Chapter 438: End of the Trip ④
“And so, I return to my original intention.”
The one who said this while sighing in a good mood and spinning a pen was Izumo.
This man, who enjoyed glaring at a map of the magic constructions of Tsige in his last day, had returned to the Weitz Orphanage when it was nightfall.
That expression of his seemed to be half from a sense of achievement, and half vexation that he wanted one more week.
If Izumo had a step tracker application, he would have gone over 10,000 steps. But with his body trained by the classes of Raidou despite being mainly a mage, he didn’t feel exhaustion on his legs.
It is a plain achievement.
He must have blended completely with the place already. He would exchange cheerful words with the orphans, and he began to enjoy without rest the Weitz Orphanage that was his original intention.
For Izumo, this is the number one place he would like to live in.
It didn’t matter at all the fact that it is an orphanage or that he would get work pushed onto him.
There’s no way a world legacy geek would have any complaints about staying in a world legacy.
“This defense mechanism that utilizes this magic power tree is amazing too. Not only earthquakes which are the natural enemy of buildings, but it might even be able to protect the place from a direct hit of ritual magic…” (Izumo)
Izumo speaks to himself while looking at the big wide dark green leaves crawling the walls.
He wasn’t looking for someone’s response, he simply monologues in deep emotion.
After that, he checked out the way to assemble the partitions inside, the water field, and the features of the workplace. He was moved by every single thing and memoing memoing and memoing.
There’s no doubt it is the behaviour of a weirdo, but the orphans and employees have already seen the eccentric behavior of Izumo for several days.
In other words, they are already used to this sight.
“…Beautiful.” (Izumo)
Finally, Izumo puts a hand on the wall and closes his eyes.
He was enjoying the sensation of the wall that transmitted to his hand.
The certainly beautiful wall that was made possible with mud and the work of a plasterer that created the peculiar finishing touches.
That thing that was left there on the playfulness of the eldwas had piqued the interest of the children, but it most of all shocked Izumo silly.
These earthen and clay walls that are painted differently according to their respective floors, the mortar coating, and many other varied techniques gave entertainment to the eye.
This work scenery was not within the video that was given to Izumo, so he witnessed this technique on the first day of staying in this place by surprise, and was shocked by it.
The sight of many eldwas doing elaborate work on a race against time could be visibly understood that it had worth in watching, and it was mesmerizing.
It is a performance where the orphans would go ‘Woah!’ and it would end with just that though.
“And the finisher is this…elevator.” (Izumo)
Izumo went inside and pointlessly activated the elevator that goes up and down by using your own magic power.
Because of the use of magic power, it makes you a bit dizzy coupled with the sensation of the elevator, and yet, Izumo himself was ecstatic.
“The idea of using what seems like a gimmick of a dungeon into a dwelling; what a flexible way of thinking.” (Izumo)
Should he be impressed by how differently their eyes are as craftsmen, or should he be in wonder at how their brains can turn in such a well manner?
“It is an unbelievable device that could make multistoried buildings feasible depending on the way it is used…” (Izumo)
You can make a tall building with earth magic if you want to.
Be it 10 floors or even 20 floors.
But even if they were to make something like that, it would just increase the hassle of carrying things up there, so it was impractical, and was thought of as pointless.
Even Izumo thought so.
Until he came to Tsige on this school trip and saw this.
“Tsige, huh. If it is here, it might be possible…to dig a tunnel to Lorel.” (Izumo)
It will no doubt create a big wave for Lorel.
Izumo takes the distance of Lorel and Tsige decreasing as a good change, and was thinking that the southern regions should have influence as well.
He was thinking this while going up and down pointlessly in the elevator.
“Hey.”
“?!?!”
The sudden short call that came from his back made him literally jump.
The elevator isn’t that spacious.
While it is going up and down, it is an enclosed space, and Izumo had gone in alone.
In other words, it should be impossible to be spoken to.
But a voice certainly rang.
Izumo looked back.
There was no one.
He looks up and down.
There it was.
A small person he knows was there.
“You have been reported by the kindergartners, you idiot. The sin being: ‘It is unfair that the academy onii-chan is the only one playing with the elevator’.”
“E-Eris-san.”
“That’s right. The one always getting more work added because of you -that Eris-san!!” (Eris)
The brown skin Forest Oni girl, Eris, didn’t hide her displeasure and directed her short staff at Izumo.
“H-How did you get here?” (Izumo)
“Teleport.” (Eris)
“Teleport, huh.” (Izumo)
“That’s the only way to get here when there’s an idiot shut in going up and down. You should leave that to amusement parks, geez.” (Eris)
“Amusement parks…?” (Izumo)
“…No, it is fine to not know. It is just a pain. Anyways, get off already. If you don’t, I will call Grount-obachan.” (Eris)
“I-I will get off at once!!” (Izumo)
The training with the Superior Dragon, Grount, which he was dragged into and forced to take.
The heat and pain of having sand grinding on his body was something that Izumo won’t forget for the rest of his life. His face went pale just remembering that.
And most of all, confronting the girl that’s going oba-chan this and oba-chan that was out of the question.
For Grount, as long as you don’t die, it is fine, but for Izumo and the others, that’s not the case.
Just how many times were they made to spontaneously think ‘so you can go to hell even when alive, huh’.
Izumo was more like an extra in the training and was dragged by Daena, who was the one that caused the trouble, and Misura, who was originally planned to receive all of this. ‘If not for that, I would have been able to check out more buildings’, is what he felt with tears welling up.
And the name that brings back that reaction from him is Grount.
The door of the elevator opened at the 1st floor, and the two went out to the hallway.
The two were welcomed by small fiends -orphans- that had their eyes swirling in excitement and the both of them were caught up in the chaos.
“…Even though I am hungry here.” (Eris)
“…I-I’m sorry.” (Izumo)
Eris was dragged into this too.
She couldn’t just shoot out magic onto the children of the Weitz Orphanage to shut them up, so she had no choice but to wait for a while with veins popping, getting all smothered, until the children got bored.
Izumo could only apologize to the curses that came out from Eris after finally being released.
“Really, haha. Those children don’t know fear, right? Hahaha.” (Izumo)
“If it weren’t this place, I would have sent several of them flying…!” (Eris)
“Eris-san really is good at making jokes.” (Izumo)
“Hmph, it is because you were playing around with a mere elevator. Reflect about it.” (Eris)
“…! It is not just me. I am sure all other craftsmen in this path would end up like me!” (Izumo)
Izumo objects to the words of Eris.
It is rare.
But Izumo evaluates the future construction potential of the Weitz Orphanage pretty highly.
That’s why he stood ground about the fact that it is something of worth despite being scared.
“Since when did you become a carpenter? You are a ruler, aren’t you, Izumo?” (Eris)
“! T-That’s true, but…” (Izumo)
“Playing around with the elevator and the walls; you really are a building geek.” (Eris)
“No, excuse me for speaking out of line here, but Tsige really is amazing. That smoothly flat and laid out path, I have never seen it anywhere else. You said carpenter, but even they are built differently. It is my first time seeing craftsmen making detailed arguments after seeing construction blueprints.” (Izumo)
“? They did so too in Rotsgard.” (Eris)
“It is of a different variety. This one is absurdly precise. Even if you call them craftsmen, it is mostly just a few people with Skills drawing the blueprint, and they would normally give orders to the ones below regarding the materials and such. Here, even if they don’t have a Skill User, they can draw the blueprint by hand, you know?!” (Izumo)
“? Of course they can.” (Eris)
“You normally can’t. Blueprints are done by Skill Users! Even the merchants, aside from the exams, stuff like stocking, product accounting, inventory and management, Skill Users are all in charge of those or it wouldn’t be practical. Of course, if it is just a small store, there might be people who can manage doing it themselves, but…!” (Izumo)
“Possible.” (Eris)
“Right? The more specialized it becomes, the more fundamental it is to choose someone with the Job for it. I can’t rely on my Job for those areas, so I gave up on blueprints and decided on practicality and observa—hm? Eris-san?” (Izumo)
Eris was pointing at Izumo with cold eyes.
Izumo didn’t understand the meaning of this and stopped what he was saying.
“So in your eyes, what, do I look like I am someone who has a merchant type of Job?” (Eris)
“No way. You are without doubt a mage, right, Eris-san? Maybe an archmage? Or a gray sorcerer?” (Izumo)
“Are you saying those Jobs have Skills for customer service?” (Eris)
“They don’t. What are you trying to get at for a while now?” (Izumo)
“It means that even without Skills, you can do the stocking, inventory, and customer accounting, Izumo boy.” (Eris)
“! No, that’s because you get used to the job—” (Izumo)
“Good grief. Just ask Jin and Amelia. They are also doing the maths inside their head, and they also don’t use Skills when sorting the shelves. Who is the one that decided that you can’t get into the domain of specialization without Skills? In terms of Job, I have no Job.” (Eris)
Eris raised both hands and shrugged her shoulders.
On the other hand, Izumo opened his eyes wide.
“…Eh?” (Izumo)
“The same goes for the craftsmen of Tsige. You said their discussions sounded high level, but I think the Jobs of half of those guys are combat Jobs.” (Eris)
“…No way.” (Izumo)
“Yes way. That they were having complicated talks about blueprints and techniques means that they have simply studied. Too bad.” (Eris)
“?”
“Even though you should have been thrown about plenty with the lectures of Waka and Shiki-sama, it seems you are still all stiff and jammed into your common sense for your important dream.” (Eris)
“!”
“Why do you study the building materials and the construction of the city yet assume you can’t do calculations and blueprints? So shallow.” (Eris)
“Are you saying you can obtain that detailed field by studying? No, that it can be done?” (Izumo)
“That goes the same for magic, right? Unless you are Waka, you will take a lifetime to develop and improve magic. You are also a combat type, right? Then, why did you begin tinkering with your arias instead of leaving it to the research type Jobs?” (Eris)
“!!”
“Man, being half-assedly superior makes your peripherals narrow. No wonder you play around with elevators.” (Eris)
“Uh.” (Izumo)
Even when messing around, Izumo felt that he was taught something important here.
It is mostly because of the poisonous tongue…no, silver tongue of Eris, but it is true that -at some point in time- Izumo has been conveniently separating the fields of Skills and those that aren’t as he thought about things.
Rather than himself, it is more like he got involved in the construction field of Rotsgard, and ended up absorbing the values of the workers that he got acquainted with just as they are.
In a sense, it couldn’t be helped.
But Eris called him pathetic because, despite having received the lectures of Raidou, he was still in his bubble of common sense.
“And so, Izumo, before going back, you need to give back something as a token of apology to your life senpai. Come with me for a bit. Imma empty that wallet of yours.” (Eris)
“At least spare me with only half, Senpai…” (Izumo)
“Gotta get snacks for the children too, right, Academy Onii-san?” (Eris)
“G-Got it, uuuh…” (Izumo)
They went to the favourite store of Eris, and also bought refreshments for the children of the orphanage.
It swallowed the wallet of Izumo and turned his spare money into zero.
Izumo was in tears, but he is the one who left the best impression among the school trip group of the Rotsgard Academy, and he still doesn’t know that this would serve as a big plus for him in his future.
Also, Eris may have muttered under her breath: ‘You better be thankful’.