Nateaser: Reborn As My Love Interest

Nati - Chapter Fourteen

I woke up determined.

I spent here an entire week but my adventure hasn't started. I didn't receive overpowered abilities or get a quest to slay dragons, but I wanted to do something that elevated this tribe above the rest. I just haven't found out how. If I watched more DIY instead of v-tubers and smithing or was better at cooking and gardening... But no easy method came to mind.

I played RPGs in my past life, but reality seemed different when I had no stats to look at, and no dice to roll. If I wanted to do something, I had to make it happen. Nobody gave hints, no limited options to pick from, I had to use my brain, and the body lent by the Goddess.

Sure, I knew about fertilizers, or how wireless radios worked, but even if I had all the tools, I couldn't magically recreate them in this world. My knowledge was too shallow for that.

This world lacked the technologies most of my skills built upon since I went to the Technical University to learn programming. Well, I fell to my death halfway through my first day so I didn't earn a master's degree anyway. I took inventory of what this world had, and what I could do with it but found nothing.

I had theoretical knowledge to propel this world into the Industrial Revolution era, I knew how steam engines worked, but couldn't build one. What tools and materials did I need to make a watertight piston? Could the blacksmith make one? Were the materials even invented yet? Every time a bright idea came up I realized, it was impossible.

But I wasn't ready to give up. Mabel supported me emotionally, she started her day by braiding my hair and then dragged me along to do some handiwork. I got a hairbrush made of wood, and she ended the day by undoing all that hair to brush it out carefully.

It felt nice, even if I was some kind of a doll for her, but since I spent the last two days with the chieftain to learn about the tribe and the world's history, she couldn't get her fill. She was at my door, grinning with her tusks visible.

"Hey Mabel, is there something you wish you had?" I asked her, as she started the braiding ritual. She took a long time to think.

"I don't know..." She always eagerly answered my questions, but this time I surprised her. "I'm free, have a tribe and lots to eat. A place to sleep, friends... I have everything."

Her sweet answer made me smile, but it didn't help.

"What do you usually play?" I interviewed her further.

"We have carved figurines or play pretend, hide and seek, or tag." She listed. "Sometimes we gather herbs or swim in the lake, but only with escorts because it's dangerous."

"How about ball games?" I asked her when she finished one side.

"Ball games?" She sounded confused. "What are those?"

"Anything. Football, volleyball, dodgeball..." I listed a few.

"Wh-what is a ball?" She asked, dropping my hair completely.

"Oh... I found my quest." Finally, something I could do and this world lacked. Once she finished my braids, I set out to find materials. Sewing fabrics together to stuff them with scraps could work, but I figured they'd be too soft and heavy. Leather came to mind, the orcs always carried around waterskins, which was relatively close to what I imagined.

A watertight shape filled with compressed air. I needed a pump, but the tribe didn't have one.

"A bellow? No, but I could use one for my bloomery." The blacksmith crushed my dreams. "Let me know if you made one."

I watched blacksmithing videos where they had something to blast air into the furnaces. Watching was an understatement, I got addicted to them at some point, but I was out of luck. Making a bellow was within my capabilities and needed the same materials as my ball.