Chapter 23
A master craftsman.
By definition, it meant someone with exceptional skill who created things through practiced technique.
But...
The clever beetles I had thought were nothing more than potato thieves...
Were actually genius craftsmen with jaws more precise than machines?
What kind of world was this?
“Sh-Shaman, with skill like this...”
Jack hugged the perfectly cut wooden circle as though it were treasure.
“We could build a truly amazing village!”
Then he corrected himself.
“No... a perfect village!”
He pointed toward the edge of the settlement.
“Please look over there. Construction has barely moved at all.”
He was right.
Only the bare wooden skeleton of the defensive wall remained.
In front of it lay expensive materials the children had accidentally destroyed because they couldn’t control their strength.
I had originally thought the wall would be finished quickly.
Instead...
Construction had practically stopped.
“It’s truly killing me...”
Jack’s complaint wasn’t exaggerated.
The barbarians’ overwhelming Strength had helped us erect the large frame.
But when it came to fine work...
They were useless.
We already lacked workers with delicate hands.
On top of that, we were trying to reuse pieces of the broken old fence, meaning materials were already limited.
And the children had destroyed even more of those precious supplies.
We’re trapped from every direction.
“At this rate...”
Jack sounded miserable.
“Even if we use every remaining material, we won’t finish even one proper defensive wall.”
The children nearby lowered their large shoulders guiltily.
Being strong wasn’t exactly a crime.
Still...
This was frustrating.
Then Jack suddenly became serious.
“But Shaman!”
His eyes burned.
“If we can bring those beetle craftsmen onto our side, every problem can be solved at once!”
Jack grabbed a stick.
Then he began drawing a design in the dirt.
“With cutting power like theirs, we can carve grooves like this...”
He quickly sketched intersecting wooden pieces.
“Then the timbers can lock into each other perfectly.”
Wooden joinery.
A construction method that connected carved wooden pieces tightly without using nails.
In a frontier region where iron was expensive...
It was revolutionary.
“If we use this method, it won’t stop with the defensive wall!”
Jack became more excited.
“The barbarians can finally stop living in those old leather tents where wind blows through every gap!”
He pointed toward the tents.
“We could build real log houses!”
I slowly nodded.
He had a point.
The current leather tents were well ventilated.
That was about their only advantage.
They wouldn’t protect us from summer heat.
And when the brutal winter came...
We would absolutely need proper houses to stop the freezing wind.
“And if we can do precise woodworking, we can make all kinds of useful furniture.”
Jack counted on his fingers.
“Tables.”
“...”
“Chairs.”
“...”
Then...
“Proper beds.”
Bed...!
Something struck my brain like lightning.
Not a hard, damp dirt floor covered with straw and animal hide.
An actual level wooden frame...
A real bed!
I didn’t even need a soft modern mattress.
I would be satisfied with a flat wooden bed where my back didn’t hurt every morning.
Not something like Zakan’s pile of rotten wood that he calls a bed!
My mouth almost watered.
“And that’s not all.”
Jack was still going.
“If those craftsmen can carve gears, we might be able to make powered devices.”
He grinned.
“Windmills. Waterwheels.”
Windmills!
Waterwheels!
Perfectly interlocking wooden gears appeared inside my imagination.
Wooden pipes to carry water.
A wooden bathtub that could be filled with warm water!
Ah...
I wanted them.
I wanted civilization so badly it hurt.
Beetle craftsmen...
The surface they had cut through really was as smooth as Jack said.
Almost like it had been processed by a machine.
In this primitive world without power tools...
Those beetles’ jaws might actually be priceless.
If I could control them...
There would almost be nothing we couldn’t make.
Good.
Decision made.
We recruit the beetles!
Beetles.
Beetles.
Beetles.
The problem was...
How do we tempt them?
Those petty little insects had apparently become deeply offended.
They hadn’t come anywhere near the village for several days.
What did beetles like?
If I remembered correctly from childhood...
Bugs liked sweet fruit peels and things like that.
But there was no fruit in this barren northern forest.
No fruit...
But we have potatoes.
They were so obsessed with potatoes that they had tried to kidnap a spirit.
And they were intelligent enough to bring pretty rocks and attempt what they thought was a fair trade.
If I made something delicious and filled the air with the smell...
Maybe they would crawl back to the negotiation table.
So...
For the first time in a while, I rolled up my sleeves and decided to properly cook.
I can’t believe I’m doing this much just to attract insects.
Well... it’s not entirely bad.
We had safely defeated that horrible Varg.
And Jack, a skilled carpenter, had joined our village.
We had gone through several major crises without ever holding a proper celebration.
So I could feed the hardworking children something special.
And recruit the beetle craftsmen at the same time.
Let’s see what ingredients we have left.
I placed everything on the wide stone we used as a cooking table.
The sight was depressing.
Potatoes.
Two pieces of animal meat, each only slightly larger than two fists together.
Rock salt.
One handful of sugar.
A little pepper.
Ah... I want seasonings.
Chili powder.
Gochujang.
Soy sauce.
Those things were nothing more than dreams here.
I would even be happy with plenty of sugar or pepper.
But spices were incredibly expensive.
Even those were luxuries.
Still...
A real chef should be able to create the best result even under terrible conditions.
I tightened my grip on the kitchen knife.
First dish.
A special meal for the children.
There were forty growing barbarian kids with enormous appetites.
If I simply sliced those tiny pieces of meat and grilled them...
Nobody would even notice.
Fine.
As long as it tasted like meat.
First, I removed the white fatty parts from the meat.
I dropped them into the iron pot.
SSSSS!
The fat melted with a pleasant sound.
I placed the remaining red meat on the cutting board.
Then my knife moved like crazy.
Chop-chop-chop-chop!
I minced the meat until it barely had any shape left.
Actually...
It looked more pulverized than minced.
“Izak! Finished peeling potatoes!”
Malko arrived with a basket full of washed potatoes.
“Good work. Put them there.”
I sliced the thick peeled potatoes into thin strips.
Tap-tap-tap!
My knife moved rapidly.
Perfectly even potato strips piled up.
“Watch carefully.”
I sprinkled rock salt over the mountain of potato strips.
Then mixed them.
A little time passed.
Water began seeping from the potatoes through osmosis.
“Huh? What is this?”
One child stared.
“Potatoes crying.”
“Izak made potatoes cry.”
...Children really are creative.
The kids gathered around curiously.
Once enough water had come out, I tightly squeezed the potato strips.
