Renewing a purification barrier was ordinarily a major event requiring both time and money.
The village summoned priests who specialized in rituals from a nearby city, and they performed a full-day ceremony. Donations to the temple, hospitality expenses for the priest-soldiers accompanying them, compensation for the neighboring village that temporarily sheltered everyone… Including all those costs, the village apparently paid an enormous sum every time. Honestly, it sounded like extortion.
This time, however, I finished the replacement in only a few seconds, in the middle of the night while the villagers slept. The miasma lingering in the village was gradually clearing too, so the barrier should remain problem-free for a while.
“Hehehe. I can’t believe it truly took only seconds.”
“But I only replaced it normally.”
“Exactly. Yet when I think that most of the money spent on those ceremonies until now was wasted… Hehehe. I can’t help finding it amusing.”
As I spoke with Resina, I examined the wreckage of magical silver in my hand.
The corrosion was too severe for me to reuse it directly as a magic-tool component, but it was more than adequate as a crafting material. Magical silver was a rare mineral, so I wanted to use it carefully.
“Perhaps you were right that we should replace it secretly. We protected the village, earned the chief’s gratitude, and even obtained valuable magical silver.”
“Valuable magical silver… Crow, was the new purification barrier you installed not made from magical silver?”
“Hm? No, I made it from magical steel.”
At my answer, Resina’s face froze. What emotion was that supposed to express?
Magical steel was one of the most convenient magical metals. Unlike metals formed only in unusual natural environments, I could mass-produce its ingots by refining ordinary iron ore and magic stones in the crafting furnace. Its performance was respectable too.
“The magic tool is used underwater, after all. Magical silver has decent corrosion resistance, but magical steel is incomparably tougher. The difference in mana conductivity is more than compensated for by improving the efficiency of the spell circuits… The new and improved purification barrier should last dozens of times longer than the old one. I doubt it’ll need replacement for at least a hundred years.”
This had been important to securing the safety of my slow life, so I’d spent years testing it.
The original purification barrier’s spell circuits had been filled with inefficiencies, leaving countless opportunities for improvement. Compared to the old model, the newest purification barrier was superior in every respect.
Thinking about it again… I’d consumed mass-producible magical steel and obtained precious magical silver in return. Perhaps I’d profited considerably.
“Crow, does this mean… you can make as many of those new purification barriers as you want, as long as you have magical steel?”
“All I need is iron ore and magic stones. I can make the magical steel.”
“…You can make magical steel too?”
Resina’s eyes widened, but yes, I could. It was convenient. Ancient texts contained ordinary instructions for producing magical steel. Admittedly, that information needed to be translated into the modern language to be understood, but magic tools made that way were still commonly unearthed from ancient ruins, so it was probably a standard technique.
Naturally, I’d already created recipe cartridges for producing magical steel and purification-barrier cores. As long as I had the materials, I could mass-produce either in any quantity.
“…Let’s change our plans slightly.”
Resina gave an incredibly wicked smile as she spoke. Oh no. She was definitely thinking of something terrible.
“At every destination from now on, we’ll replace as many purification-barrier cores as possible. I watched the work. Anyone can perform the replacement itself, correct? If the family members divide the labor, we can cover a wide range of surrounding villages.”
“What…? Won’t that cause a problem?”
“We’ll do it secretly, replacing them at night. We’ll also tell only the influential people in each location ‘in strict confidence.’ If we do that… what do you think will happen?”
Hmm. Would it truly be all right if we did it secretly?
As for the advantages… First, we would obtain a large quantity of magical silver. Turning that over to headquarters would be a major achievement. Also, people couldn’t keep secrets forever, so the local leaders would leak the information eventually. Once the rumor spread among the population… Resina’s popularity might rise, at least.
“The immediate benefits I can think of are earning achievements within the family and improving our reputation among the people.”
“Hehehe… There’s more. Quite a few family members admire chivalrous thieves. We would be evil heroes who secretly saved the people from the temple’s unjust exploitation. Everyone accompanying us on this journey will boast about it to their companions.”
I see. She could win support from the family members too. Resina was remarkably shrewd.
“But this will severely reduce the temple’s income. Won’t they protest?”
“That’s impossible. The temple publicly claims that renewing a purification barrier requires an entire day of ritual. Do you think they would ever acknowledge such an absurd story as us secretly replacing core after core without anyone noticing?”
Ah, she was right.
According to the temple’s claims, secretly replacing a core should be impossible. Yet in reality, the barriers would begin lasting far longer. As time passed, the people would grow increasingly suspicious of the temple and indebted to the Cineraria Family. That was how the structure would work.
“Impressive. And if turning a large amount of magical silver over to headquarters earns you a major achievement, perhaps people will start calling for you to become the family’s first female underboss.”
“No. Through the new purification-barrier cores and our campaign as chivalrous thieves, the voices supporting Crow as the next underboss will grow much louder. Our marriage is only moments away.”
“Hahaha… Wait. That’s where this leads?”
It had seemed unusual for her to pursue an achievement so eagerly… Was she truly planning to add all of this to my accomplishments? That would be seriously bad. My frontier slow life… My dream was in grave danger.
“Terrible things will happen if I become underboss.”
“Oh? What sort of things?”
“Let’s see… For example, I’ll prohibit Penne from eating dried persimmons, and the sound of her crying will echo through the estate all day. It’ll be so noisy that no one can work.”
“That sounds delightful. Hehehe.”
Calm down. Everything was still fine.
Resina intended to make this my achievement, but I wouldn’t let her. Somehow, I would force everyone to recognize it as Resina’s accomplishment and send her approval rating soaring. I could surely do it. I had absolutely no idea how yet.
◆ ◆ ◆
Kneeling before me with tears in her eyes, Penne spoke.
“I was still underestimating you, Crow. I thought you were damn ordinary, but being able to make purification-barrier cores is seriously insane. Leave the replacement work to us. You focus on production.”
Hmm. Just how much had Penne underestimated me? I was a little tempted to ask how her opinion had changed from our first meeting until now. The answer sounded entertaining.
Night had fully fallen, and every villager was asleep. Meanwhile, the family members paired off and enthusiastically departed for the surrounding settlements. Those with distant destinations intended to ride horses if necessary and replace cores in as many villages as possible.
“It was exactly as Resina said. They really do admire chivalrous thieves… Well, I’m glad they’re having fun.”
Snow had begun fluttering down in the evening, and a painfully cold wind brushed my skin.
Now, I needed to build up our inventory while I had time.
I entered the crafting room in my subspace and selected the recipe for a purification-barrier core from its shelf. I installed it in the crafting furnace, placed magical-steel ingots into the material intake on the front, and channeled mana through the alchemical spell circuit. One new purification-barrier core after another piled up.
Magical steel was difficult to process without an alchemical furnace, and the pieces of a purification-barrier core intertwined like a disentanglement puzzle. Only an alchemist could make one.
“All right. This should be enough.”
Carrying a wooden crate packed with purification-barrier cores, I left the subspace.
I felt a little tired. When I focused too intensely, my thoughts tended to become negative. At times like this, it was best not to force myself and to rest properly.
Both in my former and present lives, I’d learned through painful experience that thinking deeply while exhausted was unwise. For today, I should eat something sweet, soak leisurely in the bath, and go to bed early.
Just as I prepared to return to the subspace…
“Crow. I’d like to talk.”
Resina spoke and squeezed my hand tightly. What was wrong? She looked as though something weighed heavily on her mind.
“There’s something… I want you to hear about my magic.”