Glast’s Request Part 3

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A few dozen minutes after my parents came back…

“It’s done!” Glast wiped the sweat from his forehead as he announced the successful refinement of the thunder ores. Two ingots now sat on the table, freshly cooled from the sand and clay molds. They looked a bit different, with a red hue instead of the usual blue after refining with plain fire. Clearly, some sort of change had occurred.

With anticipation and apprehension in my heart, I looked at Glast, who nodded and then used a strip of mica to bring the two pieces of metal closer together. Then, a sharp sound was born—a crackle that briefly lit up the room.

“Whoa?!” Glast recoiled in surprise, but managed to hold onto the metals. I caught a glimpse of the lightning thorns for a moment, but the effect itself wasn’t all that significant compared to the mineral reaction.

Well, minerals are substantial in weight and mass, and the metals Glast held were only about the size of a coin. If electricity was being generated in such a small form, it was sufficient.

“So, there was an electric reaction, right?!” I said excitedly.

“Wow!” My sister and parents applauded. Though I didn’t fully understand what had happened, Glast and I scratched the back of our heads, feeling bashful.

“So, what does this become?” Glast asked, the question on everyone’s mind.

I smiled wryly and approached the table. “Can I borrow the cloth?”

“Sure.”

Using a piece of mica fabric as a buffer, I touched the metal. Upon close observation, it seemed that there was no electrical response from the material. In other words, there was mutual interaction, but individually, it didn’t generate electricity on its own.

I put the mica aside and directly touched the metal. For a moment, I could tell my family wanted to say something, but I gripped the metal without paying any mind. There was still no reaction. It seemed that a single metal didn’t produce anything.

Or did it?

Then, my hair was slightly more staticky than usual, like when there’s static electricity in the air. So, there was some sort of electrical reaction going on, just like static electricity. That meant that there was a movement of electrical charges happening, and the metal was always in a charged state.

I held the metal with the mica and brought it close to the iron, but there was no reaction. Apparently, it would only react with metals of the same type, and it seemed to have a peculiar effect on the human body. It’s quite an unusual result. But overall, I think this experiment yielded better results than I had anticipated.

“What did you find out, Theon?”

“I was just trying a few things out. But yeah, I understand now,” I replied to my father, who had been watching silently.

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“What exactly did you understand?” He inquired.

“Well, for starters, this metal could be worth something in business. And there are other things too that might sell pretty well,” I said.

My father and Glast exchanged glances and tilted their heads. These two really get along well.

“However, we don’t have much time, so we might need to work hard and put in a lot of effort to make it work,” my father suggested.

“Oh, yeah, we’ve only got three days. I can work without sleeping. What do I need to do?” Glast asked enthusiastically.

“Well, it’s a bit late to ask, but Uncle Glast, are you sure about this? Trusting a kid like me?”

“To be honest, I was skeptical, but you’ve shown me so many things. And besides, I’ve been struggling with trial and error myself, so I guess it doesn’t matter if it’s a child or an adult,” Glast replied, chuckling and ruffling my hair. He spoke roughly, but he’s a good person. Perhaps people like him can succeed in any field.

I nodded vigorously and began to explain, “First things first, this metal…uh, let’s call it ‘thunder steel’ for now. We need to produce a lot of it, but it’s going to take some time to refine all the thunder ores. I want two different types of thunder steel; one that’s small and perfectly circular, and another that’s rectangular, just like the one we made earlier. And then…”

While I was explaining, everyone listened intently.

“…That’s it. Uncle, can you do it?”

“Probably. Well, it’s a bit iffy to process everything in three days, but I think I can make a prototype quickly.”

“Okay, then. Let’s do our best!” As I clenched my fist, Glast did the same and we bumped them together, nodding at each other.

“Alright then, we’ll crush the ores in the warehouse and bring them here,” I said lightly.

“Huh? Wait, are you guys planning on helping?” Glast asked, looking dumbfounded with his mouth slightly open.

“Well, yeah. That was my intention.”

Glast seemed surprised, “I only asked for ideas. This is going too far, don’t you think?”

“But doing it alone will be tough. And what if you face any problems along the way? If you can’t solve them yourself, you might need our help. It’s only natural to work together till the end, right?” I reasoned.

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Beside me, Marie nodded eagerly, breathing heavily with excitement. Behind us, we could hear two sighs and see agitation on their faces.

“When Theon starts talking, he never listens. But he’s right. Let’s stick together for three days. I’ve already informed the villagers back home that we might not be back,” Father said.

“Yeah, staying in Istria overnight is rare. It’s kind of exciting, isn’t it? Hehe,” Mother chimed in.

My sister added, “I’ll help too! Uncle Glast, just tell me what to do!”

Everyone in the family was eager to cooperate.

“Sorry about that. Well then, I’ll ask for your help. Don’t push yourselves too hard though. Just a little help is enough,” Glast said, smiling in disbelief and joy.

“Yes, that’s fine. We won’t push ourselves too hard,” I replied.

And from that day on, our battle began.

●○●○

Our tasks were well-defined, with my father responsible for crushing the thunder ores while my sister and I helped carry them to Glast’s store. Since transportation took longer than crushing, my father would help us once he was done with his task. Meanwhile, Glast worked on refining the ores, a task that required patience and technical skill, and involved working near the smelting furnace that generated a lot of heat. He persevered and never complained, demonstrating his determination and hardworking nature.

As for my mother, her role was yet to be revealed.

We worked for three consecutive days until we processed all the ores. However, the labor took a significant toll on us, leaving even my usually lively parents exhausted. Glast was the most exhausted since he hadn’t slept for three nights straight. Despite our efforts to recover with proper sleep, we were still unable to cope with the intense work. My father worked the hardest and even took up some of our share of the work, enabling us to complete our tasks within the given time frame, albeit in a rush towards the end.

“I really want to sleep, but let’s check the final product first,” Glast said, stubbornly pushing himself up and stretching his back.

“You’re right. While it should be operational, let’s make sure everything is in order,” I agreed.

After making a few prototypes and verifying that they worked, we decided to be extra cautious. We left the forge and headed to the smaller warehouse located behind the store, where we had stored our finished products. Although it wasn’t as spacious as the larger warehouse that housed the thunder ores, it still served as a storage unit for the fruits of our labor.

As I pushed open the door to the warehouse, I was greeted by rows of stacked wooden boxes. We carefully unpacked each box to reveal our two finished products: the “Electric Lamp” and the “Thunder Flint.”

The electric lamp was constructed with two flattened rectangular thunder steels, placed a specific distance apart with a wall of insulating material made from several pieces of mica in between. The thunder steels were connected by a curved glass panel with insulators placed between the panel and the ground to prevent electric current from touching the floor. A piece of mica was placed over the glass panel like a curtain, and when the lid was removed, a stable flow of electricity was produced, resulting in a cylindrical shape of light that was sufficient for use as a light source. It was larger than a typical glass and had a handle, making it portable and easy to place on any flat surface.

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The thunder flint was similar in appearance to a portable flint, but with a metal tip that resembled a short pair of tweezers with a thunder steel attached. The thunder steel did not discharge electricity to other metals, which was used to create a device that would ignite sparks by bringing the two thunder steels close together. This made it more durable than traditional flints, making it a useful tool for starting fires. My mother, with her artisan-level sewing abilities, handled the decoration and sewing of the product.

I proposed these two products to improve daily life, and they seemed to work well during testing. Everyone had inspected the products and was impressed. They were satisfied with the improvements made to light sources and fire starting, which had been inconvenient before.

“This is really it! Thanks everyone, great job!” Glast shouted, and everyone let out a sigh of relief.

Although we didn’t usually do it, the whole family sat down in the garden. Both my father and mother seemed to lack the energy to stand up due to fatigue.

Glast said, “Theon, it’s really amazing what you came up with. To think of something like this…”

“Yes, it’s really something. I couldn’t be prouder of you, son,” added Father.

“Oh my, Theon is one smart kid. I’m going to brag about him to all my friends,” said Mother.

Though I appreciated the sincere praise from the three adults, I couldn’t shake off a nagging feeling of discomfort. I was worried about how Marie might react. Will she become jealous again? But to my surprise, she was sniffling with pride. Girls really are hard to understand.

“I don’t know if they’ll sell though,” I said hesitantly.

“Don’t worry, it’s sure to sell. It’s so convenient. And even if it doesn’t, I think it’s an amazing invention. Thank you all so much, especially you, Theon. We couldn’t have done it without you,” Glast replied, expressing his heartfelt gratitude and bowing his head. He was truly a big-hearted and honest person, despite some of his own faults. It’s rare to find someone who could express their gratitude so candidly.

“No problem, I had fun and it’s useful,” I reassured him.

“Yeah, I had fun too,” chimed in Marie.

“Hehe, it reminded me of my youth. It’s enjoyable to accomplish something together with everyone,” said Mother with a smile.

“Don’t worry about it, Glast. Your gratitude is enough,” added Father.

Glast still had his head bowed, but a few seconds later, he slowly looked up and hugged all four of us at the same time.

“Oh, you guys… You’re too kind to me… Uuu… I’m just a simple man. Thank you, thank you so much!” He broke down into tears.

It was a complete breakdown, perhaps what some call a man’s cry. He was really crying hard. Although we were happy that he was so moved, we didn’t know what to do with his intense crying.

Despite the chaos of the moment, our hearts were warm, and laughter began to spill out. It wasn’t mocking laughter, but rather a natural outpouring of joy. We laughed together while Glast continued to cry. It was an odd atmosphere, but also a happy one.

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●○●○

The next morning, after taking a day to rest, we got dressed and climbed aboard the carriage.

“You’re leaving already? It’s kind of sad,” Glast remarked.

“You sound unusually pessimistic. Are you worried they won’t sell? Sorry, but we can’t help you with that. We can’t abandon the villagers, you know?” Father responded.

“Yeah, I know. I’m just worried. Everyone helped me, but what if they don’t sell?” Glast replied, showing his concern.

In that moment, Glast’s character had elevated in my eyes. He’s a genuinely good person, flaws and all. After all, not everyone, even adults, is perfect. I should know; I’m one of those adults. So, I could empathize with him. Glast was a strong person who didn’t hide his vulnerabilities, which made him all the more likable.

“The goods won’t spoil. If they don’t sell, we’ll come back and help again,” my father reassured him, letting out a sigh.

“Hey, stop saying that. You’re going to make me cry again,” Glast said, on the brink of tears.

Father interrupted, saying softly, “Okay, that’s enough. I’ll let it go this time. Take care, Glast. We’ll see you again.”

“Take care, Uncle Glast!” I chimed in.

“Glast, make sure you take care of yourself. Eat well and get enough sleep, okay?” Mother added.

We all bid our farewells as Glast tightened his lips and waved goodbye. “Thank you! I really appreciate it! You saved me!” he called out.

As the carriage started moving, the distance between us and Glast grew wider, and he called out to me, “Theon! You’re such a great kid! If anything comes up, let me know right away! I’ll be there to help you and show my gratitude! See you later!” He waved both his hands vigorously, even as our figures grew smaller and smaller and were eventually obscured by the hustle and bustle of passing pedestrians and carriages.

“It’s kind of sad,” I murmured.

“I know, but we’ll see him again soon. Let’s go home,” Father reassured me.

Truthfully, I had grown quite fond of Glast during our time together. While I was feeling sentimental, I couldn’t help but think about something else. Would Glast fulfill my request now that the job was complete? I had mentioned it to him before leaving. If he could grant my wish, my magic would change drastically.

But for the time being, I decided to rest and bask in the feeling of completing a significant task.

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