“...An ore crusher?”
Edgar was greatly startled by Eugene’s order.
‘That's something only blacksmiths use, isn't it?’
An ore crusher was nothing more than a tool blacksmiths used to crush ores such as iron ore.
Of course, there was no rule that said only blacksmiths could use every kind of facility.
Even furnaces were sometimes used in certain alchemy workshops for experiments or for manufacturing special potions.
But.
‘An ore crusher is different, isn't it?’
An ore crusher was, quite literally, equipment used to crush ore. It had almost no alchemical applications beyond that.
It was necessary for manufacturing aluminum, but since the required volume was not very large, they could simply borrow equipment from a nearby forge.
That was only natural.
Why would an alchemy workshop need an item whose sole purpose was crushing ore?
It was beyond Edgar’s understanding.
However.
“Yes, that will become our workshop’s future.”
Eugene was confident.
Seeing that attitude only made Edgar more curious.
‘He is the one who made something like aluminum….’
Edgar thought there must be a reason for him to be so confident.
“If it is not too presumptuous… may I ask why, Young Master? I do not understand why an ore crusher is more important than mana cauldrons or enchanting tools….”
“The reason is simple.”
“Well, that reason is….”
“From now on, our workshop plans to create more new metals. To do that, we need an ore crusher.”
“...New metals?”
Edgar was shocked by Eugene’s words.
‘...New metals are not created that easily, are they?’
Eugene had created aluminum, but such a major discovery was not an easy thing.
To make that their main focus, they would either have to continue making such discoveries or sell aluminum steadily. Neither seemed easy to expect.
“...Even so, would potion manufacturing and enchanting not be more stable, Young Master?”
Edgar thought the traditional fields with steady demand would be far better for operating an ordinary workshop.
But.
“No, that is not the case, Workshop Master.”
Eugene thought differently.
“The reason you think that is….”
“Before that, I have something I would like to ask. Did the potion shop that used to do business with our workshop close its potion business after ending its contract with us?”
“That is not the case. I understand that it signed a contract with the nearby Magnus 35th Workshop and began receiving potion supplies from them.”
“My guess is that the Magnus 35th Workshop also has many customers who come for enchanting. Is that not so?”
“...Yes. Perhaps because it is a large workshop, it had many customers. All the alchemists who left our workshop were working there as well.”
That was why Edgar had been able to borrow the small furnace from the Magnus 35th Workshop.
He had managed to borrow it through connections with people he had once worked alongside.
And then.
“That is exactly it. Those are the reasons our workshop should not compete through potion manufacturing and enchanting.”
That was the reason they could not compete through the traditional alchemist’s path of potion manufacturing and enchanting.
“Could you explain, Young Master?”
“I believe you know to some extent as well, Workshop Master, but the siblings in our family are not on particularly good terms.”
“...I know that.”
Edgar nodded.
Everyone who worked at a Magnus workshop knew that the siblings of the family were fighting over the position of heir.
And then.
“As you are probably aware, I am not particularly strong within that struggle. That means that if they want to suppress me, I am easy to suppress.”
Eugene Magnus was close to being the weakest person among them.
“Yet the Magnus 35th Workshop, which is fairly large among the workshops, is nearby. That workshop has already taken all of our potion-manufacturing and enchanting market. We are already behind in the competition. In that situation, I have even become the manager of this workshop. If we jump back into competition over potions and enchanting, do you think they will stay still? I believe they will not even allow us to reenter the market.”
“That is… true.”
Edgar nodded.
In terms of size, technology, and current circumstances, the Magnus 43rd Workshop lagged far behind the 35th Workshop.
In that situation, confronting it head-on would likely be no more than throwing eggs at a rock.
“Furthermore, our workshop has no capital for a price war. Some money has come in, but it cannot be called an enormous sum. It is money we need to use to find a way for us to survive, and it is far too little to use for competition. So rather than forcing our way in, I think it would be better to find another path. That is why I think we should focus on metals for the time being.”
“I believe that is true as well.”
If the Magnus 35th Workshop decided to lower its prices for a price war, the 43rd Workshop would have no choice but to die trying to keep up.
But.
“Still, finding new metals is not an easy task…. If we fail to discover them, will that not put us in a difficult position…?”
Since relying on discoveries could not be called stable at all, Edgar remained worried.
Eugene shook his head and spoke to him.
“There is no need to worry, Workshop Master. We can make alloys as well.”
“Alloys…? You mean like bronze?”
“That is right. There are limits to finding new metals, but we can make endless alloys, can we not?”
In truth, although there were many metals that had not been clearly identified in this world, the number of metals that existed in the world was inevitably limited.
But alloys could be made by mixing metals, so there were limitless combinations.
To Eugene, a graduate of advanced materials engineering, this world—where there were only a few proper alloys—was practically a place where he could create endless novel materials.
“Understood, Young Master. Then I will obtain the equipment.”
Edgar was worried, but this was the direction Eugene had chosen after solving a commission that had seemed impossible from the very start.
‘He seems far more capable than I am….’
In that case, it was right to follow him for now.
***
At that time, in the operations office of the Magnus 35th Workshop.
“The small furnace has been returned, Brother Cassian.”
Cassian and Raisha, the Magnus Family siblings who managed this workshop, were speaking to one another.
Their mother came from the noble Basilia Family, so they jointly managed the same workshop and were expanding their influence.
“Well done, Raisha. What did you do with the bastard who lent it out?”
“I already fired him. We cannot allow someone who helped a filthy half-commoner bastard to contaminate the air of our workshop, can we?”
“That is exactly right. You really are my little sister.”
Cassian spoke as he stroked Raisha’s hair.
“Then what should we do with the small furnace, Brother?”
“Just throw it into the warehouse… no.”
A nasty smile appeared at the corner of Cassian’s mouth.
His grip tightened around the hair he was holding.
“...Brother?”
“Now that I think about it, we cannot put a furnace touched by a filthy half-commoner into our workshop’s warehouse….”
“Brother, that hurts!”
“Ah, I am sorry.”
Cassian removed his hand from Raisha’s hair at her cry.
“Anyway, Raisha.”
“Yes, Brother.”
“Dispose of the furnace. Thinking that a furnace used by that bastard remains in our workshop makes me angry.”
“Understood. We did not use it much anyway.”
Furnaces were fundamentally used more often in forges than in alchemy workshops.
They had been used a few times for enchanting and potion manufacturing, but there was not much use for them, and recently, it had only been gathering dust.
It was not particularly cheap, but considering the operating budget of the Magnus 35th Workshop, its disposal was not a major burden.
“Brother, what was that half-commoner planning to do with this furnace?”
Raisha suddenly asked, a question having occurred to her.
She could not think of anything an alchemy workshop would do with a furnace.
“Who knows? Is that important? Since he has low blood mixed in him, he must not have the confidence to run an alchemy workshop. Perhaps he was planning to open a forge instead.”
“That is true. What could a half-commoner possibly know how to do? I looked into the Magnus 43rd Workshop, and I heard it does not even have any decent mana cauldrons or magical devices for enchanting.”
“Then it is only a matter of time before it fails.”
“Exactly.”
The two spoke with smiles.
“...Hmm. Still, we cannot simply leave it alone. As is always the case with lowly things, no matter how much you step on them, they may crawl back up like weeds.”
“That is right, Brother.”
“And Father would not have sent that bastard to become the manager of the 43rd Workshop empty-handed. It is in the same commercial district as our workshop…. To completely dry out the bud of that weed, I would say that such an investment is necessary.”
“You are right, Brother! Then what do you plan to do…?”
“First, lower the prices of the potions and enchantments our workshop provides. Make sure a workshop run by a half-commoner can never enter the market.”
“How far should we lower them?”
“Reduce the margins as much as possible. It is all right even if we take losses. Push as hard as possible until we can dry that half-commoner bastard to death.”
“Yes, I will do that.”
“And.”
Cassian gave an evil smile.
“I do not think that bastard has such ability, but something could happen just in case. We need to prepare as thoroughly as possible. So let us buy up every mana cauldron and magical device for enchanting and remove the very foundation he would need to recover.”
Cassian explained to Raisha his perfect plan to dry out Eugene’s Magnus 43rd Workshop.
“...It is a truly perfect plan, Brother!”
Raisha exclaimed in admiration after hearing the plan.
***
After establishing the direction the Magnus 43rd Workshop would take.
Eugene immediately began preparing to establish the basic facilities needed for smelting, refining, and purifying metal.
He acquired equipment such as an ore crusher, furnace, and electrolytic cell, then modified the workshop’s interior to accommodate them.
The money received from the Kalibore Mage Tower had not been insignificant, but obtaining everything new would inevitably cost a great deal.
However.
-Hello! I heard that your forge purchased a new ore crusher, so I am contacting you. Would you perhaps be willing to sell us the ore crusher you used previously at a low price…?
-Is your workshop not about due to replace its air-purification artifact and heat-blocking artifact? No, I know they are still usable, but you know it is not good to use them for too long. The weather is nice, so while you are renovating, if you sell the used ones to us cheaply….
-Ah, you are having trouble because these ceramic heat-resistant containers are not selling? Hmm…. Our circumstances are not generous either, but a young master of the Magnus Family has recently become the manager of our workshop, and he seems to want to try various new things. So if you lower the price just a little, our workshop will purchase them….
Because Edgar had worked as an alchemist for so long, he knew many people and had extensive connections.
Using those connections, he purchased used equipment, fully functional items that had reached their expiration date and been classified for disposal, and slow-moving excess stock. In doing so, he saved the workshop’s budget.
After purchasing so much equipment and arranging it day and night.
“...It is finally complete, Young Master.”
The Magnus 43rd Workshop was able to complete the metal-refining facilities it immediately needed.
Unlike an ordinary forge, it refined metal around electrolysis. The facility was simply configured with an ore crusher, a mana cauldron for roasting, a furnace, an electrolytic cell for electrolysis, and several transfer devices. But after a trial operation, there was no major problem refining aluminum from ore.
They could now refine metals such as copper, nickel, and zinc through electrolysis in addition to aluminum, so its usefulness had increased as well.
They would need more equipment to refine a wide variety of metals from ore, but….
For the time being, the workshop met the requirements needed to keep operating.
“You have worked hard, Workshop Master Edgar.”
Eugene spoke, impressed by Edgar’s way of saving the budget.
The money from the Kalibore Mage Tower had not been enough, so Eugene had considered taking on debt. But thanks to Edgar’s ability, they had saved a great deal of the budget, and with the remaining money, they could even obtain spellbooks to learn new spells.
It was impossible not to be impressed.
“Not at all. More importantly, Young Master, when did you learn all of this? I do not think I have ever seen such a systematically designed metal-processing facility.”
Eugene had designed the overall facility and arranged the equipment, and it was so well planned that Edgar was greatly surprised.
In particular, he had worried that it might be difficult to apply that unfamiliar technique called electrolysis to a facility. But the overall setup was highly efficient, and it was even safe because the need for people to do manual labor had been minimized.
It was enough to make him think that bringing such design principles into ordinary forges would greatly increase their work speed.
“Ah, that is… there is a reason for that.”
Eugene smiled awkwardly and scratched his head.
‘To think that the things I studied to escape graduate school would help me like this….’
In his previous life, Eugene had suffered so much in graduate school that he had once studied hard to quit and find employment at a steel company.
That was how he had come to study metal-processing facilities as well.
Though his plan to escape graduate school had failed because he could not find a job amid the difficult employment market….
‘No, come to think of it, did I succeed in escaping after all?’
If escaping by dying counted as success, then perhaps it had been a success after all.
“By the way, Workshop Master, may I ask something? Is that furnace not the one we previously borrowed from the Magnus 35th Workshop?”
Eugene spoke while pointing to the small high-temperature, high-pressure furnace.
“That is correct, Young Master.”
“Then why has it returned here?”
“Ah, that is because, after that workshop took back the furnace, they disposed of it not long afterward. I went to the disposal site and tested it, but there was nothing wrong with it. So I brought it back to save money.”
“Ah, I see. Honestly, those rich bastards….”
Eugene knew the 35th Workshop was large, but seeing them dispose of a perfectly functional furnace so quickly made it seem as though they really did have a great deal of money.
“Ah, come to think of it, I heard a rumor recently about the 35th Workshop, Young Master.”
Edgar spoke as something suddenly came to mind.
“What rumor?”
“As I went around obtaining equipment, I found that mana cauldrons and magical devices for enchanting were all sold out. I heard that the Magnus 35th Workshop had bought every one of them. Why do you think that is?”
“Who knows….”
Eugene thought about it, but no reason came to mind.
‘Surely they didn't do something like that to suppress our workshop before we have even begun potion manufacturing or enchanting….’
Who would be foolish enough to suppress something that had not even been attempted?
Thinking that way, nothing else came to mind.
“Well, it does not have much to do with us, does it, Workshop Master?”
“I suppose that is true, Young Master.”
Since they had decided to compete with metal, it had nothing to do with them, so the two did not think about it any further.