. Oh my, what adorable little ones. Are you here for a room?"
The counter lady greeted us kindly.
"Yes. Are there any rooms available?"
"There's one room with a double bed."
A double bed? I really don't want to sleep in the same bed as Lina at this stage. There would be… too much physical contact.
"Do you have a room with two single beds?"
"Sorry, we're out of those."
Well, if there isn't one, then there's nothing I can do. I'll have to explain things to Lina later.
"…Alright. How much is it per night?"
"20 copper coins."
"We'll stay five nights. Here's 1 silver coin."
I placed a silver coin on the counter. The lady took out a ledger.
"Thank you. Please write your names here."
I wrote both our names inside. The lady glanced at them.
"Karen… and Lina, is it? Here's your room key. We provide breakfast and dinner—5 copper coins per meal. And there's a bath as well, 2 copper coins per use."
Why did she pause slightly when reading my name?
Well, at least they have a place to bathe. That's great.
But right now… I'm starving.
"I understand. Can we eat dinner now?"
"Of course. I'll take you to the dining hall."
The lady led us to the dining hall, told us to sit anywhere we liked, and then headed into the kitchen.
There were plenty of empty seats, with only a few people eating. But among them was someone who looked very familiar—a short-haired girl with pink hair.
"Lina, doesn't that girl over there look familiar?"
"…"
Lina didn't answer. She seemed to be staring blankly at something, lost in thought. I stepped in front of her and tried again.
"Lina?"
"W-What!?"
Her startled voice echoed. So she really had zoned out. Did something happen? Why don't I remember anything?
"Ah! It's Mr. Karen and Ms. Lina!"
A cheerful voice called our names. I turned to look. It was that familiar pink-haired girl waving at us. But… why did she know our names? I couldn't remember who she was.
"…"
"That's Ms. Lukie," Lina said.
Ah, the girl who learned to ride a bicycle earlier—no wonder she looked familiar. I hadn't really looked at her face at the guild.
"Hello."
I nodded in greeting. Lukie asked curiously:
"Are you two also staying here?"
"Yes."
"You're here for dinner too, right? If you don't mind, would you like to join me?"
Oh! This was a great chance—for Lina to make a friend, and maybe for me to learn things only girls know. But I should ask Lina first.
"Sounds good. Lina, is that okay?"
"Mm."
We walked over to Lukie's table. It was a four-seater. I sat diagonally across from her, and Lina sat beside me, directly across from Luchi—girls talk better when they're facing each other, after all.
But we didn't have any topic to start with. We just sat quietly, staring at the table. It was awkward.
Then, suddenly, Lukie made a small, fidgety sound, as if mustering the courage to say something.
"Um… Mr. Karen…"
She's actually talking to me? I was hoping she'd chat with Lina instead, but Luki looked pretty tense, so I answered her first.
"Yeah? What's up?"
"About… this morning… I'm sorry… for causing you trouble…"
So she's feeling guilty about asking me to make a bicycle? Guess it's time to act like a responsible adult.
"It's fine. I mean, it's a super convenient way to get around—of course anyone would want one."
Hearing me say it was fine, Luki's shoulders relaxed a little. Right then, someone stepped over.
"Your food's here. Oh? You guys know Lukie?"
It was the lady from the front desk. She set down the plates for Lina and me, looking like she was pretty familiar with Lukie.
"Boss lady, I met them at the guild earlier today," Lukie explained.
Lukie calls her "boss lady". Hearing that, the lady smiled warmly at us.
"And you two adorable kids are adventurers too?"
"Yeah, we just became adventurers today," I replied.
Then I handed her a large copper coin—ten coppers. After that, I looked at her seriously and asked the most important question of the night:
"Boos lady, where's the bathroom?"
"What a clean little boy. It's on the other side of the dining hall—separate rooms for men and women."
"Got it, thank you."
With that settled, I grabbed my spoon and started eating. Dinner was a plate of rice topped with a breaded cutlet covered in egg.
I scooped up some rice and breaded cutlet together. The familiar texture instantly hit me—twelve years without tasting this meat, and here it was again. The nostalgia honestly made me emotional.
Pork. Real pork.
It was good, really good… though still not quite as good as the food I cook. Probably because our magic boosts the quality of the ingredients—after getting used to that, it's hard to be impressed by anything else.
Then my eyes landed on a small bottle on the table, filled with a black liquid. I drizzled a little onto the cutlet and took another bite.
That salty flavor—soy sauce. I couldn't help getting a little excited.
(I should buy some later. That'll open up so many dishes.)
Back in the village, we only had salt for seasoning. It got dull after a while. I nudged the bottle toward Lina.
"Lina, this is soy sauce. Wanna try it?"
"Mm."
She poured some onto her cutlet, took a bite… and then immediately went in for another, and another, finishing her meal in no time.
Lukie stared at her, wide-eyed, before blurting out:
"Ms. Lina's eating style is so elegant."
Even though Lina ate quickly, nothing about it looked rough or messy—if anything, she looked beautiful doing it.
I was surprised 3 years ago too. The way Lina ate looked so graceful, like a well-educated young lady, completely different from her usual self.
Back then, I asked Lina about it, but even she didn't know why she suddenly behaved that way. I even suspected her for a while, but the only possibility I could think of was that she might be a reincarnator.
Until one day, I finally figured it out—what mattered was that Lina was happy. There was no point overthinking her behavior, so I gave up trying to analyze it.
"Thank you," Lina said to Lukie. Then Lukie seemed to think of a new topic and asked us a question.
"By the way, Mr. Karen and Ms. Lina, you don't know non-verbal magic, do you?"
"Huh?"