130: The real deal is someone who’s got your back when you’re in trouble.

Jitarou and Shururu and me—three of us, chattering away like kids—were heading toward the Lizardman village.

Along the way, some goblins and orcs showed up, I guess, but by the time I even noticed, Jitarou had already taken them out with his bow. I never even got to see the bodies—just had the mana stones yanked out.

… Jitarou’s really good at this hunting thing, huh.

Just as riding on horseback started getting tough, we finally spotted the destination.

The Lizardman village we’d arrived at was nestled in a marshland that had seen fierce battles with hydras.

Dozens of wooden stakes were pounded into the ground, and houses made of timber were built right on top.

Since every last one of the relocated Lizardmen had been given priority for housing, the result was these makeshift dwellings.

The human lookout must’ve spotted us coming—dozens of Lizardmen came sprinting over.

“Glad you made it! Craft!”

It was Julara, Shururu’s brother, waving his arms wide as he greeted us.

Unlike Shururu, who looked almost human, Julara was almost all reptile.

Still, he had a humanoid frame, walking upright on two legs.

Thick muscles bulged under his clothes, leaving no doubt he was a warrior.

“Julara. You’re doing alright?”

“Yeah! Look at this! Our village!”

He said it with pride, but there wasn’t much to see—just a simple hut woven from thin branches.

“Still no proper roads through the marshes, so we couldn’t get large building materials in, not even from the production guild. I’m sorry about that…”

I thought this was about the usual talk around here, but it’s not, is it?

Julara makes a slightly puzzled face. (Probably.)

“What are you talking about? Ah, right. Humans and dwarves live in stone houses. We’re most comfortable living up on the open marshes like this. Walls and fences for defense are a different matter altogether.”

“So the problem’s about the village wall, then?”

“No, not that. We’ll get to that in time. No rush.”

“What? Then what’s the issue?”

I tilt my head, and Julara crosses his thick arms.

“Better show you on-site. Come on.”

Leading the way, a few lizardmen and I move again.

◆

The place we ended up at was on the outer edge of the marshlands.

Dozens of carts were parked there, most stuck fast in the mud, unable to move.

Piled high on the carts were mountains of building materials.

"Didn’t call us just ‘cause a cart got stuck, did they?"

Lizardmen were stronger than humans.

Especially the warriors who’d fought the hydra—many of them had pushed through grueling training, spitting blood while chugging stamina potions, built like seasoned adventurers from Goldendawn. No way they’d call us over something as small as a stuck cart.

"This area’s meant to be a human village."

"Yeah, a farmer’s village turning marshland into rice paddies."

"Exactly. But as you can see, the ground’s too soft..."

Closer inspection showed stakes and planks hammered into the earth around us, patches where someone had tried building stone foundations.

But most of them were crooked, or the stonework had collapsed.

“The buildings in the lizardfolk village were fine, right?”

“If they’re built the same way as ours, we’ll help with anything. But we couldn’t apply it to human structures.”

Guess they’d already tried a few things.

Julara crossed his arms, forehead wrinkling… or at least, that’s what it looked like.

“Lord Kyle’s plan is to build a human village here and expand cultivation from this spot. We lizards will handle defense. We’ve scouted the area—this is the most stable ground we’ve found in this swamp. If we don’t fix this, the village won’t get built. Craft, will you help us?”

No village here, no farming starts. Julara’s stress was justified.

“Of course I will… if I knew how. Damn it. Should’ve brought Leifan along.”

But Leifan’s too busy running the production guild to leave. Can’t possibly drag him along.

“I’ll help however I can, but where the hell do we even start? Jitarou, got any ideas?”

“Of course I do!”

Huh? I just asked because you looked idle—actually got one?

“If the ground’s soft, just harden it! Like the Golden Dune—pour that alchemical hardening stone in, right? Just flood it with the stuff!”

He puffs out his chest, bragging like it’s obvious. But it’s not gonna work.

“Sorry, but that’s not feasible.”

“Not gonna work?”

“The alchemical hardening stone’s made by mixing alchemical reagents, volcanic ash, and water. Water’s the tricky part. It takes time to harden, and if the ground sucks it up before it sets, it’ll just crumble.”

“This area’s not a swamp, is it?”

"Ground like this sinks in just a few days. I think it’s packed full of moisture."

"Is that so?"

Jitarou exaggeratedly slumped, but his thinking didn’t seem entirely off.

If the ground’s loose, it’s because of the water...

"Ah."

I slapped my hands together.

"Got an idea?"

"Yeah. Let’s test it out first!"

I gave quick instructions to the lizardmen and got things set up for a simple experiment.

"Then I’ll be in charge of healing Craft-sama!"

Healing what now?!

No good feeling about this!

Someone stop me!

Did my inner scream reach anyone? Jurara stepped in front of Shururu, face hard.

Perfect! Keep going!

"Shururu! Watch your words! Craft-sama is a hero!"

"Even now... Yes. I shall attend to healing Craft-sama!"

"Good."

Julara nodded approvingly at Shururu’s corrected words.

"Good enough! Stop it! Don't say that!"

I handed Shururu some random task while preparing the necessary alchemical concoctions.

◆

What I’d asked everyone to do was hammer four planks into a square, creating a space of roughly the same width as a man’s height.

Four planks, about the length of a person’s height.

Even though it was a narrow area, driving them all the way into the ground with no gaps must’ve been a chore.

"Thanks, everyone."

"No need for thanks. Just keep bossing us around."

"Hey, I didn’t say to boss you around."

I get that the lizardfolk are grateful to me and Raidock, but seriously—overkill.

"Besides, we don’t even know if this’ll work."

If I fail after all this respect? That’d be embarrassing.

Keep expectations reasonable!

Keep expectations reasonable!

"Anyway, let’s run the experiment."

"Hey, what exactly are we doing again?"

"Wait... didn't I say that already?"

Yeah, I just gave orders, didn't I.

Whatever. You'll figure it out when you do it.

"Anyway, we went through all this prep. Let's just try it."

"Sir, the older sister of Leifan's gonna be mad."

"...She's not here, so it's fine."

No Leifan around, nagging me to explain what I'm doing before I do it. So I just ended up doing it the usual way.

Fail. Fail.

Gotta shake this off!

I pull out the iron pipe I had ready.

It's got a bunch of tiny holes drilled into it.

About the length of a man's height.

Inside the pipe, powdered alchemical reagent is packed tight.

"Alright, Julara! Hammer this pipe into the center of the ground, surrounded by boards!"

"Got it!"

Julara hands the pipe to another warrior, then swings a log overhead.

Like driving in a wooden plank, she brings the log down with full force.

“Dyuraaaahh!”

*Thud!*

With a thunderous crack, the metal pipe vanished completely into the ground in one strike.

A second later, steam erupted violently from the tip of the pipe, which was now poking up from the earth like a tiny, startled face.

“Oooohh!?!”

The warrior yelps and scrambles back from the pipe.

The steam doesn’t stop—it grows wilder, blasting a thick white plume skyward.

After a moment, the steam suddenly thins, then cuts out completely.

The pipe was packed with a quick-and-dirty alchemical concoction: “Moisture Evaporator.”

No crucible on hand, so I can’t make much—but it’s plenty enough for testing.

First try. And wow.

……

No one realized, not yet, just how damn dangerous this thing really was.

"Craft-sama! I don't know what it is, but it's incredible!"

" praising it without understanding it, huh..."

I let out a tired sigh, shoulders slumping, when Julara jabbed the end of the metal pipe into the ground.

"Could it be... evaporating moisture from underground?"

"Ah! You get it!"

"Lizardmen can sense the ground's condition instinctively. But this... it's different..."

Julara looked up, stunned, then shrugged at me.

"Craft-sama, you're going to fall."

"What?!"

Right after, the ground collapsed beneath us.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

◆

"I-I was so scared!"

I clutched my pounding heart, sprawled on my back.

It wasn't far—just knee height—but the sudden drop with no warning hit harder than I expected.

"Did you hear me screaming? I was freaking out, okay?!"

"Jitarou screamed too, didn't he?"

"It's all your fault! It's all your fault!"

What's the point of bluffing now?!

Ah, right. Trying to impress Shururu.

...Wait.

If I'm into strong warriors, isn't Jitarou in that bunch too?

I glance at Shururu, and she catches my look—then grins wide.

...Yeah. Gotta stop thinking about Jitarou.

While we're cracking jokes like that, Jurara and the lizards are pounding the ground with logs.

"Hmm. Can't believe it, but the moisture in the dirt surrounded by wooden planks is completely gone."

"If we keep pounding it with logs, we can make a solid surface."

"Shouldn't be a problem if the warriors handle the work."

Oh wow.

Sorry about that!

"Craft-sama! Can you make a lot of this alchemical concoction?!"

"We need a炼金釜, so I’ll make one from Goldendown and send it over. Professor Jabir had to leave it behind when he was efficiently brewing stamina potions."

"Never mind that. Now we’ve got a real plan for the village! Thanks, Craft-sama!"

"It’s for Kyle. Helping out is only natural."

"Right. For Kyle-sama, for Craft-sama—we Lizardmen will endure any hardship!"

"Appreciate it."

I gripped Jurala’s hand tight, sealing our friendship.

With construction finally on track, we hurried back to Goldendown to make the moisture-evaporating concoction.

"Right, Shururu."

Jurala, who’d been helping with preparations, turned to Shururu.

"You’re in charge of transporting it. Don’t slack off."

"...Huh?"

Shururu froze mid-motion.

That meant...?

"Seriously?! Then I can't stay by Craft's side!"

"Idiot! Who else can handle the guard details, guide the way, manage the alchemical supplies, and coordinate with the production guilds?!"

"Ughhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

For a while, the two of them glared at each other, bickering. In the end, Shururu gave in.

Of course.

I ignored Shururu’s slumped shoulders and slapped Jurala on the shoulder.

"Jurala. You’re my closest friend!"

"Craft-sama...!"

After a brief moment of parting regret, we set off on the road.

"Craft-sama. We, the Lizardmen, swear eternal loyalty to you and Kyle..."

The wind and hoofbeats swallowed Jurala’s whisper whole.

Five more days!

Craft Alchemy IV comes out on June 30th!

Please look forward to it!!