Chapter 197 – First Designs
My next stop was the workshop. The day before, Minsto had told me that she had finished the first drafts of the designs and wanted me to approve them. When I came in, she was adjusting the heavy machinery in the room to prepare for building the prototypes.
“Hi again, Minsto. How’s it going?”
“Good.”
We had seen each other in the morning, but I still hugged her. She began liking hugs after our hugging session, and we have done it since then. When this was accomplished, she showed me three different stacks of paper. They were written in dome 2’s language since we planned to expand there in the future. By now, I was just good enough to be able to speak and read the language, which also facilitated our exchanges.
It was my first time reading such documents, and I was impressed by their quality. Each stack contained a precise description of the product, its functions, and how it worked. This all came together with the actual designs and beautifully drawn schematics of each device from multiple points of view, including their inner parts. No matter how inept I was in the domain, everything was so clear that it was easy to understand. If I sometimes didn’t know about a particular technical term or aspect, she would diligently explain it all to me.
My requirements for the designs were simple. The fridge needed to have a compartment for refrigerating and one for freezing. As for the fan and oven, they just needed to be normal ones. There was only one thing I had insisted on. I wanted their design to look luxurious, even if I hadn’t planned on selling those as luxury goods in the outside world.
I wasn’t disappointed. I thought Minsto might have trouble with the design part since there was an artistic aspect to it, but I was wrong. All three items had delicate lines, and the materials chosen for the outer layer were all semi-expensive or shiny ones, with the end goal of giving a “privileged” feeling. She had also given an estimation of the fabrication cost of each one, and it seemed reasonable enough to me.
On top of that, the practical aspect wasn’t neglected. According to what she wrote, they could all be assembled with a small team of workers in a factory in a relatively short amount of time. In exchange, they were a bit bulkier than some of their counterparts, but it was a small price to pay, especially because people in the outer world wouldn’t even care about it. I wouldn’t mind selling them in the inner world, too, in case we ended up having a surplus in the future, but we could worry about that when the time comes.
“It looks great. I have a few questions. Here, on this part…”
I asked about a few things and ended up requesting minor changes here and there, but globally, this part of the work was done.
“Nice. You did a splendid job. You can take a few days of vacation if you want.”
“No, I’ll start with the proof of concept right away.”
She hadn’t taken a single day off since she started working, which started worrying me. Vacation in the inner and outer world worked the same way. It was usually one day off per week, which felt like very little for me, but was normal here. And she hadn’t even used that small amount of rest.
“Are you sure? You should rest to work better later. It’s not good to work too hard.”
“I don’t need anything like that.”
She was stubborn as usual. If I were a greedy boss, I would be happy about such high motivation. Here, though, I was afraid she would get sick if she went on like this.
“What about we take a break and visit the outer world together tomorrow with Suuru?”
Interestingly enough, this made her hesitant to refuse. She pondered for a while before answering.
“I’ll go.”
“That’s what I’m talking about! Let’s have fun! It’s wrong to do today what you can do tomorrow!”
She stared at me some more. I waited for her to say something, but it didn’t come out. Only after a long time did she open her mouth again.
“Nonsense.”
‘Is that a rebuttal? Or appreciation of my joke? It’s impossible to tell with her deadpan expression.’
That didn’t matter much. Suuru was a lot more enthusiastic about it and needed no convincing at all.
Just like that, we spent the following day outside of the domes. Suuru didn’t have anywhere she wanted to go in particular, but Minsto wanted to enjoy the nature that was missing in the inner world. As such, I teleported us to the few scenic locations I was aware of.
We started with the usual forest, moved to the large fields north of Geola, and finished our trip with the majestic view of the mountain range in the south. At lunch, we enjoyed a picnic made of food prepared beforehand and had a great time overall.
At some point, Minsto and Suuru switched the topic to magic, being both metal mages.
“You’re 38, right? How did you reach rank 3 that young?”
Suuru couldn’t help sending a small glance at me while saying so, but I ignored it.
“I was taught by my parents from a young age and trained a lot.”
“I see. I’ve been trying to get my first rank up, but I’m not sure I’m doing well.”
“I can teach you if you want.”
The proposal took us by surprise.
“Really?”
“Yes.”
Suuru jumped in delight.
“I’ve been wanting to get some mentoring for a while! I have so many questions!”
“You can ask me anything.”
“Wow… I can pay you for your trouble!”
“No need. I live in your house, eat your food, and drink your water. Doing this much is only natural.”
“I’ll call you teacher from now on!”
“Call me Minsto.”
“Hehe!”
We continued our tour of the region with an infinitely calm Minsto catering to an over-excited Suuru, me watching them pleasantly from the side.
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