“OK Nairi, that should be the list of ongoing projects I have. Is there any particular one you’d like to work on in my absence?” I gave her the illusion of free choice- this was actually a test. I’d be a crappy teacher if I didn’t occasionally torment gift my students with the opportunity to prove themselves, right?

After tilting her cute head sideways as she read the list, she absent-mindedly replied. “Either finish the drop-hammer forge project or get started on the steel boat project…”

“Why?” I asked with a smirk. It was then Nairi knew this was no casual conversation. She started to really think in earnest.

Nairi stammered a bit. “Because we… we can immediately increase our food yield by hunting the mana-beasts in the river.” She then collected herself. “But at the end of the day, improving the quality of our steel output would be the most important.”

“Correct. In fact, the quality of the steel we’re outputting would be insufficient against those aquatic mana-beasts. Sending peop