Chapter 65

"Sh... I'm going to die..."

He clawed at the air, gasping for breath. Of course, this didn't increase the oxygen concentration. Even though it was only a few kilometers, this was what happened when a city dweller suddenly started running. It was surprising that he didn't get a cramp.

He regretted not doing warm-up exercises before running.

"You... seem to have been using your body less than I imagined... You might have less stamina than the average child."

"Can't... deny... it..."

He panted, trying to catch his breath. Why was he running against his will?

He was drenched in sweat. He wanted to take a bath.

...Ah, I have to make the bath.

"Alright... let's make the bath."

He got up with a groan. It seemed that the time it took to catch his breath was shorter when he was using his波动 (wave).

"Let's start with the stone oven first!"

This glutton.

"...I can only give instructions, so let's do it at the same time."

"That makes sense."

He stood up and drank some water.

Cherina was nearby but seemed unusually moody. She often seemed moody. Did she dislike Yararai and Hagg so much?

Anyway, he started with the stone oven, which he had made before at his boss's house.

"By the way, how are the heat-resistant bricks coming along?"

"They're pretty good for the first try. Many of them are still cracked, but I think I'll get used to it with more practice."

It seemed he had already seen the samples.

"I see... Hey, where's Yararai?"

Yararai, who had been running behind him, was gone.

"Didn't you notice? She was sent to the usual unclean area. She'll come back with the compost later."

"I didn't notice at all..."

"Akira was running in a terrible state."

"It's not something you can train in a day or two, so let's stop this, okay?"

"No, you can wrap yourself in a wave, and training in that state will efficiently build muscle. Don't worry."

"Feels good and sad at the same time..."

It's good that he can build strength easily, but the exercise itself is still painful.

"Anyway, I'll train you until you start glowing."

"Glowing?"

His question was ignored, and he was dragged to the stone oven construction site.

After giving instructions to the Veriello Company people and Hagg, they started building it at an incredible speed. It took him two full days to build it at his boss's house...

Moreover, despite being a two-layer structure that made temperature control easier, they built it this fast. It seemed they were professionals in stone masonry.

"Surprised, it was built in no time."

The lead craftsman, Dauro, replied.

"Hmph. I'm good at stone masonry. Whether it's a stone bridge, a house, or a gate, it's mostly stone masonry."

I see, the primary material available in this area is stone. There are plenty of stones lying around. Well, the fact that they are lying around makes it difficult to cultivate the land, but that's not relevant now.

"We need to fire it for a while to dry it. It should be done by evening, right?"

"I can judge that."

"Then I'll leave it to you."

He was very reliable.

"Next is the bath."

"A bath?"

Dauro frowned.

"I have Cherina's permission. It would be easier if we had bent iron pipes... but..."

"Hmm. If we have iron and a furnace, we can make it?"

"Really?"

"I don't lie. The quality of the iron and the type of furnace matter, but as long as we have charcoal and a bellows, we can manage."

"We have iron for ship chains and bellows."

"Then let's make it. Akira, what shape do you want?"

"Preferably, it should be thick enough for water to flow through, and coiled... like a spiral staircase."

"Does it have a purpose?"

I received a sample A3 Japanese paper and drew a diagram to explain.

"By lighting a fire here, the spiral iron pipe will heat up and turn the water into hot water."

"Hmm. Then we need a system to add water, right?"

"If we separate the water inlets and outlets, the temperature difference will cause the water to circulate on its own. More importantly, can you make it so that it doesn't leak and the fire doesn't affect the bathtub?"

"The bathtub will be made of heat-resistant bricks, so it shouldn't be a problem. The inlets and outlets can be made of baked clay."

"I see. Then I'll leave it to you."

Based on my illustration, Dauro instructed his subordinates to make the part that would be the bathtub, while he himself watched Hagg's work intently.

Hagg quickly made a small furnace with heat-resistant bricks and heated the iron.

"Akira, prepare some water and hot water for me."

I was given an empty hut and prepared water and hot water in a bucket there.

The wooden bucket was added to the list.

[Wooden Bucket (20 liters) = 7280 yen]

It was strangely expensive.

I couldn't grasp the market prices in this world.

Remaining balance: 9,904,498 yen.

When I brought the two buckets, Hagg mixed the water and hot water in another container, apparently adjusting the temperature. Dauro was fidgeting.

"What's wrong?"

"...Lend me your ear."

Hagg pulled my ear. It hurt!

"The temperature at which iron is heated and the temperature of the water used to cool it are secrets of the blacksmith. Well, this level isn't a secret to me, but I don't intend to teach it, and he wants to know it so badly, you can ignore him."

"Alright."

I decided to ignore the blacksmith's code of conduct. I didn't intend to take sides.

Hagg took out his own hammer, iron stand, and iron shears from his item bag and started hammering the iron without hesitation. I knew nothing about blacksmithing, but the iron plate was being formed at an abnormal speed.

"If you're heating water, just be careful not to cause cracks due to the temperature difference. It's not a big deal."

Hagg said it lightly, but it was surely not that simple. You could tell from Dauro's intense gaze.

He then rolled the long iron plate into a pipe. His skill was on par with a festival candy artist.

Before I knew it, the iron plate had been shaped into a pipe and coiled into a spiral.

"Hmm. It's done."

"Amazing."

"Hmph. It's my specialty. But since it's not processed, it will rust and become unusable soon."

"Now that you mention it, iron does rust."

"I can make rust-proof iron... but I don't intend to make it here. Even if I wanted to, I don't have the materials."

Hagg stroked his dwarf beard.

"Can you really make rust-proof iron?"

"Aye. It's a dwarf secret."

"That's impressive. I'm pretty sure pure iron and stainless steel don't rust, but... "

"Hey!"

"Whoa?!"

I was carried by Hagg and thrown to a slightly distant place. The treatment was too rough...

"Truly... being with Akira is never boring... I should have warned you, but I didn't think you knew about it."

I didn't quite understand what Hagg was muttering.

"Ah, was there a problem?"

"There's a big problem! Rust-proof iron is a technology that humans desperately want to know! Even among dwarves, only a few know about stainless steel! Where did you learn about it..."

He crossed his arms and sighed heavily. It was that rare in this world.

"In my homeland, it was commonly used. Most pipes were made of stainless steel."

"...What an incredible country. Since you were brought by the gods, your country doesn't exist in this world... If it existed on some island, it would probably be conquered in no time."

"It wasn't that aggressive a country."

I'm not sure about countries like the US, Russia, or China. More importantly, does stainless steel translate here... The translation is still a mystery. The interpretation level is too high. Does it translate everything that exists in this world without question?

"Anyway, Akira, be careful what you say. You don't know who might target you."

"I'll be careful."

I'm not sure how to be careful, but I'll be cautious when there are people other than Hagg around.

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