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Chapter 170

Chapter 170: Let’s Do Our Best Together! (4)

Ghislaine and Galbarik held hands, gazing at each other with blazing eyes.

Both were eager to create something. The enthusiasm was off the charts. It couldn’t get any better than this situation.

Galbarik, unable to contain himself any longer, launched into a flurry of questions.

“Alright then, what should we start with? Should I change the cosmetics equipment? Or maybe give a glimpse into this shared housing thing? Since it’s harvest season soon, how about the agriculture supplies? Just say the word, and we’ll have everything done for the Lord in no time!”

“Wow, just hearing that gives me confidence. Of course, we need to do those things. But right now, there’s something more urgent.”

“And what might that be?”

“We’re going to build a flying machine.”

“Huh? What did you just say?”

“I said we’re going to build a flying machine.”

After a brief moment of silence, Galbarik stammered out a shaky question.

“Did you perhaps get your hands on a legendary blueprint for a flying vessel from the ancient empire?”

“No, nothing that impressive. Isn’t that just a legend?”

“Then how do you plan on flying?”

Galbarik clicked his tongue in disbelief.

The ability to fly was reserved for winged beings and those who could defy the laws of nature. A powerful archmage might lift something with their magic, but could you really call that a ‘machine’?

“I don’t think we can just summon a high-level archmage right now… but let’s hear it.”

As Galbarik and the dwarves wore skeptical expressions, Ghislaine had a servant light a small campfire.

“Just watch.”

Ghislaine threw a piece of paper onto the campfire. Naturally, the paper quickly turned to ash and disappeared.

Galbarik, staring blankly, scratched his head as a long silence stretched on before he asked.

“What exactly are we supposed to be looking at?”

“Look at how the ash rises into the sky as the paper burns.”

Saying this, Ghislaine picked the paper back up and tossed it again.

Sure enough, the paper ignited and momentarily tiny pieces floated up.

Galbarik, still not getting it, asked.

“What does that even mean? Isn’t it just the wind making it float a bit?”

“Then why does it rise up?”

“Well… um, because it’s light?”

Shaking his head, Ghislaine continued with a smug expression.

“This is just a simple concept demonstration. Hot air rises. That air is what’s going to lift lighter things.”
“That’s how you make the light stuff float.”

“……?”

The dwarves tilted their heads at this unfamiliar theory they had never heard before.

Having frequently dealt with fire, they did recall witnessing such phenomena a few times.

However, they never thought it was significant or assigned any meaning to it.

Galbarik asked again with a skeptical face.

“Why does the hot air go up? Is it for real?”

‘Who knows? Why does it go up?’

What Ghislaine was trying to create was a hot air balloon developed in his past life.

A hot air balloon that lifts by heating the air inside a giant pouch was commonly used for military reconnaissance in his previous life.

Of course, Ghislaine didn’t know the detailed theory behind why heating the air makes the balloon rise. He had only heard the principle in passing. If they kept asking like this, it would honestly be troublesome.

“Hmm, it’s just a law of the world. It’s made that way. If I throw an apple, no one knows why it falls to the ground, right? It’s just a law of the world. Isn’t that so?”

At that, Galbarik looked as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“What are you talking about? Wasn’t it already told to you by the great dragon of wisdom, Schwarzschild? At the center of this world is a powerful energy that pulls everything in, and it is the gravity magic that controls the direction and magnitude of that force, isn’t it? The reason demons are powerful and live longer than humans is that this energy is stronger in the demon realm than in the intermediate realm… Nobles learn such basic things at the Academy…”

‘……What? Schwarz… what?’

True to being a dwarf, once a theory he knew came up, he became more talkative than Vanessa.

Basic knowledge or whatever, Ghislaine didn’t attend any Academy, so he didn’t know about this Schwarz whatever from ancient times. Belinda also didn’t teach him such academic content.

However, he roughly understood what gravity was, as he had used gravity magic for training.

But studying why that energy exists in the world and how it works was something only desk nerds did.

In his past life, Ghislaine didn’t have the means to be a scholar, and most of what he knew was based on experiences he gained while working as a mercenary.

Yet diving into such academic discussions like that would lead to arguments, which Ghislaine didn’t particularly enjoy.

So he simply ignored it as he always did.

“Well, anyway, remember this. Hot air goes up, and cold air goes down.”

“……Let’s say that’s true. But how does that help us make a flying vehicle? I’ve never heard of anything floating near fire.”

“Tsk, tsk, think a bit. Air is everywhere, right? If it warms up a little, it’ll quickly mix with the surrounding air. So we need to trap the heated air so it doesn’t mix with the surrounding air.”

“Trap the air?”

“Yeah. If we make a really big air pouch and fill it with air and heat it, the pouch will lift, right? Then we just need to attach a basket that a person can ride in. That’s a hot air balloon.”

“Oh…… hot air balloon!”

The dwarves nodded, looking like they found it somewhat plausible.

It was truly an unheard-of method, but they were curious if it would indeed be possible.

“By the way, is this really possible? Looking at you, it doesn’t seem like the Lord has tried to make it himself… There aren’t even any hot air balloons in the territory, are there?”
“Is this really possible? It seems like even the Lord hasn’t tried making it himself… There’s not a single hot air balloon in the territory, right?”

“That’s because I’ve been busy with other things. For now, let’s start with a small one. If we use the thinnest fabric and enlist the mages, we can easily fill it with air and heat it up. I’ve shared the concept; the rest is up to you to figure out and refine.”

“Alright, floating in the sky aside, how will we make it move?”

“That’s easy! The mages can just use a bit of wind magic while they ride it, and it should steer in the desired direction. If we need to keep it in place, we can tie a long rope to the ground. Just think of it like that.”

“Got it! I’ll give it a try!”

The dwarves exchanged uncertain glances but also showed a spark of excitement.

If it worked out as the lord suggested, they would be remembered in history as the creators of the world’s first flying machine.

Of course, they didn’t completely believe it since it was the first they heard of such a theory, and it hadn’t been verified yet.

Still, seeing the dwarves ignited with enthusiasm for a new challenge, Ghislaine nodded.

“Alright, we’re busy, so we need to create it as quickly as possible.”

“Leave it to me!”

Galbarik shouted confidently before suddenly asking, with a hint of curiosity, “But what do you plan to use it for once it’s in the sky?”

If successful, the possibilities would be endless. Plus, new concepts could lead to advancements in other technologies.

Though Galbarik already knew the answer, he still wanted to hear the young lord’s thoughts.

Ghislaine replied casually, “It’d be extremely effective for reconnaissance in war. And if we just prepare for the risk of crashing, we can also use it for transporting supplies. Plus, using it as a noble’s toy could bring in quite a bit of money.”

“Oh, that’s true. I see. Is there anything else we need?”

There were plenty of needs. They had to create new alloys and produce powerful equipment using them.

But completing all of that before attacking Cabaldy’s territory was impossible. They would need large amounts of iron ore just to produce the desired amount of alloy.

“There’s a lot to do. There are a few urgent tasks, so let’s tackle them while we work on the hot air balloon.”

“Just say the word. Our skills are faster and more precise than anyone else’s!”

At Galbarik’s bold declaration, Ghislaine raised his thumb in approval.

“Ah, dwarves are truly amazing. I knew I could count on you. Then let’s start by improving the cosmetics facilities. We need to double the production capacity to meet the contract requirements. Can we start right away? The goal is to double the current production.”

Even though it was a larger order than expected, the dwarves nodded. It might be a bit tough, but for skilled technicians like them, it was certainly not impossible.

“Alright, let’s start with the hot air balloon and the cosmetics facility improvements! We’ll finish these as quickly as we can!”

Galbarik confidently stated before turning to leave, but Ghislaine grabbed him.

“Where are you going? I’m not finished talking yet.”

“Um?”

“You mentioned you could also improve the apartment building? Since the mages are mostly at the construction site, why not collaborate and research that too? You’ll need to work with the mages when testing the hot air balloon anyway. Make sure to build another village as quickly as possible.”

“Ah… um. Improving the housing…”

“Exactly, when it comes to dwarves, it’s all about construction, right?”
“Well, when you think of dwarves, you think of construction, right?”

If the dwarves get involved in construction, the speed of building the residence will skyrocket.

They’re so skilled that they could dig into mountains to create residences or even build underground cities.

It was common knowledge, so Galbarik simply nodded.

“Uh-huh, I understand. Then that…”

However, Ghislaine’s words didn’t stop there.

“Oh, by the way, the harvest season is coming soon, right? It might be hard to move things with magic, so please make some regular farming tools. We still need to supply the areas that are using wooden tools with iron tools.”

“Um, isn’t that something the blacksmiths in the territory can handle?”

“There’s hardly any blacksmiths in the territory, so it’s tough. That’s why I’ve brought a bunch of dwarves along, right? Since we’re making them anyway, wouldn’t it be better to make them high quality?”

“Uh, um… Oh, I see.”

Cold sweat began to pour down the dwarves’ backs.

There was way too much work as it was. But after saying it, their pride wouldn’t allow them to refuse.

“Uh, then I’ll start right away…”

Galbarik shifted the topic, feeling a wave of anxiety wash over him. He meant to say to stop talking already since they’d get started.

But Ghislaine still had a lot to say.

“Oh, and there’s the Blood Python’s leather—we’ll need that to make armor lining for the knights… and we’re short on military weapons, so we need to make those too…”

Ghislaine’s requests seemed endless. The dwarves’ faces turned pale as they groaned.

“It feels… a bit tough to do all that immediately…”

Upon hearing this, Ghislaine tilted her head.

“Why? We agreed to work hard. Besides, I promised to free you as free citizens in 10 years. Just teach me the techniques, and you’d really be able to call yourselves slaves. Work hard and learn skills, and your status changes? Wow, I can’t resist that.”

“Y-you’re right, but isn’t it a bit much to have everything piled up as soon as we arrive?”

“This is just standard in our territory.”

Ghislaine’s mind was filled with plans to effectively run the dwarves.

The territory was already chaotic with work piled up high.

Time was tight, and with the dwarves just arriving, they had to churn out results or they’d really be in trouble.

Not knowing her true intentions, Galbarik took a deep breath and cautiously asked,

“So… what’s the timeline? Three months? No, at least six months… actually, we need at least a year. If you can grant us that much time, we can manage everything.”

His tone turned polite because there was just too much work.

The timeline was the issue. If only they had a generous timeline.

If they worked day and night, it would take around three months. But to stay alive, they needed to eat and sleep, so he asked for a whole year.

Yet Ghislaine looked at Galbarik as if he were ridiculous, her eyes widening in disbelief.

Then she chuckled lightly, mocking him.

“What are you talking about? A year? We really don’t have that kind of time.”

“Excuse me? So how long do you think we have?”

Ghislaine grasped Galbarik’s shoulders and smiled gently.

“One month. I can’t give you more than that.”


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