Another World Metal Factory

Chapter 65

“Lunch is here!”

At lunchtime, Richel entered through the back door of the factory, carrying a basket.

Richel, who greeted them with a bright smile, looked around awkwardly at the factory crew’s expressions for some reason. Channing had a mournful look, while the Factory Manager, Oran, and Illia were smiling.

Richel slowly walked to the table, put down the basket, and opened her mouth.

“What’s with the atmosphere?”

Channing sighed deeply as he sat down on a chair.

Illia approached Richel and said,

“We just heard that you and Channing-oppa are dating.”

Richel laughed awkwardly as she took out plates and containers from the basket.

“Haha… Where did you hear that?”

“Tehez and I went to the blacksmith’s shop and heard it from his wife.”

Oran answered.

Richel laughed awkwardly as she poured soup into the plates and took out bread.

“Haha… Mom, really. I told her not to talk about it anywhere…”

“Hey! What in the world happened that suddenly you and I are dating?! Huh?!”

Channing asked in a complaining tone.

Richel handed Channing a plate of bread and soup and looked at the others.

“Let’s eat first.”

Those gathered around the table each received a plate of bread and soup and began to eat. Channing still looked at Richel as he brought the soup and bread to his mouth.

Richel sighed and began to speak.

“Yesterday, when I went home, my mom started nagging me about marriage. Dad also said something. So, I blurted out that I had a boyfriend.”

“And that’s how Channing’s name came up?”

“Yes. Mom asked who it was, if it was Channing, and I unknowingly said yes.”

Channing felt an absurd feeling he couldn’t describe.

“So that’s how it happened.”

At Richel’s words, Channing stopped in the middle of lifting his spoon.

The Factory Manager and Oran burst into laughter.

“Wow! This is rich! Because of that, there was quite a commotion.”

“Richel, really! You should have been more careful with your words!”

At the words mixed with laughter, Richel smiled awkwardly. Channing covered his head with his hands and lowered his head to the table.

“That was a truly absurd reason.”

Tehez also sighed and commented.

Channing sighed deeply, raised his head, and shouted.

“No. So, because you blurted out my name in a fit of anger, the whole neighborhood is now buzzing with rumors that you and I are dating? Did I understand correctly?”

“Yes. You’re smart.”

Richel replied.

Channing sighed deeply once more. It was a deep sigh that seemed to dig into the ground.

Looking at them, Illia opened her mouth.

“Why don’t you two just date?”

Richel and Channing looked at each other after hearing Illia’s words as she tore off a piece of bread.

After a moment of silence, Richel burst into laughter, and Channing frowned.

“With Channing? Hahahahaha! No way!”

“Hey! Who are you to say that! Illia, listen carefully. It’s definitely not him! Really! Ugh! I’m getting goosebumps!”

Seeing them, the Factory Manager burst into laughter and slapped Channing on the shoulder.

“What’s wrong with Richel! She’s pretty, kind, and do you know how many guys in this alley have their eyes on her as a potential daughter-in-law?”

“That’s right. Richel is good enough.”

At the words of the Factory Manager and Oran, Channing expressed his disapproval with his whole body.

Richel slapped Channing on the back and said,

“Hey! What’s wrong with me! Do you think you can even talk to a girl like me anywhere else, Channing?”

“Haa. Don’t even get me started. Remember when I came here with my dad to sell vegetables when I was young? You pushed me and I almost died falling into the well? Is that all? I’ve seen everything I should and shouldn’t have seen growing up, so what!”

Richel started laughing, holding her stomach.

Channing shook his head.

“Anyway, go to your mom quickly and tell her it’s not true!”

“Ah. I should have told you that. Let’s pretend to be dating for a while.”

Channing frowned again.

“Why?! No! The strange rumors are already causing trouble, so we need to clear up the misunderstanding quickly!”

“I was about to get nagged by my mom and dad because I’m opening a food stall at the festival, but it got overshadowed by the story of us dating. Please do me this favor until the end of the festival.”

“Haa…”

Channing covered his face with both hands.

The Factory Manager slapped Channing on the shoulder.

“What’s the big deal, man!”

“What’s wrong with playing along until the festival ends?”

Oran followed the Factory Manager’s words. Channing buried his head in the table.

“What do you think, Tehez-unni?”

“Me?”

Illia asked Tehez, who was silent. Tehez was momentarily flustered.

“Well… It’s up to them…”

Tehez said so.

Illia nodded and looked at Channing.

“I think it would be good for Channing-oppa to pretend to be dating Richel-unni for a while. If you try to forcefully suppress rumors, they tend to spread more. Anyway, the rumors will die down after the festival ends.”

“I agree with Illia. You can’t ignore the communication between the ajummas. If you try to deny it somehow, a stranger rumor might spread. You might even end up with a child in no time. It’s better to just wait for the rumors to quiet down.”

Oran replied to Illia’s words. The Factory Manager also nodded in agreement.

“Is my opinion useless?”

“Well, it means that it won’t do any good for you to step up now.”

The Factory Manager replied to Channing’s words.

Channing sighed again and lowered his head. It was decided that they would just wait and see for a while.

“Okay. Then, please finish your meal quickly and give me the dishes. Ah! Channing! Are you free after work today?”

“Well, I was going to finish making the bell and have a drink with the others, but I’ll probably just get teased if I go in this situation. I’ll just stay here.”

Channing replied to Richel’s question.

Richel nodded and said,

“Then come to our restaurant in the evening.”

“Why?”

“Dad wants to see you.”

Channing made a desperate expression again, and the Factory Manager burst into laughter.

“Hahaha! Oscar seems to be quite determined. Be careful.”

Everyone except Channing burst into laughter.

***

After Richel left, the Factory Manager continued working with Channing.

Meanwhile, Oran and Tehez continued to sharpen the blades. It was a process of polishing the sandpaper blades of the belt sander to make them shiny.

The Factory Manager continued the process of bending and welding the iron bars with Channing.

“Do we have to make it this complicated?”

At Channing’s question, the Factory Manager, who was welding, opened his protective mask, checked the weld, and opened his mouth.

“He said it’s to protect his hand. And originally, if you make it a bit complicated like this, it looks more impressive.”

“Of course, that’s true, but…”

“Alright, it’s almost done.”

The Factory Manager finished the last weld and lifted his protective mask. Several parts were assembled into a complex shape.

“Channing! Then, clean up the equipment.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Channing began to organize the gas torch and welding machine. The Factory Manager took the completed guard and headed towards Oran.

“Hey! It’s roughly finished.”

Oran, who was checking the blade, held out his hand to receive the guard and fitted it onto the blade. The guard, which fit perfectly without a single gap, was fixed to the blade without any shaking.

Seeing that, Oran smiled.

“As expected of you. It fits perfectly. The shape is neat too.”

“But is that the right way to do it? It feels like the blade isn’t fully inserted.”

Oran looked at the sword blade.

As the Factory Manager said, the tang part made on the blade was not fully inserted into the guard and was slightly raised. This was because there was more decoration above the main guard.

That part looked like a ring with a gap when viewed from the side.

Oran held the sword, took a stance, and began to explain.

“That’s right. This front part is intentionally made like this. You can take a stance with your finger on the tang part that protrudes above the guard like this. And that’s when this ring-like decoration is attached to protect your finger above the guard.”

While listening to the explanation, the Factory Manager took out a cigarette and lit it, and Tehez wrote down the contents in her notebook with a curious expression.

“Well, I don’t know how to use a sword. So, if you say so, that’s right? There’s no problem with it.”

When Oran nodded, the Factory Manager put away his curiosity.

“Okay. Then, that’s done. How’s the handle coming along?”

“Yes. I’m shaping it. Shall we try fitting it?”

Oran answered the Factory Manager’s other question and removed the piece of wood that was clamped in the vice and fitted it onto the sword. It was neatly fitted onto the blade.

“It’s carved well. Good.”

“Well, you’ll do it right. So, there’s nothing I need to do?”

“Are you going to give it to him as it is? You need to clean up the welded parts and polish the surface.”

Oran quickly removed the guard from the blade and handed it to the Factory Manager. The Factory Manager nodded and took the guard and moved.

“Channing! Trim the welding surface of this cleanly with the handpiece and polish it!”

“Yes?! Ugh… It’s complicated and difficult…”

“Then should I do it? Just do as you’re told.”

Hearing the Factory Manager’s shout, Channing grumbled, clamped the guard in the vice, and started trimming the welded parts with the handpiece.

Oran clamped the handle back in the vice and started smoothing the surface with sandpaper.

“Now I need to shape it.”

“Yes. It’s a hard wood, so it’s sturdy, but since it’s cut in half and glued together, it will split if it receives a big impact in this state. So, we need to do the remaining work. Then, Tehez, take out what’s inside that plastic bag.”

Tehez opened the black plastic bag placed in the corner of the workbench and took out what was inside. There was a slightly thick thread, glue, and black leather.

“Are these materials for the handle?”

“Yes. We’ve roughly shaped it, so shall we start working?”

Oran answered Tehez’s question, fitted the handle onto the blade, and sat down on a chair.

“First, we’ll wrap this thread around the handle. We need to apply glue before that.”

Oran poured out an appropriate amount of glue, mixed it well with a thin piece of plastic, and started spreading it thinly on the wood.

“You’re wrapping the thread to prevent the wood from splitting even if it receives an impact.”

“Yes, that’s right. So, we need to wrap it carefully.”

Oran placed the blade with the handle piece on his lap and started carefully winding the thread. It was quite a laborious task to wrap the thin thread around the entire handle carefully.

After wrapping about halfway, Oran took off his glasses, rubbed his eyes, and got up from his seat.

“Ugh… My eyes are getting blurry now, so it’s hard to do this. Tehez, you wrap the rest.”

“Ah! Yes! I understand.”

Tehez quickly answered, switched places with Oran, and started wrapping the thread.

Tehez, who was wrapping the thread with her head down, also took off her glasses, rubbed her eyes, and continued wrapping the thread with her bare eyes.

“It seems Tehez has bad eyesight too.”

“Yes. I can’t see things far away well.”

“You’re nearsighted. Can you see well with these glasses?”

Oran asked, holding up the glasses Tehez was wearing.

Tehez answered while wrapping the thread.

“So-so. I inherited these glasses from my father.”

Oran took off his own glasses, put on Tehez’s glasses, and looked around.

“Hmm… It’s made by grinding 수정. It’s definitely made for nearsightedness. But it’s probably not the right fit for your eyes. You’ve managed to live with these?”

“It was a bit uncomfortable at first, but I got used to it.”

Tehez said so and finished wrapping the thread around the remaining part.