Chapter 568: Irritatingly Slow

After finishing lunch, we decided to head first to the magic stone crushing site. I was eager to see how the newly installed magical device was performing, and equally curious about how much magic stone powder had been produced so far. There were simply too many things weighing on my mind. Curiosity tugged at me from every direction, making it impossible to sit still.

But if this process began to flow smoothly—if the crushing, collection, and refinement all settled into a steady rhythm—then the production of purification powder would surely gain momentum as well. And once that happened, fertilizer production would follow naturally, picking up speed like a wheel finally freed from mud.

And if that came to pass, there would be no doubt that the restoration of greenery would proceed without delay. In the end, everything hinged on the crushing of magic stones.

…All right, maybe that was a bit dramatic.

Inside the indoor training grounds, the work appeared to be progressing without issue. The automatic magic stone pulverizer was operating energetically, its massive hammer slamming down with a resounding gagaga that echoed through the hall. The rhythmic metallic impacts filled the air, each strike sending faint vibrations through the floor beneath our feet.

“For now, it seems there aren’t any problems. Though it looks like some of the parts are gradually deteriorating.”

“You can tell just by looking at it? I can’t see any difference at all.”

“If you start making magical devices yourself, Fabienne, you’ll be able to tell right away.”

I tried, ever so subtly, to lure Fabienne onto the path of magical engineering.

But no. She simply returned a meaningful smile—one of those polite yet impenetrable expressions—and I immediately sensed defeat. Clearly, she had no interest. If not her, then perhaps Nero… I considered it briefly. But Nero seemed intent on becoming a proper attendant. In my opinion, he already was a proper attendant—more than capable, in fact. Yet to him, he was still far from adequate. Apparently, his standards were much higher than mine.

“Good work, everyone. How much magic stone powder have you managed to produce?”

“Julius-sama, thank you for your concern. We’ve prepared fifteen sacks’ worth just this morning.”

“Fifteen sacks?! That’s more than I expected.”

“We seem to have grasped a bit of a knack for it. It appears that if we feed stones of uniform size into the machine, the efficiency improves considerably.”

I nodded. That certainly made sense. If the stones were roughly the same size, the hammer would strike each one evenly. That would increase both the surface area impacted and the number of effective strikes. Naturally, more of the stones would be reduced to powder in the process.

“At this rate, we may finish purifying the tainted land sooner than expected. That means we’ll have to work even harder on our end.”

“Work harder? Are you undertaking something else as well?”

“Yes, actually…”

Apparently, they still hadn’t heard about what I’d done at the seedling testing grounds earlier. The gardeners had been busy all morning, so there likely hadn’t been time to spread the news.

It would circulate soon enough anyway. And since Sophia-sama hadn’t instructed me to keep it confidential, there was no reason to hide it now.

So I recounted the events of the morning.

“Ohooo! To think such a thing had occurred! As expected of Julius-sama!”

When I finished, cheers erupted throughout the training hall. Work came to a temporary halt as the workers clapped one another on the shoulders, celebrating as though a long-fought battle had been won.

Yes. This was good.

At the very least, I had been able to prove that their efforts had not been in vain.

“In that case, Julius-sama, if we find ourselves with surplus personnel here, we’ll send them over to assist with fertilizer production.”

“That’s incredibly helpful, but are you certain it won’t be a problem?”

“Not at all. There’s no issue.”

The magic stone crushing team answered with firm conviction. I had originally thought that adding more automatic pulverizers wouldn’t be necessary, but perhaps doubling their number and reallocating excess manpower would be wiser.

Between crushing magic stones and making fertilizer, it was difficult to say which task was more tolerable. Still, switching roles might serve as a welcome change of pace.

After a brief discussion about future plans, we made our way to our next destination—the compounding room.

There, an all-out battle was underway against the mountain of freshly delivered magic stone powder. Every apparatus was running at full capacity. On the worktables lay batches of newly completed purification powder, still steaming faintly in thin white wisps, as though the powder itself were breathing.

It looked like a battlefield.

There didn’t seem to be a spare moment to produce even beginner-grade stamina potions. That, in itself, posed another problem.

No matter how much we increased the production of magic stone powder, the output of purification powder wouldn’t rise any further under current conditions. Frustrating—but unavoidable.

“Giovanni-sama, it seems fifteen sacks of magic stone powder were produced just this morning.”

“Julius-sama! Yes, indeed. I never imagined the supply would increase so suddenly. We are hurrying to produce purification powder as we speak, but as you can see… we must wait for each batch to cool.”

Cooling the purification powder required time. The crafting process itself was also time-consuming. For now, this was the limit.

Giovanni-sama seemed well aware of that reality. He rubbed his brow, deep lines forming between his eyebrows, and slowly shook his head from side to side.

It must be maddening.

I felt the same irritation gnawing at me.

Of course, we could try sending wind magic to cool the powder more quickly—but the moment we did, the fine particles would scatter into the air. Using ice magic to chill it crossed my mind as well… but that would almost certainly degrade its quality in an instant.

And into this already strained and restless atmosphere, I was about to throw another bomb.

I truly felt sorry about it.

But remaining silent would be worse.

“Giovanni-sama, I need you to steel yourself before hearing this…”

“What is it?”

He tilted his head slightly, sensing the unusual tension in my voice. The alchemists nearby gradually stopped their work, their hands hovering mid-motion as they waited for my words.

Under their collective gaze, I felt a flicker of pressure—but I pressed on.

“We have completed a fertilizer that aids in the restoration of greenery. We will produce it together with the gardeners. Therefore, I would like all of you to continue focusing your efforts on purification powder and beginner-grade stamina potions.”

“W-What did you say?!”

Giovanni-sama shouted, and like a ripple spreading across water, the shock traveled through the room. Judging by their expressions, it was half surprise, half delight.

“Is it not a magic medicine?”

“No. It isn’t a magic potion. It’s simply fertilizer that promotes plant growth.”

“Fertilizer…”

They didn’t look entirely convinced.

Still, thankfully, no one pressed the matter further. For now, what I had created would be treated as fertilizer.

That would suffice.

If problems arose later… well, we would deal with them when the time came.