I Was Connected to Earth’s Black Market From Another World With The Skill [Market]! (WN)

Chapter 406

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Chapter 406 – Side Story: A Distant Paradise

Despite being operated by the bare minimum of people, our Casemaian Navy frigate docked at the port with surprising ease. After neutralizing the remaining Imperial Army forces in the fortress, Myrril and I had a light meal and discussed future plans with the Casemaian engineers.

“Well, then we’ll just have to be flexible and get in touch if there are any problems.”

“Isn’t that just unplanned?”

“Yoshua, it’s always something like that, isn’t it?”

Myrril and Captain Rinko give me a rather relaxed answer. The old men are discussing the development plan for Casemaian, ignoring me.

“That may be so, but there’s no room for development in that area, is there?”

“Don’t worry. We can triple the area by cutting down trees and clearing land in the Dark Forest.”

“That won’t be okay at all. There aren’t even that many people to need that much space.”

“Regardless of the space, it’s certain that there’s no more room for development.”

When I asked Rinko how much of what they had made, I got a surprisingly simple answer.

“You’ve already seen the ground effect planes, right? And there are also elevators and escalators for residents in high-rise apartments, airships, observation balloons, motorized gliders, snow vehicles, ropeways, narrow-gauge railways, open-air baths, vehicle refueling stations, and distillation stills?”

Some of these things I’ve heard of before, but as always, it’s a surprising, chaotic, and enormous mishmash of ideas.

“Wait a minute. Did you say stills?”

I’ve heard through Myrril that the distilled spirits Simon supplies, such as whiskey and vodka, are becoming popular in the Republic. I’ve also heard that they’re thinking of starting large-scale commercial production after the spring. Does that mean you’re already testing it?

“The distillery produces about three to four liters a day. One batch a month is about one large barrel, and we’ve already produced four batches, which are now being aged with the help of elven magic.”

“Eeehhh…”

This wasn’t a test run at all. The numbers don’t add up. They’re being produced for real.

A large barrel is 120 liters, so four times that is… 480 liters?

“To make it easier to manage, we’re moving the aging process to smaller barrels. We have two types: 5-liter and 10-liter, and the 10-liter ones are for long-term aging.”

What’s that? Where do you age such a large number of barrels at Casemaian?

“The storage warehouse was getting too small, so we built a special aging warehouse and storage facility. Even after subtracting the amount we’ve consumed, we still have over 300 liters. We’re also considering increasing production in the future.”

No, no, no… the numbers are wrong, too. It’s fine if the people who made it enjoy it themselves, but to drink almost 200 liters of distilled alcohol… the dwarves are amazing.

“By the way, what kind of alcohol is this?”

“One is a kind of vodka that’s almost tasteless and odorless, made from wild potato starch that’s not fit to eat. The other is a whisky-like drink made from an alcohol derived from a minor grain called ‘snow wheat’, which is stored in charred wooden barrels. If you want a sample… um, where was it?”

“If it’s the captain’s personal property, it’s in the wooden box in the back.”

The bear-beastman in charge of helmsmanship, who seems to have overheard the conversation, turns to Rinko and tells her the location.

“Ah, this is it.”

Rinko opens the wooden crate and returns with what looks like a bottle of alcohol. It looks like a handmade bottle with a cork-like stopper. The packaging has an atmosphere that makes you think it might contain Okinawa awamori (Okinawa rice wine). Could it be that they’re already thinking about marketing it?

“This is the special distilled liquor of Casemaian.”

Since I’m not much of a drinker, I asked them to pour some of the aged liquor into a charred wooden barrel and just taste it.

“Oh, it’s delicious!”

“Isn’t it?”

The aroma is almost like whiskey. It’s sweet and fragrant, but the smell of the charred barrel is a bit strong. I wonder if I’ll get used to it. Even as a product, I don’t think it’s bad at all.

“It has a good taste and a simple aroma that goes up your nose. What do you call it? I’m not really familiar with it, but is it like a single malt?”

“Yes. Or rather, I don’t know because I can’t drink it either.”

As for the alcohol, let’s just tell the Dwarf old men what we want and leave the details to them. It’s not a daily necessity, and it’s not like we can’t buy a substitute. In many ways, it’s not essential, at least not for anyone but the dwarves.

“Anyway, let’s put the alcohol talk aside for now. Our first priority is to secure a transport route between the coastal fortress and Casemaian.”

As you might expect, traveling 300 miles (480 km) across the Dark Forest by horse-drawn sleigh or vehicle is not realistic. The practical option would be an airship.

As they confirm this, Rinko, Heimann-jiisan, and Caretta-jiisan look at each other.

“…Yes, I think so.”

“Wait, Rinko, what’s with the long pause?”

“If you wait a little longer, I think we can develop a linear motor car using either high-speed rail or magic cannon technology.”

“Hm…?”

To be honest, I’m worried. I didn’t buy an airplane from Simon partly because of the strict requirements for maintenance and operation, but the biggest problem was that even a small accident could lead to death. The danger is not comparable to that of cars, ships, or hovercrafts.

High-speed trains and linear motor vehicles also have similar problems, although not as serious as those of aircraft.

“I want you to start with something that prioritizes low-speed safety.”

“That’s already been done.”

You’ve already done that? Is that what you mean by the “narrow-gauge railroad” you were talking about earlier? As I looked at Myrril, she seemed to be looking at some documents or film footage and nodded in agreement. I had imagined the narrow-gauge railways to be something like the relatives of the trolley, but maybe they are quite serious railways.

“For the low-speed railways, the rails were laid close to the ground because they were being tested, but for the high-speed railways, we are considering either elevating them or putting them underground to ensure safety.”

“Underground… that’s easier said than done.”

“Don’t worry about it. Recently, Casemaian has added a specialist in earth magic to its ranks. They’re dwarf brothers, experts in civil engineering and construction. We’ve also set up a joint research team of elves and dwarves, with them in the center.”

Casemaian is amazing. It really is a magical city, a magical city, you know.

“If anything, the development of weapons and armaments is proving to be the most difficult.”

“Is there anything else you need besides what we have in stock now?”

“No, not really… but that’s the problem. We’re not short of anything, but it’s holding back technological development. The engineers are trying to find a way to break out of the situation of relying on what Yoshua bought, but it’s not going very well.”

I see. Of course, if you have the time and the motivation, then by all means go ahead.

“For example, look at this.”

“Ammunition? This is 30-06 and this is 14.5mm.”

“Yes, we’re also working on new weapons and modifications to existing weapons, but we’ve also been thinking about ‘magic bullets.’ We have them about 80% complete now, and we’ve already tested them and confirmed that they’re good for use in actual combat. All that’s left is to solve the one problem.”

“Wow, that’s amazing. Magic bullets… do they have a magic effect when they hit the target?”

“Of course. The activation magic circle engraved on the warhead sends a magic signal to the small magic circle inside the warhead when it is hit. It’s a magical version of a machine gun shell. What’s more, it also uses magic for propulsion.”

“Amazing!”

I exclaim in surprise. So, the special ammunition for Casemaian was completed by integrating the dwarves’ metallurgical technology, the elves’ magic technology, and Rinko’s modern science and technology. But, hey?

“The performance is 2.8 times that of a regular 30-06 bullet. Using the same technology, it is also possible to increase the power of Shimonov’s ammunition to a maximum of 3.4 times. Since more than 70% of the propulsive force is not due to the combustion of gunpowder, the expansion of the cartridge is within acceptable limits, and the load on the chamber and barrel is kept at the same level as a regular bullet. This is truly the ammunition of dreams!”

“I understand.”

“You see? Now? Really?”

“If Rinko is so talkative, it means there’s a huge problem preventing it from being put to practical use, right?”

“You figured it out in an instant?!”

The dwarf old men and Rinko all speak in unison, but of course, it’s going to be discovered. After all, if you’re going to fire it with magic and do damage with magic, it doesn’t have to be a weapon. Rather, by engraving it on small shells and warheads, they’re unnecessarily increasing the difficulty and cost of the work. They say, “All that’s left is to solve the only problem,” but it’s the opposite. They probably haven’t solved the biggest problem.

“I see.”

Myrril, who is also an engineer, understands immediately when she sees the ammunition and smiles wryly.

“This uses a tiny magic circle and special propellant for each bullet. The production requires the skills and management of a high-level mage. It’s at a level where you can’t produce it properly unless you keep hiring dedicated people, right?”

“Ah… yes, that’s right.”

“I see. This is a path that everyone must follow. Although it is a great achievement to have succeeded in developing it, even if it is imperfect, the ridiculousness of the ‘Magic Acceleration Cannon’ must be something that dwarven craftsmen in particular can relate to. If we are to avoid relying on Yoshua’s power, then Rinko’s ‘Bronze Cannon’ is the best compromise, or in a sense, the ‘optimal solution’.”

Myrril looks at the old men with a stunned expression.

“””…Gnununu.”””

I think I heard this story from Myrril. “Training dragons to do tricks,” right? A spectacular waste of skills and abilities. The cannons of this world are supposed to be a prime example of that. Ah, I heard that. The reason why Myrril gave up developing them.

“By the way… how much does it cost to produce one of these shells?”

Rinko and the old men looked at each other, their eyes darting around before whispering to each other as they looked away.

“…30-06, four gold coins, and for Shimonov bullets, probably about twelve.”

“Hey.”

A bullet that costs 40,000 yen. Even if it’s three times more powerful, I don’t need that. A bullet that costs 120,000 yen is out of the question. If you’re going to spend that much, you might as well buy a 20mm anti-object rifle, and if we’re talking about that kind of money, I can get a tank-destroying missile from Simon.

“Rejected.”

“””Eehhh~!”””

“What this world, and at least Casemaian, needs is not unique, powerful, high-priced products, but cheap, easy-to-use, durable, long-lasting, popular products.”

“Well, I know that, but…”

I guess the pursuit of high performance is a kind of relaxation, or maybe it’s just the nature of engineers. Casemate engineers have done a good job with environmental development and other technological development. I’m a bit of an otaku myself. I don’t really understand that kind of feeling. We’re indebted to all of you technology-obsessed people, so there’s a certain amount of give and take.

I’ll tell them that, and then I’ll give them a final warning.

“The head of the Technology Development Department is Heimann-jiisan. Under his leadership, we will provide a certain amount of development funds and materials every year.”

“””Yay!”””

“…Well, yes. In moderation.”

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