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The next morning.
Zirconia led Kazura and his team to an abandoned farm with wagons loaded with materials and craftsmen.
The farm is overgrown with grass and desolation all around, but the area is flat and suitable for building an ice pond.
All the stones in the soil have been removed, so it should be easy to dig up the soil.
The road to the river is flat, and with a water wheel it would be easy to draw water from it. We only need to dig a small drainage ditch towards the slope, so this is probably the best place to do it.
“This is a nice place. It’s a nice place, a little far from the surrounding trees, and if we build a fence, it will make it harder for the fallen leaves to get in.”
Kazura stole a glance at Zirconia’s face with a sideways glance as she answered.
Zirconia looked the same as usual, not that she looked particularly gloomy.
Last night, about half an hour after that, Zirconia finally came back.
After that, she went right into her own tent and apparently took her meals inside her tent.
Kazura and Liese were worried that she might be depressed or something, but it seems that their fears were unfounded.
”Well then, shall we get on with the work orders?
After saying this, Kazura began to explain the operating procedures to the craftsmen who were following him.
First of all, how to make mortar.
He demonstrated how to make the mortar in front of them and continued to explain the process, answering their questions in detail.
“Using a spatula, carefully apply the mortar like this to the finished mortar and flatten it. Lime is poisonous if inhaled, so be sure to wrap a cloth around your mouth as you work.”
“Is the lime you’re using in your materials to repel insects?”
“No, you mix the lime with sand and soil and knead it with water to create a mortar that hardens over time.”
‘If it rains, won’t the mortar melt and harden?’
“This mortar is a special kind of mortar that hardens well even in water. You can make a water-hardening mortar by mixing ceramic pieces. But if it’s raining like a downpour, the mortar will be bumpy with raindrops. If this happens, please stop the work. If it’s only a light rain, you can continue working.”
That’s how I finished explaining the mortar.
When ceramic pieces are mixed together, Kazura explained, a hydraulic mortar can be made, which is due to the effect of artificial pozzolans.
The soluble silica in the fired clay reacts with the calcium hydroxide in the lime mixed with water, causing a reaction called pozzolanic reaction.
This causes an air-hardening mortar, which is normally dried and hardened, to become a water-hardening mortar that also hardens in water.
It is similar to the ‘Roman Concrete’ used in ancient Rome.
It can also be made by mixing pumice stone, volcanic ash or volcanic soil.
Zirconia once told me that this mountainous region rarely yields obsidian, so if you look for it, you’ll probably find volcanic soil.
However, there is a large amount of pottery fragments discarded on the outskirts of Isteria, so they don’t have to search around in the mountains for it.
“Next is the filtration system, but make sure the stones and wood you use are cleaned up. If the materials are dirty, there’s no point in getting them clean.”
The filtration device is used here to remove small particles from the river water that the waterwheel sends out.
The first stage is a small removable filtration unit with a square wooden basket filled with cobblestones, and the second stage is a mortar filtration unit about the size of a bathtub.
The second stage of the filtration system will be made of large stones, cobble, gravel, and river sand, which will be laid down from below in order.
Zirconia and Liese listened to those explanations with a serious expression on their faces.
They then instructed them on the size of the ice pond and how deep to dig it, and finished explaining everything.
The ice pond will be a little over a meter deep, and the bottom and walls will be made of mortar.
It would take some time to excavate the ground and dry the mortar, so it would take some time to complete the work.
“Then you can begin your work. You’ll have to stay here for a while, so if you have any supplies you need, please let me know immediately.”
As Kazura said this, one of the craftsmen raised his hand.
“I heard there’s an abandoned village down the road, and you may demolish the buildings there and use them as firewood. Isn’t it?　I’d like to use pots, hoes, and other tools, if there are any left.”
‘No, that’s not…’
“I don’t mind. You’re welcome to use it”
When Kazura was about to softly decline, Zirconia, who was next to him, opened her mouth.
”Just be careful not to trample them and vandalize them, because there are a lot of graves over there. You know. If you are able to do it, take care of his grave, too.”
“Understood.”
The artisans bowed to Zirconia and called the workers, who were waiting at a remote location, together.
Soon after, the massive ice pond digging operation began.
That night.
In the mountains, a few kilometers from the camp where Kazura and his friends were spending the night, Valetta was there.
Valetta was sitting on her knees in front of the heaving, dome-shaped charcoal kiln, which was full of heat, and leaned over the boat.
Right next to her, on the mat, a village girl, who is always close to her, is lying on a cloak.
The charcoal kiln is a rounded, one-meter-and-a-half-tall kiln with a single smoke stack.
The upper part of the kiln was covered with a thick layer of earth and the entrance was framed with bricks.
All of the materials used for the charcoal kiln had been made by Valletta in cooperation with the villagers.
The bricks were made of clay obtained in the mountains, placed in a wooden mold, and hardened by sun-drying.
They were used to make the outer frame of the kiln, and the inside was lined with logs cut in the area.
Lime and sand from the village were mixed together to make a mortar, which was then mixed with mountain soil and kneaded together to make something called kamatsuchi.
The Kamatsuchi was beaten on top of a log and the whole surface was covered with it, and the kiln was beaten with a stick to tighten the soil.
The kiln was built about seven days ago, and a fire is now being built at the entrance of the kiln to speed up the drying process.
Thanks to the extremely dry air with no rain at all, the kiln will be able to dry out fairly quickly.
Just in case, the kiln is surrounded by pillars and a roof is attached to the kiln to protect it from rain.
Firewood brought from the village is piled up nearby, which will be used to burn the charcoal once the kiln dried.
Incidentally, this wood was cut into firewood size pieces that he had cut up some time ago for tax purposes in the village.
Since then, the wood has not been paid to the Isterie family for tax purposes, so the large amount of wood that was cut out is now being used in the village bit by bit.
“….hmmm…”
Valetta, who had been dozing off until then, suddenly woke up.
She felt a gaze behind her and vaguely turned her gaze in that direction while standing tall.
In the dark bushes, there was a wolf-like beast the size of an ox staring at her.
“Ah, it’s Uribow.”
His eyes met with the beast that was staring straight at her – Uribow – and Valretta thought in a daze.
And after a few seconds, she finally realized what she was up against, and a feeling of total hairiness swept over her entire body.
The Uribow out of the corner of his eye was the most enormous thing Valetta had ever seen.
He had shown me the carcass of an Uribow he had killed in the mountains a long time ago, but it was definitely more than two times larger than the one Roslou had killed.
He had been told that a fire would keep the Uribow away from him, but it didn’t seem to work with a fire large enough to be burning at the entrance to the charcoal kiln.
Valetta hurriedly stood up and gripped the hilt of the dagger she had inserted into her waist.
While gripping the hilt, she watched Uribow’s movements.
Since the opponent is a beast, he won’t be attacking me with feints and other irregularities.
If it was me right now, I could hopefully thrust a dagger into Uribow’s brain with a single strike.
However, if her stab was shallow, she would definitely not be able to finish with an injury.
Even if you fight, you’ll be risking your life, so I want you to walk away from this place if you can.
However, Valetta’s wishes were empty, and Uribow walked towards us.
He didn’t raise a snarl or anything like that, but kept his gaze on us quietly and slowly advanced.
It was really an imposing appearance.
When Valetta was ready, she drew her dagger and held it at the ready.
About five meters away, Uribow stopped walking and sat down.
“What are you doing?”
A voice that wasn’t my own echoed around the area.
“….What?”
Valetta’s eyes widened involuntarily at the unexpected event.
Scurrying around, she looked around, but all she saw was a dark forest, and of course there was no one there.
”What are you doing?”
Once again, the voice rang out.
Valetta froze, staring at Uribow in front of her.
Uribow opened his mouth.
“What are you doing?”
“We… We’re building a charcoal kiln.”
Valetta couldn’t help but respond to the words that had obviously come from Uribow’s mouth.
She had no idea what was going on, but she felt like she had to answer.
Instantly, my body stopped moving as if I was in a golden bind.
Oil sweat broke out all over my body at the sudden.
”It’s a very oddly shaped charcoal kiln.”
Uribow said, and turned his head to the right of Valetta.
“Why are there so many charcoal kilns?”
When Valetta moved her eyes only to look in that direction, she saw that nine more charcoal kilns were set up there.
From the entrance of each charcoal kiln, the light of the fire was leaking dimly.
“I’m going to make iron now, and I need a lot of charcoal to use for that.”
“How much do you need?”
“It’s going to take a lot.”
Valetta replied as she was asked.
She wasn’t aware that she was speaking, but her mouth was moving on its own.
“Is it so bad that you have to cut down every tree in the mountain?”
“I don’t know about that, but I’m sure we’re going to need a lot of trees. But we’re not going to cut down every tree in the mountains.”
“We cut down every tree and it’s random which tree we cut.”
“…Those guys?”
Not understanding the meaning of the words, Valetta asked back.
“Are you going to do the same with this mountain?”
Uribow didn’t answer it, but continued to ask the question.
No emotion could be read in his voice or expression.
”We don’t do that sort of thing,”
“You can say whatever you like about it.”
“We’re going to make sure we don’t cut out the entire mountain so it doesn’t turn into a bald mountain. We will also be planting trees in the areas where we cut down.”
“If you deplete the mountain, you’ll make it a hell of a lot worse for everyone.”
“Are you talking about floods and landslides?”
When Valetta asked him that, Uribow’s eyes narrowed.
He did not deny or affirm, but rose slowly from his spot.
“Do not cut down strong, hard wood. Unless you want to dry out and die. I will come back to ask you again in due course.”
With that, he turned on his heel and slowly walked towards the forest.
‘Wait!’
As he shouted this out loud, Valetta was left speechless by the sight that appeared before her.
There was only the fire burning at the entrance of the charcoal kiln swinging, and Uribow, who had been there earlier, was nowhere to be seen.
I was also sitting with my knees in my arms, and the dagger I should have pulled out was also inserted into my waist.
When I looked around hurriedly, I saw a village girl, startled by Valetta’s loud voice, waking up and looking at Valetta.
”W-what’s going on?　Suddenly, you’re yelling for me.
“Oh, no, now Uribow is…”
“What?”
Surprised by Valetta’s line, the village girl hurriedly got up and grabbed the short spear she had left beside her and looked around.
But there was nothing but a dark forest and Uribow was nowhere to be seen.
”I don’t see Uribow anywhere… but did you really see him?”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I must have fallen asleep. I must have been dreaming. I mean, he was talking.”
When Valetta said that, the village girl looked dumbfounded.
“Don’t scare me anymore. My sleepiness has gone somewhere else.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You don’t sleep much these days, do you?　I’m sure you’re tired. I’ll take charge of the fire and you can sleep until morning.”
“Well I’ll give you three hours.”
Valetta picked up an analog alarm clock that sat nearby and set the timer hand to three hours later.
It was the one Kazura had left for Valetta.
“’Maybe you should get more sleep?’”
“No, I’m fine. I’ll see you when you wake up, and we’ll switch in three hours?”
“Okay, okay.”
Valetta swapped places with the village girl and lay down on her mat.
(That was a big Uribow…)
He draped his cloak as a blanket over his body and closed his eyes.
Soon after, the sleepiness came.
(I need more animal tendons, too.)
Valetta fell asleep, wondering vaguely how many tendons had been removed from the Uribow in her dream.