#129
Intermission (1)
“So, you asked the Tureil Merchant Association to postpone the payment for the tar coal?”
“Yes, yes…”
“And you just accepted that without question?”
“B-but it wasn’t just a simple approval! I made sure there would be interest paid according to the overdue period, and I could raise our share in future trades a bit…”
Sigh, you’re still not thinking straight! Interest? Future trades?”
In the office of the head of the Hubert Association.
A short-statured dwarf was exploding with rage in front of a merchant.
While some merchants who had entered for a business report were nervously glancing at the chaotic scene, Howard took a deep breath and calmly continued.
“Hoo, you know that tar coal is essential for smelting, right?”
“…Of course.”
“And you know how things are up top right now.”
“…Yes.”
“A human who knows that! Handing over military supplies during a war, and what? Interest? Interest~?”
However, his calm demeanor didn’t last long, and he started shouting again.
Iron is the most basic material for weapons, and tar coal was a crucial fuel for producing high-quality iron.
With the production of weapons skyrocketing due to the war, there were plenty of channels to sell them.
But what he brought over, knowing the payment wouldn’t arrive and risking his funds, was merely words of ‘normal interest’ and ‘unspecified concessions’ afterwards…
No wonder he was furious.
“…There’s no way a merchant wouldn’t know such basics.”
As Howard, his face reddened with anger, whispered quietly again, he glared at the merchant who was just bowing his head.
Even though Howard was just an ordinary dwarf craftsman, his aura quietly enveloped the space, creating an atmosphere where breathing felt difficult.
“This, it seems like Hubert left his post just to sneak a profit while I’m here, right? Do I look that foolish?”
“N-no! That’s a misunderstanding…!”
“We’ll find out when we investigate.”
“W-wait a moment! Howard-nim! Just hear me out…!”
Ultimately, at his signal, the guards who had come in carried the merchant away, leaving the office in a brief silence.
“What are you doing? We’re short on time, so hurry up and call the next person!”
But that didn’t last long.
The uncomfortable atmosphere finally wrapped up when Howard finished listening to all the merchants’ reports and gave out work instructions.
“Well then, I’ll be off. Unless it’s something important, handle it at your discretion and report back later!”
Only after the merchants associated with the Hubert Association finished their duties and Howard disappeared could they finally exhale in relief.
“Hoo— It really feels like working alongside the Association Leader.”
“Did you feel that too? At first, I thought they seated some unfamiliar dwarf in place of the Association Leader…”
The merchants of the Hubert Association murmured as they moved to their respective places.
When it was said that Hubert had left unexpectedly, leaving Howard as the acting head, they naturally felt a sense of rebellion.
After all, a dwarf who had only joined the association for a short time was suddenly positioned at the top.
How could the merchants, who had built up the association thus far, genuinely follow someone whose abilities had yet to be proven?
Of course, no one was foolish enough to show such sentiments in front of the muscles of Harley, who had just barged in.
“Hmm… It seems like the Association Leader is still in contact. The work instructions sounded like something he would have given directly.”
“Honestly, that was something I was worried about. Since the Association Leader vanished, I was thinking it was all some scheme… But, for now, it seems we can breathe easy.”
Even though they had chosen to follow Howard since Harley, who was practically a co-representative, had appointed him as acting leader, the merchants were keeping a watchful eye on his actions.
They couldn’t shake off the feeling that this might all be someone trying to seize the association.
However, he only showed efforts to maintain the association as usual; there were no signs of trying to embezzle any profits or assets.
At best, he was supplying various materials to his private workshop.
Of course, that was something Hubert had already allowed from the start, so there was no issue with it.
“By the way, did that Kaol really receive a bribe from the Tureil Merchant Association?”
“Hmm— it’s still too early to jump to conclusions, but it certainly seems suspicious.”
“Goodness, he’s got no fear.”
“Indeed.”
The merchants clucked their tongues and shook their heads.
Since the ship’s captain had vanished, it was understandable that greed was creeping in, but actually acting on it was nothing short of reckless.
Especially since that ‘Harley’ had even given a direct warning.
Recently, the top priority of the Tarak alliance was supplying the Steel Fortress, right at the front lines.
Naturally, news from that side was transmitted constantly, and the hottest topic recently was undoubtedly his monstrous achievements.
‘Moreover, the Tarak security forces have been patrolling around the association, so acting recklessly here would be downright foolish.’
Of course, Kaol seemed to have some awareness, as it didn’t seem like he had directly embezzled funds, but had prepared some sort of excuse instead…
That was essentially no different from ignoring Howard.
‘Just relaying the Association Leader’s orders like a parrot isn’t the whole deal. Plus, that suffocating charisma… I need to check if I missed anything.’
Ultimately, a merchant who genuinely accepted the situation hurried off to confirm his tasks.
And he wasn’t the only one with such thoughts.
Despite Hubert’s absence—.
With Howard’s efforts and Harley’s influence, the association continued to move along smoothly.
*
“Aah, Hubert really needs to get here soon! Time is too precious. But then again, we can’t just sit idle in the association!”
Howard grumbled as he entered a building.
After finishing his duties at the association, the place he headed to was his personal workshop nearby.
Though he was juggling the association’s tasks due to unavoidable circumstances, his original goal was to use the time difference to absorb Earth’s knowledge as quickly as possible.
Of course, considering the time difference with Earth, actual work hours turned out to be minimal, and he still spent most of his time in the workshop…
But right now, building a solid foundation meant that every second counted.
‘Even if the time ratio is ten times different, there’s no way the time needed to internalize knowledge is the same as just knowing it.’
Because of that, the daily quotas he initially planned were significantly behind schedule.
To catch up, he’d need to get moving diligently from now on.
“Ahem! Well then, let’s start today’s work!”
After changing into his work clothes, Howard approached the wagon that’s been emitting heat from the furnace.
Even when he left, the magical furnace maintained its heat and was equipped with safety features against fire hazards.
Thanks to the money he generously spent, there were quite a few magical conveniences applied throughout this workshop.
So he could solely focus on sharpening his skills.
‘Hmm, I need to raise the temperature.’
Howard reached out to check the temperature of the furnace, smoothly tossing in a pile of coal.
The rising heat quickly stabilized at the optimal temperature he desired.
‘Just right.’
Considering it hadn’t been long since he started serious practice, it was a remarkable feat, but this was no special matter for him.
‘Humans and dwarves really do have different senses. With such a significant difference, it’s no wonder they’re called the artisan race.’
What a human would have had to acquire through countless years of experience, a dwarf could do instinctively.
Just by visual observation and touch, he could adjust the fire’s temperature down to decimal points.
When holding coal, just by gauging the weight and particles, he instinctively knew how much the temperature would rise once thrown into the fire.
The perfect balance of weight sensed when holding a hammer and the raw material’s characteristics transmitted vividly through his fingertips were all something humans lacked.
Coupled with inherently delicate craftsmanship and robust physicality, it was no surprise that dwarves had a significant head start over humans.
‘Well, it’s a blessing that I’m in a dwarf’s position this time.’
Without any advantages, if he had to start from scratch, how long would that have taken…?
Once more, Howard felt gratitude for Elline the pickaxe and Zionic, who generously offered it to him.
“Hmm, first things first, let’s begin with some iron ore smelting!”
Howard gathered the tar coal, limestone, and other materials piled in one corner of the workshop as he diligently continued his training.
Within an extreme focus, the knowledge from Earth was absorbing into his mind like a sponge sucking up water.
Images, videos, documents, and all sorts of processed information came to life at his fingertips, becoming part of his blood and flesh.
Clank—! Clang—!
Thus, in a small workshop where not many paid attention, a craftsman was steadily growing.
*
Warm light enveloped Hubert as he lay on the bed groaning.
The healing power contained in the Auterica Holy Law aided in his physical recovery and infused vitality.
‘Still, this seems faster than I expected. No need to wait for days; I should be able to move tomorrow. I suppose I underestimated myself.’
Thanks to Death Immunity, the damage from the critical injury was healing more rapidly than anticipated.
The synergy of Heinrich’s healing spells and Super Recovery exceeded expectations.
In fact, the reason I had anticipated a longer recovery period was largely due to my prior experience with Heinrich.
An extremely tempered and robust body, protected by holy power and blessings, alongside the common skill Super Recovery.
With such epic conditions, Heinrich had to spend nearly a month recuperating in the best environment, Rosellia Temple, right after his fight with Undead King Hans.
Naturally, without Super Recovery, Hubert’s recovery period could only be assessed harshly since his physical condition was comparably inferior.
‘But I overlooked the fact that Heinrich’s opponent was none other than the Undead King.’
Even with the same critical injuries, the levels were worlds apart.
Unlike Heinrich, who couldn’t recover properly due to the heinous curse, Hubert only had his heart and intestines crushed.
‘No, I guess that part is actually more serious… But thanks to Death Immunity, it ended up being just a matter of internal injuries.’
Such wounds could be quickly healed through the linking of Super Recovery and holy healing.
He could have been sent back to Auterica the moment the cooldown for the teleportation was over.
“Hmm, once Hubert leaves, I’ll have to go back to that tedious work…”
I watched Hubert manipulate the tablet with just my fingers, feeling somewhat reluctant.
Naturally, that was a process for passing along the knowledge of metallurgy to Howard.
While just reading would allow Howard’s brain to do the ‘understanding,’ the whole process was annoyingly tedious.
It wouldn’t be fun at all to sit there and cram that vast amount of knowledge into my head.
‘As an avatar, I could filter those feelings through Mind Hub, making mechanical repetitive tasks manageable, but I just have to endure purely with my mental strength.’
Of course, through various enhancements, my mental strength had exceeded that of a human at this stage, but I couldn’t quite feel that in tangible terms.
That’s because…
‘I have eight bodies moving simultaneously.’
And excluding Hubert, they were all exhausting to manage.
What’s worse is, even though I focus on adapting to the dimensional time difference, Mind Hub being primary entails some slight energy depletion towards preventing mental contamination.
Thus, no matter how much mental power I had, I always felt it was insufficient.
‘Once again, there’s only one solution to get me out of this situation.’
But as always, I had prepared my breakthrough for him.
That was enhancing my unique skill to create a new avatar.
Of course, Avatar was the best choice.
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