Another World Metal Factory

Chapter 64

“I’m back.”

-Welcome back.-

As Channing entered through the back door, dusting off his hands, the sword hanging on the wall greeted him warmly.

“You’re back? Did you take care of everything?”

“Yes! I even installed it. The miller asked me to come back if he needs anything else. I also brought back the broken gear.”

Channing replied to the Factory Manager, who was operating the press machine, and placed the gear he was holding in the scrap metal pile. The gear had a tooth missing.

Looking at the gear Channing tossed, the Factory Manager asked.

“But how does a rock even get into the covered drive unit and break a tooth?”

“He said it was hard to walk around, so he removed the cover.”

“Damn it! That’s dangerous.”

The Factory Manager took out a cigarette and lit it.

Channing walked to the water purifier, drank a glass of water, and put on his work gloves.

“That’s why I told him. I said if something gets caught in the gears, it won’t just be a minor injury, so never open the cover.”

“You should. If his clothes got caught in there, it wouldn’t be a minor injury. He needs to be careful.”

“Where’s Tehez? You’re not here either.”

Channing asked, picking up the hand grinder.

The Factory Manager pushed a steel plate into the press machine and said.

“She went to Popper’s blacksmith shop. She said she wanted to get a professional opinion now that the blade is finished.”

Channing nodded and began finishing the parts in front of him with the grinder.

“Oppa, you’re back? I put your dry work clothes in the room.”

“Huh?! I didn’t hear you.”

“I said I put your work clothes away!”

Channing nodded at Illia’s shout as she entered the workshop.

It was a typical day at the workshop.

******

While the Factory Manager and Channing were making the ordered items and Illia was cleaning, the back door opened and Tehez and Oran entered.

“You’re back?”

Channing stopped the grinder for a moment and greeted them. Tehez nodded slightly.

Tehez seemed to be in a bad mood, and Oran had an expression as if she was trying hard to suppress a smile.

Seeing the two, Channing felt awkward and asked.

“What’s wrong? With Tehez too. And while I was at the mill earlier, the neighborhood ladies were whispering and giving me strange looks. Is there something wrong with me today?”

When Channing asked with a curious expression, Oran slowly approached him and patted his shoulder.

“Oh my. This. This. Hahahahahahaha! You! You should get ready to eat noodles!”

“What? What are you talking about?”

Oran finally burst into laughter and shouted to the Factory Manager. The Factory Manager looked at Oran with a puzzled expression. He couldn’t deduce anything from her sudden words.

Slightly surprised, Channing asked.

“Hey, Tehez! What’s going on? What happened?”

“Haa… Don’t ask me!”

Tehez strode into the workshop and headed towards her workstation.

Seeing Tehez like that, Channing sighed in disbelief.

“What the… Why is she acting like that?”

At Channing’s mumbling, Oran finally spoke, laughing.

“The rumor is out. Channing. They say you and Richel are… you know… a thing?”

Channing stared blankly at Oran, not understanding what she meant.

After a moment, Channing’s face twitched, making an unidentifiable expression, and then he screamed.

“Uwaaaa?! What? Me? With Richel? What are you talking about?!”

Channing’s scream made Oran burst into laughter again.

The Factory Manager stared blankly at Channing and then spoke.

“Wow… Channing. You better avoid Oscar for a while. You might end up in his cooking pot.”

“No! I haven’t done anything with Richel! This is the first time I’m hearing this! Wow! This is frustrating!”

As Channing pounded his chest in frustration, Tehez, who was at her workstation, approached.

“Are you really not a thing?”

“Of course not! Tehez, have you ever seen me doing anything with Richel? Sure, I’ve known Richel since we were kids, and I go to the Red Rooster often, but that’s because it’s my favorite place! I don’t understand why this rumor suddenly started! I wish I had done something so I wouldn’t feel so wronged. Wow! This is driving me crazy!”

“Hahahaha. So that’s what it was? It’s a false rumor!”

As Channing passionately defended himself, Tehez burst into a bright smile and patted his shoulder.

“Oh my… It’s those neighborhood ladies spreading rumors again… Last time, there was a huge commotion because they said the oil peddler was having an affair with the gatekeeper’s wife…”

The Factory Manager’s words made Channing sigh.

“Those neighborhood ladies are really something else when it comes to spreading weird rumors. But I still don’t understand how a rumor about me and Richel started.”

“According to the blacksmith Popper’s wife, everyone seems to know.”

“You know how fast rumors spread among those ladies. So that’s why they were whispering about me earlier. Oh dear!”

At Oran’s words, Channing sighed again and rubbed his head.

***

After the commotion subsided, the workshop regained its tranquility.

The workshop members gathered around the workstation, looking at the sword blade placed there.

“Now we’re going to make the guard that protects the hand. We should also make the handle together.”

Oran opened a book.

Flipping through the pages, Oran pointed to one.

“We’re going to make it in this shape.”

“It’s quite complex.”

Channing looked at the book. It was a metal guard with a rather intricate design.

“So there’s a part that sticks out perpendicular to the sword, and then there are rings attached to the sides to protect the hand.”

“Correct. Can you make it?”

Oran asked the Factory Manager.

The Factory Manager thought for a moment and nodded.

“Well, it’s possible.”

“Good. You’re not busy, are you? I’d like to ask you a favor.”

The Factory Manager sighed and picked up the book.

The Factory Manager and Oran talked for a long time. They were determining the exact size.

They measured the blade with vernier calipers and wrote down various figures on paper.

After a long discussion, the Factory Manager shouted to Channing and Tehez, who were watching from the side.

“You two, take this and cut the steel plate to match the handle part underneath.”

“Huh? The handle part?”

When Channing asked back, the Factory Manager pointed to the bottom part of the blade with his hand and said.

“Yes. This part here, all the way down, needs to be made the same.”

At the Factory Manager’s request, Channing nodded and took the blade.

“What’s going on all of a sudden…”

“Well, if the Factory Manager says to make it, we have to make it. I’ll get the steel plate.”

Tehez said, heading towards the scrap metal pile, and Channing examined the blade.

Although it hadn’t been finished yet, Channing admired the faint pattern visible on the blade.

“It’s really well made.”

“The teacher is very skilled. Here. This should do, right?”

While Channing was looking at the blade, Tehez brought a flat bar and checked its thickness with vernier calipers.

“Hmm… It’s 0.2mm thicker.”

“Is it? We’ll have to grind it down that much.”

Channing placed the flat bar on the workbench, placed the blade on top, and traced the shape of the blade with a marker.

“Wow. You picked a piece that’s almost the perfect width. You have a good eye for these things.”

“You’re the one who lacks perception and a good eye.”

Channing responded vaguely and picked up the steel plate, walked towards the belt sander, and started grinding it into the marked shape.

Seeing Channing wearing safety glasses and grinding the steel plate with water, Tehez spoke to him.

“So you really don’t have any feelings for Richel?”

“Huh? What did you say?!”

Channing asked back, unable to hear due to the noise of the machine, but Tehez shook her head. Channing looked at Tehez for a moment and then brought the steel plate back to the sander.

******

After finishing the shape, Channing measured the thickness of the steel plate with vernier calipers, ground it down to the correct thickness, and then took the finished product to the Factory Manager. The Factory Manager was cutting metal with a milling machine.

“Factory Manager. I’ve made it.”

“Oh, okay. Wait there for a moment. I’ll finish this.”

Channing picked up the object that had been made in the corner. It was an oval shape with long bars extending from each side.

“Wow. You cut this already? You’re fast as always.”

“It wasn’t that difficult. Alright, it’s done.”

The Factory Manager brought the cut parts and laid them out on the workbench. Channing saw parts that were diamond-shaped and extended lengthwise.

“Channing. Go get the torch.”

“Yes, sir.”

Channing went to the corner of the workshop, pulled the cart with the oxygen and gas tanks, and connected the lines.

Meanwhile, the Factory Manager clamped a part in the vise.

“Are you going to heat it with the torch and bend it?”

“Yes. First, heat this part here.”

As the Factory Manager gestured, Channing turned on the torch and started heating the part.

When the silver metal part turned red hot, the Factory Manager put on heat-resistant gloves, grabbed the part with long tongs, and carefully began to bend it.

Following the movement of his hands, the part bent into a semicircle, and Channing quickly started heating the opposite part.

When Channing’s side also turned red, the Factory Manager skillfully bent the part again.

After adjusting the curvature little by little, the Factory Manager released the vise, removed the part, and quickly put it into the oil tank next to him.

“One down, we need to do the rest. Hold the torch steady.”

“Aye. Aye.”

The Factory Manager clamped a new part in the vise, and Channing started heating it again.

While the metal was heating, the Factory Manager took out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it with the torch flame, and took a deep drag.

After bending all the parts, the Factory Manager took them out of the oil tank and examined them carefully.

“They’re a little warped.”

“There’s nothing we can do about that. We’ll have to straighten them out while welding.”

The Factory Manager picked up the shape of the bottom part of the sword that Channing had made and inserted the first part he had made. It was the guard that fit perpendicularly onto the blade.

The guard was also heated and its ends were bent to shape it. The width was wider and the thickness thinner towards the ends, giving it a decorative look.

After firmly fixing the inserted guard in the vise, the Factory Manager picked up a circularly bent decoration with tongs and brought it to the guard.

“It fits roughly. Channing. Leave the torch there and go get the welder!”

Channing went to the corner of the workshop again and brought the arc welder.

Taking the welder, the Factory Manager held the decoration with tongs, brought it to the guard, and tack welded it to mark the position.

“Heat this part slightly with the torch.”

Channing quickly turned on the torch and heated the part.

Once it was heated to a certain degree, the Factory Manager used tongs to straighten out the warp and tack welded it again. Then, he used the welder to weld the decoration.

The following process was a repetition of this.

He took a thin iron rod, tack welded it to the guard to fix it in place.

Channing heated it with the torch, and the Factory Manager bent the iron rod, cut it with a cutter, and welded another part, creating the elaborate shape of the guard.

As he welded the pre-bent parts and new iron rods, the simple-looking guard gradually transformed into a more elaborate form.

“Ugh. Welding these tiny bits is annoying. Channing! It’s almost lunchtime, let’s take a break!”

After welding for a while, the Factory Manager threw the welder down, lifted his welding mask, and shouted. Channing quickly turned off the torch and lifted his mask as well.

“Ah! I was waiting for you to say that!”

Channing stretched his back and shoulders.

“It’s a hassle, but it’s shaping up nicely.”

“Well, that’s true. Ugh. You need to improve your skills quickly! So I can make you do it!”

The Factory Manager took out a cigarette and lit it, and Channing burst into laughter.