Badlands Saga: Reincarnation in a Different World with Extreme Charisma - Chapter 39

Chapter 39   Too Late To Die 2

The recruitment notice for the rock dwarves that there would be enough food to avoid hunger and an appropriate amount of dragon wine.

So, while the salary would depend on their work, I had no intention of skimping on food and drink.

Well, that was until I saw the rock dwarves brought from the port drinking and eating in the castle courtyard…

The rock dwarves devoured everything like famished carp and drank like a leaky tub.

“Fusha-sama, we don’t have enough food!”

“Hmm, it’s never-ending… For now, please steam some potatoes.”

“Understood.”

As my maid, Riza, returned to the kitchen, my blacksmith, Kodara, came in.

“Fusha-sama, we’re running low on alcohol… That’s why I told you we should have left that item out.”

“Wait a moment, I’ll handle the alcohol issue.”

I approached the rock dwarves who were eating and drinking with voices that belied their small stature, raising my voice to address them.

“Everyone, listen!”

“Listen up!”

Thanks to the booming voice of Kintman next to me, it seemed that even the rock dwarves seated far away stopped their conversations and turned to face us.

I thumped the nearly empty barrel of dragon wine and asked them,

“Is this enough dragon wine?”

At that question, they momentarily froze and exchanged glances.

“…Well, if possible, we’d like a bit more…”

“If each of us could have a barrel, that would be perfect…”

“We love our food, but we love our alcohol even more…”

It seems they’re being modest and holding back, but essentially, they’re saying it’s nowhere near enough.

I nodded while listening to them and replied,

“I’m sorry, but given the current situation in Tanukan, the maximum I can offer you is two cups of alcohol per day.”

They looked at each other again, their faces reflecting deep sadness.

This is unavoidable; you can’t squeeze blood from a stone.

To be honest, the phrase “appropriate amount of dragon wine” in the recruitment notice was written without expecting this many people to show up.

“However, it doesn’t mean we can’t increase the supply.”

“That’s true…”

“Dragon wine doesn’t take long to brew; as long as we have the materials, we can make as much as we need.”

I spoke to them to lift their spirits.

It’s tough for those in power when “you can’t squeeze blood from a stone” won’t cut it. Gaining trust is difficult, but losing it is easy.

Still, just thinking this way doesn’t magically produce enough wine to let the throngs of rock dwarves in the courtyard drink to their heart’s content.

So, what do we do?

It may feel somewhat deceptive, but I can make it so that the alcohol is tied to a success reward.

“That’s why I’m counting on your strength. If you can turn my vision into reality, we can buy plenty of grains and potatoes from elsewhere. In other words, the amount of alcohol you can drink will also increase.”

At my words, the rock dwarves erupted in excitement.

Currently, Tanukan has only three trading ships led by Palui.

These are power boats powered by magic crystals, but in the remote Tanukan, supplying magic crystals is quite a hassle. Even though we’ve finally obtained our own merchant ships, it’s a struggle to increase our trading routes.

However, if we can create an internal combustion engine to attach to the ships, we won’t have to rely on the unstable supply of magic crystals.

With the popularity of dragon wine right now, we should be able to draw in goods from the desolate wasteland.

If that happens, we should be able to produce enough wine to drown in.

“In other words, if you want to drink more alcohol, you need to work hard! I am a man who rewards contributions!”

As I said this and looked around at everyone’s faces, the rock dwarf sitting at the front slammed his cup down on the table and stood up.

“If that’s the case, let’s get to work starting today!”

As he said this and walked toward me, the other rock dwarves quickly followed suit, standing up as well.

“That’s right! If that means more alcohol, the sooner, the better!”

“Dragon wine is refreshing, but I’d prefer it to be a bit thicker. I’ll work hard, so can you make it stronger?”

As the rock dwarves surged forward, saying such things, Kintman and Kodara stood in between us as a barrier.

“Wait, wait, wait! Calm down!”

“I’m in charge of the plan; let’s talk over there.”

The tsunami of rock dwarves, pushed back by Kintman and diverted by Kodara, flowed away…

But one rock dwarf remained behind, standing alone.

This man was wrapped in rags, with a scruffy beard, looking extremely thin.

“Uh, Fushanklan-sama, can I have a word?”

“What is it?”

When I asked, he opened his mouth, revealing several missing teeth, and said, as if clinging to something,

“I am, I am a genius.”

The man who declared himself a genius…

Contrary to those words, his eyes trembled without a hint of confidence as he cast his gaze down to his palm.

“But I can’t do everything. I can only make spear tips.”

His palm and the fingers extending from it shook slightly.

“…Still, is there anything I can do to help here?”

In response to his question, I silently took his hand.

It was a thin, almost decayed hand, but the calluses formed from years of gripping tools remained, solidly holding their shape.

It was a hand that had done its job well.

“…Yeah, I’m sure I’ll be counting on your strength.”

As I nodded and said this, he looked at me and murmured just one word: “I see.”

Then, gazing at his own palm in my hand, he said once more, “I see.”

“Hey, what are you doing? Everyone’s gathering over there! …Huh!?”

Kodara, who had come to call the man in front of me, wore a look of surprise as he saw his face.

Could it be that this man was an acquaintance of Kodara’s?

“You… you actually came!”

“Yeah, well… there wasn’t any urgent work, so…”

“I’m grateful for that. Anyway, we’re going to discuss the plan now, so come this way.”

“Ah…”

Watching the two as they headed toward the center of the courtyard where the rock dwarves gathered, I looked up at the sky for no particular reason.

From the tower’s window, resembling a spear tip that skewers the full moon, a red glow shone brightly.

It seemed Harriett was still awake.

Perhaps she was waiting for my return, boiling some tea for me.

As I contemplated whether to wrap things up soon…

I made my way to where the rock dwarves were exchanging loud opinions, accompanied by Kintman.

The first thing the rock dwarves did was redo the boundaries of Kodara’s workshop.

The initially planned scale of the workshop couldn’t accommodate this many rock dwarves.

While looking at the distant fields where barley was being planted, Kodara and I were meeting with a rock dwarf named Pairo, an expert in construction.

“Hey, Fusha-sama, what size is the engine we’re going to build, anyway?”

“It’s not that big by itself, but since we’ll need to make a large number of parts, it might be better for the workshop to be quite large.”

“Are you saying it’ll be bigger than the castle?”

“Absolutely, the public bathhouse in Tsutomuporita was twice the size of our castle.”

” Tsutomuporita, huh? That’s a huge town.”

It was indeed impressive how they managed to build such a large city in this world without heavy machinery.

“It’s a really massive, incredible city.”

“Last time I went, it was like that, but this time I’d like to take my time exploring. The food was delicious, and the women were beautiful…”

Well, Kintman and Kodara really enjoyed the nightlife in the big city of Tsutomuporita.

Even I would like to revisit it in five or six years.

“Did Kodara go there too? That’s great. I’ve always wanted to visit at least once since I was young, but… I didn’t have the money, and Makiano doesn’t like outsiders much…”

“Well, there’s trade between Tanukan and Makiano, so once the engine is completed, I think we could probably get there in about three days.”

“What!? Three days!?”

“If we run from morning till night.”

That’s assuming we could create a vehicle capable of carrying a lot of gasoline… but it’s not an impossible idea.

Once the environment is set up, we could have Makiano people who learned our language, Tadra, guide us, and maybe even start something like a travel agency.

“If we have transportation, my wife could go back to her hometown easily, and maybe Pairo could come along too?”

“Oh, that sounds exciting! If we make the engine during the winter, we might be able to go in spring.”

“Pairo’s old man, that’s definitely impossible.”

Despite Kodara saying this, Pairo, with his white beard, spent that entire day happily humming while drawing blueprints.

Thanks to the efforts of the rock dwarves, a massive workshop, as large as a community gym, was completed during the autumn…

And it continued to grow even larger with the arrival of additional rock dwarves from Makiano in winter.