Translator Corner
Minasan Oidemasu! This is Yukkuri demasu!
A bit reinformation in case you missed the previous announcement:
I will out of town tomorrow, so I don’t know if I can release an updates or
not.
As always,
DISCLAIMER: There is no guarantee that my translation is 100%
correct. Please correct me if I was wrong.
Author:
すずの木くろ (Susunokikuro)
Translator:
Yukkuri Oniisan
Editor, Proofreader:
TheDefend
Chapter 86: Natural Resource Survey
「Can you keep going at this speed?」(Lodurr)
「Yes…… I can still go…… at this speed.」(Valetta)
While intensely running on the dry ground towards the
mountain that could be seen in the distance, Valetta and Lodurr exchanged
words.
Both of them was running at a speed that surpassed the
average record of 100 meters running in the world, but there was no sign that
it was particularly difficult for them.
Valetta, who didn’t usually run too much and not
accustomed to it, was running while paying attention to her pace and breathing,
but Lodurr still had energy left to spare.
「By the way, when I went to the mountain last time, I find an abandoned
tunnel. Perhaps, there might be ores like the ones on the photograph you had
shown me near it.」(Lodurr)
「A…… Mine?」(Valetta)
Compared to Lodurr who was talking smoothly without
any change, Valetta replied while matching it with her breath.
「Yes, perhaps it was dug long ago…… Ah, if it’s hard for you, you don’t need
to reply. It will be fine if you just listened to it.」 (Lodurr)
Valetta nodded at Lodurr’s suggestion, so she quickly returned
on looking at the front and concentrate on running
Normally, there won’t be a problem of running while
not talking, but if she talked while keeping her speed at it is, the difficulty
level will immediately increase.
It wasn’t like she didn’t have any energy to talk, but
it was a difficult task for the current Valetta to talk normally like Lodurr
while running until reaching the mountain.
Even if she could do it for the first few minutes, her
breathing might go disordered and her stamina would be depleted immediately as
the result.
「I believe that it’s an abandoned mine with an exhausted vein, but the stone
that they discarded in the surrounding had become a huge mound. I don’t
remember if there is any red stone like in the photographs, but there is a
merit to try to visit it once.」(Lodurr)
Even though Valetta was running carefully so her
breath won’t be disordered, she was delighted at the information that Lodurr
gave.
In the middle of the discarded rock pile from the
already mined tunnels, perhaps there might be iron ore mixed in it.
If she found a place where the iron ore was dumped altogether,
then even without any mining, she could easily obtain it.
「So, when I find that mine, there was a heavy rain coming down. I entered it
thinking to shelter from the rain, but there is a large nest of bats inside. The
bat dung under my feet had piled up so deep, on the other hand, if I went
outside then I will be quite drenched up from the rain…… In the end, I stood inside
the tunnel while my feet smeared with dung until the rain is over. That
experience is so agonizing.」(Lodurr)
Lodurr who was deeply narrating his experience, made
Valetta unconsciously slipping out a smile.
Then, while continuously listening to Lodurr’s
reminiscence story, they ran for one hour.
Without taking a single break on their trip, both of
them arrived at the open field at the mountain’s foot.
This mountain was part of the mountain district located
on Isteria northwest, or the mountain located north from Grisea Village.
There was groves of dense trees stretched out in front
of them.
Since the tree grove was overgrown with trees and
grasses, they couldn’t see what lies behind it.
「Fuu. Finally, we arrived…… Are you alright?」(Lodurr)
Lodurr worriedly asked Valetta who was putting her
hand on her knees while panting for air.
「Haa, haa…… I-I’m al, right…… Let’s
rest, awhile……」(Valetta)
Valetta was breathing roughly as sweat dripping off from
the tip of her nose and chin.
In the other hand, Lodurr there was sweating on his
forehead and his breath had become a bit faster, but it wasn’t as bad as Valetta
who was gasping for air and sweat like a bucket.
The difference in the fundamental physical strength that
could be compensated just by physical strength enhancement was vividly depicted
in this situation.
Lodurr recommended to sit down and take a rest, so
Valetta sat down at that place and then wiped out the sweat with the cloth
towel she brought while resting her body.
During that time, Lodurr casually entered the mountain
overgrown with trees and quickly returned with one branch as big as an adult’s
arm.
He cut that branch with his hatchet and at the slanted
cut cross-section into a clean ellipse shaped.
From the branch cross-section, water was dripping down.
「Here, Valetta-san. If you tip this branch then water will come out. Don’t
drink too much or you could get stomach ache…… Though, we had drank it numerous
times till now so it might be fine.」(Lodurr)
「Ah, thank you very much……」(Valetta)
Valetta received the branch from Lodurr and then tip
the cut out branch into her mouth.
And then, a lot of water immediately flowed out from
the branch.
Its taste had a bit peculiar bitterness, but it wasn’t
a problem at all for drinking it.
Valetta’s throat made gulping sounds as she drunk the
water and then she presented the branch to Lodurr.
「Ah…… I feel more refreshed. Do Lodurr-san also want to have a drink?」(Valetta)
「Hm…… No, I’m fine. Also, if I received it, Kazura-san might be angry.」(Lodurr)
「Eh? …… A……u……」(Valetta)
When she noticed that she was about to hand over the
branch that had entered her mouth, Valetta looked down with blushed face at
Lodurr’s words.
Seeing Valetta behaving like this, Lodurr raised a
laugh and once again entered the mountain.
Then five minutes passed.
Valetta, who had completely regained her stamina, stood
up and brushed off leaves or sand that stuck to her clothes when Lodurr came
back from the mountain.
The sack behind his back had become a bit bulged, so it
seems he had taken something from the mountain.
「Lodurr-san, I’m already alright. Let’s search for the ores.」(Valetta)
「I understand. Then for now, let’s go to the riverbed.」(Lodurr)
Lodurr nodded at Valetta’s words and took out the
hatchet from his back and walked once more into the trees.
At times Lodurr would swing the hatchet to cut obstructing
ivy so it won’t be a hindrance and Valetta followed several steps behind him.
「What have you picked not long ago? It seems that there’s something inside
your bag.」(Valetta)
「I picked a polishpowder branch. Recently the sliding door in the house had
become bad, so my wife asked for it.」(Lodurr)
The polishpowder branch that Lodurr was speaking about
was a branch from a tree that was smoothly covered with a white powder on its
surface.
If this powder was spread over the threshold of a
sliding door that had become bad from years of use, its slide will immediately
become better.
It was far more effective than using wax, so bringing
this branch home was very handy.
As long as the branch was stick into the ground then
it will continue to produce powder for awhile, so everyone in the village could
use it.
「Ah, I also want to use some. The barn door’s slide had become bad
recently……」(Valetta)
「Then, I’ll give several branches when we returned to the village. Since I
took a lot, I plan to split them with everyone in the village.」(Lodurr)
While having such conversation, they walked for about
20 minutes.
Using their high physical strength, both of them considerably
forceful in pushing through the mountain, they moved in almost straight line
until they arrived at their destination, the dry riverbed.
Because during the heavy rain of the rainy season had washed
the soil away with a flash flood, the dry riverbed surface was mostly bedrock.
On the cliffs that ran on both
the riverbed’s side, there were places where various sized rocks had piled up as
if it had been sweep to gather them up.
「Waa, what a beautiful place!」(Valetta)
At the beautiful scenery that unfolded before her very
eyes, Valetta’s eyes brightened as she raised words of admiration.
At the rocky ground that covered most of the riverbed,
there was one deep river flowing from the mountain beyond this point between
the rocky cliffs that stood at both sides.
The sound of flowing water and the songs of birds and
the murmurs of the trees that echoed from the forest, orchestrated an ambiance that
was truly refreshing.
「Isn’t it? When I came to hunt in this mountain, I will make a campfire and
pass the night in this place. There are many potholes around this place just
the right sized where you could bath into, occasionally you can even catch a
fish inside that pothole. This is my favorite place.」(Lodurr)
Valetta walked towards the direction Lodurr pointing
at and there was a hole that was waist deep close to the river.
The hole was about 3 meters in diameter and the river
water slowly flowed into the hole.
Perhaps because the water constantly being replaced, the
water was so clear that she could see until the bottom of the hole.
The rock surface of the hole was really smooth, so even
if someone’s skin touching it when entering the hole, they wouldn’t get injured.
By the way, a pothole is a hole opened on the rock because
of water current over a long period of time.
「It’s nice that the water is clear…… Ah, it’s quite cold.」(Valetta)
Valetta squatted down beside the hole and placed her
hand in the water.
The snow-melted water that came from the mountain felt
cold to the touch, so it felt good on the hot skin from walking through the mountain.
Due to the river source located near the summit, the
water temperature was lower than the water at the river that flowed near Grisea
village.
「So, I often saw the stones in the photographs around this area. Look,
there.」(Lodurr)
Valetta lifted her face when Lodurr spoke up and followed
his line of sight.
「Ah, you’re right. There are a red stone.」(Valetta)
Amongst the jumbled pile of rocks beside the cliff, there
was a red discolored hematite, that could be considered as an iron ore, mixed
in it.
Valetta stood up and then dashed atop the rocks towards
that rock piles.
While being careful not to slip, she dashed atop the
rocky surface and arrived at the big rock piles.
Valetta squatted down at that place, took out the book
from her sack and then opened the bookmarked page.
She compared the color of the ore in front of her with
the color photograph in the book.
From the surface appearance and the color, it appears
that it was unmistakably hematite.[1]
「How is it? Is that stone the correct one?」(Lodurr)
「Yes, there is no doubt that this stone is iron ore. There are also a lot of
it.」(Valetta)
Amongst the large amount of stones, not only hematite
but magnetite[2] could
also be seen mixed in it.
Just by a glance, she could see that there was quite
an amount, so if these stones were properly sorted then it is possible to
obtain a large amount of iron ore.
「Lodurr-san, is this river the same river that flowed near the village?」(Valetta)
「Yes, it’s the same river. Though midway it split into and merge with
several other rivers.」(Lodurr)
At Lodurrs explanation, Valetta nodded happily.
If this river and the river near the village was
connected then it is possible to easily transport the ores obtained in this
place to the village by using a raft.
Not only the timber material for the raft could easily
be obtained from the surrounding mountain, after the raft descended the river and
arrived at the village it could be used as firewood, so there would be no
waste.
Though the fault was that it took time to reach this
place, since this place was located very deep in the mountain, there shouldn’t
be any interference from other people.
In addition, there was no need to do any mining for
the present, so it was surely a perfect ideal location.
The charcoal used for iron smelting, could be obtained
by establishing charcoal making hut either in this place or the village.
Since there was a lot of wood that could be gathered
from the village’s surrounding, there was no need to worry about the fuel.
Charcoal making knowledge and methods to build iron
smelting furnace was recorded in details in the technical book and regional
history that Kazura had brought.
Since they were fully borrowing the knowledge of the
previous pioneer, there shouldn’t be any major failure when performing the
operations.
「Do you also want to see the abandoned tunnel?」(Lodurr)
「Yes, since I have gone this far, let’s try to see it. I want to know where
and how many ores it have.」(Valetta)
Valetta put the book into the bag before standing up
and looking at the surrounding riverbed.
Then, she happened to notice the red and black striped
pattern on the surface of the cliff.
「What’s wrong?」(Lodurr)
Seeing Valetta stopped moving when she saw the cliff’s
surface, Lodurr tilted his head and asked her.
Valetta hurriedly opened the bag and took out the book
before flipping through the pages.
Finally, she found the color photo she wanted and looked
once more at the cliff that she saw before.
「…… Banded…… Iron Formation……」(Valetta)
While muttering those words, she followed the cliff
surface into the direction of the river upstream.
The striped pattern that could be looked at the cliff
surface, continued on and on without interruption.
Valetta turned to look at the other cliff and she also
found the same striped pattern drawn at the surface.
「Eh……. then, this whole……」(Valetta)
Valetta muttered dumbfounded and looked at the photograph
of the same pattern on the riverside cliff in the page.
What Valetta had witnessed was the cross section of a geological
stratum of iron ore veins that was called banded iron formation (BIF).
There is no mistake, this place had a large iron ore
vein.
✦✧✦✧✦
Afterward, Valetta and Lodurr once again climbing the
mountain and arrived at the abandoned tunnel that Lodurr had discovered before.
This tunnel was located at the upstream from the riverbed.
It was dug in a place about 30 minutes following the river
upstream and about 100 meters away from the river itself.
The tunnel entrance was covered with dense vegetation
that the inside was dark and felt ominous.
The entrance was reinforced with wooden support,
however, it looks like it had been abandoned for quite a long time, that most
of the support already tattered and rotting.
It has an eerie circumstances that ghosts might even
appear.
「This is the tunnel. Just like when I came before, as soon as we enter,
there will be bat dung, so it’s better if we don’t go inside.」(Lodurr)
「It’s so dark that anything couldn’t be seen.」(Valetta)
Valetta tried to look at the inside from the tunnel’s
entrance, but the inside was so dark that she couldn’t see anything.
She thought that she might find some ore vein inside
the tunnel, but if she went too far then she might get injured, so for today,
it might better to not enter and leave it for now.
「The discarded rocks don’t change at all. It’s quite an amount, though.」(Lodurr)
Valetta turned to look at the direction where Lodurr
was looking and saw a large mound of rocks.
The soil that had been carried by wind and water was plugging
the gaps between the rocks, where grasses and ivies grow.
It might need a bit work, but if the grass and ivy at
the surface were cleared then it’s possible to retrieve the stones.
Valetta walked towards the rock mound and observed the
rock that could be seen at the surface.
Amongst the rocks there was a small amount darkish
yellow iron ore called limonite.
Since it was mixed up on the discarded rocks, then if
she searched the tunnel she might found a vein.
Valetta once again returned to the tunnel entrance, she
put her hand on the tunnel and tried to look at the walls inside.
However, she couldn’t see any ore vein on the wall
near the entrance, it was just a normal rock surface.
She squatted down and then using a fallen twig nearby,
she tried to clear the ground surface a bit.
Then some dark brownish thing scattered when she moved
the twig, it might be the bat dung.
「……Ah.」(Valetta)
「When we return to the village, let’s make leather boots. It wasn’t that
deep around the entrance, but if you go inside a bit then the dung will become
greater. Spare me from entering the cave just by wearing these straw sandals.」(Lodurr)
Valetta looked fixatedly at the ground that she had
brushed off, but she nodded at Lodurr’s words and quickly stood up.
Since it wasn’t like she must search the tunnel right
now, she could continue on another day.
From the gap of the ground that Valetta had brushed
with the twig, there was a slightly white thing peeked out.
☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽
White thing in bat
guano?
That’s it for now.
Thanks for the double chapter (for now.. ^_^)!! <3 You're on a roll!!
ReplyDeletesankyu
ReplyDeleteThanks!
ReplyDelete。 〃〃∩ ∧__∧
ReplyDelete⊂⌒(´・ω・`)
|| ̄ ̄`ヽ_つ⊂ノ ̄ ̄|
|| Thanks Nepu!!! |
|| _________|
| ::|
_| ::|_
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteSaltpeter as a bonus in journey for iron? Somewhat wrong age, but who cares... (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potassium_nitrate#From_caves)
ReplyDeleteI doubt they'll immediately go the gunpower route when they've just started to look for iron, but potassium nitrate could be very beneficial to them as a fertilizer additive and food preservative for cured meats.
DeleteStill curious as to what that white power that collects on the cut tree branches are though. Hope it's not something harmful, as there's a lot of dangerous and toxic minerals that exist.
It honestly sounds like something that grows on the bark, like old mans beard moss, or something produced by the bark, which might be anything in another world.
DeleteIt's either Potassium Nitrate, or lead ore.
Deleteincoming gunpowder . . .
ReplyDeleteBecause you know,advancing this world weapon technology by "only" 1 age or 2 was not enough...;p
ReplyDeleteI'm guessing industrial age steam tanks and gyrothopters.
DeleteI'm guessing napalm, aka Greek Fire would be quite achievable and very effective. Hell, even the invention of crossbows and the stirrup would change the face of war over there.
DeleteTrain the Rata Knights to be mounted archers with composite recurve bows and/or heavy lancers and they would be invincible on the field.
Now that I think of it, they don't use chariots in warfare, which is actually kind of odd. They were used during the Bronze Age only because stirrups didn't exist, much like in this LN.
Deleteprobably https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gypsum
ReplyDeleteNah those guys are probly right in it being saltpeter.
DeleteSo yukuri foreshadowing them being weeds was right! XD Maybe
So, Kazura is a dumb spender and Valetta is an inventor, somehow i feel sorry for Valetta.
ReplyDeleteValetta is copying existing technologies, so she's not really an inventor. More like an engineer.
DeletePolishpowder branch powder sounds like graphite powder. Mix it with wax and it's a great dry lubricant.
ReplyDeleteGuano > Nitrates > Gunpowder? It also makes great fertilizer.
Thanks for the chapter!
ReplyDeleteRead the whole thing in a day. Thanks a lot for being the translator. If there are problems with edition in the future I can help.
ReplyDeleteSo they just skip late Classical Age and Medieval Age, jump to Enlightenment Era?
ReplyDeleteKeep in mind that they're still in the Bronze Age. Most definitions of the Classical Era coincide with the start of the Iron Age. I assume you are saying Enlightenment Era because of potential gunpowder, but black powder was first invented in the Medieval Era.
DeleteAt this point, the idea of "eras" in this world is going to be heavily warped due to technological influence from Earth, so comparing it to Earth's historical eras is somewhat moot.
Thanks for the chapter!!
ReplyDeleteIs really guano? Dint need dry places or low humidty? The cave is a few meters from a river .
I wonder if that was the mine Nelson was taking abour
ReplyDeleteGiven that the book the Kazura gave Valletta (Malta?) likely has information on modern steel working, I somehow think that her joke about a steam engine (chapter 50) isn't actually a joke...
ReplyDeleteI would laugh my ass off if she pulls off the Industrial Revolution while the rest of the world is still in the Bronze age.
-_- en serio.. una sanguijuela..
ReplyDeleteRealmente el mc se pasa, aunque sea linda no debía darle todo ese conocimiento..
ahora lo único que falta es que produzca pólvora.. no joda -_-#