Episode 50: Interlude (Iron Town)
Advance notice had been given. But the content of that notice was something no one knew, something no one had ever seen. Therefore, the townspeople were thrown into a state of near panic when they saw it.
“W-what is that…?”
“Is that a Dragon!?”
It appeared with a low, rumbling sound. A sound similar to the buzzing of insects, but far larger, heavier, a deep bass that resonated in the pit of one’s stomach. A dot-like speck appeared in the distant sky, slowly but surely approaching.
“Is it… small?”
“That sound is insane!”
The people spoke amongst themselves, looking up at the thing flying overhead. They had been told that mining operations were suspended today, so most of the residents had gathered outdoors to see the flying ship of ＜Paraiso＞ they had heard so much about.
At first, as it flew far overhead, voices commented that it was smaller than they had imagined, but as it circled and gradually descended, everyone fell silent.
The thing said to be a bird carrying the dead (Albatross) was a large flying machine, 35 meters in length and 45 meters in wingspan. When such a giant flew overhead, people felt an instinctive fear.
Making a terrifying sound like thunder, the Albatross circled around Iron Town.
“I heard Wyverns appear in the northern mountains… They say they’re bigger than houses…”
“Bigger than houses… But hey, that thing… it’s bigger than a furnace…”
The Albatross passed overhead. It was hard to tell what it was, but there were large wings stretching out on either side, with round things attached that made a loud noise. Its speed was much faster than a horse. When it was flying high up, it was hard to tell, but now that it was descending nearby, its speed was clear.
“Amazing… That’s what protected our town…?”
Someone’s mutter could be heard.
That’s right. It seemed that it was ＜Paraiso＞ who sent that Albatross, the ones who saved Iron Town. If so, then this giant bird was also a reliable Guardian Dragon protecting Iron Town.
“I see… This is a Guardian Dragon…!”
“Guardian Dragon…! Whoa, oh… Guardian Dragon…!”
The small mutter gradually turned into a large swell. The residents raised their hands and praised the circling Albatross in loud voices. The commotion continued until the Albatross flew away and disappeared over the horizon.
◇◇◇◇
The first thing that was brought in was a large amount of weapons and armor. Longswords of uniform quality, chainmail, helmets, breastplates, and greaves—a complete set of armor. And then, bows with complex structures and bundles of straight arrows.
Once the garrison was equipped, tools were prepared next. Hard, uniformly shaped mining tools such as pickaxes. Handcarts and wheelbarrows that could be used in the tunnels, lamps, and small items such as chairs and plates.
At first, they were daunted by the flawlessly polished items, as if they were tableware used by nobles, but when they learned that the raw material was the iron ore they had mined, they began to use them all at once. And when they heard that ＜Paraiso＞ had created these tools, a ＜Paraiso＞ boom swept through Iron Town.
Pictures of the captains who had landed at Telek Port City were also brought in, and information spread that all the crew members were beautiful girls with beastly features, and the name of ＜Paraiso＞ swept through Iron Town.
Weapons, armor, and mining tools were the top priority, but luxury goods were also brought in to some extent. Among them, the most popular were still the tools made by ＜Paraiso＞. Daily necessities such as cooking utensils and various games. It should have been full of only gruff men, but for some reason, ornaments also sold reasonably well. Among such things, the most popular were the pictures of the ＜Paraiso＞ crew members.
It was truly an idol boom.
The pictures were drawn one by one by painters, and no two were the same. Also, since they couldn’t be drawn without permission, it was necessary to obtain permission for each one and ask the models to pose.
Therefore, only one or two were transported in each transaction at most. There were often times when the pictures were not ready and were not included in the goods. When this happened, the high-priced resale of the pictures began.
However, in Iron Town, and even in Telek Port City, the absolute amount of currency was small. After the high-priced resale, possession of the pictures became a kind of status symbol. The town’s influential figures began to collect them and decorate them in frames.
However, if they monopolized them too much, it would become a source of dissatisfaction. In the first place, if they had collected a few, that would be enough, but some people collected them for show.
After that, the pictures began to circulate again in the market, treated as a kind of promissory note. It cost a lot of money to collect them, and the amount of currency in circulation was small in the first place. There was a limit to how high the price could rise, and they began to be used for exchanging with other pictures, or for exchanging with very rare ＜Paraiso＞-made tools.
If there had been enough currency, it might have triggered an economic collapse like a bubble. Fortunately, there was a limit to the currency in circulation, and it functioned as a paper currency itself, so the disaster that no one had expected was prevented.
◇◇◇◇
“That’s a very well-made wagon…”
The men began to talk as they loaded the mined iron ore.
“It seems that this was also made by ＜Paraiso＞… Heave-ho. Look, these wheels are also magnificent. The axles are also made of Iron.”
“Iron, huh? Does that mean it’s the ore we dug up?”
“Yeah, maybe. Look, it’s quite thin, but it doesn’t budge even with this much loaded. The Iron we used to make back then couldn’t do this.”
“Yeah. I’d be worried it would break.”
After loading the iron ore onto the truck, the men raised their voices. The two-horse-drawn wagon started running, scraping the ground.
“It seems that this road is also paved with crushed stones. I heard earlier that more than half of it is already finished.”
“Huh… I don’t really understand, but is it easier to run on than a dirt road?”
“Yeah, it’s a world of difference. It doesn’t sink, and more than anything, it doesn’t get muddy even when it rains. It’s like a dream, but it’ll probably extend here soon.”
“Ah. It’s nice not to have to worry about the rain.”
“The road to the mine is better now because we’re pulling wood… But it used to be terrible.”
After digging out the iron ore for ＜Paraiso＞, the first thing they were instructed to do was to maintain the roads. Just laying down wood greatly increased the efficiency of transportation. It broke quickly because it was made of wood, but it was easy to replace.
Moreover, it seemed that once the road to Telek Port City was finished, they would also clean up the area around the mine.
“＜Paraiso＞-sama is amazing. I hear they’re all beauties, I’d like to see them at least once.”
“Ah, that’s right. I’ve seen their pictures, and they were very beautiful.”
The men were making a fuss while waiting for the next wagon to come. The loading was very hard work, so the break time was strictly determined. This was also due to ＜Paraiso＞’s guidance.
“Recently, my wife has started praying to Telek Port City before going to bed.”
“Well, I can’t say I don’t understand.”
“My earnings have stabilized, so I’m thinking of getting a wife soon.”
“There are more women now, right? I heard that the refugees have a lot of women and children.”
“I don’t mind if she has children, I wish she would come to me.”
“You’ve become extravagant, huh!”
“Hahaha, you’re right! I guess I’ll start praying to ＜Paraiso＞ before going to bed too!”
It was around this time that the toast of Iron Town became “＜To Paraiso＞!” The townspeople knew that the source of all prosperity, the safety of this town, was brought about by ＜Paraiso＞.
Therefore, even when full-scale intervention from ＜Paraiso＞ began, and huge machines (Golems) that no one had ever seen or heard of appeared one after another, they were greeted with cheers.
Everyone welcomed ＜Paraiso＞ from the bottom of their hearts.