"Huh?"
Just as Crane was thinking of how to throw out this kid who came to give him a dose of depression, he was brought back to reality by Leo's follow-up line.
'This kid…'
Even though he was getting older more quickly due to his exhausting work, and while he invested all his time in smithing, Crane felt slightly indignant as he realized what just happened.
The little kid was leading him by the nose! He was manipulating the conversation to his favor!
"Well, I'm not giving up on steel if that's what you are suggesting…"
Although Crane was irritated by the way Leo spoke, he didn't deny him speech. He was still curious about the method he had in mind.
"Naturally, my idea still revolves around steel. It's just that it may sound a bit unorthodox if you view it from a conservative point of view."
Leo could feel that Crane wasn't exactly happy with how the conversation was going. At the same time, he could also tell that he had successfully gained his complete interest! Crane would no longer just treat his words as the babbling of a kid!
Moreover, as he heard Crane's words, Leo had even more confidence in his plan. After all, while Crane seemed stubborn and unaccepting of change by sticking with steel till this point, the feelings he showed didn't portray that, he didn't really care about steel as a material as much as he cared about the consequences brought by relying on mutated metal.
If someone managed to convince him that sand would work, he wouldn't mind trying it! He only cared about the material's availability.
"Alright, go ahead."
Crane went back to his earlier resting pose as he waited. He didn't mind the method being unorthodox. In fact, his current methods could be considered unorthodox in the current era.
"I know this might seem a bit strange with how most blacksmiths are particular about the nonexistence of impurities… but, what do you think about adding other metals to your steel base?"
Leo spoke carefully as he waited for a reaction. Unlike how it was in his world, the people in this world were still particular about the basics of work like the old ages, they couldn't change the base of the pyramid to see if it would give a better result. That was one particular reason why innovation took a long while to take place.
"You want to mix other metals with steel?"
As Crane heard the base of Leo's idea, he was still wondering if the kid was just making another joke so that he could lead him to the true purpose behind this conversation, but he couldn't find any hint of emotions on his face other than seriousness.
"Yes! I know you have already reached the limits of steel. You have already discovered the optimal 'heat' to reach the best state of steel, even if you push it further it would almost be impossible to reach your target! Only by mixing in other metals with the properties or attributes that you require that you can achieve a breakthrough!"
While Leo knew that 'heat' wasn't the word used to express temperature, he spoke in a way that was more familiar in this world.
Even though steel seemed like something 'fancier' than iron, it was practically just heated iron. The only requirement was a high enough temperature to dissolve carbon into iron and before cooling it to trap the carbon inside. Naturally, carbon content had to be limited so that it wouldn't alter the steel into the point of being brittle. After all, carbon content was an impurity in itself.
Crane's methods weren't wrong to begin with, he was someone that managed to find the optimal temperature to produce high carbon steel that's most optimal to forge swords with just by trying and trying without knowing the principle behind it. Basically, he managed to reach the right temperature and time to control the carbon content within the acceptable limit through trial and error.
"Wouldn't that cause the sword to turn too brittle? Although I didn't do so myself, all the records say that those blacksmiths that used such methods ended in failure. Why do you expect that you would obtain results instead?"
Crane wasn't convinced, even as he just pushed 'pure steel' to its limit, he faced the problem of brittleness too often! If even more foreign metals that could act as impurities were added, then making wooden swords might be better.
"That's because they relied on common sense when it came to things that couldn't be considered in this way! Unlike what most blacksmiths think, I don't believe that you need to add as many foreign metals into the mixture. In fact, I think that adding about less than one part out of a hundred would prove much more useful!"
As a person who had a barely complete knowledge regarding iron refinement, Leo was guiding Crane into the path of alloy steel!
Unlike what most people think when the 'alloys', a mixture of metals didn't really have to be in equal amounts or large enough to make a difference, that was especially so when it came to alloy steel!
Just a basic 0.6% of carbon content managed to elevate iron to tough steel! Even when it came to more advanced alloy steel, the content of added metal usually hovered within 1%, with some exceptions being as high as 2%, just this little amount along with the correct mixture could elevate the steel's properties by another level!
"Even if… we do say that your words might be true. You are just suggesting a common direction with some modification, and while I can accept this as a favor, that would be only after results are proven. How do you plan to resolve your trouble if it comes before then?"
Crane's voice turned a bit gentler as he contemplated the possibility in his mind, but he couldn't help but feel perplexed regarding the young man's source of confidence…
'Finally…'
In fact, Leo was waiting for this exact moment to end his play, everything was just preparation for this point!
While he could explain the chemical principle behind steel and alloy steel, it would be hard to explain how someone like him came up with something like that. As such…
"What if I tell you that I already have a few detailed 'recipes' in mind?"
He was just going to use the protagonist as a cover once again!