CH 103

Chapter 103 – I Made A Windmill!

“This is where the wind is the strongest.”

Asuha stopped at a certain spot by the riverside.

It was to the east of the village, close to the bridge.

“Indeed, the wind is quite nice here.”

Melk looked puzzled by my words.

“Wind? Yes, it is a little stronger than in other places.”

“You think so too, Melk? They do say that it is stronger upstream.”

Asuha nodded her head.

“As you say, the river wind is strong. However, it is especially strong here, and the wind blows nearly all day.”

According to Asuha, Tengus fly in the sky as soon as they are born. And so they should know a lot about the strength of wind currents. And so I trusted her opinion.

However, Mette still looked puzzled.

“You are talking about the wind. But why is that important?”

“Aye. But instead of explaining it… Look.”

I used some wood materials in Magic Workshop and made a small pinwheel, like the ones that children play with.

When I took it out, it began to turn after being hit by the wind.

“See? The wind makes it turn.”

I said, and then Mette muttered awkwardly.

“Uh…you sure can be childish sometimes, Joshua. I suppose the children would be entertained.”

“I-I made this so it would be easier to understand. What I am going to build will be much larger and taller. A building that is like a large house, with a pinwheel on top.”

“And why would you make something like that?”

“The wind makes it turn… Don’t you think that it would be very useful, if we could use that wind? There would be no need to use magic energy, and the wind will blow without limit.”

I said, and then I started to make parts of the windmill in Magic Workshop.

First, there was the foundation.

As I wanted the groundwork to be made of stone, I started stacking the stone materials.

And then on the inside, I built a spiral staircase that went along the walls and stretched to the top. This way, the center of the building was open, from the ground to the roof.

Now that the cylindrical building was built, I added slates on the roof and it was complete.

It was about ten beters high. As you could see it from far away, perhaps it could be a landmark for when the elves or dwarves came to visit.

“Sir Joshua’s magic is as amazing as ever…”

Iria looked very impressed as she gazed up at the structure I had made.

“I see. And then you are going to attach that toy to the top.”

“Aye. However, if one wants to utilize the power of the wind, then just attaching it is not enough. It’s from here that the more delicate work begins…”

After that, I set about making the blades out of wood, as well as the gear that would turn inside of the building.

Once they were done, I connected them so that the gear would turn when the blades did. And then I continued to add gears…

It would have been a very complicated process, however, I had turned it all into recipes, so it did not take a long time.

However, if the gears were too rough, then they would not turn well. And so there was some trial and error.

I made sure that the gears would fit well with each other and tested them in Magic Workshop first, and then connected them inside of the windmill. And then…

“Good. It’s finished!”

Iria and the others raised their voices in astonishment.

At the same time, there was a creaking sound, and the blades began to move.

And then after a short delay, the heavy sounds of turning machinery echoed from within the building. The gears and stone mill were turning.

“Good, good. It’s working.”

While I could have also made a watermill, there was always the possibility of attacks from Hell Alligators and other monsters. Furthermore, we wouldn’t be able to use it if it flooded when there was heavy rain. Besides, I wanted a nice landmark.

“Alright, let’s try and grind some grain.”

I said, and then everyone turned to me as if they had no idea what I was talking about.

Well, instead of explaining it all to them, it would be better to show them how the bread would be made.

And so I entered the windmill and towards the millstone.

A circle-shaped stone machine was rotating inside of a large basin. And inside, I poured a small amount of the wheat we had harvested earlier.

At the same time, a pleasant fragrance wafted around us.

A moment later, a golden powder began to pour out of a small hole near the bottom of the basin.

“It got crushed into powder…”

Melk said sadly as she watched.

“Jo-Joshua. After all our hard work! Are you sure about this?”

“Well, well. You’ll see.”

I gathered the powder into Magic Workshop, and then we headed outside.

There, I made a simple oven and a working table. Then I turned to the others.

“Everyone! We are now going to make some bread!”

“You can make it out of powder?”

Melk sounded uncertain, but I confidently replied with a ‘Yes.’

I could have just made it inside of Magic Workshop, but that would have been boring. I wanted everyone to watch and help make this freshly baked bread.

I used branches and wood scraps to make a fire inside of the oven, and then prepared a wooden board on top of the work table where I took out the powder. I also had some bread dough from Varthburg, which would become yeast, and a cup of water.

Then I used water magic to wash my hands, and wind magic to dry them. And then I turned to the others and said,

“Let’s make bread together then. First, add a little of this yeast into the powder, and then add water.”

I started to knead the dough.

Iria and the others were very surprised when they saw that it turned into a springy dough.

“But it was like sand…”

“Now it looks like clay.”

Melk moved her face close to the work table.

“Now we just need to round it up like this and wait until it rises. And then you just cook it. Everyone, try kneading the dough.”

“Yes!”

And so Iria and the others washed their hands and began to knead the dough as well.

Mette was the one who was the fastest. And she had a cute ball of dough in no time.

“You’re very skilled, Mette.”

Aside from Mette, the others were doing well with the kneading.

Perhaps because it was a texture they were not used to, they all seemed to be having fun with it.

After making several balls, I ground more wheat while waiting for them to rise. And then the dough became big and fluffy. They were now the size of a person’s hand.

And then they went into the oven and…

“It’s ready.”

Some golden brown loaves of bread were now in front of us.

The appetizing fragrant wafted around us.

Compared to bread made from ordinary wheat, there was something sweet about the smell.

Melk reached out hesitantly and started poking it.

“It seems hard on the outside… But the smell is good. Can I eat it?”

“Of course. But be careful, as it’s still how.”

“It is. Then I will cool it off.”

Melk blew on the bread a few times and then bit into it.

“It’s delicious…!”

Melk said as her eyes became watery.

Iria also took a bite

“It really is! It’s so delicious!”

“You think so too, Iria? Melk also thinks it’s better than the one we ate at the fortress.”

Upon hearing Melk say this, Mette, Asuha, and Ecleshia also bit into their freshly baked bread.

“Ohh! Wh-what is this texture!”

“It’s flaky on the outside, but soft on the inside…just like a cloud.”

“We Ents know about the taste of wheat, but… Humans really do have impressive skills.”

And then the other demihumans started to eat the bread as well.

All of them had expressions of bliss.

And so I also took a bite.

This…it wasn’t just the texture. The taste was also very different from bread made with ordinary flour.

There was a sweetness there, but it wasn’t too sweet.

So this is bread made with Grank wheat. It might be the most delicious bread that I had ever eaten.

Just then, a voice echoed from far away.

“Baaah! Baahh! I smell something delicious!”

“Yoo-hoo! Ah, I see you are eating something!”

Celes and Ymir the dwarf came from afar.

And Fletta the elf and Moo the Minotaur… No, a great crowd of demihumans were coming from the village.

“C-calm down, everyone! I will bake enough for you all!”

And so I increased the number of work tables and ovens, and taught the others how to use the stonemill and make bread.

Like this, we continued to bake so that there was enough to feed all of the demihumans. However…

“…Huh?”

In the corner of my vision, I saw a demihuman who was covered in hair.

A hairy demihuman?

Was it a dwarf?

However, the color seemed different… Besides, the dwarves had all been shaved.

And so I turned to get a closer look.

But there were so many people trying to get bread, and I couldn’t tell where the person went.

Iria saw that I looked puzzled.

“What’s the matter, Sir Joshua?”

“No…it’s nothing. Their appearance is up to them, anyway.”

It would be no surprise if some dwarves wanted to keep their old appearance. Or perhaps it was a young Mope.

“Alright, let’s bake some more!”

And so I pushed it out of my mind and continued to bake more bread.