TTND 83

CHAPTER 83

A Poor Clubhouse Gets Better, and the Inside Gets Stronger

‘Don’t make me laugh, you humans. Just me building this place should be enough. Why should I care about your health and long lives?’

That’s what Buremhyde was thinking, but his words didn’t match his thoughts.

“If you cover the front and back with aluminum plates and seal it….”

“That might work for now, but it’ll rust and leak eventually. Don’t use sandstone. Instead, melt silicon dioxide and borax at high heat, turn that into glass fibers, and use that for all insulation.”

“Glass fiber, huh? That’s kind of difficult.”

“Can’t do it?”

“I didn’t say that! I just meant it’s a bit tricky…”

The truth was, no one had ever given Buremhyde orders before.

When he first built the clubhouse, he thought Idnia would be grateful. He didn’t expect her to point out things like a client asking for changes. It hurt his pride.

In fact, the house Buremhyde built was more advanced than the mansions of nobles and royals.

‘Ha! These primitive humans never even thought about insulation before. They just stacked rocks and wood together.’

But now that he finally added insulation, Idnia complained about asbestos being dangerous and told him to replace it.

‘These clueless humans never used insulation before, and now they’re telling me which material is healthy or not? Ridiculous. Still… she has a point.’

Buremhyde didn’t want to admit it, so he stalled for time.

Then Idnia said:

“Professor Lachias has really good taste in design.”

“What?!”

Buremhyde knew being provoked by something like this was childish, but still—it stung.

They were both stuck working at this academy, but hearing someone say another teacher had better taste? That hurt his pride.

‘This girl…! Just because she’s from a powerful family that once produced an emperor doesn’t mean I can’t crush her if I wanted!’

But then he remembered—

‘If she dies, the Wizard Ball team is doomed.’

And honestly…

‘Do kids these days think Lachias has better taste than me? No way. I’ve worked with elves in Lancaster and seen all kinds of fine crafts. There’s no way that fallen angel has better style than me. She must’ve said it just to provoke me. Yeah, that’s it.’

Still, he was annoyed.

Then Idnia added:

“He looked at my simple design and made something so beautiful and functional. Professor Lachias is…”

“Aaargh! Fine! How about this?!”

Buremhyde instantly created glass fiber.

But Idnia frowned.

“Even though this is glass fiber, it still looks like asbestos. And asbestos is dangerous because its sharp fibers stay in your body. Glass fiber is similar in that way.”

Glass fiber is better than asbestos because it doesn’t break up into dust as easily, but it’s still a harsh material.

“Maybe we should use wood instead. If we puff it up into a porous structure, it’s healthier. It’s called lignin porous material… What do you think?”

“What?! Are you treating me like your servant? You keep changing your mind!”

Buremhyde was shocked, but Idnia didn’t back down.

“This is better for our health. If we’re going to build it anyway, let’s do it right. This is the first room for the Dynaise Wizard Ball club. If it’s a nice clubhouse, everyone will admire your design sense.”

“Hmph. Foolish humans praising my taste doesn’t matter to me. I’m only doing this because I’m a perfectionist.”

Even while grumbling, Buremhyde followed her request—he put away the glass fiber and brought in wood.

‘Ugh, annoying. But… I can’t ignore this. I remember the plague in Albion…’

In the past, Buremhyde had caused trouble by creating a spell that turned copper into gold. That destroyed the local economy.

So he couldn’t take her health concerns lightly.

He went into the nearby forest to gather wood.

“You’re not cutting down trees, right?”

“I’m collecting fallen ones. We can make the lignin material from scrap wood. No need to cut fresh trees.”

He fired a lightning spell to dry out the wood and kill bugs, but—because he was annoyed—he messed up and started a fire.

“Oh no…”

“Just a small mistake.”

He quickly put out the fire with magic and used telekinesis to squeeze and compress the wood.

Just like Idnia had used her martial arts technique to compress wood, Buremhyde used magic to make a sponge-like insulation material.

He then attached aluminum sheets with a protective coating to the sides to create wall panels.

Even with the mistake, it was an impressive magical skill.

“Ooh, this is great. But…”

Idnia tapped the wall and looked at the windows.

“These windows are made from pure silica glass. That kind of glass sags under gravity and melts in the rain. It’d be better to add soda ash, lime, and some boron. If you mix aluminum oxide too, it’ll be stronger.”

She gave him more instructions, not impressed by his magical work.

“So many demands. What amounts do you want?”

“Depends on the use. Don’t overdo it. Make it balanced.”

“You want me to make it perfect and stylish, right?”

“Well, you’re using local soil for the materials, so extract just enough. Add more aluminum oxide if needed. Adjust it like glass craftsmen do when checking clarity and stickiness.”

Buremhyde groaned.

“What amazing instructions. Back in my days as Dragon Lord of Lancaster, I never imagined this…”

Still, he did as she said, mixing the ingredients with melted glass.

And—surprisingly—it worked.

The glass became clearer and stronger.

“Huh?”

He used magic to shape it and was impressed.

‘Wow, it came out clean. I never realized additives made such a difference.’

Idnia’s knowledge of materials might be even better than his in some areas.

“Yes, this is perfect. I wish the dorms were built like this too.”

Idnia finally seemed satisfied.

“Now I should bring in my stuff. I’m thinking of setting up my alchemy kit.”

“Wait, alchemy kit?”

Buremhyde was shocked.

“In a Wizard Ball clubhouse?!”

“But we have to run a garden, right?”

“What does that have to do with alchemy?”

Then Buremhyde suddenly understood.

“I want to clean and process the vegetables better.”

“Process?”

“I didn’t just give students dirty turnips. I washed, peeled, and added dressing. That’s why it worked.”

“Wait… are you using the garden as an excuse to install alchemy gear?”

“What do you mean excuse? Think about it. You gave us the garden to improve health and nutrition. Processing the harvest is part of that.”

“Uh…”

Buremhyde realized now—he had underestimated her.

He thought if students were hungry, they’d work harder at Wizard Ball.

But Idnia used that as a way to fit everything into “club activities.”

Now, Buremhyde would be responsible for whatever she did as the supervising professor.

‘This kid is scary smart… How is she so experienced?’

He watched in disbelief as she installed the alchemy equipment.

Meanwhile…

“So this is the result, huh?”

Principal Ludwig looked around the impressive clubhouse, the Wizard Ball room, and the greenhouse with glass windows.

“That pot was made by you and Lachias, right?”

“Yeah, but now there’s a roof I’ve never seen before. Aluminum frame, nice glass. The bluish tint means there’s a lot of iron.”

“Iron in glass?”

“Not pretty, but good for blocking UV rays. Buremhyde—this glass is way better than what you used to make. Before, you just fixed it with magic when it melted or sagged.”

“But now you’ve made it properly. Was this Idnia’s idea?”

“Yes, you’re right, Principal Ludwig.”

Buremhyde nodded.

“Seems like she’s more into gardening than the sport. I’m curious what she’ll do next.”

Ludwig was impressed.

“I didn’t expect much from humans, but she’s interesting. Must be because she’s half-demon?”

“Shh. Don’t say that. A student’s heritage isn’t our business.”

“But there are full demons among the students too. If they don’t know what they are… should we ask them?”

Buremhyde asked carefully, and Ludwig frowned.

“If they don’t know, we shouldn’t be the ones to tell them. No need to stir up trouble.”

“Hmph.”

“No matter what demons try, they won’t mess with Dynaise Academy.”