Ever since I had dinner with the lord of Kiyama, he and I have been chatting with him almost daily.

　First of all, I told him that I didn't want to take the island for myself just because I had defeated the ogre and leveled it, but I wanted to have a stake in the iron that would allow me to build a ship that could defeat the monster.

　Then the lord of Kiyama offered to give up the rights to mine the iron mines on Onigashima in exchange for a reward that would be paid through the guild.

　Since the reward via the guild is a bond payment, the lords of the Far East say that they will have a hard time ...... Well, it was a complete bad move in Monopoly terms, so it must have been the other party's kindness.

　Furthermore, when I promised that I would provide them with the skills to train the territorial troops so that they could be defended by Yoshiyama's forces when the demons attacked from hell again, that side promised to provide me with the skills to make steel.


　By the way.

　You may think that you should just import iron already rather than doing such a sluggish thing ......, but that's where you want to stick to "domestic production".

　That's right, if you just want to build a ship, if you order according to the exact design, you might be able to purchase the exact type of steel.

　But we are using the ship to fight monsters.

　When you think about 'modifying', repairing and maintaining the ship to suit the conditions of battle, we'd really like to have the ability to make our own steel and cast it the way we want it to be cast.

　We already have an excellent blacksmithing workshop, so we decided to develop the skills to make iron from ironstone in conjunction with that.


　After the matter of Onigashima was settled, the assembly was adjourned.

　After discussing the details of the ship with the minister and the lord of Okuga, and working out a date for technical cooperation, they decided that all that remained was to proceed with the negotiations and return to their territory.



　◇



　Heeheen: ......

　When we arrived at Tokumo with our horses' heads lined up in a row, the buds of the plum trees began to flicker on the mountain road like a hairpin ornate hairpin, and it was a time when the cold weather had eased considerably.

　The weak monsters on the west side of the estate also seemed to be in a good mood, jumping up and down.

　It was very heartwarming to see an old lady from Nutmeg running up the mountain picking mushrooms among them.

Welcome home, master!

　And when I arrived at the mansion, two maids greeted me.

　I'm sure you'll be able to find the right one for you.

　I'm sure you'll be able to find a lot more than just a handful of things to do, but I'm sure you'll be able to find a lot more than just a handful of things to do.

　The maids have cleaned up the house, and more importantly, it's a great relief to be greeted properly when you return.

　I wondered if hiring maids was a hobby of Igarashi-san's, but seriously, hiring them was the right decision.

I'm home!

'Kyah! Welcome back.

　Now, as I sat in the living room and took a breath, the two girls were cackling and frolicking around the watermelon that I had taken to the imperial capital alone.

　Come to think of it, none of the three girls had ever been out of this distant cloud before.

''And you know what!　The boat!　You're a ninja! ...... ooooh, uh, um, yeah!

　Watermelon seemed rather excited to get back to her daily life, and she rolled her eyes and talked.

　However, they didn't get it at all, and the two remaining people just laughed bitterly.

　Hmmm, interesting.

Eiga-sama ......

　At that time, I feel a youthful 'whip handsome whip handsome' on the side of my thigh.

　''It's Igarashi-san,'' she thought, "What's wrong? He looked next to the sofa.

''We've also secured the ...... mining rights, so shall we immediately send Akira and Shohei to the mine in Onigashima?

Oh, hmm. They don't want to let me go just yet.

"? ...... Why?

Yeah. First and foremost, we have to build a "port" first. I'll have Shohei come over tomorrow and discuss it with you.

Okay. ......


　So, the next day.

　Shohei Yoshioka, the priest (son) of Yoshioka Shrine, arrived.

　He was the man who was the leader of the 'Dike Building' that I saw when I first came to this territory.

　He has knowledge of civil engineering, can do landscaping with his psychic powers, and is also involved in digging demon ore and conducting geological surveys with Akira.

　That's why.

　We needed to consult with him first when building the port.

''My lord. Do you know why the port of Tokumo is located in such a 'monster-infested, western, uninhabited place'?

'No, I don't really know. I was wondering why... ......

　I try to think about it for a bit and say what I was thinking, 'Maybe?

'A tidal wave, by any chance?'

That's right.

　The tides around here tend to follow the east coast of the territory.

　If there is a port on the east coast, the tide makes it difficult for ships to approach the harbor when they arrive from the west of Scarama.

　On the other hand, the west coast is almost completely unaffected by the tide, thanks to the triangular shape of the terrain jutting southward.

　This was the reason why the ports were built on the west coast, even though it was farther from the center of the country.

I'm building a new harbor," he said. I was thinking of building a new harbor on the south coast near the mouth of the river," he said.

But you will still be exposed to the waves.

Maybe we should build it on the West Coast.

But to hear you tell it, that's a problem: ......

　Shouhei says that the west coast is not so deep.

　On the contrary, in terms of depth, the southern tip is deeper.

Then what are we supposed to do with it?

If we're going to build a new harbor on the south side, we're going to have to build a strong 'breakwater,'" he said. If we continue to use the west side of the harbor, we'll have to dig down into the water. I guess we have two choices.

　I see.

　Which plan do you want to pursue: .......

　We went out to investigate anyway, to make that decision.