And so... despite various twists and turns, Rest had somehow managed to successfully develop the octopus ball maker.
"Wha... Did you seriously bend a metal sheet to make this thing?"
"Yeah, I did... Was there something wrong with that?"
"You're supposed to make a mold first. Didn't you know that?"
Just to be safe, Rest brought the finished product to the village's only blacksmith to get his opinion, and that was the exasperated response he received.
The old blacksmith tapped the metal sheet with his finger while letting out a bitter laugh.
"A mold..."
He at least knew the word.
It was the thing where you pour molten metal into a shape and cast swords and the like.
He had a vague memory of reading an article in a magazine from his past life about how Japanese swords forged individually were superior to mass-produced cast ones.
"But... there's no mold for a metal sheet this full of dents, right? Making one from scratch would be a huge pain..."
"Now now now, Lord Rest. Making a mold doesn't take much effort at all. You just shape some dirt or clay and let it harden, that's all. Making something this complex by bending a metal sheet is way more work. It must have been tough, right?"
"............"
It had been tough.
Endless trial and error. Getting it into a nice hemispherical shape had been an incredible drain on his nerves.
"All that effort, and for what..."
"If only you'd consulted me from the start..."
"That's... well, you seemed really busy, so I wanted to handle what I could on my own..."
As the village's sole blacksmith, the old man before him certainly looked like he had his hands full.
That was why Rest had only asked for the iron plate and intended to handle the rest himself.
"That's mighty impressive for a noble. Next time, don't be shy about asking, alright? You're the one who saved this village — I won't say no to a favor from you."
"...I'll take you up on that."
At the blacksmith's words, Rest nodded with a somber expression.
The fact that he could manipulate metal with magic had actually led him to take a roundabout path.
Trying to solve everything with magic was a common bad habit among magicians.
If he had accepted from the start that it was something he couldn't do, he could have left it to the specialist and avoided wasting time.
(So somewhere along the way, I'd fallen into the same mold myself... What a needless hassle I caused...)
Come to think of it, how did they make takoyaki pans back in the other world? Through the power of magic called science?
"Even so... what a peculiar-looking tool. Rest, what exactly is this thing used for?"
"Ah... it's a cooking utensil."
At the blacksmith's question, Rest answered with a hint of dejection.
"I'm planning to make a special dish with it... If it turns out well, I intend to share it with the villagers, so look forward to it..."
"Oh, now that sounds great! Make sure you treat me to something that pairs well with sake, will ya?"
"Ha ha ha..."
As Rest let out a dry laugh, Celestine arrived on the scene.
"Rest, so you were here."
"Celestine... is something the matter?"
"I had the merchant prepare the items you requested. They've already been delivered to the inn."
He had asked Celestine to procure the ingredients for the takoyaki.
It hasn't even been that long since the request, yet everything was already prepared?
"They weren't such rare items. I had them in stock, so they were delivered right away."
"That's wonderful."
"Also... the fishermen came by and left what they'd caught... What on earth is that eerie creature?"
It had to be the octopus.
The fishermen must have caught some more for her.
"You mentioned making a new dish, but... you're not planning to feed that monster to someone, are you?"
"Excellent guess. But that's not a monster—it's a type of fish. It looks creepy, but it's delicious."
"I-Is that so...?"
Celestine's face had gone slightly pale.
As expected, octopuses seemed to be unsettling creatures for the people of this world too.
The fishermen hadn't been particularly bothered, but with a noble on the receiving end, there was a real chance she might refuse to eat it.
(They eat monster meat and the like around here, so I don't understand why octopus is so taboo... but Yuri would eat it without a second thought, I bet.)
"Well, just watch. I'll show you a truly spectacular dish!"
The takoyaki pan and ingredients were all set. Now it was time to put theory into practice.
Rest let out a hearty laugh, as if shaking off the earlier blunder, and lifted the iron griddle he had crafted himself.