Shop 46.2

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Chapter 46.2. The Stubborn One In The Wilderness

"I'll teach, but I'll stay as a guard."

"Ah, it should be fine around here, I won't go out of sight. Besides, there are plenty of Cherina's guards outside the partition."

It feels like the number of guards is increasing day by day.

"...Alright, Akira, just stay around here,"

"Got it."

I sit down on a log near the partition. Cherina sits down leisurely next to me.

I take out a cigarette from the container and fill my lungs with nicotine. Life without this is unimaginable.

It's an absurd analogy, but even if the WHO bans it, I'll keep smoking.

"I never expected elves to know how to make charcoal."

"Maybe it's just that Cherina didn't know about it, but it might be more widely circulated than we think."

"That's a possibility. If it's made in Green Garden, it might be used in Lake Rel as well."

Lake Rel, I've heard of it somewhere.

"It's the name of a country. A large one. Lake Rel, the country of mountains and lakes. It's also known as the main temple of the Earth Mother Goddess Aigas. I've heard that Green Garden is a vast forest ruled by elves. There are no exact borders, but it's adjacent to Lake Rel."

I see. If it's adjacent, it's not strange to know about it.

"Is Lake Rel far away?"

"Yes, it is. It's located in the central north of this continent. Since you don't have to cross the Midal Mountains, it's barely a tradeable country."

"I see."

The church priestess also said it takes a month for letters to go back and forth. And that's using flying animals. It would take several times longer with a carriage.

"Fortunately, I don't think there will be any competition, but the profit might decrease."

"I think selling at a small profit is fine. Besides, thanks to Yaralai, if the quality improves, we might be able to implement another idea I've been considering."

"You mentioned it before. Please tell me."

"Alright... Aren't most buildings in this country made of sun-dried bricks?"

"Yes. By mixing clay, river water, sand, and plants, and pouring them into wooden molds, then lining them up on boards, they can be finished in a few days thanks to the strong sunlight."

"Isn't the strength questionable?"

"It depends on the skill of the brick workshop. The proportions of clay and sand are highly confidential for each workshop."

"Oh, so there might be brick-making guilds?"

"There are."

"Damn... What do you mean?"

"What I was thinking was making heat-resistant bricks using the high heat of charcoal."

"Heat-resistant bricks?"

"Yeah, they're sturdy. So they don't crumble as quickly as sun-dried bricks, making it much easier to build buildings."

"How strong do they become?"

"I think they're softer than rocks rolling outside the city, but they're definitely much stronger than sun-dried bricks."

"I'm starting to get interested."

"Then, if we can make heat-resistant bricks, we can build a stone oven. I helped... well, actually, I was mostly forced to build one at my boss's house before."

"Is a stone oven a kiln?"

"Think of it as a cooking oven. Cooking anything with this stone oven makes it delicious. Pizzas and bread are to die for."

"Bread...?"

"It's crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside... I'm starting to crave it..."

"Bread tastes bad."

Cherina frowns.

"Don't judge before you try it."

"Well, it's not that. Bread is heavily regulated in our country. Selling it without permission is prohibited."

"For real?"

"Yeah."

"I see... Well, even without bread, there are various dishes we can try. Lasagna, gratin, roasted vegetables, and there's even baked apples, which are quite exquisite."

"Baking apples?"

"Yeah, it's the best dessert."

"..."

I feel like Cherina's stomach growled, but let's just pretend it didn't.

"I vaguely remember how to build a kiln, so if there's no problem with the budget, I think we can try making some through trial and error. The problem is, I'm not sure about the materials for heat-resistant bricks or how to fire them."

Just firing clay at high temperatures won't work, right...?

"That's a problem."

"In that case, the dwarves might know."

Yaralai's words, as he returned after finishing his conversation with Douro.

"I'm not sure if they'll teach us."

"Why did you think they knew?"

"To make iron, you need a kiln, probably heat-resistant bricks, right?"

"That's likely."

"But if that's the case, whether they'll teach us or not... The techniques related to iron are monopolized by the dwarves."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, of course, humans can also make it, but in terms of quality, they can't compete with dwarves."

"The dwarves are idiots who can only think about iron."

Yaralai is harsh.

"Um, let's try negotiating as a last resort. If that doesn't work... well, anyway, it might be impossible to make bricks because of the guild."

"No, if we collaborate with a workshop, it won't be a problem. As long as we provide funds and charcoal and exchange ideas for heat-resistant bricks, they'll probably agree."

"In that case, we'll have to try trial and error one by one."

"Yeah."

"By the way, how did the charcoal discussion go?"

"I taught them some tricks, so we should be able to make usable charcoal the day after tomorrow."

"That's amazing."

"Yaralai-sama, I'm a bit late to ask, but was it okay for you to teach them that?"

"It's fine. It's not a secret, and if it's Akira's friend, there's no problem."

Am I the standard? If so, I don't think there's anything more trustworthy.

"Understood. Thank you. I'll think of some way to thank you."

"Don't worry about it."

"Thanks to Yaralai, we've made progress with the charcoal. Oh, Douro-san, can I take some of the well-made prototype charcoal with me?"

I called out to Douro, to whom I had given instructions.

"What are you going to use it for?"

"I'll use it for tonight's dinner. This one is of decent quality as well."

"Miss?"

"It's fine, we're planning to use the company's cafeteria tonight."

"I see, I'll prepare it then."

"Oh, and could you also prepare two more charcoal braziers?"

"...Got it."

Douro's attitude towards me is still the same.

"Then let's go back a bit, Melvin, head towards the fishing port."

"Understood."

Melvin, who was in the driver's seat, nodded.

And so, we returned to the city-state's walls once again. It's bustling...