Volume 2 Chapter 20

Volume 2 Chapter 20: Tour through Workshop and a Bit of Competition

After getting the reward from Wilhelm, using the occasion I was taking a tour of the shipbuilding guild.

I thought that before we left I should get more familiar with the inner workings of such guilds, as it might come in handy in the future. It seems that Berzelia and Saki approved of my idea and were barraging a female staff member with questions.

Or so I thought, those two—

『Please wait. I will collect at least one bit of information that will be useful to Master. 』

『Then I will bring at least two or three stories that will be of use to Axel. 』

「Mmm. Guess I’ll bring six.」

『——Then I will bring seven. 』

『……』

『……』

After staring at each other with smiles they went on asking all sorts of things, almost as if they were competing.

Well, I would be glad to have lots of information, so I don’t mind them going at it as long as they don’t cause trouble to the guild.

And while I thought so—

「Your party is quite lively.」

Wilhelm who was walking next to me said with a wry smile.

「It became this lively only a few days ago. Anyway, sorry if we are causing too much of a fuss.」

「Well, with all that bam bam bam it’s a noisy workplace to begin with. This much wouldn’t bother anyone.」

As Wilhelm said, in this guild house, or rather, shipyard, the noise never ceased, even for a moment. The sounds of hammers and voices of people, who seemed to be shipbuilders, could be heard constantly.

「I can see ships under construction all over the place, but you are constructing them at a pretty high pace.」

「Well, you know, during the great war with the demon lord they would get destroyed as soon as we finish them. And we still have production and repair lines operating at full capacity.」

With those words, Wilhelm points at the surrounding docks. In addition to ships under construction, there were also some damaged vessels.

「That is a repair line, huh? So you are repairing ships trashed during the war?」

「Basically. However, there are a lot of accidents in the sea recently. So we are quite hectic with all those repairs but we should also work on developing new models… And as a result of our rush… That happened.」

In front of a frowning Wilhelm was a metal box covered in black soot.

「What’s that?」

「The heart of the ship, the magic engine. A new type. The one that you carried from there.」

「Ah, there was something like a box.」

「Thanks to that we determined the cause and ways of improvement, so it’s a great success in its own way. Were it to sink it wouldn’t be that easy. …Well, we lost the ship, so we first have to replace it, making use of this information comes a bit later.」

「Is that so. But I’m glad that I could help you.」

「Haha, helped? For our guild, you are basically a savior. Remaking an engine’s core would’ve also taken a ton of money and time. ……The vessel itself is not that much of a problem, look, we already recovered that much.」

Following Wilhelm’s gaze, I saw a large ship. It’s the same shape as the one that sank a few days ago.

「Oh, even though it was destroyed just recently, amazing. It’s already finished?」

「About half, there is still a lot of work left.」

Exchanging such words we approached the new ship.

Then, I saw that there are about a dozen or so people gathered around it. Or more precisely—

「One…Two…!!」

They were trying to lift something like a long silvery pillar.

「What are they doing?」

「Working on the new model that I mentioned earlier. In order to make the ship sturdier, we are trying to incorporate in the construction an alloy with a mix of magic stones——」

As we spoke, voices came from the men that had the pillar raised a few millimeters above the ground.

「Nuoooh……! It won’t go any higher……!」

「——No good! Let go of it!」

Along with that voice, the pillar fell to the floor with a loud bang.

All of the participating men were breathing heavily.

「Looks like they cannot lift it.」

「Yes. Originally a mage that can use a strength buff would assist them, but he got heavily injured during the incident the other day… You guys, don’t overdo it!」

When Wilhelm called to them, the men turned our way.

And after seeing me and Wilhelm they awkwardly laughed.

「Haah……Haah……Sorry, Chief. That is a sorry display before our guest.」

「We don’t have the people needed so nothing can be done about it. But, it can’t be lifted after all? If you need more people I can help as well.」

The men knit their eyebrows upon hearing Wilhelm’s words.

「Er, well. I wonder. With Chief’s strength, we might be able to lift it somehow but to be honest, I think we would need a bit more if we are to stabilize it ……」

「A little more, huh. Waiting until someone is free from other duties sounds a bit wasteful…… And rush also doesn’t sound too good, I mean, safety first and such.」

Perplexed, Wilhelm and workers stare down at the pillar.

They appear troubled but very much motivated. In that case—

「Wilhelm. If you want, I can help a little.」

「Eh, you mean, you?」

「Yeah, I’m taking a tour anyway, so why not go all the way since I’m already at it. If it’s simply about lifting and carrying then even I can help.」

Receiving an unlimited board ticket just for completing a rescue request sounds a bit too much, so I would like to do something more for them. So I suggested with that in mind. Then—

「Ah, thank you, but are you sure? This alloy with magic stone is quite heavy and due to the characteristics of the material it might provoke alterations if it were to be put into the transportation bag, so we would like to carry it as it is……」

「M? Ah, no problem. I will participate as an ordinary laborer.」

If you can’t use a transport bag, just carry it normally.

Then, Wilhelm glanced at the men around him and replied with a nod.

「Got it. Thank you, Carrier-niisan. But don’t overextend yourself? It’s hard even for them with Strength stat above C.」

「Oh? Of course, I will hold it properly.」

Looks like Wilhelm was satisfied with my answer as he responded—

「Okay, then, guys, let’s carry it! Don’t waste carrier-niisan’s generosity!」

「Yeah!」

The men grabbed the metal pillar, looking quite motivated.

I also grabbed the edge of the pillar.

「On one two three we lift it.」

「Yes!」

「One……Two……」

After those words, the men stiffened up and the count up began. Then—

「Th, ree——?!」

On the last count, I put the pillar on my shoulder. However—

「Eh…?」

「Sorry. I raised it too high.」

But as I put it on my shoulder I ended up shaking off everyone’s hands off it.

Judging by how they held their hands at the waist level, looks like I misjudged the grip.

Some of them looked like they put too much strength into it and now were laying on the ground.

「Ah, so we were supposed to carry it under the arm and not on the shoulder?」

I guess I should’ve asked beforehand to match my movements—

「No, wait a moment. You are a carrier, and you are carrying it……alone……?!」

「Mm?」

Now that he mentioned it, I ended up being the only one holding it.

And everyone around me stood with open mouths and hands at the hip level, without making any movement.

In other words, I’m the only one carrying the material.

Indeed, it’s a bit heavy. A bit heavy, but compared to the days of a dragon knight, when I had to carry long swords and spears in the dozens it’s still somewhat easy.

「Hm, well, I’m carrying alone after all. It’s pretty heavy so it’s a bit tough, but unexpectedly I can handle it.」

Wilhelm was the first one to break away from the freeze upon hearing my words.

「It takes ten people to somehow lift that thing…?! Ah, niisan, are your hands okay?!」

「This much is fine. ——So, Wilhelm. Where do we carry this? If it suits you, I can carry it just like this.」

「——Y-yeah, this way. But, can you walk?」

「Of course.」

With Wilhelm in the lead, I walk with the metal pillar. Then, a murmur erupted behind me.

「You’re kidding… So the flying carrier wasn’t just fast but also had such power……?!」

「Yeah, I thought that he wasn’t so simple since he was with the Hero of Magic, but he really is something else… It’s simply impossible with carrier’s strength, just what is going on……」

With such voices in the background, I finish assisting with installation of the pillar and go home with Berzelia and Saki.