Chapter 48

"Miss Dauro has contacted us, saying she wants us to see the charcoal she's made."

"Already? It's only been two days."

"It seems that among the large amount of charcoal she tried to make, there were some good ones."

"I see... What about the washi paper?"

"Currently, they are training the papermakers, but they say they can already make paper of the same quality as the sample from the other day."

"Understood. I'm going to the place now, Akira-sama."

"Leave it to you."

I don't have the authority to decide. If Miss says she's going, my job is to follow her.

"By the way, I want Yararai-sama to wait here..."

"No."

Yararai answered.

"I'm the guard, I'm going with you."

"We're heading to a place that deals with the guild's secrets."

"I can keep secrets."

"But..."

"Outside is dangerous, I'm definitely going with you."

He won't back down.

I judged and suggested to Cherina.

"Hey, Cherina, I think Yararai is the type who strictly keeps secrets."

"Even if you say so..."

"Elves keep their promises."

"Such stubborn people, though inflexible, are trustworthy."

Mostly, anyway.

"..."

"Besides, I feel safer if Yararai is with me when we go outside the city walls. Of course, I don't doubt the two guards assigned to Cherina."

"I understand..."

She gave me a piercing look. Does she dislike Yararai that much?

"Hmm, understood. However, we can't prepare a horse for you, and we don't intend to put you in the carriage."

"No problem, I'm a good walker."

Somehow, we reached an agreement and immediately started moving in the carriage. I thought the guards would be the usual two, but there were now four, two more than before. They've multiplied.

It seems that when going outside the city walls, this is the number of people they use.

As we set off, Yararai followed the carriage we were in, walking briskly. I was worried if he could keep up with that pace, but he followed us to Cherina's experimental hut without getting out of breath.

Considering he was carrying that massive iron on his back, it was truly impressive.

The conversation in the carriage was mainly about food. When I mentioned sashimi, they were completely taken aback. We have a fishing port, yet they don't eat raw fish. I think fresh fish from an unpolluted sea would be incredibly delicious.

If the fish is fresh, I might eat sashimi myself.

"Miss, thank you for coming."

Dauro, the development manager, was waiting in front of the building.

"It's no trouble. Compared to your hard work, it's nothing."

"Your words make me feel better... Who is that person?"

He glared suspiciously at the Native American-dressed elf. Yeah, an armed muscleman does look suspicious.

"...He's a guard."

"Hired?"

Cherina looked at me.

"He's Akira-sama's guard. He's very skilled. After all, he single-handedly defeated a stray buffalo."

"Single-handedly defeated a buffalo?"

He gave Yararai an even more suspicious look.

"He's skilled."

"I'm not doubting the miss."

Then who are you doubting? I can understand his skepticism, though. I don't really believe someone could defeat a buffalo alone either.

"Let's see it right away..."

Yararai seems to be a concern.

"...It's fine, please show me."

Cherina's tone was subtly off.

"Understood. This way, please."

Dauro led us to the charcoal kiln hidden behind a screen and showed us the hibachi.

"How is it? It hardly produces any smoke, and there's no flame."

I peered into the hibachi. There was still a slight fire, but it reminded me of the cheap charcoal in Japan.

"Is this charcoal?"

Yararai, who was standing behind us, spoke.

"Do you know about it?"

"Elves use and make charcoal."

"I've never heard of that... Don't elves avoid fire?"

"That's a misconception. Dwarves are the ones who avoid unnecessary use of fire. Elves use fire normally."

"Is that so?"

It seems Cherina didn't know either.

"Can Yararai make charcoal?"

"To some extent... There are gaps in that kiln. The kiln over there is better."

Yararai pointed to the kilns in succession.

"Is that true, Yararai-sama?"

"Gaps that humans can't see, spirits tell me... If you use the wood piled there, you'll know the time and heat."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"If it's not an elf secret, can you teach Cherina and the others?"

"No problem."

Cherina and Dauro exchanged glances but soon Dauro pulled Yararai to the kiln and started asking about the details.

"I'll tell you, but I'm a guard."

"Ah, you'll be fine around here. You won't be out of sight. Besides, there are many of Cherina's guards outside the screen."

The number of guards seems to be increasing day by day.

"...Alright, Akira, stay around here."

"Got it."

I sat on a log near the screen. Cherina also sat down next to me.

I took out a cigarette from the container and filled my lungs with nicotine. I can't imagine a life without this. To give an impossible analogy, even if the WHO banned it, I'd continue smoking.

"I never thought elves would know how to make charcoal."

"Maybe it's more common than you think. If it's made in the Green Garden, it might be used in Lakeleer."

Lakeleer, I've heard that name somewhere.

"It's a country's name. A large country. The country of mountains and lakes, Lakeleer. It's also known for the main temple of the Earth Mother Goddess Aigas. The Green Garden is a vast forest ruled by elves, and it borders Lakeleer, though there are no clear borders."

I see. It makes sense that they know about it if they're neighbors.

"Is Lakeleer far?"

"Yes, it's far. It's located in the central north of this continent. You don't need to cross the Midar Mountains, so it's barely possible to trade with them."

"I see."

The priestess from the church also said it takes a month for letters to go back and forth. And that's using flying animals. By carriage, it would take several times longer.

"Fortunately, we won't have competition, but the profit might decrease."

"I think it's fine to make a small profit on a large scale. Besides, if the quality improves thanks to Yararai, we might be able to implement another idea I have."

"You mentioned it before. Tell me now."

"Sure... Most of the buildings in this country are made of sun-dried bricks, right?"

"Yes. They mix clay, river water, sand, and plants, put them in wooden molds, and arrange them on boards. Thanks to the strong sunlight, they dry in a few days."

"Isn't the strength questionable?"

"It depends on the skill of the brick workshop. The ratio of clay and sand is a closely guarded secret of each workshop."

"Ah, so there's a guild for making bricks?"

"Yes."

"Damn..."

"What do you mean?"

"What I was thinking was to make heat-resistant bricks using the high heat from charcoal."

"Heat-resistant bricks."

"Yes, they're strong. They won't collapse like sun-dried bricks, making building construction much easier."

"How strong are they?"

"I think they're softer than the rocks scattered outside the city, but they're definitely much stronger than sun-dried bricks."

"I'm getting interested."

"Then, another thing, if we can make heat-resistant bricks, we can build a stone oven. I helped... no, I was practically forced to build one at my boss's house before."

"Is a stone oven a kiln?"

"In this case, think of it as a cooking oven. Using this stone oven, anything tastes better. Just pizza and bread alone are mouth-watering."

"Bread..."

"Crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside... I'm getting hungry..."

"Bread is terrible."

Cherina frowned.

"Don't judge before you try it."

"No, that's not what I meant. The management of bread is very strict in this country. Selling it without permission is forbidden."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"I see... Well, besides bread, there are many other dishes we can try. Lasagna, gratin, roasted vegetables, and even baked apples."

"Baked apples?"

"Yes, they're the best dessert."

"..."

I thought I heard Cherina's throat, but I'll pretend it was my imagination.

"I have a vague idea of how to build an oven. If there's no budget issue, I think we can make a few and complete them through trial and error. The problem is the material for heat-resistant bricks and the firing method."

Just firing clay at high temperatures won't work...

"That's a problem."

"Maybe the dwarves know."

Yararai, who had returned after talking with Dauro, said.

"I don't know if they'll teach us."

"Why do you think they know?"

"To make iron, you need a brick kiln, probably heat-resistant bricks."

"That's a high possibility."

"But if that's the case, whether they'll teach us... Iron-related techniques are the exclusive domain of the dwarves."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, humans can make them, but in terms of quality, they can't compete with dwarves."

"Dwarves are idiots who only think about iron."

Yararai is harsh.

"Hmm, let's try negotiating. If it doesn't work... Anyway, making bricks is impossible due to the guild, right?"

"No, if we collaborate with a workshop, it's fine. In exchange for funding, charcoal, and the idea of heat-resistant bricks, they'll probably agree."

"Then, if that's the case, we'll have to try and error until we succeed."

"Yes."

"By the way, what happened with the charcoal?"

"I taught the techniques. By the day after tomorrow, we should have usable charcoal."

"That's impressive."

"Yararai-sama, is it okay to teach such things?"

"It's not a secret. If Akira's friend, it's fine."

Is the standard me? If so, I don't think it adds to his credibility.

"Understood. Thank you. I'll think of a way to thank you."

"Don't worry about it."

"Thanks to Yararai, we have a good prospect for charcoal. Oh, Dauro, can I have some of the good experimental charcoal?"

I called out to Dauro, who was giving instructions to his subordinates.

"What will you use it for?"

"I'll try it for dinner tonight. It's of good quality."

"Miss?"

"It's fine. We plan to use the guild's cafeteria tonight."

"Understood, I'll prepare it."

"Ah, and two hibachis, please."

"...Alright."

Dauro's attitude towards me hasn't changed.

"Let's head back a bit. Melvin, head to the fishing port."

"Understood."

Melvin, who was on the driver's seat, nodded.

Thus, we returned to the city-state's walls. It's been a busy day...

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