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Chapter 54. A New Teacher In The Wilderness

"Why is Hagg-sama here too?"

In the morning, while having breakfast as usual on the hill, Cherina was wearing her usual crimson outfit approached and asked as if forgetting the customary greeting. 

Was it such a question that it made her forget the usual pleasantries?

"Oh, well, I asked Hagg last night if he could teach me how to make fire-resistant bricks."

"Hmm. There's really no obligation for me to teach you, but since you treated me to delicious food, I'll make an exception. Well, I can't teach you how to make bricks for steel furnaces, though!"

Hagg laughed heartily.

"Well, I'm glad to hear that."

Her previously displeased expression vanished, transforming into a smile befitting a merchant. 

Cash, huh?

"Well then, shall we head there right away?"

"What about our morning work?"

"We'll push it to the afternoon."

"I see."

Since I had no reason to object, I nodded.

"Well then, let's stop by the guild first before we go. Let's make sure to be back by lunchtime."

"Sounds good."

And so, everyone began to move.

By the way, breakfast was the usual eggs, bacon, and toast. 

It seemed Yaralai had talked about cooking, so Hagg seemed eager to eat. 

Since he was taking the day off to come here, I happily treated him to breakfast. 

The newly made bread, bacon, and eggs were all eaten up by Hagg without a crumb left. 

Well, that's fine.

My remaining fund is 909,949 yen.

――――

We arrived at Cherina's secret laboratory, not her secret base.

Dauro arrived soon after.

"What's the matter, miss? Wasn't the appointment for tomorrow?"

"I've come to discuss the new development."

"Again?"

"Do you have a problem with that?"

"Not at all, I'm just surprised at the pace."

"I see. This time, Hagg-sama here will be providing technical guidance. Please, no rudeness."

"Understood. Hagg-sama, please enlighten us with your story."

Probably an executive in charge of development, Dauro addressed Hagg with deference. 

Isn't the difference in attitude between him and me too much?

"Hmm. We have enough charcoal, right?"

Cherina nodded in Dauro's place.

"Yes. Dauro, please bring the highest quality available. Hagg-sama, we'll have even higher quality charcoal ready by tomorrow."

"You're confident?"

"We received guidance from Yaralai-sama."

Hagg looked unimpressed as he glanced up at Yaralai.

"Hmph. Well, if it's a wood-smelling elf, I suppose that's expected. I'm not pleased... but I won't deny that elven charcoal is top-notch."

What's with that? Is he tsundere? Also, he knew that elves could make charcoal.

"Well then, assuming there's slightly better charcoal available, I'll teach you. Akira, if we use the brick oven made with these bricks, can we make tasty food?"

"Yeah, I confirmed yesterday that we have goat and buffalo cheese. I've also arranged for other ingredients. If I just prepare the sauce, we can have a delicious meal ready. It's for business anyway, so it's fine to leave the menu to Chef Hugo. Once he learns the techniques and tricks, he'll come up with various good menus."

Actually, if we had tomatoes, we could expand the menu, but I think they're mainly for highland or cold regions. 

Speaking of which, potatoes are also a plant for cold regions, but I see them a lot around here. 

Oh, Cherina's company must be importing them in large quantities. 

Or maybe there are varieties resistant to the heat here, or it's because of the temperature difference. 

I don't know about that.

Let's leave the details of the heat-resistant bricks to the development artisans Dauro and Hagg.

Yaralai is watching the kiln.

"I'm really different from just having knowledge."

"It's not like that. With your ideas, you can also utilize your connections."

"Is that so... Oh right, Hagg, I'm having you skip your visit to the blacksmith guild today. Can you handle it through Cherina?"

"It's a trivial matter."

That's good. 

According to the conversation, Hagg was supposed to attend only until today, with an agreement to extend the period if they both liked it.

But still, taking the day off just because he can eat delicious food, Hagg is quite something.

"Hey, Hagg, can you make heat-resistant bricks?"

"Huh? With an inventor like me around, there's nothing I can't make."

Hagg turned back grumpily, but one word caught my attention.

"Inventor?"

"Haven't I mentioned it? I've been traveling around various countries because I'm bored with existing iron products."

"I've never heard of it..."

"Hahaha! Don't worry about it!"

"Well, never mind."

Whether he's an inventor or a mountaineer, he's still a lifesaver, someone reliable.

"Dauro, given the material ratio and temperature, I'll start making the brick oven now, so watch and learn."

"Yes, sir."

Apparently, brick-making is going smoothly without even needing to ask.

"Will it be finished today?"

"I'll have the numbers ready by tomorrow. If I fail despite teaching you this much, it means I don't have the talent, but I won't give up!"

"Spartan, huh?"

"Hmph. Dauro is skilled, there's no problem."

While answering, he continued to stack the kiln rapidly with sun-dried bricks, as if watching a time-lapse video. Dwarves are amazing.

"Sun-dried bricks are enough for that kiln?"

"For now, yes. We'll make baked bricks with these, then rebuild the kiln. Since these baked bricks just need to be lightly fired, they'll be ready by evening. Then Dauro will assemble the heat-resistant brick kiln and have it ready by tomorrow."

"Oh. Spartan, indeed..."

"Hmph. I'm happy to teach new technology. Of course, I'll do it without sleeping."

I think he shouldn't push himself too hard. 

But Dauro seemed delighted with a threatening grin, so I decided not to say anything.

"You there! Stop sloppily filling the clay! Seriously... people are always trying to cut corners. I won't accept such flawed bricks! If every brick isn't tightly packed to every corner, be prepared for me to demolish all the kilns!"

Hagg's angry voice made the other executives jump, and they returned all the clay they had framed with wooden frames, redoing each one carefully.

"Oh, I was wondering about that too. Sun-dried bricks are all so irregular."

"Yeah. Seriously... people usually cut corners. Unbelievable."

Cherina's subordinates seem to have an impression of being serious.

But they're not meticulous. 

Maybe being careless is their default setting.

It's a sight you often see abroad. 

Their way of handling things is terrible. 

When you fly abroad, you'll notice how they throw their carry-on bags around carelessly. 

And for them, that's considered serious work, so the gap with Japanese people is enormous.

I'm glad Hagg's values in craftsmanship lean towards the Japanese.