Ch.8484. Cold War and Neutrality

The very next day after their course of action was decided,

Miller Pharmaceuticals came looking for them, just as Kathy had predicted.

Their subsequent actions also unfolded exactly as Kathy had anticipated.

They revealed that last night’s attack was the work of Neville Pharmaceuticals and requested cooperation from Amon and Sonia.

The two immediately accepted the proposal.

After the Miller Pharmaceutical representatives left, the two promptly took action.

<Koenulrich Forge>

The two headed to the forge that the doctor had introduced them to.

The forge was located in Marseille, quite far from Paris.

Therefore, traveling by car was impossible, and they had to take the train.

For security purposes, they rented an entire train car.

“I looked it up online, and it definitely doesn’t seem like a private workshop.”

Amon explained during the journey.

Despite being called a forge, its structure was closer to that of a corporation.

There were multiple workshops, but they all seemed to operate under the umbrella of Koenulrich Forge.

The forge divided a vast plot of land into sections, with each section having a blacksmith who functioned like a department head.

Each department head was a direct disciple of Master Koenulrich, each with their own specialty, creating commissioned items according to their expertise.

In this way, Koenulrich Forge produced not only guns and swords but also cars and motorcycles.

They even accomplished the remarkable feat of manufacturing airplanes.

Literally, they could make anything that could be made from metal.

This incredible versatility was possible due to their irreplaceable craftsmanship, magic, and the existence of Divine Power.

Although technology had advanced and industry had replaced most blacksmiths, that was only for mechanical devices.

Mass production had its limitations when it came to imbuing items with magical power and Divine Power, or processing byproducts from entities.

Moreover, in a world full of countless variables and magic, each individual’s requirements for items were inevitably different.

Mass production couldn’t perfectly meet these demands, which is why forges still maintained their influence.

[Sounds like they’re truly optimized talent?]

Kathy exclaimed in admiration as she listened to Amon’s explanation.

The service center that Kathy wanted to establish in Paris would need to repair all kinds of enchanted items.

In a situation where you don’t know what needs fixing, these blacksmiths would be far more optimal than ordinary factory technicians.

However, Amon was puzzled by Kathy’s admiration.

“You hadn’t thought of this? You’re not just flattering me, are you?”

[Of course I thought about it! Even before seeing the future! But I considered it unlikely to be feasible.]

According to her, the issue was connections.

[The head of Koenulrich Forge is famous for being impossible to deal with. So until I saw your future… Ah. I see now.]

Amon pretended not to hear.

She also feigned ignorance and asked Amon:

[How did you get connected with this person? I’m genuinely asking because I don’t know.]

“Secret.”

It was probably because the doctor was involved, which is why she couldn’t see it.

That was Amon’s guess.

Kathy accepted this and moved on.

Sonia seemed oddly uncomfortable but stopped after chewing her lips for a moment.

Eventually, the two arrived in the city where the forge was located.

Marseille, France’s major port city.

As the second largest city after Paris, it was bustling with people.

“Surprisingly, there were no attacks.”

“Amon. Don’t say that like you’re disappointed.”

“Did it sound that way?”

“Yes. You’re addicted to thrills.”

Amon was about to refute Sonia’s words but stopped.

Strictly speaking, he hadn’t been expecting an attack.

He had merely recalled one of the absolute rules of isekai: ‘Trains are the most dangerous mode of transportation in the world.’

Along with the rule that ‘helicopters always crash,’ it was a common trope.

So he had been tense on the train, but was surprisingly let down by how peaceful it was.

But when he was about to explain this, he realized it wasn’t that different from being addicted to thrills, so he gave up.

After their peaceful train journey ended, the two headed toward the forge.

The forge was located on the outskirts of Marseille.

In the vehicle heading to the forge, Amon, who was at the wheel, asked Sonia:

“Isn’t there a Neville Pharmaceuticals branch here?”

“More like a subsidiary, actually?”

“…”

No sooner had she finished speaking than they heard something burst from the tires.

“Sh… No, good heavens.”

Amon caught himself before cursing.

Sonia sighed and said:

“Satisfied now?”

“No, that’s a real misunderstanding.”

Amon felt wronged. But having raised the flag himself, he had no defense.

*

After several more attacks, the two finally arrived at the forge.

The attacks ceased about five minutes before they reached the forge.

“They probably don’t want to create unnecessary conflict with the forge?”

Amon completely agreed with Sonia’s speculation.

In terms of scale, the forge couldn’t even be classified as a Megacorp, let alone a major corporation.

Though the factory was large, it was still just one factory, and it didn’t rake in money like a Megacorp.

From the outset, handmade items couldn’t compare to mass-produced ones in terms of profit scale.

Therefore, the forge’s rank was about that of a medium-sized enterprise.

However, their power was far beyond that of a mere medium-sized enterprise.

The equipment and transport vehicles they sold were all used by Megacorp executives, top-tier mercenaries, or governments.

Only they could repair and upgrade these items.

To draw an analogy, they were like a missile launch button.

Easy to press, but you have to deal with the consequences yourself.

Ironically, their neutral stance had given them absolute power.

Incidentally, the stubborn personality of the Koenulrich representative also stemmed from this position.

Sonia offered her assessment of the current situation:

“So we need to break this neutrality?”

Amon shook his head.

“We don’t necessarily need to break their neutrality.”

“But you said you’re going to make them a subsidiary of Kathy’s company?”

“That’s right?”

“Then how is that not breaking neutrality?”

“I can’t tell you that either.”

“Do you also have future sight like Kathy… Oh, you do have precognition, don’t you?”

As always, Amon glossed over it with precognition.

However, this time it had nothing to do with game knowledge.

“Perhaps.”

Amon was reticent. Sonia accepted this and moved on.

By now, their car had arrived at the forge. However, the term “forge” seemed inadequate.

An entire town belonged to the forge; “industrial zone” would be a more fitting description.

Faced with a scale beyond their imagination, Amon and Sonia couldn’t help but express their amazement.

“So all kinds of things are being made there?”

“That’s right?”

However, they couldn’t see what was being made from outside the town.

A wire fence along with a barrier prevented any view of the inside.

“Let’s go see quickly.”

At Sonia’s urging, Amon shook his head as if he couldn’t help it and drove toward the entrance.

Though he himself was actually excited too.

As they approached the entrance, people emerged from the checkpoint.

“What brings you here?”

Their attire and armament were closer to soldiers than security guards.

If one had to classify them, they were more like private soldiers than security guards.

Their words were polite, but their attitude was strangely sharp.

A stance somewhere between rudeness and neutrality.

Perhaps because many people came and went through the forge town, they maintained a neutral attitude regardless of who Amon was.

Amon didn’t take the soldier’s attitude to heart at all and politely replied:

“I have something to discuss with the representative.”

“We haven’t received any notification though?”

“We tried contacting several times, but there was no answer. We were told showing this would suffice?”

Amon presented the business card he had received from the doctor.

It was a strange business card that felt cold like metal but fluttered like paper.

The soldiers took the card and swiped it through some kind of reader device.

A green light came on.

Immediately, the soldiers’ attitude changed dramatically.

“Hello, sir! What brings you here?”

They had suddenly shifted from neutral to extremely polite.

He could have just asked them to let him through, but Amon couldn’t resist his curiosity and asked the soldier:

“Is it really okay to just pass through like this? Or do we need to contact someone separately?”

“There’s no need for that. The representative doesn’t usually answer calls or messages.”

He’s probably too busy working in his workshop to care.

Another soldier added.

This alone gave them an idea of the forge representative’s personality.

“That’s why the representative gives out his business card. Since you didn’t know, I’m guessing you came on someone’s recommendation?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Welcome, sir. Ah, our representative can be a bit… please excuse any rudeness when you first meet him.”

The soldier spoke with a friendly attitude.

Amon gave a wry smile at the soldier’s social skills.

After greeting the soldiers, Amon headed toward the center of the forge.

Recalling the soldier’s advice that they might get lost, they followed the navigation’s guidance to the representative’s workshop.

As a bonus, they got to tour the various workshops visible through the windows along the way.

“Wow, dozens of people are hammering away at an airplane. What are they making?”

“Who knows? Maybe a private jet for some chairman?”

Unlike the outside, once inside, most of the work in the workshops was surprisingly visible due to the open structure.

Perhaps this was a method to stimulate the desire to consume in clients heading to other workshops.

Amon cautiously speculated.

Indeed, as they got closer to the center, the workshops became more closed off.

It was likely that the truly important work was done here.

Eventually, Amon and Sonia arrived at the workshop located in the center of the town.

<Representative – Yotron>

It was a massive workshop dedicated solely to Yotron.

The two parked their car and knocked on the workshop door.

There was no answer.

“Huh?”

Amon let out a stupid sound at the unexpected result.

“Maybe we need to swipe the business card on a reader?”

Following Sonia’s suggestion, they swiped the card on a reader attached to the door.

Then, a speakerphone activated.

“How much do you hate being disturbed?”

Ignoring Sonia’s disgusted look, Amon called out to the speakerphone:

“Are you there?”

A voice came through the speakerphone:

“Who is this?”

“I’m here on Dr. Dant’s recommendation.”

“Dant? You mean Dr. Dant?”

“Yes.”

With that, the speakerphone immediately turned off.

Soon, the door opened, and a soot-covered person walked out.

“Welcome.”

As soon as he saw the person, Amon asked with a slightly disappointed expression:

“Are you Mr. Yotron?”

“Of course not. I’m his direct disciple.”

Only then did Amon’s expression brighten.

The disciple was puzzled by Amon’s change in attitude.

Eventually, the disciple guided Amon and Sonia to Yotron.

On the way, the two toured the workshop while receiving explanations from the disciple.

Bang! Bang!

A hammer machine pounded heated iron.

This was a method familiar to Amon and Sonia.

But the processes taking place in other areas were methods they had never seen before.

Some involved compressing and freezing mixtures of iron powder and magic stone powder,

while others used devices similar to 3D printers to extract molten iron and create structures.

Among them were processes that were hard to even guess at, like vigorously rubbing what seemed to be entity leather.

After touring the workshop in a daze, the two arrived at the representative.

The representative was a dwarf.

Amon’s face lit up.

The direct disciple who had guided them was puzzled by Amon’s change in mood.

Fortunately, when they arrived, the representative wasn’t working.

He was just on a call with someone.

“You damn bastard! Don’t ever talk to me again!”

The representative hung up the phone, bursting with fierce anger.

As Amon and Sonia were about to form their first impression of the representative, the disciple asked him:

“Master, was it those guys again?”

“Yes. Those damn Yankees. Using their own units.”

“Um… Master?”

“Bondor. Don’t accept commissions from those Yankee bastards anymore.”

The representative was still cursing, not yet noticing Amon and Sonia.

The disciple, sweating nervously, tried to calm his master.

“Master, customers have arrived…”

“Ah, I apologize. I just noticed.”

But the representative’s attitude didn’t particularly change.

Displaying the typical image of an eccentric craftsman, he spoke to Amon and Sonia:

“You probably understand the atmosphere from what you just saw? Where are you from?”

“We’re from America.”

“I don’t accept. Get out.”

The disciple, sweating profusely, tried to restrain the representative.

“They were sent by Dr. Dant!”

“So what? I’m sorry to Dr. Dant, but I don’t associate with people who use inches and pounds.”

Amon, who had been listening, interjected with a smile:

“I use meters and kilos when shopping.”

“… I apologize.”

“It’s fine. Neither my girlfriend nor I are native Americans anyway.”

“Immigrants? Or mixed?”

“Something like that.”

“Then welcome.”

The representative’s attitude changed completely.

The disciple glared at his master in disbelief.

Ignoring his disciple, the representative asked Amon:

“So what brings you here?”

“I have a business proposition…”

“Not interested.”

“Hear me out first.”

“I don’t accept such things.”

But Amon disregarded this and got to the point:

“What if you could freely use essence as a material? Legendary grade at that?”

“… Could you elaborate?”

Amon smiled.

“That’s why I’m here.”