Observing the Work
After returning to the village, I went to Elm’s workshop together with Logan and Marcus, who had switched shifts.
When I asked Marcus whether Elm didn’t have to do any fieldwork, he said that since it’s winter now, there’s not much farm work to be done, so it’s fine.
At Elm’s workshop, he came out to greet us and brought over a case from one of the shelves.
Inside were a hair ornament made from rose petals and butterfly wings crafted out of rainbow fish scales, and two brooches—one shaped like a lily and another like a peony—also made from rainbow fish scales. All of them were beautifully made, using the shimmer of the scales to great effect.
“These are the ones I requested, right? They’re already finished?”
They were made using the platinum plate I’d provided.
“Yes, it’s winter, so I have more time to work on things.”
Looking at his desk, it seemed he was in the middle of experimenting with different designs.
“It’s just… I’m not very good at figuring out which parts of the scales make the prettiest effect, so my wife handles that part.”
Since each scale has a subtly different hue, matching them is like putting together a puzzle—something he’s not good at. His wife had said she wanted to try, so she made a prototype using stainless steel, and it became quite popular in the village.
Apparently, she was also the one who arranged and glued the scales for these finished pieces.
We also discussed entering his work in the upcoming exhibition.
If he’s going to exhibit, he’ll need to prepare a certain number of pieces, so dividing the work between them sounds like a good idea.
Personally, I’d like to make these a specialty product for the new town, but I asked about the budget. It seems he planned to price each stainless steel piece at 7,000 for the exhibition.
Since he’d need to pay the people who provided the scales and his wife for her help, that price was unavoidable.
The materials alone cost quite a bit… maybe I should’ve set the exhibition’s maximum price limit at 10,000.
Or perhaps it’d be better to give up on selling them in the new town and instead make versions in silver or platinum to raise the price.
I’ll ask Raziel about it once I get back.
Next, I wanted to meet the people making the imitation raden (mother-of-pearl) boxes, so Marcus took me to see them.
They were working on the first floor of the community hall where we were staying.
Six women were gathered there, working together.
There were small boxes, tiered food boxes, and tea canisters in various sizes, all carved with flowers and animal motifs. There were also hair ornaments.
They applied the scales into the carvings or arranged them on the table first to check the design, then cut and glued the scales to fit with a small knife.
“This place is where they do the scale application work. Since matching all the scales takes up space, they asked for a larger workshop, so they’ve gathered here to work.”
“And the people who make the boxes themselves—are they different?”
“Yes, mainly men. They make the wooden bases during the slow winter season.”
It seems that after seeing Elm’s work, someone suggested trying to apply rainbow fish scales to small wooden crafts, and they sent the finished products to me.
The coating, which resembles lacquer, is done elsewhere.
“Could these also be entered in the exhibition?”
Marcus smiled and said, “They’re making these with the goal of selling them in the new town, so they’re putting their all into preparing them for the exhibition.”
“Have they made any coasters?” I asked.
They didn’t know what a coaster was, so I explained—it’s something you place under a drink, and I thought they might go well with glass cups used for fruit juices.
That caught their interest, so they took me to meet one of the men who made the wooden items.
He was a former adventurer who had injured his leg and couldn’t walk long distances anymore. But in Lux Village, he could still go hunting for a few hours at a time, so he was living comfortably compared to other places.
When I described my idea for a coaster, he said he’d try making one.
“So coasters are small, easy-to-buy items, then,” Marcus said, sounding impressed.
“If coasters sell well, we might have to start breeding rainbow fish.”
“Why’s that?” Marcus asked, though his face was already tightening with worry.
“Well, not just coasters—other products will sell too. Elm’s hair ornaments and brooches could fetch high prices even if they’re expensive. It doesn’t really fit with the new town’s goal, though.”
That’s why I said it’d be best to consider breeding them. If demand increases, we’ll need more scales, and word might spread to adventurers who’ll start hunting them.
“We’d have to think about raising them at least until they’re full-grown, right?”
I suggested they try hatching eggs, raising fry, and keeping them in the lake to see how much they could multiply before making further plans.
We also discussed the importance of preventing outsiders from poaching them, and Marcus said the village would hold a meeting about it.
I bought one of the imitation raden hair ornaments and a tea canister, each priced the same as their planned exhibition price.
At first, they offered to let me take them as samples, but since these were made by villagers specifically for the exhibition, I insisted on buying them.
When I asked whether the price included materials and labor, they said yes—after deducting the payment to the Westland Company, they’d still make a profit.
It was a relief to hear the exhibition prices weren’t set unreasonably high, but given the quality, they might actually be a little low. I’ll have Raziel take a look once I return.
“At 7,000 coins, this is too cheap,” someone remarked. “If merchants buy them and resell at a high price, only they’ll be making the profit.”
They also noted that stainless steel costs a fair bit, so Elm probably isn’t earning much himself.
“So it really might be better to sell these through the merchant company rather than as souvenirs,” I said.
As for the imitation raden pieces, they suggested we exclude those that use large amounts of rainbow fish scales from the new town’s sales.
“Maybe we should only sell the ones that use just a few scales.”
But that would disqualify them from the exhibition.
“Then, should we skip the exhibition and have the trading company purchase them instead?”
Since the villagers seemed to be looking forward to the exhibition, I wondered if there wasn’t another way.
Perhaps I could propose exhibiting simpler items—a necklace or earrings using a single rainbow fish scale, or coasters—and have the trading company buy the rest.
What do you think about this chapter?
