Chapter 110: Salt Production
The next day, since we’d found such a good spot, I decided we should proceed systematically and brought the guys from the Third Magic Tool Appreciation Society.
Yes, this was an attempt to see if we could make salt production easier using magic tools.
“Um, we evaporate the water with heat while continuously stirring it to make it into a powder, right?”
“Well, before that, we have to filter it to remove impurities, don’t we?”
“Hold on, you guys. Shouldn’t we start with a pump to draw it up?”
The three of them were happily hashing out a plan, even though it wasn’t their specialty.
I joined in, and following their instructions, I did some metalworking and slime coating, and we ended up building a pump and a filtration device.
It was a pretty large-scale thing right from the get-go.
The staff guy insisted, “My plan is perfect, so let’s go full-scale from the start,” which is why it ended up this big.
He’s as confident as ever, but he’s always done the work to back it up.
Honestly, that’s something I lack, so sometimes he seems a bit dazzling.
“Alright, this is where the real work begins. We don’t have any data yet, so we’ll have to actually use it and adjust to figure out what scale of magic circle we need.”
“Hey, hey, we haven’t even attached the screw yet, have we?”
“There’s also the speed at which the filtered seawater accumulates, so what procedure should we follow?”
Kai, who was listening to their conversation with me, suggested, “Well then, why don’t we attach the screw and try running it once?” and we decided to do it.
And so it began, but it wasn’t as simple as just increasing the heat, and production proved difficult.
Along the way, Ignat suggested, “Shall we go see my factory?” but that pricked their pride and was immediately rejected.
As if they could rely on someone else’s ideas for something of this difficulty.
I kind of understand how they feel.
If I’ve put a certain amount of effort into control systems or art, I’d want to do it myself too.
But, evaporating moisture, huh…
With slime jelly, I can easily remove moisture using water magic…
Ah… come to think of it, I can use that, can’t I?
So, when I unveiled the magic I got when I first went to the sea with Yuri and explained its effects, I got a huge booing from the Third Society guys.
What were they supposed to do with all this enthusiasm they’d built up for doing it themselves, they asked.
No, I just hadn’t used it, so I’d forgotten… Sorry.
And so, having found a solution one way or another, we got back to work, and the salt-making machine was completed surprisingly quickly.
Thanks to trial and error with the leather guy, we managed to automate the seawater intake.
Though, it’s by windmill, so it relies on the wind.
So, just in case, I had them make a mechanism that could also be powered by magical power.
Seawater passed through a large filtration device and flowed into a huge, conical tank.
After waiting for a certain amount to accumulate, we activated the device the two of them had made.
Mizuki worked hard, so by sending magical power through a single extended mithril wire, both the water magic and the screw could be activated simultaneously.
Alright, with preparations complete for the tense moment, I stepped up to send the magical power.
Water magic tools were evenly attached around the middle of the conical section, and water gushed out vigorously from that area.
First hurdle cleared. The holes were so small that strong pressure was needed for anything to pass through, but it went through without resistance.
That water immediately formed into balls and flew towards us.
“Hey! Why’d you keep sending magical power until it activated!”
The staff guy, now soaked, yelled at me.
“Sorry, sorry. The magical power amplification threw off my senses.
I forcibly stopped the magical power midway, so it didn’t have much force, right?”
As I said that, I activated a water magic circle near him to absorb the water he’d been doused with. He then put his hand to his chin and started thinking, “This could actually sell pretty well, couldn’t it?”
It seems that thanks to selling his creations on the second floor of Naomi’s shop, his perspective has shifted from just making amazing things to making things that are useful to people.
It might also be thanks to the old staff-user man, but it’s a good change.
And so, I intermittently sent magical power, continuing to discharge water so that water spheres wouldn’t fly out, but no matter how many times we repeated it, the water wouldn’t run out.
A good amount of water had stopped coming out, but a small amount continued to splash down endlessly.
Not yet? Still not yet? everyone tilted their heads.
But of course it wouldn’t run out. Seawater was continuously being fed into it.
“Shouldn’t we stop the windmill?”
When Kai muttered that, everyone understood at once and couldn’t help but look at each other and laugh.
Of course, that was it.
Once we stopped the seawater supply and drained the water again, it quickly stopped coming out. When we opened the discharge outlet at the bottom, a considerable amount of salt avalanched out.
If it’s the same as my previous life, it should be a little over three percent, so it seems we were draining water while adding seawater for quite a while without realizing it.
“Hey Ichirou, this is pretty fast, right?”
“Rui, you… you don’t even know that?
It’s insanely fast. Think about how long it took!”
“No, I knew that, I just wanted to hear how amazing it was.”
I’d gotten to know the leather guy well enough that we were finally on a first-name basis.
While lightly bantering, I asked Natalia-san if she’d like to try it, as I wanted others to have a go too.
She seemed eager, and it was also a selection based on her magical power level.
If even someone of a commoner class could operate it, it would be perfect. I watched, hoping she could do it.
But, being overly mischievous, she sent a ton of magical power and activated the water magic at full force.
This time, she activated it while continuously flowing magical power, so if it hit Mizuki and the others, they’d get injured. I defended them with a barrier made from Maso.
She saw me operating it earlier, so she should have known that wouldn’t work.
“Hey now!”
“Fufufu, that was the first time I’ve used magic. Shuperu, did you see?”
“Yes, I saw. Ria, you look good no matter what you do, don’t you?”
No, if magic tools were fine, she probably would have used a laser gun.
And hey, Ignat, you should scold her for that!
…These guys.
“Yuri, please take care of Natalia-san. I’ll lecture Ignat.”
“Understood.”
When I asked Yuri, she raised her index finger for the first time in a while and began her lecture in big-sister mode.
Wanting to keep my eyes on Yuri, I just said to Ignat, “Seriously, what are you doing not warning her?” and then continued to observe Yuri.
“Hmph, are you even listening!?
You mustn’t point a magic circle at allies, even if you’re not sending magical power through it!”
“Ehh… I didn’t know that. Besides, it’s not like I can aim it; this magic circle is fixed, you know?”
In my case, I forcibly cut off the magical power, so it just fell instead of flying. For her, it was magic whose normal state she didn’t know.
I wanted her to be concerned about the risk of injuring others, but I figured there were unavoidable aspects, so I ended the discussion and permanently installed a metal barrier to catch the water magic.
I made it so the water balls would form inside a pipe and could be discharged together. In the meantime, the Third Society guys tinkered with the magical power circuit to the magic circle, modifying it so that magical power could only be sent intermittently.
“With this, all that’s left is to build a structure here, and it’ll be complete, right?”
Kai said that, and I belatedly realized I didn’t have the connections for that.
“It’s a hassle, so should I just dump it all on Count Connor?”
“No, that would be a waste, truly. I advise that this facility should remain as Your Highness’s strength.”
Looking at Ignat’s face, he was serious.
Looking around, everyone except Natalia-san had an expression that said, “Of course.”
“You should be more aware of your own power.
And also that forces that disrupt the balance will create resistance.”
“That’s right. We learned that all too well in the Empire.
To resist that, there are many times when you need power in that specific field.”
Ah, I see.
It’s not like military strength can solve everything.
Certainly, after entrusting Belfast to my younger brother, if I were to be alienated by factions supporting him, holding onto salt production would be effective.
No, I don’t even have a younger brother yet…
It’ll surely be fine. Eve-san seemed enthusiastic about it.
“But, in that case, will I have to get Pops’s approval?”
I can’t just keep it hidden during this emergency. It should be put into operation and transport started as soon as possible.
However, I’ve already returned Leben, and I can’t very well ask for it back now.
When I consulted the two of them, they nodded and said it would be best if I could receive this place as my new territory.
The next best thing would be to keep only the rights in my hands, they said.
Ah, right. This place didn’t originally belong to anyone.
If I ask, he’ll probably approve it without issue.
“Alright, let’s go in that direction,” I said, finalizing the discussion. First, we decided to commission the construction.
In line with that, I was told we should conceal the internal structure and magic circles. Once that work was finished, another day had ended.
Morning again. We all gathered at the inn in Leben to plan.
“Well, if we’re speaking from the Empire’s common sense, one would typically report after it’s operational, routes are established, and it’s a fait accompli that it’s yours. Therefore, it might be safer to report after having the building constructed and people hired.”
Hmm, if it were Pops, I wouldn’t need to worry about that, but there’s no infrastructure, so things will be tough from here on. Dumping it on him in a half-finished state and asking for full authority might be a bit presumptuous.
Well, I’ll be free for a while, so maybe I’ll hire some craftsmen and play around with building a small village?
Village building… Yeah, that sounds kind of fun.
Ah, but maybe girls wouldn’t like this kind of thing?
“Yuri, what do you want to do? If there’s something else you’d rather do, we can go a different route.”
“No. Let’s do it! If it will remain as a source of strength for you, Rui, then I want to build it!”
Ooh, well, my fiancée has spoken, so shall we give it our all!
“Well then, living in an inn all the time is a bit much, so for now, shall we live over there?”
“Wait a minute. You’re not seriously planning to camp out there while building it, are you?”
When I replied to Mizuki’s voice with, “Of course not,” Yuri showed a look of sudden realization.
“Ah, I get it! You’re going to transport a mansion using Storage Magic, right?”
“Eh…” I, who had been planning to transport a normal house, froze.
No, Yuri-san, a mansion is incredibly huge, you know?
I wonder if it’ll even fit in Storage Magic…
No, wait.
If I say something like, ‘There’s no way something that big will fit,’ she’ll get all dejected.
Besides, Raku and Fuu wouldn’t fit in a shabby house. That would make Yuri even sadder.
We can’t keep having Count Connor look after them forever, so I guess I’ll just have to psych myself up for this.
“Ah, but where can I even buy a mansion?”
There aren’t many decent mansions in Leben. There’s probably no vacant ones at all.
We can’t go towards Lestall, so maybe Mildrad’s former Royal Capital?
“Oh my, then why not buy one in the Empire? They have plenty of mansions, you know?”
The one who said that was Natalia-san. Even Ignat was showing a troubled expression, as expected.
“Can we even enter incognito and buy a mansion?” I asked Kai.
I figured this guy wouldn’t give an answer that was too considerate of Natalia-san.
“That can be done without issue, but isn’t the problem His Highness going to the Empire in the first place?
Storage Magic is necessary this time, so there’s no point in us going alone.”
“Oh, so it’s possible?”
“Then isn’t that fine? Mansions in the Empire are much grander, you know?”
Hoh. Grander, huh…
Honestly, I’ve wanted to see what an Imperial town looks like up close.
If we limit the members, even if we get surrounded, breaking through by force should be easy. Shall we go take a look?
“Alright then, I’ll go with Kai and Ignat and we’ll buy one real quick.”
“Rui? My name seems to be missing.”
“Mine seems to be missing too, doesn’t it?”
…No, it’s fine for Natalia-san to be left out.
Actually, to be honest, I don’t want to take Yuri either.
“No, you two wait here. We’ll be back right away.”
“Rui… If you’re worried about my safety, please stop.
I’d rather die than become a burden to you, Rui.”
Huh?
Rather die? What are you saying?
That one remark made me snap, and I found myself glaring at Yuri.
“Stop treating your own life so lightly. It’s more important than my own life, you know.”
“Pardon? That goes for both of us. If you’re telling me to change, then you should change too, Rui.
You are my everything, you know? If we are to be together and fight together, I will accept the danger. But if you were told to stay behind while I went to a dangerous place, would you be able to accept that, Rui?”
Her direct, strong gaze met mine, and hearing her feelings, I realized I was being arrogant.
…Ah, I see.
I’m telling Yuri to endure something that I myself would absolutely hate.
“Sorry, I understand. Then, shall we look in Mildrad…?”
“No, the Empire is fine! You need to get used to it too, Rui. I will get used to it as well.”
“But, there’s no need to needlessly take risks, right?”
Even when I asked that, she didn’t back down from her stance of going, saying, “You said the three of you would go at first because it would be alright, didn’t you?”
Apparently, it means we both need to get a little more used to doing dangerous things together.
She strongly declared that if we needlessly try to protect each other, we won’t be able to win even winnable fights, so we must both get used to it.
Since I had already said I’d go, I couldn’t strongly refuse anymore.
“Alright! Then let’s gooo!!”
And so, for some reason, Natalia-san ended up coming too, and this time Ignat held his head in his hands.
Seeing that, when I asked, “Is there actually some danger?” he said that as long as we don’t reveal our identities ourselves, there’s no problem.
Even if we were found out, the Ignat Family’s soldiers could make them back down without any issue, so as long as we don’t stay long, there’s no danger, apparently.
However, if it became widely known, the Ignat Family would apparently be blamed later, so Natalia-san, who is easily recognizable, going along is a bit scary, he said with a pale face.
No, ‘a bit’…? He’s clearly terrified.
But it’s mostly as I thought.
In that case, as long as we don’t stay too long, it should be fine, I guess.
“Fufufu, of course I’m going too. I’ll have you stop by a Magic Tool Shop, after all!”
“Ah, right. Magic Tools from a major power, huh. I’m certainly interested.”
“I don’t want to wait alone while everyone else goes, you know?”
Oooh, while I was mulling it over, it got decided that everyone’s going.
Well, if there’s no danger, then it’s fine, but… From now on, it seems I should live while thinking a bit more about my words and actions.
Ah well, whatever.
I decided to go buy it precisely because I thought it would be alright.
And so, we ended up going to buy a magnificent mansion in the Empire.