Saki smiled and nodded when Jin asked her about her eyes.
"You've got it all figured out, haven't you? I guess you know me from my habit of frowning. I've always been able to see things up close, but things in the distance are blurry.
Jin heard this and thought, "I knew it.
"Reinhard, don't they have glasses in the Shoro Kingdom?
"Glasses? What are glasses?
From his answer, it seems that at least there are no glasses for correcting eyesight.
This is surprising in a sense. Lenses have been used on the earth as far back as B.C.
Jin had read in some book that Aristotle or Archimedes burned up his enemies with a huge lens, and he recalled that there must have been glasses including monocles in the Middle Ages.
But this world with its magic may not necessarily follow the same path of development as the earth. Jin changed his mind, being amazed by the microscope as well.
"Well, a picture is worth a thousand words, just take a look. Saki, I'll take some of the material.
Without waiting for Saki's reply, Jin walked over to the materials shelf and picked up a clear crystal, silver, and copper.
"<>. <>. <>. <>. <>. >. >"
Again Jin uses engineering magic in succession.
In his hands, the material glows faintly and is transformed. The crystal becomes two lenses, silver and copper are alloyed to become 925 silver, and the frame is transformed into a thin frame.
Since it was not possible to use precision screws for the folding part of the vines, they are fastened with pins. The nose pads are made of natural rubber to prevent slipping.
"These are glasses.
The glasses with silver frames and round lenses are completed. The design looks like an antique, but it is not a conscious decision. Jin's sense of design just matched the level of the glasses.
"What are they for, I mean, are they for your eyes?"
Saki looked at the glasses in Jin's hands and said something like that.
"Yes. Put them on and take a look."
Jin put the glasses on Saki's face. The fit of the glasses to her ears was adjusted by the magic of deformation.
"Well, what do you think? I didn't make them too strong.
Since I did not have my eyesight checked, the degrees of the left and right eyeglasses are the same, and I did not make them too strong. If a person who is not accustomed to wearing glasses suddenly wears stronger glasses, he/she may get a headache or dizziness.
"First of all, close one of your eyes and ...... ah, yes, that's it. Can you read the spines of the books on that ...... shelf?"
"What? Yeah, for some reason I can."
So Jin makes him look at the same thing with his other eye, and he can see it, too. It seems to be almost the same degree in both eyes.
"Okay, well, try looking at the scenery outside.
"Yeah. ...... This is amazing! I can see so much better! So this is what glasses ...... are for!
Saki walked over to the window and looked out.
"Wow! I can see so well! I can even see little birds perched on the branches! I can clearly see the leaves on the trees in the distance! The world is so beautiful!"
Saki was thrilled with the improved vision for a while, but when the initial excitement wore off, she walked over to Jin and took his hand.
"Jin, I really appreciate this! How can I thank you for this? I want you to tell me anything! Anything I can do to help!"
Jin smiled and accepted Saki's thanks.
"Ha, I'm glad you're happy. Then, I'm interested in alchemy for a certain purpose. I want you to help me with it.
"I'm honored to hear that. If I can work together with a magi engineer like you, that's all I want. So, what do you want to do?
At that moment, Saki's stomach rumbled.
"...... this is a disgraceful thing to show. ......I'm sorry, Reinhard, but could you please treat me to lunch? I haven't eaten since last night."
"What?"
I'm ashamed to say that my servant left the day before yesterday. I've been eating leftovers to make ends meet, but finally ran out of it yesterday at noon.
Saki comes out with the most outrageous story. Both Jin and Reinhardt were taken aback.
Just then, Reiko called out to them.
"Father, I think it's time.
The maple syrup was boiling down.
"Oh, yes..."
I took the ladle that Reiko was stirring and took a little bit on my fingertip and licked it.
"Yes, it's sweet.
"Which one? Jin, let me taste it too!
Saki also came over and transferred the syrup from the ladle in Jin's hand to her fingertips and licked it off.
"No, this is sweet! This is sweet enough to sell! ...... Reinhard, it will definitely become a local specialty!"
Reinhardt also took a lick and his face was convinced.
"Yes, this will definitely be a local specialty. I'll talk to my father about it right away.
Saki nodded with a beaming face.
"Yes, please, Reinhard. I'll be happy if this will make our region more prosperous.
"Leave it to me. I'll leave it to you. I'll let you work on the extraction method again, but the process is just to take the waste and boil it down, right?
"Yes, that's right. I'll let you work out how to collect it again, but you can just take the garbage and boil it down?
He's probably hungry and wants some maple syrup. Saki scratches her head and looks a little embarrassed. Reinhardt smiled and nodded.
"Ha-ha, I understand. By the way, Saki still has a sweet tooth, doesn't she?
Hearing this, Jin wondered a little.
"Saki, are there any ingredients left?
He wondered if there was any barley, flour, vegetables, or even eggs left.
"Hmm? I'm sure there are some ingredients left, but I'm ...... ashamed to admit that I'm not very good at cooking."
He came out for the second time today.
Alchemy and cooking are two different things!
Saki says this without being asked.
Reinhardt seems to have known about the other one, and smiles bitterly at her.
"......It's true, Jin. Saki's culinary skills are lethal, or perhaps a necessity,......."
"La, Reinhardt, I don't think it's a kill shot. At least a bad one. ............"
Saki's voice gets thinner and thinner as Reinhardt stares at her.
"Who used salt and sugar without checking? Who put a jar of spices in the pot? Who the hell served the food without tasting it once?
"Ugh, that was a long time ago. ......"
"Not that long ago! Saki made it for me as a parting gift before I left for my trip! That was shocking. You almost delayed my departure."
Reinhardt's voice turned unusually sharp. Jin secretly felt sorry for him, as if he had been through something terrible in the past.
Jin knew this because he too had experienced it in the orphanage. Cooking should be based on a basic recipe, and after mastering it, one should try to arrange it, but how many children suddenly try to put in something that is not in the recipe? And they do so without measuring the amounts.
The result was a sponge cake that had not expanded, and salty chocolate. I thought I was going to die... I drank a cup of mint tea with a little bit of peppermint oil. What should have been put on the tip of a toothpick and poured into the tea, was instead put in a teaspoon full. At that time, Jin could not eat anything for two days, and his whole body smelled somehow of peppermint for another week.
It is true that there are people in this world who are not good at cooking. It is even worse because there is no malice in them.
Let me digress.
Saki has not eaten since last night. And Saki cannot cook. And Saki is the only one in the house right now.
"...... where's the kitchen?"
She wanted to know if she could make something quick since it would take time to go to Reinhardt's house and ask him to prepare lunch for her.
Jin's question was a lifesaver for Saki,
"Oh, the kitchen! This way!"
Saki ran out of the laboratory dragging Jin behind her.
Reinhardt followed her laughing. It seemed that he was not really angry.
"Hmmm, flour and eggs, and is this milk ......?"
There were no vegetables. No barley. The only other things found were cooking oil and some kind of butter.
"Well, let's see what we can make with these," Jin said to Reiko.
Jin told Reiko and sent her to get the maple syrup he had just made and the stove. In the meantime, he mixed flour, eggs, and milk to make a dough.
"Here you are, father.
Saki rolled her eyes when she saw Reiko lightly bring a pan of maple syrup with one hand.
"I didn't notice when I didn't have my glasses, but is this girl called Reiko? She is a wonderful automaton!
Apparently, he had thought she was just a girlish golem when he couldn't see her clearly.
Jin said that he would talk about Reiko later, and began to cook the dough in front of him.
He heated a large frying pan, added vegetable oil, and opened the dough he had just made. I heard a heavy thumping sound and smelled the aroma wafting through the air.
What Jin is making is a pancake-like pancake. It might be similar to crepes in that it hardly puffs up since there is no baking powder or baking soda.
He puts it on a plate and cuts it into four pieces. Jin and Reinhardt cut one slice each, and Saki cut two.
They spread some kind of butter on them and pour the maple syrup they just made over them.
"Okay, let's eat them."
"Okay, let's eat it." Saki's reaction to the crepe-like pancake? Saki's reaction to the crepe-like hotcakes was tremendous.
"What the hell is this? It's delicious! It's too good!"
Jin, please make dinner for me every day......, he didn't say, but he finished it in no time and looked at Jin and Reinhardt's portions hungrily, so Jin baked them again, smaller crepe-like pancakes? So Jin baked a small crepe-like pancake again.