Chapter 55

Then, about 6 hours later.

Under the bright sunlight from the slightly tilting sun, Ichiro stood in front of the mountain of compost, standing tall.

Next to the compost were bags of lime, and near the entrance of the house were a refrigerator and a generator still in their packaging, along with a laptop and a large amount of food. The car was also loaded with a large amount of food and medicine, jewels and accessories purchased for exchange in Isteria, alarm clocks, soap, and other daily necessities. Of course, frozen foods and frozen vegetables were also purchased and stored in a large cooler with dry ice.

Now, Ichiro had to transport all these items to the other world.

To be honest, if it were the old Ichiro, he would have felt quite gloomy.

But this time, it was different; he had a powerful partner.

"Alright, let's go, mini excavator. With you, I can fight."

In front of the mountain of compost was a mini excavator that Ichiro had bought on the spot from a used construction equipment store on his way back from the construction company.

Next to it was an agricultural transport vehicle with a maximum load capacity of 500 kg and a dump function, also ready to go.

It was the perfect combination.

In the corner of the yard, the rickshaw that had been used so much was watching over Ichiro.

Ichiro felt that he could beat anyone now.

His head was spinning from the busyness, and he was in a rather high state, but that didn't matter.

For some reason, he couldn't stop feeling excited.

Ichiro got into the mini excavator, started the engine, and operated the levers while reading the user manual he had received from the store.

The arm of the mini excavator roared and moved according to Ichiro's operation.

He carefully operated the arm to scoop up a load of compost from the mountain.

Then, he rotated the body of the excavator and dumped the compost into the tray of the agricultural transport vehicle.

It was perfect.

There were a few issues, such as some compost falling from the bucket or not scooping enough, but those were trivial.

He could transport things without overworking his body.

Seeing this, Ichiro was moved to tears.

He had never been more grateful for the power of science than he was today.

His eyes sparkled with excitement.

Thus, Ichiro, using the mini excavator for the first time, was now working hard to transport all 50 tons of compost to Glesia Village.

It was past 4 PM.

It was a hopeless situation to transport all the items today, but no one would do it for Ichiro if he just complained.

After exhausting his fake enthusiasm, his only option was to continue the work with a half-open mouth and a vacant stare, muttering "damn, damn" in frustration.

The agricultural transport vehicle did not have a weighing function, so the amount of compost loaded was estimated by eye.

If he loaded too much, it might spill during transportation, which would be a waste.

When Ichiro judged that he had loaded a moderate amount, he got out of the mini excavator and got into the agricultural transport vehicle.

"Alright! Let's go to Glesia Village! Don't think about how many more trips I have to make!"

Ichiro started the engine of the agricultural transport vehicle and drove towards the mansion.

The agricultural transport vehicle, making a loud noise, smoothly ascended the iron ramp set up at the entrance of the mansion.

Since the agricultural transport vehicle was tracked, there was no worry about it slipping on a slope.

The tatami mats in the mansion had all been removed, and the agricultural transport vehicle advanced smoothly on the iron plates laid out on the floor.

It was unclear who had laid out the iron plates on the floor of the mansion and for what purpose, but they were incredibly useful in this situation.

Ichiro drove the agricultural transport vehicle and crossed the threshold to the other world, then drove onto the stone-paved path.

He then headed towards the mixed forest, passing by the grave he had made earlier.

After driving through the mixed forest for a while, making a loud noise, the familiar scenery of Glesia Village came into view.

The villagers, having heard the engine noise from the agricultural transport vehicle, had already gathered at the entrance of the mixed forest.

"Hey, everyone, it's quite hot today, isn't it!"

"K, Kazura-sama! What is that vehicle!?"

The villagers looked at Ichiro, who was driving the agricultural transport vehicle and waving his hand in high spirits, with astonishment.

Of course, they would be surprised.

Until now, Ichiro had been pulling a rickshaw to transport goods, but suddenly he appeared on a mysterious large vehicle, making a loud noise.

It was as if he was inviting them to be surprised.

"Ah, this is a vehicle used in the land of the gods to transport heavy things. It can carry a lot of goods at once, so it's very convenient. I'm going to unload the cargo now, so could you please move a bit away?"

Ichiro moved the villagers away from the agricultural transport vehicle, then used the dump function to tilt the cargo bed and unload the fertilizer.

"I have to make about 100 more trips with this amount of fertilizer. I want to pile it up around here, so could a few of you stay and help me?"

"Understood."

"Kazura-san!"

As Ichiro was about to turn the steering wheel to return to the Japanese mansion after getting the villagers' approval, Barretta ran up from the village.

Barretta, like the other villagers, showed a look of astonishment at the sight of the agricultural transport vehicle Ichiro was driving.

Although she should have known about the existence of vehicles from the books Ichiro had brought, the impact of seeing the real thing was different from seeing it in a photo.

"Barretta-san..."

Seeing Barretta run up, Ichiro's high spirits suddenly dropped.

He was unsure how to talk to her after the incident two days ago.

However, the dark atmosphere that Barretta had shown until the morning of the previous day was gone, and she seemed to be back to her usual self.

Behind Barretta, the village girl to whom he had entrusted Barretta's care the previous day was also following. When their eyes met, she gave Ichiro a wry smile and a nod.

It was unclear what they had talked about, but it seemed to have gone well.

"Kazura-san, is this... fertilizer?"

"Yes, I plan to transport all of this to Isteria. I want to try to revive the grain fields that are on the verge of destruction. I've prepared about 50 tons, so I think it will work out well."

"Fifty tons? You've brought quite a lot... But, don't you think we need to do something about the water? Have you brought a lot of water wheels?"

"No, I'm having water wheels mass-produced in Isteria. I've instructed the city craftsmen to make them by dividing the parts into several groups."

A few days ago, when Ichiro gave a large amount of work instructions to Nelson and others in Isteria, he had also instructed Zirconia to arrange for the production of the parts for the water wheels.

If Zirconia had followed his instructions, the mass production of the parts needed for the water wheels should have started by now.

"Mass production... Yes, if we mobilize all the city craftsmen, we can make a lot of water wheels at once."

"Yes, we could reuse the blueprints from when we made the water wheel in this village, which was a great help."

The blueprints Ichiro had given to Zirconia were from the second water wheel made in Glesia Village, so all the materials could be sourced from this world.

Although he hadn't anticipated this, it was a good thing that they had made a new water wheel in the village.

"How about your side? It seems that construction has already started."

Ichiro said this while looking towards the village.

From a distance, it wasn't very clear, but it seemed that wood was piled up in various places in the village, and the construction of fences and watchtowers had begun.

"Yes, with the help of the villagers, we started the construction based on what Kazura-san saw the day before yesterday. First, we plan to surround the entire village with a fence, and then build watchtowers."

"I see, I see... Ah, I've also brought lime, so I'll bring it later. I've prepared about 2 tons, so I think it should be enough..."

"Thank you! With that much, it should be fine!"

Ichiro was relieved to see Barretta respond in her usual energetic tone.

He had been quite worried about what would happen if Barretta remained in a depressed mood.

Moreover, he had also been concerned that his actions might have hurt Barretta.

In reality, Ichiro had not hurt Barretta in any way during their encounter the night before.

"If you need anything else, please let me know. ...Well, I'll go back to get the rest of the cargo."

Ichiro said this with a smile to Barretta and headed back to the Japanese mansion, accompanied by the villagers' farewells.

While Ichiro was transporting compost from Japan.

A group accompanied by a large number of carts and wagons had arrived at the entrance of Glesia Village.

The group was led by Zirconia, and about 200 guards surrounded her.

Most of the guards were heavily armed infantry, with only a few cavalry for reconnaissance.

This was the typical composition of the army in this world.

A unit composed almost entirely of cavalry, like the one Ichiro had accompanied a few days ago, was extremely rare.

Zirconia was not wearing the relaxed clothing she had worn at Nelson's residence but was dressed in a bronze armor like the other soldiers, carrying a round shield on her back and a dagger and a long sword at her waist.

She looked very different from her usual soft appearance and was very impressive.

"Zirconia-sama, thank you for the march. I will return the command of the unit to you."

"Thank you. ...What is that sound?"

While receiving the return of command from Isaac, who had come to greet her, Zirconia looked towards Glesia Village.

A strange noise was coming from deep within Glesia Village.

It was the engine sound of the agricultural transport vehicle driven by Ichiro.

"That sound started suddenly a while ago... Without Kazura-sama's permission, I hesitated to enter the village, so I've been observing the situation."

"Understood. But, I don't think it's a problem to enter the village. We were told that we can continue to govern the village. However, I think it's better if only those who know about the matter enter."

"Yes... I understand. I will go to the village and talk to someone."

Isaac, after a moment of thought, nodded in agreement.

It seemed that Isaac was quite considerate of Ichiro.

By the way, the "matter" referred to the fact that "Ichiro is Gracior."

"Thank you. Also, I've brought the cloth bags that Kazura-san instructed to prepare. They are on that cart, so could you take them with you?"

"Understood."

Isaac bowed slightly to Zirconia and ran to the cart where the cloth bags were loaded.

After confirming that Isaac had led the cart into the village, Zirconia gave the order to set up a camp to the group waiting behind her.

Upon receiving the order, the guards and their attendants began to set up the camp in a hurry.

Those who had already set up camp at the entrance of Glesia Village also ran to the subsequent units to help with the work.

"Otis"

"Sir!"

Otis, a guard waiting among the guards, ran to Zirconia when he was called by name.

"Guide me to the place where the bandits' bodies are buried."

"The place where the bandits' bodies are buried...?"

Otis, who had joined Zirconia's group without any explanation, asked in return, surprised by Zirconia's order.

Otis had participated in the burial of the bandits' bodies with the villagers after receiving an explanation from Barin, so he knew the location.

However, he couldn't understand why they were going to such a place.

"Yes. Do you know the location?"

"I know, but what are we going to do at such a place... Could it be that you are going to..."

A very unpleasant thought came to mind, and Otis involuntarily held his breath.

Zirconia glanced at Otis and said the worst possible words.

"Of course. We are going to dig up the bodies."