Chapter 383
Elsa makes glasses
After leaving the onsen, Saki and Elsa return to Nidou Castle . Since Jin was already up…
“Jin-nii, I want to go to the viewing platform again . ”
Elsa asks him for permission to go all the way up to the sixth floor .
Then…
“…”
“Ahh, phew . ”
“…You two sure are slow . ”
Elsa has the most physical resistance out of the three .
“Ooh, this is a nice view . ”
“Yeah, it looks nice from here . ”
The mountains in the east are covered by the fresh greenery of early summer . The Erme River extends over the south, and the Togo Pass can be seen far away .
A virgin forest extends across the west . Kaina Village can be seen up north, and a high glacial mountain is even further away .
“Such a quiet and nice view . ”
Saki corrects her glasses’ position as she says that .
“Saki-nee, could I see those ‘glasses’ of yours?”
“Huh? Ah, sure . Here . ”
“Thanks . ”
Elsa checks the glasses’ structure as soon as she receives them .
“I see . It’s the first time I see something like this . So these concave lenses are used to correct myopia…”
And she continues .
“… But…”
“Huh?”
“They don’t really look that good on you, Saki . ”
“… Uh . ”
Those words hit Jin like a truck . He had been just made self-conscious of his own lack of sense of design .
“Jin-nii, can you change their design a little?”
After hearing that, Jin suggests Elsa does it instead . It will be a good opportunity for practice .
“Sure, I’ll give it a try . ”
But that will have to wait until they’ve finished their breakfast .
They have tamagoyaki and barley porridge for breakfast . Then grilled river fish . And citran for dessert . Bere was in charge of preparing breakfast .
“Hmm, a sweet omelet?”
As Saki commented on the tamagoyaki, Jin seemed to savor it as if it were something he hasn’t eaten in a long time . Elsa notices this, and says:
“Hey, Jin-nii, is this a dish from your country?”
“Huh? Ah, yeah . It’s a very popular dish . ”
Though he seems sad that there is no soy sauce to season it . It would really bring out its flavor .
“Hmm, citran? They’re really tasty . ”
The citran have been brought from Hourai Island . Their flavor is the real deal .
With the exception of the citran, the whole breakfast clearly shows how much Bere’s culinary skills have improved .
Jin calls Bere and makes sure to praise her for her improvement . Elsa and Saki also tell her they really enjoyed their meal .
“Thank you very much! I have been practicing and I’m really glad it’s paying off!”
Bere welcomes their compliments with a smile and bows to the three of them .
“Well then, let’s see if I can make these glasses . ”
They’re now at Jin’s workshop, which is in Martha’s house, in Kaina Village .
First, Elsa checks the materials . There are some rare materials brought all the way from Hourai Island .
Among them, Elsa finds some aluminum .
“Hmm, so that caught your eye, huh?”
Jin is impressed . Instead of aluminum, nowadays in Earth people use titanium as it is unlikely to cause allergies to metal, plus it’s a light material, making it perfect for making frames for eyeglasses .
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Then, Elsa chooses the material she’ll be using for the lenses: the same crystal that Jin chose back when he made Saki’s glasses .
“‘Separation’ . ‘Forming’ . ”
After setting aside the necessary amount of aluminum, she begins to process it . The basic structure is based off the glasses made by Jin .
“…Hmmm . ”
Jin is impressed by the design . A rounded, horizontal elliptical shape . Close to an oval-like design .
Jin’s prototype was made from 925 silver, but these are made from aluminum, which is stronger and allows for a slender finish .
It is clear that Elsa’s design is far superior than Jin’s . This is a bit different than engineering, so it is no wonder than Jin loses this match .
“‘Separation’ . ‘Forming’ . ”
Next are the lenses . Elsa transforms the crystals into concave lenses, but…
“…?”
Not knowing what to do about the lenses’ optical power, she silently stares at Jin . Noticing what she was trying to do, Jin offers his advice .
“First make a rough shape, then adjust it accordingly . ”
“…Got it . ‘Forming’ . ”
Elsa start reworking her lenses . Then, Jin intercedes again .
“Wait, Elsa . Try to create a ‘meniscus’ . ”
“‘Meniscus’?”
The one to make that question is Saki .
“Yeah . A meniscus is like a crescent moon . ”
“Crescent moon?”
The moon of this world does not have phases . Saki is even more confused now .
“Ah… Reiko, please explain for me . ”
“Yes, Father . ”
Leaving the explanation to Reiko, who was feeling rather lonely for not having participated so far, Jin gives preference to offer guidance to Elsa . This is not to say that he’s ignoring Saki . After all, these glasses are for Saki .
“Well, this is how you create a meniscus . ‘Forming’ . ”
“… I see . ”
It seems that during the TransInfo from the other day, she learned how to bend lenses easily .
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Still, while Jin seems to have understood something himself, Elsa quickly makes the lenses as she is being thought .
Seeing that, Jin suddenly thinks of something .
“Oh, I see . Safety glasses . ”
When operating certain machinery, such as lathe and milling machines, small metal or wood chippings may come flying out . Safety glasses are useful to guard one’s eyes from such hazards .
These glasses seem to be indispensable for an alchemist like Saki . Of course, they would be useful for Elsa and Jin, too .
Leaving the making of Saki’s glasses entirely in Elsa’s hands, Jin decides to create some safety glasses .
He will be using the usual Muscovite as a material . Using ‘Purify’ he removes all of the impurities, making it as transparent as possible .
“All right, like this . ”
They don’t have any optical power, so they’re easier to make . Lastly, since Muscovite is a soft material, he uses ‘Hardening’ and ‘Toughen’ .
Having the safety glasses break and their fragments getting into one’s eyes simply because they’re not hard nor tough enough is no laughing matter .
Jin makes about 10 of those glasses in the same way .
As soon as Reiko finished her explanation, Saki casually looks at Jin, and a tear escapes from her round eyes .
“… Haah… I knew that Jin was different, but it seems that I’m getting soft…”
Saki lets out a sigh .
“…Done . ”
At about the same time, Elsa finishes her glasses .
“Please try them on, Saki-nee . ”
“Ooh, so these are the glasses you made for me, Elsa? I’m so happy!”
After saying that, Saki puts the glasses on .
“What do you think?”
“Hmm… I’m so sorry, but it was easier for me to see with the other ones . ”
Hearing that, Elsa’s shoulders drop down . To encourage her, Jin says:
“Elsa, if the glasses don’t fit her face properly, it’ll be harder to see with them . That’s why fine tuning is important . ”
“How do I do that?”
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Since Jin doesn’t have a clear theory to explain it easily with words, he decides to show what he means in a practical way .
For that, he asks Reiko for assistance .
“Please sit here, Saki . Reiko, stand in front of her . ”
“Yes, Father . ”
Reiko stands in front of Saki, who is now sitting down .
“Okay, Reiko . Check the center of the lenses against the center of Saki’s pupils . ”
“Understood . ”
After his first attempt at making eyeglasses, Jin had been wondering how to adjust them so that they suited Saki’s eyesight better .
Jin could have done the explanation himself, but since it he feels a little embarrassed to stare at the eyes of a young woman for too long, he chose to leave it to Reiko .
This time, he’s being more earnest than ever . Reiko’s eyes have many functions, one of them being the ability to measure with great precision . That ability is up to par to a Magi Craft Meister such as Jin .
“The left lens needs to go down by 5 milimeters . The right lens is fine where it is now . ”
It is fundamental to minimize the deviation between the center of the lens and the center of the pupil .
“Elsa, have Saki put them on and make your adjustments from there . ”
“Sure . ”
Under Jin’s guidance, Elsa adjusts the lenses, corrects the frame’s angles, and repositions the nose pads .
“How about now?”
“Yes, this is much better . I can see clearly now!”
Since both lenses have the same optical power, they shouldn’t feel uncomfortable at all .
“Thank you, Elsa . ”
“I’m glad you like them!”
“So I guess you don’t need those old glasses anymore, huh?”
Saki excitedly waves her head in denial to Jin’s comment .
“Nonsense! These are the glasses that you made for me, Jin . I’ll always treasure them!”
“I… I see . ”
Knowing the things they make are being treasured is the greatest joy for anyone who makes things .
Though he won’t say it, deep inside Jin feels very happy that Saki said that .