I Made A Railgun With Lightning Magic Chapter 9: 1.1.09 - If Only I Had A Hammer

Read chapter 9 of I Made A Railgun With Lightning Magic by Josh_Shoniix on NovelPedia.

I had my chin propped on my left hand while the elbow was resting on the kitchen table. The smell of floral soap was wafting through the open window as the heat from the summer sun made the whole place smell more like Bath and Body Works. The smell was a welcoming change to the smell of old linen that I had gotten used to. I was quickly browsing through Magical Beast Compendium to see if anything interesting jumped out at me. I had asked Marta to buy some animal fat right before we left Hollow's Reach to make good on that promise I made to myself on making soap. But I also thought it might be something fun that could keep all the kids occupied for a while, so that I would have the peace of mind to get through the books I just bought. I had demonstrated how to make soap from lye water and animal fat. While normally the soap needs to be cured to make it last longer, I had waited just two days for it to be hard enough to demonstrate its effects. I quickly added that wild flowers can be added during the process to give the soap the scent of flowers and the girls immediately got interested. I made sure that only the older kids and Marta handled the lye as it was caustic, and the other kids could help with the safer steps such as cutting and stirring the melted animal fat. Our setup would have been considered child labour by modern society but thank goodness no one was around to judge. I made sure to educate and warn Marta on the dangers of lye water if handled improperly. While she appreciated the gesture, she only wondered how I knew about it, which I promptly attributed to one of the old books I read in the orphanage. I could tell she definitely did not believe me. This gave me the needed peace and quiet in the last two weeks to get through the majority of the two books I bought, Fundamentals of Spellcraft , and Enchanting Basics . The only person who was not in on the soap factory was Gallum. I had seen him going through the final preparations in his room in the last few nights, though he barely had much to carry in his leather bag. I had insisted Marta used some of the funds we got from selling the extra boar meat to get Gal a decent bag and some change of clothes. I assured her there would be more where that came from, though I only got a disapproving look with that statement. Gallum stopped by the kitchen when I was almost done flipping through the last book. "I leave the day after tomorrow. Garrick's cousin runs the caravan doing the supply run to Tidehold, and it leaves then." Gallum said. "They said I could ride for free if I tend to the beast and help with setting up camp every night." "You know there are safer options than being an adventurer" I quietly added, knowing that would do nothing to dissuade him. "But I also won't be able to see the world, I want to see what's beyond Hollow's Reach and more!" Gallum said with that hint of wanderlust in his voice. "Well, now at least Marta can't blame me for not trying" I said teasingly. "Also thanks" Gallum said as he showed off the leather sack he was holding in his hands. I did not tell him it was my idea but he was sharp enough to guess that the money probably came from all the boars I hunted. He also probably guessed that my core was awakened but it was a Don't Ask, Don't Tell kind of situation; and we were a tight-knit bunch. I could trust him to keep the secret. "Well, try not to get yourself killed. Or at least wait till I could come to Tidehold one day" I said. "I thought you said there were safer ways" he chuckled before turning solemn. "Take care of Marta and the other kids when I leave. It should normally be Merv after me but we both know that's not the case." I just nodded as Gallum left the kitchen to finalise his preparation. I also got up as it was time for me to start my own preparations for the next phase of my plan. I walked towards the woods as I mentally recapped what I had learnt from the book regarding spell craft in this world. I had lucked out with the f