episode_0087

” Break up the ground like this, dig it out, and plant a pillar there. Ugh, align the horizontal and vertical! If you don’t get that right, the building will become strange later!”

With the intention of completing the blacksmith shop first, I went to the place where the new blacksmith shop was being built, and found that construction was already underway there.

It hadn’t been that long since all the skeletons had been dragged away and returned because of Viscount Tar, but the researchers were already working hard with the skeletons.

In addition, there were several carpenters who could be said to have expertise in architecture. Through collaboration with them, researchers gave instructions to the skeleton.

Of course, the words were instructions, but in reality they were nothing more than telling Maisie to move this way or that. Basically, skeletons only listen to my commands, but if they are intelligent like a mage, it’s a different story. I tended to be flexible when it came to requests from researchers who were my subordinates.

In any case, I understood that it would be quite inefficient for me to give instructions to the skeleton when the researchers asked me again. Although I have instructed you to listen to the researchers’ instructions.

Of course, not all instructions from researchers were followed. Although it protects and annihilates the enemy if attacked first, it is impossible to order it to attack preemptively. There may be cases where my skeletons are used to threaten someone, so I put in place a protective device in advance. To put it simply, it was more like not following instructions unless it was work-related.

“Uh?! Boss!”

Then, as I looked at the figure and got closer, one of the researchers spotted me and shouted in surprise. Thanks to this, the eyes of those present were focused on me.

“Oh, don’t worry about me, just do your work. Because I came to see what was going on.”

Of course, his eyes immediately returned to my instructions and he seemed to be concentrating on his work again.

The skeletons moved diligently according to the researchers’ instructions. After digging the ground with a pickaxe and digging it with a shovel, a thick and long pillar was erected there. After a number of pillars were created, a frame was built based on the pillars. The frame was built so wide and tall that there was no problem with troll skeletons jumping around inside.

Of course, a large amount of iron was used in the frame because it would easily collapse if only wood was used. Thick and long iron pillars were supporting the load in various places.

Even an ordinary skeleton can produce more strength than a human, so it was not difficult to build a frame several times the height of a human being. If two Skeleton Knights, supported by a Skeleton Mage, exerted their dark magic, it would be possible to erect an iron pillar of enormous size without difficulty.

Then, the outer wall gradually began to be built using the frame erected in that way. A wall was built to separate the inside from the outside to prevent rain or wind that could interfere with the use of the kiln.

Wooden planks the size of a person were lifted by skeletons and fixed to the frame. Lifting the board with one hand and fixing it by simply pressing down on the nails with the other hand made the work more efficient.

I exaggerated it a bit, so much so that every time I closed my eyes and opened them, what I saw changed.

“… … Me, boss. There is a bit of a problem.”

However, construction did not go so easily.

“There is a problem?”

“We are short on materials. There is some pre-dried lumber left, but at this rate, it will run out quickly. In addition, there seems to be a shortage of red clay, straw, soil, and stones to be used for internal facilities. It’s already being used to build the exterior walls… … .”

There was a shortage of materials needed for construction. It would have been good to obtain all the materials needed for construction in advance, but since the items or quantities needed may change depending on the situation, it was not possible to have all of them.

Of course, it wasn’t a big problem. This is because there were still many skeletons left. There were a lot of skeletons created after Viscount Tarr’s knights attacked the store. Even though they were invested here and there, there were over a hundred skeletons left over, made smaller and stored. Even if we turn it to protecting the village and maintaining public order, it remains to that extent.

These were skeletons who would later act as blacksmiths when the massively expanded blacksmith shop was completed, but they had nothing to do right now. So, getting the materials wasn’t a problem.

“You can dig up what you need right away.”

About a hundred skeletons were taken out on the spot and made to grow in size. In an instant, skeletons took up residence around the blacksmith site. Not only regular skeletons, but also several skeleton mages appeared.

After taking out the skeletons, I immediately pointed out several researchers and called them out. The researchers who were nominated by me stopped what they were doing and ran straight to me.

“I need to take one Skeleton Mage each and about twenty regular Skeletons and bring some materials. Even though the Skeleton Mage has good intelligence, he still doesn’t have the eye for material knowledge.”

“Are we bringing it ourselves? Do I need to purchase it separately? … .”

“What are you buying for? There are materials scattered on the ground.”

“But the things on earth are basically the lord’s… … . ah? Ah!”

“Now I am the owner of this land, so what do I care?”

No matter how many things are scattered around the world, such as trees, dirt, and stones, they also have an owner. The lord, who could be said to be the owner of the land, had ownership of it. Most of the land outside the village, except for some agricultural land, was owned by the lord, and of course the trees and other things there were also owned by the lord.

And now, I have become a lord, the owner of this land. I also have ownership of all of those things. Of course, it was possible to extract as many resources as possible. Without spending a single penny. Not purchasing materials in advance actually saved more money.

“Come back quickly. Wood needs to be processed and dried to a certain degree before it can be used.”

“Yes!”

“Oh, and if you just cut it down, you won’t have anything to use later, so sprinkle things like acorns and pine nuts on the ground in moderation. It may not grow quickly, but then you can use it again in the future, right?”

“I will plant whatever I see!”

” Leave something for the squirrels to eat and do it in moderation. If they don’t have anything to eat, all the hunters in our village will lose their jobs. Oh, don’t just cut down all the trees. There must be trees for herbalists to harvest mushrooms and herbs from.”

“Haha, you have already become a true lord to think so much about the people of the territory. president… … No, I will collect it so cleanly that the lord does not have to worry about it.”

At my words, the researchers began to move quickly, directing the skeletons through skeleton mages. Of course, I didn’t forget to bring a bunch of various tools and a cart skeleton.

Axe, saw, pickaxe, shovel, chisel, hammer. Skeletons holding iron products, one in each hand, were scattered throughout the territory following the researchers’ instructions. Some people went to cut wood, some went to loosen red clay or soil, and some people scattered to dig up rocks.

And then, less than an hour later, they came back one by one. I had a lot of materials to use to build a blacksmith shop.

A wall was made by stacking logs vertically, and a cart skeleton filled with logs was brought in, and it was also brought so full of stones that the cart skeleton creaked. Researchers who went to loosen red clay and red clay also brought with them a huge amount of soil and red clay.

Naturally, one take couldn’t meet all the needs, so the researchers repeated the process several times. Still, thanks to this, I was able to quickly meet the amount needed to make a blacksmith shop.

Perhaps it was because there was no need to worry about materials, but construction proceeded at a very fast pace. As time passed every day, I could see the huge blacksmith shop growing bigger and bigger. Like a skeleton with only its bones left, walls and a roof were built in the blacksmith shop, and external changes were constantly occurring.

Of course, I didn’t just sit there and watch it change. While the researchers were working hard to create a blacksmith shop, I was also busy moving around.

Viscount Defuty and Baron Farmer finally sent word that preparations for opening a franchise were complete, and the necessary items were produced and handed over. The blood collection project carried out in Viscounty Deputy was carried out quickly as all that was required was to proceed with the temple, but the franchise store had many complicated parts, so it took some time and was finally operational.

In particular, since Baron Farmer was a place I had not been to yet, I had to go back and forth between the guide and the Skeleton Mage several times to learn the way, which wasted additional time.

Anyway, even after the cart skeletons carrying a large amount of supplies left for Viscounty Defuty and Baron Farmer, I continued to work without stopping.

An estimate was made in advance to expand and develop the village. There was no estimate regarding cost. The first thing to do was to predict how much the village would need to be expanded and how many ironwood fences would have to be built around it, or which part of the village would be the center and in what direction the roads would be built.

In particular, as logistics movement is very important to me, I also considered the doors to be built on roads and iron fences to be important. There were a lot of things to consider, such as whether to make the gate four points east, west, north, south, or in some other way, and whether to make a large road that runs through the village as a whole.

As I was thinking hard about how to develop the village, time passed quickly and there was about a week left until the blacksmith building was completed.

The building itself would be completed in about a week, and once the equipment inside was filled, the blacksmith shop could be put into operation right away.

“Master. There are people looking for their master in the store.”

The exterior was almost finished, and as I was watching things like windows and doors for ventilation being worked on, a skeleton knight approached me and told me that people were looking for me.

There were two skeleton knights standing in the store as mannequins, and through them I was informed of the current situation. This was possible because there was some kind of connection between the Skeleton Knights. In particular, in the case of skeleton knight objects made from knights, the connection was strong.

Anyway, when I heard that there were people visiting me, I headed straight to the store. After riding the skeletal horse and pouring in all the dark magic, I was able to reach the village in just a few minutes.

And, I was able to find a crowd of people gathered in front of the store. There seemed to be dozens of people, regardless of gender or age, and strangely enough, everyone was carrying a bundle of luggage.

“Oh, are you here already?”

Looking at their faces, I immediately knew who they were. When opening franchises in the Viscounty of Defuty and the Barony of Farmer, they accepted blacksmiths there. Since the franchise store was open, it was clear that the blacksmiths had come to visit. Since we couldn’t just send the blacksmith away, his family came to our village.

I already felt like there was a bit of a shortage of researchers, but I felt very glad that new researchers had arrived. My heart pounded for no reason as I thought that more research and development might proceed and produce amazing results.