episode_0123

A month and a half had passed since Count Art left, saying he would talk to the princess, the head of the school.

As time passed, spring, which was full of fresh feelings, quickly came to an end, and summer became a place where you could feel the scorching heat. But the appearance of the people did not change much. Everyone was living a peaceful daily life. The only thing that had changed was that my clothes were shorter and thinner, and my skin was getting a little red or turning black as I got scorched by the hot sunlight.

“Boss. There are many people looking for premium line products, what should we do?”

And, of course, by the time summer comes, all premium line products have already been sold out. This was because the special iron plate made using the elixir that Count Art had ordered was no longer available.

The item sold previously was made using steel plates left over from Count Art’s order, and was even recycled. Now, there wasn’t even enough left to make a silver piece the size of a finger.

Of course, there were some shortcomings that were discovered in the process. After using the elixir to complete the iron plate, if you melt it again after a certain period of time, the effect of the elixir will decrease significantly. Even if I melt down my items and create something new somewhere else, not being able to see the effects properly could have been a big advantage, so it’s hard to call it a disadvantage.

In any case, it is said that there were a lot of people looking for the premium line, perhaps because all the stock had been removed through repeated recycling to the point where even the shortcomings were revealed. So much so that Jienna complained that there were a lot of annoying customers.

“Count Arth must come back. The elixir is created entirely in the magic tower that Count Art belongs to.”

“Whew, I hope he comes quickly. There are so many people asking every day… … . Are there even people who come to work like our employees? Every morning he comes and asks if I have anything, I feel like I’m getting neurotic.”

Ziena left disappointed when told that there were no premium line products, or shook their heads, saying that there were many people who asked when it would be produced. Dealing with them one by one didn’t seem like an easy task.

But I couldn’t help it either. This wasn’t something that could be done by rushing.

The problem now was the distance from the capital where the Magic Tower was located. It would take a month at best, but if Count Art was stopping by my territory, it would inevitably take more time.

And, in fact, it was two months and ten days after she left that Count Art came to visit.

“Ah… … . Now I don’t want to go anywhere.”

“It’s a bit inconvenient and annoying to move around.”

“There are a lot of things to worry about, and it costs a lot of money… … . It’s extremely uncomfortable.”

Since he was a nobleman, moving around meant money. It was natural that there was a lot to worry about. I laughed lightly at the sight of Count Art shaking his head as he said that part.

“Then, how about signing a contract with our Rosy Skeleton?”

Of course, I didn’t miss the opportunity. I was planning to establish a regular operation of the Logis Skeleton with Count Art. This is because while waiting for the special iron plate using the elixir to be made and talking about various things, we found out that the County of Art was rich in magic materials.

Since a lot of magic ingredients are used in black magic, there was nothing bad about being connected to the County of Art.

At first, Count Art seemed to have no idea about Logis Skeleton, but since he had seen the bus traveling around my territory many times, he quickly showed an understanding.

And Count Art, who was fascinated by the advantage of being able to travel quickly and comfortably to the territory 24 hours a day without stopping, immediately concluded the contract.

“Thanks to you, I will feel comfortable when I return. instead… … It may be inconvenient again when going to the capital.”

The capital was not something I could do anything about, so I just shrugged. I sighed softly as if I was saddened by that sight. Of course, his expression quickly improved, as if he was satisfied with just being able to go to his territory comfortably.

Count Art’s expression dimmed for a moment, but then brightened again, and he gestured to the knight who had followed him as his guard.

Then, the driver brought the item he was holding so preciously as if he had been waiting for it.

“Two types of elixirs, three bottles each.”

Naturally, that item was the reason why Count Art came all the way here. The purpose was to supply the elixir according to the contract with me.

A total of six bottles, three each of elixir of strengthening steel and elixir of iron mana, were placed on the table between me and Count Art. The same size glass bottle as before contained the same level of elixir.

Of course, that amount of elixir was not used at once. Because it could not be delivered every month due to distance from the capital, it was scheduled to be delivered once every three or four months. And, the total of six bottles of elixirs in front of me right now were the amount to be used during that period.

‘… … Looking at the current demand, this seems to be insufficient.’

I was worried that I should place an additional order now instead of three months later, but I didn’t bring up the topic now because I could go to the magic tower and make a request later.

Instead, I decided to check the elixir in front of me. I drew a total of six bottles of elixir and looked at them closely. But honestly, I couldn’t tell anything by looking at it. I could feel quite a bit of mana inside the glass bottle, but as a warlock, I was more familiar with dark magic than mana, so I couldn’t tell anything from that.

“Ah! I also brought an artifact that determines whether the elixir is real or not, or which of the two types it is.”

Count Art, who was looking at me like that, quickly took out a long stick from his bag. It was a long glass rod about the thickness of a finger, and it was said that it could be identified by holding it close to the elixir.

When the glass rods were placed one after another in a total of six glass bottles, the colors of the glass rods changed. The steel strengthening elixir turned dark brown, and the mana iron elixir turned green.

“There is a possibility, so when you receive an elixir in the future, I recommend checking it with the artifact.”

It was as if they didn’t know what people were doing and were telling them to prepare for things like being replaced. It felt like an effort to prevent conflict from arising in the first place.

Of course, there was nothing bad about me, so I nodded. At the same time, he carefully packed a total of six bottles of elixir and handed them over to the waiting skeletons. The skeletons, who had stuffed the insides of their ribs with soft leather and wool, carefully stored the vials inside their ribs.

And, he handed the large bundle that was contained before the glass bottle to Count Art. Naturally, the bags were filled with large-value coins. Although I felt sick to my stomach as my lump sum was being taken away in an instant, I did not hesitate.

“The value is accurate.”

Count Art, who quickly checked the amount, nodded and handed the bundles over to the knights. The knights took the bundle and left.

Count Art, who watched the knights leave for a moment, seemed to feel a little more relaxed, perhaps because he thought he had finished what he had to do. I relaxed my posture with my back straight and leaned back on the sofa.

“Do you remember that someone else will come next time?”

“Yes. The Count probably has a lot of work to do, but he can’t be in charge of delivery work.”

Count Art nodded, saying yes to what I said. Then, as if something suddenly occurred to me, I applauded! I hit it.

“Oh, I forgot to talk about sponsorship. It was as important as delivering the elixir.”

“That’s right. You said you would ask the head of the school about sponsorship. How did it go?”

“The head of the school was very happy. He likes it so much that the head of the school said he would like to see Baron Steele. Of course, I’m not asking you to come right away. Let’s meet someday when we get a chance.”

I felt satisfied that there was such a positive response that not only other people but also the head of the school, who had the status of a princess, was interested in me.

Of course, I couldn’t help but cringe a little at Count Art’s next words.

“You didn’t seem to like the idea of trading the elixirs at a price equivalent to the original price.”

Still, looking at Count Art’s soft smile as he spoke, it didn’t seem like he had made a bad impression.

“Don’t worry too much. In fact, the head of the school prefers receiving donations rather than selling elixirs.”

“Are you saying that sponsorship is better than sales?”

“Since it is a royal magic tower, when items are sold, they are returned to the royal family. However, in the case of donations, it is money that the school does not mind spending all of, so the head of the school believes that donations are better.”

It sounded like he was saying that it would be a good idea to give generous donations, but I didn’t really pay any attention to it. It was thought that the donations allocated from the beginning would never be insufficient.

“Good. We have prepared donations and supplies in advance, so please take them with you on your way.”

“Really?”

Count Art seemed surprised to hear that he was already offering donations.

“I hope that the research I want to achieve will be successful as soon as possible.”

“Ah… … . Instead of providing support, we decided to conduct some research in the desired direction. Is there any research you would like to do?”

Count Art seemed a little nervous when he remembered why I was sponsoring him. They seemed worried that I was asking for strange research under the pretext of sponsorship.

However, despite Count Art’s nervousness, the research I was requesting was not strange.

“What I want is simple. Whether you use an elixir or another method, it allows the fuel to burn longer and stronger. Even when burning firewood, it can emit tremendous heat for a long time. It’s also very cheap.”

The largest cost consumed in the process of producing products in a blacksmith shop or blast furnace was fuel. For me, who mines iron ore on my own and has no labor costs, fuel cost was the biggest item.

Therefore, a more efficient way to use fuel was needed. Then I could make more profits by reducing costs.

“It’s a way to make the fuel burn stronger and longer… … . It might be more fun than you think, right? Overall, I think it will be beneficial to the kingdom. If we make fuel burn stronger and longer at a cheaper price, there will be fewer people freezing in the winter. I will tell this to the head of the school and make sure to get results.”

And, strangely enough, my request seemed to have inflamed Count Art’s desire for research.

The desire for research was so burning that Count Art immediately began packing his bags. It seemed as if he wanted to go back and conduct research right away.

Thanks to this, I also had to move a little urgently. We had to provide 10 million meds as donations and dozens of cauldrons that were changed every week.

“Sorry for leaving in a hurry. It’s a research topic that I’ve been interested in for a long time… … .”

“Well, it would be good for me to start research quickly. Wouldn’t the results come out that much faster?”

When I told him not to worry, Count Art really didn’t care anymore. It was even to the point of urging the knights who were working hard to prepare for their return.

Count Art, who seemed to be concentrating all his attention on his research, waved his hand roughly and said goodbye before leaving.

I had a thought that people who were really into one thing must do that, but I quickly shook my head to shake off the distracting thoughts.

Now that we had secured enough elixirs, it was time to begin producing the premium line in earnest.

“Ziena! Premium line products will be on sale in the next 15 days!”