Chapter 56

"......Why is Mr. Hagg here as well?"

In the morning, I was eating breakfast at the usual hilltop when Chelina, dressed in her usual red attire, approached and said this. Was it such a question that she forgot her usual greeting?

"Oh, actually, last night I asked Hagg if he could teach me how to make heat-resistant bricks."

"Hmm. He doesn't have to teach us, but since he was treated to a good meal, he's making an exception. Though I can't teach you how to make the bricks for the high-temperature steel furnace!"

Hagg laughed heartily.

"Well, I appreciate that."

Her previous sullen face vanished, and she switched to her usual merchant smile. She's so pragmatic.

"Shall we head there right away?"

"What about your morning work?"

"We'll do it in the afternoon."

"I see."

I nodded, having no reason to object.

"Let's stop by the guild first, then go. We'll try to be back by noon."

"Alright."

With that, we all started moving.

By the way, for breakfast, we had egg and bacon toast as usual. Hagg wanted to try it after Yararai mentioned cooking, so I treated him to a nice breakfast since he was taking the day off from work. The new bread, bacon, and eggs were all eaten by Hagg. Well, that's fine.

Remaining funds: 9,099,490 yen.

---

We arrived at Chelina's secret research lab.

Douro immediately came over.

"What's the matter, Miss? Wasn't our appointment for tomorrow?"

"I came to discuss a new development."

"Again?"

"Is that a problem?"

"Not at all, I'm just surprised by the pace."

"I see. This time, Mr. Hagg will provide the technical guidance. Please be respectful."

"Understood. Mr. Hagg, please share your knowledge."

Douro, who is likely a development manager, approached Hagg with a low bow. Isn't his attitude towards me and Hagg too different?

"Hmm. Do you have charcoal already?"

Chelina nodded in place of Douro.

"Yes. Douro, please bring the highest quality we have. Mr. Hagg, we can produce even higher quality charcoal by tomorrow."

"Are you sure?"

"Thanks to Mr. Yararai's guidance."

Hagg looked up at Yararai uninterestedly.

"Hmph. Well, if it's a wood-loving elf, that's no surprise. I don't like it... but I'll admit that elf charcoal is top-notch."

What's that, a tsundere?

By the way, I didn't know elves could make charcoal.

"Alright, I'll teach you assuming you have better charcoal. Akira, if you use these bricks to build an oven, you can cook delicious food, right?"

"Right, I confirmed we have goat and buffalo cheese from yesterday. I've also gathered other ingredients, so if I prepare the sauce, we can make something delicious."

I can leave the menu to the head chef, Hugo. Once he learns the techniques, he'll come up with good dishes.

Actually, if we had tomatoes, the menu would be more diverse, but I think they are mainly grown in highlands or cold regions.

Come to think of it, potatoes are also cold-resistant plants, but they are quite common in this area.

Ah, maybe Chelina's guild imports a lot. Or perhaps there are heat-resistant varieties here, or they can grow with a temperature difference. I'm not sure.

I'll leave the details of the heat-resistant bricks to the development craftsman, Douro, and Hagg.

Yararai is observing the oven.

"Still, you're different from me, who only has knowledge."

"That's not true. With your ideas, you can leverage your network."

"Is that so... Oh, by the way, Hagg was supposed to go to the blacksmith guild today, but I asked him to take the day off. Could you help me with that, Chelina?"

"Of course."

That's great. According to the story, Hagg plans to come every day for now, and if we get along, we'll extend the period.

Still, to take a day off just to eat delicious food, Hagg is quite something.

"Hey, Hagg, can you make the heat-resistant bricks?"

"Huh? With an inventor like me around, there's nothing we can't make."

Hagg turned around unhappily, but I was curious about one word.

"An inventor?"

"Didn't I tell you? I find existing iron products boring, so I travel around the countries."

"First time hearing that..."

"Ha ha! Don't worry about it!"

"Alright, then."

Whether Hagg is an inventor or a mountaineer, he's still a reliable man and a lifesaver.

"Douro, here are the material ratios and temperatures for the bricks. I'll start building the brick kiln, so watch and learn."

"Got it!"

The brick-making seems to be going smoothly without any issues.

"Will it be done today?"

"I'll have a batch ready by tomorrow. If I fail after teaching you this, I'll admit I have no talent and give up!"

"Pretty strict, huh?"

"Hmph. Douro is skilled, so there's no problem."

As he answered, he quickly built the kiln using sun-dried bricks, which looked like a time-lapse video. Dwarves are amazing.

"Is it okay to use sun-dried bricks for the kiln?"

"For now. We'll use these to make fired bricks, then rebuild the kiln with them. The fired bricks only need a light firing, so they'll be ready by evening. Then Douro can use them to build a kiln for the heat-resistant bricks and load it, so they'll be ready by tomorrow."

"Wow, pretty strict..."

"Hmph. I'm teaching you a new technique, so you should be happy."

"Of course, I'll work all night."

I wanted to tell him not to overdo it, but I stopped when I saw Douro's excited and intense smile.

"Hey, you! Stop being sloppy with the clay! People always try to cut corners. I won't accept any defective bricks! If the corners aren't perfectly filled, I'll tear down the entire kiln, so be prepared!"

Hagg's roar made the other managers jump, and they returned the clay to the wooden frames and carefully remolded each one.

"Ah, I was also bothered by the uneven sun-dried bricks."

"Hmm. People usually cut corners. It's unbelievable."

Chelina's subordinates seem serious, but not meticulous. Maybe they are naturally sloppy.

This is a common sight when traveling abroad. The way they handle goods is often terrible. When you travel by plane, you'll see them throw carry-on bags carelessly. And they think they are working hard. The difference from Japanese people is significant.

I'm glad Hagg's values in craftsmanship are similar to those of the Japanese.

"A change in mindset is needed."

"What do you mean?"

Chelina latched onto my muttered words, though I didn't intend to share them.

"Um, you know, do each task carefully, and think of the customer first, not just for yourselves or for money."

"We do that."

"To be honest, you're not doing it well. You're used to being sloppy."

"..."

Chelina's expression turned stern. No one likes to be criticized.

"Maybe the reason the air tools haven't evolved is because you only think about your own convenience?"

"..."

Her expression became even more severe.

"I've also seen how goods are handled at the port. Most of the handling is sloppy, which is unbelievable to me. In my hometown, we had a delivery service where it was standard to handle boxes without damaging even a corner."

While I think Japanese people can be overly meticulous... In China, delivery workers kick packages around. Compared to that, Veriello is much more careful.

"Improving the employees is key to the... no, the guild's development."

This also affects the city's reputation, but I didn't say that.

"Let me think about it."

"Well, it's a shock to be criticized like that. Chelina is already working hard."

"Does that mean I was lacking?"

"It's just that you didn't have a role model or someone to point out your flaws. Whether you can improve after being told is up to you. The criticism might not even be correct. Think about it."

"Understood."

I felt bad for lecturing a dejected Chelina, but as a consultant, it's part of the job to share my observations.

"Take it easy."

"Time is precious, you know?"

Oh, Chelina is definitely the superior. Yeah.

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