"Ankato, look. This is a new aluminum-tungsten alloy we've developed, with a little Moonfield Grass blossom dew mixed in. Although it isn't as hard as pure steel, its corrosion resistance and toughness are considerably better. More importantly... here, try holding it."
Ankato picked up an ingot as instructed. It was silvery white with a faint dark-brown tinge. Porto, the dwarf, immediately asked with an excited look, "Well? Isn't it light?"
"Yes, it really is very light." Ankato hefted the alloy ingot and nodded involuntarily. "I suppose the proportion of aluminum must be quite high. I know tungsten metal well-it's much heavier than iron."
"What do you mean, heavier? That's called density!" Porto gave Ankato a disdainful look. "Haven't you read the President's latest book, Fundamental Standards for Industrial Materials? When describing this, you should talk about density. Stop saying light and heavy all the time. It sounds unprofessional."
Ankato couldn't help rolling his eyes. Porto had just been eagerly asking him whether it was light, yet now he was criticizing him for answering with the word "heavy."
Still, Ankato had studied Fundamental Standards for Industrial Materials as soon as the President published it half a month earlier. He knew Porto was right, so he couldn't be bothered to argue.
Besides, Porto had been sent here several months ago to lead a group of dwarves as technical advisers at the Nonferrous Metals Smelting Factory, while also conducting materials research using the rich variety of nonferrous metals in this vein. Now that he had results, his excitement was understandable.
"All right, then. This aluminum-tungsten alloy has a lower density than ordinary steel, and its corrosion resistance and toughness are somewhat better too. What about its drawbacks?" Ankato asked after a moment's thought.
"As for drawbacks, it isn't hard enough." Porto sighed and