Steel and Mana

Chapter 323 – Engine Crafting

Chapter 323 – Engine Crafting

In the past few days, our personal workshop has been our new home as Sasha and I began creating the prototype engine for the very first biplane in the making. Sparks were flying everywhere while Sasha operated the forge as I watched her bare-handedly hold glowing metal as if it were nothing but dough. Honestly, I could not get used to it, and I chuckled every time because, for her, it was not even forging. More like cooking or baking. But instead of making something tasty, the end result would be a metal contraption. Right now, we stood at opposite ends of the forge, our movements synchronized as if choreographed ahead of time, working together as a perfect pair.

"This is going smoother than I expected," I murmured, my voice carrying both excitement and a tinge of apprehension. Usually, quick work is a sign of cutting corners, but not this time around. I just couldn’t chase away the feeling. It was something like a habit, that is all. The thing that proved to my mind that it wasn’t a hurried hack job was that my hands were covered in soot and oil, holding a schematic, checking our latest progress after Sasha cooled down the completed component.

“Just follow the plans; it isn’t that hard to put it together.” Her laugh was warm and confident as she waved a hand, summoning a formation, controlling the flame within the forge, making it swirl as an obedient pet around her arm. "I’ll handle the shaping. Just keep those measurements precise. I’m not fixing your math."

"When have I ever made a mistake?" I snorted with a grin, earning an arched eyebrow from her before she began giggling just the same. She was in her element. I could see it in her glowing eyes; she loved this part the most. She was a born Forgemaster.

A day later, the core of our engine was on the workbench between us. For now, it was still a skeletal framework of metal rods and plates, meticulously aligned and awaiting my wife's transformative touch. She leaned in, examining them once, her fiery magic illuminating the dull steel as her hands hovered over the selected rods. With a whispered incantation, her lips moving slowly, the formation around her wrist changed, transferring over. The next moment, the metal glowed a dull orange before softening under her influence, speaking without looking at me.

“Hold it steady,” she instructed, and I was ready. I stepped in without hesitation, using a set of clamps to secure the piece while Sasha began to shape it into the perfect form I had designed.

Her fingers moved with experience, pressing and stretching the metal as if it were clay. Tsk... This was almost like cheating. The heat of her magic was also contained, and I could be so close that I nearly touched it, yet it didn’t burn me. It allowed her to mold the material into the perfect shape needed for the engine's core, following my blueprint from memory, without making any mistakes.

"This curve here... needs to direct airflow cleanly around the pistons," she muttered to herself, repeating what I wrote at the edges of my schematics. Her memory by now was rivaling mine... if it came to topics that she enjoyed, that is.

“Yeah.” I nodded as I watched her work. “Perfect. That’ll reduce turbulence significantly."

“We will only know it for sure when it takes to the sky,” she mumbled, but her voice betrayed her excitement. Once the selected piece cooled to its final shape, she stepped back, wiping her brow. "Your turn. Let’s see if I managed to forge everything to your specifics, and then we can continue assembling it!"

“If not, I will be honestly surprised.” I joked while moving the rest of the completed pieces to the prototype.

With careful movements, I began assembling the core components she had crafted since we started building it. While doing it, it was like assembling a Lego set; my mind raced, calculating the tolerances and stress points one last time before sealing everything. Every nut and bolt clicked into place with a satisfying assurance, proving that Sasha had indeed crafted everything to perfection. There were no issues at all; nothing had to be redone or forged a second time. It just worked.

Of course, as we worked, we weren’t only building a single engine. We also designed and forged the tools for future replication, the same ones that our workers will use to create and assemble an identical engine. We were making all the devices that would allow future mechanics to recreate our work with the same precision. Sasha gestured toward a corner of the workshop, where a pile of half-formed tools still awaited her attention to shape them to perfection.

"We’ll need a set of dies for the pistons," she exhaled, waving with a glowing hand. "No one’s going to shape those by hand like me. So we need a tool for it, or I would spend more time in the forge than with our kids if I have to do it in the future, too."

"Agreed," I nodded, already finishing the design for it yesterday. "And a forge press for the casing."

After the engine began taking its final shape, we took a break and moved on to continue creating the tools. Within only hours, the first prototype die was taking form under her hands. Sasha used her flames to superheat a block of metal, and I hammered it against a custom mold we crafted according to her specifications. The sound of steel meeting steel echoed through the workshop, a piece of rhythmic music while I kept hammering.

“What?” I asked, stopping once, wiping my sweat, standing there half-naked. Thanks to Sasha, I didn’t need to be afraid of burning myself because as long as she was in control, no sparks or flames got near to my skin.

“Nothing.” She blushed like a little girl, looking away. “You are distracting me. Stop it!”

“Do I?” I grinned, looking down at me. “Babe, I can't stop working~!" I said teasingly, "Wel... I can if you want... Hmm, we can do it quick if you want to have some fun, relaxing time, but I think I would burn my peepee.”

“Idiot.” She chortled, glancing at me with one eye. “Focus on the work! We will have fun in the bath. And stop distracting me by sweating all over your body!”

“Sacchy! I can’t help it!” I answered with a shrug, spreading my arms.

“Heeeey!”

“Bleh!” She stuck her tongue out at me, making my hurt expression fade, replaced by a chuckling one.

...

....

......

By the next dawn, after another allnighter, the engine was complete. It turned out to be a gleaming, compact marvel of my engineering and Sasha’s magic. The workshop was filled with not only the completed block but also the multiple tools we created alongside it, ready to be sent away for reproduction.

We wheeled the prototype to a testing rig outside, and we were ready to add the last component: the fuel. The contraption we had cobbled together from spare parts and reinforced with Sasha’s welding magic would hold the engine steady while we tested its functionality. I just hoped it wouldn’t blow up on us, nor would it start rattling, fall apart, or anything like that. It... shouldn’t. But you just can’t say to your brain to shut up and stop worrying. Humans don’t work that way, I guess.

“Moment of truth,” I exhaled, my hand steady while filling it up with the first batch of refined kerosene.

“Yeah... and...” Sasha stood beside me, her flames already sparking in anticipation to shield us from a possible burst of fire. “If it explodes, I’m blaming you.”

“Fair enough.” I grinned and began cranking.

The engine coughed once, twice... trice... then, slowly but steadily, it roared to life. A deep, steady hum filled the air, and both of us stared in actual awe as the flywheel spun with the perfect rhythm I predicted. Sasha laughed first, the sound bubbling out of her uncontrollably. Hearing it, I joined her, the tension of the previous days melting away in our assured triumph. It works. It just works. Of course, it does!

“We did it!” She exclaimed, throwing her arms around my neck and snuggling up to me.

“Duh! I plan well; you make them even better.” I hugged her back, planting a kiss on her cheek. “I had no doubts about it."

“Sure, sure.” She muttered, returning the kiss.

As the engine purred in the background, we just stood there, watching, letting it exhaust all the fuel I added and come to a halt on its own.

“This is just the beginning,” Sasha muttered softly, staring at the horizon. “We still need to put it into the body Kraus and the others are making. That will be the actual test.”

“I am positive they won’t make mistakes either.” I agreed, slapping her butt once, starting to knead it. My gaze was fixed on her engine now, feeling that our success needed a celebration. “Still... one step at a time. But yeah... this is going to be big."

“I guess something else is big now?” She looked back at me, pushing her bottom into my palms. “I guess we can do a little celebration.”

“Here?” I asked, squeezing her even stronger.

“Nyah... Nooo, this is too open... I am not Luna! Plus, we are filthy...”

“I like it when you are filthy,” I added, pulling her into a hug and pressing up against her from behind.

“...” She hesitated a little but didn’t protest while my hands were slipping into her dirty working clothes, staining her chest with grime, “Then... be quick about it...” She moaned once, leaning forward, inviting me further in.

“With how pent-up I feel...” I added, watching her expectant, blushing face, “I guess I will be.”