Having finished making the pen, Jin decides to teach the group how to make rubber balls.
Land A had collected the sap collection containers that we had set up yesterday.
"Look, this is raw rubber," he said.
"Raw rubber. ......"
Elsa looked at the sticky white liquid in the container curiously.
"It sloshes when it's hot and hardens when it's cold," she said. There is a way to make it a certain hardness."
"............"
Elsa listens with a serious face.
"That's by mixing sulfur. I'll explain the reason later. So, mix 15 to 20 percent sulfur by weight."
"Hmm."
Jin transferred the raw rubber into a small container and held out a lump of sulfur.
"Let me try it first."
Jin then checked the weight of the raw rubber and sulfur using an analyzer.
"Raw rubber weighs about 250 grams, so sulfur weighs about 38 grams.
Preparing the required amount of sulfur is done by separating large chunks.
"Mix this. and ."
Once the sulfur is uniformly dispersed, heating causes a reaction called cross-linking, which turns the raw rubber into rubber and prevents it from melting when heated.
"Finally, <>. At this time, air must be added to the material. To do this, we have to make one part very thin.
The very thin rubber membrane has numerous holes through which air can pass. The air is drawn in through these holes, and the thickness is increased again to trap the air.
"Then, < is applied to make the membrane denser. The ball is now ready to be played."
With the air leakage treatment done, the dodge ball was ready to be played.
Elsa had seen children playing with a ball before, so it became clear to her that this was how the ball was made.
"Now, try it, will you?"
Jin gave them 80 grams of raw rubber to start with a small amount for the first time.
The first step was to prepare the necessary 12 grams of sulfur.
"Now, as we did before, remember that each gram counts as one gram," he said.
"Yes."
Elsa tries hard to remember the one gram and adds it together in her brain twelve times. Just as the image solidified,
"<>"
and took out the required amount of sulfur. Jin, who was watching this, said,
"Yes, you did well. There is almost no margin of error. That's great.
He praised her. Elsa was pleased and continued to use her magic.
"<>. <>"
"That's right. Don't forget to observe the rubber while heating it."
"Hmm."
After a minute of careful heating, the rubber is ready. At this point, forming a ball is a piece of cake. The surface is also treated without a hitch, and a baseball is completed.
"You succeeded with one shot, Erza has improved.
"Thanks to my brother Jin.
"Now we'll be okay even if the kids want more balls, won't we?
"You can count on me."
Seeing Erza nodding strongly, Jin stood up. It was almost lunchtime.
When they left the workshop, Hannah had just come to call them. Jin and Erza washed their hands and went to the dining room of Martha's house.
"Ah, Jin-sama!"
There were more chairs in the dining room, and Barrow and Behrle had arrived.
"Oh, um, Martha told me I could eat lunch with you.
Barrow is still a little nervous. Jin smiled and answered.
"Yeah, I think it's a good idea. You should try making it at the castle when you get used to it.
Jin says, and Behrle replies cheerfully.
"Yes! I'm learning how to cook from Martha and Meane right now!
"I've learned a few dishes in the style of the Kingdom of Celuloa," Meene said laughing.
Meene laughed and said, "I've learned some of the dishes of the Kingdom of Celuloa. At that moment, Barrow spoke up.
"Ah, um, Jin-sama, may I ask you a few questions?
Jin, who had a piece of bread in his mouth, nodded his head in affirmation.
"Yes, yes, well, this is the kingdom of ...... Klein, isn't it?"
Jin swallowed the bread and answered correctly this time.
"So, then, how did you ...... bring us to the Klein Kingdom, which is hundreds of kilometers away from Tuscosia? ..."
Perhaps intuitively sensing that the content was somehow difficult to hear, his voice gradually became quieter and quieter, as if he had run out of steam.
"Oh, I see. Well, it's a question, isn't it? Well, I'll just say that there is a way to do that. We'll see if I can tell you more about it.
As Jin said this, it was Behle who opened his mouth.
"Yes, you mean after you find out if you can trust us or not! I'll do my best! ...... Come on, Barrow, say it!"
"Oh, um,...... I'll do my best,......."
I'm not a good person! And, "Be more energetic! or "Be more cheerful! Jin smiled at the thought that he was completely at Behrle's mercy.
After lunch, Butlers B and C arrive. It seems that the old man has been taken care of. Barrow and Behle went with them to the castle.
At this rate, the five-colored golem maids are likely to come too. I can see Barrow's surprised face.
"Behle is more adaptable than me. ......"
Jin thinks, but he doesn't realize that he's not adapting, he's just throwing common sense out the window.
"Oh, Jin-san, how about a pen?"
Then Roland and Bote came in,
"Yes, it's ready," they said.
and brought a box of pens from the workshop.
"Thank you very much, you are the best, Mr. Jin.
Roland accepts it with a beaming smile, contrasted by Bote behind him, who rolls his eyes.
"Erza helped me out a lot," Jin said, introducing Erza again.
Jin introduced Erza again. They had only met each other earlier.
This is my sister Elsa.
Erza also introduced herself. Roland was a little caught off guard by the "younger sister" part, but like a merchant, he let it go.
"Erza-san, is it? I look forward to working with you in the future.
"It's my pleasure."
After the introduction of Elsa,
"I'm afraid I can't make as many pens and balls, but Erza can make pens and balls too, so if I'm not here, that's okay.
Roland is pleased. Apparently, he had been quite impatient with a customer who wanted a ball.
"The price for the pens is 200 dollars per nib and 500 dollars per pen. How about 500 dollars per pen?
Roland came up with a reasonable price, although it was very typical of Jin not to negotiate the price first.
Also, if the price is too low, it may drive out the conventional products, monopolize the market, and lead to the disadvantage of those who are related to the conventional products, such as ......, which may hinder the healthy economic development.
Well, only he knows if Roland was thinking that far.
"Yes, that's fine."
On the other hand, Jin readily agreed. Meane, who was standing next to Roland, thought that Barrow and the others should support him when he becomes available.
The price of the ball is the same as before and Jin receives the money.
He gave the full amount to Meane.
Yes, I have received the money. Jin-sama, if you do that, will you let me work at the castle?
I can't just leave you here," Meane continued. It's more like a part-time job.
"Yes, I'm sure Barrow and the others are still getting used to it, so it would be nice.
Since this was something he could not have hoped for, Hitoshi agreed with her.
"It would be even better if you could educate them a little too. Can I pay you one gold coin a month?"
One thousand dollars, or about 100,000 yen. Considering that a month's worth of food in this village costs less than 1,000 Tall.
Meane said it was too much for a non-full-time worker, but Jin did not listen to her.
"I'm always away from home, and I'll be away again in the future," he said.
Jin knew it was after one o'clock,
"Well, I have to go again," he said.
He went to the basement of the workshop, not to the shelter.
Roland and the others were already gone, so no one was suspicious of them anymore.
"Well, I'm off."
"See you later, sweetie!"
"See you later, Jin-bro!"
Be careful, Jin.
"See you later!"
Jin was seen off by everyone, and moved on to join Reinhardt and the others.