Boil Some Gel First

After lunch, the rain let up a little. Frederick rode in a carriage to the blacksmith's shop.

The carriage, which had only had its bearings installed that morning, raced along at full speed and soon left the city behind.

When Frederick was three, he had gone splat and fallen into a puddle in the road. His father had immediately ordered all the city's sewers to be cleared regularly. Now there weren't many puddles in the streets, so pedestrians didn't have to worry about getting splashed.

As usual, the blacksmith's shop was bustling with activity. The clang of hammering could be heard from far away.

The ordinary blacksmiths hammered red-hot wrought-iron bars before using a mold to shape them into cylinders. They then cut them into sections. Bryant and several skilled blacksmiths hammered the bars into discs in a mold, then used special tools in another mold to punch out the rings. That produced rough blanks for the inner and outer rings of a bearing. Next, they were taken to the Hydraulic Lathe to have grooves cut into them.

On the other side, thin wrought-iron bars were also hammered and cut into short lengths. While still hot, they were placed between two molds and hammered into beads. At this stage, each bead had a ridge, and some weren't quite round. Later, they would be rolled and ground smooth on a millstone driven by a waterwheel.

Frederick watched for a while. Only then did Aumert receive the message and hurry over.

After asking about the recent bearing production, the lord said, "Yesterday, you mentioned that a Golem Puppet could be covered in something like human skin. Can you tell me how it's made?"

Last night, Psyche had said Aumert had mentioned something that would interest him. Frederick had thought about it for a long time, and the only thing he could come up with was the artificial skin used on humanoid puppets.

He had a feeling this was a material he needed.

"That's simple," Aumert said casually. "You chop up a Crystal Slime, remove its innards, and put the flesh in a pot. Add enough water to cover it, put on the lid, then seal it with some wet mud. Let it simmer for a while until the steam blows the lid off. What's left in the pot will be a paste, like batter."

"Scoop out the paste, then put it back in the pot and boil it until the water dries up. Keep cooking it until it gets sticky like snot, and that's it. Once it cools, it becomes a soft gel like skin."

"To make skin for a Golem Puppet, you just heat it in a pot until it melts, add some dye, pour it into a mold, and let it cool."

"This gel isn't afraid of water. Look, I even painted a layer on my boots. I can walk in the rain without getting my feet wet. I coated my cloak too, so it's waterproof."

As he spoke, he raised his foot and pointed at his shoe.

Frederick's mouth fell open in astonishment. Could this stuff replace rubber or plastic?!

"Where can I find some of this gel?" he asked urgently. "Quick, show me!"

Seeing how excited he was, Aumert's heart stirred. He bent down and whispered, "Headmaster, could this make a lot of money?"

The scholars at Weissenburg University had all developed an obsession with making money. He was no exception.

Frederick gave a slight nod.

"Let's go!" The moment Aumert heard it could make money, he grew excited. "Basf is boiling some over there."

Just then, a loud bang came from the other side of the blacksmith's shop.

Basf was Aumert's student, in his early twenties. Years ago, he had slipped on a Slime while walking at night and fallen into a river, making him the laughingstock of the school. Ever since, his hobby had been finding increasingly creative ways to mess around with Slimes.

Frederick went to the other side of the blacksmith's shop. A long row of sheds stood along the wall, furnished with tables, chairs, and stoves. They were where people cooked and ate, but were now being used to boil Slimes.

Basf had put chopped-up transparent Slimes in a cloth bag and boiled them. When the lid of the homemade Pressure Cooker flew off, quite a bit of water splashed out, but the Slime scraps and paste stayed inside the bag. All he had to do was squeeze the bag to get the Slime paste out.

Frederick narrowed his eyes slightly. Plenty of people had boiled Slimes or burned them, but nothing like this had ever happened. He suspected that when the temperature exceeded water's boiling point and the pressure increased, some component had reacted with the water.

Basf greeted the headmaster, then went back to his work.

The remaining water in the pot was poured onto the grass outside the shed. The Slime paste was squeezed into the pot, and the scraps were tossed onto the grass. The paste soon boiled dry, gradually turning into Slime Gel.

A few cloaks hung on the wall. Frederick didn't know whose they were. Basf used a brush to spread the scalding Slime Gel from the pot over one of them. Once it cooled, it formed a waterproof film.

Frederick thought for a moment, found a piece of iron, and asked Basf to spread a layer of Slime Gel on it. Once it cooled, he peeled it off.

The sheet of Slime Gel was about a millimeter thick, transparent and colorless. He squeezed and tugged at it. It was fairly strong, but not very elastic.

"The elasticity seems off," Frederick said. "Wouldn't this be a bit too stiff for skin?"

Aumert immediately replied, "When you make the skin, you have to add some pigment. That changes it a little."

Basf added, "Different pigments or materials can make the gel softer, harder, or more elastic."

Frederick murmured, "Oh," and kept tugging at the Slime Gel in his hands. It took some effort to tear it.

"Is it poisonous?" he asked, the question he cared about most.

"It's not poisonous," Basf said with a smile. "Once, I peeled a little piece off a cooled pot and threw it on the ground. A dog ate it. It came out the same way it went in."

"Can it catch fire?" Frederick asked again.

Then he paused, gave an awkward smile, and tossed a small piece of Slime Gel into the fire on the stove.

The Slime Gel melted as soon as it landed on the firewood, then bubbled vigorously. It looked as if it were boiling, but no flames appeared.

Frederick heated the tongs used to handle firewood in the fire. Then he folded the piece of Slime Gel still in his hand and pinched it with the hot tongs.

The heat melted the Slime Gel where the tongs touched it. Once it cooled, it solidified, fusing the two layers together where they had been pinched.

He gave it a firm tug. It held fast.

Frederick nodded, sat down on one of the blacksmiths' dining chairs, and began thinking about how to use this material.

If Slime Gel could meet the requirements, they could make rain gear, waterproof shoes, tents, plastic bags, and soft-pack canned food. They could even make the ultimate childcare contraption—a clothes hanger.

To do a good job, one must first sharpen one's tools.

At the very least, this homemade Pressure Cooker would have to be replaced.

There shouldn't be much trouble producing a proper Pressure Cooker. The only prerequisite was understanding the relationship between air pressure and boiling points.

Sealing the lid to the pot had originally been a problem, but Slime Gel looked like it could be made into a gasket, so that shouldn't be a problem either.

When Frederick came back to himself, he found that Aumert and Basf had already laid parchment, a quill, an ink bottle, and drafting tools on the table. They were waiting for him to once again work the miracle of finding "a golden house within parchment."

"Basf."

"Here!"

The moment Frederick called his name, Basf stood straight as a soldier and answered.

"Make me a sample of every kind of Slime Gel," Frederick assigned. "As soon as possible."

"Understood!" Basf replied at once.

Aumert smiled at Frederick. "He was planning to get married, but now he's worried he doesn't have enough money. Of course he wouldn't pass up a chance to make some."

Frederick smiled too. "Knowledge is gold."

Then he began drawing on the parchment.

The body and lid of the Pressure Cooker wouldn't be hard to make. They could cast them, then hammer them into shape. It would be good enough.

There would be two latches on the body of the pot to hold down the crossbar on the lid during use. Turning the screw in the middle of the crossbar would press the lid down. The Slime Gel gasket would go between the lid and the body. The exhaust valve, weight, and safety valve on the lid shouldn't be much trouble either.

Then Frederick threw himself into working out how to cut threads for the screw once again.