episode_0142

It may be because the performance bonus was confirmed, but the researchers turned their attention and moved toward full-scale production.

The goal was to control the skeletons located throughout the forge through the Skeleton Mage, who managed the forge in general.

And as soon as full-scale production began, researchers began to fall one by one. This was due to accumulated fatigue from working hard for three days and nights without rest.

In a situation where fatigue was accumulated, the performance bonus was confirmed, and everything was completed without a problem, so it was safe to say that the tension was relieved and I lost control of my body and mind in an instant.

“Ugh, let’s take a break.”

I shook my head at the sight of the researchers falling asleep and snoring, then took out a few skeletons and sent the researchers to the research and development headquarters. Since I had created my own space to relax, I was thinking of putting it there.

After sending all the researchers to the research and development headquarters, I also left the blacksmith shop. As production using grindstones began in earnest, there was nothing more for me to do at the blacksmith shop. All that could be done was just waiting for the products to be produced.

No, to be exact, that was the only thing to do at the blacksmith shop, but it was a different story elsewhere.

After leaving the blacksmith shop, I headed straight to the store where Jiena was working hard.

“Welcome! It’s Smith Skeleton… … !”

As I confidently entered the store through the wide open door, one of the employees reflexively greeted me and looked very surprised when he saw me. He seemed surprised to see the president pop out of nowhere.

“Ziena?”

“The manager went to the warehouse with the skeletons to pick up the goods.”

When I heard that Jiena, who had given me the title of manager and said she would manage the store on my behalf, was in the warehouse, I left a message for the employee to work hard and went into the warehouse. Among the items made at the blacksmith shop, those to be sold at the store were stored in the warehouse, and quite a few items were piled up in the warehouse.

“Jim-il, you only take twenty of those. You two, take only the ten bags of nails that are there.”

Jiena entered the warehouse with two skeletons and made the skeletons lift various items. Looking at that scene brought back memories of my past life. It was a scene of people putting various items into carts at a place called a supermarket.

It wasn’t a particularly important memory, so I shook my head to shake off the distracting thoughts. Although the cart in my memory seemed useful in its own way.

Anyway, after seeing Jienna’s appearance, I immediately approached her. Even as the clattering skeletons were packing up their belongings and making loud noises, Jiena’s long ears did their job.

“nu… … ? Boss!”

Jienna heard someone approaching, pricked her ears, turned her head, and saw me. And, as if she was very happy to see me, Jienna ran towards me, flapping her ears.

Jienna ran to me and jumped into my arms, and in an instant, she put her face to me and lightly touched my lips.

Gienna, who suddenly gave me a kiss, although light, smiled as if she was embarrassed but also happy. Even though I was shocked by that sight, it felt good, so I smiled without knowing.

Of course, since I came here because I had something to say, I wasn’t just smiling.

“Ziena. How long will it take for all the items here to sell out?”

“Everything?”

“Oh, not everything. Things like cutlery, griddles, and pots.”

In response to my question, Zienna put her index finger to her lips and looked worried. Seeing her red, plump lips being gently pressed by a finger made me think of something else, but hearing Jiena’s words right away made me shake off the distracting thoughts again.

“A week? It will probably take about a week. It could be a little shorter. Most of the swords were ordered by royalist nobles, so they may be shipped out faster.”

As much as I trusted the store, Jiena had a very thorough understanding of the store. Perhaps that’s why Jiena’s answer was full of confidence.

“But why are you suddenly asking that?”

“I’m going to sell a new product. No, it’s not a new product, but maybe it’s an improvement? Why, I said I was installing new equipment in the blacksmith shop.”

“Ah! Is it that grindstone?”

“That’s right. If you use it, the quality will improve. To be precise, the blade of the blade comes out sharper and has a proper shine.”

An improved product with a very bright blue appearance and shiny luster was scheduled to be released. Before selling such items, it was necessary to clear out all existing inventory. There are products with improved quality, but there are not many people who will preferentially purchase the existing inventory.

Jienna, who had become quite accustomed to managing the store and selling products, nodded as if she had quickly figured it out.

“Then should we get it out quickly, even if it’s at a small discount?”

“Yes, that would be good.”

“I heard that mercenaries with poor financial conditions wanted to buy weapons. Since it may become malicious inventory, I will get rid of it in advance.”

“But there is no need to give it away unconditionally. If the improved product doesn’t sell even after the stock builds up a little, just charge a little more for the improved product. If you price it a little more expensive than the existing inventory, don’t you think there will be people who will buy the existing inventory for the price advantage?”

“Ah! That will work!”

Seeing Jiena smiling brightly as if her worries had been alleviated, I nodded and patted her head. The soft blonde hair was gently rubbed against the palm, giving a pleasant feeling. Of course, Jiena was crying because her hair was getting tangled.

“Then do your best and see you later at home. Oh, and they also check how much inventory is left every day and let you know. That way, you can decide when to sell the improved product.”

“Yes! I’ll go in early!”

I patted Jiena’s buttocks as she responded energetically, and then left the store. There was nothing more to do in the store than in the blacksmith shop.

After leaving the store, I headed straight to the mansion. There was nothing more to do right now. Of course, that didn’t mean I had any intention of just hanging around.

“Hive Mind… … .”

After returning to the mansion, I began to think about a system for managing the people of the territory, which I had been thinking about while the technology demonstration wheel was being made at the blacksmith shop.

The concern was about connecting the minds of the undead from several districts into one and using their enlarged intelligence to manage the territory’s residents. There was nothing about this in the book my grandmother left me, so I was even more worried because it was like I had to figure it out on my own from the beginning.

“It won’t work at the level of simply connecting. We need to unite the minds of several undead as if they were one living organism. I wonder if this is possible… … .”

Of course, it wasn’t an easy task, so I questioned whether what I was trying to do was actually possible. Still, it was clear that if I could make it, it would be very useful, so I couldn’t help but worry.

“Let’s experiment first and find a way.”

Rather than thinking about it in my head, I thought it would be a quicker way to find my way through direct encounters, so I headed straight to the studio. Although most of them were ordinary objects, the studio was full of monster corpses, so it was possible to conduct as many experiments as possible.

By creating many undead, he continued to experiment with all kinds of methods. Sometimes they made only the head into an undead, forcibly merged the souls, or squeezed multiple souls into one body.

But even in those experiments, no solution could be found.

First of all, making only the head undead literally created something useless with only the head being undead. It was a useless undead whose only thing was a clicking snout.

When it came to merging souls or putting multiple souls into one body, they fought each other roughly as if they were trying to gain the upper hand. The fight was so fierce that all souls eventually perished.

“Hmm… … . Should I use one powerful soul as the main one to control other souls?”

As I was looking at it like that, I thought that there might be a possibility if one powerful soul merged to control the other souls. Of course, the experiment couldn’t be done right away. Time passed quite quickly, and before we knew it, it was time to start selling items that had been finished with a grinding wheel.

“Boss, it will sell well, right?”

The morning of the sale of goods finished with a grinding wheel, so-called improved goods. Jiena, who was sitting in the store with him, looked like she was worried.

This is because they were unable to clear out all of their existing inventory at once, so they decided to charge a slightly higher price for the improved product. Even though there was no significant difference from the existing product, the price was similar to being higher, so Ziena was worried.

But unlike Jiena, I wasn’t worried at all.

“Don’t worry. Because it will sell well. It’ll probably be quite useful to the mercenaries, right? Because it’s sharper than what was previously sold. It has a good shine, so unless you don’t take care of it, you can use it for a long time.”

Since they were the mercenaries who used blades the most, I expected a very positive response from them, so there was no reason to worry. Since the existing products are no longer produced anyway, there were not many more options.

Anyway, despite Jiena’s worries, time passed quickly and it was already time to open the store. And, after confirming that the time had come, the employees immediately opened the store door wide.

Since the improved product had already been promoted not only to the residents of the territory but also to merchants staying in the city, many people came into the store as soon as it opened.