Interlude (1)
“So, the two-rail company requested that the payment for bituminous coal be delayed?”
“Yes, yes…”
“And you take it as ancient?”
“Ha, but I didn’t just allow it! We decided to receive interest payments according to the overdue period properly, and we can increase this ratio a little more from future transactions…”
“Sweet, you still haven’t come to your senses! interest? Deal after?”
Hubert Chamber of Commerce’s office.
A short dwarf was vomiting his anger in front of a merchant.
While several merchants who had come in for business reports were only paying attention to the abstract momentum, Howard, who was in the middle of his spirits, took a deep breath and continued to speak in a calm tone.
“Huh, you know that bituminous coal is a necessary item for smelting, right?”
“···of course.”
“And you know what’s going on up there right now.”
“···Yes.”
“A man who knows that! Handing over items that are no different from military supplies to this wartime, what? interest? Izaa~?”
But his calm demeanor didn’t last long, and he started to scream again.
Iron is the most basic material for weapons, and bituminous coal was an essential fuel for producing good quality iron.
It is said that you can find anything you want to find in the wartime where the production of weapons has skyrocketed.
However, what I brought while enduring the freezing of funds due to not being paid was the words ‘regular interest’ and ‘concessions without a promise later’…
He couldn’t help but be angry.
“…There’s no way the Merchant didn’t know such basic things.”
Howard, who had vented his anger with a reddened face, chanted quietly again and glared at the merchant, who was only bowing his head.
The spirit of Howard, who should have been just an ordinary dwarf craftsman, quietly engulfed the space, creating an atmosphere that made it difficult to breathe.
“This, it seems like Hubert was trying to get another bag while he was away? Did I look that funny?”
“Oh no! You misunderstood that…!”
“You’ll find out when you investigate.”
“Hey… wait a minute! Mr. Howard! Wait a minute, talk to me…!”
Eventually, after the guards who received his signal and took the merchant away, there was silence in the office for a while.
“What are you doing? There is no time, so hurry up and report to the next person!”
But that didn’t last long either.
The uncomfortable position finally came to an end when Howard listened to all the merchants’ reports and gave orders.
“Then I’ll be on my way, so if it’s not really important, take care of it at your own discretion and report later!”
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Merchants belonging to Hubert Firm could breathe comfortably only after Howard disappeared.
“Whoah— it feels like working with Lord Sanghoe.”
“Did you feel that way too? At first, I wondered if a dwarf I had never seen before would sit down as the head of the store…”
The merchants of Hubert Firm gossiping about each other.
When Hubert vacated his seat due to a sudden situation and Howard was told that he would take over as manager of Sanghoeju, of course, they couldn’t help but feel repulsive.
That would also be the case, a situation in which an unfamiliar Dwarf, who had just entered the Chamber of Commerce, suddenly sat on top of his head.
It is said that a person whose ability has not been proven intervenes in the operation of the business, but how sincerely can the merchants who have built a business up to now follow them?
Of course, no one was stupid enough to show such a sign in front of Harley’s sudden burst of muscle.
“Um… but it seems like I’m definitely in touch with Lord Sanghoe. The work orders were also the contents that he would have given himself.”
“Actually, that was something I was worried about. From the disappearance of Lord Sangkai, I thought it was all a conspiracy, but… I think you can rest easy for now.”
As Harley, who was no different from a co-president, appointed him as a deputy, he followed Howard once, but the merchants were closely watching his actions.
I wondered if all of this might be someone’s trick to hijack Sanghoe.
However, he only made efforts to maintain Sanghoe as usual, and did not show any movement to siphon off interests or assets.
At best, it is enough to supply one’s own personal workshop with various materials.
Of course, it wasn’t a problem since Hubert had allowed it from the beginning.
“By the way, did you really get back money from the two-rail company, Kaol?”
“Keuk— I’m not at the point of making a hasty decision yet, but I’m sure it was questionable.”
“Oh, I’m not afraid.”
“That’s right.”
The merchants clicked their tongues and shook their heads.
With the captain of the ship gone, I understand being greedy, but putting it into action was literally a fearless act.
Above all, isn’t that the yard where the ‘Harley’ directly warned?
Recently, the priority goal of the Tarak Sanggye was to supply the Iron Fortress, which could be said to be the front line.
Of course, the news had to be delivered in real time, and the hottest topic lately was by far his monstrous performance.
‘In addition, the Tarak Security Guard openly patrols around the store and even shows them paying attention, but acting recklessly here is stupid.’
Of course, Kaol seemed to have paid attention to some extent, and it seemed that he did not embezzle the money himself and prepared his own excuse…
That, as Howard said, was the same as ignoring him.
‘It wasn’t all about simply conveying the Lord’s instructions like a parrot. And that breathtaking charisma… This, I’ll have to check it one more time to make sure I’m not missing something.’
In the end, the merchant, who sincerely surrendered, hurriedly moved to check his work again.
And he wasn’t the only one who had that thought.
Despite Hubert’s absence—.
Thanks to Howard’s efforts and Harley’s influence, Sanghoe was on a smooth path.
***
“Eh, Hubert needs to come soon! Time is too precious. But that doesn’t mean you can’t just leave your hands at the store!”
Howard grumbled and entered a building.
The place he headed straight after finishing his business was a private workshop prepared nearby.
Due to an unavoidable situation, he is also working at the Chamber of Commerce, but his original goal was to use the time difference to hit the Earth’s knowledge into his body as quickly as possible.
Of course, considering the time difference from the Earth, the processing time for work is not long, and I still spend most of my time in the workshop…
Now that I was building from the basics, every minute and every second had to be wasted.
‘Also, no matter how much the time multiplier differs by ten times, the amount of time required to acquire knowledge simply cannot be the same.’
Because of this, the initially scheduled daily quota was significantly behind.
To make up for it, I will have to work diligently from now on.
“Eh-hum! Then shall we begin today’s work?”
Howard, who had changed into work clothes, warmed up lightly and approached the furnace that was emitting heat.
A magic brazier that keeps the heat constant even when he is away, and has safety features against fire hazards.
Thanks to the money poured in generously, there were quite a lot of magic for this convenience applied throughout this workshop.
So that he can only focus on raising his skill level.
‘Hmm, I’ll have to raise the temperature more.’
Howard, who checked the temperature by gently reaching for the furnace, tossed in a pile of coals with a deft movement.
The heat, which had risen in an instant, gradually stabilized only when it reached the optimum temperature he wanted.
‘It’s just right.’
It was surprising considering that he had only just started practicing in earnest, but it was nothing special to him.
‘Certainly, the senses are different from humans. The difference is so great that it can only be called the artisan’s race.’
What a human would have had to learn through countless years of experience, a dwarf could do just by instinct.
I was able to set the temperature of the fire in decimal units just by seeing it with my eyes and feeling it with my skin.
If you hold the coal in your hand and measure the weight and particle size, you can intuitively know how much the temperature will rise when it enters the fire.
The optimal center of gravity that is naturally felt when holding a hammer and the characteristics of materials that are vividly conveyed at the fingertips are also something that humans do not have.
At the same time, since he was born with delicate dexterity and a strong body, it was inevitable that he would be far different from the starting line with human artisans.
To the extent that asking them to compete on the same line is too harsh for them.
‘Well, it’s fortunate that I’m in the position of a dwarf this time.’
How long would it have taken if I had to grow from the bottom without these merits…
Once again, I felt grateful to Elinene the pickaxe and Zaonic who willingly gave it to me.
“Hmmm! I guess we should start by lightly smelting iron ore!”
Howard continued training hard today, taking materials such as bituminous coal and limestone piled up on one side of the workshop.
In the midst of extreme concentration, the knowledge transmitted from the earth was imprinted in my mind like a sponge sucking up water.
Information processed through all kinds of media, such as photos, videos, and documents, was reproduced at Howard’s fingertips and became his blood and flesh.
kang-! Caang—!
In such a small studio where not many people were interested yet, one craftsman was growing step by step.
***
A warm light penetrated Hubert as he lay groggy on the bed, enveloping his surroundings.
[Auterica’s Holy Law], which contains the power of healing, helped restore the body and energized it.
‘But at this rate, recovery is quicker than I thought? I don’t have to go for days, I can move in a day from now. I think I underestimated myself too much.’
The improvement of the damage mitigated by fatal wounds with [Instant Death Immunity] was faster than expected.
The synergy between Heinrich’s recovery technique and [Super Recovery] was beyond imagination.
In fact, the reason why I took a long expected recovery period was a large part of my experience with Heinrich.
A strong body through extreme training, protection of divine power and blessings, and even a common skill, [Super Recovery].
Heinrich, who had such extreme conditions, had to spend nearly a month in the best environment of the Great War of Roselia right after the fight with Hans, the king of immortality.
Naturally, with the exception of “super recovery”, Hubert’s recovery period, in which his physical conditions and the level of healing techniques he received were also low, had no choice but to be evaluated harshly.
‘But I overlooked the fact that Heinrich’s opponent was an immortal king.’
Even with the same fatal wound, the level was different.
Unlike Heinrich, who was afflicted with a vicious curse and couldn’t recover properly, wasn’t Hubert’s heart and internal organs simply crushed?
‘No, that itself is more serious, but… But thanks to the [Instant Death Immunity], in the end, it only ended up with a lot of damage to the internal organs.’
And such injuries could be quickly recovered through the linkage of “super recovery” and divine healing.
To the point where he could send Hubert to Auterica as soon as the cooldown of the next transfer team returned.
“Well, after Hubert is gone, I’ll have to do that tedious job again…”
I lay down and looked at Hubert, who operated the tablet by moving only his fingers.
Naturally, it was a process to impart metallurgical knowledge to Howard.
It is said that Howard’s head does ‘understanding’ once he reads it, but he couldn’t help but feel that the process itself was annoying.
There was no fun in sitting idly and putting that vast amount of knowledge into my head.
‘Avatar can filter such emotions with the ‘Mind Hub’, so I don’t mind mechanical repetitive work, but I’m in a position where I just have to endure with pure mental strength.’
Of course, through several reinforcements, my mental power had already surpassed that of humans, but I couldn’t clearly feel that fact.
That would be too…
‘I mean, I have eight bodies that move at the same time.’
Excluding Hubert, all of them were only those with extreme mental energy consumption.
In addition, it is said that 「Mind Hub」 is mainly used for adaptation to dimensional parallax, but it also consumes a little to prevent mental contamination.
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Mental strength was a situation that felt insufficient no matter how many resources there were.
‘As expected, there is only one thing that can solve this situation.’
But, as always, I had a breakthrough for him.
It is to strengthen the unique skill and create a new alter ego.
After all, “Avatar” was the best.
