Chapter 174 - Episode One - Reformation of Fage Territory (1)

“How about this…… Commander Abel……?”

Jaguar, a member of the Alchemy Division, fearfully shows me the Ortem in his hand.

The other members of the group carving the Ortem also react to Jaguar’s words and stop moving, turning their eyes to me.

They are probably searching for a standard to determine how much of it they need to make to pass the line.

I take the Ortem I received from Jaguar and turn it around in my hand.

“Yeah, yeah, it’s looking good. Much better than before.”

The jaguar exhales in relief.

The others, perhaps relieved to hear what I have to say, begin to work again.

There are a lot of things I’d like to say, to tell you the truth, but…… well, I can’t just let them do Ortem carving all the time.

It would be nice if they could get a minimum level.

“The only thing left to do is to fix the rough grooves, the slightly uneven surface, and…… the poor ratio between each part. The rest of it will be…… like this, I guess, and I’d like you to carve it with your soul or……”

As I said this, the group members around me dropped their wood carving knives from their hands.

“Well, that means we need to rebuild it…… Um, how long will we have to carve this……”

“For now, don’t worry, it’s only for the rest of the week. I’ve been carving since I was four years old, and I’ve been doing it now.”

“I, I need a break……”

“Eh…… but you’ll have to pick up the pace more or you’ll miss your schedule …… and I’ll feel bad for Lark if that happens ……”

The improvement of the alchemy division’s magic techniques is the foundation of my planned territory reform.

As long as I can clear this place, the rest will be mostly smooth, and conversely, if I get stuck here, I’ll be significantly behind schedule.

That said, …… it’s going to take more time than I thought.

I need them to get used to carving Ortem a bit more, or I won’t be able to talk straight.

I’m more of a feel-good guy, and that’s partly because I can get the hang of it.

It’s not really worth it for me to be a direct instructor at this stage.

“I, I’m sure Lark-sama isn’t in that much of a hurry either.”

“………… Well, I’ll be honest with you, it’s just that I need to hurry up.”

“You just said you’re honest feelings, didn’t you!?”

“I asked Lark if it was better to be early, and he said, well, I guess so……”

“That’s what I’d tell you if you asked me that!”

…… In any case, I think there’s a big difference in consciousness, or rather in orientation.

Come to think of it, even when I was teaching Shibi, and when I was forcing Giselle and cramming skills into her, her magic skills didn’t improve much after all.

Am I not cut out for teaching?

Gizel took my intentions as much as I taught her and sustained and trained her, so it was working out well.

“Speaking of which, where’s Deputy Commander Rinoa? I don’t see her?”

“I haven’t seen it at all either……”

“Did she happen to be seriously injured during the spirit animal riot?”

The other members of the group nodded their heads when Jaguar said it.

“…… Um, I have been having my alchemy fabricated magic metal being processed. While observing the production process, I found out a lot of things that need to be improved, so I thought if I didn’t ask them to remake it, it would take a lot of time… Ahhh, but! I had them hurry it up, so I think she would be able to come to visit soon……”

“…………”

The members of the group all looked at me with straight faces.

“If you think about it calmly, this guy is even more of an alchemist’s personal property than Icarus, right?” is what their eyes are trying to say.

“Tha-, that’s right…… the-, there’s no point in rushing around…… and I’m sure everyone is tired…… so we should take a break. Right? Right? “

As I said this, the group members put their wood carving knives on the spot and began to clatter down.

“Wha-, what’s going on?”

“I can’t concentrate…… I get a weird headache……”

One of the members of the group said with a small shake of his head while remaining in a back position.

“Concentration is one of the most important factors in the exercise of magic, so the fact that you won’t be able to hold it right away means that’s your weakness.”

“Right away……? Is it half a day from early morning……?”

“But the fact that it’s hard right now is proof that it’s growing, so if it continues that way……”

“continue this state……?”

…… I might need to rethink my plans for a bit.

“Commander…… I’m already-, can I go home now for today? I think this…… is maybe my limit……”

Another member of the group opens his mouth.

“Well, …… anyway, we’re going to take a long break now, so I hope you’ll think about it then……”

“Abel, Abellll! Lark-san says he’s going to start organizing the art that he mentioned before! Let’s take a quick peek!”

Mea came rushing in from the direction of Lark’s mansion and called me out loud.

Since trade between the Fage territory and other territories was being revived, the previous lords of Lark were talking about selling off some of the artworks that the previous lords of Lark had collected as a hobby and applying them to reconstruction.

The truth is that this was supposed to have been done a few days ago, but the commotion that Marias caused made it impossible to do so, so it was delayed, and it must have been entangled today.

I wasn’t really interested in it, but Mea wanted to see it, so I agreed to accompany her.

“Ah…… The-, then, that’s how it is…… so I’m going to go check it out.”

Amidst the disquieting atmosphere, I decided to leave for now.

“But for those who have the extra energy, I’d appreciate it if you’d carve it on your own while I’m gone……”

“Um…… Mea thinks it’s time to break it up for today.”

Seeing the corpse-like state of the group members, Mea uttered a small sigh.

“…… I knew it was so? Then we’ll break up today and let you rest for tomorrow, and then you can review the rest on your own……”

As I said it, the fallen members of the group raised their upper bodies.

“Yes!”

“Thank you, thank you, Mea-san! Um, it would be helpful if you could show up here again next time……”

“When we told them, he didn’t listen to us at all……”

The members of the group begin to bow to Mea with a pecking order.

Some of them even began to shed tears.

“W-wait, please raise your heads a bit! A-, Abel, what did you do!?”

…… I, I didn’t mean to be that strict, but …… I guess I really should rethink my plan.

For now, I’m going to consult with Lark when I visit the artworks.