#800 An Infinite Perfect Circle

After a year of longing, I finally got to indulge in foil-grilled dishes.

Naturally, I shared them with everyone on the farm, and the response was overwhelmingly positive to the point they were lost for words.

“Ooooooooooooohohohoooooo!!!”

“Nomnomnomnomnom…!!!”

“Amamamamamamamam!!!”

Like that.

If anything, it seemed like they didn’t just lose words but language itself. But hey, if that’s how much they enjoyed the foil-grilled food, it sure lifts my spirits.

I, myself, unleashed a year’s worth of pent-up craving for foil-grilling. Yet, there’s still a surplus of aluminum foil.

Mountains of rolled-up aluminum foil are piled up before me.

“...Did I get a tad overenthusiastic with my commission...?”

And the dwarves, whom I commissioned, doubled that overenthusiasm.

Even after covering the entire farm’s foil-grilling needs, a massive stock remains.

There’s so much that even if we overfished salmon to extinction in this otherworld, I doubt we’d use it all up. 

I feel like I have a lifetime’s worth of foil before me.

“What am I supposed to do with all of this…?!”

Well, I guess I could use it gradually over my lifetime. 

But storage becomes a problem. If I keep piling it up, it’ll just become a hard-to-use space on the farm.

You’d think aluminum foil, being metal, would last forever, but that’s not the case. 

I thought the same in my younger days, but one day, after leaving a roll unused for years, it had lost its shine and became unusable.

…

I need to use up this foil quickly.

But how? 

Keep grilling until salmon goes extinct?

…

Wait, I’ve got it!

“Let’s make a ball out of aluminum!!!”

I’ve seen it before.

Crumple up the foil, hammer it continuously, and it supposedly turns into a shiny, brilliant ball.

Was it on TV? Or in a magazine? Maybe online?

It looked professional, with such a glossy surface that you could see your reflection. 

Kinda like a pachinko ball, but many times bigger?

It’s a pretty pointless challenge, but it doesn’t seem like a bad idea to try.

After all, just doing what’s necessary isn’t always fun in life!!!

That’s settled. Let’s make an aluminum ball!

***

Starting off, I crumple the foil and begin hammering away. 

But I wonder if I used too much foil in my excitement.

It’s already quite big – about the size of a watermelon. 

If it’s this size now, how big will it be when finished?

Concerned, I continue hammering.

Tak, tak, tak, tak, tak, tak, tak, tak, tak...

Tak, tak, tak, tak, tak, tak, tak, tak, tak, tak, tak...

...Ah.

Did I just zone out?!

But since I was so immersed, maybe I made good progress with the ball.

...

Why’s the ball so small?

It was worryingly large at the start when it was still loosely crumpled. 

Did I compress it to this size with my hammering? 

Now, it’s only about the size of a baseball.

But it’s far from finished. 

I need to hammer more to shape it properly.

Ta.

...Huh?

Ta, ta, ta, ta, ta, ta, ta, ta, ta, ta, ta, ta, ta, ta, ta, ta, ta, ta, ta...!

The sound changed?

The hollow ring is gone. It feels denser?!

Is this a sign of progress?!

I’m suddenly even more motivated!

If I continue hammering, will the sound change again?

Klang, klang, klang, klang, klang, klang, klang, klang...!

Wait, is that the sound of metal I hear?!

Well, I guess it is aluminum, after all. The papery feel is gone, and it’s starting to completely transform into a solid metal ball!!!

Hit it harder! Show the true essence of aluminum!!!

...But there’s an unsightly groove forming on the edge of the foil. How can I get rid of that?

After some twists and turns, behold...

The aluminum ball!!!

“It’s beautiful! Perfectly round! Shining silver and reflecting like a mirror!”

Technically, you’re supposed to hammer it and then polish it with sandpaper and maybe some car wax...

But it’s still shining without all that.

Could it be due to the Hand of Supremacy?

It’s so perfectly round that if you put it on the ground, it just rolls on its own.

...Hm?

Does that mean the ground here is sloping?

Eh, whatever.

Anyway, behold the most beautiful aluminum ball ever!

I’m over the moon with satisfactioooooooon!!!

Amidst my excitement, I had a visitor.

It was Pops Edward the dwarf.

“Lord Saint, about the aluminum foil we delivered the other day... Fwooooooooooooooo?!”

Pops Edward let out a shriek as soon as he entered the room.

What happened?

Seriously, why does something always happen whenever he comes?

 “Lord Saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaint, what is that shiny silver sphereeeeeee?! Is it a new kind of gemmmmmm?!”

He seems intrigued by this finished aluminum ball.

...Hah.

I must say, he has a keen eye.

This is the aluminum ball I made with the foil you delivered!

“Does such a metallic sphere even exist?! It’s so smooth, without a single blemish! Absolutely and perfectly round! I’ve been a blacksmith for fifty years! And as the head of the dwarves, I say it’s impeccable!!!”

Such high praise from a pro?

Aw, shucks, you flatter me.

Considering I made it, the Hand of Supremacy probably had some influence on the quality, though.

...So, is it because it looks like it can rotate indefinitely that it’s so impressive?

“Lord Saint! Please teach me how to make such a magnificent iron ball! You’re like the living image of the god of craftsmanship, Hephaestusssssss!”

It’s not an iron ball, it’s aluminum.

But sure, I’d be happy to teach you.

It’s great to have a fellow enthusiast for aluminum ball making!

Let’s all strive to make shiny, perfectly round aluminum balls!

“Guhoaaaaaah! By the craftsmanship soul of the dwarvessssss! Even if I can’t match you, I vow to make a perfectly round, moon-like, silver sphereeeeeee!!!”

Looks like Pops Edward is completely engrossed in aluminum ball crafting. 

Tak, tak, tak, tak... The sound of hammering fills the farm.

What if this aluminum ball trend sweeps this whole other world?

While pondering that, even my kid, Junior, joined in on the aluminum ball-making!

“Dad, I did ittttt.”

And just like that, my own son made an aluminum ball!

With his Hand of Ultimacy at play, it’s obviously a perfectly mirrored sphere. 

But this one seems like it could spin forever and probably knock someone out with its intimidating presence!

Way to go, Junior!

There’s a different level of passion in your creations!