Chapter 55

After I had casually collected the bodies, the guild's response to my report of the massive explosion, which resulted in over 1.02 million trees being destroyed, was swift.

Almost immediately, the mayor, the leaders of the adventurer parties, and the shopkeepers gathered to hold a meeting about the Broken recovery operation.

Of course, the reward for the logging was promptly recorded, and my Desibattle card now showed a sum of about 5.2 billion Tel.

Naturally, the meeting was chaired by the mayor.

In large-scale offensive operations against monster territories, supply lines often become a bottleneck, slowing down the advance. However, this time, there was a way to solve that problem by force.

Of course, that method was me, but I couldn't transport food that didn't exist, so it seemed they would gather supplies from around Fotoren.

Gathering the supplies wasn't my job, so I would only be responsible for transporting them.

The second challenge was that we needed to build a fortress while fighting monsters in a place where materials couldn't be easily transported. However, it was decided that I would use my strength to force a solution.

Materials were supposed to be difficult to transport, but I could do it.

Of course, transporting the personnel to use the materials would be too much for me, so it wouldn't be a complete solution.

Additionally, it was decided that I would occasionally cast explosion magic in front of the fortress construction site when I wasn't transporting materials to support the battle.

I would end up doing a lot of work, but since only I could do it, there was no choice.

It might be quite tough, but it shouldn't be impossible.

I had heard somewhere that "impossible" was a word used by liars.

There were other minor policies, but they weren't particularly important.

At most, it was about first building a small wall and moat with a small, elite team, and then accelerating the process by bringing in less strong people once it was usable.

If we could manage the early stages, the fortress would be completed like a snowball rolling downhill. The early stages were crucial.

Due to the burning of the cut trees and the preparation of food, the operation was set to begin in a week.

"Then, Kaede, I'm counting on you."

"Yes, see you later."

By the time the meeting dispersed, it was already dark.

It felt like it had been a while since I had gone to bed in the middle of the night.

There wasn't much to do at night anyway.

Tomorrow, I would prepare to build a ship in Fotoren and blow up the construction site area in the evening.

Since I was told I could blow up the area where Broken used to be as well, I could do so without any reservations.

The next day, I went to a reputable shipyard in Fotoren.

It was more of a shipwright's workshop.

My goal was to obtain a ship that could withstand the attacks of Boat Killers and penetrate the monster territory head-on, as well as a small flying ship to carry it.

"Excuse me, I would like to order a ship. What should I do?"

"Let's discuss it. Please come to the back room."

In the room, we sat across from each other at a slightly larger table and began the negotiation.

"What kind of ship are you looking for?"

Thinking it was better to state my final goal directly rather than thinking about it as a layman, I said:

"A ship that can withstand the attacks of Boat Killers and penetrate the monster territory head-on, and a small flying ship to carry it."

The flying ship was for the landing operation.

"…What is your budget?"

"I have this much, but I would like to save costs by using materials I have on hand if possible."

I showed him my Desibattle card, which displayed an amount equivalent to about 50 billion yen in Japanese currency. If that wasn't enough, it would mean such a ship couldn't be built.

"Wh-What… This is real, right?"

"Showing a fake card would be like asking to be executed, wouldn't it?"

Well, even if it were fake, whether they could execute me was another matter.

"…Yes, you're right. When we finalize the deal, we'll verify it. So, what materials do you have?"

"Wyvern carcass, Metal Lizard Metal, and so on."

"Who are you… Metal Lizard Metal isn't suitable for ships, but Wyvern bones are excellent ship materials. How large are they?"

"The Wyvern is about 15 meters from head to tail. I want to keep the parts that can be used as weapons."

"The best parts of a Wyvern for weapons are the claws and fangs, so it's not a big deal. The bones are strong, but not worth the trouble."

"I see. Then you can use them. How large and how much will it cost?"

"Using the spine as the keel, it can accommodate about 30 people. The cost will depend on the materials."

Thirty people, not a bad size.

It was surprising that such a ship wasn't used in Desibattle.

Or maybe it was because the path in Desibattle served as a test?

"Materials. For strength, what do you recommend?"

"For a monster territory, Mithril is good for underwater armor. It's light, strong, and goes well with bones. It's also getting a bit cheaper recently."

Is Mithril a metal that can be sold cheaply?

"Is Mithril cheap?"

"It's suddenly become cheaper. Apparently, a new fuel suitable for Mithril refining has led to mass production. It's still quite expensive, though."

Mithril, refined with ordinary fuel.

It's a mundane story, but if the suitable fuel is magical, it might have a magical metal feel.

"Then, how much will it cost?"

"I think it will be between 130 million and 170 million Tel."

I had plenty of room.

Next was the landing craft.

"What about the flying ship?"

"We can build the hull, but we'll need to rely on a magic item shop for the flying part. It will have poor fuel efficiency, but what will it be used for?"

"It's for landing people and supplies from the main ship. The fuel efficiency can be a bit poor, but make sure it can fit on the larger ship."

"…I hadn't thought of that. The flying ship will be lighter, so the strength will be compromised to some extent."

"That's fine. I plan to move it while it's floating vertically."

Once we escape the range of the Boat Killers, it's ours.

The island itself will be burned by me.

"It will be a very unusual ship… Can the flying ship be built after the Mithril ship is completed?"

"Yes, it won't be operational until everything is ready."

"Understood. Shall we start the contract now?"

"Yes."

So, the negotiations for the ship were settled.

I prepaid at the commercial guild and delivered the Wyvern bones to the shipwright's workshop. The ship wasn't that large, and the materials were easy to process, but it would take about two weeks to complete.

While I was at it, I decided to visit the store. When I went to Maple Catherine's Magic Item Shop, the situation had changed significantly.

The number of magic items on display was completely different from before.

Previously, there were only about 10, but now there were nearly 50.

I hadn't added any more money, and they weren't unsold, so it must have been the result of buying magic stones with the sales.

The quality was also much higher.

Even without appraising them, I had no doubt.

Keen eye… I guess. After seeing a lot of magic stones in Desibattle, I could tell the quality from the color and shine.

These were definitely high-quality magic stones.

I might be unconsciously appraising them, but the appraisal magic I used wasn't strictly an appraisal spell.

Looking down, I saw the price tags.

The cheapest item was priced at 200,000 Tel, which was ridiculous.

Considering the size of the magic stones, the cost would be around 10,000 Tel.

If they sold, it would be a huge profit.

I asked the clerk to introduce me to Catherine. The clerk was a different man, not the woman from before, and he looked like he could fight if necessary.

"Is Catherine here?"

"Who are you? I can't just let you see the store owner."

Thinking about it, they wouldn't recognize me. I showed them my guild card.

My rank hadn't changed, but it would probably go up after the Broken recovery operation.

Actually, I felt it was already certain.

In Desibattle, my rank wasn't that important, so it might be delayed.

I didn't need to rush to raise my rank anyway.

"Ah, you don't know me. I'm Kaede, the owner of this store."

I showed them my guild card.

My rank hadn't changed, but it would probably go up after the Broken recovery operation.

Actually, I felt it was already certain.

In Desibattle, my rank wasn't that important, so it might be delayed.

I didn't need to rush to raise my rank anyway.

"Sh-Shame on me! The store owner is in the back room, but I need to stay here…"

"I can go by myself, it's fine."

He was loyal to his duties.

He seemed to be a combination of a shopkeeper and a security guard.

The anti-thief system probably wasn't perfect.

When I went in, Catherine was taking a break after finishing her work.

"Hey. How are you doing? The store looks like it's doing well."

"Yes, it's doing very well. We've already made over 1 million Tel in sales."

Wow.

Even if only a part of that went to Catherine, her annual income would be substantial.

"…Do magic item shops usually make that much money?"

"Of course not. It seems my skills… or rather, my traits, are very suitable for a magic item craftsman."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, my speed is too slow to be useful as a mage, but I can do precise work in large quantities, so I can actually make high-quality magic items quickly."

The reason she couldn't use magic, or the inactive magic power in her skills, might be the cause.

If we found people with inactive magic power and had them practice with Wisp Cores, we might be able to mass-produce elite magic item craftsmen.

I should think about it.

But if she's making money, it's not a problem.

"That's impressive. You can reinvest the profits into the store, so keep up the good work."

"Yes. I have an idea for some armor I'd like to make. Is that okay?"

"Armor from a magic item shop? What kind?"

"Armor that uses the wearer's magic power for defense, light and with high defensive capabilities. I want to try making something like that."

Oh, that sounds good.

But are there no patents or something?

"Are there no patents or anything?"

"It's fine. It's a mainstream technique, just difficult to make."

"Alright, go ahead. It's good to experiment."

"Yes!"

In this short time, she had made 1 million Tel, so it seemed Catherine was also moving away from being a regular person, though not as much as me.

She must be a member of the Maple Guild.

Mercia seemed relatively normal, but the guild leader probably needed to be a regular person to manage the people working under them.

Everyone in their right place.