episode_0039

Excellent customers who had signed ongoing transportation contracts were loaded onto carts and brought safely and quickly down to the level ground. It was a place that boasted incredibly steep slopes, but it was no problem for the skeletal horse and cart skeleton.

“If you stop here, we will take care of getting you off.”

Logis Skeleton’s first regular customer… … Rather, when the management moved to the desired location, he started rolling up his sleeves, saying that they would do the unloading work.

But unloading fragile items like iron ore was very easy for me.

“It’s not difficult to drop it off, so please leave.”

“Yes? Are you saying the warlock will give it to you personally?”

“I’m not doing it myself.”

I am a warlock, not a monster with enormous power. It was not possible to directly unload tons of iron ore. Instead, it was possible to handle any number of skeletons that could easily be moved in units of tons.

Just as it was possible to make the luggage compartment horizontal when coming down a steep mountain, it was also possible to adjust the angle of the luggage compartment on flat ground. Unloading the goods could also be solved in that way.

It bit those around the cart and immediately made the cart skeleton move. In an instant, the cargo compartment of the cart skeleton began to slowly tilt, and the iron ore filling the cargo compartment poured out. Over a ton of iron ore, equivalent to the amount to be repaid, was piled up behind the cart skeleton in an instant.

“Oh… … . Tilting the luggage compartment is a novel idea.”

“It’s a faster and better way than having people move them one by one. There is a downside to this in that you can only do this with items that won’t break even if you pour them out.”

Levs was observing the cart skeleton closely, as if the sight of the cart skeleton unloading the goods in an instant was quite fascinating. He said, “This part has moved up,” and appeared to check how it was moved.

But unfortunately, I couldn’t show the cart to Levs for a long time. It was necessary to move now in order to process the orders received from the villagers for the Logis Skeleton project and return to the village.

This is because, rather than heading straight to the village, we had to pass through several villages along the way. This was partly because it took more time than usual, and partly because the opening of the first franchise was just around the corner. The idea was to use the iron ore that was being brought in to make items to be sold at franchise stores.

“I guess I should go now. Because there are a lot of things to do.”

“Is that so? Well, since you said you also run a blacksmith shop, there must be a lot of work to do. The amount to be sent to the royal family has been confirmed, so go first.”

“Are you coming again next time?”

“That’s not true. This is the first time I have confirmed mining from the mine, so I just came out on behalf of the royal family.”

I couldn’t help but feel a little relieved to hear that Levs would not be appearing next time. Even though he was not at the level of a crown prince, he was the heir of the duke’s family, so it was true that he felt a bit of a burden.

“But I might be able to see you again soon.”

“Yes?”

“Why are you so surprised? My father is more of a royalist leader, and you are a member of the royalist faction and a blacksmith. There are so many reasons to look for you. Moreover, the aristocratic faction is currently trying to put pressure on the royal faction, so a territorial war may break out soon.”

In short, it meant that there was a possibility that they would come to me to procure weapons.

“Please come visit us whenever it is convenient for you!”

“… … Your reaction seems a little different from when you treated me earlier. Is it because of your mood?”

Before, he was an awkward and difficult person, but now he was an excellent customer. Of course, the reaction is bound to be different. Of course, I didn’t say that out loud.

“Well?”

“… … Well, I guess it doesn’t matter. Then, if I have a favor to ask you in the near future, I will come to you.”

“Anytime.”

It didn’t matter at any time, as long as there were customers with large orders.

Anyway, after a brief conversation with Levs, I immediately started moving with the skeletons. It moved toward our village and passed through cities and villages along the route. It was to obtain items requested by the villagers.

Thanks to this, although it took longer than returning straight to the village, we were able to obtain most of the items the villagers wanted. After getting so many items and returning to the village, I immediately unpacked the items that the villagers had ordered. Starting with the lemons and butter requested by the mother, they sold daily necessities including glue, seedlings of various crops, and foodstuffs that could not be obtained around the village.

Since only the quantity ordered in advance was obtained, the goods that filled part of the cart were sold out quickly. It was a situation where it could be said that Logy Skeleton’s first ascent was a success.

Although the cost of transporting iron ore was still higher, it was not negligible. Because the items people need are constantly changing and new products are being created, there is a high possibility that profits will increase.

Of course, after the items sold like that, people started ordering more items again. Those who were initially unable to order because they did not know that Logis Skeleton’s business had started, or those who needed new items, placed orders.

“I need to quickly make a skeleton mage and automate this as well.”

Instead, it was a bit cumbersome and cumbersome, so the need for Skeleton Mages was increasing.

After the first franchise was opened, it seemed like I would have to focus my time on researching how to create a Skeleton Mage for a while. Even if it’s just to save me some trouble and make more profit.

Anyway, after finishing Logi Skeleton’s work, I immediately returned to the blacksmith shop with a large amount of iron ore.

“The boss is here… … . Hehe! What is all this?”

“Well, it’s iron ore.”

Leaving behind the sight of Jiena admiring the amount of iron ore filling the cart, he took them into the warehouse. A large amount of iron ore was poured there, and seeing the piles of iron ore piled high made me feel reassured. Even if someone suddenly raises the price of iron ore, it doesn’t matter to me.

After looking at the pile of iron ore for a while, I immediately started processing the iron ore. Since there were quite a few items to sell at the first franchise, a large amount of iron had to be secured in order to make those items quickly.

Using one of the strongest orc skeletons, they first began crushing the iron ore. A certain amount of iron ore was poured into a mortar-like place, and a large iron pillar was moved to crush the iron ore.

Thump-thump-thud- As the orc skeleton moved the iron pillar that could have weighed hundreds of kilograms, the iron ore was broken into small pieces and turned into powder in the hollow space like a mortar.

“The strength of the Orc skeleton is this high, but what level would it be if you make the skeleton with monsters such as trolls or ogres?”

Seeing how hard iron ore could be reduced to powder in an instant, I became curious about the level of power of trolls and ogre skeletons. Of course, the bodies of trolls and ogres were expensive and not easy to obtain, so I could only imagine.

I thought to myself, “I should definitely make one someday,” and moved the skeleton to begin the next task. The powdered iron ore was put into a bucket-like stone block, and the bucket was put into a burning kiln.

Although it was a kiln normally used to heat iron, it could also be used to melt iron ore. Even though it is necessary to use a large amount of firewood as fuel.

Although it looks like an ordinary flower, it gives off more heat than a fair amount of firewood, and when several firewood flowers that burn longer are thrown in, an extremely strong flame is created. A heat spread out around me, as if my body was being cooked just by being close to me.

And, to protect my body from the heat and utilize the heat at the same time, I created a shield around the kiln. It was a shield created using eerie black magic, and it was shaped to completely surround the palanquin. The heat coming from the inside bounced off the shield and spread back inside, sending stronger heat to the iron ore powder. Thanks to this, there is no need to try to create stronger heat by blowing wind.

“Oh, I should add that too.”

Iron ore powder melted in the bucket visible through the translucent shield, emitting orange light. After looking at the eye-catching figure for a moment, I had the skeleton throw the charcoal and limestone that was nearby into the bucket. It was a necessary process to improve the quality of the steel to be made.

However, since I only knew it through the knowledge I received from my father, I did not know the exact principles. All they knew was that using charcoal, coal, and limestone would make iron of superior quality.

I thought it would be a good idea to study this area later, or hire someone like an alchemist to secure a better, more systematic method.

Anyway, after adding charcoal and limestone to make molten iron, the impurities floating on top of the molten iron were removed. It was a simple process for the orc skeleton to scoop it out by roughly stirring it with a long iron rod.

After removing the rising impurities, the molten iron was revealed, emitting bright yellow light. The light was emitting so much that you could tell how hot it was just by looking at it.

The process of turning iron ore into iron ingots was completed by roughly pouring molten iron into a mold that had been made in advance in the form of iron ingots and allowing it to cool slightly. The iron ingots created through this process could be re-melted and added with more charcoal or coal to make them harder, or it could be heated and used as is to make objects.

“Let’s see, how many items did our first franchisee request?”

And after processing the iron ore into iron ingots, we began to identify the items requested by franchise owners. There were quite a few requests for agricultural tools and simple cooking utensils. Perhaps because the goods were sold in a safe city, the ratio of daily necessities was quite high compared to non-detained goods.

“I’ll make it soon.”

Of course, it was a large amount, but it was not at a level that was particularly problematic. A lot of iron ingots have been made, and the heat in the kiln has not yet died down. All it took was a few skeletons to be deployed.

They took out nearly twenty skeletons and started creating objects at the same time. The skeletons were banging on the metal at a steady speed as if they were working together, and the newly created iron ingots were instantly transformed into several products.

Thanks to this, we were able to produce all the quantity requested by the franchise owner in just three days. Items of certain quality and specification were quickly produced and piled up on top of the cart skeleton.

“Then, let’s go open a franchise store.”

After loading up two carts with enough iron products, I headed straight to Carbon, the city where the first franchise store would open.

We were able to arrive at Carbon in six days, a day earlier than the expected week, and naturally there was a brief commotion near the castle walls. As I rushed towards the village with several skeleton horses and cart skeletons, the guards misunderstood that it was a warlock’s attack.

Still, since it was a familiar situation to me, I was able to quickly resolve the misunderstanding and enter the city. Perhaps the franchise owner had given us some advice in advance, but resolving the misunderstanding was easier than expected. In addition, I was able to get a lot of wary attention from the guards by handing over the items that the village had requested to be delivered to the guards through Logy Skeleton.

Anyway, I passed the inspection without any problems and immediately set out to find my first franchise owner. Since it was a city with a separate commercial district, it was not difficult to find.

[Smith Skeleton Carbon Branch]

It wasn’t difficult to find as it was fully prepared for business and even had a sign up. It was almost identical to Smithskeleton, my blacksmith shop in our village, but it even had a large sign with the additional phrase Carbon Branch engraved on it, so it was strange that I couldn’t find it.