Chapter 2 – PUMP
「Good morning Onii-chan」
「Good morning Hanna-chan」
It was the day after Jin decided to stay at Martha’s house to repay his debt. Morning. Jin got up and went out to wash his face. Hanna also got up.
「Hanna-chan, I want to wash my face」
saying that,
「Okay, the water well is this way」
she says, walking with a bucket and towel in hand. Jin followed after Hanna. Naturally, Jin held the bucket.
「Here it is」
The water well was placed about 20 metres from Martha’s house. The frame was round and made of stone with a roof attached so that rubbish couldn’t fall in. And a well bucket hung by a pulley was there to draw the water with.
「Wait just a moment… yoisho, yoisho」 ⚑
Hanna said that, and her small body began to eagerly pull up the well bucket. Jin became flustered,
「W-Wait Hanna-chan! Do you perhaps do this kind of thing everyday?」
Jin asked her, and Hanna’s expression told him that it was natural,
「Yep, that’s right」
she answered. Hearing that, Jin began to ponder. Meanwhile Hanna finished drawing the water and poured it into the bucket.
「Onii-chan, you can wash your face first」
Jin became flustered once again, so for now he washed his face. And so,
「Thank you. Then… this time I’ll draw the water for Hanna-chan to wash your face.」
hearing that, Hanna smiled cheerfully,
「Okay!」
Along the way back to the house.
「Hanna-chan, isn’t drawing the water difficult?」
「Yes, but, I do it because everyone does it too」
Hearing that Jin came up with an idea. There isn’t enough material right now so creating a magic device is impossible, but a normal device may be possible.
After breakfast he tried asking Martha.
「Martha-san, is there a blacksmith in this village?」
thereupon Martha face showed a hint of loneliness for a moment,
「My husband was one, however he has long passed away. That’s why there isn’t any blacksmiths right now. Why do you ask?」
「Well… I just need a little bit of things like iron and copper」
and then,
「Ahh, if that’s the case I think there should be some left in my husband’s workshop. It’s likely covered in dust though. If you want to use it, use it however you like.」
「Thank you very much」
Jin thanked her for guiding him to the workshop. It was behind Martha’s house, a 6 tatami sized room. Placed inside was a furnace on the verge of breaking, an anvil covered in dust, a hammer, things like that and rolled in the corner was a considerably large lump of iron and copper.
「If there is only this much I won’t be able to make a lot」
Seeing a lump of copper, Jin felt relieved. He then promptly began to work.
「Well then, 《Analyse》… copper, as well as tin. Bronze huh? Just about right. By processing this,」
Jin transmuted the lump of bronze using the magic he had learnt. Making a pipe, lever, pin, cylinder, and piston. In other words, Jin was making a pump for the water well.
「Anyway, magic sure is convenient. In the other world, this amount for processing would be impossible without a lathe, milling machine, and casting.」
When he finished making the parts, Hanna came over after clearing away her breakfast.
「Onii-chan, what are you doing?」
「Ah, it’s Hanna-chan. Well you see, this pump here is a device that will make it easier to draw the water」
「Make it easier to draw the water?」
「That’s right, come take a look」
Jin assembled the main body of the pump, then headed to the water well with the parts such as the main body and pipes. There, Martha and the neighbourhood wives gathered, it was literally a gathering for gossip. It was natural as one would wash their tableware besides the well and you would meet others there at similar times.
「Oh? What is it Jin? What is it that you’re holding in your hands?」
「So this is the child Jin that Martha picked up. Hanna-chan is together with him too.」
「Hanna-chan seems to have become surprisingly attached to him. Hey, how old are you?」
The curious group of wives asked many questions, so for the time being Jin suitably answered what he was doing,
「This is a pump, a device so to say」
So he explained.
「Fuun… so, what does this thing do?」
「By installing this here, you can use it to draw the water. It’s much more easier to use than the water bucket.」
When Jin had said that, one of the wives,
「You couldn’t mean a magic tool? Could you be a magic user?」
is what he heard. Jin smiled,
「It isn’t something like a magic tool. It’s a common device from where I came from. Well, I can use simple magic though」
so he said, surprising Martha and the others who glanced at him while Jin connected the pipe and the main body of the pump and then fixed the main body to a board which was then placed on the well. Before drawing the water he poured water into the pump to prime it, and now that the water filled the pipe, the preparation were done for now.
「Well then, let’s try it out」
Jin began to slowly row the lever. This time he had made a water drawing hand pump, the typical pump for water wells.
When it started clattering and shaking, water came out from the pump.
「Oooohh! This is amazing isn’t it!」
「Hey hey, let me use it first!」
However Jin,
「Hold on please. I want Hanna-chan to be the first one to use it… go on now Hanna-chan」
saying that he let Hanna take his place.
「Okay. Umm, I just need to move this stick right?」
After confirming that, Hanna moved the lever up and down. By doing that, water came out. The bucket placed down below caused Jin to panic. The bucket had immediately filled at once.
「How is it Hanna-chan?」
「Yeah, it’s a lot easier! Onii-chan, thank you!」
Hanna’s face lit up with a smile, causing Jin to feel warm and fluffy inside. After seeing that, the impatient wives began to scramble to use the pump.
「Uwaa, this is so much easier!」
「Yeah, this will really help us in the future」
「Jin-kun is an amazing magic user」
The wives took turns using the pump, bringing a bucket to draw the water. Everyone was surprised at how simple it was compared to using the water bucket.
「Jin, so this was why you wanted the copper. Thank you, this will help a lot」
Martha seemed to be glad. Perhaps because the materials that were covered in dust were reborn into a useful device.
After this Jin checked to confirm that there were no abnormalities with the pump. He then returned home together with Martha and Hanna.
After that, the villagers who heard the rumours about the pump came to see it and the story about how the village’s water was installed with a pump became well known.
Hence, Jin received the gratitude of the villagers and remembered their faces.