Another World Metal Factory

Chapter 57

When the Factory Manager and Oran entered the Red Rooster, they saw people already occupying tables and drinking.

Popper, with beer foam all over his beard, spotted the Factory Manager and waved his hand with a smile.

As the Factory Manager and Oran took their seats, Popper quickly ordered beer. Richel promptly brought over the beer-filled glasses.

“What brings you here? The Factory Manager, bringing a lady with him?”

“Don’t tease your elders! Go and bring some snacks.”

At the Factory Manager’s scolding, Richel giggled and headed to the kitchen, while Karuutz raised his beer glass and said,

“Well then, let’s start with a drink!”

Everyone raised their glasses and clinked them together. Then, they all brought the glasses to their lips.

“Cheers! This is great! As expected, the new beer is the best!”

“You got that right! This is the life!”

After finishing their beer, everyone put down their glasses, but Oran was still drinking hers. At first, no one noticed anything strange, but one by one, they started to look at Oran.

After holding the glass for a long time, Oran slammed it down on the table with a loud bang.

“Cheers! That was good! Another one here!”

Having downed the beer in the large glass in one go, the men who were watching with surprised eyes cheered loudly.

“Wow, wow! That was refreshing! Richel! Bring another glass of beer quickly!”

“This is what I call a good drinking companion!”

As Popper and Karuutz laughed heartily, Oran wiped her mouth with her sleeve and burst into a hearty laugh.

“What’s the point of sipping beer slowly!”

“Good! I won’t lose!”

“Take it easy.”

The Factory Manager tried to intervene, but Oran laughed and raised a new glass. However, this time, she didn’t drink it all at once like before, but drank half and put the glass down.

“So, tell us, who is this lady?”

After a round of beer, Popper asked the Factory Manager.

“Yeah. What’s your relationship with this black-haired fella?”

When Karuutz asked, Oran smiled and opened her mouth.

“This gentleman’s wife.”

“Was his wife.”

The Factory Manager corrected her, and Popper and Karuutz were surprised and looked back and forth between Oran and the Factory Manager.

“Wife?!”

“Black-haired! You were married?!”

“Well, I wouldn’t be a bachelor at this age.”

The Factory Manager sighed at Popper and Karuutz’s reaction, and Oran burst out laughing at the sight.

“Well, it’s been a while since we’ve done anything, so don’t worry about it! Let’s just drink!”

“Well, he doesn’t live with his wife. Lucky guy.”

As Oran said that and raised her glass, Popper replied and raised his glass as well.

“Well, what does it matter! Let’s drink!”

As Karuutz also said that and drank his beer, only the Factory Manager frowned and pursed his lips.

“So! The wife doesn’t seem to be here to reconcile with this grumpy guy. How long will you be staying?”

“Hmm. Well, I came here for a short visit, but it seems like I’ll be making something he can’t make and then leaving.”

“He can make it.”

“He can make it, my foot.”

At Popper’s question, Oran and the Factory Manager bickered.

They were both laughing, but their words were laced with pride. It was only natural, as they were both experts in their respective fields.

“The black-haired fella must be in a difficult situation. Not long after being dumped by the innkeeper, his ex-wife shows up…”

Krauutz raised his beer glass and was about to continue when he suddenly stopped.

“Krauutz!”

Popper whispered sharply, and Karuutz realized his mistake and scratched his head.

“Innkeeper? What are you talking about?”

“Oh, that. The black-haired fella, at the inn in a village a little ways from here…”

“You idiot!”

Popper slapped Karuutz to stop him from rambling at Oran’s question, and Oran smiled coldly and looked at the Factory Manager.

“Hmm?! Seems like you’ve been having a good time.”

“No, it’s not like that… I was just helping her out because it was a bit sad to see her running the inn alone after losing her husband… Besides, it’s none of your business!”

“Ha! Well, I guess it’s none of my business since we’re divorced!”

After hearing the story, Oran said that and closed her mouth. For a moment, only the noisy sounds of the store filled the table.

Popper whispered that Karuutz had said something unnecessary and poked him in the side, and Karuutz pouted and grumbled under his breath.

Oran took a sip of her beer and opened her mouth again.

“She must have been quite a beauty, that innkeeper.”

“Well, yes.”

“A blonde beauty? You always liked blondes with good figures. Remember when you begged the owner of the calendar hanging at the bar next door…”

“That was decades ago!”

The Factory Manager blushed and yelled at Oran’s words, and Oran burst out laughing.

“You hung it in your closet and then Mr. Park caught you…”

“Stop it! That was when I was 17!”

While the Factory Manager and Oran were talking, Richel came and served them beer and dishes.

“It seems like you’re having a fun conversation. What are you talking about?”

Richel asked as she put down the dishes, and Oran replied, holding up a chicken leg.

“We were talking about how this gentleman likes blonde girls.”

“Really? You liked blondes, Factory Manager? My aunt has brown hair.”

Oran burst out laughing again at Richel’s words.

“What? Was it your aunt? The one he was hitting on?”

“Enough! Richel, stop talking nonsense and bring another round of beer!”

“Yes, yes. Anyone else need anything?”

Everyone at the table raised their hands, and Richel counted and headed to the kitchen.

******

In the end, the four of them drank until late at night and were only able to end their drinking party when Oscar, who was closing the store, kicked them out.

The streets were quiet, and the moon was shining brightly in the sky.

“Well then, get home safe!”

At the Factory Manager’s words, the staggering Karuutz waved his hands wildly, and Popper, who was standing next to him, quickly grabbed him.

“Uhhh…”

“Karuutz! Get a grip! You should’ve known your limit! Well then, see you next time.”

Popper said goodbye and dragged the drunken Karuutz away.

“Let’s go too.”

The Factory Manager said and started walking ahead, and Oran quickly walked beside him.

They walked through the dark city streets without saying a word. There were no streetlights, so the only illumination came from the moon and stars in the sky.

Occasionally, light from inside houses would leak through the gaps of ill-fitting wooden doors and illuminate the ground.

“Did you… like her?”

Oran broke the silence first.

The Factory Manager didn’t answer.

Silence fell again.

Only the moonlight filled the alley.

“I think I did…”

The Factory Manager, who had been walking in silence for a while, finally opened his mouth with difficulty.

Oran, who had been looking at the Factory Manager for a moment after his sudden words, asked back.

“What do you mean by that?”

The Factory Manager scratched his head and replied.

“It’s hard to explain… I don’t know. Whether I liked her… or just felt sorry for her… Damn… I’m not good with words.”

Oran smiled and walked closer to the Factory Manager.

“Well, you’ve always been a good person. That’s why you took in Illia, right?”

“Well, seeing a young girl wandering the streets reminded me of my past…”

“You’ve always wanted a daughter, haven’t you? Is that why you hired Tehez as an employee?”

“She came to me wanting to learn, and she’s good at her job.”

“What about Channing?”

When Oran continued to ask, the Factory Manager scratched his head and sighed.

“He’s a bit… different.”

Oran burst out laughing.

“You’re just like you were when you were young.”

“Me? What are you talking about?”

At the Factory Manager’s retort, Oran smiled at him.

***

Morning came, and work began again.

Oran and Tehez lit the gas furnace together.

“Tehez, put in what we were working on yesterday and heat it up.”

Tehez carefully placed the iron piece they had made yesterday into the furnace and started heating it. Watching the iron piece heat up, Tehez asked.

“Are you going to fold it again?”

Oran shook her head as she took out the red-hot iron piece.

“No. We’re going to stretch it now, after cutting it in half. Tehez, place it in the center.”

Tehez quickly placed the cutting tool in the center of the iron.

Oran operated the power hammer and cut the iron piece in half. Then, she put the pieces back into the gas furnace to heat them up red-hot and took one of them out.

“We’re going to stretch this out long. Into a square shape. Watch me carefully and follow along.”

Oran started hammering the iron with the power hammer, and Tehez watched the process intently. As she hammered the four sides alternately, the iron slowly began to stretch out.

Tehez was amazed at the sight of the hard iron being stretched like taffy and watched every movement carefully.

After stretching one side of the iron into a long rod over a meter long, Oran put the rod down and handed the tongs to Tehez.

“Try it.”

At Oran’s words, Tehez took the red-hot iron piece from the furnace with the tongs and slowly pushed it into the power hammer. Then, she carefully pressed the power hammer button.

Suddenly, there was a loud bang, and Tehez was startled and dropped the tongs. With a clang, the red-hot iron and tongs fell to the factory floor.

“Get a grip!”

Oran shouted, and Tehez flinched in surprise.

“Red-hot iron is extremely dangerous! So is the power hammer! You could get hurt or cause an accident! Focus! And put some strength in your hands!”

“Y-Yes, ma’am!”

Tehez quickly grabbed the tongs and picked up the iron that had fallen to the floor. Then, she carefully started hammering it again.

As she hammered slowly and awkwardly, the iron cooled down into an uneven shape.

“This is… difficult.”

“Heat it up again. You have to make it exactly like I did.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

Tehez put the iron back into the furnace.

“Don’t be so rough with her.”

“Hmph. You’re saying that because she’s a young girl. You’re all talk.”

Oran retorted at the Factory Manager, who had approached them, and he scratched his head and watched Tehez handling the power hammer. Tehez was sweating profusely as she stretched the iron.

“Can’t we just use angle iron for this?”

“Well, that would be easier. But it wouldn’t be as much fun.”

“You’re doing this for fun?”

“You sound just like your father. It’s good to have fun while working. Don’t you enjoy watching machines run and making things too?”

The Factory Manager muttered something unintelligible and lit a cigarette.

“This is what I wanted to see. Our child making something with us.”

“Are you saying it’s my fault?”

“Well, partly. He knows how to run a company, but he doesn’t know how to operate machines. Thanks to that, he’s properly inheriting and growing your company. But wasn’t that your dream? To build a big company and live a comfortable life?”

The Factory Manager fell silent.

In that silence, Oran felt many things.

“Ma’am! I’m almost done.”

“Really? Let me see.”

Tehez’s words broke the silence, and Oran walked over to her and looked at the stretched iron. It was a bit crooked, but it had been stretched into a square rod about a meter long.

Oran smiled and put the iron back into the gas furnace.

“Good job for your first try. Now let’s straighten it out and move on to the next process.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Tehez smiled at Oran’s praise.

The Factory Manager watched them and threw away his cigarette butt, which had burned down to the filter.