CH 26

Here’s the chapter, enjoy~

When I returned from the communal storehouse to the place where the blacksmithing facility was installed, Isla was waiting for me. She seemed to have brought the potions that she had just taken with her; I wondered what was wrong?

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

She seemed to be somewhat limp. I wonder what’s really going on.

“I’ve been testing this potion with all my reagents and lab animals.”

“So?”

“In conclusion, I can confirm that all of these potions have a certain effect. I can’t say for sure until I observe the progress, but so far, I haven’t noticed any side effects. Or rather, the effects are so immediate that I don’t know how to evaluate them.”

The word “absurd” no longer seemed to come out, as she used to say.

“Well, why would you do that?”

“You said these are potions that heal wounds, remove poisons, cure diseases, etc.”

“Yes, I did say that.”

“But it’s for human life. It should never be given irresponsibly.”

“Is that how you think?”

“Yes… but… no.”

Isla looked down with a tired―no, sad face.

“I’m… sorry, Kosuke.”

“No, you don’t have to apologize for all of a sudden. Hey, don’t cry! Sylphy! Sylphy-san help!”

A surprising amount of tears are dripping from the face of the downcast Isla, or rather, it’s like a big drop of tears. Her eyes are large, so I wonder if her tear glands are also large. As for me, I couldn’t respond other than to be puzzled by Isla’s sudden burst of tears. Why on earth did this happen? Why did this happen?

“I’ll take care of Isla, and you look after the furnace. And put that away.”

I can’t help it if Sylphy says so. I straightforwardly collected the potion that Isla had brought back and headed for the smithing facility. It seems that the iron production is not yet finished but is almost done. But the suddenness of it all left me baffled. Why did Isla suddenly apologize after that conversation? And I don’t understand why she starts crying at all.

Isla is definitely the genius type. In other words, I think she is the type of person who is incredibly quick-witted. Yet, she speaks relatively less. That’s right; she’s the type of person who can think fast but is not good at putting it into words. She’s the kind of person whose outlandish actions or lack of words cause her to clash with the people around her or to distance themselves from her. It’s like a communicable disease.

Hmm, based on the conversation before and after… The reason why she made me make the potion and took it all with her was to test the effects of the potion. This is the first thing to be confirmed. It’s not that she did it with any malicious intent, but she took all possible precautions to make sure that it could be prescribed because it involves a person’s life. Yes, it’s logical, and it makes sense.

But then she said it was different, apologized, and suddenly cried.

“Yeah, I don’t get it.”

My brain can’t make sense of it. I’m sure Sylphy will be able to get a good sense out of her. Maybe I was insensitive in my words. Even if I think about it, I have no idea what part of it was insensitive.

After a while, when the iron smelting was finished, and the mass production of arrowheads started, Sylphy and Isla came back. For some reason, they were with Melty.

“Welcome back.”

“Yeah, we are back. How are you doing?”

“Mass production of arrowheads in progress. I’ve set the production target at 10,000 just to be safe.”

I’ve got enough material; all I need is time. When I turned my gaze to Sylphy, I could see that Isla was standing in the shadow of her. Melty also looked somewhat guilty, but I wondered what was going on.

“Um, what is it? If you have time, let’s talk a little.”

“Yeah.”

Somehow, Sylphy’s demeanor seems distant as well. What the hell is going on? It makes me uneasy!

I took out a table and chairs from my inventory, set them up, and took out four plastic bottles of drinking water, and placed them in front of each of us. I’m the first one to get my hands on the bottles and drink the water. I was thirsty after being by the fire for so long.

“Oh, um, what is it? Do you want to start with what happened with Isla?”

“Yes.”

Sylphy began to talk about the situation in an unusually slurred manner. In conclusion, it seems that Isla has become jealous of my abilities. She is an excellent magician and also an excellent alchemist. To put it bluntly, she was pissed off when she saw the potion I had made.

Normally, the correct use of alchemy requires a wealth of knowledge and rigorous training. And yet, as if to ridicule such efforts, I easily created a potion with tremendous effects with just one hand.

The reason why she asked me to make the potions, take them all away, and verify their effects was to comply with the alchemist’s rule: “No potion should be released to the world without experimentation and verification,” but when she finished the verification and talked with me, she realized her true intentions. So she apologized.

“Kosuke’s power was not something that Kosuke obtained without paying any price, but something that he had to pay for everything he had ever done… I’m sorry, Kosuke.”

“O-oh…? Well, don’t worry about it. I’m not mad at you at all, okay?”

Why is this becoming such a heavy story? I don’t know. It’s indeed a bit of a shock to find out that I’ve been blown away into this world all of a sudden, but after I found out about the existence of my crafting abilities, I’ve been having a lot of fun.

“So, why are Sylphy and Melty looking so sullen?”

“No, I mean, after hearing Isla’s story, I had some thoughts of my own.”

“Kosuke-san, you acquired this ability after you came here as a marebito, didn’t you?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

I nodded to Melty’s question. That’s definitely true.

“In other words, you obtained the ability in exchange for your family, friends, property, and hometown, right?”

“I guess you could say that.”

I hadn’t thought about it that way, but now that she mentions it, yes, that’s true. I don’t know if I’ll be able to go back to my world, but I doubt it. If Sylphy and the others knew how to get back to my original world, they would have told me something about it either.

“After all this time. I thought that we were using Kosuke too much for our own convenience.”

“Haha, that’s true; it’s a little late for that. But hey, I’m indebted to you, Sylphy, and I don’t think I’ve paid you back yet, so don’t worry about it.”

Sylphy and Isla looked at each other and smiled bitterly at my reply.

“You’re too good-natured, Kosuke.”

“I don’t think that’s true. For now, it’s just a matter of what I want to do and what Sylphy and the others want to do. I’m a human being, and I have my own plans.”

“What do you want to do, Kosuke-san?”

“I want to develop my abilities and be able to do more things. I want to be in an environment where I can be safe, where I can eat, where I can shelter from the wind and rain. Those are what I want, and that’s what Sylphy is giving me. It’s a win-win situation, my needs are being met, and Sylphy’s needs are being met as well.”

“Win-win.”

“Yes, win-win. In addition to that, I owe a debt of gratitude to Sylphy for saving my life. Helping Sylphy and the others is a way to repay that debt. I’m killing two birds with one stone. So, I don’t mind if you use my abilities for your convenience. I don’t want to be asked to keep working without food, though. Also, I’m a human being, and if I keep working, I’ll get tired. I don’t have a problem as long as you take that into consideration. I’m not complaining at the moment, so don’t worry. I’ll tell you if I have any complaints.”

“I see… Yeah, I understand.”

Sylphy’s expression brightened as if she was convinced by my words, which exposed my innermost thoughts. Melty still looked a little apologetic. Yeah, Melty’s got that record! She should be more careful next time!

“Isla, I’m not mad at you; just treat me the same as before. I’m also interested in magic and alchemy. We didn’t have either in my world, after all.”

To be precise, Earth’s alchemy existed in the past and became the basis of natural science. The alchemy of this world, where magic and magical powers exist, is probably completely different from Earth’s alchemy.

“…Yeah. I understand.”

Isla finally raised her head and looked at my face. Yeah, her eyes are red from crying. I think she should drink plenty of water and get a good night’s sleep. The One-Eyed race has large eyes, so if they cry, they might consume a lot of water.

“Well, I guess we’ll make up for it now. I’m glad we were able to have a heart-to-heart talk, yeah.”

With that, I held out my hand to Isla. She tilted her head as if she didn’t understand the meaning of the offered hand. It seems that there is no custom of shaking hands in this world.

“It’s a custom in my world; we hold each other’s hands when we want to make up or show friendship. It’s called a handshake.”

“Handshake… yes.”

I held Isla’s hand and shook it up and down. Isla’s hand is small. And soft. It’s not the same as Sylphy’s hand.

“Now we reconcile. Isn’t it a good custom?”

“Yes.”

Isla smiles slightly. Yeah, it’s good. It’s good.

For some reason, Sylphy and Melty, who watched the situation, also looked like they wanted to shake hands, so I shook both of theirs. I made no comment on the feel of Melty’s hand. Let’s just say it looks like she’s having a pretty hard time. Sylphy? I’m connected with Sylphi every night, anyway, hahaha.

I’m glad I was able to reconcile with Isla. It was a wonderful thing. Well, to say that it was wonderful is just plain stupid, especially because… This time, to be honest, I was lucky. I was a little loose in many ways.

What was the cause of the trouble this time? Needless to say, it’s obvious that it’s my crafting ability. That is to say; my crafting ability is a real threat to any serious craftsman.

With just a few swings of my ax, I can create the finest lumber from the finest trees around, and with just a few swings of my pickaxe, I can dig up an abundance of mineral resources and gems and use them to produce a large number of perfectly standardized products in a very short time.

If there were such a person, any craftsman would be out of business. My ability could easily threaten the livelihood and status of those who make things. This time, I had almost recklessly violated Isla’s domain. However, I was able to escape this time because I showed the medicine to Isla herself first, and she was a good person with a pure and innocent character.

As for the potions, I believe it will be possible for me to operate the mixing table with Isla in the future. As for the goods to be distributed to the elven villages, the fact that there is no longer a source of supply for the gemstones and the inventory is tight has prevented a major problem. If it had been weapons such as bows and arrows, blades, fabric, clothes, or processed foods that competed with the existing craftsmen, I might have been hated by the elven craftsmen.

To sum it up in one word, I got carried away and overdid it.

“You’ve been quiet today.”

“Even I feel sorry for myself.”

With a sigh, I accept a cup of honey wine from Sylphy. Yes, it’s sweet.

“We can’t do without your help, Kosuke. You don’t have to worry so much about it.”

“You’re right, though.”

“I’d rather have you use your full strength. I’ll take care of the minor problems, and I want you to give it your all.”

Sylphy stared at my face.

“Is that what Sylphy wants? No matter how people look at me, do you want that?”

I also stared back at her.

“Yes, that’s what I want. I’ll protect you, Kosuke.”

“Absolutely?”

“As long as I can. I have my limits. But I won’t just abandon Kosuke and cut you off. Even if you end up being hunted because of your power, I will be by your side, Kosuke.”

“…I can’t help but respond if you say so much. Geez, isn’t that the position of a seducer reversed now?”

I can’t help but take my hat off to Sylphy for being so manly. However, it can be said that love is heavy.

“The arrowhead will be ready by the end of the night. Tomorrow, you will go out to cut down Gizma, right? I’ll come with you.”

“All right. Shall we go to bed early today?”

“Sure. I want to be completely prepared, so I’ll do what I have to do first.”

I want to get the spinning wheel and loom working. So I set up the improved workbench, the spinning wheel, and the loom in the backyard workshop and got them operating. On the improved workbench, I’ll mass-produce crossbow bolts and improved crossbows; on the spinning wheel, I’ll spin a yarn; and on the loom, I’ll weave as much cloth as I can with the yarn I have.

Once this is done, all that’s left to do is sleep in preparation for tomorrow.

“H-hey, Kosuke. You need to rest your body today… Mmm!”

We had a little skinship and went to bed. Just a little. Boobs are great, aren’t they?