The Island-Banished Noblewoman - Chapter 25 (Patreon)

I Want to Burn Bricks (4)
When it comes to repairing the broken pottery, the first thing that comes to mind is using some sort of glue.

A liquid made by boiling animal hides or tendons becomes something like slime. But when it dries, it becomes strong and solid. It would make a good adhesive to bind the pottery pieces together.

There’s also a method from the Eastern countries where pottery is mended using a mixture of lacquer and flour. Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be any trees on this island that produce lacquer, so that’s not an option here.

Another method is to use clay to bind the pieces and fire them again. This method requires another firing, which is somewhat concerning.

… Well, as it turns out, there are several ways to mend pottery. Of course, each method has its own pros and cons in terms of durability, water resistance, and difficulty.

After thinking about all this… Marylia made a decision.

“I’ll fill it with mortar~”

Yes.

Marylia decided to use mortar to repair this large pot.

Making mortar isn’t all that difficult.

You just need to add water to ash, and that’s basically it.

However, if you want to make better-quality mortar, you should knead the ash and water mixture, dry it, then fire it at a high temperature, and crush the fired product before mixing it with water and kneading it again.

The higher the temperature at which the ash is fired, the more water-resistant and durable the mortar becomes. Marylia remembered hearing this from a gardener who was repairing the barn at the Odeil family estate.

Ash is something that she produced in large quantities during the brick-firing process and in other processes up until now. And in any case, mortar will be needed when building a house out of bricks. It wouldn’t hurt to start making some now as a bit of an experiment.

So Marylia decided to go to bed for the night.

… A month had passed since she arrived on this deserted island. How are things going now in the Fractalia Kingdom? Were the peace negotiations with Balthoria successful? And what about the knights who rode beside her in battle?

… Thinking about such things would never end, but well, that’s that.

When Marylia woke up the next day, she faced her 31st day of banishment on the island…

“First, let’s make a sieve.”

She quickly got to work for her own survival and for the future iron golem!

To make mortar, good-quality ash is needed. Specifically, ash without any cinders or small stones mixed in.

And for that, Marylia decided to make a tool.

Yes, a sieve.

By passing the ash through a sieve, it would be possible to remove any small bits of charcoal or stones. So Marylia quickly began to weave the sieve by carefully splitting thin strands from the vines.

While Marylia was weaving the fine sieve, the Terracotta Golems were drying the bricks, flipping over the dried bricks, stacking them into small towers, and starting fires inside to dry the bricks further.

A couple of them went out into the forest with axes to gather firewood. Since she instructed them to head towards the coast to avoid encountering monsters, it shouldn’t be too dangerous.

… And so, the task of weaving thin strands of vine into a fine sieve, something the golems found difficult, became Marylia’s job.

Golems don’t move quickly, and their hands aren’t very dexterous. Even if you make their fingers very fine, they can only do so much in terms of detailed work. Marylia didn’t want to leave handcrafting tasks to them. It’s not efficient.

It’s best to assign simple, straightforward tasks to golems—tasks that require time or physical effort. It’s about finding the right person for the right job.

“… If I weave this into a small bag, it could be cute.”

As she wove the sieve, Marylia started to enjoy herself a little. After all, as she split the vines into thin strands and wove them together, the glossy surface of the vines aligned perfectly, creating a shiny, beautiful woven texture.

One day, Marylia hoped to remake all her baskets to be more beautiful and easier to use.

By late morning, the sieve was finished, so Marylia immediately began sifting the ash.

She sifted the ash that had accumulated in the furnace, as well as the ash she had saved up until now, and as she did, only the fine ash fell through.

“There’s quite a lot of unburned bits.”

Small pieces of charred wood and stems of grass that somehow got mixed in remained in the sieve. Indeed, if she wanted to make proper use of the ash, a sieve was essential.

“Hmm, if I burned charcoal instead of just burning firewood, there would be less leftover… but I don’t have the luxury for that right now.”

Ideally, she would like to make charcoal. Especially with winter approaching, charcoal would be desirable.

… Charcoal leaves less residue and produces less smoke when burned. When winter comes, they will have to hunker down in a brick house, but if it gets too smoky inside, it would be quite the problem.

Also, charcoal can produce a higher temperature flame than firewood, which would be necessary if she plans to forge iron someday. Eventually, a large amount of charcoal will be needed. At some point, they would have to make charcoal anyway.

But… well, there isn’t the capacity for that now.

Making charcoal requires partially burning firewood. In simple terms, it involves roasting wood in a sealed environment. For example, packing firewood into a large pot and setting it on fire, or lighting a pile of firewood and covering it entirely with mud… or building a charcoal kiln.

Either way, it requires labor, effort, and resources. For now, the priority is the brick house and the tools to tan hides.

Marylia should focus on these two goals for the time being… But, she’ll keep the idea of making charcoal in the back of her mind.

Once the ash was sifted, it was mixed with water and kneaded. Because the mixture would harden if left alone, she needed to work quickly from here.

“Umm… Let's make balls.”

Once these ash balls have dried and hardened, they will be fired again and dissolved in water for use. For now, Marylia decided to shape them into balls.

Marylia was skilled at making mud balls. With remarkable speed, she kneaded the ash and formed it into dumplings, feeling a sense of satisfaction.

"Once they're thoroughly dry, I’ll bake them... Let's also fire some pottery while I am at it."

Since she was at it, Marylia began crafting several small pottery items.

These included a trowel, a simple board, small bowls, and jars. The trowel and board would be used when applying mortar. The bowls were always handy to have around, so she made a few. Since small items dry quickly, it wouldn’t take much time. As for the jars, they might come in handy, and if not, she could always use them as flower vases!

As she worked, the sky began to darken. The wind also picked up.

"Oh my, oh dear, oh dear... This is terrible."

Rain was coming. Marylia realized this and commanded the golems to "bring in the bricks that were drying." She called back the Mud Golems that had been excavating clay, and they all rushed to store the bricks under the drying shelter. Under the limited roof space, the bricks took up most of the room, leaving little space for the golems—but it couldn't be helped.

"Let's finish cooking before the rain really starts."

Marylia hurriedly cooked using the fire that had been drying the bricks.

She boiled water for sterilization, filled bottles, threw dried cockatrice meat and wild herbs into a pot, and quickly cooked a meal. She then rushed back to her bed with the pot, water, and bowls.

As Marylia brought everything to her bed and even carried over some vines, the rain began to fall softly.

"Oh, it's started to rain."

The wind was a bit strong. Since the bed's roof wasn’t very large, she expected some rain to blow in—but that was inevitable.

"Well, there's plenty to do. Hehe..."

Marylia smiled as she began weaving baskets and bags from the vines.

… Such crafts turned out to be enjoyable. Especially in the forest, listening to the gentle sound of rain, it was quite relaxing. Originally, Marylia enjoyed embroidery. She also loved making mud balls... Ultimately, she realized while making golems that she simply enjoyed "creating things with her own hands."

"... The kids are so diligent."

As for the golems, they were under the shelter, flipping the bricks made earlier in the day. The bricks had dried enough to hold their shape, so the golems were turning them over to reduce their contact with the ground and speed up the drying process.

Since it was a rainy day, the bricks weren't likely to dry completely... but the golems diligently tended to them regardless. They were quite meticulous.

Marylia occasionally glanced at this scene, but she continued weaving baskets and bags from the vines.

The rain didn’t stop all day, so by the end of it, Marylia had completed one basket, a small bag, three fish traps, and one mat. She was quite satisfied with her productive day of crafting.

As the sun began to set, and it became too dark to do anything, she drank the soup from the pot, had some water, and quickly went to bed.

… In the middle of the night, the wind grew stronger, causing the trees to sway. The bed shook unsettlingly from time to time. Occasionally, the rain even blew in from the sides of the small roof, so she used the newly made mat as a makeshift wall.

… It worked quite well!

Despite being disturbed by the rain and wind, the next day—her 32nd day of banishment—dawned bright and sunny.

"Ah... I'm so glad it cleared up~ Two days of rain in a row would have been too much."

With a stretch, Marylia got up, feeling relieved. Sunny days were always welcome, especially until the brick house was completed!

Checking on the lumps of ash she had prepared as mortar, she found they were still slightly damp inside. Given the rain yesterday, this was understandable.

The pottery she made yesterday wasn’t dry either, so she decided to place them near the fire to dry. Since the bricks also needed drying, it was convenient.

… And so.

"Alright, let's fire the first batch of bricks..."

Feeling a bit nervous, Marylia decided it was time to fire the first batch of bricks, which should have fully dried by now.