The Atanor furnace.

　It is a magical tool used by the demon race.
　It's a strange thing for the human race to have in their possession.

How could you, as a human, possibly...?
Of course not in a proper way. Of course it's not the right way, I found it on the black market by chance. I spent quite a bit of money on it.

　It's a great black market for the human race, with magic tools on the street and all.
　What kind of routes are there?

With this furnace, they say, you can mix metals in any ratio to produce an alloy. My masterpiece will require an alloy with mithril as its main ingredient!
Seriously, what are you going to make...?

　It's not like a bomb or anything, is it?

But isn't this a problem to use?
Hmm.........?

　I'm a former member of the Demon King's Army, I understand.
　The only way to use this grimoire, the Atanor furnace, is to allow magic to pass through it.
　That's why it's a grimoire.
　It's a magic tool.

It's a grimoire. The human you can't do anything about it, can you?
You know exactly what I'm talking about.

　Grandpa Smith lets out a heavy sigh.

'I asked some adventurers if I could use my aura instead. To no avail.
I know.

　Otherwise, it would be meaningless for me to have gone through so much trouble during my time in the Demon King's Army.

''Then isn't this just a useless thing?''
That's true, but...　I think we've finally solved the Mithril problem!　I wondered if this momentum could be enough to solve our problem!　Poof!

　You're ridiculous.

　Did you bring the Atanor furnace here just for such a vague hope?
　Furnaces are huge and originally designed to be installed in a house.
　Therefore, it was heavy.
　They had to carry it on a horse-drawn carriage to get it to this point, which was a testament to the hard work of the apprentices.

As long as we can get the furnace working, we'll have no problem. "Anyway, as long as we can get the reactor working, we'll have no more problems," he said, "the rest is up to me. It's all up to me...." "That's a guarantee of success!
You can just make it as normal...!

　But Grandpa Smith would not compromise, even if he was determined.
　If he didn't use the furnace, the work of his disciples who had worked so hard to bring it here would be in vain.

''It can't be helped........!

　I let out a sigh and took out something.

　It's a magic communication device.

　I got it the other day when I met Lizet, the Demon King's Army's synchronization officer.
　The magic communicator, as its name suggests, is a tool for communicating to distant places using magic methods.
　They come in pairs and can only communicate with a fixed other device, but if you put magic power into them beforehand, even those who can't use magic can use them.

　It's mainly dropouts like me who benefit from this.

　I'm not going to be able to get it right.

　Turrrrrrrrrrrrr.

　That guy who comes out with exactly two calls.

"....Oh Rizet-kun?　It's me, Oleo. That's me. It's your soulmate, Dariel.

You're not going to be able to do that.

　And here comes Rizzet.

'No...!　Yes, I gave you the communicator, but I didn't give it to you to call you out this casually.
It's okay. It's not like you're too busy, is it?
'I'm busy!　I'm super busy negotiating the purchase of Mithril with the human race, since I've been entrusted with the entirety of the negotiations with the human race!
''That's exactly the kind of thing you can't just leave to the Four Heavenly Kings!
Those little bastards are no match for a negotiator. I might even be promoted to special agent in recognition of my achievements.
'What?　Seriously?

　Anyway, since I called you here, I want you to get your business done, so I show you the Atanor furnace.

Why does a human race have this thing?
I thought so too.
'If you called me to get this up and running?　Stop it, my friend, you know as well as I do that I am good at water magic.　Alchemy is just the realm of earth magic!
You're the only one who can do it for me. Don't worry, I can handle it if you do.

　Recklessness is a privilege between friends.

　Lysate boo-booed and passed his magic through the Atanor furnace and mixed the metal according to the recipe Grandpa Smith had specified.

　Mithril.
　Liquid silver.
　Titanium.
　Aluminum.
　And a few herbs for a secret ingredient.

What kind of alloy could you make out of that?

You're not going to be able to do that.

　In.
　Done.

　The alloys.

　When I brought the finished product to him, Grandpa Smith was very pleased with the result.

He said, "Look at this!　This is the metal of my dreams that I've been chasing for years!
Are you sure this is the right thing to do?

　To be honest, I thought I'd failed.
　When I saw the finished alloy.
　I honestly couldn't imagine what kind of weapon we could make out of such a metal.

　That's how strange the metal was.
　I don't know how a genius thinks.

''Now it's time for the blacksmith to show his skills!　Look forward to it!

　Grandpa Smith happily retreated to his room.
　Along with the magic alloy that he just completed.

　I thanked Lizette for coming for now and turned her away....

　There was nothing else to do.

　It's boring to wait around for Grandpa Smith to finish his work, so maybe I'll do some adventurer's work and contribute to the village.　Just when I thought it was a good idea, the next trouble came.

　The next trouble came in.
　Or should I say, a continuation of the same trouble I've had before.

　The adventurer Fitbitan had come to visit me.

◆

Do you love your hometown?
What?
"If you love her, you should help us.

　I don't know why he came to visit me.
　When you say local, do you mean the village of Lax?
　I'm new here less than a year ago, but I still think of this village, don't I?

'The Mithril Mine will bring untold riches. That wealth should be enjoyed by those in the land surrounding the mine.
..........
But there are those who are plotting to take it from us. The Center Guild.

　The Fitbitan's argument could be summed up like this.

　The Center Guild is like a hyena, eating away at the benefits that the community should enjoy and, in the worst of times, keeping it to itself.

　That shouldn't be the case.

　The interests of the region should be protected by the region and not by the center, which should not be at the mercy of the center.
　Only then will the region be able to maintain its independence.

"Normally, you and your village Laxx, the closest village to the mine, should be the ones to stand at the front of the line and refuse the Central Guild's intrusion. But you don't have that kind of power. With all due respect, it's hard to believe that Lax village, which is just a remote rural area, is capable of fighting the central government.
So?
Which is why Campbell Street stands in for you. In this part of the world, Campbell Street is the most powerful force in the region.

　And.

"With your approval, we can sit down at the negotiating table with the Center Guild and talk. It's a necessary partnership for the local economy. Don't you think that's a wise choice?

　The Fitbitan approaches me.
　The Fitbitan presses me, flirtatiously, but also mockingly.

'Let's join hands together and stand against the Center Guild!　As a fellow local lover!
'Couldn't it be more neat and tidy, even for a quibble?

　At my point, the blabbering fitbitan shushed me at once.
　Or maybe he himself is aware that it's a quibble.

'Even if you call the Center Guild hyenas, aren't you guys the same?　I just want Campbell Street to be involved in the enormous profits generated by the Mithril mine.
"Oh, that's...?

　I can't take on the larger Center Guild head-on, so I bring in the Lax Village that I've always looked down on.
　Doesn't he think of himself as a despicable person?

　And with a poor logic that is instantly recognizable.
　Aren't you ashamed of that?

"If I'm going to be eaten by hyenas, I'll choose the strongest hyena I can find. And you seem to have a sense of propriety.

　Even as someone to trust, the Center Guild is better than Campbell Street.
　My decision had been made.

''You should probably pull out before Guild Executive-san returns, too. If they see you occupying the forge, that would be an all-out confrontation with the Center Guild.

　I was about to get up from my seat when I thought what I had to say was over........

Let's play.........!

　But the fitbitan did not give up.
　He still clung to her unseemly.

"It's game on. You and I will fight. If I win, Raxmere will give Campbell Street all rights to the Mithril Mine!　How's that?

　How's that?　No, man.