Volume 1, Chapter 13 -The Maiden Mechanic Sets Sail

Standing in front of the counter, Anran spread out a sheet of white paper. One hand held a pen, and the other a set square.

The counter was not very high, and at her height she could write and draw in a fairly natural posture, so there was no need to drag over a stone to stand on.

Colin watched Anran curiously. Since she had asked for drafting tools, she was not about to write a self-recommendation letter, was she?

Anran took a deep breath, and the tip of her pen touched the white paper.

She had never really done serious drafting before. The only thing she had to draw on was the engineering drawing course she had taken in college.

First, she wrote the words “Ordinary Lamp” at the top of the page.

Right after that came the structural blueprint for the lamp.

This one had something to reference. As Anran read the blueprint data from the game panel, she reproduced it at the same time.

Three-view drawing.

Sectional view.

Exploded view.

Sectional drawings of the individual parts.

Even the various measurements were labeled to the first decimal place in millimeters.

Since it was only an ordinary lamp, this level of precision was not especially high.

The black pen and various rulers kept shifting positions in Anran’s hands. At first she was a little awkward, but the more she drew, the more she gained a strangely sweet confidence. By the time she was moving the rulers around, there was even a certain flowing flair to it.

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Not bad. It looked pretty convincing.

Watching from the side, Colin said nothing, but inwardly nodded.

He was a junior Engineer and also a junior Mechanic, and he had run this repair shop for more than twenty years. He knew more blueprints for household machinery and electronic devices than one could count.

Because of that, Colin could tell at a glance that although Anran’s drafting technique was a little rough, there was absolutely no problem with the blueprint gradually taking shape before him.

It looked like she had learned on her own, but there was no way to be sure she had not simply memorized this particular blueprint in advance to improve her odds of getting hired.

“Done.” Anran put down the final stroke. After checking it over and confirming there were no problems with the blueprint, she handed it to Colin.

Putting on a show of studying it carefully, Colin gave a slight nod.

“So that means you agree?” Delight appeared on Anran’s face.

This job…

But Colin shattered Anran’s fantasy. “I’ve got materials and equipment here. Make one for me and let me see.”

Fine. It was not exactly difficult.

“No problem,” Anran agreed.

Making something was far harder than taking it apart and reassembling it, but Anran was not nervous at all.

She had plenty of theoretical knowledge. What she lacked was practical experience.

Pushing open the back door of the repair shop, she found that the connected space beyond it was Colin’s workshop. Compared with the sunlit repair shop out front, the workshop had a distinctly steampunk feel.

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Under the dim yellow lights, all kinds of small lathes were neatly arranged, along with grinding and cutting equipment, making Anran’s eyes light up.

She had never really liked these stiff-looking steel machines before, but after becoming an Engineer and a Mechanic, and considering her professional development, she had started paying more and more attention to this kind of equipment. The more she looked at it, the more familiar and endearing it felt.

“Can I use all of this?” Anran asked.

“You can.” Colin nodded. “I’ll give you an hour.”

An hour should be more than enough.

Not wanting to waste a moment, Anran put on a pair of tool gloves that were thin but had excellent protective properties, then began fiddling with all sorts of small components.

The structure of an ordinary lamp was very simple: a support frame, a filament, a basic circuit, and an outer lampshade.

A skilled Mechanic could make one in a minute or two.

Anran was a newcomer after all. She still needed time to adapt to operating the equipment, and she was a bit uncertain when it came to controlling the exact specifications, but thankfully everything progressed in an orderly way.

One small part after another was successfully produced by the machines, and before long Anran assembled them into a finished product.

“Ding! You have successfully crafted [Ordinary Lamp] and gained 20 experience points.”

[Ordinary Lamp: Quality White]

After that came the usual description.

“Well?” Anran placed the lamp in front of Colin.

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Colin took it casually.

It was an ordinary lamp. Inside was a tungsten filament structure, while the outside was formed into an arc ring from a transparent material. There was no glass lampshade added, because Colin’s place did not seem to have any glass products.

Its appearance was fairly mediocre and lacked any real beauty, but for a lamp, the most important thing was whether it could light up.

Colin walked over to the workbench and, under Anran’s expectant gaze, connected the lamp to a power source.

With a flash, a patch of white light suddenly appeared in the room that had been lit only by murky yellow lighting.

The light was a little harsh, but it shone very steadily!

Didn’t that mean this job was basically secured?

She could eat again. No more living off dirt.

Cutting the power, Colin turned around, pinching the lamp in his hand as he said, “It’s a bit rough, and your technique is still somewhat unpracticed, but for a girl to have this level of skill in mechanics and engineering, in this day and age, I really have to look at you in a new light.”

It had not been long since No. 1886 was conquered. After the war, the old world had been overturned, and many people had fallen into confusion. It was exactly that confusion, born from how suddenly the world had changed, that made so many willing to throw themselves into a life of Resistance that was almost certain to lead nowhere good.

She was being praised. Didn’t that mean the job was definitely secured?

Anran grinned. “You flatter me, you flatter me. I still have a lot to learn. From now on I’ll have to…”

“However.” Colin changed the subject. “I really don’t need to hire anyone right now.”

Pfft.

“Come on!” Anran said hurriedly. “My requirements are really low. Three thousand Bilu a month…”

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The moment she saw Colin’s expression change slightly, Anran immediately changed her tune. “No, no, no, twenty-five hundred… two thousand is fine. Three meals? No need for three meals, just lunch is enough. I already have a place to live, so you don’t need to worry about that at all. These days, even hiring an apprentice worker costs one thousand Bilu a month. You won’t find a more affordable employee than me.”

If it were only for survival, Anran could accept the apprentice rate of one thousand Bilu. But she still needed spare money to buy materials and invest in improving her profession. Two thousand was the absolute minimum.

If she got turned down again, then she would have to find another way out. She could not exactly starve to death. Even washing dishes at a restaurant would work, and dishwashing paid two thousand a month too.

Anran had seriously looked into the going rates.

Driven to this by life, a future BOSS had become this poor. The game planners were really too much.

She had countless treasures from her days as a pirate princess, yet she could not get any of them. Just thinking about it made Anran’s heart ache, even in her dreams.

Colin’s gaze rested on Anran’s face. For a brief instant, he saw a trace of sorrow there.

With a sigh, Colin suddenly thought of his own daughter, the little girl who had died in a Resistance riot more than ten years ago. She too had been a genius with remarkable talent in mechanics. She had been just as short as the girl before him now was (Anran: (??ˇ?ˇ??)), and she too had once worn that same sorrowful expression.

There really were times when the shop got too busy to handle. If he hired an employee with fairly decent skills, then he would be able to free up more time to complete his own plans, wouldn’t he?

“All right then, since you’ve gone this far.” Colin nodded.

Anran clenched her fist hard. Success!

What a good man!

“However, things here aren’t as easy as you imagine, and my standards are very strict…”

Colin continued speaking, but the excited Anran did not care too much. As long as she could support herself and learn advanced mechanical skills at the same time, this was absolutely worth it.