First, I can't take on other cases without doing my original job.
Or rather, I can't move the army, so unless I free up the army's hands, I can't deal with the assassins.
In other words, what I need to do is the integration of Karuu and Wabiri.
And eliminating the reason for their mutual hostility was the top priority.
"Hey, what the hell are you doing!?"
Thinking that, I had been working diligently while trying to settle the disputes, and it had already been two months.
General Wageris, who should have been leading the reconciliation negotiations with the two villages that weren't progressing at all, came storming in.
"I should have gotten permission to build an investigation hut on the southern outskirts, right? It's troubling when you come at me with such a scary face."
"I certainly gave permission. But! What did you do to my Salvir!? You made equipment that lets people feel incredible using alchemy! What the hell is that supposed to mean!?"
"That sounds misleading! Why are you saying such terrible things!?"
The furious General Wageris and surprised me.
There, Werel let out a sigh.
"Ahh, I suppose I should have stopped her from returning like that after all."
"Disheveled hair, flushed cheeks, glistening skin. Had I been a man, I might have been justified in suspecting something indecent."
Even Ikut began using strange phrasing.
"But the one who went back all cheerful to tell the general was the squad leader's big sister."
Helkov said, turning his snout toward Céline, who had been unable to stop General Wageris and had followed along looking embarrassed.
"I-I'm terribly sorry. Due to my poor learning, I couldn't explain well and was left misunderstood..."
"Ah, yeah. I'd been thinking it was about time to report the investigation results anyway, so I'll explain what I've been doing as well. You can rest easy knowing I haven't been up to anything indecent."
General Wageris, having come this far in our association, assumed a posture to listen.
After all, we're the ones holding the information on the assassinations and the poison wind and whatnot.
He won't stop storming in and yelling at me, but when I pass near the building where General Wageris is, I often hear his voice, so I've come to think of speaking in a yell as his normal mode of operation.
"Shall I start by explaining the facilities? This hut we're in now is the place I built for investigations."
The hut itself is just something made by stacking stones from the mountain for a foundation and erecting pillars.
On top of that, the facilities battalion used tents to skillfully set up tent cloth so that it looks like walls and a roof.
Because there's no wood due to the altitude here, they brought materials used for encampments to build it.
"Hey, what's with these stones put in the water? Huh? The smell... is this oil?"
"Right. They react with humidity in the air, and they ignite when placed in water, so I'm preserving them in oil. It has nothing to do with the poison wind, but since you can only get it near volcanoes, it's quite a rare curiosity."
With his capybara face, I normally can't tell what he's thinking, but I can tell he's looking at me like I'm an incredibly strange person right now.
In fact, until I showed the aides the ignition caused by dropping water on it and triggering a chemical reaction, they were half-convinced.
It's probably due to the preconception that water extinguishes fire while oil ignites it.
"General Wageris, I reported the progress on the cause of the poison wind once before, but do you understand?"
"I've heard of mountains that spew poisonous smoke. That's what this place was, right?"
There seem to be other examples of volcanic gases in the Empire as well.
However, this time, I couldn't identify the specific harmful gas.
It was colorless, odorless, and heavier than air—carbon dioxide or carbon monoxide were the candidates—but perhaps the gas collection wasn't going well; when I put fire to it occasionally, it burns.
Which means, there's also a possibility that other gases are getting mixed in depending on the wind direction.
The simplest solution is to vent the accumulated volcanic gases.
Since this place is bowl-shaped, some construction is necessary.
"The solution is to dig holes in places lower than the White Road, connect them to the White Road, and temporarily vent the gas. Do expansion work before the poison accumulates, then another day of venting. I can't think of any other way to deal with it, and above all, if I started investigating wind direction now, no amount of time would be enough."
"Wind direction? That should be written in the military logs from sixty years ago."
"Huh? Where?"
When I raised my voice, Helkov pulled out a copy of the log and pointed to a target-like mark next to the weather.
"I would have told you if you'd asked. Wind direction is recorded every day for the sake of magic and archery, after all."
"You probably can't even do the estimates for that construction work, can you? I'll pass that to the engineers."
"Ah, in that case, before that, I'll verify the wind direction records from the crater and then report the precautions again."
Engineers assemble and operate weapons, but building positions through civil engineering work and making it easier for military columns to pass through is also their job.
Indeed, rather than worrying about it myself, having specialists look into it is more realistic.
"Then, next. I investigated the hot spring components as much as possible..."
"Wait, is this something I can understand by hearing it?"
"Huh, I wonder?"
When I looked at my aides, even Céline, who had explained it once, shook her head along with the others.
"Then it's fine. It'd be a problem if the hot springs the villagers are fighting over were actually poison."
"At worst, drinking too much might upset your stomach, or someone with a weak heart might get worse from drinking it, I suppose?"
Crude as ever, but perhaps it's true that General Wageris doesn't need to know every last detail from start to finish.
"Also, what I should report is probably how to utilize the heat and steam. This you need to see for yourself."
Saying that, I led him outside.
This location is relatively close to the crater, but wind direction and such have been taken into account, and gas doesn't accumulate here.
And wooden and metal pipes connect from the crater side to the hut.
"What's that?"
"I had to transport it here to make use of it, so I had it made in the imperial capital and brought it here."
"You... so that's why there was so much luggage."
What I had been transporting was nothing but alchemy-related tools.
Even those pipes use properly alchemy-made preservatives and sealing agents for the joints.
"First, making use of the steam. See this round stone pedestal? Steam is being sent underneath it."
The round, well-like pedestal has a wooden lid, and steam is billowing out from the gaps.
This is a cooking device seen in Japanese hot spring areas, and it's already been proven that steam cooking is possible with it.
"This is delicious! Amazing, this pot!"
General Wageris stuffed his cheeks with steamed carrots in an unprecedented good mood—apparently he's a vegetarian.
The temperature regulation still isn't working well, so it's really just plain steamed, though.
I want to recreate that thing where you do it all at once at higher temperatures.
"Next is an automatic device using steam. Right now I'm using this to crush stones."
The square device receives steam and simply shakes an attached basket left and right at fixed intervals.
It takes in steam to expand the air, then cools to contract all at once, moving heavy stones with ease, so the crushing principle is simply stones hitting each other.
If you made it perform more complex movements, it would become a steam locomotive—amazing.
Well, with my skills, it's a device large enough to comfortably fit two adults, and I can only get it to do this simple task.
"Then, next is the heat. The hot spring water here seems to have flowed naturally all the way to the village just by being exposed to the elements. It's a waste, so I've installed a device under the hut that gathers the heat in one place and circulates it."
I showed him the metal pipes going under the hut and guided him to that room.
When you have the memories of a Japanese person, you can't help but think of uses other than drinking.
"I can certainly feel the heat, but why is gravel laid out inside the room?"
It's no wonder General Wageris doesn't understand.
Because this is a hot stone bath facility.
I just picked up stones from the volcano that probably have beneficial effects, crushed them and rounded the edges with the external steam machine, and arranged them.
Since I don't have the technology to carve out a stone bed, it's a simple setup where you lay a cloth over the gravel and just lie down.
And this was precisely the reason Céline had been suspected of something indecent.
"Well, try it out. There are four spots. Perfect, since there's General Wageris and three subordinates. Céline, teach them how to use it."
"Yes, leave it to me!"
"Hey! What the hell is this thing after all!?"
"It's all right! At first you won't be able to calm down, but once you let the strength leave your body, it's supreme pleasure!"
Leaving behind the noisy General Wageris and Céline with her strange phrasing, we exit the hot stone bath room.
Then, after waiting for about an hour, I was in the investigation room exploring effective methods for extracting sulfur.
The book says to install a stone chimney at the crater's vent and collect what adheres to the stones, but considerable length is required to lower the temperature naturally.
"Um."
There, Céline arrived with a troubled expression.
"What's wrong? I thought I told you to call them because they might feel sick if they don't come out soon."
"The thing is, they said it feels so good they don't want to come out."
A tantrum? Of all things?
And behind Céline were the three subordinates, which means the one throwing a tantrum is General Wageris!?
In my mind, the image of a capybara soaking in a hot spring from my previous life comes back to me.
"To tell the truth, I recommended it because I wanted you to experience the sensation of your body's stiffness loosening, since you were exhausted from consecutive days of meetings for the integration, but I never imagined you would go so far as to say you didn't want to leave."
Céline too seemed deeply troubled.
"Sheesh, what are you doing?"
I had inadvertently said the exact same thing General Wageris had when he came storming in.
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Next: How to Use Alchemy 2