Construction Mage - Chapter 60: Refreshments

AN: No extra chapter tomorrow for this week and will instead be on the weekend. Hope you all have a great one!

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In the afternoon, Clay finally returned to his home, albeit later than usual. As soon as he did, he got cleaned up and then started working on the kitchen.

Summoning his elemental, the two got to work, stacking up the bricks to create a stove, counter space, and even some basic furniture. After all, wood was expensive, and Clay didn’t mind having a brick table.

As he worked, he began thinking about the recipes he could still remember. 

As expected, salt and spices aren’t cheap around here. Best to keep the ingredients simple, and change up the cooking methods instead to add more variety. Putting an oven together should be somewhat manageable. 

With an idea of what to do in mind, he tackled the easiest tasks first. That meant starting with the table and counters. For these simple tasks, he didn’t even have to go through the tedious task of stacking bricks for hours on end, either.

He had the two-meter-tall summon go outside and drop to the ground, as if embracing the earth. It then pulled out a chunk of earth and carried it into where the open kitchen would be, in the corner of the living room. Using this method, a mound of earth was quickly formed into his desired dimensions, and all he had to do next was‌ just cover it in a layer of bricks.

The stove was more technical, but he had basically done it before when he created the water heater. It worked exactly the same way, creating a space for the fire to burn, but he didn’t need to create a column to contain water or purchase a metal plate this time. Instead, he just needed to set up a frame to hold the pots or pans over the fire.

As for the oven, the first step was pretty much the same as for the counters. He packed earth to the right dimensions before covering it with a layer of earthen bricks to create the base. Due to the high heat the oven would have to contend with, only this bottom layer made use of lime mortar. He then tightly packed another layer of bricks above and coated it with the ooze membrane to form the oven floor. The magical coating was not only a great insulator and easy to clean, but it could withstand intense heat too. 

With the oven floor complete, the next step would be to erect the dome that would trap the heat. However, that part was a little too complicated for Clay to jump straight into. He had been warned by Garrick that lime mortar was prone to break down under extreme heat. The best practice was to not have it make direct contact with any flames. Realizing the technical requirements of constructing the dome, he rightfully paused the endeavor for now, choosing to consult an expert first. Enough of the kitchen had been completed, so he was in no rush anyway.

In the meantime, he would be working on the all-important toilets. The sooner he got those done, the sooner he could realize his plans.

***

With his mind focused on the task, completing the toilets for his friends only took two days. He had been accruing experience with the completion of each one, so he would only get faster. It helped that he wasn’t working with materials that were priced in gold coins anymore, so he worked without any restraints.

This morning, he had assigned Malik the task of finding Sylphira and Dorgan after selling off their daily haul from the dungeon. As for him, he quickly went back home to prepare for their arrival. 

The finishing touches only took a few minutes, so he used the remaining time to make preparations to receive his guests. Now that he had claimed to be their guild master, albeit unofficially, he was determined to play the part. That was why he had focused on building the table alongside his kitchen first. He needed to be presentable. He had even bought several proper chairs from the carpenter during his trip to purchase doors.

The people of this world worked quickly. The carpenter had come with him to visit the site right away to take the dimensions. Then, after picking out what he wanted from the premade doors, it only took a single day for them to adjust the sizes. Within two days, his place went from nothing but bare walls to a warm, fully furnished space.

It had cost him a pretty penny, but it was a necessary expense that he had delayed for too long.

With the meeting place in order, what was left was the refreshments he would serve. To Clay, that meant serving the finest tea he could find. As a topic that he was much more passionate about, he spared no expense for it at all. In fact, he spent almost as much on it as on furnishing—costing him a total of six thousand Lyons or sixty silver coins.

In return, he obtained a proper tea set at the pottery shop he frequented. Nothing fancy like what he had seen during the audience with the prince but usable. In total, it included half a dozen teacups and matching saucers, plus the teapot. They weren’t the fine white china porcelain he was familiar with, but they were at least fully glazed and functional. The trip to the pottery shop also allowed him to place several more orders for the S-traps; for future orders he would inevitably have to fulfill.

Ever since he purchased the tea set, he had been playing around with the emerald scales he found in the dungeon. With no way to return to the first ring to inquire about how the scales were prepared, he could only explore the process himself. He wasn’t unhappy about it, though; it was something he enjoyed doing. For the first time since coming to this world, he had fun. Tea was, without a doubt, a hobby of his.

On the first day of experiments, he had tried pan-roasting the scales before rolling them, but the lizard scales were much more durable than they looked. It barely changed its texture, and drying didn’t seem to be required. When he tried using it in a brew, the end result was basically a bland pot of water that barely had the same refreshing fragrance he remembered. The failure only encouraged him to try harder.

After working on it until today, he managed to bring the quality of the Emerald Scale Tea up from tasteless water to half the fragrance of what the prince’s retinue served. It was far from completion, but it was at least drinkable now. 

The only thing missing was the snacks that accompanied the tea. With the oven unfinished and not knowing any pastry or cake shops around, his hands were tied.

I doubt there are any cake shops anywhere but in the first ring. Nothing I can do about that for now. Having something to serve my guests is already a lot better than before, at least. I’ll get there step by step, just like with the guild.

Just as he began boiling some water, the sound of a carriage approaching alerted him. He quickly went outside to greet the oncoming visitors, standing proudly before his pristine white house.

The carriage shortened the distance in no time, dropping off the two veteran Delvers and Malik.

“Welcome,” Clay greeted. “I wanted to come to you with the toilet, but since I didn’t know where you lived, I thought it’d be easier if you brought your carriage out here instead.”

“No problem, Guild Master,” the noblewoman playfully replied. “Never a wasted trip to come to your place. I see that you’ve done some significant work on your house in the short time since we last came.”

“Yes, please come inside.”

Seeing no one rejecting his offer, he strode over to the thick wooden door that was reinforced with horizontal iron bands. The carpenter demonstrated his mastery of his craft, as he had perfectly installed the door frame and metal hinges that appeared no different from any structure in the second ring.

Once they entered, they were met with an L-shaped living room, with the open kitchen directly on the right, and a dining table along the left wall. There were also two doors that could be seen toward the back. One was facing the entrance, and the other was facing the table. As expected of interior doors, they weren’t as solid or weighty as the front door, but their presence was a reassuring sight compared to the canvas Clay had previously used to divide rooms.

“Please take a seat. I’ll have the elemental bring out the toilets I’ve completed for you two. While I get some tea ready.”

“Oh? Decided to play the noble host now?” Sylphira teased.

“Haha, still nothing as stuffy as your estate!” Dorgan defended.

“There isn’t anything I can do about that! Those annoying noble etiquette rules are something I have to follow, unfortunately. Otherwise, I’ll lose access to Hektros in no time, no matter how much he likes me.”

“Umm, we should sit down first,” Malik placated. 

The two older adults scoffed and did as Malik suggested, sitting down and examining the new furniture in Clay’s house. They ran their hands over the ooze-coated table in curiosity as the elemental strolled by them, clumsily opening the door at the end of the house by tugging on the iron ring. It promptly returned from the back room with an assembled toilet in hand, placing it down next to the guests before going back to fetch the other one.

“Feel free to inspect it,” Clay yelled over from the kitchen area. “I’ll be with you in just a second.”

He then took the boiling pot of water off the stove and left it on the counter to cool before bringing the teapot over. 

Hmm, I’ll need to install a few shelves and cupboards as well. Another thing on the list.

He waited for a minute to allow the water to reach an adequate temperature. In the meantime, he put some of the prepared Emerald Scale Tea into the teapot. It was no longer a hard piece of scale after having been treated. Instead, it was soft and flexible, like actual leaves.

Then, he brought the entire tea set along with the pot of hot water to his guests and began brewing in front of them. The soft, refreshing aroma rushed into their nostrils, drawing their attention away from the toilets.

The three guests politely accepted their cups and took a sip.

“Hmm, Clay, are you really from a remote village?” Dorgan asked. “Don’t tell me your home was famous for its tea or something.”

“Let’s just say tea is a hobby of mine.”

“Oh, really?” Sylphira cut in. “My attendants are sure to be interested in procuring something like this as well. Is this brewed from the lizard scales from the other day?”

“Lizard scales?!” Malik cried in disbelief. “This is made from scales?”

“Go ahead and look in the teapot,” Clay answered with a chuckle. “It softened up after I had steamed it, but its lustre should be somewhat recognizable if you don’t believe it.”

“Uhh, sorry, sir. I don’t mean to be rude.”

“Don’t worry about it. I don’t blame you. I hardly believe it myself if I hadn’t brewed it.”

“Anyway, enough about tea,” Dorgan interrupted. “How much do I owe you for the toilet?”

“I’ve thought it over since our talk last time. One gold coin will do.”

“Just ten thousand Lyons? Are you underestimating how much we old-timers can earn? We may not be nobles, but plenty of them are poorer than us!”

“One gold coin is enough,” Clay resolutely repeated. “In exchange, I want you two to act as my ambassadors. Spread the word and show the toilet off to your acquaintances. It’ll make any meetings with them a lot smoother if they get to experience it from someone trusted first.”

“Interesting,” Sylphira said. “I had planned to do so already, but I guess I can invite a few more people instead of just our close friends.”

“Please do. Let me know once you’ve done so, and I can begin meeting them.”

“Leave it to me,” Dorgan responded as he thumped his chest.

The dark-haired mage stepped forward and placed a hand firmly on Dorgan to calm him down before turning to Clay.

“Yes, leave it to us. But for now, why don’t you come with us back to my place? It appears that having your summon to install it may accelerate things quite a bit. And getting you, the creator, to inspect it before hosting a demonstration seems most prudent.”

“Sure. Where is it located?”

“First ring, but it’s only on the outskirts of it. It won’t be comparable to where the prince stays, I’m sure, so temper your expectations.”

Hearing the first ring, Clay could only feel excitement at the prospect of returning there. It wasn’t a place he could casually stroll into by himself, but it seemed to contain many opportunities. 

It might also have something to do with the last missing piece of the puzzle to Clay’s ideal teatime. If there were any place that might have pastries and cakes for sale, it would undoubtedly be in the first ring.

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