Chapter 14

All ten of the knives I made were sold out.

This was undoubtedly a cause for celebration, but of course, until I made the next batch, there would be no inventory. I wouldn't be able to go to town to sell for a while.

During this time, I had a few things I wanted to do before I could focus on production.

First, I wanted to develop new products. Not something grand, but I thought it was about time to make a few long swords. I hoped these would sell to merchants (or their mercenary guards). They would likely bring in more profit than knives. I also couldn't forget to make arrowheads, or Sermia would get terribly upset. I needed to remember that.

Next, I wanted to expand the house. With Sermia around, I realized we lacked a guest room. Our house was close to the edge of the "Black Forest," but it was quite a distance from town. For regular customers, a meeting and handover would suffice, but for closer friends or business partners, there was no place for them to stay. I couldn't just leave them in the forest if they got delayed. Adding two more rooms should be enough for now.

For this, I needed materials, but unfortunately, there was no dry timber available. Cutting down trees in the area would provide the wood, but it would take at least two weeks to dry. Building the rooms would take even longer. However, buying from town was too far. I decided to gather materials locally.

As I mentioned, we were in the middle of a forest. There were plenty of materials around, but I needed tools to get them. An axe and a large saw. I had an axe from before, but it was made for sale, not for my use. So, I decided to make a dedicated one for myself.

...I feel like the list of things to make is growing, but I enjoy making things, so I won't worry about it.

First, the axe and saw. The axe was made by stacking metal sheets, heating them in a forge, hammering them into a thick plate, shaping them, and then hardening them. Since it was for felling trees, the blade wasn't very sharp.

The large saw was made by hammering metal sheets into thin plates, creating saw teeth with a chisel, and then sharpening them with a file. It took a whole day just to make the saw because I wasn't used to it.

During breaks, I didn't forget to make arrowheads. I created a mold by attaching clay to a wooden form, buried it in sand to make a casting mold, and poured molten iron from the furnace. After it cooled, I heated the sprue to create a hole for the shaft, then sharpened it to complete the arrowhead. I would attach it to the shafts Sermia had, but that could wait until the day before she went hunting.

Now, it was time for the felling. The area around the house was like a small clearing, but it was still in the dense forest. Expanding the garden or field a bit more shouldn't bring any bad luck.

While making the axe, I had Sermia fetch water (just half a bottle) and do other chores besides cooking. Today, she would help with the saw. She always said, "Aizou's cooking is better than mine, of course!" ...She always finds a way to flatter me, and I can't resist it.

I shouldered the axe and stood in front of a tree. I got into a baseball batting stance and swung the axe at the tree.

A satisfying "thud" echoed loudly, but there was no visible change in the tree. ...Or so it seemed, but the tree slid and fell to the opposite side with a heavy thud, shaking the ground.

The cross-section was as clean as if it had been cut by a saw in my previous world. I was proud of my product, but the cutting power was terrifying. I had to be careful, or it might fall on me and end my second life.

Considering the future, I decided to cut one more tree, remembering to fell it in the right direction. Another loud thud and shake, and the second tree was down.

I used the axe to remove the branches. Normally, a machete would be better for thin branches, but my axe did the job effortlessly. I then struck the trunk vertically to cut it to the right length. Another "thud" echoed, but it seemed nothing happened. However, it was cut cleanly. When I pushed, it rolled over at the cut. I repeated this a few times to prepare the logs for planks.

"Sermia!"

I called out loudly to the house. After a while, Sermia came out with the large saw, which I had asked her to bring.

"Finally, it's my turn!"

"Yeah, but don't overdo it. You shouldn't need much strength, though."

"I know. Aizou made this with all his effort, right?"

"It's my tool."

"Then there's nothing to worry about. Let's cut it smoothly."

"Right."

Sermia and I stood on either side of the fallen tree, with the large saw between us. We cut it horizontally into planks. Normally, this would require considerable effort and time, but it went smoothly like cutting tofu.

"Ha-ha! What is this? It's so smooth!"

Sermia laughed at how smooth it was.

"Don't laugh so much and make it wobble."

"I know! I'm being careful!"

In the end, it took less than ten minutes to make one cut.

"At this rate, we can finish cutting today."

"Right. It would take longer normally, but it's Aizou's tool."

We took breaks and had lunch, but we managed to complete the cutting and stacking of the planks for drying in a full day.

Now, I can start making long swords tomorrow.