Cozy Isekai Craftsman, ch 10

I'm putting up another 4 or 5 chapters today to see what you all think after that.

Please let me know!

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Joe walked outside with Brian, Niamh and John, ushering the kids over what once was one of the walls to the front part of the house, which had been burnt down by the now-dead fire elemental spirit.

Apparently, fire elementals were different from fire spirits, according to Emily. Even though she argued with the lizard kin forger, who seemed pretty upset, now that she had recovered from the battle. Maybe the fire spirit was more useful to her than she let on. The kids had gotten over their fear and were now excited.

John threw his hands up in the air and said, "Did you see me throw that pebble and launch it like an arrow or a ballista? Boom, boom, boom, nothing can defeat me!"

Brian nodded timidly and said, “We did good. It was cool how Mr. Joe gave us his powerful enchanted stones.”

Niamh leaned forward to join the conversation and said, "I think he made and chanted the stones himself."

John looked unconvinced and said, "Yeah, but his hands didn't glow like sorcerers do."

Brian piped up and said, "But mom said that he can make things better just by touching them, can make them enchanted or add cool spells to them."

Joe joined the conversation and asked, "Where did you learn the word cool?"

All the kids looked at him excitedly. "Ava taught it to us," they replied. "She heard it from this traveler, and he told her that cool in his language means fun or awesome."

Joe cleared his throat and said, "Some guy, huh?"

Niamh frowned and said, "Yeah, but that's like Ava. She falls head over heels over anybody who's nice to her. She's a pushover.

"Pushover," John agreed.

"Pushover," Brian chimed in as well. The three repeated the word ‘pushover’ in a steady cadence.

Joe chuckled silently. He was pretty glad that Ava wasn't here to watch this. He was just grateful that the kids weren't quaking in their boots after that whole ordeal.

Lucas came running with Rick behind him down the cobblestone path. Grace was pretty far behind, cheap and seemed nearly as athletic as Rick and Lucas. The sheriff halted in place and, like a good police officer, inspected the civilians to see if they were safe first.

The sheriff asked, "Everyone okay? Anyone unhurt?"

Emily walked forward and said, "No injuries, just my pride for letting that thing get loose." Lucas looked relieved.

Rick came up behind them, and his expression went from confused to horrified, then to relieved. He said, "Kids, what are you doing here?" He rushed over to them, and all three kids, seeing their father, hugged him all at once.

The kids began to speak up in excited tones.

"Dad!" John exclaimed. "You should have seen it. The three of us with Mr. Joe beat up that Fire Spirit. He let us use his enchanted stones. I made the Fire Spirit super scared."

Brian chirped,  "You should have seen John. He went zoom zoom with the pebbles."

Niamh, ever the diplomat, and even though they were triplets, seemed to be the oldest of the bunch. She pushed aside her brothers and realized that the father was incredibly concerned. She said, “We’re all fine. Nobody was hurt. Mr. Joe and Emily protected us. They bonked the fire spirit.”

Rick now just looked confused. He went back and forth between all of his children, inspecting their bodies, making them turn around to see if there were any burn marks, but there weren't any. He heaved out a sigh of relief. He stood up and walked over there, Joe shaking his hand. "Thank you for protecting my children."

Joe traded grips and released it. He said, "Anybody would have done that. I'm just glad they're okay. Although, you should probably tell them to not hide in dilapidated mansions anymore."

Rick's expression went from grateful to stern. He said, "Oh, don't you worry. They're gonna get a good stern talking to, but not from me.”

His voice boomed, causing the kids to freeze like statues. Joe couldn't help but feel a twinge of sympathy for them. He knew firsthand that Caroline was a force to be reckoned with. She had a kind heart, but her stern nature was not to be trifled with.

As Rick prepared to escort the kids home, Joe couldn't shake the feeling of powerlessness he had experienced during the ordeal. But he was grateful for the small victory they had achieved. Emily had been the hero of the day, trapping and killing the fire elemental before it could wreak havoc on the town.

Joe knew that the kids' punishment was a small price to pay for the safety of their lives. He was just glad that he had been there to help in any way he could. The weight of the situation had been lifted, and the mood lightened as they made their way back home.

The blacksmith was talking with Lucas, explaining everything that had happened. Grace had caught up, and she was half-listening to Emily's story and half-eyeing Joe, giving him an odd expression. Which was odd because a few days earlier, she had wanted to arrest them and put them into the gallows. Now, her expression had softened. Maybe she didn't hate him after all. Joe walked forward and joined the conversation. He was catching the end of the explanation

"And that's how Joe defeated the Fire Spirit," Emily said, ending her story.

Lucas blinked a couple of times, then looked to Joe. "Joe beat the Fire Spirit?"

Joe said tentatively. "I don't know what she's talking about. She's the one with her hammer spell power thing. I don't know what to call it."

Grace said, "Weapon art, fighting art. There are lots of different names for it."

He had expected her to stare daggers at him, not politely correct him. Joe said, "Thanks."

Grace looked away quickly. Joe continued. "Yeah, I only used my magic to assist in the fight. Emily was the one who did all the work. We, meaning me and the kids, tried to distract as much as possible without getting in the way of the fight. So, I don't know what Emily told you, but she's definitely being modest. We would all be dead if it wasn't for her."

Lucas offered him a hand, and Joe shook it. "You did a brave thing today. You chased after a dangerous Fire Spirit without question. And the town thanks you for it."

Joe released the grip and he said, "Is it thankful enough to get me out of that fine?"

Lucas shook his head. "No, the law's the law. There are no favorites. No one's going to erase the memory of you stripping nude in front of our beautiful officer, Grace." Officer Grace yelped out in surprise but after that kept quiet.

Emily looked to Grace, then to Joe. She said, "It sounds like I'm missing something here. I need someone to tell me that story over a beer."

Joe waved her off. "Another time. I've only been here for a few days and I've already had too many stories to tell.

Lucas nodded, seeming to agree. "Well, either way, damage is done. No one was hurt."

Joe asked, "What about the other Fire Spirit? Before, I saw its silhouette vanish."

Grace said, "The sheriff and Rick killed it using their own means. And it didn't split off any more than that."

Even though she had a stern expression, she looked a little tired. Whatever incantation she had cast earlier seemed to have cost her. Joe asked, "You okay? I don't know anything about how sorcery works, but that was really impressive."

Grace smiled, and it looked like it took her some effort to do so, but at least she was making the effort. "Yes, I'm good. Thank you." The reply was short and quick, as if she wanted to end the conversation.

Lucas finally turned to Grace and said, "Okay, now that that's all done, and the perimeter is secure, Grace, do your thing."

Grace reached inside her officer's jacket and pulled out a sleeve of paper. She handed it to Emily, who read it. The sleeve of paper looked incredibly similar to the one that Joe had. And he felt bad for her. But there were consequences to actions, and it was best to try to live up to those consequences and get them over with.

Emily groaned, "You know this is going to destroy my savings."

In a flash, the fatherly kindness that Lucas had shown disappeared, replaced by the hard-edged demeanor of a seasoned military general. It was as if he had morphed into an entirely different person right before Joe's eyes. Lucas's steely gaze locked onto the young woman in front of him, and Joe could practically feel the weight of his disapproval.

Lucas's voice rumbled like thunder as he spoke, his words cutting through the tense silence like a knife. "Don't delude yourself into thinking that your failure didn't put the lives of those under my care in danger. These people are your neighbors, your friends, and you exposed them to potential harm. I warned you months ago that messing with Fire Spirits is a dangerous game. A game where other people get involved without knowing they're even playing."

Joe felt a newfound respect for Lucas and his position as sheriff. Despite his usually casual demeanor, it was clear that he took his job very seriously. Lives were at stake, and Lucas wasn't about to let anyone forget it. Joe couldn't help but feel grateful that they had gotten out of the situation unscathed. They had been lucky this time, but he knew that they couldn't let their guard down again.

Emily's eyes were filled with an unmistakable anger, directed solely at herself. She gripped the piece of paper in her hand so tightly that her knuckles turned white. Her shame was palpable, and she turned her head away as if to hide the tears that threatened to spill over. "You're right," she finally spoke up, her voice barely above a whisper. "I'm sorry. I'll pay this right away."

Lucas's face softened after a moment, and Joe could see a glimmer of compassion in his eyes. "Good," he said, nodding in approval. "I'm glad you're okay."

Turning his attention to Joe, Lucas's expression shifted once more. "You have two months to pay that fine," he informed Joe, his tone more gentle than before. "I was only going to give you one, but I'll extend it another month considering your heroism today."

Joe blinked in surprise, caught off guard by the unexpected kindness. He wanted to make a snarky comment or crack a joke, but the words stuck in his throat. All he could manage was a simple, heartfelt, "Thank you, officer."

Lucas cast one last lingering glance at the house before turning on his heel and heading back to his squad car. Joe watched as the sheriff climbed into his vehicle and drove away, the sound of the engine slowly fading into the distance.

Turning his attention to Joe and Emily, Lucas had a final order before departing. "Take these two to the forge to see how that incantation broke," he instructed Grace, his voice firm but not unkind.

Grace nodded her understanding. "Yes, sir."

The trio made their way back to the Lockwood Anvil forge, where several neighbors were already up and about, greeting each other with friendly waves and casual conversation. Joe couldn't help but envy the sense of community that seemed to radiate from this small neighborhood.

It was clear that most of the neighbors were unaware of the recent danger that had been averted, and Joe was grateful for that fact. The last thing they needed was to incite panic.

As they approached the forge, Joe couldn't help but wonder if he would ever be welcomed into this tight-knit community as warmly as Emily and Grace were. But for now, he was content to simply follow their lead and hope that their friendship would be contagious.

As Grace cast her incantations, the air around the forge crackled with magical energy. Joe watched as she moved gracefully around the forge, her hands glowing faintly with each spell. It was like watching a ballet, but with magic. Every now and then, she would pause to inspect a particular area before resuming her work.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Grace let out a huge gasp of air, as if she had been holding her breath the whole time. Joe could see the exhaustion written all over her face.

"It looks like Lucas was right," she said, wiping the sweat from her brow. "The incantation I placed here wasn't the problem. The issue was with the soul crystal. It was either cracked or defective, or simply not powerful enough to contain the spirit."

Grace caught Joe's puzzled expression and added, "And no, Joe, I don't think it was anything to do with you or your magic. The soul crystal was the weak link here, and unfortunately, it was just bad luck that you happened to be the one who purchased it." She then turned to Emily and said, "But don't worry, I'll take care of it. I have a few contacts who can supply us with high-quality soul crystals, and we'll make sure this never happens again." Emily smiled, relieved.

Joe couldn't help but feel grateful for Grace's expertise and the reassurance that he wasn't to blame for the chaos that had unfolded earlier. He realized that having a skilled sorcerer like Grace as a neighbor could be incredibly useful, especially in a place where magical incidents seemed to happen more often than not.

Grace continued, "There was no outside force that meddled with us. There was just faulty quality solid crystal." Joe didn't want to ask her about soul crystals and the intricacies of that.

He had so many questions about sorcery. It was fascinating, but he kept his mouth shut because Grace seemed to be on the job, and she took her job fairly seriously. He had learned that firsthand. Grace said, "Okay, that's it. I'll be off now."

Emily thanked her, and Joe said, "Thanks for your help today."

Grace simply nodded in reply before hurrying out the door. Emily watched her and then let out an exasperated sigh. She eyed Joe and asked, "So you and Grace, huh?"

Joe whipped around. "Me and Grace, what?"

Emily rolled her eyes. "Public indecency to a police officer. How long have you been here?"

Joe said, "I've been here for three days. It's not what you think." He was about to launch into a full explanation of what happened, but Emily waved him off.

She said, "Yeah, yeah, I'm sure every word that comes out of your mouth is the truth." Then she turned to her forge and slumped her shoulders. "It's going to be impossible to maintain my workload now. I was thinking about actually hiring you, maybe as some kind of assistant where we could experiment on different things, but I can't do that now without paying my fine."

Joe's heart leapt up into his throat. He was really counting on this, but obviously, it wasn't going to work out. He said, "It's fine. You have to do what you need to do. I'll figure out a way to make my way in this town."

Emily turned to him. She said, "That house belonged to the human side of my family for a long time. Ever since my grandfather died, Ava and I had moved out to strike out on our own. That house became eroded quickly. Neither Ava nor I had the funds to maintain that property. It's still in our name, but there's nothing we can do about it."

Joe had wondered where the conversation was going. He asked, "Why do you bring this up?"

Emily said, "Seems like Caroline is taking you in like she took Ava and maybe giving you a spare room during their downtime, but once the busy season comes with summer and winter, they're going to need that room to make some more money."

Joe nodded. He said, "Yeah, they told me about that."

Emily continued, "You can have the house if you want it. It'll still be under my name, but you can live there, although you have to start cleaning it yourself."

Joe blinked. He said, "Really? That's pretty serious."

Emily nodded. "Yeah, that's the least I can do to bring you all into this mess. Again, I'm sorry about what happened earlier."

Joe waved her off. "Don't worry about it. It's all in the past now. The best thing we can do now is move forward. Is your forge going to be okay?"

Emily sighed. She said, "Yeah, I don't know. To be honest, I had just installed it, which cost me a pretty penny, before I got the soul crystal to maintain that Fire Spirit. When I got the Fire Spirit, it worked perfectly in tandem. At least I thought it did. But now without the Fire Spirit, this specialized Forge and smelter won't work like a normal one. So I don't know how I'm going to be able to maintain my current workload."

An idea came to Joe.

He said, "I could fix it right now. At least, I'm pretty sure I can't."

Emily blinked, looking skeptical. She said,  "Please tell me you're not talking out of your butt.”

Joe chuckled. "I'm glad that you guys had that turn of phrase here too. But no, I'm not. Here, let me figure something out."

He walked over to the forge and tested touching the outside of it, which wasn't hot on the outside, but he could still feel heat from the inside. A screen popped open, listing several properties. Most of them were question marks, but there were a few that caught his eye, and he was delighted to see that those properties were there. "Okay, great," he said.

"What are you doing?" Emily asked.

"Do you have any kindling for starting a fire? Maybe charcoal or a fire log or something like that? And maybe some oil to make the fire go faster. Also, some metal," Joe asked.

Emily waved at him, clearing the air between them. "Wait, wait, wait. Just give me a second," she said. Apparently, she didn't need any more explanation as she gathered things that Joe asked for and placed them all on the table nearby.

Joe held one of the pieces of kindling in his hand but gathered more in place, some on the ground next to the forge. He held that piece of kindling while touching the forge, and there was a list of properties on each of the screens. He found the one on the inside on the stick that he had wanted. "All right, perfect," he said.

Then he took out a pebble from his pocket and held it in his hand. He went back inside of his pocket and grabbed a handful of pebbles.

"I think this should work," Joe said.

As Joe held the pebbles in his hands, the screen shimmered to life above him, displaying all the small stones. Instead of simply identifying them as separate pebbles, the screen referred to them as a "group of pebbles," causing a mischievous grin to spread across Joe's face. The ability had the power to recognize these rocks as a singular entity, and that gave him an idea.

With a flick of his wrist, Joe transferred the property of "flammability +5" from a small piece of kindling onto the pebbles in his palm. The screen responded accordingly, and Joe's excitement grew as he continued the process. He repeated the transfer again and again, using each piece of kindling until he had run out. The pebbles began to warm in his grip, but Joe was determined to see his plan through.

Despite the growing heat emanating from the pebbles, Joe knew he had to be careful. He had already transferred one layer of flammability to the stones, and any more might result in a dangerous inferno. He shuddered at the thought of his hair catching fire - that was the last thing he wanted.

Finally, he approached the table and picked up a small piece of copper. With a fierce determination, he opened his screen and began scrolling down with a force of will until he found what he was looking for: "conductivity of heat +12." The perfect property for his plan.

Joe grinned as he looked down at the now-warm pebbles in his hand, knowing that he had unlocked their full potential. The mood was light, but his excitement was palpable as he prepared to put his new discoveries to the test.

Impatience radiated off of Emily as she tapped her boot, clearly growing restless. But Joe remained focused, determined to see his experiment through to the end.

"Give me a couple of minutes here. If this works out, everyone's going to be happy," he said, his eyes fixed on the screen above him.

Emily sighed, clearly skeptical. "Okay. If I didn't see your magic firsthand earlier, I wouldn't be giving you the time that day," she said, her tone slightly accusatory.

Joe ignored her, lost in his work. He deftly transferred the conductivity of the copper to the group of pebbles, feeling a thrill of excitement as the screen responded to his every move. But he soon realized that the transfer was limited, only able to add +4 to the pebbles' conductivity. Undeterred, he went back and repeated the process a few more times until the group of pebbles boasted an impressive +20 conductivity of heat.

And then, it was time for the final step. Joe approached the original piece of copper with a sense of purpose, his eyes scanning the room for a bar of steel. When he spotted one, he turned to Emily.

"Do you have little shavings of steel, rather than this whole bar? I don't want to waste it," he asked, his voice steady.

Emily nodded, looking slightly impressed. "Just give me a second," she said, quickly disappearing into the other room.

Joe waited, his mind buzzing with excitement as he imagined the possibilities of his experiment. His determination was unwavering as he prepared for the final stage of his plan.

She brought out a bucket with lots of steel shavings, and he picked out a shaving without cutting himself. Thereon, he summoned a screen, and on that screen was the specific property he was looking for: retain heat plus seven.

With a sense of satisfaction, Joe continued to repeat the process of transferring the property to the group of stones over and over again until the stones in his hand cooled down to neutrality again. He couldn't help but grin, feeling a sense of triumph that his experiment had gone according to plan.

"Great, I think it works," he said, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

He strode confidently over to the forge, carefully spreading the stones out to an even level before turning his attention to the kindling. Despite having transferred a portion of their flammability, they were still highly combustible. With a practiced hand, he threw them into the forge, watching as the flames licked hungrily at the wood.

Turning to Emily, he asked, "Can I get that candle oil, please?" His voice was steady, his gaze fixed on the task at hand. He could feel the heat of the forge on his face, and his heart raced with anticipation as he waited for the next step in his experiment to unfold.

Emily said, "Okay."

She walked over, handed it to him, and he poured the oil near the forge. He went back to the table, grabbed the match and matchbox, and chucked it. He tossed the match into the fire where the oil was.

A fire erupted and began to roar. Emily said, "I don't get it."

Joe said, "Just wait a second."

They walked forward after a few minutes, and Emily placed her hand near the fire. Her skin rippled like it had before against the heat. It was a beautiful shimmer of various rainbow colors, reflecting the fact that she was a lizard kin. It was gorgeous to look at.

Emily turned to Joe and showed him something that he had not expected since first meeting her: a big smile, not just cynicism or reluctance, but a kind of smile that made her look exactly like her sister. She said, "It worked! I don't know what you did, but it worked."

Joe placed his hands on his hips in a satisfied expression. He said, "Good. That forge should be able to hold and retain heat much better than before. Those pebbles all have those properties now. As far as I know, the pebbles will have those properties forever. But if anything changes, get a hold of me, and I'll do my best to fix it."

Emily ran over to him and stopped in place. She seemed like she was going to give him a hug, but she turned away in embarrassment. She coughed into her hand and cleared her throat. She offered her other hand and said, "Thank you, Joe. You've saved my business."

He shook her hand. It was firm and strong, stronger than even Rick's grip.

He reminded himself that he should try to find some sort of weightlifting gym in town. Everyone he had met so far seemed to want to kick his butt up and down the floor. They released their grips, and Emily asked, "Do you do this for everybody?"

Joe blinked and said, "Do what?"

She clarified, "Make enchanted items like this all the time."

Joe shook his head. "I know it's hard to believe, but I'm relatively new to being a wizard."

Emily laughed. "That's a good joke. What are you going to do now?"

Joe replied, "Well, I guess I'll check out my new home."

Emily beamed, her eyes sparkling with genuine joy. "Good. I'll check up on you every now and then, just to make sure everything's okay," she said, her voice warm and reassuring.

Reaching inside her smithy's apron, she fished out a key and pressed it into Joe's palm. "That's the master key for the house. But obviously, you don't need it since you can just walk over the front wall."

Joe's eyes widened with surprise, but he quickly composed himself and nodded gratefully. "Got it. And, thank you," he said, feeling a sense of gratitude towards his newfound friend.

As he turned to leave the forge, Joe couldn't help but feel a sense of anticipation building inside him. He walked back towards his new home, eager to explore every nook and cranny and see how he could make it his own. The place was huge, and the thought of all the possibilities that lay ahead filled him with excitement.

Even though he had only been in Lockwood and this new world for a couple of days, he had already made friends and scored a giant house. The future was looking bright, and he couldn't wait to see what adventures lay ahead.