Chapter 47

I arrived at the guild.

There are slightly more people in the guild than usual, but the number is far from the number of adventurers I saw in the town.

There are probably around ten people.

Well, it's only natural that they wouldn't be laughing if their living place was seized while they were gathering for a pre-operation meeting to expand the control area.

Those here are probably messengers or something.

Unlike the special requests I've received directly from the guild in the past, there doesn't seem to be a strategy meeting.

That makes sense; I'm just cutting trees, and if there were a strategy meeting, it would be more efficient for the defending adventurers and their parties to do it.

Instead, the mayor announces:

"Starting now, we will begin cutting down trees within one hour. Everyone, go to your assigned positions. The cutting will end with an explosion, but monsters will continue to attack, so don't let your guard down."

The adventurers leave one by one through the open door without a word.

They don't seem to respond loudly like an army.

By the way, the explosion is apparently the result of using a set of explosive and barrier magic devices.

A relatively small magic stone used for the explosive device is enclosed within a barrier created by a smaller magic stone and then detonated.

The sound becomes louder due to the barrier, making it possible to communicate relatively inexpensively.

However, this is based on decibels.

National defense is expensive in any world.

...Recently, there's a rumor that a single lumberjack is trying to eat up the entire budget.

"Um, can I start cutting now?"

I confirm with the remaining mayor.

My role is different from everyone else's.

"Wait about a quarter of an hour before you start. The other adventurers move at different speeds, so I want to wait until the messengers join and we're fully prepared, especially since it's the first time. After the explosion, when the cutting is over, please help in the monster extermination in the area you've cut."

Of course, this is the way we're doing it to be prepared.

If we were to proceed as usual, there would have been no need to wait until today.

I wait for about 15 minutes, checking my weapon even though it's not necessary, and then set off.

Descending from the sky, I head towards the area closest to Decibelle.

Holding my magic sword in my right hand, I fly at about 40 kilometers per hour, grazing the left side of the trees.

I realize again that there's no time to hunt herbs while doing this.

It's not a matter of controlling magic; it's a more basic issue of the sword's length.

The sword's length is about 60 cm, while the diameter of the trees is about 30 cm at a height of about 1 meter.

Perhaps because only about 50 years have passed since Broken fell, the trees are this thin, but there's still only 30 cm of leeway.

Of course, if the trees fall when there's a little left, it's fine, but there's no time to cut herbs.

While thinking about this, I fly and the trees seem to have been cut in one row, leading to a sandy beach.

There are some places where the density of the trees is different, leaving some uncut, but it should be fine to cut them all at once later.

There are also some trees that have been cut but didn't fall properly, but for now, the goal is to reduce the number of trees as much as possible.

I turn around and continue cutting.

At this speed, controlling the sword is easy.

With some leeway, I try to think of a way to harvest herbs.

The main problem with harvesting herbs is the difference in height between the cutting height and the height of the herbs.

Herbs need to be cut close to the ground, but the sword's length isn't enough at that height, so a certain height is needed for cutting.

I've been trying to pull herbs using a magic board—let's call it a pull board—but it hasn't been going well.

To effectively use resources, I need to find a way to harvest both trees and herbs.

So, I try an acrobatic flight.

Raising my right hand to bring the magic sword to the left, I stretch my left hand as far down as possible and then thrust the blade cane to the left, lowering my altitude slightly.

For a moment, the blade cane slightly cut the Zunana grass, but it didn't work after that.

First, the magic sword. It's impossible for me to fly close to the trees while holding the sword in reverse and keeping it level.

Next, the blade cane. While it does cut the Zunana grass to some extent, the part below the blade touches the undergrowth.

If I try to get really close to the ground, I hit pebbles, so I keep it about 15 cm above the ground, but of course, the yield is lower.

Since the herbs are for medicine, it might be fine without the roots, but it's not worth it to just collect the tips.

By the way, I did manage to collect some. The herbs flew into my hand and were stored automatically.

But this amount is meaningless.

It's a complete failure, no, it's a level where there's nothing but complaints.

It has to be magic.

A cutting magic...

Something like a wind magic? Or a leaf cutter?

Let's put the leaf cutter aside for now; it doesn't seem to cut, but I might try it as a last resort if nothing else works.

So, wind magic.

In RPGs, I've seen wind cutting monsters, but I don't understand the logic.

They say that sickles are a type of flake, but plants probably don't flake.

Partially freezing and then breaking them? That's difficult and inefficient, and I've never even cast an ice spell, so there's no range.

Well, let's try something like a wind cutter, following the orthodox RPG style.

I aim at the nearby Zunana grass, but it doesn't even activate.

I can't even properly imagine it, so it would be a miracle if it worked.

There's no choice but to look for another method.

Something easier to imagine, capable of cutting, and easy to cast as a spell.

...Actually, there seem to be very few tools that can cut when shot.

Hitler's electric saw isn't a cutting tool; it's a gun.

What else... a water cutter?

I already have a water spell, and if I speed it up, it might be able to cut.

Let's give it a try. I narrow the water spell to about 3 mm.

The water hits the Zunana grass about 10 meters away, shaking it.

It just shakes.

Despite hitting the base, it only shakes and is far from cutting.

The speed of the water should be enough, so what's missing?

Oh, right, the speed and power of magic aren't related.

I forgot that.

So, I just need to increase the MP consumption while keeping the width the same.

When I try it, the Zunana grass cuts at about 10 times the usual MP consumption.

However, it doesn't have much penetration power. Instead of cutting through the grass like I imagined, it only cuts a little where it hits, and it takes time to cut the grass behind it.

The efficiency is still questionable.

Since the width is about one-tenth of the usual, which consumes 1 MP every 3 seconds, even at 10 times the MP consumption, it only consumes 1 MP every 30 seconds, which is negligible.

Because I'm close, I don't need to cast it from my hand, so I cast it from just above the ground, spraying water to the left and right.

I use 15 streams on each side, which allows me to cut a certain amount, and the lack of penetration power means I won't accidentally hit the adventurers.

Cutting trees with my right hand, harvesting herbs with my left, and mowing grass with the magic at my feet.

Thus, as a lumberjack and lawn mower, I began destroying nature at an accelerating pace. About 5 hours later, I heard a 'Boom.'

It's the signal to stop cutting.

I finish cutting and head back to the town.

On the way, I cut the monsters I see with my magic sword and store them in my item box.

I see the adventurers on the way.

They seem to still be in battle, but the front line has moved up significantly from the town.

They seem to be doing well.

I hunt monsters a little away from the adventurers and, when it seems they have a moment, I ask them:

"How's the battle going?"

"You can see, it's going well. The mages' MP is running out, so it might get tough if it drags on."

That's why the cutting ended.

It will get dark in another 1-2 hours, so it's a good time.

"Understood, thank you."

I say and continue hunting monsters away from the adventurers.

Even with two parties capable of wiping out monsters, it doesn't make sense.

Dealing with the monsters I kill is a hassle, so solo is best.

After about 30 minutes of hunting, the monster extermination is over.

I didn't realize there were so many monsters when I was cutting trees.

They might have been hiding to avoid being cut.

Metal Lizards are smart enough to retreat or die, so it's not surprising.

Still, I welcome the abundance of prey.

I return to the guild and settle up.

The total number of trees cut is 2,431, and with the monster extermination, the total income is 123,544,000 Tel.

It's a level that makes me worry about the national defense budget.

It's better to spend money than to be overwhelmed, and there aren't many front lines, so it might be okay.

Still, I doubt the job of a lumberjack will last forever.

While worrying about the budget, I was called by the mayor.

A strategy meeting or a discussion about lowering the reward.

I'll find out by listening.

"Ah, you came."

"Yes, it seems to be going well in the area I covered, but is everything okay?"

Even if there's one tree per 4 square meters, I should have cut about 100m x 500m.

I remember that the distance to the Broken site is about 10 kilometers, and the width is about 3 kilometers.

It will take about 600 days to finish.

...That's a long time, and the total cost will exceed 6 billion Tel.

What kind of national budget is this?

"Yes, it's going well. We can manage if we keep the same schedule from tomorrow, but I have one request."

"What is it?"

"It's fine with the current budget, but if we push back to Broken, the budget won't be enough. Can you lower the reward to about 5,000 Tel per tree?"

I see.

Even at one-tenth, it's 600 million Tel, which is a decent income.

The unused budget was probably due to a lack of adventurers, which worsened the situation.

In Japan, if you have a surplus budget, it might be reduced the next year, but in this world, there's no year-end road construction or anything like that.

"Understood. In return, can I have some days off? And can I have the bodies of the monsters left after extermination?"

"I owe you. The monsters are fine, and I'll inform the adventurers about the bodies left behind. It won't be a disadvantage to them. As for the days off, the guild doesn't have the authority to bind adventurers. It would be inappropriate to force anything, especially with a lower reward."

The other adventurers also receive decent rewards.

How much budget do they have?

It's probably at the level of putting all the national defense budget into this city.