I think we're all set.

"Yes, I'm fine."

On June 16th, Jin and Erza had finished creating a work to be exhibited at the technical exposition.

They had also made plans to have Erza return to Japan and be recognized by the Shoro Empire.

"Erza, do you remember the arrangements?

"Yes, without a doubt."

Erza nodded confidently.

"Okay, all we have to do is wait for the event to start.

Jin stood tall. The sky of Horai Island is clear blue.

"Well, since the old man has been in charge of the island for a while now, let's hear a little bit about it.

Jin called Laozi, the mobile terminal of Laojun, muttering something like "Yes, sir.

"Yes, my lord, you wanted to see me?

"Yes, I've been so busy these days that I've been neglecting the island.

Since Laozi is Laojun's terminal, he knows and can answer the same questions as Laozi.

"Yes, Master (My Lord). You know that we have a good agricultural relationship, don't you?"

Jin nodded. He had heard that rice had been found, the rice fields had been prepared, and the rice had been planted.

"As for marine products, seaweed cultivation is going well. There are only a few problems with the harvesting of kelp.

"Nori is fine, but what about kelp?"

"What about the kelp?" "That's ......."

Lao Tzu, when asked by Jin, was unusually hesitant to say anything.

"...... may be a different seaweed from kelp."

"What?"

According to Lao Tzu's explanation, it may be a different seaweed from kelp, although they are very similar.

It can be used to make soup stock. It can be processed into a kind of yam-like kelp. But that's the end of the story. When dried, it turns red.

"Kelp is black with greenish tints. ......Rishiri kelp, Hidaka kelp, etc.......Ah!"

Jin suddenly remembered. In the first place, kelp is something that can be found in the northern seas such as Hokkaido, not in the warmer waters of Horaijima.

"Oh, ...... I completely forgot about that. ......"

It seems that they are different seaweeds even though they look similar. That would explain the different properties.

"Well, keep looking into it and see what kind of cooking methods you can use it in."

Jin gave such an instruction, though he was a little disappointed.

But for now, the old man ordered the Air Force and the underwater golem squadrons to continue their search for kelp in the northern sea, and they would find it, but that would be a little further down the road.

"Is there anything else?"

Jin asked again.

"Yes, about the extraction of baking soda from the water in the village of Kaina.

"Yes, and?"

A little while ago, Jin had noticed that a small amount of sodium bicarbonate, or sodium bicarbonate, was contained in some of the water in the village of Kayna.

As the hot springs in the village of Kayna are bicarbonate springs, some of the groundwater contains baking soda.

He had us investigate where or what the baking soda came from.

"We found water with a high concentration of baking soda flowing out of a part of the glaciated mountain. We are currently constructing an extraction plant for baking soda.

"Oh, that's good."

Baking soda is used as an expander. When heated, it decomposes and emits carbon dioxide. This carbon dioxide is what makes bread and cake dough expand.

If baking soda is added, pancakes and the like can be made a little fluffier. It was a very exciting time for Jin.

"And now I have a chicken farm, or should I say an egg farm, where I can collect eggs on a regular basis," he said.

"Oh, I see!

Jin is also happy because eggs can be used in various ways for cooking.

"It is a bird that originally inhabited Horai Island, and seems to be a species similar to a wild chicken. If you keep them in a fenced-in square, they lay about one egg every three days.

"That's great. And how do you store them?

"Yes, if you store them in an ether stocker, they can be stored semi-permanently. Eggs purchased in other areas will not work.

It seems that eggs from Horai Island that contain a large amount of free magical element (ether) can be preserved.

"Well, I'd like to know more about free magical element (ether). ...... I'll discuss it with Saki next time.

The element that exists in this world and does not exist on the earth, free magic element (ether).

However, we know too little about the free element (ether). Even in the knowledge that I inherited from my predecessors, there was no detailed information about the free magical element (ether).

Leaving the conversation with Lao Tzu for now, Jin returned to the village of Kaina. Now he goes to Nido Castle. He was quite busy.

As he stepped out of the shelter and into the castle, he could smell the sweet and sour smell. At the same time..,

"Kyaaaah!

I suddenly heard a scream.

"What is that?"

"That's Mr. Behle's voice, isn't it?"

Reiko recognized the voice and said it belonged to Behle. Jin wondered what had happened.

"Hey, what's up?"

The voice came from the kitchen. Jin walked quickly to the kitchen and found an impatient-looking Behle. Behle was standing next to him with Meane by his side.

"Welcome back, Jin-sama!"

Compared to Mine, who welcomes Jin calmly, Behle is a little nervous and restless.

"What's wrong, Behle?"

When Jin asked again, Behré looked apologetic and confessed.

"Well, the marmalade I was making the other day looked so good that I thought I'd make it here too... I was making it at Citran. ......"

Behle looks down and up at Jin. He looks like a puppy being scolded.

"...... I let it get burned, Jin-sama."

Meane replies on Behle's behalf.

A closer look revealed a light silver cauldron on the stove, from which a sweet, yet somewhat burnt smell was wafting.

Jin understood. He had let his guard down and let it burn.

After the sugar was added, if he stirred the mixture improperly, it would burn.

"It's all right. Empty the contents into another pot and I'll clean up the burnt pot.

Jin consoles a teary-eyed Behle. Reiko asked him to transfer the marmalade to another pot.

"Hmmm, this is ......."

Looking at the burnt marmalade at the bottom of the pot, Jin noticed something. The burnt marmalade was stuck to the stove in the shape of the stove's heating element.

This was due to the poor thermal conductivity of the material of the pot.

I know this because Jin had burned some stews with a stainless steel pot in the past. With an aluminum pot, which is a good heat conductor, scorching is less likely to occur.

"Well, light silver is a poor heat conductor."

Even when simmering, the top edge of the pot is still hot enough to touch. This fact indicates that light silver does not conduct heat well.

"I've gone to a lot of trouble to make this pot. ......"

It is a pity that it is not easy to use. Jin thought that there must be some way to improve it.

"As long as the heat conduction is improved,...... I see, we can just laminate them together."

It's called composite or laminate material.

"Let's see, diamonds are good thermal conductors, aren't they? ......

I remember seeing a commercial for a diamond-coated frying pan on TV shopping.

"Then why don't you coat diamonds with light silver?"

Diamonds are stored in large quantities in the underground of Horai Island.

Diamonds are made by heat and pressure, so the underground of Horai Island has been producing a lot of diamonds to begin with. However, Jin has not used them much. This is probably because they are too hard and can easily scratch other things, and also because of the image he has of the earth, that is, the idea that diamonds are expensive.

I told myself, "Well, I can't make a good work if I'm stuck in the conventional wisdom.

I told myself this and asked Reiko to bring me about 500 grams of diamonds.

"Yes, Father. Leave it to me."

Reiko replied with a few words and ran out like the wind. She left Nido Castle almost without a sound, went to Horai Island via the shelter, received the diamonds that Lao Tzu had prepared, and came back immediately. He returned immediately after receiving the diamonds that Lao Tzu had prepared for him.

"Thank you, Reiko.

Jin pats Reiko on the head. Reiko seems to be more happy to be stroked by Jin since she has the sense of touch.

"Okay, I'll make a pot with this. ......<<>. ......"

After a few steps, the pot is completed with diamonds wrapped in a very thin layer of light silver. We have no idea how much it costs. The pot appears to be a dull silver-gray.

Jin called Behrle. He had just finished simmering the citran marmalade and had just turned off the heat when Behle arrived.

"Yes, Jin-sama.

"Use this pot from now on."

Jin handed him the newly finished pot.

"Well, what's the difference?"

Behle, who had been stirring the marmalade so hard that it did not burn, did not realize what Jin was doing. Neither did Meane.

"Well, I made some improvements to make it non-stick," she said.

"Wow, I see. Thank you very much!

Behle, who was not interested in the structure of the pot, simply accepted the pot. He was happy that Jin had taken the trouble to improve it.

I'll do my best to make a delicious dish.

Behré smiles at her. Jin's smile makes him feel relaxed.