Volume 4 Chapter 3.4 (1/2)
Volume 4 Chapter 3.4
「And my master does not seek immediate assistance on all fronts. Currently, people are discussing the making of prototype smelting forges, so he simply wishes for a bit of assistance, or at the very least tacit consent for the project.」
「I know. Crest Cave is a head-scratching problem for our country. If this plan goes well, then even if Crest Cave does not return from a dungeon, our production will not have to drop, and even if it returns to its original form, magic steel ore and mythril ore will be immediately be oversupplied, and the products will not have enough supply. Either way, our country has nothing but profit. Also, even if we fail in the process, we only have one smelting furnace. Contribution from our side would hardly cost us.」
The ministers of finance and technology nodded, affirming the king’s words. They were already contributing a large budget to researching and developing new smelting furnaces with new excavation machinery. Another country introducing new technology (albeit from the unknown continent) was something to be welcomed, not something to be evaded. No matter the outcome, no one here thought such funding would go to waste.
So it was something else that the king saw as problematic.
「What I am concerned about is whether or not we can trust Azuma Workshop.」
「Would it not suffice to say they have the support of my master as well as Darl’s Queen Mishaela herself？」
「Well, I am a man of prejudice. Unless I see them directly, I cannot determine if they are to be trusted or not.」
As the king of a country, he surely could not just trust someone based on the evaluation of another large country, even on the same level.
「I do not mind if you wish to make a new type of smelting furnace. If it will give us technological feedback, we will of course gladly accept. However, I will not have them interfering in our affairs because of that.」
「Your concerns are most valid, but if they intended that, the group would have tried to start something back when they defeated Barold.」
「You see, I am a coward. I cannot seem to erase the suspicion that they might gain influence and do as they please after digging into the center of the three great western countries.」
「I also have yet to meet them, so I cannot display enough evidence to clear your doubts. Therefore, at the very least, I ask that you permit this smelting furnace idea. Also, no matter the outcome, I ask that you do not pin anything on them.」
「I know. Our country is always supporting the development of smelting furnaces alongside new prototypes. Even I and the citizens of this country are not so shameless as to punish the introductions of items from other countries.」
Andrew bowed deeply at the king’s words. Things would have likely been different had this not concerned iron and had Crest Cave not isolated. Then again, had Crest Cave’s mines not turned into an isolated dimension dungeon, then Hiroshi would never have even considered making the new smelting furnace variant, and Andrew would never have needed to persuade the Forre king in a situation like this.
「Still, if it were to go well, how many years ahead would this innovative technology bring us？」
「Somewhere around ten years, I would imagine.」
The minister of technology answered the king’s query. Unfortunately, these past ten years had not yielded anything as auspicious as a technological revolution, but even so, the quality of manufactured goods, the amount of time for refining, and the amount they could refine at once had all comparatively increased several times since the country had stopped breakthroughs. Still, when you looked at the amount of investment in research and development and the output, you couldn’t help but feel that Forre wasn’t getting much out of it.
「Assuming this plan of yours takes off, what sort of merit does it bring your kingdom？」
「If the supply of magic steel goes up, the amount our country can buy will increase as a matter of course. Once that happens, the casualties from large monster raids will decrease, enabling us to focus more effort on securing trade routes, food supply, and other increases in production. This would also potentially become a great merit for your kingdom as well.」