episode_0171

“Here! Here, give me ten meters with this!”

“I am twenty meters!”

“Miss, is there any green thread here?”

“Where is the regular fabric, not the dyed one… … . Ah, here it is.”

After deciding to release the fiber at an affordable price, the response came immediately.

Through the Hive Mind, I had skeletons that could speak speak to the city, and the response came immediately. We renovated the store and started selling it in the morning, and even before noon, people came in flocks looking for textiles.

Even though it’s winter, many people are trying to stay warm somehow, but when they said they were selling fiber, even linen, at a low price, people couldn’t help but flock there.

Since they sell not just fabric for use as fabric, but also thread, it was natural that people would flock to the store even more. Winter meant that even slightly worn clothes had to be repaired and worn.

“Oh my! Thank you, lord!”

As if preparations for winter weren’t enough, I was able to see a woman with clothes torn in various places shouting out her gratitude before leaving.

In that way, many residents of the territory were delighted with the low price of the fiber and praised me. The reason was that I was grateful that it allowed me to spend a warmer winter.

Of course, not everyone praised me. In the case of some merchants, they let out voices full of regret. These are merchants who have previously secured textiles.

I think it was because there was some stock that had been secured, but its value had dropped drastically. Still, since it was something that could be said to be beneficial in the long run, all they could do was complain about it being disappointing. There was no criticism or anything like that.

In any case, the yarn and cloth made in the textile mills were distributed throughout the city very quickly. Youngjimin began to spend time a little warmer by wearing one more layer of clothing, even if it was thin.

I don’t know if that’s why, but as time went by and even stronger cold weather began to hit, it felt like the number of people freezing had decreased significantly compared to before.

And, I wasn’t the only one who felt that. The village chief, who had no choice but to watch people dying every winter, came to visit and was moved, shedding a single tear.

“It’s all thanks to the lord.”

He looked very moved and shrugged his shoulders when the village chief said that everything was thanks to me. He looked at me as if I were a hero, and that gaze was very burdensome. This is because the intention to release the fiber cheaply was more to use it to attack the Marquis of Kurid rather than to benefit the residents of the territory.

“What. It’s not like there are still people dying from the cold.”

“Still, it is special that there are still so few English speakers in a city of this size.”

I nodded at the village chief’s words that it was obvious that the villagers were coming one after another from the main city of Viscount Tar, the original owner of this land. Considering the cold that felt colder than last year, what the village chief said was not without possibility.

But I didn’t want to listen to her say that everything was thanks to me, so I decided to change the topic right away.

“How are the supplies currently needed in the city? Things like food.”

“We have plenty of time to prepare food in advance. The elves finished harvesting the firewood flowers a while ago, so there will be no problems until next summer. Unless a war suddenly breaks out this winter, there is no need to worry too much.”

They said that there was no need to worry because even the most crazy people wouldn’t think about going to war in the winter.

I checked it directly through the hive mind and there seemed to be no real problem. It was determined that not only the amount I had stockpiled, but also the food distributed to the civilians within the territory was sufficient.

After talking about various things about city management with the village chief, I got up. I finished checking the city in general, but there were still things I needed to pay attention to.

It was to understand the situation of the magic tower and researchers. Because it was winter, it was common for many people to take a break, but the magic tower and researchers did not take a break just because it was winter.

The Magic Tower was using all kinds of magic and alchemy to keep the winter warm, and the researchers were sweating profusely from the heat coming from the blacksmith shop right next to it, even though it was winter. So there was no reason to look different from before just because it was winter.

Anyway, for that reason, I decided to visit them as they were hard at work doing their jobs even in the winter. The Magic Tower and the Research and Development Headquarters are close enough to be considered neighbors, so it wasn’t difficult to stop by both places.

Skeletons worked hard with shovels and ran quickly along the snow-cleared road toward the industrial district where the magic tower and blacksmith shop were located.

People must have come and gone frequently between the Magic Tower and the Research and Development Headquarters, and the snow was solidly packed with countless footprints. It seemed like researchers went to the Magic Tower and alchemists went to the research and development headquarters.

“Let’s go to the R&D headquarters first.”

Seeing signs that more people seemed to be heading to the R&D headquarters, I headed straight to the R&D headquarters. I passed the skeleton guarding the entrance and went straight inside.

Because the heat from the blacksmith shop spread to the research and development headquarters, the cold felt outside was not felt at all. Of course, the heat radiating from the researchers and alchemists working passionately inside seemed to have a very slight effect.

“No matter how much I think about it, I think our hypothesis is correct. Whether in the water or in the air, there is something that causes iron to rust. Otherwise, it is impossible to explain why rust does not occur in a piece of iron placed in a place with no air.”

“I think so too. Iron, which was fine when a perfect vacuum was created through magic, rusts when exposed to water or air. In that case, the cause must be water and air.”

“Then how should I figure out what it is? If you’re an alchemist, you must have a way, right?”

“Unfortunately, I don’t know right now. I tried using mana to see if there was anything, but there was nothing… … . All there was was dust and dandelion seeds.”

“Hmm… … . Could it be that there is something so small that even mana cannot detect it? I don’t know if it’s possible, but if you split something like dust over and over again, it gets smaller and harder to find.”

“No, how can something be so small that even mana can’t sense it?”

“Please don’t be like that. I think that makes sense. We alchemists think that everything is made of mana, but that may not be true. We seek the truth, not those who think that what we know is the truth.”

Several researchers and alchemists were exchanging stories as if they were having a heated discussion. In front of me were several iron ingots the size of my forearms.

“What are you doing?”

“Ah! As the president mentioned, we are researching metals that do not rust. The alchemists said it would be a good idea to first figure out the cause of rust, so we are looking into that first.”

I nodded, as it was natural that finding the cause would be easier to find a way to deal with it.

“Then what about the one in the corner over there?”

“Over there, we are studying the properties of iron ore. This was done by understanding the fact that although it is the same type of iron ore, the quality of iron varies depending on the region. If you look at iron ore alone, it should be at a similar level, but there were cases where iron ore from certain regions was particularly harder.”

By the way, among the alchemists over there is a princess. When the researcher said, I turned my head and saw hair that was gray, almost silvery.

As I looked at the place where the princess was for a while, the alchemists and researchers started talking about various things again. The content was that there is something that causes rust.

As I listened to the story, memories of my past life suddenly came to mind. It was the knowledge that if a substance was split and split again and again, it would become particles so small that they could not be seen with the eye.

Of course, it only went so far. I couldn’t remember anything about proving that such a thing existed or how to use it. The only thing I remember more was that there were a lot of them.

Still, I thought that even this amount could be a big hint for alchemists and researchers. Therefore, another group led by the princess was immediately summoned.

However, the princess did not approach as if she was concentrating on something. Since there was no specific reason to force it, he turned his attention to those gathered except the princess.

“As I was listening, something came to mind… … . I think the fundamental parts of the research on both sides may be unified. What if this world was created by something very, very small? So much so that it is invisible to the eye and cannot even be detected by mana.”

“Yes? Oh, we were talking about that, but are you saying there is some unification with the research over there?”

“I’m not good at explaining things, so I’ll explain using bread dough. You make bread by mixing flour with salt, sugar, and water, right?”

“I don’t know the details, but I understand it to be something like that.”

“However, salt and sugar, which are used in very small amounts compared to flour, determine the taste of bread. Doesn’t salt and sugar in the dough have an effect on whether it melts or becomes harder iron? When kneaded with dough, the salt helps it rust and the sugar makes it hard. how is it? Isn’t it a little plausible?”

The alchemists and researchers each looked as if they were thinking about what I was saying. Then, one or two people slowly nodded.

“Certainly, it seems like a possibility. If everything is not made of mana, but is made of things with different properties coming together, then everything might be explained… … .”

The alchemists and researchers seemed to have realized something from what I said and started talking about various things without paying attention to whether I was there or not. Even the princess, who had received my words through another alchemist, joined us.

Looking at that, it seemed like there was nothing better to do here. Because no one was paying attention to me.

In the end, I had no choice but to return to the mansion again without even thinking about going to the Magic Tower.

“Ziena? Amy?”

However, as I was leisurely moving to the mansion after leaving the research and development headquarters, I spotted Jienna and Amy walking down the street.

I found him holding a sweet potato, a roasted sweet potato with white steam rising from it, in his hand and biting into it little by little.

“Ah, boss! Boss, would you like some too?”

Likewise, Jiena, who discovered me, ran towards me and immediately held out a roasted sweet potato. Feeling the heat rising as the steam rose, for no reason, stimulated my appetite.

“Uh, I’m fine. But where are you two going?”

“The elf area. It was snowing heavily, so I went to check on how everyone was doing. Everyone got along well. Did you make a brazier with firewood and roast and eat sweet potatoes?”

“This is the sweet potato,” he said. He nodded and took a bite of the sweet potato.

However, as I was biting into the sweet potato, the Hive Mind spoke to me. Moreover, not only the Hive Mind but the entire city became quite noisy.