episode_0140

The researcher’s words automatically reminded me of the process of a skeleton sharpening a blade.

The current method was for a skeleton in front of a large whetstone to hold a piece of iron in the shape of a blade and sharpen the blade while making a noise.

And, as the researcher said, that method required quite a bit of time. No matter how hard and fast the skeleton moves, it has its limits.

“Well, the polishing process takes some time, doesn’t it?”

“Yes. Even if you look at the blacksmith shop right now, the time consumed in the polishing process is very long. Thanks to this, there is even a slight bottleneck.”

The researcher guided me inside the blacksmith shop to see for myself.

As I followed him into the blacksmith shop, iron pieces that had been processed in the press operated by the Death Knight came rushing out. They were pieces of iron in the shape of dozens of blades.

It was very satisfying to see a large quantity of goods being produced, but there was one problem. Beneath the pieces of metal that had been pushed out, there were a few pieces of iron with the same shape piled up.

“As you can see, there is a bit of a bottleneck in the process of reprocessing things produced through press processing. This happens because the blade needs to be sharpened, but the process of sharpening the blade takes a long time. In particular, it gets worse if you use a special iron plate with an elixir of steel strengthening.”

“Ah… … . Isn’t this something you should just take lightly?”

“That’s right. ah! Of course, the bottleneck phenomenon can be reduced as much as possible by alternately producing items such as pots and washbasins while producing cutlery. However, I said this because it is not a fundamental solution. Press processing is not operating at 100% capacity right now.”

“In short, if we can shorten the time spent in the polishing process, we can greatly increase production, right?”

“That’s right. Press processing is virtually carried out at the speed of grinding operations. Assuming that the ideal speed is 100, you can see that you are currently proceeding at a speed of about 60 to 70. We believe that by just speeding up the polishing process, it will be possible to increase production by at least two to three percent.”

I immediately nodded when I heard that there would be a 20-30% increase in production.

It wouldn’t be a bad idea to just use Minotaurs to produce things or to put them into new mines, but even then, it would be difficult to increase production by 20-30% at a time. In particular, it was an absolutely impossible number to put into product production.

“First, make one for demonstration purposes. Even if it seems perfect in theory, the results are often different when you actually try it, right?”

“Yes! Let’s make it right!”

The researcher who answered energetically immediately got together with other researchers and started creating various things. It was not at the level of assembling something that was already made, but at the level of making it from scratch by making a mold and pouring molten iron.

As I was looking at it, I thought it wouldn’t end within an hour or two. It was awkward to just sit around waiting like this, so I left the Minotaur Skeleton Knight there for the researchers to use as a reference, and then went into the break room of the R&D headquarters and started doing my job.

The thing to do was simple. As I had the village chief conduct a survey on the residents of the territory, I planned to create a means to manage them. I couldn’t create it right away, but I wanted to make a simple idea.

“Hmm… … . How did you manage people in your past life? … ?”

Of course, the idea included looking back on memories from a past life. There is no better way than to refer to something that has been in operation for a long time and has been systematically developed.

However, it was impossible to recall the memories of my past life, which were fading away as time passed. Still, there were a few memories that came to mind.

“Resident registration… … ?”

And, the most representative one among them was resident registration. It was a method of registering citizens in one system and using it in various ways.

“This could be quite useful, right?”

When I thought about resident registration, I thought that it could be quite useful.

Currently, my territory has developed rapidly from a small village, so many things are run in a haphazard manner. It was the same with collecting taxes and recruiting troops.

Recruiting troops was all about receiving resources because skeletons were used, but collecting taxes was a bit problematic. Since it started out in a small village where everyone knew each other well, there were many people who voluntarily paid correctly, but this was not the case for those who came in recently.

If all residents of the territory could be included in one system, collecting taxes would become much easier.

“It could also be useful for security.”

Moreover, it was thought that it would be possible to further strengthen the security of the territory by using the system. It would also be possible to detect in advance the approach of creatures other than registered and authorized residents.

Alternatively, I thought it would be possible to have outsiders register separately and add a method to monitor suspicious people in real time.

“… … But the problem is how to operate the system.”

Of course, it wasn’t all that good. Simply put, it was very difficult to figure out how to structure a system to manage the territory’s residents.

In my past life, I think I used something called a computer to manage things, but in this world there were no computers, so that was a problem. I think there was a management system even in the days when there were no computers, but I have no remaining memories of that part.

I thought about using the undead, but no matter how intelligent a skeleton mage I was, it was impossible to know the information of more than a thousand people.

But just as I was thinking about what to do, researchers came rushing in. As I looked back on my past life memories and thought about various things, time passed quickly.

“Boss! We put our heads together and thought about it and completed it!”

Among the researchers who came rushing in, the one with the highest stake in this matter took the lead in shouting. And, at the same time, one thing came to mind.

It was to unite the minds of the undead. I thought that if I could unite the minds of several skeleton mages and create a kind of hive mind, I might be able to handle a system to manage the territory’s residents.

Of course, right now, it was a little more important to see the object that the researchers said they had created rather than the Hive Mind that created the undead. Anyway, there were no corpses here to make ordinary undead, let alone a hive mind.

“Guide me.”

“Yes! Just come here!”

In order to check the demonstration object, I walked along with the researcher who was leading the way. It was a place close to where the Minotaur Skeleton Knight had been set up a little while ago.

There was a large stone there. And that too, in the form of a thick and strong-looking iron rod pierced.

There was a triangular structure on both sides, and a large stone block was pierced through the iron bar connecting the upper vertices of the triangular structure. Moreover, there was also an iron bar sticking out from one side.

“The structures on both sides were erected for the purpose of supporting the rotating grindstone, simply put, the grindstone. A grindstone with a strong iron bar rises above it, and it is possible to rotate the grindstone using force.”

As if bragging about the product they had created, the researcher continued to explain what they named a grindstone.

When the Minotaur grabbed the iron bar sticking out from the side and spun it around, the grindstone also rotated accordingly.

“Hmm… … . Will that work?”

“I am confident that it will be effective! If you look at the current sharpening process, the blade is rubbed against a whetstone. And, sharpening the blade depends on the length of the grinding wheel on which it is rubbed.”

“That’s right. You have to rub it on a whetstone to sharpen it.”

“No matter how fast a skeleton moves, there is a limit to its speed. However, things are different when using a large grinding wheel like this. If you look at the circumference of this grindstone, you can see that it is difficult for a person to even hug with both arms.”

As if he wanted to show it for himself, the researcher leaned over and tried to hug the grindstone. However, I couldn’t hug it because my posture was so bad and the grindstone was so thick.

“Even if a rotating whetstone with such a wide circumference is rotated only once, its length is several times longer than the whetstone used in a blacksmith shop. What if this grindstone rotated one revolution per second? Wouldn’t the distance be several times longer than what skeletons can do now while sharpening blades using their upper bodies and arms while sitting down?”

I found myself nodding my head as the researcher shouted with confidence. The grindstone was very thick and bulky, so it seemed difficult to turn, but it was clear that it would not be that difficult for the Minotaur.

“But, can you withstand rotation like that? As you know, if you rotate it like that, there will be a lot of friction.”

“No need to worry about that either! Among the things we are researching are things that can minimize friction. It is an improved version of the bearing used in carriages in the past, and was created to be used when improving wheels for use in buses and trucks in the future. It is possible to significantly reduce friction compared to existing bearings. It is made strong enough to easily withstand heavy loads.”

“Bearing? Oh, the one that looks like a cylinder used in carriage wheels?”

“Ah, what we improved is a little different. It is a type in which two cylinders of different sizes are overlapped, the space between the overlapped cylinders is filled with a circular bar, and then lubricating oil is filled. We first named it roller bearing. what… … . This is not all-purpose, so it may need to be replaced periodically, but I expect the turning wheel to wear out faster.”

As if to take a look, the researcher handed me a bearing that he had prepared separately. It was a little slippery because of the oil, but it seemed like it made it easier to turn. Even now, it was moving around in my hand, making a rattling sound.

“Rotation doesn’t seem to be a problem. I still don’t know if it’s actually possible to properly withstand rotation.”

“Then how about actually turning the grindstone?”

I nodded at the researcher’s suggestion to spin the grindstone once, and summoned the Minotaur Skeleton Knight that was standing nearby like a decoration.