Volume 4 Chapter 5.1
Translator: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
「Wadda we goin’ to do?」
As they finished their breakfast, Haruna and others told Hiroshi about what was happening with the mining union. To this information, he thought through both sides of the argument and commented. The solution was not looking good for either side.
「Is there something wrong?」
Tatsuya asked as he saw Hiroshi groan over the document he was given yesterday while drinking coffee. The girls have gone off to take a quick bath after breakfast as they were still self-conscious about the smell of gas which has rubbed onto them from yesterday’s dungeon run.
「I feel like we can narrow down the candidates on the minin’ union end.」
「Why do you say that?」
「Most o’ the areas t’ would be ideal for installin’ the new blast furnace is overlappin’ with residential areas.」
「I see…」
Even though they are mostly mining towns, having a steel mill near a residential area is not ideal for both the miners and the residents. It was given that people living near the steel mill would face issues with water and construction noises.
「Do you think we can do something about it with the rights that some of the mines have?」
「I doubt ‘t.」
Since they are dealing with mining towns, a word from Crest Cave wouldn’t be completely useless. However, there are limits to what the mining union’s rights can do. Buying off the land and kicking out the current residents would be passed that limit. It’s also morally unacceptable to forcefully suppress the opinions of the current resident just to build a new blast furnace.
「Are there any steel mill along any of those lands?」
「Welp, dere are some but that’s where the problem is.」
「A problem?」
「We’re makin’ the furnace with the union’s money so the problem is who’s furnace are we breakin’ apart to build our own? 」
「Oh~…」
Tatsuya agreed to Hiroshi’s explanation. No matter the solution, this will cause some conflict.
「I see how that’s an issue for the mining union but I still don’t see how that’s connected to the issue you’re trying to figure out?」
「The minin’ union asked me to recommend an area t’ would be ideal for tis project.」
「Well that’s…」
「If I can, I really don’ wanna make any comments on these kinda issues but wadda ya think?」
Tatsuya also groaned over Hiroshi’s very understandable problem. The mining union will most likely make their own decision if their party were to never give their recommendations. However, if there were to do nothing about it, nobody knows how long this project will be post-pone. That was the very problem which they were trying to solve.
「n’ I doubt that I can jist refuse the offer n’ join the investigation ya’ll doin’ so I really don’ know what to do ‘bout this.」
「Oh~ I see.」
「I mean, thinkin’ ‘bout it realistically, our jobs are practically done.」
Tatsuya was currently working on Aquabreath suitability examination. All the request which has been listed under this job has been completed. Indeed they have yet to investigate the last area. However, they have proven that as long as they are not being careless, the other two areas are safe to go through. Since the request only asks to determine if aquabreath can be used as a method of managing poisonous gas, if they could get through at least one area safely, they have done their job.
Since they don’t know the exact size of the dungeon, they didn’t know what kind of landforms or traps there would be. It was likely that in some areas one aquabreath would not be enough to manage the obstacles there. But even if there are a couple of areas like that, it would not be a huge problem. Even if Haruna’s group couldn’t get through all of the dungeons, as long as there is one path which someone could get through safely, the job was considered done.
「If they said we hafta use aquabreath than I could think o’ couple o’ items that we could remove. But t’ isn’t the case this time ‘round.」
「Yeah, I don’t think there would be any problem.」
「Ya, so I didn’ think t’ would be a good ‘nough excuse for me to refuse their offer.」
「Yeah, I get your point.」
As Tatsuya listened to the situation which Hiroshi was troubling over, he could not help it but agree with Hiroshi. Even Tatsuya’s group could say that there was no real need for them to go into that dungeon. Investigating another area wouldn’t increase their overall reward either.
「This is really troublesome. By the way, while we’re at it, should we all go and take a look at the Feng Shui?」
「I appreciate the help but are ya sure?」
「Well to be honest, if there’s another fall trap, it’s kind of burdensome to get back up without you in the group.」
「True dat.」
Hearing the burden of dealing with fall trap, Hiroshi agreed with Tatsuya request. Dealing with that trap was really troublesome.
「Welp, once we finish eatin’ let’s go n’ take a look.」
「Cool, the girls seem to have come out of bath do I’ll go and tell them.」
「Thank ya.」
As Tatsuya heard the bathroom door open, he got up and left. He did not want to send a guy with gynophobia to a group of girls who have just gotten out of the bath.
「I wonder where we should go n’ take a look first.」
This wasn’t a decision which they could make lightly. Any careless move could be fatal to them and the union. As Hiroshi heard Tatsuya’s footsteps leave the room, he looked at the map in his hand and thought of a way to get there.
==
An uncomfortable atmosphere wrapped around the blacksmith town as usual.
「I feel like everyone’s guard is higher than usual…」
「Ya, somethin’s not ‘ight.」
Haruna commented as she noticed that the atmosphere was more hostile than usual. Hiroshi narrowed his eyes and agreed. Tatsuya, Makoto and Mio also had their guards up. They continued walking through the town, taking a stance so that they could defend themselves from any unsuspecting attacks. From their daily activities, it is easy to forget that they are adventurers. But in times like this, their response to the change in atmosphere that they noticed shows how much they have grown as adventurers.
「I’m guessin’ that’s the cause….」
「Yeah, I think so too …」
It’s been a couple of minutes since they started to head towards where the shouting was coming from. They finally reached the centre of the uproar which was at an area away from blacksmith town, the central town of Crest Cave and from any mines or roads.
The uproar seems to be a conflict between two groups. They were only yelling at each other for now, but they were only seconds away from breaking into a physical fight. One group of people looked like workers at the Crest Cave. Most of them were dwarves and seemed stronger compared to the other group. The other group looked like a group of social rejects and were not decently dressed. They also seemed weaker than soldiers and adventurers but were equipped with weapons.
The group of rejects seemed to mostly consist of dwarves as well. However, they were wearing distasteful clothes with flashy design and had a build that did not resemble a typical dwarf. It was unlikely that they worked as tradesmen or in a battle-related job. In any stories, they would be portrayed as villains.
「Welp, by the looks of it, ‘t seems like the most cliched scenario but wadda ya think we should do?」
「We should hear out both sides of the story before making any decisions but I’m guessing that those tiny villainy-looking guys are after some kind of deal.」
「I’m against judging people based on their appearance but the fact that they brought along weapons and a group of rejects is already a pretty bad look.」
The third part impression on this situation all seemed to be very similar. If they were to show this scene to 100 people, 90 people would most likely make the same judgement as well. That is how clear the situation was on the surface.
「Sensei, how about you ask them what is happening?」
「Ya, nothin’s goin’ to change by just standin’ ’round.」
Hearing Mio’s suggestion, Hiroshi looked around to see if there were any dwarves that he was acquainted with. In a situation like this, if he went up to a dwarf which he didn’t know, it was likely that he would get dragged into the uproar.
「Old man, old man, what’s goin’ on?」
「Hm? Oh, it’s you.」
As Hiroshi asked, one of the dwarves who was about to break out into a fight held back his temper and responded. He was one of the dwarves who represented the area and the two has seen each other around at the mining union.
「’t seems purty bad but what happened?」
「Oh, that reject, Garzo came to pick a fight with Kakashi. They’re forcefully pushing their point through so we’re here resisting against them.」
Turns out the situation was exactly what everyone else has imagined it to be. However, that did not mean that the other party could have their own reason for the way they are acting. They still didn’t have enough information on the situation to make any decisions yet.
「What’s the point their tryina to push through?」
「They’re saying that they caught Kakashi selling fraud items. So they’re requesting him to pay for the damage.」
「Welp that’s…」
「What’s even more troubling is that I don’t know where they got their hands on it but apparently they have a formal testimony.」
「Welp…」
Hiroshi lost his words to the childish method the other party was using. The uproar and stupidity is one thing. But the fact that they managed to progress the situation like this was making his head hurt the most.
「I dunno who made that testimony but they’re definitely tryina pick a fight with the minin’ union…」
「Exactly, so that’s why we’re here.」
Hiroshi sighed at the troublesome situation which was taking place in front of him. From what this dwarf is saying and from all the arguments that have been yelled back and force, the testimony does sound official. However, the whole situation seems to have been making progress without Kakashi being directly involved in the matter. If that is the case, an objection can be submitted to the court, making the other party’s statement invalid and thorough investigation can be done on the situation. Although Forre isn’t like the previous Farlane where its legal system was controlled by the strict set of law, they still had a decent enough legal system.
So, the other group tried to get the conversation done and over with by bringing up this so-called “solid proof” resulting in this idiotic and violent method.
「I git the over-all situation. So how good is this Kakashi’s works?」
「For a dwarf, he’s skinny and tall and looks unreliable but his works ain’t bad. Like his appearance, he doesn’t have much stamina or magic for a dwarf craftsman. So, he can’t smelt things like magical steel. But to make up for that, any metal items he has crafted are fine quality. Looking at his skill sets and the number of items he has crafted, I doubt about him crafting close to hundred fraud items.」
「Gotcha.」
As the situation became more cliched, Hiroshi’s headache worsened. Looking at the building which Hiroshi assumed to be Kakashi’s workshop, it was a lot smaller compared to an average workshop. When it came to workshops like this, they would use materials that would minimize their cost. So, it was unlikely that they kept any records of where they imported their materials. When it came to craftsmen, the tax system in this universe was very mild. For independently owned workshops, the sales rate was irrelevant. Most of the time, the registration fees are treated as their tax. So, many workshops didn’t keep their records of material importation. But even if they did keep the records of their materials, it was unlikely that the other group would accept it as legal proof.
「Garzo has a lot of criminal records so if the police force or the mining union has an intervention, we can win. But from those criminal records, it seems that Garzo only learnt how to cause more trouble…」
「Welp wadda troublesome fella.」
To the dwarf’s words, Hiroshi gave a deep sigh. To be blunt, this wasn’t the kind of issue which Hiroshi should get involved in. He and his party have nothing to do with the issue and they are not employees at the mining union either. Although this may sound cold, these kinds of conflicts are common in towns like this. If they were to get themselves involved in the matter every time a conflict like this happened, it would be endless.
However, if they don’t do anything about it, they can’t do their work. The most troublesome part is that Hiroshi has noticed something. He realised that Kakashi’s workshop is located right where the two Feng Shui intersect. Due to this conflict, it is unlikely for Kakashi can continue working at this workshop. If that is the case, they could build the new blast furnace here and if possible, make it a relocation base for Azuma workshop.
「Haruna-san, Mio, can I ask the two of ya a favour?」
「What is it?」
「Tis a simple errand. Can ya bring the government official n’ the head o’ minin’ union here?」
「Okay, Mio-chan, let’s go.」
「hm.」
Hearing Hiroshi’s favour, Haruna quickly activated teleportation magic. The reason why Hiroshi asked Mio to go as well is that Haruna wasn’t acquainted with the union head. Tatsuya could have gone as well since he can use teleportation magic and was not acquainted with the union head. However, due to some circumstances, Haruna would be better at convincing the government officials. Also, if the situation gets worse, Haruna would use large scale magic like putting everyone to sleep. But with Tatsuya, he would just create a seclusion barrier between the two groups. So he can handle the situation less forcefully.
So, Hiroshi assigned the right role to the right people and decided to keep an eye on the incident from a third party’s perspective. The dwarf who told Hiroshi about what was happening heard that Haruna and Mio went to get the government official and the union head and told the two parties to hold back on any violent actions.
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