Chapter 11

"Well, it's not exactly a difficult story, but it's a bit awkward for me to say."

"I consider Persia a comrade. I'd like you to tell me."

"...Alright."

After a moment's pause, Persia began to speak.

"Let's just say, there's a power struggle or internal conflict within the border lord's household. I thought about what would happen if I brought such a potent potion there. It could become a seed for political strife... The military would want it desperately, though."

"Ah."

"I see."

Just by looking at Kyle and his brother Zaid's attitudes, it's easy to predict.

"Hmm. Let's put it on hold for now. In any case, I can't decide the price alone."

"Agreed. I think that's best."

"Understood. But if you want it, let me know. I'm not trying to be difficult."

"Let's hold off on the report for a while, just to be safe."

"That might be for the best."

With the plan decided, Persia seemed relieved.

"Well, I'll return to guarding Lord Kyle and Lady Mina. What about you two?"

"I... think I'll start building the village fence a bit earlier."

"That might be a good idea. I'll go talk to Jitaro again."

"Why?"

"Jitaro is a good hunter. Though he's not an adventurer, I want to know why he was so easily injured by goblins."

"Hmm. I see. I'll leave that to you."

"Alright. See you later."

And so, each of them returned to their work.

◆

"Hey, Jitaro. How are you feeling?"

"Ah, Mr. Craft! Thanks to you, I'm in top shape! I could go hunting right away!"

"No, don't do that."

I smiled wryly at Jitaro, who was flexing his muscles.

"Actually, I have a question. I want to know why a hunter of Jitaro's caliber was so badly injured by goblins."

"Ah, that. It's a simple reason. My machete, which I used for self-defense, was both dull and past its lifespan, so it snapped right in half."

"What? Can I see it?"

"It's in the repair area of the warehouse."

"Got it. Sorry to bother you, but don't overdo it, okay?"

"No problem. Moving stuff around is a piece of cake. I'm done with the outdoor work anyway."

At first glance, he doesn't seem to be affected by the bleeding.

"Take it easy when you're done."

"Got it!"

With his cheerful response, I moved towards the warehouse.

This is a communal warehouse where all the village's shared property is stored.

In the pioneer village, everything is shared.

In one corner of the warehouse, there's a place for broken knives and weapons.

Reifan repairs them when he has free time and returns them.

I found a broken kukri knife among them.

"Is this it? 'Appraisal'... I see."

The result that came to mind was worse than I imagined.

The quality was the lowest.

The blade was in tatters.

The iron quality was so poor that even if Reifan reforged it, there would be limits.

"Hmm."

Crossing my arms, I thought about what alchemical techniques might be useful, and two solutions came to mind.

Fortunately, the materials, including magic stones, were available in the warehouse.

"Alright, let's give it a try."

I returned to my room and immediately started the alchemy process.

◆

"Reifan, can I talk to you for a moment?"

After dinner, I called out to Reifan, who was starting a fire with a makeshift furnace.

"What is it, Craft?"

"Are you going to forge now?"

"Yeah. I'll melt down the broken iron items and reshape them."

"Perfect. I have something I want you to test."

"Test?"

"Yeah, this."

I offered him about half a bowl of oil.

"What is it?"

"It's a hardening forging oil... Hard Forging Oil, created through alchemy."

"Really!?"

"Do you know about it?"

"Of course, if you're a blacksmith."

"Is it not rare?"

"Not at all! Only alchemists with emblems can make it, so it's hard to come by."

"I see. The knowledge from the emblem says that mixing it in during the forging process increases strength, so I decided to try making it. Fortunately, I had a magic stone."

"I see. I'll give it a try, then."

"Thanks."

I can make the potion, but I can't forge iron.

Reifan skillfully threw the iron into the furnace and sprinkled the oil as it melted.

"...Yeah, no strange reactions."

"What do you mean by strange?"

"Like when Jitaro got injured."

"Ah, it was an excessive reaction. There was smoke."

"Yeah, that was a surprise."

"Alright, I'll continue."

Reifan then spent several hours carefully forging.

His skill was top-notch, and he didn't seem like a child at all.

Well, he isn't a child.

"The rest is just cooling overnight, so we'll check it tomorrow."

"Got it. Thanks."

"Good thing it didn't explode."

"Such a silly thought..."

While responding, he wondered if the possibility was zero and went to bed.

◆

"This is great!"

Jitaro was swinging his machete wildly. It's dangerous.

Near the village, Jitaro was happily cutting branches at the entrance to the forest.

"Let me see... Yeah, no chipping. It seems even harder than I imagined."

"Not just hard, but it also has the toughness characteristic of iron!"

"That's good. If it's just hard, it would break like glass."

Jitaro repeatedly struck a thick branch with his machete, cutting it down and reveling in the satisfaction.

"Alright, next one."

"Huh? Isn't this enough?"

"No, I have another thing for you to try. Jitaro, apply this to the blade."

I took out a small bottle of oil, which was different from the Hard Forging Oil.

"Is it rustproofing?"

"Just try it."

"OK."

He applied the oil to the blade with a rag and swung the machete at a thick branch as before.

"Huh?"

"What?"

Jitaro's machete cut through the branch as if it were air, slicing it cleanly and embedding itself in the ground.

"Whoa!"

"Whoa! Dangerous!"

"Are you okay!?"

Jitaro, who had put all his strength into the swing, stumbled and almost fell.

"Ah, I'm fine! I'm just surprised!"

"Sorry, I didn't expect it to be that effective."

"Is this Sharpness Oil by any chance?"

"Nice one, Guild Master."

"Don't joke, Craft?"

"Sorry."

I apologized sincerely.

Yeah, I understand how the Guild Master in the town I lived in felt.

Reifan's smile is scary.

"This oil is called Sharpness Oil. It's used to sharpen blades."

"You should have appraised it first."

"Sorry, I wanted to surprise you."

"You certainly did."

"Me too. I'm glad no one got hurt."

"Hehe. Explain it next time, please."

"Sure, I promise."

Still, I didn't expect it to cut through a thick branch like it was air.

"No, no, once you get used to it, it's totally manageable. This is amazing!"

"That's good to hear if it's useful."

"It's not just useful; if you give this to the lumberjacks, they'll be thrilled!"

"How long does the effect last?"

"Normally, more than a day. For lumberjacks, maybe half a day."

"Even this small bottle should last a week for all the village tools."

"It's just a coating."

"Can you make a lot of this?"

"I still have magic stones, so it should be fine for a while, but we'll need to hunt monsters soon. We use them for other things too."

"Let's discuss that with everyone later."

"Agreed."

"Wow! With this, goblins are nothing to fear!"

Unless a miracle happens and the goblins come equipped with magical armor, it would be a one-hit kill.

It would tear through wooden weapons like paper.

"Alright. Let's have Jitaro test it for a while, and if it's good, we'll use it on other weapons and farming tools."

"Sounds good."

"Leave it to me!"

Later.

When the Sharpness Oil became widespread, Alphard was screaming.

"What is this sharpness!?"

"It's... almost like a magic sword."

The practice dummies were brutally dismembered.

"...It's a waste to use them for practice."

"Yeah."

"You went too far, Craft."

It wasn't intentional!

Agricultural and logging work became extremely efficient, and we received applause and cheers. That's a different story.

Alchemy, convenient! \(^o^)/