Volume II Extra 2.3
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Translator: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
「Another crazy amount of ore, I see.」
「Well yeah, I make a lotta things.」
Two days after confirmation with Haruna. Artiem let out a voice of astonishment at the huge amount of magic steel and mythril being carried in. Dismissing her surprise as usual, Hiroshi examined the quality of the ore for refinement.
「Sure it’s okay to be buying all this ore？」
「In a financial sense? Or in a connections sense？」
「Well, both, but I guess more on the financial side？」
「Money? No problemo. Magic steel, mythril, if ya buy ‘em they’re friggin’ expensive but in the ore stage they’re just flabby ‘n cheap.」
No one was sure whether to laugh or cry at Hiroshi’s little lecture on supply and demand. It was reasonable to expect ore to be cheap, as the craftsmen who could refine it were scarce. From the average level of craftsmen, simply refining and processing these types of material was already enough to give you a first class ranking amongst the people.
「Hold up.」
「Mm？」
「So if they’re flabby, that means a decent amount of people dig for ore?」
「Yeah, maybe? Ya need quite the skill ‘n intuition for diggin’ up high content ore, but if ya find a vein and just dig that out then that’s an easier way out for some.」
Haruna gaped at this revelation. In actuality, you could dig up god steel in the game if you were at least Novice 70. However, not only did the quality of ore become exceedingly horrible; digging it up would simply leave it in your storage until you could actually get your refinement skill up.
That seemed to be the same in this world, so even for greedy craftsmen, there was quite a bit of flabby ore.
「Hey, Hiro.」
「Wazzup？」
「And you have no problem using the hell out of your connections?」
「There ain’t gonna be no problem if it’s just ore, mate. Plus even if I come at it with this speed, the other people apparently have been beatin’ down prices ‘n savin’ flabby ore.」
「The heck is the Farlane royal family doing……」
Tatsuya held his head at how unpredictable the Farlane royal family was. Did they not consider how long they would be holding onto that flabby ore if Hiroshi had not ordered it?
「I think they planned to forge it at some point, mate.」
「Ah～、yes, I see……」
「Actually, leavin’ aside when they planned to, I’d be usin’ the materials around here for this ‘n that anyway. Plus bringin’ in ingredients helps ya learn more about the price.」
「Yeah, that doesn’t sound troublesome either……」
Azuma Workshop had a lot of expectations showered on it. Maybe their growth rate wasn’t as high as Haruna’s, but Teres and the other two had already surpassed the universal average for potionmaking and alchemy. Also, there were plenty of things here that couldn’t be made anywhere else. Most of all, it was extremely advantageous to craft and deliver low-level expendables with a steady output like blaze stones or Class 8 antidotes in terms of achievements.
Azuma Workshop, or rather the three craftsmen working there were seen as an astonishing spectacle by the palace, the Adventurers’ Association, The Meriza Company, and so on. As it had been all but proven that leaders possessing superior skill would indicate the amount of change, various organizations were plotting to see if they could force potential apprentices into Azuma Workshop who had been holding their breath in anticipation. Then again, as they couldn’t quite contact said leaders, everyone other than the royal family (who hadn’t even thought about this) was in a deadlock with this plan, holding their heads in exasperation.
In order to return to their world, it appeared that shuffling around here and there was showing some success. Of course, the people in question were not thinking about this deeply in the slightest.
「Can’t have too many people blocking the way here, so could anyone other than Makoto-san, Bro, and Haruna-san git outta here for a bit？」
「Understood.」
「I will go out and work.」
「Tell me what happens later, okay Boss Man?」
The three of them obediently went out to make some condiments. Mio went off to the construction room to make her bow. As there was nothing to currently do, Artiem wondered what she could accomplish before coming to a conclusion.
「Ah, then I’ll go out to the village and check on the progress of the soy sauce and miso storages.」
Artiem quickly thought of something she could do, motioning to go outside. Also, there was a simple reason as to why Goivejon and Foeldan were not here: they had gone to make soy sauce and miso storages with Hiroshi’s blueprints. Miso and soy sauce could very well become a pivotal factor in gaining the currency of the other region, and even as they spoke, many elves in the village were working on the process. Stabilized production at such a time would be difficult, but the fermentation was proceeding for the first test subject without any issues at the current time, so everyone was expecting it to be the next local specialty after sake. Some of the less patient people with time on their hands had already begun plans to make new fields for production increase in soybeans, finding old areas of land to open.
Incidentally, there was a simple reason as to why that group of people in the area wanted foreign goods: if there were no foreign goods, then they couldn’t buy marine products or curry powder for dashi. It went without saying that Azuma Workshop was not going to offer free condiments or marine products to satisfy all four races living in that area. However, these folks in this region really had a thing for Japanese-style food in general, taking a liking to the dried sardines, oceanic bonito, and kelp for dashi that Hiroshi brought over and willing to go to whatever lengths it took in order to get their hands on some stabilized crops. Consequently, they wanted to use such condiments for themselves and were working incredibly diligently on making soy sauce.
「Alright then, let’s get some of these ingredients outta the way with Haruna-san’s rapier.」
「Mm, please.」
「Well then again, I’mma just be usin’ all the ingredients in one fell swoop.」
Hiroshi said jokingly as he put more and more ingredients in the smelting furnace. This was a highly-functional, one-of-a-kind furnace composed of bricks that contained just enough sand in circulation. Layotte was forced to collect said bricks. Then again, Hiroshi barely had any attachment to it, and it wasn’t even all that high-performance to one of his caliber.
Incidentally, the reason Layotte was forced to collect the bricks was because he had grievances with Makoto and tried to get Hiroshi to make him a magic steel-made weapon for him. Honestly, this was all on Layotte.
「Alright, time to get started, mate～」
He said in a disheartened tone but with a serious expression as he pulled out the completed alloy, inserting the hammer into the heatened ore. As per usual, Hiroshi’s gaze was piercing enough to convince you it had a literal edge to it. Earnestly, gently, boldly, delicately, he continued his work.
Not long afterward, the first product, Haruna’s new partner, the rapier was completed.
「Complete. Try swingin’ it a bit.」
「Mm, alright.」
Encouraged by Hiroshi, Haruna lightly traced the shape of the blade, recalling the first time she had gotten her weapon made. Unlike then, this time there were no issues whatsoever, and no need to adjust anything. But it didn’t end there; this weapon was also astonishingly comfortable in her hand and easier to control than ever before. In addition, just from swinging the weapon around, she was able to tell that the capabilities this time around far outstripped any weapon she had before.
「Amazing, it’s perfect……」
「Well that’s cause we’ve been together a while ‘n I’ve been watchin’ ya fight enough to remember. It ain’t gonna be unbalanced anymore, mate.」
Haruna had to give an impressed look at Hiroshi for creating the perfect balance in one go with no need for revision. She had thought about how happy she was to have Hiroshi on her team countless times, but especially this time around.
「Well, I’ll explain the special functions later, but first let’s get to the next one. Bro, it’s yer turn.」
「Heck yeah, I’ll leave it to you then.」
「Alright, let’s a go～」
Once again pumping in a crazy amount of mana, Hiroshi began molding the rod, the sound of a hammer reverbating through the room. He designed the conduction line, paying special attention to the increase in mana and control support and making slots in several points to attach mana crystals. He then compiled the assistance ingredients, changing the design line to the shape best suited for magic effect, and then lastly laid a strong enchantment as it cooled.
「Then all I gotta do is stick mana crystals in here……」
He placed the mana crystals in a transforming pentagram formation, and the crystals lit up with a glow. After minimally adjusting the flow of energy, Hiroshi made the finishing touch with an enchantment. Lightly activating it, Hiroshi confirmed there were no defects and handed it straight to Tatsuya.
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