Chapter 272: There Is Still Much Work to Do
Evening was fading over the village, gradually giving way to the darkness of night. The forest air was filled with the thick smell of smoke and roasted meat. Two large campfires were already crackling in the cleared glade. The girls bustled around the fires, turning carcasses on makeshift spits and carefully portioning out juicy servings onto plates for all the residents.
At the same time, on the third floor of the Main Building, in an empty, as-yet unfurnished room, the air suddenly compressed.
And a moment later, Iron materialized. Various blanks, parts, and specific components he had gathered for the future apparatus rained down from the air onto the floor with a dull clatter.
Iron froze for a second, looking at the pile dumped on the floor, and said:
"Damn... I really need to make a separate warehouse."
He turned around, left the room, and stepped onto the stairs, heading down to the first floor.
Downstairs, in the spacious hall of the Main Building, Eliza was there. She was clearly looking for something. Hearing footsteps on the stairs, she turned around.
"What are you trying to find?" Iron asked, stepping off the last stair.
"You," Eliza answered immediately, straightening up and resting her hands on her hips.
Iron stopped, squinting slightly from exhaustion.
"The food is already ready, let's go, huh?" she continued.
"Nah, I'm not going," Iron shook his head, intending to walk past. "I still have a lot of work ahead of me. I need to sort everything out and find one important part for the assembly."
"No."
Eliza said it with such a sharp, stern tone that Iron flinched. A complete vacuum formed in his head for a split second. He stood staring at her in a mild stupor, unable to utter a single word.
Eliza, not even noticing his confusion, continued in the same strict tone:
"First you eat, and then you can deal with that. It's already night, so leave all your chores for tomorrow. You're human after all, not a monster."
Iron exhaled deeply and heavily, after which he said:
"And if I become a monster, then can I?"
Eliza had already grabbed the front door handle and pushed it open:
"Then you definitely can't. That's it, we're waiting for you."
She stepped outside and slammed the door loudly behind her.
Iron stood motionless in the quiet hall for another couple of seconds, looking at the closed door. Then he quietly shook his head and unhurriedly followed after her.
He walked out of the Main Building. Darkness had completely covered the settlement, and now only the two large campfires were sources of light.
Almost all the residents had gathered near the fire. Some simply sat by the flames, others settled a little to the side on chopped logs, talking quietly after a hard day's work.
Spotting a free edge of a log right next to Noah, Iron walked over and silently sat down beside him.
At that moment, Nastya walked up to them with a tray. First, she held out a large, roasted piece of meat for Noah, and then handed the exact same portion to Iron.
Iron took the wooden plate and took his first bite. Chewing the first piece, he lightly nudged Noah's shoulder and said quietly:
"Don't forget, you're on guard duty with Elyria."
Noah grimaced while biting into his meat and grumbled dryly:
"Don't remind me again."
Iron didn't answer and took another bite.
A little further away, Eliza was dishing out food to the rest: she set aside a portion for the fluttering Elyria, then passed plates to Liana, Vadya, Marek, and the newly arrived families from Voldin.
Soon everyone sat around the campfire. The clearing filled with noise: the crackle of burning wood, quiet conversations, and the chewing of dozens of hungry people.
After a few minutes, the initial hunger faded, and silence fell over the campfire. Marek, finishing his piece and wiping his lips with a napkin, was the first to break the silence:
"So, how was it over there, Iron?"
"It's all good," Iron replied calmly, not looking up from his plate.
Eliza, taking a sip of water from her mug, looked at him:
"So what, did you find any new ways to improve the village?"
"Well, yeah," Iron shook his head. "But at the same time, I didn't find anything decent. Everything around there is just too monotonous."
Vadya, sitting nearby, chimed in:
"Well, there must be at least something that caught your eye?"
"They have a hunter's guild there," Iron drew out thoughtfully, chewing another piece of meat. "But right now our population is too small, so there's no point thinking about that yet."
Iron paused for a second, mentally going over the streets and shops he'd seen, then added:
"Oh, well yeah, of course... There is one thing that really grabbed my attention. It's a shop called 'Shemis'."
"Ah right, definitely," Eliza remembered. "I think you mentioned it before."
"Yeah, I mentioned it," Iron confirmed. "And I'd like for us to have a shop just like it. Look around: our clothes are too old and poor in quality. I need our stuff to be exactly like theirs. But to organize something like that, we need people who know how to work with fabrics. Eliza, can you sew clothes exactly like the ones on me, on Liana, or on Noah right now?"
Eliza shrugged and shook her head:
"I don't want to disappoint you, but I don't think I can."
"See, that's exactly my point," Iron picked up. "So, I'll most likely have to create a machine that can make those kinds of clothes itself. And if I'm going to develop that technology, I should immediately build in properties so the fabrics don't tear or wear out. Or even better — make it so they don't wear out at all."
Marek, having finished his piece, shifted his gaze to the gloomy Noah:
"And what did you do over there, Noah?"
"Nothing unusual," Noah grumbled dryly, not even turning his head.
Everyone around stared at him for a second. Sensing the awkward pause, Iron decided to explain for him:
"He just kept training and fighting monsters."
"And why do you think that?" Liana asked curiously, glancing at Iron.
"Because we were together the whole time," he replied calmly.
"Oh, got it," Liana smiled.
Iron leaned back a little, resting his palm on the log, and continued in a casual tone:
"And by the way, during this time I got in touch with a certain king. Told him a bunch of stuff. Naturally, I have no intention of actually doing any of it... I also created a new magic, uncovered a certain secret about the kingdoms... Realized they are protected by special domes. Though, I don't know if every single one is, but the ones I visited are definitely under protection."
He paused for a moment, and then opened his palm in front of him:
"Oh, and yeah, that's right."
A sword appeared right above his open palm.
"I also made myself a new sword."
Elyria, who by this point had completely finished her portion, immediately fluttered over to him. She flew right up to the blade, examining it from all sides:
"Wow! It's so pretty!"
"Yeah... Well, I guess," Iron shrugged.
"But still..." Elyria said, her tone suddenly becoming uncertain, "what about that king in the end? The situation from the past won't happen again?"
Iron's voice and gaze changed instantly. All the lightness vanished, and his tone became utterly cold and harsh:
"Don't worry. The past situation is guaranteed not to repeat itself. Anyone from the enemy side who shows hostility towards us will die."
Silence fell over the clearing for a moment. Elyria bobbed slightly in the air and voiced hesitantly:
"Well yeah, but... Still..."
"Oh, and by the way, Elyria," Iron cut her off. The sword in his hand vanished instantly, and a folded blueprint appeared in its place. He held it out to her: "From now on, don't make the houses out of wood, make them out of stone. I feel like that should actually be easier for you."
Elyria took the scroll, thoughtfully glanced over the schematics, and nodded:
"Okay..." But then she immediately pouted and squinted: "But you promised me a break! I clearly, clearly remember that!"
"Actually, I promised to bring you a souvenir, and I brought it," Iron countered.
"No! You also promised to..." she hesitated, searching for words.
Iron sighed heavily:
"Alright. I'm giving you a day off."
Elyria instantly beamed with happiness and began to twirl joyfully in the air above the fire.
You're not going to rest anyway, Iron said to himself. What's the difference...
After that, Iron shifted his gaze to Eliza and asked quietly:
"By the way, what kingdom are you from? Or what region? What village?"
"Uh, I'm from the Kingdom of Nodern," Eliza replied, tucking away a stray lock of hair.
"Nodern?" Iron asked, frowning slightly. "And what kind of kingdom is that?"
"Well... it's quite a crime-ridden place. Honestly, I don't even know how that kingdom is still standing. Crimes happened there every day, multiple times a day. They never seemed to stop. Total chaos."
"I see," Iron drew out, giving a slight nod.
Meanwhile, Elyria continued to twirl chaotically above the campfire: darting one way, then the other, as if wound up and absolutely unable to sit still from happiness.
Eliza noticed this and called out to her with a slight smirk:
"Want seconds?"
Elyria instantly froze right in mid-air, her round eyes bulging:
"Yes, please!"
Eliza got up from the log and headed for a new portion, while the happy Elyria fussily fluttered after her.
While they were distracted, Iron recalled their recent visit to the hunter's guild. He turned to Noah:
"Listen... Did you do anything bad over there?"
Noah frowned in bewilderment and turned toward him, not understanding the reason for the question.
"Well, when we walked into the guild, everyone immediately went quiet," Iron explained. "As if you beat someone up in there... or..."
Noah merely exhaled, saying:
"There were two weaklings there who spoke disrespectfully to me. They wouldn't listen to reason, so I had to make them shut up."
"I seeee..." Iron exhaled slowly.
He leaned back a little, slowly chewed the last of his meat, and simply stared off into the distance. Taking advantage of the fact that everyone was busy eating and talking, Iron peered intently into the faces of the new people. He memorized each person's face, mannerisms, and behavioral quirks.
About fifteen minutes passed. Dinner gradually came to an end, the campfires began to burn down, and people slowly started heading back to their homes.
Iron finished his portion, got up from the log, and also unhurriedly headed toward the Main Building. Finding himself at the threshold, he froze for a second, looking over the settlement.
"Yeah... there's still a lot of work ahead," he muttered quietly under his breath.
Iron opened the door, stepped inside, and slammed it shut with a dull thud. Wasting no time, he immediately went up to the third floor — straight to that empty room with the parts and blanks dumped on the floor.