TATS 19

Chapter 19 First Business Trip

It had already been three full days since I faced a monster and crafted a gun.

I was full of confidence and desperately hoped for something to happen, but fortunately—or unfortunately—just as Camilla said, there was no situation that would become dangerous.

No encounters with monsters, no run-ins with raiders, nothing risky happened.

Instead,

“I want to rest…”

The workload had gone absolutely insane.

Originally, Camilla had planned to sweep through the far-off farming areas from the junk shop and gradually move toward the closer ones. Since only Camilla could handle scrap and junk in this city, nobody else touched them, so she could gather whatever she wanted at any time.

Her plan had been to first collect distant scrap and junk that other engineers or raiders might take. But an incident that put my life in danger occurred in the distant farming area, forcing her to abandon the original plan and move to a nearby area.

“The problem is just how absurdly much has piled up…”

It was almost as if the scrap and junk spawned like in a game; there was so much around the city it was jaw-dropping. Asking Camilla why it had accumulated so much:

“When I worked alone, it was fine to bring things from far away. But I didn’t expect it to pile up this much…”

That was all she said—she hadn’t expected it to accumulate to this extent. Then,

“Still, it’s good. There’s a lot to work on.”

And with that ominous remark, hell began.

Because the junk shop was close to the farming areas, and unlike before when she worked alone, she now had me as an employee. We shuttled back and forth between the junk shop and the farming sites up to five times a day, and we pushed the minibus to its limits.

Anyone who has done even a single round of cargo handling—or at least worked in logistics—would know just how grueling this was.

On top of that, the staff consisted of just Camilla and me, and we survived on [Energy Bars] or [Soup Cans].

“People live on food, you know…”

Yet buying proper meals with my own money would drain funds ridiculously fast, so I had to bear it.

During work, I occasionally fantasized about revealing my alchemy skills to Camilla and creating a transport robot. The first day was so exhausting that I could barely charge my mana in [The Alchemist’s Sorrow] before collapsing.

By the second day, my body had somewhat adjusted. I had enough strength to move and a little free time, so I wandered around to gather information about Camilla.

But whether Camilla had trained the locals to keep quiet, or people didn’t want to talk, or they simply didn’t want to reveal city secrets to an outsider… no one said a word. I returned home, recharged [The Alchemist’s Sorrow], and slept without gaining anything useful.

“If this keeps up, I’ll get nothing. So I bribed a bit like Camilla did with city hall employees—worked pretty well.”

On the third day, I tried doing something similar to what Camilla had shown me. I didn’t just blindly throw around bribes—I purchased materials I needed and tipped generously.

Because of this, I spent quite a lot, including the handgun bullets used for target practice—a total of 1,000 rounds. Of course, both the merchants and I knew I was being overcharged. But as an outsider wanting to build good relations, I tipped generously and let it slide. The shop owner, initially tense, beamed and waved until I disappeared from view.

If I bribe two more times, I might get some information about Camilla.

“Besides, I didn’t just buy stuff based on info—I purchased materials that were necessary and rare.”

The materials from the merchant included rare materials I couldn’t obtain by dismantling junk: [Sand Rat Leather].

[Sand Rat Leather]
Leather from sand rats, known for moving quietly and swiftly across the sand without leaving footprints.

Extremely light yet strong.
Equipment designed mimicking sand rat anatomy is lighter than ordinary gear.
Items stored in sand rat leather don’t degrade in durability.

“I’d only heard of it before, never seen it—couldn’t resist making gear immediately.”

Using all the mana stored in [The Alchemist’s Sorrow], I impulsively crafted two magic items, with great success.

[Sand Rat Money]
A magic item made from sand rat leather and rare metal.

Protects items inside the bag from external shocks while maintaining their state.
Pistol on the right, dagger on the left, small bag on the back.
Absorbs surrounding mana and functions autonomously, no recharge needed.
Ergonomically designed from sand rat traits, halves the weight of all items in the bag.

[Arrowproof Robe]
Made with Deathworm leather and sand rat leather.

Reflects the properties of both leathers, resisting rare metal swords and bullets, absorbing most impacts.
Shields from sunlight and sandstorms, maintaining body temperature.
Mana can be used to camouflage the pattern with surrounding minerals.
Heavily weighted due to full use of Deathworm leather.
1 mana per minute is consumed while camouflaged.

“I wondered if I made it too impulsively…”

But seeing their characteristics comparable to the final items of the previous work, that thought disappeared. With just a little more mana and materials, I could probably handle even monsters lightly. Shaking off the daydream, I reminded myself:

“This isn’t what’s important right now.”

The most important thing now was rest.

Previously, dismantling junk allowed at least some rest. Now, with back-and-forth trips to the junk shop and farming sites, even after a full day, my mana wasn’t fully restored.

“Not fully restoring mana is serious.”

Without mana, I couldn’t craft magic items superior to normal equipment, nor could I prepare for unexpected emergencies.

“I wish I had a better way to get mana…”

Currently, I have only two ways to get mana:

Sleep fully to gain 3.3 mana daily.
Extract mana from objects with stored mana using [The Alchemist’s Sorrow], like [Rare Metal].

“This might suffice, but it’s limited.”

The first requires full rest, or no mana is gained. The second consumes objects with mana over time.

“And [Rare Metal] is scarce—I can’t keep using it.”

Buying gems? Even that isn’t easy. Last time, I checked if gems were purchasable while buying materials. Tiny artificial diamonds were more expensive than 500 sniper bullets, even exceeding the minimum payment for an A-rank quest. Since I also needed mana for an S-rank quest in a major city, I had to give up on gems.

“Anyway, I can’t go on like this.”

Either reduce working hours or take leave to craft a transport robot—then my future might be a little easier.

“Here.”

I watched Camilla approaching slowly after handling urgent cargo in the junk shop. I was about to ask for a break or leave, but she beat me to it:

“Do you know how to drive?”

“Drive?” I asked, a bit surprised.

“Yeah.”

I nodded. I had driven in real life a few times and even competed in races in the previous work. Not familiar with this vehicle, but as long as it wasn’t a high-speed chase with monsters or raiders, I could handle driving the minibus using the previous game’s system.

Camilla nodded.

“Stay inside today and rest.”

“Today? All of a sudden?”

I had only gone out four times today. Why the sudden break? And why ask if I could drive?

Camilla shrugged:

“The trade that was supposed to happen in two months got moved up to the day after tomorrow.”

“So we don’t need to rest today?”

Camilla calmly answered:

“It’s a long trip.”

“How long?”

“Only a day for driving. Solo would take two days, but since you can drive, we can alternate.”

Ah, that’s why she asked if I could drive.

“I’ll move the goods. Sleep well so you can drive immediately tomorrow.”

Surprisingly, I felt happy. Camilla, who had been wary of me, was trusting me enough to let me drive a minibus on a two-day city trip alone with her.

“So, maybe I can finally hear her story on the way.”

“Then, should I go first?”

“Yeah. Don’t do anything else—just sleep.”

“Okay.”

Replacing my earlier grim determination to negotiate leave with a fluffy, carefree feeling, I went into my room, washed up, and checked [The Alchemist’s Sorrow].

“Only 3.9 mana left.”

After crafting gear excitedly yesterday, I had less mana than expected.

“I want to make one more item, but…”

Camilla had told me to rest, and trouble always arose when going too far from the city. I suppressed the urge and stored the remaining mana in [The Alchemist’s Sorrow], bringing total mana to 7.2. After sleeping, it would restore 3.3 mana, giving me a total of 10.5.

“That should be enough.”

I hoped nothing would happen tomorrow and prepared for an early bed.

“Strong and mighty morning!”

I woke up feeling as rested as when I made [Silk Serpent]. Springing up, I checked the time: 5 a.m.

The junk shop area should have been quiet at this hour, but outside came the loud sound of metal scraping.

Looking out, I saw Camilla still moving trade goods into the minibus.

“Still going?”

Knowing she had endured the same intense work and driving as me, I accepted it and prepared to help. I washed quickly, equipped all my gear, strapped [Sand Rat Money] to my waist, placed 30 bullets and 1 kg of Rare Metal in the bag, and secured [Silk Serpent] in the pistol holster.

Despite being trained from cargo handling, [Arrowproof Robe] felt heavy.

“I might need to reduce its weight later.”

Descending to the lot, I asked the slightly tired Camilla:

“Still working?”

“Almost done.”

She shoved metal boxes into the minibus. I peeked inside, impressed.

“Terrific organization.”

Unlike yesterday, the minibus was neatly arranged with metal boxes along the walls, leaving a clear path with beds, mysterious machinery, and a small seat.

“Want me to help?”

“Can you handle it?”

“You’ve done all the placement. I just need to stack and secure, right?”

“…Alright, please.”

Camilla went back inside, leaving me to finish organizing.

“Wow, what’s in these boxes? They’re so heavy!”

The boxes were 1.5 times heavier than I expected. I removed the [Arrowproof Robe] to reduce fatigue and finished stacking. Camilla returned.

“Good job.”

Wet from showering, her thin clothes clung to her body, accentuating her figure.

“Whoa, that’s intense.”

I averted my eyes to the minibus. Camilla, seemingly unfazed, calmly said:

“It’s early, but let’s depart immediately.”