CH 90

Chapter 90 – Secret Maneuvering And Development

As it turns out, swamp iron ore is a pretty good material. From the background of its formation, it is probably because the swamp iron ore collected from the sewage tank is basically all metal. However, the quality of the metal is not good, and when melted in a simple furnace, it produces not only iron resources but also small amounts of copper, silver, gold, lead, zinc, and other resources.

In my case, the simple furnace converts them into various resources internally, so I can use them individually. For me, it was a convenient material that allowed me to obtain several metal resources at the same time.

“This looks good for iron.”

“That was a good thing-nodesu.”

As I began to process the swamp iron ore, Poizo smiled at my words as I checked how many resources I had accumulated. She was a little worried about whether it could be used properly or not.

“I knew there was a lot of metal in the mix-nodesu.”

“I see. It would certainly be a big problem if I tried to use it like iron.”

There are too many impurities in it to be of any use at all. It’s one of the strengths of my abilities to be able to use this kind of low-quality ore without any problems, I suppose.

As I was doing this, Beth came back with a burlap sack full of something. It looks like something heavy.

“I’m back. I have brought you the whetstone.”

Then she sets the sack down on the stone floor and starts pulling out what looks like a whetstone, a leather saddle, a bundle of leather straps, and a clean-looking cloth.

“It’s amazing. Where did you get all this from?”

“From the Holy Kingdom’s army quarters, stables and forge.”

“Did you steal it?”

“You should say that I took it back. They were the ones who took everything that was in this castle before.”

It’s been 20 years, and I think the Holy Kingdom’s army prepared the whetstone and the saddle… Well, it’s a necessity, so let’s not worry about the details. Yeah.

“This will make a better workbench. Thanks, Beth.”

“Just remember, it’s not something I can do very often.”

“Okay.”

If she does this often, they will be wary. It could be distracting, though. But if there is a theft like this, Qubi is going to be cautious. He’ll know about my escape for sure.

“So no one found you, right?”

“I don’t think anyone found me. It would be a big deal if they found me.”

“I see.”

I hope Qubi doesn’t find out about this… He’s a careful man. Well, it seems better to assume that he is aware of it and act accordingly. But Beth did a good job. I never thought she could get the material as well as the whetstone… The saddle is useless as it is, but it can be used as material if I disassemble it.

When it comes to uses, there are a few.

“There is no use for the gold at the moment.”

“It’s sparkling.”

I took out the gold resource that I had extracted by melting the swamp iron ore into an ingot and played with it in the palm of my hand.

Unfortunately, gold is really useless for anything under the current circumstances. It’s heavy and soft, but it might work surprisingly well as warhead material for guns… Well, that’s the realm of hobbies. Precious metal bullets.

“I’ve heard that the empire uses barred gold and silver as currency-nodesu.”

“Yeah, it seems that the Holy Kingdom has some of these near the border of the Empire.”

“Really? Well, no wonder they process it like that, but then again, we have no use for it.”

“Can’t you just go out to the city and buy something, Kosuke?”

“No way he can do that… No, that’s not so bad, too, is it?”

“Eeh?”

Beth started to say something like that to Lime’s words. No, no, it’s not safe.

“I’m against it-nodesu. I think that if Kosuke dresses appropriately, he will not be found and detained so easily-nodesu. But if he is found and detained, it’s the end-nodesu.”

“That’s true. But I think he’ll be fine once the heat dies down. In a week… or even ten days, people will usually think you are dead.”

“I don’t understand anything you’re saying.”

“The people of the Holy Kingdom are scared of us.”

“They think the three of us are slime without intelligence or reason. Didn’t Kosuke escape from his cell into the tunnels?”

“They know very well that we are in the underground passages of the castle. In such a place, a prisoner who doesn’t know anything about it escapes. What do you think-nodesu?”

“…Do you think they’ll think I’m dead?”

“Yes-nodesu.”

Poizo nodded in agreement. Beth is saying that it might be a good idea to wait ten days to cool down, give people time to think that I am definitely dead, and then go out on the city with a solid disguise to avoid suspicion.

“But the risk is not zero, you know-nodesu.”

“That’s true. I don’t think it’s the right thing to do unless you have something you really want.”

“That’s true. I wouldn’t bother taking the risk. But it’s worth considering, and I should at least be prepared.”

“Do you want to do that?”

Therefore, I had to make preparations to enter the city of Merinesburg at the same time. As a result of the consultation, I decided to disguise myself as a human mercenary or adventurer who came here from the conflict zone between the Eastern Empire and the Holy Kingdom.

“Because you look like a human man. That’s probably the best choice if you’re going to travel alone and not look suspicious.”

“It’s always better to have a good cover story-nodesu.”

“You’ve made a lot of money, so you’re traveling around the world looking for a job as an officer?”

“Something like that would be fine. Or maybe you’re about to run out of money, and you want to exchange the imperial coin you’ve been saving as a souvenir.”

“Let’s do that.”

While we were thinking about the cover story, Lime did not say anything. She was lying in my chair… or rather, she was taking a nap with me in her arms. It’s amazing how the size and shape can change. I wonder what it is, this overwhelming feeling of being surrounded by motherhood.

Lime is getting bigger overall, and the contrast between her and me is like a child and an adult, but the fact that she’s taking care not to crush me accidentally, and the fact that she’s trying to protect me, I can kind of feel it.

“…..”

I feel like Beth and Poizo are giving me a suspicious look. Is it just my imagination?

“…What are you going to do from now on?”

“From now on, huh? Hmm…”

・Workbench Upgrade――: Mechanical Parts x 10, Steel Leaf Springs x 5, Leather Straps x 2

・Simple Furnace Upgrade――: Animal Hide x 5, Brick x 50, Whetstone x 3, Machine Parts x 10

I have clay, and I can make bricks. Beth has procured some leather and whetstones, so I should have no problem upgrading the simple furnace. If the simple furnace can be turned into a blacksmithing facility, I can make steel leaf springs to improve the workbench. However, it will take time to make the parts.

“I’m going to stay here today and work on things. I have all the materials I need, so I’ll take my time improving the workbench and the simple furnace.”

“Right. Then we’ll stay here as well and focus on managing the duplicates.”

“Yes-nodesu. We’ll also gather information-nodesu.”

The two of them closed their eyes and began to sit still, just like Lime. It seems as if they are asleep, but is this the state in which they concentrate their efforts on managing the duplicates?

There’s no need to disturb them. I slipped out of Lime’s arms and opened the crafting menu for the simple furnace and workbench. I need to mass produce bricks and mechanical parts first.

“I’ve got a lot of time on my hands, though.”

Basically, crafting is a hassle-free process. All I have to do is reserve the required number of crafts and then wait. Once I finished that, I had nothing to do.

I looked at my status screen, but since I hadn’t been doing any direct combat lately, my level hadn’t risen, and my achievements hadn’t increased. I was expecting to see more achievements related to women, but that didn’t seem to be the case. There’s no increase in building achievements, and there are no new workbenches to build… Kuh, it’s frustrating that I can’t build a new workbench, so I just leave it there.

In the meantime, the parts have been made, and I immediately upgraded the simple furnace.

A flash of light burned my eyes.

“I forgot!”

“Hey, w-what’s going on?”

“It was so bright.”

“What is it-nodesu?”

I was so careless that the flash of light blinded me. From the sound of their voices, it seemed that the three of them were also startled. I’m really sorry.

“I forgot that when I upgrade the simple furnace or the workbench, it glows like crazy. I forgot.”

“It’s troubling… Are your eyes all right?”

“It’s fine. It’ll heal by itself.”

I’ve looked directly at it before, and my eyes went agh! I’ve had that happen before, but it went away. In fact, my dizzy eyes are slowly recovering, and I should be fine.

“It’s a full-fledged facility now-nodesu.”

Poizo looked at the smithing facility, looking interested. Poizo seems to be on the same page with Isla.

“Hmm…”

Lime, still sleepy, wriggled over to my side, took me in her arms again, and began to snooze.

“I can’t seem to get out.”

“She’s worried because you’re doing something dangerous. Just stay in her arms.”

“It’s not that I’m in danger, though…”

It’s just a little bright in this dark place… Oh well. It’s still in the distance that I can control the blacksmithing facility and the workbench. I’ll continue to make steel leaf springs and equipment for disguise. A sturdy-looking sword with a not-too-long blade and a circular shield made of wood and iron will be fine. What about armor…? Should I go with chainmail and a set of light armor?

I really want to use the bastard swords and two-handed swords that everyone loves, but I lack muscle strength by far. I can only use a shortsword. I mean, it’s just a disguise. It’s not like I’m actually going to fight with it, so it has to be light.

If I wanted to fight for real, I’d make a gun. The mass production of bullets is the key, though. Speaking of bullets, I need to make gunpowder as well… That means I need a mixing table, and that requires a lot of glass.

And to make glass, I need sand… Well, I can get some sand by decomposing the soil, so it’s manageable. I have a lot of it in my inventory, and I’ll use it to make sand for glass.

The glass is fine, but the problem is the stable manure… There is a sewer system right there, so I’m sure it can be collected. I’ll have to ask Poizo or Beth later.

Now that I have the equipment, I can start thinking of ways to communicate with others, escape plans, and maybe even distraction plans.

But whatever it is, the first thing to do is to make contact. The golem communication device… The problem is mithril. Can’t I use pure gold or silver as a substitute for the mithril copper alloy? I’ll talk to them about this too. I don’t know anything about magic after all.