The day after entertaining Haulon-san, I head to Pasture.
Haulon-san stayed up all night reading. I managed to entertain him, but I feel like I failed in my original goal of letting him rest.
When I noticed and tried to take the book away midway, I gave up due to his overly desperate plea. By the way, it was a handwritten copy of something I brought from the Spirit Library.
Thanks to the various abilities I received, I can pretty much recall the knowledge from a book after reading it once, but for ones with illustrations I like or bindings I fancy, I have the Spirit Notes make replicas.
The books here are really cool! Like, the ones Authorities had made to show off, they’re bulkier in other parts than their page count! They look like grimoires! Though there are actual grimoires too!!
Something like the chuunibyou I never experienced when I was in Japan is stirring. That’s why I had those books, but for Haulon-san, they apparently got him even more excited, so it was a lost cause.
The Great Sage, a chuunibyou theory.
I’ve been researching the Land of Fire in the Spirit Library, so I brought some books I had made because I thought they were good at the time.
Many books from the Era of Fire were collected by a king who loved books, so there were also some that should have burned in fires—ones Haulon-san probably hadn’t read.
Choosing books written about the time around Karn-san’s era, and books written by people of that era about ancient sages, was my downfall! There’s no way Haulon-san wouldn’t be interested!
Thinking about such things, I head to the artisan’s place.
As I’ll be visiting Chris’s House, I’ve ordered some porcelain as a gift. Chris’s family has been Knights for generations, and they seem to have a subtle history.
At first, I thought about getting plates, but black tea seems to be popular, so I ordered a complete tea set.
I had it colored on white porcelain with colors close to Chris’s gold hair and emerald green eyes. I made and brought the emerald green dye myself.
I heard everyone in Chris’s family has the same hair and eye color, and most of their clan does too. His younger brother Reed looked just like him too. The upper half, at least.
The upper half of Chris’s Face resembles his mother and the lower half his father; Reed resembles his mother; of his two other younger brothers, one has an upper half like his father and a lower half like his mother, and the last one resembles his father and is frail, if I recall correctly.
I suspect they all look alike in more than just hair and eye color.
“Welcome.”
The workshop people greet me while working, even though I arrived suddenly.
“Sorry for always showing up unannounced.”
I say, starting my tour.
Since I come without prior notice, they leave me be until they reach a stopping point in their work.
What I’ve commissioned in Pasture is enamelware and porcelain. Both are thriving, and the whole Town is lively.
As for enamelware, Bathtubs are large and expensive, so they’re made to order, but the demand for washbasins seems to be huge. It’s like, “We can’t afford a Bathtub, but…” apparently.
The porcelain is for nobles and wealthy merchant houses; there are many direct orders, but I also send it to Naruadeid.
“Sorry to keep you waiting.”
The master artisan says, wiping his hands as he approaches.
“Are you alright now?”
“Yes. We’ve increased the number of people for painting, so we’re not that busy.”
The reason he speaks politely to me is because of the white porcelain and dye recipes. I had no intention of keeping them secret or monopolizing them at all, so I just taught him normally.
“He really dished it out!”
The Spirit clinging to the master artisan is cackling, but I don’t mind. It’s a Spirit that seems like it would get along well with the Ex-Staff, or rather, the Island’s Haniwa. Though it would probably get incredibly noisy.
It wasn’t there when we first started associating, but it attached itself to the master artisan at some point. And yet, if you observe it, this Spirit helps him judge the kiln’s heat. It says nothing but silly things, yet it’s accurate.
Getting back on topic, it’s the same with baths, but I want tableware to spread even more. Pasture was originally famous for pottery, or more accurately, Stoneware, and that’s still going strong too.
It’s the type with a sturdy, heavy-looking, brownish base, with three-dimensional patterns drawn on it with enamel; mostly pots and vases. Because they’re heavy, they’re stable even when you arrange Flowers in them.
While I want to spread it, I’m refraining from giving the recipes to other Towns. One reason is that it’s becoming Pasture’s industry, but a bigger reason is that I don’t know how much Firewood they use, and I started worrying about what would happen if the trees decreased any further.
Apparently, back when Nakahara was a Forest, Towns that made distinctive pottery and porcelain were scattered from Pasture to around Kanum, but now it’s far from a lush Forest, and most of those Towns have fallen into ruin.
It’s not just the Firewood problem; wars were a big factor too.
“The items you requested are ready, so I’ll have them brought over now.”
“Oh, thanks.”
“An ant is ten years old.”
The Spirit, lounging on the master artisan’s shoulder, propped up on an elbow, cackles again.
“Not at all. We can make them anytime.”
“My House is here. Behind this old guy’s ear.”
The Spirit says, pulling the master artisan’s ear.
It’s not actually pulling it, but the master artisan touches his ear.
—I’m completely ignoring the words of the Spirit attached to the workshop master.