Ch.350Stand up.

The perpetrators who tried to destroy Asha’s workshop ended up getting destroyed themselves, reportedly becoming so shredded by the rain of bullets that it was impossible to tell what they originally looked like.

They say it was impossible to even determine if they were men or women. I can clearly imagine what state those corpses must have been in.

Unidentifiable bodies. Combined with the fact that Asha happened to be absent, the attack on her workshop was simply concluded as a case of spontaneous arson.

“They probably want to sweep it under the rug at this point. From the Empire’s perspective, there’s nothing to gain from a conflict between the Dwarves and the craftsmen’s guild. I think the guild also spread some money around to hush up the incident.”

Asha laughed nonchalantly, saying she had expected this outcome from the beginning.

“Should I help out a bit?”

“You mean… hang all the craftsmen? That’s a bit…”

No, logically speaking, I wouldn’t do something like that.

How did she interpret my offer of help as immediately wanting to exterminate all the craftsmen?

Have you been seeing me in that light all this time…?

“…I didn’t mean it like that. I meant I could order a reinvestigation under my authority… something along those lines.”

“Oh… I misunderstood! That would be fine. But I’ve already chosen a much better solution!”

…Better solution?

From my few months in this world, I’ve learned that what these people call a “better solution” is never anything less than brutal.

“…What kind of solution?”

“I used some of the budget I received from my homeland to poach all the skilled workers and apprentices from the guild! I promised to eventually teach them human crafting techniques, though I can’t teach them our race’s techniques. They all came over quite easily!”

So, in other words…

“Now both guilds will collapse! They can’t sustain themselves with just the few remaining craftsmen. After the bankrupt craftsmen disappear, I’ll buy up the remaining workshops at cheap prices, fill them with the people I’ve poached… and create a massive industrial guild with me as the owner!”

As Asha smiled brightly, saying this is how money should be used, I felt a mix of emotions.

Should I praise this…? She’s essentially starving the craftsmen to death with money while devouring the entire market.

I’m no economist, so I’m not sure if this is okay?

Isn’t this the kind of thing that leads to claims like “Craftsmen of all nations, unite!”?

I can almost see the craftsmen collectively rising up and marching with red flags.

Somewhere in the craftsmen’s district, a bearded blacksmith grandfather might be writing a treatise like “On Dwarves” right now.

“Won’t the guild’s craftsmen resist even more than before?”

This goes beyond simply taking away their livelihood; it’s like hitting them over the head with the bowl you’ve stolen.

“Let them resist. If they’re worried about losing work, they could just work under me, but they don’t want that and are just demanding I make concessions? There’s no reason to listen to such unreasonable demands. If they attack directly like last time… under Imperial special law, an attack on me constitutes a serious crime that causes diplomatic conflict, so there’s no problem with ‘suppressing’ it.”

Asha smiled calmly and gestured toward the machine gun turrets installed on the workshop walls.

So she’s saying if they resist and attack, she’ll shoot them all with those.

…I don’t think she was originally this type of person.

It seems like after tasting money, she’s transforming into something like… something like an evil business tycoon.

—-

After ending that conversation that seemed likely to bring a red tide, I brought up the requests I had planned to make when I met Asha again.

Things like repairing my damaged armor and processing the pile of Werebeast hides I’d brought back from the north.

“The Werebeast King’s hide?”

The hide of Rurik seemed to interest her as a material; Asha’s eyes sparkled as she asked with an expectant face.

“Yeah. Thanks to Rurik constantly detaching parts of his body to avoid being cut, I’ve accumulated nearly ten pieces of his hide. I think that’s enough to make several sets of armor.”

“Until I see the hide directly, I can’t give an exact estimate, but it should be enough for at least nine full-body armor sets.”

I’ve loaded the hides in the back of the carriage, so I can show them to her a bit later.

Since there were so many Werebeast hides this time, I had to leave the rest with Frider, except for Rurik’s and the Champions’ hides.

While they might not be suitable for armor, they could be used for basic leather products—some for the interior of my mansion being built in the north, with the rest to be sent later.

A mansion filled with furniture made from Werebeast hides.

It sounds a bit grotesque, but…

“So you want me to make armor with that? The king’s hide… to maximize the material’s properties, it will take some time to complete.”

“Ah, about that… would it be possible to make armor not just for me but for others too? I want to provide sets for Demian, Millia, Leonore, and if possible, Nigel as well.”

Unless it’s a cold place like the north, the parts of my body I cover with leather are just my shoulders, right arm, chest, skirt, pants, and shoes.

If I only made those parts with the hides I’ve brought, I could make nearly forty sets and still have some left over.

Rather than waste it, it’s better to show some generosity to others.

For Nigel and Demian, we could layer plate armor over a Werebeast hide lining, while Millia and Leonore could wear well-processed Werebeast leather clothing.

Armor made from skinned Werebeast hides.

I used to find it a bit unsettling too, but after using Boris’s armor, I found there’s no better leather.

“That’s no problem at all. But they’ll all need to come in for measurements.”

“I’ll bring them within a day or two. They’re all in the capital now. We can measure Leonore right away.”

If I had known this, I wouldn’t have sent them to the Academy earlier and would have just brought them along.

—-

Since it would take at least twenty days for the Rurik hide armor to be completed, I would have to continue using the Boris hide armor for now.

Or should I call it the Ivanov hide armor now?

Since the torn parts were patched with Valentin’s hide.

After removing the broken scales and replacing them with spare parts Asha had prepared in advance, the armor looked as good as new in no time.

It felt a bit strange to expose various parts again after having been all bundled up for a while.

“But why does it take twenty days? Is the hide that tough?”

“No, that’s not it. With high-quality materials like this, the original properties remain as traces. Like dragon scales.”

…Did she just refer to Rurik as “raw material”? That’s a really dizzying choice of words.

“If done properly, those properties can be restored… but that’s a rather intricate process. It’s not something that can be completed in just a day or two.”

Asha kept nodding as she stroked Rurik’s hide with an enraptured expression.

“What happens when it’s restored?”

“In the case of this material, being the Werebeast King’s hide, I think the regenerative properties will be implemented again. If it’s not cut by a True Silver sword, even if it’s torn, it will slowly restore itself.”

Oh, that sounds amazing.

It means even if it gets damaged, I won’t need frequent repairs like now.

Though the leather might regenerate, the metal parts won’t recover, so I’d still need to visit Asha eventually.

“…That’s incredible. Almost like magic.”

Even Leonore, who had been listening, was amazed.

“It’s our secret technique. This much is only natural, right?”

Asha grinned.

—-

After taking Leonore’s and my measurements and leaving all the Werebeast hides with Asha, we left her workshop.

While I was at it, I also ordered a portable odor purification device that I’d wanted for a long time.

I agreed to pay once I received the reward money from Leopold.

She said the scale repairs would be free, but there would be a separate cost for cutting Rurik’s hide and making armor.

It wasn’t a small amount, but it wouldn’t be a problem.

The past me who would sigh over a few dozen gold was already long gone.

Even without the reward money, I already owned two mansions, plus territories in both the north and the Imperial mainland.

Even before inheriting Landenburg, my income was overflowing.

Unless I started a major business or raised a large private army, I wouldn’t have many significant expenses.

Of course, later there would be costs for hiring servants to manage the mansion and paying salaries to knights under my command.

Ah, I just realized I need to hire some civil officials. I need people to manage the northern territory and the Median Marquessate, but all the connections I have are people who prefer swords over brains.

And I can’t send just anyone; I need to find someone trustworthy.

If I send a representative who mismanages things and creates a deficit, or embezzles the territory’s income and oppresses the people, I’d have to go there later and put them on a skewer.

The problem is that since the original work was a game focused on combat, I don’t know any talented administrative characters…

Well, I can ask people who might know such characters.

Leopold, Lacy, or even Ludwig. I should bring this up later.

—-

After stopping by a general store to buy a crate of Mana Herbs, I headed back to the Academy.

After walking for about ten minutes, the familiar phrase “Cradle of the Nation’s Guardians” on the main gate welcomed me again.