BXBX NOVEL Chapter 104
Chapter 104 Dense Fog
November 9, 2020oniichan69
TN: I had issue with the category when I was posting this so it got categorized under the wrong novel...
Upon his return to Japan, Kazura met with the director of a construction company in the conference corner .
「There was a stack of construction plans printed on A3 paper on the table . 」
As I told you last time, this work will be treated as a pre-renovation before the main renovation .
The main renovation will be carried out after next year’s rainy season and will be divided into different districts .
「He explained how to read the drawings and then began to explain the general outline of the construction . 」
「The drawing was called a red-yellow drawing, with the areas drawn in red being the renovation area and the areas drawn in yellow being the removal area and color-coded . 」
「This part of the old river over here looks unnaturally wide open, doesn’t it? Due to the rising water, the land that should have been there is sifting and collapsed, and the soil has been scraped away to the back of the river and the river has widened . 」
「Mm-hmm . Hey . What does “sifting” mean?」
「It’s that the embankments are being chipped away by the water flow . It’s being reinforced, but if it doesn’t, it’s going to fail from here again . So, to deal with this part of the embankment, we need to rebuild the whole thing from the upstream retaining wall...」
「What’s a ‘retaining wall’?」
「It’s the wall that keeps the slope of the river from being chipped away... Well, I should have included those terms in the appendix . 」
What is this, the director scratch his head .
「I’m sorry I didn’t learn anything」
「No, we were originally talking about making a plan so that people from thousands of years ago could understand it . I should have been more careful . I’ll be more careful with the plans for this renovation . 」
While having such an exchange, the plan was explained to me for several hours .
After the meeting for the main renovation part, Kazura received the envelope containing the preliminary renovation plan and stood up from his seat .
The board members seemed to be in a good mood from start to finish, saying things like, ‘Why don’t we pull an aqueduct from the mountains and build a fountain? He even jokingly said something like, “I don’t know,” in-between explanations .
For him, it must be a fun and easy job, where he can tweak the content of the book as he pleases and gets paid for it .
「Thanks for the explanation . Now we’ll be ready for the rainy season . 」
「I’m glad you’re happy with it . I hadn’t learned to use a wooden bullock in school before, but I never thought I’d have to use it at work . You have to learn everything . 」
The director looks satisfied with his work .
Holy Cow(Funagata Mansion), is a device installed in the riverbed to dampen the force of the water .
It consists of a bundle of logs with a stone on top of them, and could easily be made by Isteria .
「Well then, I’ll be back when the plans for this renovation are finished . I’ll be looking forward to working with you . 」
「Oh, okay, I’ll take care of it... By the way, I have one question for you . 」
As Kazura bowed to leave the company, a director pulled him aside .
「Do you make the computer graphics of the site after the construction work is done in the same way as the pictures you showed me the other day?」
「Yes . I’m going to make one for you . 」
「Right! If you don’t mind, I’d like to see that CG for me as well . . ?」
「That’s fine . It’s just that I can’t give you a copy of it, so I’ll just show you . 」
When Kazura replied that, the director’s eyes broke out in happiness .
「Yeah, of course, that’s fine with me . I’m looking forward to it . Keep up the good work . 」
A satisfied director saw him off to the front door and Kazura left .
The director groaned emotionally as he watched Kazura’s back as he left, “Hmm .
「If you can’t copy the photos, I wonder if they’re going to make a book out of the construction plans I made and the CGs I made? It’s bare-bones, but it’s quite an interesting point of view . I’m sure it would be the talk of the town when it’s published . 」
Once the directors were satisfied with one, they went back inside to continue their work .
After leaving the construction company, Kazura had eaten the lunch that Valetta had given him in the car, and was visiting the conference corner of a certain software company in the prefecture .
The purpose of his visit was to request the development of ‘software that can be written in the language of the other world’, which he had come up with a few days ago when he spoke with Nalson and Liese .
「So I’d like you to make software that will output a whole new set of characters into something like a notepad, just like typing Roman letters on a keyboard .
「Does that mean you’re making up a slang term?」
A female employee sitting across the table tilts her head at Kazura’s question .
「I’d like to create a slang term, or rather a creative language so that I can use it . How do I explain it to you...」
「Let’s see,... In simple terms, is it correct to recognize that you’re creating an original font and linking it with text and such?」
「Oh, yes, that’s it . Can you do it?」
The female employee nodded in response to Kazura’s amateurish question .
「We can do it . Or rather, if you don’t want us to develop it for you, we can use the existing commercial software to do it . 」
「Oh, really? Does that mean I can use the fonts I create in spreadsheets and writing software?」
「It’s not possible for a third party to view it on the web, but I think you should treat it as a normal font in that area . You can create your own website and make the font viewable to third parties, and you’ll be fine . 」
At the female employee’s explanation, Kazura let out an “oh” .
「I have no idea what the program is, but I’m only planning to use it offline, so it’s not a problem . 」
「Oh, I don’t plan on putting it on the web or anything, so that’s okay . Can you tell me where I can get that software?」
「I think there was a downloadable version and a packaged version . If you order the package version through the internet, you can get it tomorrow . The name of the software is ○○ and the price is about 6,000 yen, I think . 」
「Thank you, I’ll order it as soon as I can... I’m sorry it looks like I’m just here to ask you a question . 」
The female employee smiled as Kazura apologized apologetically .
「No, no, I’m glad I was able to help you . If there’s anything else I can do for you, please give me a call anytime . 」
Thus, after drinking only free tea and getting information, Kazura left the software company .
Later, after ordering original font creation software from the internet, Kazura went to the home improvement store, which was no longer his favorite place to go .
As he headed to the gardening corner, as usual, a familiar face came up to him, the chief clerk .
「Shino-sama, thank you for coming to our store . 」
「Long time no see . Today we have a fireproof brick ... that? Did you change your job title?」
When I looked at the chief clerk’s nametag, I saw that his title was written on it: ‘Chief Clerk, Floor Manager .
「Yes, I was recently promoted, and in addition to becoming a supervisor, I’ve been given the responsibility of overseeing the floor . However, I’ll be on the sales floor as much as possible, so I’d appreciate it if you could continue to contact me as you have in the past . 」
「Oh, that’s good to hear! Congratulations!」
「Thank you very much . We will continue to do our best and hope that you will be our patron . Now, in terms of fireproof bricks, there are several types here...」
The chief clerk changed to the chief clerk bowed deeply to Kazura and moved to the sales area where the bricks were placed .
On the way, he found sulfur powder in the pesticide section, so he had it set aside .
「How many bricks do you want in total?」
「Hmm, how much do you need? I’m thinking of building a steel furnace . 」
Kazura had been asked for bricks by Valetta, but she hadn’t told him how much she needed .
From the way Valetta talked about it, it was just something like “I want to try it out”, so she wouldn’t use that much .
「A steel furnace? ‘It depends on the size of the furnace, but I think you should prepare a little more than that . I think you’ll also need a fireproof mortar, so I’ll let you know as well . Is coke the fuel?」
「No, we’re going to use charcoal for fuel . 」
「Coke is a fuel made from steaming coal . 」
「It’s attractive because it’s more sustainable and stable than charcoal, but depending on how it’s used, the sulfur content in the coal can ruin the iron, so be careful . 」
Since Valetta is a charcoal burner in the mountains, it is likely that charcoal is used for fuel .
The above information was detailed in the book on metal refining that he bought for Valetta .
Kazura hadn’t read it in detail yet, so he didn’t understand the details .
「Charcoal? If you’re going to build a full-scale furnace like a charcoal blast furnace, I think you’ll need a fair amount of fireproof bricks . What form is the furnace you are planning to build?」
A charcoal blast furnace is a large furnace shaped like a tower .
「It is an excellent one that can lightly produce more than a ton of iron in a day, and the furnaces are huge, reaching a height of four to five meters . 」
「No, The manual bellows will blow air to melts the iron ore . It’s the kind of primitive steel that you can slap on it and make... I mean . You know a lot about this, don’t you?」
「I’m the floor manager . 」
The chief clerk answers with a crisp expression .
He’s very reliable and can answer any question you ask him .
Incidentally, the furnace Kazura is referring to is a primitive furnace called the ‘Ren furnace’ .
A few kilos of iron per day is a good place to produce, and it is not suitable for mass production .
Valetta didn’t say what kind of furnace she was going to make, but Ichiro thought that if she did, it would be the Wren furnace .
「Oh, I see . Then I’ll buy a little more for now . Can you mend the approximate number?」
「Very interesting . So, I guess we’ll just say everything in the store...」
「Yeah, it’s not like that’s a little bit much, is it?」
「Sorry, sir . I got a little carried away . 」
So, with the help of the master clerk, I asked him to help me mend the materials needed to make a steel furnace .
「I strongly recommended Charcoal as a fuel source, so I bought several boxes of it . 」
I also bought a simple mask and dustproof goggles to use when making mortar, along with some LED lights for the Nalson residence .
The other items Valetta had asked for were also available in full .
The notepaper listed a variety of items that were supposed to be used in the village and mountains, such as wooden barrels, wire, steel circular blades, and a directional magnet .
The de-oiling machine I had asked for before was also in stock at the manufacturer, so I decided to have it delivered to the mansion, arriving tomorrow .
「Well, I guess that’s about it for now . Thank you for your help when you stop by again . 」
「Thank you for your continued support . We will give top priority to your order, and we look forward to working with you in the future .
The chief clerk, who bowed deeply, saw him off and Kazura left the home improvement store .
「It took longer than I expected . I hope you’re tired of waiting for me, Valetta...」
After that, I continued to finish ordering compost at the Gunther Farm and stocking up on groceries for Grisea Village at the supermarket, and before I knew it, the time was around 7 pm .
I returned to the mansion in a great hurry and left the bags I bought at the mansion and ran towards the door to the other world with my bag in hand .
I had told Valetta that it wouldn’t be that late, so she must be worried about me now .
「Oh, it’s raining?」
As I crossed the threshold to the other world and exited the cobblestone passageway, I saw the ground that was flooded all over .
It seemed to have rained quite heavily, and small muddy patches had formed here and there .
On top of that, there was a thick fog in the thickets .
「This is a hell of a fog... I can’t see anything ahead at all . 」
The sun has gone down completely and it’s completely dark, and even with a penlight, it’s hard to see even an inch ahead because of the dense fog .
However, the path to the village is a straight line .
I figured I wouldn’t get lost, just in case, so I stepped into the wooded area .
It took me about 30 minutes to walk this way .
「... Oh no, I’m lost . 」