episode_0063

“What are you talking about? … . No, no.”

While I was trying to find out what happened, I thought that checking the process of making the steel plate was more important now than that.

Let’s hurry up and make an iron plate! I couldn’t help it as I looked at the researchers who seemed to be talking with their eyes.

Anyway, I decided to try making a steel plate right away and called in the troll skeleton. The guy raised his big body and came towards me.

“Can you grab what’s here and lift it?”

“If you tell me to… … do… … !”

When I pointed to the roller on the cart skeleton, the troll skeleton immediately appeared to be trying to grab the roller. However, I felt like the roller would get hurt if I lifted it like that, so I had to hold on to the handle next to the roller to lift it.

“Oh, oh! Lift! Listen!”

Then, the troll skeleton lifted the roller as if it were very light. The eight researchers barely heard it while whimpering, and it was lifted very lightly.

As he was rubbing the iron, he seemed certain that it would be possible to make it into an iron plate.

“So now I just have to raise the heated iron up there and rub it, right?”

“That’s right!”

The researcher’s words immediately made other skeletons move. The iron ingots made in the blast furnace were filled again into something that resembled a blast furnace, and then heated with very intense flames. Perhaps because the fire was strong enough to quickly melt iron, the iron bars quickly turned into molten iron.

“But is there a need to melt the iron ingots again like that?”

“That is the process of turning cast iron from a blast furnace into steel. We did an experiment, and we were able to bring the cast iron from the blast furnace to a level close to steel just by melting it again.”

“It’s fascinating. What’s the principle?”

“Ah… … . It’s not certain, but I think it’s because it has the effect of filtering out impurities one more time.”

As I waited and asked the researchers various questions while the iron was melting, the molten iron quickly came out. The molten iron was rushed into the mold by waiting skeletons.

There were several molds prepared; there were molds in the shape of iron ingots, which were used as usual, and molds that were slightly larger and elongated to make iron plates. And, what the molten iron is now going into was the formwork for making iron plates.

The red-hot molten iron that instantly filled the mold lost its color little by little after a while. As the hot heat cooled, the reddened color changed to the universal color of iron.

But there was still one more process left to go through. It was a process of removing the iron lump that had cooled to a certain degree from the mold and heating it again. In order to make it into an iron plate, a heating process was necessary to make it easier to deform.

Anyway, when the heating of the iron that would become the iron plate was completed, the red-hot, rectangular-shaped piece of iron was placed on the plate.

“Try rubbing the roller you’re holding in your hand against that piece of metal. To the extent that the iron can be flattened little by little.”

“Fold… … !”

The troll skeleton nodded vigorously at my words, then took the roller he was lightly holding to the metal piece. It was so hot that you could feel the heat just by getting close to it, and the troll skeleton was rubbing the metal as if it was nothing, perhaps because of its enormously strengthened bones.

“Wow! president! It unfolds! It unfolds!”

And, as one researcher was making a fuss, the rectangular pillar gradually became flatter as the troll skeleton moved. Just like bread dough spreading, the iron lumps spread thinner and wider.

“Would you like to make it have a uniform thickness throughout?”

In addition, it felt a little uneven, so I asked for a uniform thickness, and the iron plate was spread to a uniform thickness according to my request.

The red-hot iron plate spread wide and cooled quickly, and when it reached the point where it could no longer be easily spread, the iron plate was spread wide enough for several people to lie down.

“Okay, stop. It seems like the fever has almost completely cooled down, so it won’t be suppressed easily, so you can stop.”

It didn’t seem like it would easily unfold even if I pressed it with a fair bit of force, so I stopped the movement of the troll skeleton that was continuously rubbing the iron plate.

After stopping the troll’s movements, I and the researchers approached the troll skeleton’s workbench. The state of the result was visible in more detail than when viewed from a distance.

Not only was the thickness uniform throughout, but the top surface that the roller directly touched was not uneven. Unlike a mage, it seems that the knight was able to produce this level of results because his main focus was on moving his body.

“Wow… … . I made it as thick as a finger before the heat cooled down… … .”

“Sure. If we did it, wow, I can’t imagine it. Did it take a full day?”

“What is 15 days? If you look at that size and neatness, it would take a couple of months.”

Researchers did not hesitate to express their admiration when they saw the iron plates created by the troll skeleton. He was impressed while talking about how long it would take to make an iron plate this neatly.

But that admiration was short-lived. They immediately began to find shortcomings and quickly found ways to improve them.

Seeing that the bottom surface was a bit uneven, he thought of heat-treating the currently made steel plate to make it a little harder and then using it as the bottom of the plate, or to create a structure that handles a separate process so that it can be easily reheated when reheating is necessary during the thinning process. It was about making something or something like that.

“Hmm. First of all, I’ll teach you a little more about the process of making an iron plate, so you guys can make it on your own. I’ll attach a skeleton to it.”

I also felt the need for the process they were talking about, so I gave them the skeletons. This is because the thickness of an iron plate varies depending on the purpose for which it is needed, so I felt the need to teach about that.

After looking at the researchers for a moment who quickly began creating a structure using the skeletons I gave them, I approached the troll skeleton.

“You can make a steel plate this way without me, right?”

“It is possible… … ! Master of death!”

“The master of that damn death is really… … .”

Although I was happy to see him showing off his confidence, I couldn’t help but shake my head as I heard a name that made my hands and feet cringe.

“Anyway, then can you adjust the thickness? From very thin to slightly thick.”

“If you tell me exactly… … You can do it!”

“Really? How thin do you think you can make it?”

“This is enough!”

The troll skeleton, which although not at the level of a mage, was highly intelligent in its own way, answered my question very clearly. This is done by pinching the thumb and index finger of one’s right hand until they are tightly pressed together.

Still, maybe because it was a big guy, there was a very small gap even though it was close to sticking. This meant that it would likely be possible to produce up to half of the steel plates made now.

“Oh, good.”

Since steel plates can be used in infinite ways, it was very nice to know that the thickness could be adjusted in detail. It was obvious that the production time would be greatly shortened if steel plates made to fit the required items were used.

In particular, it seemed like it would be very easy to make not only helmets and armor, but also things like gauntlets, which take quite a bit of time. It is an expensive product with a certain demand, and the corners of my mouth naturally rose when I thought that it could be produced quickly.

Feeling joy at the thought of being able to make a lot of money that they did not earn during the winter, the researchers quickly created structures. No, maybe I enjoyed the pleasure a little too long.

Anyway, after the researchers created the structure, I once again taught the troll skeleton the process of making iron plates together with the researchers. When another skeleton placed a heated rectangular column, it was stretched out, and if it cooled down early, it was heated again to continue the work.

Since it was essentially a process of pushing, heating, and pushing, the Troll Skeleton mastered the entire process without difficulty. Even if his intelligence was lower than that of a mage, there was no problem. They even showed me making a steel plate according to the thickness I specified.

It was possible to make anything from an iron plate thinner than a finger to something as thick as a fist, which would be difficult to call an iron plate. In addition, the quality was very good because the steel plate that was made was placed on the plate so that both the top and bottom were straight.

“From now on, keep making iron plates here. Basically, you can make it by thickness, but if I give you special instructions, you can make it according to that. You can do it, right?”

“You can… … !”

At my words, the troll skeleton lifted the roller it was holding. I nodded at the very confident look.

“Okay, if you don’t know anything, there’s a skeleton mage over there, right? Ask him. Or ask the other Skeleton Mages I send periodically.”

“Seniors… … !”

“… … Yes, if senior means the skeleton that was created first, then he is senior.”

I was curious as to why a senior-junior relationship arose among skeletons, but I decided not to worry too much about it since I didn’t think it was a problem.

And, after finishing everything so that I could produce iron plates, I led the researchers toward the village. We confirmed that the iron plate was made properly, and we made arrangements so that it could be made automatically without having to worry about it, so there was no reason not to go to the village.

I don’t know if it was because the heavy weight of the roller was lost, but I returned to the village in less time than it took to move from the village to the blast furnace.

“Thank you for your hard work this time too. Performance bonuses will be provided on payday, so go home and rest warmly.”

“Thank you!”

After returning to the village, I promised compensation to the researchers who accompanied me to the territory and took care of various tasks, and sent them home. However, when I told them to go home, the researchers started running toward headquarters instead of toward home.

“iron plate! What can you do with an iron plate?!”

It may be because they confirmed that the steel plates were made properly, but the researchers seemed to be trying to study things that could be done with the steel plates at the R&D headquarters.

Now that iron plates have become easier to obtain, it seems like the desire of creators to create anything with them, or the desire of researchers to study applicable methods, has been burning.

“After I hit the jackpot and receive a decent bonus, I should build a bigger and better house! Let’s cheer up!”

No, it seemed like I was blinded by the bonus I had decided to pay if I achieved something.

Every time I come to the blacksmith shop, I have a few words with Jiena, and then I wonder if the water has changed… … .

After watching the researchers entering the headquarters for a moment, he shrugged his shoulders and moved towards the blacksmith shop. Whatever the reason, all you have to do is work hard.

And, after returning to the blacksmith shop, I immediately instructed the skeletons to make plenty of items again. I felt this as I returned to the village, because now winter is slowly passing and it is time for spring.

Since I used up all the supplies to catch trolls, I had to restock them and sell them in the spring. You need to prepare in advance so you can handle the influx of orders starting in the spring.