kscans

Chapter 116 - Materials and the Library

As I toured the Dwarves’ factory, I was moved. The bursting flames, the ringing of metal on metal, the delicate handiwork—and a palpable sense of passion and spirit. It was a place truly worthy of being called a craftsmen’s sanctuary.

Above all, the atmosphere was incredible. The air itself was filled with the drive to create something great. There was an abundance of ores being worked, some of them quite precious. It was clear how much had been invested to gather such materials. Back on Earth, everyone has the desire to make good things, but the corporate structure is the biggest obstacle.

Companies are always thinking about money, and to earn even a little more, they’ll switch to cheaper materials and cut corners, then sell the result to customers. I can understand the sentiment, to some extent. If you’re drowning in debt, any work that doesn’t produce results is just a waste. But if you become a miser, you’ll get complaints about declining quality. Earth has become a difficult world for craftsmen to live in.

Alright, enough with the dark thoughts. I decided to look around a little longer. Just then, Tina approached me.

"Are you bored?" I asked. "If so, you can go somewhere else."

Tina sighed. "I’d like to, but I can’t help but worry you’ll get into some kind of trouble if I leave you alone."

Am I really such a handful? I thought about it, but looking back on my actions, I couldn’t really argue.

I fell silent and continued to watch. Suddenly, there was a commotion among the Dwarves.

I asked Lurud, who was nearby, what was going on.

"Hm? Oh, word just came that the materials from the giant monster that appeared in the capital the other day have arrived. It was so big they had to cut it up, but the pieces are still huge. We’re getting everyone together to work on it. Want to come see? You two were involved with that monster, weren’t you?"

Tina and I both nodded. The materials from that monster? I was curious to see how useful they would be.

We headed to the site.

It was a wide-open area in the industrial district. Various goods brought in from outside were temporarily collected here before being distributed to their respective locations. Normally, this place never fills up; I was told they usually only use about half the space despite the large volume of goods. But right now, it was packed.

Materials from the giant monster were laid out, and every single piece was massive. The smallest was the size of a minivan, and the largest was as big as a two-story house.

Looking at the mountain of piled-up materials, I muttered, "All this is from one monster? What in the world was it?"

Lurud, who was standing next to me, replied, "I agree. I looked into it, and I found a picture of a similar monster in an old document. Its name is Behemoth. A monster of destruction, a being that was greatly feared." He had an unreadable expression as he spoke.

Behemoth? I’d heard that name on Earth, too. The name of a demon recorded in the book of the Old Testament. I think it was described as resembling a hippo or a rhino. This one looked more like a Triceratops, though. Well, in a way, I guess it did look a bit like a rhino.

In any case, for a legendary-class monster like that to appear… in a game, this pattern usually means some kind of conspiracy is afoot. The battle at the border, the Minotaur and the Centaur, the matchlock gun that was the deciding factor for deploying the Edgeson… it’s possible the event is already over. But it would be wise to act under the assumption that something else will happen.

As I was thinking, Lurud said, "Shinsuke, if you’d like, I can give you a portion of these materials."

His words surprised me. "Huh? Are you sure? Isn’t this stuff quite valuable?"

"Don’t worry about it," Lurud said with a smile. "You and Tina-jou worked hard to defeat the Behemoth. You’re entitled to a share."

Honestly, I was grateful. That hide didn’t even flinch despite all our attacks. It would make for excellent armor material. The armor I was currently wearing was something I’d processed heavily with `Matter Conversion`, but even that had its limits. Crafting armor from the hide of a legendary monster was a good idea.

I smiled. "In that case, I will gratefully accept."

Lurud beamed with satisfaction, went over to the pile, and brought back a reasonably sized piece of hide.

"If this isn’t enough, come back anytime. You’re always welcome here," he said.

I took the hide and used `Analysis` on it. Its properties were a composite of an alloy called Hihi'irokane and skin made of 100% carbon fiber.

Hihi'irokane? I’d never heard of it. I thought I might be able to create the alloy with my skill, but I figured it would be impossible without a full understanding of it. I put it in a nearby bag.

"Thank you, Lurud-san," I said. "I’ll be sure to put this material to good use."

Lurud replied, "Don’t mention it. Think of it as fate. If either of us is in a bind, we won’t hesitate to ask for help."

He was quite the shrewd businessman. I chuckled and shook his hand. In short, now that he was acquainted with a strong adventurer, he could ask me to go to dangerous places in his stead to retrieve materials. On the other hand, I could rely on him if I was in trouble.

Well, I’d managed to get my hands on something unexpected. I wanted to head back to my home in the Kingdom right away, but I decided to look around the castle town a bit more. I might find something unusual.

After a short walk, I entered a shopping district lined with food and tool shops. There were essentials for travel like small knives, bags, healing salves, and tents. As for food, there were fruits, medicinal herbs, meat, and seafood. The fish were all frozen solid, perfectly preserved. I’d heard about the Empire’s technological prowess, but seeing it in person was truly amazing.

As I was looking at the types of fish, I spotted one that looked like a bonito. This was an unexpected find. If I processed this bonito into katsuobushi, it would further expand my cooking repertoire. However, I didn’t know how to make katsuobushi. For now, I decided to buy the fish.

"What are you going to do with fish?" Tina asked. "Are you making sashimi?" She was asking about the fish dish I had treated her to on Earth.

"No, I have another use for this fish. For now, let’s head back to my place for a bit. My field rations are running low." I looked inside the tool pouch at my waist. I only had three miso balls left. And there was no way to get miso around here. It was time to restock.

"Alright. In that case, let’s head back," Tina agreed.

I finished my shopping and headed to a certain place: a cave in a rocky mountain about three kilometers outside the capital. I had discovered it when I got a day off at the front-line base on the border. It was a place people never came to. Using the transfer magic circle there, I returned to my home in the Kingdom.

I put the bonito I bought in town into my tool pouch, shrank the iron cart to the size of a baseball with `Matter Conversion`, and placed the Behemoth material in the smithy. Then, Tina and I headed to Earth.

The scenery was as familiar as ever, but I felt a chill in the air. The season was changing from autumn to winter. It wouldn’t be strange to start preparing for the cold.

But I had other things to do first. I changed clothes, put on a wig, and went into town with Tina.

Our destination was the library. I had three objectives: restock my field rations, learn how to make katsuobushi, and find out what Hihi'irokane was. The library was the perfect place to accomplish two of those three. I could have just looked it up online, but I wanted a change of pace and a chance to do some shopping.

First, I looked up how to make katsuobushi. I found the factory process, which took one to five months. That was obviously too long. But if there was no other way, I’d have to do it. I decided to search a little more. Then, I found a recipe for homemade katsuobushi.

First, you fillet the bonito. Next, you simmer it in ninety-degree water for about an hour until it’s cooked through. Simmering it slowly removes the fishy smell and firms up the meat. A key point is to keep it straight while simmering, or it will harden in a bent shape. Another is to reduce the heat to low if the water starts to boil and bubble, otherwise the meat will fall apart.

Next, you smoke the simmered bonito. You keep the smoker between fifty and eighty degrees Celsius and smoke it for one to six hours, drying the bonito with smoke and hot air. There are various types of wood for smoking, but oak is apparently best for bonito.

After smoking, you flip it over and let it rest at room temperature for a day. This allows the moisture in the center to move to the surface, improving the drying process. If you skip this, only the surface will dry, leaving the center moist.

Finally, you repeat the smoking and resting process seven times. So, it takes a week. And then it’s done.

The tricky part of this process seemed to be the smoker. Buying one would be easy, but there’s no fun in that. If I can build it, I want to. I wanted to expand my skillset as much as possible. I looked up how to build a smoker.

There were many types, but the one that caught my eye used a large tin can. There was even a diagram. You fix a wire mesh at a certain height, drill air holes, and place smoking wood at the bottom. I could just use a bonfire for heat.

It looked like a simple construction. Normally you’d use wire or iron rods, but I could just stick them together with `Matter Conversion`, or weld them if I had to.

After taking notes on how to make katsuobushi, I headed to the historical documents section.