The next day.
Alaric was behind the pub, seated on a small log with a blueprint he had drawn overnight.
Written on this blueprint, was a detailed step on how he was going to build a fridge, or rather, a small space that would constantly produce cold steams like the workings of a fridge from his world.
He had been doing it for two days already, having Arthur and Ava cut down trees that he would later use to build the outer layer of the machine.
"Okay, I have about seven crystals from the goblins, adding that to the metal coils, I should be able to run a smooth system that spreads the cold all around the room if done well..."
He voiced out, sanding in the middle of the huge lines he had drawn on the ground. This was supposed to be the foundation of the project he was going to build.
The people from inside the pub have been watching him for days, seeing as he was single handedly, with the help of his knight, putting together a huge square shaped building made from tree logs.
Once he was done with the outer layer of the fridge, he moved towards the complicated part, which was the inner works.
For this, the crystal he took from the goblins came in handy.
"From what I read, these are called mana crystals, as long as they touch anything that has mana, they would easily absorb it to their capacity. So if I were to put these crystals in contact with ice, it will absorb not just the mana but also its properties."
Alaric said out loud while drawing the workings on the large paper.
"The problem is, though it will emit the coldness I need, I can't say for sure it will spread evenly inside the fridge like I need it to. Too much and it may cause over freezing, too little, and the mana will go to waste. Meaning I need to think of a way I can let the ice come in, but also reach needed areas before going out."
A smile formed on his face, as he stared at the paper, "I've got it." He said with fulfillment.
On the fourth day-
Ava stood at a distance, watching as Alaric was working along on the fridge, though she had no idea what that word meant, she still knew exactly what it was supposed to be.
It wasn't just her, everyone in the estate who passed by were just as shocked. They didn't know what he was doing, yet...the fact he was working so hard was not something they could ignore.
'I admit, when Lord Alaric said he wanted to build this, I thought to myself, there's no way he would actually go through with it, he's not that serious. But he has been here for four days straight, refusing to do anything else... is this really the lord I grew up with?' Ava he thought to herself as she watched.
Admiration? Or perhaps was she just shocked to see he was doing something that didn't involve breaking people's property?
With a sigh, she moved closer, entering the huge fridge that was big enough to fit ten people. Alaric was inside, setting the ice imbued crystals inside the walls, while covering them up with planks before nailing it, leaving enough space for the chilling mist to slip out.
The cold air poured out of the wooden fridge like a creeping fog, swirling around Ava's feet as she entered.
Her skin prickled with goosebumps, the crisp bite of frost a stark contrast to the summer heat outside.
The mana crystals, embedded deep in the wooden walls, glowed faintly with an icy blue hue, casting soft reflections on the oiled planks as Alaric adjusted the final coil, his fingers moving with careful precision
'Its... cold.' Ava said to herself, standing at the entrance, "Lord Alaric, do you need my help?" She asked.
Without looking back, he replied, "Yeah, I want you to go outside and tip the empty crystal down, tell me if it turns cold right after."
"Right."
Ava went back outside, walking to the side of the wooden fridge. She could see the empty crystal nailed to the wall, just underneath it by a few inches, was a metal coil, connected to another ice imbued crystal on the inside.
Taking Alaric's order into consideration, Ava tipped the crystal downward, allowing the head to touch the coil.
Almost immediately, the crystal turned blue, and ice mist began to escape from it.
Every ice imbued crystal in the wooden fridge went back to their empty state; the crystal outside completely sucked them dry.
"OKAY! TAKE IT BACK UP!" Yelled Alaric.
Ava did so, putting the crystal back to its initial position, to touch another coil which then allowed the ice to flow back inside the wooden fridge.
A small smile formed on Alaric's face. He had managed to fix the over freezing issue.
Two more days passed and Alaric had finally completed the wooden fridge. He added insulation with wool, ventilation, shelves and even oiled the wood to prevent moisture damage.
Almost immediately after he was done with the fridge that stood just as tall as the Tavern, Alaric began to upload the wine barrels from the shop inside the wooden fridge inside.
About 45 barrels were placed in there, each one carefully placed on the shelf.
...
"No way, it's not warm anymore!" One of the customers said as he chugged down on the wine in front of him.
"Don't tell me, this was what Lord Alaric was working on?"
"Hell no, he's not a loser like I thought?"
"I don't know why, but this tastes so much better! Yo boss man, more!"
The pub owner sold more than he ever did before Alaric introduced the fridge. People knew it was the son of the Baron that did it... though it was hard to believe, everyone saw it with their own eyes, hence they had no way of doubt.
Drinks after drinks, the pub master made a lot of money, his entire month's batch of wines finished in less than three days. And people kept requesting for more. The magical fridge was saving his business.
Finally, a new badge of wines came in, and as expected, they were warm.
It was time to use the wooden fridge that Lord Alaric had gifted to him.
Upon getting there to transfer the wine, he found that the fridge had been locked.
"Eh?" The pub master was surprised, looking to the side he could see Alaric smiling at him while Ava simply shook her head in pity.
"L...lord Alaric, why is the cooling building locked?" The pub master asked.
"Oh you silly man, you look so confused..." Alaric's expression went demonic, "Surely you didn't think you were going to keep using it for free, now did you?".
"F....free?" The pub master could tell something was coming.
"Ahh~ my poor heart, I spent days on this, do you realize how close I was to dying, my mom even asked if I was skipping puberty?" Alaric walked to the fridge, and rested his back on it.
"I ...I can give you a wine discount, on the house." The pub master tried to negotiate.
"Do I look like a joke to you?" Alaric replied with an annoyed tone.
"Free drinks!"
"Give your momma." Alaric scoffed.
"You can marry my daughter!" The pub master yelled.
"I don't want another you near me, shut up!" Yelled Alaric.
This caused the man to flinch.
Ava pitted the man so much she just had to look away.
"W..what do you want then? My customers already love the cold wine, please my lord, have mercy on my business." The pub master begged.
"AHH, now you're talking." Alaric walked closer, placing his hand on the man's shoulder with a smile -
"Clear the entire debt I have with you, and you can have the fridge all to yourself, what do you say? Old friend."
He pulled out a contract.
..
[A\N: Please vote for this book]