episode_0044

“What is the problem?”

“That’s it. The size of the facility becomes very large.”

“It’s getting bigger? Is it still big?”

I didn’t immediately understand the idea that the equipment would become very large. The kiln currently in the R&D headquarters is large enough to smelt several hundred kilograms of iron ore at a time, but I had no idea how much larger it would become.

“Isn’t the most basic thing about the smelting method you want to obtain at least the same or higher level of iron as before at a cheaper price?”

“That’s right.”

In the first place, researchers were hired to find ways to make more profits by reducing production costs.

“We found a way, but there is some waste of space in the process.”

“Waste of space?”

“Yes. By blowing air inside, the fire that had been strengthened by black magic was made stronger again, and the stronger fire melted the iron more quickly. However, the kiln was damaged during this process. The intense heat heated up the entire kiln, so it was unable to withstand and collapsed. So, as we tried to find various ways to make up for that, we had no choice but to expand our facilities. Instead, production costs are significantly reduced.”

The lead researcher continued to explain why the facility continues to grow. They said this was because they changed the shape of the kiln to make it easier to blow air and added various things to make it a structure that could withstand intense heat.

It was also said that if a newly built facility was operated on the same scale as the existing one, only half as much iron ore could be smelted as before.

“However, if the facility is operated on a large scale, smelting can be done more efficiently and the auxiliary materials required for it can be saved. Although it costs some money to initially manufacture equipment, the costs required for production itself are reduced. This is because the costs used for fuel and auxiliary materials can be greatly reduced.”

“Operate on a large scale? then… … Are you saying it’s possible to smelt a large amount of iron ore at once?”

“That’s right. As the scale increases, there may be some differences in our expected efficiency, but it is possible to smelt large quantities at once.”

“Oh?!”

I was very happy to hear that mass production was possible. With the creation of Skeleton Mages, the number of skeletons to be put into the mines had increased significantly, and it was obvious that the existing kiln would not be able to handle it.

If mass production of iron was possible, as many skeletons could be put into the mine. Of course, making mass production of iron possible also meant that more products could be made.

“Then you should make it right away!”

I was so excited that I wanted to create that new equipment right away. However, the head researcher scratched his head as if he was a little embarrassed.

Seeing that, I remembered the words of the chief researcher, who had expressed that the disadvantage of larger facilities was that the facilities had become larger.

“How big is the facility?”

“That’s it. Even just considering the height, it seems to be about four to five meters. Since the wind makes the fire stronger, the height must be that high in order to blow strong wind. If it is low, the materials inside may pop out when strong wind is applied. Additionally, in order to smelt a large amount of iron at the same time, it is expected that when the size is increased, the height will also have to be increased.”

“… … Five meters is pretty high, right?”

“Yes. So, for now, we are calling it Goro as a tentative name. It means a high furnace. Injecting wind is the most important part, so some researchers call it a wind furnace, but it is not mainstream. Because the first thing that catches your eye is the high height.”

When I heard that it was high enough to be a characteristic, I got curious for no reason.

“If you’re coming here to report, there must be at least a prototype, right?”

“The Research and Development Headquarters has a blast furnace that we built for demonstration purposes. However, since it is for demonstration purposes, it is small. It’s only about the height of my shoulders. Instead, the amount of iron that can be smelted in a small size is very small.”

I was told that I could actually see it, whether it was for demonstration purposes or something else, so I immediately headed to the R&D headquarters with the chief researcher. I was planning to bring the skeleton spare mage to the headquarters anyway.

Anyway, as I opened the door to the headquarters and entered, I heard researchers shouting.

“Turn more! more! more! More!”

“You spin more! Resting alone, just using the snout!”

At headquarters, researchers were holding on to something round and spinning it hard. I wondered what on earth they were doing, but the explanation given by the head researcher came to mind. They said they were making the fire bigger by blowing air, but they were turning a device that blows air inside.

In fact, when I got closer to the researchers, I heard a whooshing sound like a rush of wind. In addition, smoke that looked hot at first glance was billowing out from the top of the blast furnace.

“So this is the furnace?”

“Yes.”

In response to my question, the head researcher opened his chest with pride. He seemed very proud of what he and his researchers had worked hard to create.

“Does turning it like that blow air inside?”

“At first, we thought about using something like a water wheel using a water channel, but since the owner could use a skeleton, we decided to turn it ourselves. If you use a watermill, the scale of the equipment, which is already large, becomes larger, and the locations where the equipment can be installed are limited.”

In addition, he seemed even more confident, saying that he made it by taking various conditions into consideration.

But that explanation didn’t really resonate. This is because the sight of researchers working hard to create iron captivated my mind.

They were holding something with several handles and spinning it around to create wind and blow it into the blast furnace. Some researchers were putting the materials needed for smelting into the top of the blast furnace, and some other people were working on something at the bottom of the blast furnace.

In particular, as I was looking closely at what work was being done at the bottom, red molten iron slowly flowed down from the bottom. The iron ore, which had completely melted due to the intense heat inside, flowed in a liquid state and filled the ingot-shaped mold created by the researchers.

“Oh… … . It’s almost like iron is made automatically, isn’t it?”

“Yes. However, it is not without drawbacks.”

“Are there any other problems besides the facility size problem I mentioned earlier?”

“It’s unfortunate, but that’s right. First of all, the fire in the blast furnace must not be extinguished. The inside is full of iron that has started to melt, but when the fire goes out, it all solidifies. If that happens, it will be difficult to rekindle the fire. It would be easier to build a new blast furnace.”

The chief researcher said that the ingredients needed to make it were not particularly great, and that it would be better to just destroy everything and make a new one when the fire was turned off. The difficulties that would arise when a blast furnace with a continuous flow of molten metal hardened, as it does now, were expected to some extent.

However, the chief researcher was not finished speaking yet.

“The iron produced in blast furnaces is mainly cast iron. There may be cases where it is possible to make a product right away, but it still needs to be pounded for quite some time to make it into good quality iron.”

“What… … . It’s just a matter of tapping. If you have a skeleton, that’s it.”

If you use an orc skeleton, you can generate strength that is incomparable to that of a human, so hitting iron for a long time was not a problem.

“And, the blast furnace smelting process is a bit dangerous. Raw materials have to be poured from above, and in the process, you may get injured due to the heat rising from the wind, and when operating as a large facility, they may fall inside the blast furnace.”

“… … That would be really dangerous.”

Even without checking, it was possible to fully predict what would happen if a person fell into a place so hot that molten iron flowed.

However, after thinking about it for a moment, I felt that the shortcomings mentioned by the lead researcher were not particularly big problems to me.

“If you build equipment in front of the mine and send in as many diggers as possible, there is no reason to put out the fire, and there is no problem with pounding as long as there is a skeleton. And, being dangerous is actually a good thing for me. Because I’m not going to use anyone. If we make it so that they die when they approach, we can prevent those who simply try to steal the technology.”

Even though it was already difficult to build facilities in the village as the facilities grew, it was enough to build them in front of the mine so that they would never be turned off. In fact, it was clear that doing so would make transportation a little easier because the volume and weight would be less than that of iron ore.

In addition, it is unfortunate that high-quality steel is not readily available, but even now there is no way to obtain steel immediately, so it is difficult to call it a problem in the first place.

And, when it comes to a new type of smelting method, security was very important. There was a possibility that it would be dangerous if it crossed over to a foreign country, let alone a hostile noble. In that sense, being dangerous was actually a good thing for me. If a spy came to steal the technology, it would just disappear, so it was better to be risky.

Since all the work would be done by skeletons and not humans, it didn’t matter to me that it was dangerous. Even if it were a skeleton and it melted without leaving a single bone behind, there was no problem at all other than losing tens of thousands of meds worth of materials.

“Okay, when manufacturing the actual equipment later, let’s give the top inlet a slope and make it steeper. If you approach to see the internal structure, you will be put in a dangerous situation. Skeletons are going to do all the dangerous work anyway.”

“Okay.”

The head researcher seemed to agree with that thought, nodding his head with no sign of disapproval.

“Make a blueprint for how to make it to a scale where tens of tons of iron ore can be steadily smelted every month. I’ll leave a skeleton mage and a few regular skeletons here, so I’ll apply a structure that can handle everything with skeletons.”

I felt that the benefits of operating a blast furnace on a large scale were greater than the drawbacks, so I immediately entrusted various tasks to the researchers and moved on.

This is because it was clear that researchers who created a new smelting method using a blast furnace in a short period of time would somehow create a blueprint. All I had to do was find space to build the facility.

Of course, I already had a place in mind. The plan was to build and operate facilities right near the mine. If facilities were built and operated near the mine, transportation would be convenient and continuous operation of the facilities would be possible.

And, in order to build and operate facilities near the mine, permission from the royal government was required. What was granted to me was the right to develop the mine, not permission to build any buildings in the area.

Anyway, for that reason, I trusted the researchers, entrusted them with their work, and headed to the royal territory. Moving so fast that I was worried that the skeletal horse’s translucent joints, which had no way to wear out, might wear out, I quickly arrived at the royal territory.

After arriving at the direct territory, I immediately went to the officials in charge of the mine. The purpose was to obtain permission to build facilities related to iron smelting.

“Ah… … . Baron. I’m sorry, but I think this is an issue that we need to report separately to the higher-ups.”

However, contrary to expectations, permission was not obtained as easily. Since it was under the direct control of the royal family, there did not seem to be many things that the officials could arbitrarily handle.

Still, since I was able to figure out the area I wanted in advance, I decided to go on a preliminary field trip for the necessary time. The location was chosen taking into account the road down from the mine, a large space to build equipment, and a route to and from Carbon where coal and charcoal are obtained.

After snooping around the mountain where the mine was located, choosing a space to build equipment, and returning to the city under my direct control, I was able to meet Levs Digar, a face I had become familiar with after seeing him a few times.

“… … Are you doing well in this neighborhood? I never thought the royalist leader’s son would be summoned just because I applied for a permit.”