Another World Metal Factory

Chapter 8

“Whoa?!”

Richel gulped down the canned beer, her eyes wide with surprise.

When Channing first brought the canned beer, she was surprised by how cold it was despite not being winter. She wondered how they could make something with the same shape out of metal, and how the picture on it was drawn so elaborately.

Then, following Channing’s lead, Richel pulled the ring on top of the metal can, opening it with a hiss and a spill of foam.

And as she poured the drink down her throat like Channing, a cheer naturally erupted from her.

“Delicious, right?”

“Yeah! What is this?! It’s beer, but so clean! Wow! I’ve never had beer like this before! Ah, whatever! Mom will scold me for drinking in the middle of the day.”

“Hey! You two! Don’t just drink by yourselves, give me some too. I’m grilling the meat all alone here!”

Kelper shouted at the two who were happily chatting while drinking.

“Ah. Sorry, sorry. Here, drink this while you grill.”

“Damn it! So you’re not going to offer to grill for me instead.”

Channing opened a can of beer and handed it to Kelper, who grumbled but accepted it.

“Huh?! What is this! This is incredibly delicious.”

“Hahaha! Delicious, right?!”

Channing burst into laughter at Kelper’s words.

It was a somewhat frivolous appearance, but it didn’t look too bad on the handsome Channing.

******

The younger generation enjoyed their weekend in front of the fire, while the middle-aged group had theirs at the table. And there was someone peeking at them from over the fence.

At first, no one noticed the person. Everyone was too engrossed in the enjoyable atmosphere.

The Factory Manager was the first to notice the strange situation.

“Hey. I’m going to the bathroom for a bit.”

“Okay. We’ll drink on our own.”

“Don’t drink it all, leave some for me, you guys.”

The Factory Manager said this to Popper, who was tilting the liquor bottle, and then got up and went into the bathroom inside the factory.

The Factory Manager’s face, reflected in the mirror, was flushed red.

Thinking that it had been a long time since he had drunk this much, the Factory Manager washed his face with cold water. The cold water on his flushed face felt good.

As he came out of the bathroom, the Factory Manager spotted a child cautiously peeking inside from behind the wall.

“Whose kid are you?”

The Factory Manager approached the door, and the child was startled, retreating behind the wall.

The child was wearing ragged clothes, bigger than their body, tied loosely with a string around their waist. Their shoes weren’t proper shoes either, but scraps of cloth wrapped around their feet with string.

They looked around 7 or 8 years old, but the Factory Manager thought they might be older.

“What’s wrong? Are you looking for someone?”

The child shook their head.

The Factory Manager rubbed his alcohol-blurred eyes and examined the child more closely.

The child’s long hair was silver. Perhaps a girl. Their face was dirty, but the Factory Manager thought they had quite cute features.

“Factory Manager-nim. Someone came… Huh?”

Channing approached the Factory Manager and was about to speak when he spotted the child and looked at them closely.

“It’s a Mazoku child.”

“Mazoku?”

At the word Mazoku, the child flinched and trembled.

“Yes. Ah. Factory Manager-nim, you probably don’t know. See the small horns on their head? That’s a characteristic of the Mazoku. They’re a nomadic tribe. Because they lost the war a long time ago.”

Channing, his face also flushed red, explained, pointing at the child with his beer-can-holding hand.

Listening to the story, the child lowered their head and stared at the ground.

The Factory Manager, closely observing the child, approached them, knelt down, and met their gaze.

“Are you hungry?”

The child nodded.

The Factory Manager smiled gently and said,

“Come in. I’ll give you some food.”

The Factory Manager stood up and went back inside, but the child still stood there motionless.

“What’s wrong?”

The child cautiously raised their head and said,

“I… I’ll work. Then please give me food.”

The Factory Manager burst into laughter at the child’s words.

“Hahahaha! Good. I like your spirit. You want to earn your own food by working. Good! You have guts. Channing! Get the dishes for this child to wash. They can wash them at the sink over there, right?”

“Huh? Yes. I understand…”

Channing replied with a hesitant expression, and only then did the child cautiously step inside.

Channing led the child to the sink in the corner of the yard and put down the greasy stainless steel plates.

“Take that fluffy thing there and press this next to it. Something slippery will come out. That’s soap, so use it to clean the dishes thoroughly. See this here? Turn this and water will come out.”

“Ah… I understand…”

The child nodded and picked up the sponge, starting to wash the dishes.

Channing, glancing at the child, approached the Factory Manager and said,

“Factory Manager-nim… I’m not sure about letting a Mazoku in…”

“Huh? What are you talking about? Who was the one who asked for food and work when they were hungry?”

“But I wasn’t a wanderer. I ended up that way because the farm I worked at went bankrupt, and I’m a local who’s lived here since I was young.”

The Factory Manager waved his hand dismissively at Channing’s grumbling.

“A kid who asks for work before asking for food is trustworthy. Richel! Go home and get some soup.”

“Eh? But I haven’t finished eating yet…”

“You can go and come back quickly! You’re eating meat for free, you little…!”

At the Factory Manager’s scolding, Richel giggled and walked out the door, and Channing, about to say something, just went back to the fire.

The Factory Manager watched the child washing the dishes.

Their hands were still small and young, so their movements were slow, but the sight of them diligently washing the dishes pleased him. He took out a cigarette and lit it.

“He’s surprisingly kind, you know.”

Popper said, pointing at the Factory Manager, and poured some liquor into a glass, handing it to him.

The Factory Manager accepted the glass.

“By the way, Popper.”

“What?”

“Why do the Mazoku wander around?”

Popper, pouring liquor into his own glass, looked at the Factory Manager and replied.

“They lost the war a long time ago.”

“The war?”

When the Factory Manager asked again, Karuutz offered his glass and continued the story.

“Yeah. 500 years ago, or something… There was a great war. Humans, dwarves, and elves joined forces to fight the Mazoku and monsters. The Mazoku could control monsters, you see. Like Orcs and Goblins. Well, they lost that war, so the monsters were driven north, and the Mazoku either fled north or ended up living a nomadic life like this. It’s a story I heard a long time ago.”

The Factory Manager’s expression hardened slightly as he looked at the child.

“Well, that’s the story. So people don’t really like the Mazoku.”

“You too, Karuutz?”

“Me? Well, I don’t particularly like them… but I also don’t think there’s a reason to hate them blindly. To be honest, well, so what? What about it? I don’t see a reason to ostracize them if they don’t do anything bad to me.”

The Factory Manager then looked at Popper.

Popper shrugged.

“I’m similar. It’s an old story now. It’s an old story, but elves might dislike them quite a bit.”

Popper said, looking at Channing.

“You said Channing is an elf, right? Why the elves?”

“Because the level of hurt is different. The elves were the first to be attacked by the Mazoku. Elves often lived in tribes in the forests, you see. Not so much these days, but anyway, because of that, they suffered a lot of damage in the beginning.”

Popper took a sip of his liquor and continued.

“They lost their territory early on, and as the war intensified, humans, dwarves, and elves formed an alliance and began to counterattack. When they recaptured most of the occupied territories and reached the elves’ land, who do you think stopped the allied forces?”

“I don’t know. The Mazoku army, I guess.”

“It was the elf army. The elves who had become slaves to the Mazoku were brought to the battlefield in chains and had to stand at the forefront.”

Hearing this, the Factory Manager was so surprised that he stared blankly at Channing.

“With such pain, it’s hard to be indifferent to the Mazoku. It’s a wound on a racial level. At least Channing was born and raised near this city where various races live, so it’s less severe for him.”

Popper said, picking up a piece of meat and putting it in his mouth.

The Factory Manager, an outsider, couldn’t fully understand, but he could somewhat comprehend Channing’s complex feelings.

“I’m back!”

Meanwhile, Richel entered, chattering cheerfully.

“Really, Mom scolded me for being drunk in the middle of the day. I brought some soup and bread.”

“Thank you. Hey, little one. Come and eat.”

As Richel took out the soup bottle and bread from the basket, the Factory Manager called the child.

The child looked at the Factory Manager for a moment, then went back to the dishes.

“I haven’t finished yet.”

“Eat before it gets cold. There will be more dishes to wash anyway.”

At those words, the child cautiously approached the table, and the Factory Manager pulled up another chair for them.

A bowl of warm soup and bread were placed on the table.

The child politely bowed their head and started eating the soup and bread with a spoon.

Seeing them eat so diligently because they were hungry, the Factory Manager couldn’t help but smile.

“So, little miss. What’s your name?”

“It’s Illia.”

“Okay, Illia. Where are your parents?”

At the Factory Manager’s question, Illia stopped eating and lowered her head.

“I don’t even know their faces. I was raised by my sister.”

“I’m sorry… Where’s your sister?”

“She disappeared a while ago. I’m alone…”

Illia said and burst into tears.

The Factory Manager was flustered by the sudden situation and looked around, but everyone else also looked bewildered, not knowing what to do.

Channing approached Illia, placed a plate of meat in front of her, and said,

“Cry if you want to.”

“I’m… I’m sorry…”

When Illia apologized, wiping her tears, Channing silently pushed the plate of meat closer to her and left.

After crying for a while, Illia wiped her eyes and looked at the Factory Manager.

“I’m sorry… Did I upset you?… I’ll eat quickly and finish the dishes.”

“No. You can eat slowly.”

Illia picked up her spoon again.

“Eat some meat too.”

Richel said to Illia, but she shook her head.

“No. I can’t eat meat just for washing dishes.”

“You don’t need to be so humble.”

The Factory Manager said, but Illia shook her head again.

“My sister always said that you get what you work for. And that you shouldn’t be greedy. If I eat meat, I’ll have to work for you for several more days, and that would be a burden.”

Illia pushed the plate of meat forward.

“Don’t be silly. There’s nothing wrong with accepting someone’s kindness. Sometimes, that kindness might be too big, too much to repay. That’s natural. What can a little kid do? If you want to work that much, fine. Work at our factory. There’s plenty to do. It would be helpful to have even a little kid’s help.”

The Factory Manager blurted out, and Illia’s eyes widened as she looked at him, slightly shocked.

The Factory Manager pushed the plate of meat back to her.

“So just eat. I’ll give you plenty of work. You’re too young to be like this.”

At the Factory Manager’s words, Illia started crying again, repeating her thanks, and the Factory Manager reached out and patted her head.

3.

“Thanks for the meal.”

“Me too. Good liquor. Call me again if you have that kind of liquor next time.”

“Get out of here, you humans! You drank the whole big bottle! I’m never giving you liquor again!”

After responding to Popper and Karuutz’s farewells, the Factory Manager lit a cigarette and looked at the yard. He saw Illia diligently carrying the dishes from the table to the sink.

Channing was sweeping the remaining ashes into a pile and cleaning up the brazier.

The Factory Manager smiled and shouted,

“Take it easy. We can clean up the rest tomorrow!”

“You should go inside and rest, Factory Manager-nim.”

“Oh, right. Illia, I haven’t shown you where you’ll be sleeping. Cha… No. Channing, I’ll take Illia. Just finish cleaning up.”

“Yes, yes.”

Channing waved his hand dismissively in response, and Illia hesitantly followed the Factory Manager into the factory.

The Factory Manager silently went up to the second floor and opened a door in the corner.

“There’s no furniture yet, but make yourself comfortable.”

“Ah… No. I can just sleep in the corner of the kitchen. I just need a blanket.”

When Illia said this, horrified, the Factory Manager, feeling the effects of the alcohol, put his hand on his forehead and pushed Illia into the room.

“Just use it, it’s an empty room anyway. Take off your shoes before you go up. Here, see this? Press this and it’ll get bright.”

“Whoa?!”

As the Factory Manager turned on the light, Illia, startled, made a strange noise and tried to leave the room, but he stopped her.

After a while, Illia, getting used to the fluorescent light, looked up at the Factory Manager awkwardly.

“Wow… Are you a wizard, sir?”

“Huh? What nonsense. I’m an engineer. Don’t think too much about it. I won’t bite. I’ll explain the details later. Oh… Sorry. I have a headache. The blanket is in there, behind that door, so take it and cover yourself.”

The Factory Manager closed the door and left, and Illia looked around, then cautiously took off the rags wrapped around her feet and stepped onto the slightly elevated floor.

Fascinated by the smooth floor, Illia ran her hand over it. A little dust came off.

Then, she went to the corner the Factory Manager had pointed to and opened the door. Inside, pillows and blankets were neatly folded.

Illia thought the thick one should be placed on the bottom and the thin one on top.

As she carefully tried to pull out a blanket, the pile of blankets fell on top of her.

“Ugh!”

Illia, half crawling, managed to get out from under the blankets and sighed. She was surprised by how soft and light the blankets were.

After finally spreading the mattress on the floor and bringing the pillows and blankets, Illia carefully took off the rags she was wearing and crawled into the blanket.

The soft touch of the blanket against her skin made her feel happy.

Feeling as if she were under a magic spell, Illia fell asleep.