Chapter 27 - The Magical Tool Shop, "Silver Branch"
It had been a little over a year since she had last visited the magic tool shop, "Silver Branch."
The three-story shop carried not only everyday magical tools but also aristocratic ones. It was surprisingly spacious, extending deeper than its width.
The door of the shop was decorated with shimmering silver branches, likely crafted by hand.
"Welcome. We're happy to have you at 'Silver Branch.'"
A female store clerk wearing a navy suit with a white collar greeted them with a smile. Dahlia had visited this store several times with her father, but this was the first time she had met this particular clerk.
"If you're looking for something, I'd be happy to guide you."
"We don’t have anything specific in mind, so may we just take a look around?"
"Of course. Feel free to browse. If you need anything, just call for me. And please, don’t hesitate to ask if you need anything, Ma'am."
She spoke with the same smile to both Volf and Dahlia.
Dahlia couldn’t help but be impressed.
It seemed that she was quite affected by the behavior of obviously comparing herself and Volf by the women who they crossed paths with on their way here.
"Thank you. I’ll ask if I need anything."
Dahlia responded, and with a cheerful smile in return, the shop assistant acknowledged her and stepped back.
For a moment, Dahlia seriously thought she might need to practice her own customer service smile.
She decided to walk around clockwise, starting from the entrance, and turned her attention to the shelves.
The first shelf displayed everyday magical tools—basically appliances by her old-world standards.
This was the area Dahlia loved and was most skilled in.
While magic in this world had its conveniences, it was still considerably less efficient compared to her past life.
The Japan she had lived in during her previous life was a country with a mindset of "enduring hardship for the sake of convenience in life" when it came to manufacturing.
She understood well that it was impossible to compare this country to her homeland, considering the different history and circumstances.
However, once a person had experienced convenience, it was hard to give it up.
As a child, she had wished for the temperature of water in the bath and wash basin to always remain consistent, without needing to use separate buckets or barrels with water and fire magic stones. When she asked her father for this, after some trial and error, he created a water heater magical tool.
The following year, it was registered with the Merchant Guild, and now, it was a common magical tool.
When using wind magic stones to dry her hair, it took too long. She wanted a hair dryer, so she and her father made one using wind and fire magic stones. Though, the first one she made turned out to be more of a flamethrower.
Her father used a sand lizard coat to travel through the rain, which, while waterproof, didn’t dry completely. If it wasn’t dried properly, it would start to smell.
She wanted to make a raincoat for her father, but there was no waterproof cloth. So, she created one using slime.
Last month, she registered a compact magical stove, a miniaturized stove to cook stews on the table with her father during the winter. Unfortunately, it wasn't ready in time for them to use it together, but it had already begun being used by travelers and campers.
One of Dahlia’s dreams was to see people using that compact magical stove at tables in a shop someday.
Perhaps the reason Dahlia was a magical toolmaker was that she, too, was willing to endure hardship for the sake of convenience in life.
The items in the shop had changed quite a bit since the previous year. Many of them had been miniaturized or had additional functions added.
She couldn’t help but feel a little happy when she found a water heater on the first shelf that was similar to the early model her father had made.
There were also dryers, irons, and book-drying devices designed to keep parchment books from getting moldy.
Given the season, it seemed that the most popular items for sale were the cooling pots and refrigerators.
The cooling pot worked in reverse to a thermal pot, keeping items cold for a long time using water or ice magic stones. It was useful not only for food but also for keeping ingredients cool when needed.
A refrigerator would be ideal, of course, but it was still quite expensive.
The refrigerator her family had in her past life’s kitchen, which was a bit larger than average, would cost four gold coins here—roughly three times more expensive. Moreover, it could only hold about two-thirds of what the one back home could hold, and the cost of ice magic stones was high. Ice magic stones were more expensive than water ones, and the maintenance costs made it difficult for the average person to afford.
There was a small refrigerator in the tower, but she thought it might be fun to try designing a new type in the future.
"If we had a few of this size in the barracks, it would be so helpful for keeping things cold."
Before she knew it, she realized that Volf was staring intensely at the largest refrigerator.
"Is your current refrigerator small?"
"Yes."
"It must be a problem if it doesn’t fit everything."
During the coming season, it would indeed be a challenge for the ingredients to fit. As Dahlia spoke, Volf closed the distance between them slightly.
"There’s only alcohol in it, though..."
His voice, low and whispered in her ear, made Dahlia fight to hold back her laughter.
The next section of shelves was filled with larger magical tools.
There were items resembling washing machines and cleaning devices.
This world might find it difficult to develop washing devices.
With purification magic and water magic available, it was cheaper and more convenient to rely on laundry shops rather than buying a washing device.
Dahlia only owned a small washing device, one that she used for washing small items and undergarments.
Cleaning devices came in various forms: some used wind magic stones to blow dust off from above, replacing a duster; others combined brooms with water magic stones, while some used fire magic stones to dry and remove debris from stone or brick floors.
One option, though a bit expensive, combined purification magic with wind magic stones, using wind to clean a room. Dahlia thought it would be useful for large cleaning projects in the tower someday.
There was one item she found especially missing—an electronic microwave.
However, lightning magic stones didn’t exist in this world yet. She had asked her father, but he firmly said he’d never seen one.
There was lightning in this world, though, and Dahlia secretly hoped that someday a researcher would solve the mystery of electricity.
After enjoying the first floor, they made their way to the second.
This floor mostly had magical tools for the nobility, leaning more toward fantasy than practical appliances.
It was here that Dahlia had seen the anti-eavesdropping magic device that Volf owned.
The first shelf that caught her eye contained a sound amplifier. It was similar to a speaker in her past life, used to amplify voices or music and broadcast them over a wide area. It was particularly useful in large estates to announce matters or emergencies.
Next to it was the anti-eavesdropping tool. Even when they weren’t talking about anything substantial, nobles often used these when dining out. This was a clear reflection of the difference in perception between nobles and commoners.
Further along, there was a row of lighting-related items.
There were regular room lamps, desk lamps, bed lamps, and chandeliers. The magic stones used in these provided a wide range of brightness and light colors.
Recently, lamps that made skin appear more beautiful and desk lamps that reduced eye strain had become popular. As she read the descriptions, Dahlia couldn’t help but admire the improvements, noting that they were evolving just as they did in her past life.
There were also self-defense bed lamps with ice blades and chandeliers filled with fire magic stones capable of burning everything within a ten-meter radius if dropped. Dahlia decided to forget about those, as they were too terrifying to dwell on.
At the farthest point, there was a lamp made with fairy crystals.
From the front, the lamp cover glowed faintly, but when viewed from the opposite side, it became clear and transparent, revealing the room beyond.
Fairy crystals were rainbow-colored magic crystals that could be found in places believed to be the dwelling spots of fairies.
There were two theories: one was that fairies created the crystals, and the other was that they were left behind when fairies died. These magic crystals were said to be used by fairies to hide, and they had a recognition-inhibiting effect.
However, fairy crystals were expensive, and the process of crafting them was notoriously difficult.
A few years ago, Dahlia’s father had suggested trying to incorporate one of these crystals into the window of Dahlia's room. Despite her objections, he had attempted it while she was away, only to shatter the crystal, wasting three gold coins in a single day. It had left Dahlia somewhat shocked, as her father was usually a skilled magical toolmaker.
Dahlia recalled cleaning up the shattered fairy crystal while muttering complaints, and remembering that night, she had denied her father any alcohol.
Shaking off the memory, Dahlia moved deeper into the store, where dazzling jewelry items were displayed inside glass cases.
These were not just decorative pieces, but magical tool accessories.
There were various protective accessories, mostly made with ice magic, but some had firepower strong enough to incinerate an enemy. Among them was a freezing ring for self-defense.
She also spotted rings and earrings with anti-poison, anti-anemia, anti-petrification, and anti-confusion. There were also bracelets that created temporary barriers, among other types.
Dahlia suspected that most of these were crafted by alchemists rather than magical toolmakers.
There was even a bracelet that combined both anti-petrification and anti-confusion. She was intrigued by how the enchantments were layered together.
"Sorry, I got lost in thought."
"It's okay, it's nice to see you so engaged."
Dahlia realized she had been staring intently at the items on display and had forgotten Volf's presence. But he seemed to enjoy watching her as she examined everything with such interest.
"Did you find anything you liked?"
"Everything was quite fascinating."
She sighed inwardly, regretting that they couldn’t have more meaningful conversations in the store. She looked forward to discussing things in more depth once they were outside.
"I'll take this ring, please."
Volf returned to a previous section of the store and purchased a gold ring with an antidote effect.
Monsters often carried poison, so this was likely a necessary item for his hunting expeditions.
After making the purchase, Dahlia and Volf were sent off by the store clerk, who courteously expressed her gratitude as they left the shop.
Comments
Post a Comment