Author: Yume Neiji

The chapter for today is sponsored by Raymond Anthony. Enjoy reading～

I was in high spirit but I don’t have work to do so far as the subjugation team hasn’t even left yet. Maybe it would have been better if I did what Oyasan told me and slept until after noon. Going back to sleep now is a bit…, it’s kind of inconvenient and even if I am to say I’ll help with something, there’s almost nothing I can work on yet before their departure.

In that case, it would be better to finish the spearhead that I kept inconspicuously in the corner of the branch office and make it as a warm-up exercise. I decided to do so and started igniting the left over charcoal from yesterday’s work.

As the fire on the fire bed was starting to build up, I manipulated the bellows to send in some wind. When the fire was sufficiently ablaze, I heated the spearhead that I had brought out discreetly from the corner. I added more charcoal and operated the bellows to raise the temperature further.

When it was hot enough, I took it out and hammered it to shape it. Since I don’t intend to give it to anyone else, I’m applying the method for creating custom model. However, compared in the Black Forest where my main workshop is located, the magical power here is definitely thinner. It will be able to boost the performance of the item but I don’t think that it will be as good as what I made over there.

Even if I make a knife using the same method, if it’s made at the main workshop, the entire log stand will be split apart. But at this branch office, it can only cut up till the half or a third of the log. Still, such performance is already good enough.

As I was working like that, about four soldiers brought me two barrels of charcoal. It was unexpectedly quick. I guess it’s because Miss Frederica is not that busy at the moment. When everyone returns from the subjugation, the lid of the cauldron of hell will then be opened.

“Oh, I’m sorry for troubling you guys. You could put it next to the barrel over there.”

“Understood”

The soldiers left after they put down the barrel. The subjugation team were probably already on their way to the cave so they must be the ones left behind serving as the guards here. It’s possible that I used some of their break time. I do feel a little guilty when I think about it, but I’ll let the younger ones work to their heart’s content.

With such black thoughts in my head, I tried to go back to work. However at that moment, I heard a loud voice and the source of that voice appeared before me.

“Eizou! I’m here for you to check my knife!”

It is Sandro-oyasan. Oh! right, I did told him yesterday that I would check it myself. Haa-, being forgetful can’t be helped when you get older.

“Alright”

I replied to him without revealing that I completely forgot about it. Two knives were handed over to me. It’s one big and small sized knife with a shape like that of a butcher’s knife. Their shape were almost the same, it’s just that the larger one is about two smaller knives combined, and as for the larger one, it may not be used that often.

“Hmm, I think I’ll be done in half an hour.”

I said as I inspect the two knives. As expected of Oyasan. The maintenance is almost perfect. A good craftsman has first-class tools but maintenance for the tools should also be first-class. That’s because it’s no different from the care for our arms, hands and fingertips. As far as the maintenance of kitchen knives is concerned, there may be a part where Oyasan is better than Rike.

“If it’s only about that long, can I watch?”

Oyasan asks in a rare, not-so-loud voice (it is still a big voice though). Well, the fact that he doesn’t sound timid comes from his size and the volume of his voice.

“It’s fine with me but, it might be boring for you though.”

“No, I also thought that it might help me when I’m doing it.”

Oh, I see. It’s not like I have a reason to refuse him, but since he said that, all the more that there is no reason for me to decline. I readily agreed to Oyasan’s request.

“I’m going to hit it to make some adjustments, but please don’t be surprised.”

“Okay”

I informed Oyasan in advance. It’s no good if he felt offended if I hit it suddenly. I put the knife on the anvil and check it with my cheat. It seems that it was made by a skilled craftsman, which is why it is quite good.

If I inadvertently put magical power, it will end up with a great sharpness so I don’t need to weave some magical power. However, I carefully hammered it to correct the slight distortions and variations in its structure, it’s done in a way that there’s no change to the shape of course. I can do it because of my several cheat.

No tempering is done in this process. Well, when I looked at it, I know that it would be taking more than an hour’s work if I am to do some tempering. Both pieces were made in this way to remove distortions and variations in the structure. It’s about as good as a high-end model in my workshop.

“Woh～…”

When the work is nearly finished, Oyasan exclaimed in admiration.

“I have no idea how you are doing it.”

“Well, that’s the thing about this work. This work is not within the scope of normal maintenance you see. And you see, I don’t have any idea what you guys do when you prepare our food either.”

“That’s indeed so if you put it that way.”

Actually, there is more than a difference in professions, and even a normal blacksmith probably doesn’t know what I was doing, but I’ll still dare to say that. Oyasan believe me unquestioningly too.

“I think you can understand it from here.”

“Ou-“

I’m sure he has done a lot of work on the sharpening process, and although he may not understand the details, he should understand what I’m doing.

I’m going to sharpen it slower than usual. Of course, I’ll utilize my cheats to make it sharper. Basically, it’s a matter of angle, but I think its sharpness will increase even when it’s sharpened normally because of the adjustments I made earlier. It didn’t take much time because the original maintenance was pretty good. If it’s Oyasan, since he is already good at it, he can take care of these knives by himself without any problem.

“Alright, we are now done. From what I can see, I think Oyasan’s way of taking care of it will be enough.”

I handed the two finished knives to Oyasan.

“Oh, sorry for trouble.”

“Not at all, just make a delicious meal for me in exchange with this.”

“Okay, leave that to me!”

With a louder voice than ever before, Oyasan promised me that.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.

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I finished eating the supper Oyasan had prepared, returned the dishes and then I went to bed. If tomorrow is a full-scale subjugation, there is no doubt that I will be busy. If I don’t go to bed early and regain my energy, this 30-year-old body will not be physically fit for it. When I returned to our tent and lay down with a blanket on, drowsiness came over to me quickly, probably because I am tired.

The next morning,

When the sun rises, I get up and do some light exercise, get myself ready and then I head to the kitchen area. Oyasan and the others have already finished preparing the breakfast and they are already waiting for us to come to eat.

“Good morning Oyasan.”

“Oh, good morning!”

“Oyasan is quite energetic from the morning huh.”

“Of course! It’s no good sharing your energy if you look grouchy!”

“Oh, Oyasan is indeed a professional.”

“That’s a given!”

Oyasan’s energy is definitely something to learn from. I took my breakfast of soup and bread and then I went to a simple table that is vacant.

The soup had a lot of ingredients in it and it is a solid meal for breakfast. A soldier would have to eat something like this to be able to survive. The bread was softer than the one we had eaten on the way here, probably because it was baked after we arrived here.

There’s a possibility that I’ll be busy by noon so I’ll have to eat well too. Looking sideways at the soldiers who are eating in a hurry, I eat slowly and steadily. I felt a little bad for them, but I’m sure they’ll understand that my age and the work I have to do are different.

While I was eating like this, Miss Frederica came over to me with her breakfast.

“Good morning, Eizou-san.”

“Good morning, Frederica-san.”

Miss Frederica puts her meal across from me but she looks very sleepy.

“You look so sleepy. Did you stay late last night?”

“Yes. The Count had been planning the strategy until late so I calculated the supplies accordingly.”

After saying that, Miss Frederica yawns, looking fluffy and cute.

“Thank you for your hard work. But you shouldn’t stay up that late. I heard it’s the archenemy of young women’s beauty.”

“Thank you. However it can’t be helped even if I care about my beauty.”

Miss Frederica says so, but she’s basically prettier compared to the noble ladies I saw at Marius’ party. I’m sure there are many woman who wouldn’t be relieved if they weren’t dressed like they do now.

“I think Frederica-san should be more confident. You are prettier compared to those noble ladies.”

I said that while carrying the soup to my mouth.

“N-No, that sort of…”

Miss Frederica is mumbling to herself. I can’t tell whether she’s embarrassed or not. However, it’s no good if we felt awkward from the morning, so let’s change the topic.

“By the way, is it likely that there will be more repairs today?”

“Hmm…”

Miss Frederica thinks while holding a wooden spoon (that she used to scoop some soup) in her mouth. She’s looking straight ahead, but her focus is not on me. This is one of the things I’ve learned about her over the past few days, she has a tendency to look into the distance when she’s thinking.

“I think it will probably increase. The Count said that he was prepared for some “loss” you see.”

“I see…”

Either there are many or there are strong enemies. I think they came back yesterday after they figured it out to some extent.

Well, I think Miss Frederica was also thinking about how much she could share to me, a mere blacksmith, but I guess she told me a part of her supply plan.

“If that’s the case, it would be better to bring about two more barrels of charcoal. The fire bed also uses quite a lot of charcoal. In that situation, it may not be that easy to ask for help.”

“I understand. I’ll arrange for it.”

Miss Frederica looked up at the void and muttered three times, “two barrels of charcoal at Eizou-san’s place”. This is the second habit of her, when she have something important and she can’t write it on a paper, she memorizes it three times.

“Sorry for the inconvenience, but I’ll leave it to you.”

“No problem.”

Today as well, Miss Frederica responded to me with a smile like that of a small animal. After that, we talked about a few trivial things as we finished our meal. In the end, I didn’t ask her why she was chosen to be the civilian in charge of supplies this time. Well, she mentioned that she didn’t have any actual combat experience, so I guess the purpose of why she’s here was to give her some real combat experience.

On my way to the branch office after I had my breakfast, I saw a group of fully armed soldiers. They were not lined up, probably because their departure was not yet scheduled. And among them, there are some figure that I had not seen yesterday. They were slim, long-eared men ―elves to be precise.

“Just as I thought huh.”

I wasn’t surprised to see an elf. As I tried yesterday, I realized that there is a lot of magical power around here. In that case, it’s no surprise that elves, who need to absorb magical power on a regular basis and can only live in such a place, have settled down in this area. It is natural to think that if there is a concern about monsters in one’s own home, it is a given that they would offer their help to eradicate those monsters.

They need a supply of magical power, but if there is a cave or other space nearby where magic is stagnant, there will surely be a risk of monsters wandering around.

Feeling a little sympathetic towards them, I headed back to the branch office to focus on my work for today.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.

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The following chapters are sponsored by Raymond Anthony. Many thanks again everyone for your support.

The longsword was plunged into the fire bed, but the fact that it needs to be heated means that it is that distorted. Normally, it takes a long time to fix such a problem, but this time, I’m going to resort to fully utilize my cheat.

I only heat the distorted part and raise the temperature to the level necessary to restore the distortion. Hmm, this is really very distorted… How did they used this anyway? I wonder if that guy couldn’t pull it out after piercing it in so he opted to pry it out with brute force. If that’s indeed the case, is it the work of a dwarf, a beastman, or a lizardman?

Now that the temperature has risen, I’m going to remove the distortion by hammering it. If the temperature is raised to the point where it can be fixed and softened like this, it will not be the same even if it is quenched again so this is where what I checked earlier comes into play.

While I’m hammering to fix it, I gradually weave in some magical power to adjust the hardness so that it will be the same as the other part when it is quenched again. This is done by utilizing my cheat of course. In this way, when the part of the sword with a lot of magical power was hardened, tempered and polished, the longsword, which was almost the same in appearance and performance, would be restored.

However, though I’m saying that the sharpness is the same, if you check that exact spot, you can see that some magical power is naturally contained only at that part. You can also tell that its strength has increased a little, and if you look at it closely, you can see that the magical power is added to repair it.

Well, if I put magical power into the whole item, it will be more than a high-end model. And for now, this repair will do. As for the other longswords and shield, which are less distorted, I will fix them by just directly hammering them without heating them. Though the shield will have some bent parts, it will still be usable.

The longsword has a big chip in the blade, so I decided to sharpen it as a first aid. If the chip is too big, I may need to repair it by splicing a piece of iron. Normally, I would not do this, but since it is a first aid measure in a war zone, it should be sufficient.

If any of the items brought in this time had large cracks or were totally broken, they would be discarded without being repaired. Well, I’ll be checking whether they can be repaired or not, so it’s safe to say that there were no weapons that went that way this time.

It would have been fine if I had assumed that the greatly distorted one I mentioned earlier was also unrepairable, but this time, I wanted to make sure that the method I used earlier would work so it was “subsequently” done.

If I am to say one excuse, I’ll say that I wanted to establish a method for quick repair so that even if I run out of spare longswords, I can repair the distorted ones and have them use it first……. Well, no, it’s really my aim.

After I finished my work, I headed to the command center with the documents I had been given. The sun is already working on it’s one last job of dyeing the surrounding orange, the soldiers are going back and forth while preparing bonfires for the night. I’d better hurry or I’m going to miss my dinner.

When I entered the tent on the command center, Marius, Leroy, and some other soldiers were discussing something. They were probably having a long strategy meeting for tomorrow’s full-scale battle. I then found Miss Frederica dealing with some papers at a simple desk in a corner. I then presented the documents I’m holding to her.

“I’m done for today’s work.”

“Oh, as expected, Eizou-san sure is fast.”

“Well, there weren’t many things to do today.”

While glancing and pointing at the list of documents, Miss Frederica says,

“All of this?”

“Yes. Nothing was irreparable.”

“Alright. I’ll send the soldiers to pick them up later. Thank you for your hard work today.”

“Okay, then I’ll go ahead.”

As I bowed to Miss Frederica and was leaving the tent, I glanced at Marius and our eyes met. And for a moment, his expression seemed to be unusual. Well, in such a place, a blacksmith can’t just simply say, “How are you doing?” to the count.

I then head back to the branch office and cleaned up the mess. Just as I was wondering what to do, a soldier came to pick up the weapons that I had fixed so I said, “Thank you for your hard work” and then I handed the items over to him.

This completes my work for the day then. I’ll head to Oyasan’s place, have dinner, and then I’ll go to bed.

It is already getting dark and the bonfires were lighting up the surrounding darkness so I hurriedly went to the kitchen area, where some of the soldiers were having a late dinner. I wonder if they had come to eat during their shift change. It also appears that the rest of the supply team (other than me and Miss Frederica) has already finished eating. Well, I do felt apologetic that I’m going to eat first.

Today’s menu was still stewed dried meat, but it was more like a stew with some root vegetables and something that looks like a potato.

Mmm, yeah, it’s a potato.

Potato is a crop that would be very helpful if we could grow them in our garden. When we go back after the expedition, I’ll have to check with Oyasan to find out where to buy it.

With that in mind, I ate the delicious stew that Oyasan and the others had made.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.

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Holding the three knives, I quickly returned to the branch office. I then moisten the whetstone with water and start sharpening one of them. It’s not in a condition where I have to be thorough with the maintenance, but even with a cheat, I still had to show my professionalism.

Using my cheat, I sharpened the blade at an appropriate angle. At first, I thought of lightly hitting the entire blade, but since time might be pressing, I decided to just concentrate on sharpening it.

Even with my cheat, there is a limit to the extent in which I can improve its performance just by re-sharpening the blade. It will be troublesome for the younger ones if I made it to the extent where it could also cut the cutting board. And yeah, there is no need to improve the performance to that extent in the first place.

I simply sharpened the blades and since they were originally maintained well, it didn’t take as long as I expected to process the three knives. Finally, I rinsed them with water, wiped them with a cloth and then I head back to the kitchen area.

A while ago, I saw the subjugation team gathered in that place, but right now, no one is there anymore. It seems that they already head out for the subjugation. They were probably on a reconnaissance mission to find out what kind of monsters were there and how large is their number. In that case, they would probably come back before too much damage was done to them. I guess I don’t have much time to laze around.

Upon arriving at the kitchen area, Martin and Boris are already back, they are lining up the barrels of water in the kitchen. Sandro-oyasan on the other hand, is preparing the ingredients for dinner.

“Oyasan, it’s done.”

“Oh, thank you.”

I handed the knives to Oyasan. Oyasan took the knife I handed to him and stared at it for a while, he then picked up the ingredients for dinner, quickly cleaned them and began cutting them on the pan. The ingredients that were masterfully sliced were almost of the same size and they fit the pan perfectly.

“Oh- that’s impressive.”

“I should be the one saying that. Eizou, you’ve got excellent skill. It’s too good for them to use this.”

“Well, it’s maintained well originally, also…”

“Also?”

“It is my job.”

“Hoh-, I see!”

With “Gahahaha”, Oyasan laughed heartily.

“I’ll check it tomorrow if you want.”

“Okay, I’ll leave it to you!”

“Alright”

I waved my hand and left the kitchen. Oyasan’s angry voice saying, “I won’t forgive you guys if you treat this poorly!” echoed out behind me.

After stopping by our tent on my way, I came back to my work station and immediately started to make a fire with charcoal on the fire bed. I could have started it after the subjugation team came back and I received a request but I wanted to get it done as soon as possible. Besides, there are some things I wanted to check while I’m at it.

When the charcoals were hot enough, I grabbed a piece of sheet metal that I had brought with me when I stopped by the tent and put it in the fire bed. I did bring a few things with me, in case something went wrong.

If it is the kitchen knife of Oyasan and the others, it would not be possible for me to stop in the middle of my repair, but for this one, I can stop working on it whenever I want. I think I’ll be using extra charcoal but if Miss Frederica scolds me about it, I’ll just ask her to deduct the cost on may pay.

While manipulating the bellows and adding charcoal, the sheet metal is heated to a temperature at which it can be processed. Around this time, in addition to the fact that it wasn’t the usual workplace, there was also the inconvenience of not being able to use magic. So unlike the usual, it took some time.

While worrying about whether the subjugation team has returned, I placed the heated sheet metal on the anvil and hit it with my hammer. This part of work is done as per usual.

Yes, just like when I’m making a “custom model” item. I’m not hammering it to make a knife, but to form a spearhead. This does not require large amount of sheet metal and as for the handle part, it can even be obtained here or procured locally. The handle can also be removed and the spearhead can be brought back as a small piece and it can be reused by melting it down.

I hit it a few times to get the material well-balanced, I also made full use of my cheat this time as I tried to put the particles of magical power together. Then, although it is considerably thinner than usual, enough magical power is stored in the spearhead that would increase the level of its performance.

“Hmm, I see.”

I heard from Liddy-san that when the magical power stagnates, a monster is born. Considering that story, and the fact that there is a cave nearby, it’s easy to understand that there is a monster in the cave. Well, you can also feel it when you actually work like this.

“There is a lot of magical power here then.”

I thought to myself. Furthermore―, thinking until that part, I felt the presence of people coming. I then discreetly kept the spearhead that I had grasped with the pincers in the corner of the workplace.

It was Miss Frederica who came. Behind her are two soldiers holding a barrel.

“Eizou-san, please repair the weapons in this barrel. Here is the list.”

Miss Frederica handed a document to me, I received it and read its content. A couple of longswords are chipped and bent, and there are about two round shields. It seems like there’s only a little bit of damage to be repaired. This won’t take much time.

“Alright, I received the order.”

I gave her a quick response after confirming it.               

“Alright then, I’ll leave them to you. When you’re done, please go to the command post.”

Miss Frederica left with the soldiers after she thanked me. When she thanked me, her gesture really reminds me of a small animal.

Since the team also uses bow, it will be tough because it also involve the calculation for arrow replenishment. Thinking about the hardships of Miss Frederica, I pulled out a sword from the barrel and plunged it into the fire bed to start with my work.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.

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This chapter is sponsored by Logan Kerr.

Last night, we only managed to set up a camp here because we just arrived after the long travel. However, from today onwards, this will be the front line base of the subjugation team so additional setup is required accordingly.

The tent for living space is sufficient as it was during the camping, but now, a larger tent for the command center is being built by the soldiers. In another place, stakes have been driven into the ground to create something like a simple stable.

I also proceeded on building a simple smithy which will be my workplace here. I dug a hole, set up two pillars, and covered them with cloth for a roof. It may be easier to picture out if you imagine the hypotenuse of the triangle as the cloth, the bottom as the ground, and the rest as openings. I made a fire bed using bricks near the widest opening. Well, it would have been difficult to assemble the bricks in such a way that the wind from the bellows would be wafted properly. What helped me on that was the blacksmith cheat I have, it appears that it also works when setting up a forge so I “know” where to put the forge to get the most work done. I wonder if this is a means in case something happens and I don’t have any other option but to abandon that house and rebuild one.

Looking at the tent’s structure, it’s obvious that I didn’t know how to efficiently set it up. It seems that it is neither a part of production nor a blacksmith. ……Well, it’s a given I guess?

There will be no furnace this time. It’s just something that can be fixed by heating it on the fire bed anyway, besides, there’s no further work to be done either. Although if it takes two weeks or more, I think it would be much better to bring a furnace and iron ores.

With the help of Delmot-san, we placed the anvil near the fire bed. Then we brought a barrel of charcoal and a barrel of water. In addition to that, in an upside down position, I also placed the three small barrels (which were emptied during the journey) inside the tent. I used one as a chair near the anvil, the other as a tool holder close to the chair and the last one as a whetstone stand. It now finally resembled a smithy.

After that, I took the hammer and chisel (a specially made one) and the statue of the goddess from my luggage inside our tent. I then make a shelf to place the statue of the goddess and attach it to the pillar. Naturally, I don’t want to just put it on the ground.

Eizou’s Workshop branch office is completed by leaning the shovel (for throwing charcoal into the fire bed) and pincers in the tool holder, placing the hammer and chisel brought from the house on top of it, and installing the whetstone on the whetstone stand.

I’m now ready to accept any number of repairs.

While I’m looking at the state of the branch office, Miss Frederica approached me with quick steps. She also looked at the state of the branch office and expressed her admiration.

“Whoa, it’s amazing. No matter how I look at it, it’s a smithy.”

“That’s because I’m a blacksmith you know.”

“I think you can sell knives and shears.”

Miss Frederica laughs and jokes while writing something on the document she’s holding.

“Well, since it will be a warzone price, it will be expensive.”

“Eizou-san is very predatory huh.”

“Yeah, I’m a miserly blacksmith you see.” 

Me and Miss Frederica laugh as we exchanged such friendly banter.

“Tell me if the charcoal and water are about to run out. Oh yeah, Eizou-san, as for your working hours, you can just go to the command center. Also, like I said before we arrive here, I’ll be bringing the repair requests. That’s all I want you to fix. Please note that anything that does not pass through me will not be compensated.”

Then, if I don’t care about the remuneration, I don’t need to go through Miss Frederica? Well, that’s just a thought, I don’t need to bother her in saying that.

“Understood”

I replied with a smile.

It’s a good thing that I finally opened the branch office, but of course there’s no work to do yet. As I walked toward the cooking area, I saw a lizardman in leather armor and a Marito soldier coming back. They were probably scouting since they were coming from the direction where the cave was. They then continued to walk towards the command post.

The other soldiers were building a fence with the trees they had cut down. As expected, there are no elves or giants in sight, but there are lizardmen and dwarves in the subjugation team. The dwarf soldiers were giving instructions on where to build the fence, and the human soldiers were listening to them as they set up the fence with those woods.

I walked past them till I reached the cooking area. Sandro-oyasan is cleaning the knives, and the two young men were nowhere to be seen. ―Although I referred to him as “oyasan”, my mind and actual age is not that different from his. But since my physical body has rejuvenated, I have to address him accordingly.

“Hi, Oyasan”

“Oh, it’s you, Eizou. What’s the matter?”

“No, nothing. I already built my workplace but I don’t think that I’ll be doing some work for the time being. Then I thought I could sharpen your knife.”

“Oh, I see. They will set out at least once today but it won’t be for a while. Until they come back, you don’t have much work to do I guess.”

“Right. That’s also why I don’t know what to do with my spare time. Well, since it’s the life for a chef, I won’t be forcing you.”

“Not really. Well, since you want to, I’ll leave it to you then. I’m almost done with mine but I still have to do theirs.”

“Which reminds me, what about those two?”

“They are out fetching water with the soldiers.”

“I see.”

Everyone is busy huh. Will I also be busy soon? Well, it’s not a good thing to be busy because it means that their armour will be damaged. Given that, getting busy will be tricky.

“This one, this, and this one right?”

I picked up the three knives and confirm it with Oyasan.

“Yes, I’ll leave them to you.”

“Alright, I’ll bring them back in an hour.”

“Ou”

I went back to the branch office with the knives in my hand. If this is in the town, this situation is totally no good.

At that moment, I saw some soldiers gathering in an area. I could also see Marius on a platform. He’s probably giving them a warning before they set off. If that’s the case, they might come back while I’m still sharpening the knives if I don’t hurry a bit. I stopped walking in a leisurely manner and then I hurriedly return to my workplace.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.

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Eventually, tents were lined up all over the area and smoke rose from the stoves. There’s also firewood piled up on the bonfire pit but since the sun has not yet set, it will not be lit until later. After setting up their tents, the soldiers had a temporary break while waiting for the food to be prepared.

Since there is no source of water nearby, the water in the barrels are used for both food and provisions. Tomorrow’s lunch break will be near a water source again so we’ll do the refill there. Miss Frederica is also keeping a record of how much water we have used. Each time we arrived at an encampment, Miss Frederica seemed to be quite busy running around.

Considering that a total of about fifty soldiers, twelve days’ worth of food and firewood, three days’ worth of water, cooking utensils (including the stoves), a set of things for blacksmithing work and the fodder for the horses are carried in wagons, a considerable number of wagons have been mobilized.

Well, in case of war, the number of soldiers moving around is different so they don’t need to ride in the wagons, they are asked to walk instead. And to some extent, they are requisitioned, so the number of wagons is reduced in proportion to that, but in any case, logistics is surely a tough job.

When the food is ready, a long line is automatically formed. Well, there is no way to reduce this of course. We, the supply team, will head there after the line is gone. We will have our dinner together with Sandro-oyasan and his men. Our dinner is stewed dried meat placed on a dish-shaped hard bread. The bread is hard but it’s not that you can’t bite into it, it can be eaten as it is. In short, it’s used as a substitute for a plate. There is no source of water here, and with this, we won’t waste some water to wash the dishes.

The supply unit eats meals with the escort team, Delmot-san and the others, in a friendly atmosphere. In this situation, eating meals together and getting along well on the way will help for us to be concerned in helping each other in case of emergency, and above all, this is the best way to enjoy meals. We finished eating while talking about random things.

After the meal, we had a free time until the sun sets. I asked Miss Frederica if she had any spare pieces of cloth, needles and threads. As soon as I said that, she quickly walked to a wagon. The way she walks is like a squirrel. She’s a young lady giving off an impression of a small animal in general. I also followed her while feeling somehow relaxed.

“It’s okay if it’s from this wagon. The materials here are from Eimurl family and I’m told that you can use it freely.”

“I see. Thank you.”

When I thanked Miss Frederica, she bowed in reply and then she left quickly.

It took me some time to find them but luckily, I found a blanket, a piece of cloth, a needle and a thread. It will be used for spares or when repairing the clothes that are torn I guess. Everything else has some spares as well so it wouldn’t be a problem if I could return them back.

I returned to the tent then I make a bag out of a piece of cloth. I fold it in half and sew both ends together without cutting it. The seams can be rough as they are not stuffed with cotton. After sewing that part, I turn it over, stuff the blanket on it, sew the opening closed and there I have it, I made a simple cushion. I’ll give it to Miss Frederica tomorrow. Well, women are in different tents. I don’t want to carelessly approach her and be misunderstood.

The sun has set so the bonfire was lit. All that’s left for today is to go to bed. All the soldiers except the ones on shifts are going back to their respective tents. We are no exception to that. We quickly wrapped ourselves in blankets and lay down. I was unexpectedly tired, and soon, the drowsiness took me to the world of sleep.

The next morning, I woke up just before the sun came up. The cooks seemed to be up already. They work hard. I slowly got up, took out a water bottle from my luggage, took a sip, and went outside the tent to exercise. Since I’m going to be inside the wagon most of the time today as well, I need to actively move my body.

As soon as the sun rises, breakfast begins. All the supply unit take breakfast together. We eat together, talking about the day’s itinerary. After that, we will load everything into the wagon and took our leave so I also took it out. We then got inside the wagon.

“Frederica-san”

“Yes”

“Please take this”

I give Miss Frederica the simple cushion I made yesterday.

“This is?”

“Ah, you can sit on it. It will probably be better.”

“Oh-, I see. Thank you.”

Miss Frederica received it with a smile and then she sit on it. Well yeah, I don’t think it was necessary for me to do that. But-, well, never mind. Miss Frederica, who is in a good mood sitting on the cushion, looks more and more like a small animal. The sight of her makes the people inside the wagon feel much more relaxed. This alone was worth the effort of making it.

This day’s lunch break was also near a water source like the day before. When I got out of the wagon, Miss Frederica said,

“The pain in my butt is much tolerable now. Thank you very much.”

She thanked me. She’s such a cute child, she honestly expressed that she’s happy. It’s no different whether it’s in blacksmithing or in this kind of work, I’m happy when people are pleased with what I made. I almost patted her on the head but I managed to hold it back.

After that, it was the same thing as yesterday until we reached our destination. Not many thieves or beasts would attack a large number of armed men on the march, and the weather was not particularly bad either so we went on smoothly.

And then, on the evening of the third day, we finally set up a camp in an open space near the target cave. Base construction will begin tomorrow morning.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.

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The wagons on which the subjugation team is riding on goes out of the Capital through the main street of the city. It’s not done so as to appeal to the people but because it is the only street which is wide enough to let big wagons pass through. With a glimpse outside of the carriage, I saw the usual variety of races seeing off the convoy from the roadside with eyes that were neither full of admiration nor contempt. Hopefully they’ll be greeted with applause and praise when they return.

The wagon went on a road that is in a different direction from the way towards the city. The ride is very uncomfortable. The younger ones, Matis, Martin and Boris seemed to be doing well but the older ones, Sandro and I, could only complain about our lower backs and butts. Miss Frederica also grumbles that her butt hurts. I wonder if there is also a concept of sexual harassment in this world… Anyway, I didn’t dare hold her because it could be considered as sexual harassment. I should prepare a cushion or something like that later on.

We had a short break before the sun passed midpoint. We hurriedly got out of the wagon and did some stretching. I heard a cracking sound in my lower back. It is quite painful. As there was a river nearby, we fetched water by ourselves. There are already many soldiers in the river. Some of them were washing their faces downstream.

Marius and his men can be seen upstream. It seems that they too, are having a hard time traveling in a horse-drawn wagon with chains tightly pulling the passenger cabin. He is constantly rubbing around his waist. I wonder if it would be better if the wagons had leaf springs. Well, it’s not in my intention to spread that, comparing the previous world and this world, the first one is one with advanced technology after all.

I went back to the wagon, took some dried meat out of the luggage and nibble on it. I’m not going to do any physical activity today so I can just chew on this slowly to quench my hunger. That should be enough to last me until dinner. The others also did the same outside the wagon. However, Miss Frederica, who is currently inside the wagon, is not eating. She is flipping through something, perhaps she’s looking over the inventory of the supplies.

“Will you not eat? You may get car sickness in the wagon so it’s better if you eat something. If you’re too hungry, your head won’t work that well either.”

“I forgot to bring mine.”

When I asked her, Miss Frederica just answered that and she did not say anything else.

“Is this your first time in this kind of work?”

“Yes. I usually calculate tax withholding.”

Generally, a desk work huh. It looks like she’s still young so I guess she didn’t think much of it. I took another piece of dried meat and offered it to Miss Frederica.

“Young people have to eat properly.”

“No, that’s… Eizou-san’s consumption arrangement will be messed up you know.”

“I’ve already took it out. Besides, I also brought some extra so it’s fine. Feel free to take it.”

Miss Frederica was still reluctant, but when I firmly recommended it again, she said, “Thanks then”. She looks like a squirrel chewing on it slowly. She nibbled on it for a while and then her eyes opened wide.

“It’s a dried meat but it’s delicious!”

“Well, it is a special product of my Eizou workshop you see.”

I smiled and replied to Miss Frederica, who cried out in admiration. In fact, the dried meat I brought this time is not only salted but pepper was also added on it. The dried meat is specially made from the black forest’s deer meat. If I were to sell it, it will surely fetch a good price. But since I am a blacksmith, I have no plans on selling it and it will be for our consumption only. I ate mine while watching Miss Frederica happily chewing on the dried meat.

After a little less than an hour break, we boarded the wagons and then we proceeded on our way again. I don’t feel that good but I could endure it until evening. After half a day has passed, we started talking more, perhaps because the initial tension between us has now disappeared. Right now we are having a conversation about each other’s job. It seems that Sandro-oyasan and his men are running a large restaurant in the Capital. He was laughing when he said that they would give me better food if I went there. I asked him if it was okay for him to take a week off from work, he said that the other store will help him for a while. I can somehow see oyasan’s popularity.

Matis seems to be one of several groom in the Eimurl family. He usually takes care of the horse on which Marius is riding today. It seems that the old man, Matis’ superior, is dedicated to this expedition. In his usual slow tone, he said that he had been there before Matis came so it was only natural that he should be in charge.

Miss Frederica, as she said earlier, is involved in a tax-related job. She is not a tax collector, but her job involves in the collection of taxes. It’s completely a desk work to be exact. It seems that she was instructed by her superior to join here when they were discussing about the formation of the subjugation team. The chain of command is under Marius, but the country manages it. The materials for the subjugation team are provided by the country as well. And since there will be disbursements for the materials, it would be inconvenient for the commander to manage it directly.

As for me, I said that I am just a blacksmith living in a remote area. That I wholesaled my goods to Camilo’s store and I came here with his help. Well, if I said that I was invited directly by Marius, I will no longer be considered as a ‘normal’ blacksmith.

Long before the sun went down, we found a suitable place to camp so we decided to camp there today. Soldiers unload the luggage from the wagons loaded with tents and stove. Sandro-oyasan and the others are also in charge of setting up the stoves while Miss Frederica manages the consumption of ingredients. Matis took care of the horses that were tired from pulling the wagons the whole day, and each of them appears to be busy in each of their own works.

I was the only one who had nothing to do. I thought about helping them but if I didn’t do it well, I would just get in their way so I just went to the horse that had eaten the fodder and finished drinking water.

“We got nothing to do huh……”

“Brrrr…”

We watched such scene together.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.

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This chapter is sponsored by Logan Kerr. Enjoy reading!

The tent is big but there is no one inside. There are only a few things here but I think the other things must have been loaded in the wagon outside since we are already leaving tomorrow. I unloaded my luggage and then I lied down for a while. I’ve been swayed by the wagon for a long time so my waist and butt feel sore. I’ve been told that I’ll be inside the wagon most of the time for the next three days. Although my body is rejuvenated, I think it’s better to be prepared for things like this.

Since I have spare time, I used the knife I brought with me to make a statue out of felled wood to pass time. After an hour or so, my production cheat more or less came into play so I was able to make a pretty good statue of a goddess. I placed it on top of my luggage and then I prayed for the safety of this expedition.

While I was doing this, it was just about time for dinner. The soldiers gathered near the supply unit’s tent, forming a line with bowls in their hands. I took a wooden bowl from Boris and then I also got in line. As one went up on the queue, Sandro and Martin would pour the soup from the pot into the bowl and they handed out a bread as well. The line went on smoothly and then it is my turn.

“Oh, it’s you! Enjoy your meal!”

Sandro greets me with a loud voice and fills my bowl with soup.

“Thank you!”

I received the soup and bread with a smile. For today, it’s not a hard bread yet, but hard bread will be served starting from tomorrow’s breakfast. It seems that hard bread will continuously be served for the next week. This is a fleeting meal I guess.

I walked over to where the soldiers were sitting, sat down, and then I started eating my food as well. The food is not really that delicious but it is not particularly bad either. The taste of the soup is similar to the one I make at home. However, it seems to be a little tastier because the ingredients and seasonings used on it were more expensive. Still, if one can eat a delicious food even with such limited ingredients, I’m sure that there will be many soldiers who would be glad to be a part of the subjugation team.

From tomorrow, and until we reach our destination, we will only eat two meals a day (there will be a lunch break). Our staple food while we are on our way will not be soup, but, we’ll have dried meat that has been dipped in some kind of tare sauce and sandwiched on a bread. This is probably because it is difficult to prepare and pack the stove and of course, it will be hard to wash the dishes while traveling.

Once I’m done eating, I returned the dishes. Boris is the one in charge of collecting them.

“Thank you for your hard work, it must have been hard.”

“Not at all, this is my job you see. Well, it was far harder during the war two years ago.”

When I talked to him while I’m returning the dishes, Boris laughed it off and replied so. He is short, but he has a robust figure. If you meet him on the street, you’ll certainly be wary of him.

“See you in the tent later then.”

After saying that, I returned to our tent.

When the sun sets, everyone in the garrison goes to bed except for the guards. Supply unit are not asked to keep watch so we could all went to bed quickly. We got our own special jobs after all. I decided to follow suit, and then I slept with Sandro and Matis, who also returned to the tent after they had finished their work. Ah, I’m glad that I could sleep anywhere.

The next morning,

I swiftly get ready and then I ate my breakfast as quickly as possible. Our breakfast is the same soup as last night, paired with hard bread. I soak the bread in the soup to soften it. It is not really that hard that it cannot be eaten if you won’t soak it though. I guess it was because it’s not that long since it was baked. I finished eating it in a way that it’s almost like I’m pouring it down the drain. In this situation, the experience I had in the previous world when I was so busy with work was useful. It’s an experience that I don’t want to bring back though.

When breakfast time was over, tents and stoves were being packed and loaded onto the wagons. Dozens of soldiers worked together to finish loading the wagons in about an hour. In between that, Matis led the horses and connects them to their respective wagons. It seems that the soldiers were assigned to be the coachman for each wagon. Sandro and I got into the wagon assigned to the supply unit.

At that moment, a petite woman also jumped inside the wagon in a hurry.

“J-Just, haa-, I am just on time…”

She’s out of breath but she looked rather glad that she made it. As I was thinking that, Matis, who was sitting next to me, whispered,

“That’s right.”

He didn’t say much but Matis makes a curt and straightforward statement. In this case, he meant to say that “she is the civil official I told you about yesterday”, but his words were overwhelmingly short. Well, it’s okay since I got what he’s trying to say though….

I approached the woman who was out of breath and then I talked to her.

“Are you okay? Do you want some water?”

“Ah, yes. Thank you very much.”

She took the canteen that I offered to her and took two quick sips. As soon as she had caught her breath, I speak to her again.

“My name is Eizou, I’ve been invited to join the supply unit as a blacksmith. I’m pleased to meet you.”

“Oh, that’s very kind of you, thank you. I’m Fredrica Schulter, a civil officer within the supply unit. So as a blacksmith, you’ll be doing the repairs is it?”

“Yes. That’s what I’ve been asked to do.”

“Any armor in need of repair will be reported to me at once. I will then ask Eizou-san to repair those that may come to me. It would be great if you could concentrate on repairing those.”

“Understood.”

Those items that needed repair will be reported huh. Well, if I repaired them half-heartedly, I will be raking on profit but the cost of that would also be high. It’s also stressful if I have to deal with beyond saving repairs. Thus it would be much more helpful to me if I would not allow that to happen from the start.

And like this, the wagon carrying all the supply unit started running slowly. Finally, the expedition begins.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.

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