Another World Metal Factory

Chapter 25

“That was dangerous. I should have sent Channing.”

The Factory Manager puffed out cigarette smoke after listening to Tehez’s story about her visit to Popper’s blacksmith shop.

“Come to think of it, I heard that the security has worsened because of the increasing number of people due to the festival next month.”

At Channing’s words, the Factory Manager took a drag of his cigarette and looked at him.

“That Holy Festival thing? It’s more than a month away, why is it already a mess?”

“It’s a huge event. Big events attract money, and money attracts vested interests. And thugs who covet those interests gather. Around this time, they flock here to try and get a piece of the action. Some work for shops to chase away thugs, but others cause trouble by making them stay in rival shops, and there are also those who pickpocket unsuspecting festival-goers.”

After listening to Channing’s explanation, the Factory Manager clicked his tongue and tossed his cigarette butt.

“Damn it. There are useless bastards everywhere. Did those guys say they’d be back?”

“Ah… Yes!”

“Well, if they want to make a living, they probably weren’t lying, so we should prepare a bit too.”

The Factory Manager went to the corner of the workshop and started examining the pipes.

“What are you going to make?”

“A defensive weapon.”

The Factory Manager answered Channing’s question and, after looking over the pipes, lifted a thick, sturdy-looking steel pipe.

“This will do.”

“Are you going to make a spear or something? It’s too thick for that.”

“Am I going to kill someone?”

The Factory Manager retorted to Channing’s question and placed the pipe on the workbench, starting to measure it with a tape measure.

“Here. Cut it with the cutter according to the marked dimensions!”

“Yes, sir.”

Channing took the pipe to the corner of the workshop, secured it in the circular cutter, and began cutting.

After cutting the pipe into three pieces, Channing cut the ends into triangles as marked. While Channing was cutting the pipe, the Factory Manager started preparing the welding machine.

“What are you going to do?”

“Welding. Joining metal to metal. By melting it with high heat.”

“Don’t you need to heat it separately or something?”

The Factory Manager replied to Tehez’s question while turning on the welding machine.

“Electricity is used to generate high temperatures. That’s welding. Channing! Bring three protective masks when you come!”

The Factory Manager shouted to Channing, who was bringing the cut pipe, and Channing nodded, grabbing the protective masks and walking to the workbench.

The Factory Manager handed a mask to Tehez, helped her put it on properly, then had Channing hold the pipe while he connected the welding machine.

“It emits a very bright light, so be careful when you look.”

The Factory Manager said to Tehez as he brought the welding rod to the pipe. A tremendously bright light burst forth, and Tehez took a slight step back.

“Whoa. It’s so bright. Goodness.”

“You’re not as surprised as I thought you’d be?”

“Well… I am surprised.”

The Factory Manager nodded at Tehez’s slightly subdued reaction and continued welding.

After joining the three pipes into a Y shape, the Factory Manager examined them, checking for any poorly welded parts.

“It’s well done.”

“What are you making, anyway?”

Channing asked the Factory Manager, who was checking the welded parts, and the Factory Manager started tightening the bolts with a wrench after attaching pipe clamps to the pipes he had prepared beforehand.

“A giant slingshot.”

“A slingshot? What’s that?”

When Channing asked, the Factory Manager brought a bicycle tire tube from the corner of the workshop, cut it in half, tied both ends to the pipes, and tightened them with the opposite end of the pipe clamp.

He inserted a thick cloth in the middle of the tube to make it possible to hold something.

“It’s a weapon that launches things like stones.”

“Oh. So it’s a weapon. Is it similar to a catapult or something?”

Tehez approached and started examining the Factory Manager’s work.

“Alright. Let’s leave it at this for now. Clean up the rest. It’s almost closing time.”

The Factory Manager said while making final adjustments to the slingshot, and Tehez reluctantly put her notebook back in her pocket.

3.

Illia, who was sleeping at night, woke up to a strange noise. Because she was a Mazoku with sharp ears, she could hear the murmur of people, so she shook Tehez awake.

“Hmm? What’s wrong?”

“I hear a strange noise.”

Tehez yawned, got out of bed, and rubbed her eyes.

-Looks like those strange guys have come back.-

Tehez rubbed her eyes and looked out the window, her eyes widening in surprise.

“Whoa?! Strange guys are standing outside with torches everywhere!”

Simultaneously with Tehez’s words, someone shouted.

“Hey! We know you’re in there! Come out!”

Other men burst into boisterous laughter at the shout from outside the window.

Tehez thought it was probably the same man they had met during the day.

Illia burrowed into Tehez’s arms, and Tehez hugged her tightly.

“I’m scared…”

“It’s okay. Our workshop building is very sturdy. The entrance is an iron door. The building pillars and walls are made of unique stone. It’ll be hard to get through without siege weapons.”

Tehez comforted Illia while trying to calm herself down.

In truth, she was just as scared, but she hid her fear while comforting the trembling Illia.

“Woo-hoo!”

The men outside roared.

Tehez thought they were probably trying to break into the building.

“Illia! Wake up! Let’s go out the front door if we have to.”

“But… Master said we shouldn’t go out the front door…”

“It’s an emergency! Master will understand.”

Tehez got out of bed and rushed to the door to put on her shoes.

Illia followed her and started putting on her shoes.

“Ugh!”

“Eek!”

At that moment.

The men’s shouts turned into strange screams.

Tehez, who was hurriedly zipping up her safety boots, tilted her head in puzzlement at the sudden screams.

“Everyone’s up… Huh?”

Channing, who had entered as the door opened, trailed off.

“Channing?! What’s going on?!”

“No… well… never mind. Put on some more clothes first.”

Channing said as he carefully closed the door, and only then did Tehez realize she was wearing only a thin nightgown.

Blushing slightly, Tehez quickly put on a work jacket hanging on the wall and went outside.

“What happened?”

“Well, those thugs who were bothering you seem to have gathered, and Master is attacking them from the rooftop.”

Tehez frowned slightly at Channing’s answer, then remembered the weapon the Factory Manager had made earlier in the day.

“Ah! That’s it! He’s on the rooftop?”

Tehez ran up to the rooftop without listening to Channing’s reply.

The sight that greeted Tehez on the rooftop was the silhouette of the Factory Manager pulling back the giant slingshot and firing something at the thugs.

The sound of the tire rubber stretching and contracting, the sound of an object whistling through the air, and the sounds of thugs collapsing and screaming in pain followed in succession.

“Wow! It flies in a fascinating way! That tied object is very elastic. It uses that elasticity to launch the projectile. Is it similar to the principle of a bow?”

The Factory Manager stopped Tehez, who was approaching out of curiosity, and loaded another fist-sized object into the giant slingshot, pulling it back and releasing it.

The thugs, who had quickly raised their shields to block the sudden projectiles, screamed in pain as they were knocked to the ground when the projectiles hit their shields.

“Master. What are you firing? Is it something like stones?”

“No. Beanbags. They’re called Oja-mi (おじゃみ).”

The Factory Manager tossed the bag he was holding, and Tehez quickly caught it.

It was a cloth bag filled with small pieces. It wasn’t that heavy.

“Huh! It’s a curious object. But can something like this really knock people over?”

“Because of the speed. The impact is no joke. If I fired real stones with this, people would die. I’m being considerate of those guys.”

The Factory Manager fired another beanbag, and it hit another thug’s helmet directly.

The thug collapsed on the spot.

“Stick together! Then he can’t attack!”

The man who seemed to be the leader shouted and started to cling to the low back wall, and the other thugs followed him, rushing towards the building’s wall.

The wall, slightly taller than a person, was indeed a good cover to block the incoming beanbags, and thanks to the leader’s quick thinking, the remaining ten or so thugs were safe.

“What do we do now?”

Channing asked while hiding behind the wall, looking at the thugs who were only visible by their torches, and the Factory Manager scratched his head and put down the beanbag.

“We’ll leave the rest to the neighbors.”

Channing tilted his head and looked at the Factory Manager, who silently took out a cigarette from his pocket, put it in his mouth, and lit it.

Then he pulled up the hood of Illia’s cat pajamas and roughly covered her head, pointing in one direction.

“Look.”

Channing and Tehez looked in the direction the Factory Manager pointed.

Torches started to appear in the distance down the alley. It was quite a long procession.

Considering there were about twenty thugs, this was a much larger number. As the procession approached the back gate of the workshop, the figures became visible.

“Hey. There’s Oscar from the Red Rooster, Popper, Karutz from the butcher shop, Le Buick the fruit seller, Kabarit the vegetable seller… Everyone in the neighborhood is here.”

Channing said, recognizing the people he could see, and the Factory Manager puffed out cigarette smoke and looked down.

“Hey! You damn bastards! What’s all this commotion in the middle of the night!”

Oscar stepped forward and shouted, and the thugs hiding behind the wall looked at him.

Overwhelmed by the sheer number of people, the thugs hesitated to come out, and their leader, unable to stand it any longer, stepped forward with his sword drawn.

“Hey! Neighborhood folks! Go back to your homes and wash your feet and go to bed if you don’t want to get hurt! You’ll regret it if you think we’re just some ordinary thugs!”

“Ha?! You’re funny. Do you think the people here are just some ordinary folks who’ve lived ordinary lives?!”

Oscar scoffed and swung the club he was holding.

The club, as tall as a person, whirled around, making a whooshing sound, and the thug leader flinched and straightened his posture.

Next to him, Popper and Karutz came out, also holding clubs.

“Well, I don’t know how great you are, but you’ve chosen the wrong place. It seems like it’s time for me to break my seal.”

“Karutz. Don’t do that.”

Oscar tried to stop him, but Karutz chuckled and suddenly dashed forward.

Surprised by the sudden movement, the thug leader raised his sword defensively and blocked Karutz’s descending club.

With a clang, the descending club stopped, and the thug leader was thrown to the ground.

“You idiot. This is what happens when you come out from behind the wall.”

The Factory Manager said, spitting out his cigarette butt.

“What’s all this commotion! Everyone, make way!”

This time, soldiers came running from the other side of the alley.

The person leading the way was the young knight who had had his sword repaired at the workshop, and behind him, about ten soldiers with spears blocked the alley.

The thugs, armed with swords, spears, and other weapons, tried to back away from the soldiers, but they couldn’t go any further because of the villagers and started to panic.

The young knight sighed and, looking at the villagers, the thugs, and the collapsed thugs, gestured to his soldiers, who then advanced with their spears, pressing the thugs.

The thugs eventually dropped their weapons and raised their hands.

While the soldiers tied up and apprehended the thugs, including those who were writhing on the ground, the villagers began to chatter noisily.

The young knight, trying to calm the villagers who were yelling and jeering at the captured thugs, broke out in a cold sweat.

“Hey! What’s everyone doing in the middle of the night?”

The Factory Manager appeared as the tightly closed iron door behind the workshop opened, and the villagers’ voices grew even louder.

“Hey! Black Hair! Be grateful! Those thugs were about to tear down your workshop!”

“Ah, yes. Thank you. Thanks to you, the wall is intact.”

The Factory Manager joked in response to Popper’s words, and the villagers burst into laughter.

“By the way, did you all see it? The awesome sight of the enemy falling down after being hit by my club when I broke my seal!”

“Nonsense! Karutz! I clearly saw something flying and hitting that guy’s head! What are you talking about!”

Oscar retorted to Karutz’s bragging, and the villagers burst into laughter again.

“Alright! Everyone! Let’s disperse now! It’s fortunate that the workshop is safe and no one is hurt. I’ll take responsibility for investigating these thugs and driving them out of the city, so please rest assured and go back to sleep!”

The young knight shouted, and the villagers burst into laughter again, but they didn’t move.

“Thank you for your hard work in the middle of the night.”

“Phew. These thugs have been a headache, causing trouble all the time, so it’s a relief that they’ve been caught. More importantly, I’m glad you’re alright. They were nasty guys who would pick fights and attack shops, so I’m relieved you’re safe. And the workshop is safe too.”

“Haha! Well, the building is sturdy. And I have foolish neighbors.”

The Factory Manager replied to the young knight and looked at the people, who were chattering noisily.

Seeing them, the Factory Manager smiled and shouted at Tehez and Illia, who were standing by the door.

“Then Tehez! Go to sleep with Illia.”

“Where are you going, Master?”

Channing, who was picking up the fallen beanbags, asked, and the Factory Manager grabbed him by the neck and pulled him closer.

“With everyone gathered like this, we have to have a drink! Hey Oscar! Open your shop! I’ll buy everyone here a drink!”

“Oooooh!”

“Black Hair! You’re generous!”

The villagers shouted even louder at the Factory Manager’s words, and the young knight and soldiers struggled to quiet them down.

After the villagers, the Factory Manager, and Channing all left, and even the soldiers disappeared, the alley was once again enveloped in silent darkness.

“Then let’s go to sleep too.”

“Okay.”

Illia nodded at Tehez’s question and took her hand.