Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 458: The Water Heater
Alex-niisan and Sister-in-law Daniela took a look around the workshop and then headed toward the store. It seemed they were going to check the products being sold by the company. We parted ways here for a while.
Come to think of it, during yesterday’s dinner, they mentioned that the stock of magic potions was running low. I suppose that’s a cause for concern.
That makes sense. Among the craftsmen affiliated with the company, only Fabienne and I can make magic potions. If both of us were gone for over a month, of course the stock would run out. I thought I had made quite a bit in advance, but I guess that just shows how popular the potions sold by the Heine Trading Company are.
I should talk to Fabienne about it. She probably wants to spend a few days with her family, so I’ll need to carefully decide on the timing.
“Julius-sama, which glass pens were popular in the royal capital?”
“The ones that changed color gradually were catching a lot of attention. Also, the ones with sparkling gold leaf inside.”
“I see. Those were the items that sold out immediately in our store too. So I thought they might sell well in the royal capital as well—it seems I was right.”
So they’ve started to not only develop products but also consider how well they will sell. There used to be a lot of stubborn craftsmen, but it looks like they’re starting to think with a broader perspective. That’s a very good trend.
After that, they proposed ideas to improve magical tools. All of them were aimed at simplification, weight reduction, and miniaturization, while maintaining their original functionality.
Of course, I gave my approval right away. It would lower production costs and make them more portable. Let’s sell them as new model versions.
The final suggestion was a completely new magical tool.
“I see, a magical tool that automatically boils water.”
“Yes. We made a prototype, but the water ended up boiling too much and became dangerous. So we added a feature that makes a sound when it boils, but even then, sometimes people didn’t notice and it caused problems…”
It seems development stopped at that point. I think an automatic water boiler would be really convenient. It would likely be popular among household staff.
Even in ordinary households, if they could easily boil water anytime, it could improve hygiene and maybe even help spread tea culture.
“Mind if I take a look?”
“Of course. Right this way…”
“This is…”
It must be overheating. Part of it is melted. The sound-making mechanism appears to use steam generated during boiling to create a whistle-like sound. It should make a high-pitched “peep-peep” sound.
The concept is really good. They were just one step away, but it seems they didn’t realize the final trick.
It would be a shame for this to be shelved as is. Maybe I’ll make a little suggestion. But of course, I’m not going to get directly involved.
“What if you used the steam pressure to automatically switch it off?”
“Switch it off?”
“Yeah. You embed the switch in the same place where the sound is produced.”
It’s a mechanism where the switch turns off under steam pressure. It’s not all that difficult. The only tricky part is adjusting the firmness of the switch.
Hmm? The craftsmen’s eyes suddenly widened. And this silence—what’s going on?
“I see! I never would’ve thought of that. So we just need to place the switch here. Who would have imagined using steam pressure to flip the switch…”
“As expected of Julius-sama! This could work!”
“Let’s begin improvements right away!”
The craftsmen started chattering noisily. And just when I thought they would be the ones doing the modifications, they brought materials and tools over to me. Apparently, I’m the one who’s going to improve it. Why?
But I couldn’t resist those expectant looks. With eyes like that, I couldn’t just say, “I leave the rest to you.”
While keeping the original water boiler’s shape, I modified it into a slightly taller, slimmer form. The material was iron. Copper conducts heat better and boils water faster, but it’s a bit more expensive.
The concept was a convenient magical tool that even ordinary families could use. This was a chance to popularize magical tools among the general public. If magic tools became more familiar, the desire to purchase them would surely increase.
I quickly made it and completed it. The name, fittingly enough, is just “Water Boiler.” It stops automatically when the water boils.
“It’s done.”
“This is amazing!”
“That was way too fast!”
“As expected of Julius-sama… you’re on a different level.”
Ugh, since I knew the original idea, I ended up making it too easily. I should have held back more and said, “Now you guys refine it for usability.” But it’s too late to realize that now.
“Julius-sama, let’s try using it right away!”
“Y-yeah, let’s.”
The craftsmen, their eyes sparkling like the first star in the night sky, brought water from somewhere. They poured it into the boiler and pressed the switch. The water began to heat up immediately. As expected from the magic heating circle—it boils fast.
In no time, it came to a boil, and the switch clicked off. At the same time, a melody played: pin-pirorin, pin-pirorin, pin-pirorin. It was a modified version of the sound feature used in the chime magic tool.
“The switch turned off…”
“A sound played…”
“That makes it easy to understand!”
The craftsmen all started talking excitedly at once. And for some reason, I kept hearing voices praising me.
But wait a moment. The original idea for this magic tool came from the craftsmen. I just made a few tweaks to it. It doesn’t feel right for me to get all the credit.
Isn’t that strange? I looked at Nero, but he was also giving me that same look as the other craftsmen. In other words, a look that said, “As expected of Julius-sama.” How did it come to this…?