“Hello, Gregor. It’s been a while.”

“Come on in.”

“Oh, Tetsuya and Lilia. Sorry, but could you wait just a little longer?”

“Yes, of course.”

The day after visiting the Adventurers' Guild, we received a message from Gregor, the blacksmith, saying that he had finished the food preservation packs we had requested. So, after closing the shop for the day, I came to the blacksmith’s workshop with Lilia.

The staff at the shop seemed to recognize us now. This time, when we arrived at the reception, they guided us straight to Gregor’s workspace. The room appeared to be where he did his work, with a large furnace blazing. Gregor was hammering away with a resounding clang.

Seeing a dwarf in action, hammering metal, was honestly awe-inspiring. In front of the roaring flames, he repeatedly struck the glowing red metal with his hammer. Sparks flew with every blow, and the high-pitched sound of metal meeting metal echoed through the room.

His focused gaze was fixed entirely on the metal he was working on. It made me wonder if the process of forging Japanese swords back in my original world looked similar to this.

“Phew… sorry for keeping you waiting.”

“Not at all, we weren’t waiting long. Besides, it was amazing to see a sword being forged up close for the first time. Truly impressive.”

Gregor was known as a top-class blacksmith in Al-Flare. While the royal capital reportedly had even more exceptional blacksmiths, Gregor’s skill was among the best in this starting town. He was one of the few capable of maintaining the weapons and armor of someone like Lilia, a former B-rank adventurer. …Thinking about it now, I do wonder if it was really okay to make such a request to someone of his caliber.

“Keh-keh-keh, it’s not much to look at. Anyway, about the bags you requested, I tried using various monster materials and ended up with this as the best result. I’ve made five of them as a trial run.”

Gregor took out rectangular, brown bags.

“Oh! So these are the bags we talked about.”

“That’s right. They’re made from heat-resistant, waterproof materials, sealed on three sides. The opening has a clasp to close it securely, and you can roll the top to keep it almost completely airtight. The material is sturdy enough to be reused multiple times.”

“Wow, that’s incredible! It’s just what we envisioned.”

I tested the bag by closing it, and it seemed completely airtight. The closure was double-layered, allowing for a very secure seal.

The next step would be to test it by actually storing food in it and seeing how long it could preserve it. If this worked, we could potentially sell products like yokan, chocolate bars, and ready-made curry. The possibilities were exciting.

“The materials are relatively common, so others could make it too, but mass production will require some time and cost.”

“I see.”

Of course, in this world, mass production by machines wasn’t an option. These preservation packs would have to be handmade by craftsmen one by one, so producing them in bulk would take time and money.

“How much would it cost to make one of these?”

“Hmm… about five silver coins per bag, I’d say.”

Five silver coins… about 5,000 yen. It was more expensive than I’d hoped.

“Even so, I’ve reduced the processing fee quite a bit. I’m glad to see those sweets you gave me before being sold, and this is a request from Lilia, one of my valued clients.”

“I appreciate it, Gregor.”

“Thank you very much. I’ll test these out first, and if they work well, I’ll place a larger order.”

Even if the cost was high, we could include the price of the preservation pack in the overall product price, like we currently do with the wooden tubes for the instant soup. Customers could return the pack, making the effective cost just the contents.

For now, I’d test how well they worked for preserving items like yokan, chocolate bars, and ready-made curry over a week or more.

“This was quite an interesting request. Forging weapons and armor is fun, but trying new ideas and experimenting like this has its own charm.”

“We’re truly grateful for all your help. Here’s some of the sweets from last time, and a little of that special smoked wyvern meat we received as a gift. It pairs wonderfully with alcohol, so I hope you enjoy it soon.”

“Oh-ho, thanks a lot! I’ll savor these later.”

Along with the yokan and chocolate bars I brought last time, I also shared a bit of the smoked wyvern meat. Knowing Gregor’s love for alcohol, I was sure he’d enjoy it.

The total cost for the prototypes was about half the budget I had given him, which was a relief. Once the tests confirmed the packs worked, Gregor said he’d prepare to start mass production. Here’s hoping the preservation period could be extended successfully.