While Septimus lost himself in his fantasies for the upcoming banquet, the clones, with great effort, built a small furnace, approximately the same size as those of the great Roman foundry in Spain, placing it in the most protected area of Septimus' villa.
The iron smelting technology was simply too outdated; the furnaces were too large to smelt iron ore. In addition, solid-state carburization requires temperatures that are not excessively high; modern metallurgy requires temperatures that do not exceed 900 degrees Celsius, slightly lower than the 1000 degrees Celsius required for peeled iron, a point at which steel does not melt.
Under Septimus' command, the clones placed firewood into the furnace one by one.
Charcoal and coke were ruled out; otherwise, the pig iron would simply melt, which would not serve as a carburizing process, since the catalyst would infuse into the iron.
The clones prepared containers made from crucibles, spreading coal powder, bone meal, and sawdust in a specific proportion at the bottom, then placing the iron swords inside to carburize them.
A layer of coal powder, bone meal, and sawdust was added, followed by another layer of iron swords, and so on.
Bone meal acted as a catalyst for carburization; sometimes it would seep into the iron, becoming an impurity.
In the modern era, several carburization ratios had already been discovered; every 100 catties of pig iron required 4 catties of coal powder, 20 catties of bone meal, and 5 catties of sawdust, which the clones used directly.
"Add more in the lower and upper layers, and distribute the intermediate layers evenly," Septimus thought to himself while the clones worked.
Under Septimus' direction, the blacksmith clones placed layers of carburizing agent and iron swords into the crucible, covering it with a lid and sealing it with clay.
This was called "steelmaking." Another container held sword blanks, much larger than those of iron, intended for weapons that required more than ten refinements.
The craftsman clone placed these two clay-sealed containers into the furnace and lit them.
A roaring flame burst forth, and the craftsman clones, bravely, without caring about the terrifying temperature, personally controlled the furnace.
The clones in charge of the blacksmithing area used a wooden bellows with two front and rear valves to force air into the furnace, either by pulling or pushing.
Septimus, looking at the enormous drops of sweat on the clones in charge of the blacksmithing and feeling the intense heat and effort required to obtain the best military equipment, felt it was worth it.
The steelmaking process would take several hours, and focusing all attention there was incredibly boring.
After assigning part of the clones to keep records, Septimus left.
He played hide-and-seek with some slaves and indulged in an unrestrained spa-like massage with the guest Atilia.
After a hearty meal and a nap, Septimus focused his attention on observing the progress of the smelting.
Looking at the short sword with the slightly dark blade, Septimus felt somewhat excited.
The short sword was tested against normal swords, managing to break two short swords easily before a notch appeared. In the end, the new sword managed to break eight short swords before it could break.
Septimus did not plan to equip his legions with this new sword; he did not consider it necessary, but maintaining production and storing a large quantity could serve as a secret weapon if a crisis arose.
It is important to add that with the new blacksmithing technology, weapons could be refined constantly, and it would not be difficult to obtain a few steel swords that could be used to enhance the prestige of Septimus' standard and of the clone commanders assigned to the legions in the future.
Septimus considered interesting the idea of having a few swords made of special metal customized to be used by clone soldiers who would serve as a royal guard.
The next day.
Slowly opening his eyes, Septimus noticed that the little Septimus was already standing with great energy; beside the bed was Atilia and one of the slaves, both women completely naked and sleeping.
Suppressing his desire, Septimus gently moved aside the delicate arms and legs that were wrapped around him from the two women and went to the window of the room, opening the curtains with one hand.
The landscape revealed outside the window was a beautiful garden. The place was full of vines and various flowers. Not far away there was a pond, a pavilion, and a rock garden by the water. This style was specially built by Septimus to commemorate his previous life.
Several clones in charge of gardening worked diligently in the garden. With the replication ability, Septimus thought that he was his own master and at the same time his own slave; with a forced smile, Septimus felt the need to buy slave women to take care of the daily tasks of the residence.
The slaves he currently had were his women, and Septimus could not treat them as servants.
Septimus added to his agenda the purchase of a large number of slave women to replace the clones and perform the unimportant tasks of the villa.
"Darling, you are already awake," Atilia said with her naked body while changing clothes.
Atilia got dressed and embraced Septimus. She wore a brown blouse with a V-neckline, with a glimpse of attractive white skin showing on her chest, and a short, tight skirt; her long, well-shaped legs especially drew attention.
Septimus could not help but swallow. "Why are you dressed like that?"
Roman styles of clothing were incredibly limited. Men wore short tunics and toga, and then short tunics and toga again.
In winter, they could add a sheepskin cloak, and if it was cold, several layers of cloaks.
Women had it a little better, but not much better.
After trying different sexual positions with his slaves and with Atilia, Septimus, tired of the monotonous clothing, wrote on a papyrus different styles of modern clothing that he planned to recreate and try with his women. Now, seeing Atilia wearing clothing from the modern era, he was slightly surprised.
"The truth is that it suits you very well with this outfit. If you want, I can design some just for you," Septimus said as he realized that the papyrus where he drew the clothing designs had been read by Atilia.
He had already decided to design uniforms for nurses and police from later generations, with the aim of contributing to the development of Roman fashion.
The idea of all the women in the residence walking around in nurse, police, and flight attendant uniforms, with their long legs, made Septimus unable to resist any longer.
"You are so kind," Atilia said excitedly, feeling that Septimus was becoming increasingly kind to her.
"Do you need me to help you get dressed?" Atilia asked with a smile.
"Well… alright," Septimus said while looking at the young woman's chest, remembering how Atilia helped him dress after having sexual relations. Atilia approached, picked up a toga, and helped him put it on. As he smelled the fragrance emanating from her, Septimus could not resist touching her buttocks.
Atilia also perceived the change in Septimus; she smiled sweetly and intentionally took her time helping Septimus get dressed.
"I have noticed that some people want to do naughty things," Atilia said with a smile.
"The consequences of provoking me are serious," Septimus said while his hands ran over the young woman's body without restraint, provoking a soft seductive gasp.
Feeling Septimus' mischievous hands, Atilia tried to resist symbolically before beginning to gasp.
Septimus forgot about getting dressed and began to kiss Atilia while leading her to the bed to continue with morning exercise.