Volume 3 Chapter 4 Well, Even Elves Live in Wooden Houses
As the season turned to spring, the hustle and bustle of people became more intense, which may have caused the merchant guild to be more crowded than before.
It seems they have increased the number of reception staff, but the line of people awaiting applications and other requests showed no signs of breaking.
"...Well, it seems that the town has revitalized like it did before, which is probably a good thing."
"I suppose so."
While standing in line at the reception, I was casually chatting with Lene as we looked around the merchant guild.
Being taller than most people, I could see over the crowd, but Mr. Thor was nowhere to be found.
Has he passed by without me noticing?
"Oh!? Is that you, Mr. Ryuuji and Ms. Lene? Did you come all the way here on purpose?"
Just as I was thinking this, Mr. Thor, who seemed busy running around with papers in his arms, spotted us.
Being tall is certainly convenient at times like this.
"Lana said you came a little earlier, so I apologize for not being able to attend to you."
"Not at all, don't worry about it! I certainly don't have the courage to cut in line with all those people!"
Though I bowed my head, Mr. Thor responded with a wry smile as he furrowed his brow.
Naturally, I can understand that.
Even though we made our way from the center of town to the outskirts, we were dealing with Her Highness the Princess after all.
It was only natural that we would have to come back another time.
"You don't need to wait in line; please go ahead and wait over there. I'll be with you shortly!"
Saying this, Mr. Thor pointed towards the reception area and dashed off while still holding the papers.
What a whirlwind of activity it is.
* * *
"I apologize for the wait. I finally have some time to breathe after a hectic day."
After Lene and I had moved to the reception area, it had been ten minutes before Mr. Thor finally arrived.
It's a bit of a pause, but one could argue that attending to us is part of the job.
"You seem busy. Is it due to the increase in overseas transactions?"
"Yes, indeed. I believe the substantial increase in our regular shipping routes this spring has made a significant impact."
Lene's guess was apparently not far off.
Still, they have really increased it 3fold.
One can see the earnestness of Lord Reichner and the merchant guild.
"No wonder the merchant guild has also become so lively."
"While it's a happy dilemma... the reality is we are short on staff. We have been advertising for help due to the influx of newcomers, but they aren't immediately productive, so we are in a bit of a bind."
Mr. Thor lets out a small sigh, responding to my carefree comments.
Well, it's not like rookies can just jump right into the work.
Right now, part of the seasoned staff is occupied training the new recruits, which must mean the number of available personnel has dwindled, making it challenging to manage operations.
However, if we don't let new people in, it will become even more disastrous later on.
"So, what was the purpose of your visit earlier?"
Knowing Mr. Thor is likely busy, Lene quickly transitioned to that question.
The fact that he came all the way to the workshop suggests that it probably isn't about the daily requests.
I would be thrilled if it were a large order.
"Ah, let me explain right away... Do you remember the new ship we successfully completed last year with your cooperation?"
"Of course, there's no way I could forget that."
Mr. Thor's new ship is what he's talking about.
It was built around last September, a collaboration between me and Lene── the 〈Magic Stone of Featherweight〉── that we used to increase its load-bearing capacity.
...well, it got destroyed by the Dark Mage Adiliana once.
This 〈Magic Stone of Featherweight〉 is a magic stone that was created using materials Lene made with alchemy and imbued with power.
We, along with similar magic stones created in the same way, such as the 〈Magic Stone of Great Absolute〉, call these special magic stones "refined magic stones."
We're also trying out a few other refined magic stones, but alchemy really opens up a lot of possibilities.
I'm truly glad I have Lene as my partner.
She's my wife now too.
"So, about that new ship... I think the design aiming for a larger size is almost complete."
"Hmm. How much bigger are we talking?"
I lean in close to Mr. Thor, who has lowered his voice.
If the ship gets bigger, it can carry a lot more things, that's just common sense.
This is a pretty interesting story.
But, the new ship we built last year is already pretty big.
It's hard to imagine anything even bigger than that.
"Get ready to be surprised. We're aiming for a length of 50 meters."
"........."
Mr. Thor, full of confidence, leaves me and Lene speechless.
Looks like my earlier prediction was way off.
There's no way I could have imagined something this big.
We both fall silent.
"...Being that big, it must be difficult to build, but the benefits of the 〈Magic Stone of Featherweight〉 must be huge, too."
As Lene said, the 〈Magic Stone of Featherweight〉 has the power to roughly halve the weight of a ship's cargo.
It's not subtraction (reduction), but division, so the heavier the ship, the greater the benefit.
"In that case, is this job to deliver the 〈Magic Stone of Featherweight〉?"
To my question, Mr. Thor said, "That's part of it..." while glancing at Lene for some reason, and looking uncomfortable.
Mr. Thor's got a mind of his own, so it's probably not something like trying to dust his wife.
What could it be?
"Well..., Actually, to build the ship, we need a lot of lumber.... We were wondering if you could help us with the logging..."
...I see.
Now I understand what he meant.
Lene is an elf, after all.
I suppose he thought she might react negatively to the word "logging."
"I understand. Don't worry, I'm not really interested in that sort of thing, and I'm aware that I'm an unusual elf, but even a normal elf wouldn't mind as long as they don't cut down too many trees. It's also not good to leave them standing too long, isn't it?"
"Is that so?"
"That's right."
Lene smiles reassuringly at Mr. Thor, who seems worried.
Well, if we worried about everything, we wouldn't be able to live in wooden houses like this.
So, Lene and I went to the logging site, which was a little walk from town, to hear what was going on there.
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