Chapter 56

Episode 56

#56. The Listener of the Northern Region (2)

One week later.

The Second Factory of Arad Company was completed.

Inside the newly finished factory were two kilns designed by Arad and crafted by witches, so massive that they took up half of the space in the Second Factory.

Late at night, under the light of magic stones.

As I was looking around the newly completed Second Factory, a report came from Manager Te from behind.

“All materials and equipment are fully prepared, Boss.”

“Great work. How about selecting the staff for the Second Factory?”

I praised his efforts while asking about the progress of the project.

“Yes. We filled the first priority with retired soldiers and their families based on manual dexterity.”

“Hire even those without skill. They can be used for cleaning, simple manufacturing, or transport jobs.”

“Understood.”

“We’ll need to train the selected employees.”

“Fortunately, there were a few among the selected who had experience making pottery or stone tools. Through them, we can teach the basics.”

Even though Eastern porcelain is famous, Arcadia also has the technology to make pottery and stoneware like jars.

Just not as refined—easily breakable, heavy, and certainly not pretty compared to porcelain.

After hearing Manager Te’s report, I turned my gaze to Mary beside me.

“Mary, are you ready?”

“Yes! Ready!”

She was wearing different clothes than usual—workwear-like attire.

By the way, Theo and I were also wearing these outfits.

“We should start creating prototypes before beginning formal training and production. That’s why we’re here late at night.”

A product that doesn’t require any magical knowledge or soul circles but only human craftsmanship…

And yet something incredibly valuable by today’s standards…

That would be ceramics.

“Let’s begin.”

In front of Mary and Theo, I decided to demonstrate the process of making ceramics from A to Z.

First, I needed to refine the clay, mixing it with feldspar, limestone, quartz, and powdered magic stones.

“Use low-grade magic stones to bake ceramics inside a heated kiln…”

Unlike Earth, this world has mana and magic stones. I was curious what kind of unique ceramics would result.

“I haven’t added black soil either—a material not even used during the Silver Age of ancient history.”

It was hard not to feel excited.

Thump thump thump

After refining the clay, I stomped on it with my feet.

“…”

“…”

My work was silently observed by Mary and Manager Te.

“Now, both of you, come help out.”

I gestured for them to join me in stomping.

“You can keep what you make if it turns out well. Use it wisely.”

“Yes!”

“Understood!”

They immediately started following my actions attentively.

“I’ll measure the expected training time and proficiency through you two.”

This wasn’t just to keep them busy. If that were the case, I’d have sent them home without bothering with work uniforms.

“Mary with excellent manual dexterity and Theo with average skills—perfect samples.”

After finishing stomping, we moved onto kneading the clay.

With all three of us working together and no mass production involved, the process went smoothly.

With that, the clay preparation was complete.

Time to start proper ceramic creation.

“Try shaping whatever dish you want freely.”

The three of us began basic shaping with the prepared clay.

“For unskilled workers, tasks like refining and stomping will suffice. Skilled ones can handle shaping, forming, and glazing.”

While shaping ceramics, my mind kept planning an efficient production system.

“Differentiate designs and patterns. Basic and premium models. An additional workshop next to the Second Factory might be necessary.”

Throughout the process, I continuously reviewed and simulated an optimized workflow in my head.

After shaping the basic form…

“Follow me. Rotate with your foot while carefully shaping it.”

We moved onto wheel throwing, often considered the pinnacle of pottery.

Whirrrr whirrrr

As I spun the wheel with my foot, I delicately shaped the ceramics.

“You’re doing better than expected.”

Glancing at Manager Te and Mary spinning their wheels, they seemed slightly flustered but were managing well.

Mary’s natural talent shone through, while Theo, being a former knight, adapted quickly due to his athletic coordination.

By the time we finished wheel throwing, it was deep into the night.

“We need to shape and carve before the moisture dries completely.”

Immediately after wheel throwing, we carved patterns and smoothed the ceramics without pause.

“Mary is clearly excelling.”

Mary uniquely engraved weapons like swords and shields onto her ceramics, impressively detailed enough to make me nod in approval.

After completing shaping and carving, it was finally time to rest.

“All we need now is to let them dry completely.”

Onto the drying process.

Normally, drying takes significant time, requiring gradual evaporation in a shaded, well-ventilated area.

But where are we? A fantasy world with magic!

“Bring the pieces to the drying room. Let’s test how it works too.”

The Second Factory had a dedicated drying room.

While the two kilns occupied half the factory, the drying room took up a third.

“We can return in about an hour.”

Naturally, the drying room walls and ceiling were embedded with intricately carved magic stones I personally made, reducing drying time drastically with wind and dark attribute magic stones shimmering brightly.

“While drying, let’s tidy up. Cleaning and organization are crucial in a factory.”

Until drying was complete, we spent about an hour leisurely cleaning and organizing the factory.

An hour later.

We placed the dried ceramics into the prepared kilns for biscuit firing at temperatures between 850°C to 920°C.

Whooshhh

I lit the fire in the first kiln, specifically set up for biscuit firing using magic stones.

“Hopefully this succeeds perfectly.”

Recalling the MAX-level knowledge and techniques from the game “Silver Age 1,” I stared intently at the kiln’s flames.

Kilns exist not only in the Northern Region but throughout the Arcadia Continent.

As mentioned earlier, people here have long been crafting items like jars and bowls.

However, that’s all they could do.

The traditional kilns in Arcadia had clear limitations.

Temperature control was crude, and there was little understanding of clay composition, which is essential for ceramics.

That’s why Eastern porcelain is treated as treasure.

“If only I could enchant this kiln…”

Biscuit firing consumes a lot of time, slowing down production speed and quantity, which frustrated me.

“A boundary magic inside the kiln could drastically reduce production time.”

Of course, I could enchant the kiln if I wanted.

Thanks to the phenomenon I experienced in the depths of the Magic Realm, boundary magic exists, allowing different time flows inside and outside.

“Problem is the cost.”

But investing such resources just for ceramics would be excessive.

Time and boundary manipulation magic is highly advanced, requiring at least high-grade magic stones to function.

Completely different level from the drying room’s stones—basically extravagant spending.

“Let’s call it a day. It’s too late to return to the mansion, so we’ll rest at the temporary lodging.”

The three of us gazed at our ceramics inside the kiln for a while before heading home.

The next morning.

Arriving at the Second Factory after a quick wash, I found Mary and Theo already there.

The two were eagerly watching the bisque-fired ceramics inside the kiln.

“I understand why Eastern porcelain is so beautiful.”

“With this much time and effort put in, how could it not be beautiful?”

Our own ceramics were almost complete!

Their faces, though unspoken, radiated excitement like children on Children’s Day.

“Let’s continue right away.”

“Yes!”

“Alright!”

Inside the restricted access Second Factory…

Laying before us were over twenty ceramics that had completed biscuit firing, revealing themselves to the world.

Though still only about 70% done, lacking the characteristic beauty and texture of porcelain.

“Now we’ll paint designs with pigments.”

Devoting all our energy, Theo, Mary, and I focused on the next step.

They seemed to view this less as work and more as an exciting vocational experience, their eyes sparkling since last night.

Their adult seriousness gave way to pure joy and smiles.

“Mary with swords and shields, Te Manager with flowers and trees… Seems like roles got switched? Is Mary making a gift for her sister? And Te Manager did mention meeting a lady recently?”

Enjoying watching them carve and paint on the ceramics, I also immersed myself in my work.

For reference, I designed mine with simple deer-like animals.

“If we can mass-produce porcelain-like ceramics, the Northern Region will escape poverty completely.”

“That’s correct. Currently, all porcelain circulating in the continent features Eastern motifs and designs. Introducing Arcadian-style ceramics in this situation—I guarantee all gold coins in the continent will become ours.”

After finishing painting, they looked forward with hopeful anticipation.

“That’s likely.”

Agreeing with their confidence, I nodded.

Currently, the Arcadia Continent is obsessed with porcelain, similar to Europe during the Renaissance.

Originally, Eastern spices and silk had Arcadia by the neck.

But not anymore. Recently, Arad Salt has been rapidly eating into the spice market.

Silk is similar. Even faster than salt, about ten years ago, the southern empire and kingdom alliance successfully produced their own silk.

But porcelain remains untouched.

“Alright, now carefully dip and lift them.”

After carving and painting…

We completed the glazing process.

Now for the grand finale! Firing the ceramics at 1300°C for over ten hours in the final firing.

“Let’s come back tonight. Make sure the soldiers guard thoroughly.”

After placing all the ceramics into the second kiln set up for final firing…

“Alright! Now let’s go to work!”

Taking Mary and Te, who kept staring at the kiln, out of the factory—it felt like leading foreign tourists on a ceramic-making experience field trip.

As the day turned into late night…

Mary and Theo joined me heading toward the Second Factory.

“On duty, nothing unusual!”

“Great work.”

After encouraging the knights and soldiers who had been guarding the factory in shifts since last night, we stood in front of the kiln inside the factory.

“Finally!”

“…!”

Sounds of swallowing and heartbeats filled the air continuously from the side.

“Will it succeed? Biscuit firing went well, but…?”

Even I felt the same tension.

Honestly, despite being from Earth, I don’t know every detail about making ceramics.

What I’ve done here is purely based on MAX-level knowledge from the game “Silver Age 1.”

Mostly from life skills.

“Shouldn’t fail with 100 years future tech.”

The game “Silver Age 1” is set in Arcadia during the arcane punk era 100 years ahead.

Compared to Earth, it’s like skipping the Renaissance and Age of Exploration with magitech and achieving an industrial revolution—closer to Belle Époque Europe.

Some areas showcased technology far surpassing modern Earth.

That’s why there was a considerable cultural and technological gap between the early and late Silver Ages.

There were even movements to name the period after the Silver Age.

Some called it the ‘Platinum Age,’ claiming it surpassed the ancient Golden Age.

“But still… nervous.”

Despite being armed with technology from just before the Platinum Age, I couldn’t stop trembling.

Because the success or failure of this ceramic business greatly affects my future plans in this world.

“Let’s take them out.”

Receiving expectant gazes from Mary and Theo, I began removing the ceramics from the kiln.

“Wow…!”

“My goodness…!”

With each completed ceramic removed from the cooled kiln…

Fountains of joy and amazement flowed endlessly from the two.

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