185: They said there's a different way to use it than I thought

A swarm of armored bears drawn toward a massive pool made of alchemically hardened rock.

Inside isn’t water for swimming—no, it’s the scent that calls monsters, and poison gas.

The bears are scrambling left and right, searching for the source of the smell.

"Nothing’s happening, huh?"

"I figured, the second a monster stepped in, I’d be writhing on the ground, blood pouring from every pore, and die right there!"

"Ugh, that’s creepy!"

Yeah, we could’ve made a poison like that—but it’d affect humans too, so we left it out. Besides, that’d be terrifying.

And if they died too fast, the other monsters would get suspicious.

"Calm down. Just watch."

We held our breath, stayed quiet, and kept an eye on things.

The armored bears wandered aimlessly through the pool, sniffing but unable to find a tasty meal.

Drenched in a faintly colored monster toxin, it had seeped into every corner of their bodies.

Their movements slowed. One by one, they sank to the ground, then fell asleep.

Even the ones still awake lost interest in the sleeping beasts and kept searching for prey—until, like the others, they too sank into the mud of sleep.

Of course. It was a permanent sleep.

"Dead, huh?"

"Yeah."

"Nice! I wanna use that in my hunt!"

"Wait, wait. You hunt animals, not monsters!"

"Can't I? Oh, right—gotta strip the materials before they cool off."

Honestly, if it were an animal, you might feel bad about it. But when it’s a monster that sees humans as enemies, nobody’s got any pity for it.

So monsters are just enemies to be defeated. Nothing more. Just raw materials, nothing else.

Just so we’re clear—Jitarou isn’t heartless.

I grabbed him by the arm, stopping him from rushing off, and kept watching.

“Stop! There’s more to come!”

“What?”

I held Jitarou back and kept staring. Suddenly, the monster’s corpse started oozing, melting away.

“Wha—?!”

It was Eva who screamed.

The flesh dissolved first. Then the bones. And even those melted fast. In seconds, only the magic stone remained. The rest turned into a transparent puddle.

And then that puddle began evaporating—just like boiling water, vanishing before our eyes.

Only the magic stone remained, glittering faintly.

A silence settled over the place.

It was Jitarou who broke it, muttering.

“...Isn’t this kinda messed up, though?”

“Huh!? No way! I’m just gonna sleep peacefully, no monsters gonna bother me, no corpse to clean up! I figured it’d be easier to manage since only the stone stays! Even if we can’t collect anything else!”

Everyone gave me a half-lidded stare.

Leifan and Eva exhaled deeply, like lead dropping from their lungs.

“Phew. Guess Craft’s still Craft, huh.”

“Still can’t grasp the scale of what you’ve done.”

“Huh!? I’m protesting! I met their demands perfectly!”

I thought long and hard about this!

“You went *overboard*! This could end up being used like a magic stone mine, you know!”

I froze, caught off guard by Leifan, and paused to think.

“……ah”

In a frontier where monsters seemed to spawn endlessly, setting up this trap…… yeah. I get it. We’re basically turning it into an infinite ore mine.

“Ahaha”

“No, not ‘ahaha’—not at all! Craft! Over there! Kneel! Properly!”

“Yes!”

I dropped to my knees and bowed my head faster than light.

No. That wasn’t the plan. I didn’t mean for this to happen.

Who knew the monster magnet would end up being a stone magnet too?!

Everyone on the spot just shook their heads, letting out a collective “well, well.”

◆

I contacted Kyle via communication and agreed to keep the info on the monster poison gas under wraps—only for now, and only with Professor Javir.

After that, we began setting up monster magnets around the swampy area.

Under Leifan’s command, dozens of monster magnets were set up around the marshy area within days, and they powered up immediately.

"Those monsters haven’t shown up like they did before."

"Best ever, Craft-sama! So amazing! No way! Can’t hold it in! It’s gotta be my baby inside meeeeee!?"

Julara slammed a brutal punch straight into Shururu’s head.

"Even you’ve gone too far! Don’t bother Craft-sama! And your language!"

"Can’t you understand, brother, how I want to bear the child of the greatest hero?"

"I get wanting Craft-sama’s child! But that doesn’t mean you can be rude! If you want his favor, prove yourself as a woman first!"

"Wait wait wait wait—no, no, not like that, Julara—!"

I almost cried at Julara’s betrayal—she was supposed to be on our side.

“You should’ve scolded your sister, right!?!”

“Ah. Can’t force it. Gotta earn her respect as a woman.”

“Daaaamn! That’s it! I’m done! If you keep going, I’m not making any more poison gas!”

“Ugh….”

Julara fell silent at my words. It was a bit harsh, but it shut down that pointless talk.

I don’t hate Schururu, but damn, she’s too wild! Can’t you see that!?

Raidock stepped in between us, waving his hand lazily.

“Getting off track. The monsters aren’t entering the marshland anymore, right?”

"Yeah, sorry. The lizardmen are patrolling all around, but every monster nearby gets sucked into the mire. We’ve been watching a few for ages—can’t help but tip my hat to the constant pull. Even the hydra still lurking in the marsh got pulled out."

No way. That’s great news.

"Maybe one day the monsters’ll start avoiding the scent, but by then we’ll have the wall around the marsh built. After that, just have the lizardmen do regular gas swaps and patrols."

"Indeed. Truly a relief. Leave the rest to me. I’ll send all the crystals to Kyle-sama."

"Taking all of them’s pushing it, though—just a few—"

"Then just say you’re buying the gas with crystals. Keeps the neighbors thinking the gas is expensive. Double win, no?"

Oh wow.

Holy crap, that was actually useful advice. Thought you were just a dumb brute, so I’m surprised. Sorry. Gonna apologize in my head real quick.

“Got it. Then I’ll take you up on that. If I ever run short on coin, just say so.”

“Then I’ll ask for help without forcing myself.”

Maybe being village chief finally woke something up in you. You’re radiating competence now. Seriously.

Can’t rely on you enough!

Just keep Shururu in check and we’re golden.

“Alright. I’ve got gas stocked up, and I’ve got the supply route from Goldendown all set for the next while. Well then, let’s head back!”

“““Yeah!!”””

And so, after returning home, our trade with the Mizoho Shrine Nation picked up once more.