Chapter 93: Furnace

"Good idea."

The ingredients were all ready; they just needed to catch a few fish. Ethan smiled and looked at Zharok.

Zharok immediately launched himself off the bed and clapped Walter on the shoulder. "Let’s go."

The two of them headed for the river, Ethan picked up Pearl and walked deeper into the cabin.

Zharok’s body heat still lingered on the bed, Ethan sat down and gently stroked Pearl’s head, easing the fatigue of the long journey, that soft fur under his fingers was impossibly relaxing.

Just as he settled into this rare moment of quiet, Pearl lifted its head.

"Speaking of which, we still haven’t found a way to plant the World Tree, what should we do, meow?"

"Yeah..."

Ethan didn’t dwell on it, he had no deadline, no quest timer counting down, even if the World Tree stayed unplanted for now, the sky wouldn’t fall.

"Don’t worry, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it."

Pearl’s ears drooped slightly, but it nodded and settled back into the warmth of Ethan’s lap.

"Wahahaha! Caught one!"

A shout rang out from outside the cabin, Ethan walked to the door and saw Zharok and Walter marching back, each hefting a massive fish by the tail, water dripped off their sleeves, and Zharok was grinning like a fool.

Ethan looked at them, smiled, and shook his head. He set Pearl down. "Things will work out when the time comes."

...

The next day, Ethan and his group bid farewell to the Fox Beastmen and set foot on the journey home.

Ash saw them off at the village gate. "The next batch of iron ore will be delivered to you as soon as it’s ready."

"Thank you, Village Chief."

"No need, our trade benefits both sides." Ash turned his gaze on Pearl.

"Little cat, take care of this human."

"You don’t need to tell me that, meow~"

The road back was long, but with Zharok pulling the handcart and Walter’s blood-red birds lending their strength, they made good time, by late afternoon the next day, familiar territory came into view.

"Moo moo moo~! Welcome back! Moo moo~!"

Bargentus was patrolling near the cabin when they arrived. Scorch marks and trampled brush surrounded the clearing, signs of a recent fight.

"Did you fight monsters?"

"This morning! A whole group attacked the cabin, but I beat them all back! The greenhouse is completely unharmed!"

"Thank you, you’ve worked hard."

"We’re friends, after all." Bargentus grinned his broad Minotaur grin.

"By the way, are you done with your business in the north?"

"Yeah. I’ve reached an agreement with the Fox Beastmen, from now on, we’ll trade food for their iron ore."

"That’s great! Then I’ll be heading off, I’ve got to start my own winter preparations!"

It hadn’t snowed in the central region yet, but Bargentus had his own village to worry about, he clapped Ethan on the shoulder, turned, and strode away.

Walter also departed to manage his territory.

"Let’s get to work."

Ethan retrieved the Hydra-resistant stones he had previously obtained from the Minotaurs and began building a smelting furnace. Near the cabin, he mixed fire-resistant stone powder with mud and constructed it layer by careful layer.

[Well-crafted Smelting Furnace]

[A smelting furnace capable of smelting iron ore, able to withstand high temperatures.]

[Well-crafted: Durability increased.]

[Crafting Difficulty: ★★★★]

An elegant smelting furnace stood before him, he loaded charcoal into its belly at once.

"What are you doing, meow?"

"Testing the heat resistance."

The melting point of iron sat around fifteen hundred degrees, if the furnace couldn’t handle that, everything else was moot.

"Let’s begin."

He waved Pearl to a safe distance, then reached out and activated Fire of the Spirits, the charcoal caught, and the temperature inside the furnace began to climb, Ethan fed the flames higher, controlling the heat with practiced concentration.

Even the cold winter air couldn’t hold back the waves of heat rolling off the stone walls.

Zharok watched from the side, brow furrowed. "Are you sure this will be okay?"

The furnace held, not a crack, not a groan, not even a whisper of stress from the joints, the Hydra-resistant stones were as sturdy as promised, stone forged in dragonfire wasn’t about to flinch at a little smelting heat.

Ethan nodded in satisfaction and pushed the temperature further, seventeen hundred degrees, still perfectly intact.

"Great, it’s perfect."

He let out a long breath, next step, testing how well the furnace retained heat over time.

"Phew... it’s so hot, meow."

"Yeah."

Even in the dead of winter, the furnace radiated unbearable heat, sweat dripped down Ethan’s face.

"It’s a success, let’s make something to eat."

"Meow? Eat what?"

"Since it’s this hot, shaved ice."

"Shaved ice?"

"I’ve been wanting to make some for a while now, since it’s this hot, eating shaved ice is the perfect choice."

"Then hurry up and make it, meow!"

"Just wait."

A bit of prep work first, the red bean paste needed boiling.

Ethan left the furnace area and walked over to the Cauldron of Blessing, he washed the red beans, placed them into the pot, added water, and set it to boil.

Pearl and Zharok were monitoring the furnace. Ethan called over to them. "Could you grab some sugar and salt for me?"

"Okay, what else?"

"That’s it, Pearl, keep an eye on the pot. Once the water boils, turn off the heat."

"Got it, meow~"

Leaving the beans in their care, Ethan headed into the greenhouse, he picked a selection of fresh fruits, washed them, and began dicing them into neat little cubes.

By the time Pearl and Zharok returned, the fruit was ready.

"We brought the stuff!"

"The water’s boiling, meow~"

"Is it?" Ethan put down the knife, walked to the Cauldron of Blessing, and fished out a red bean to test it, fully soft, he added a splash more water, then the sugar and salt, as the liquid reduced, he mashed the beans with the back of a spoon until the paste was thick, smooth, and fragrant.

"Alright, now we just need to wait for it to cool down."

He lifted the pot into the refrigerator, then set out the rest of the toppings: diced fruit, chewy dough balls he had rolled from wheat flour, and a handful of okara cookies, last, he mixed Butter Tree cream with water and poured it into a container.

"Frost."

At his command, the liquid inside froze solid. He activated Shatter next, the ice block shuddered and crumbled into a mound of fine, powdery shaved ice.

"Meow~! Are we eating this, meow?"

"Sweet and cold, you’ll love it."

Zharok and Pearl had been standing beside the furnace the whole time, roasted by the heat waves until their fur and hair were damp with sweat, shaved ice was exactly what the moment called for.