How to Use the Lord's Future Diary

Chapter 168

The Imperial Fire Bomb was an incredibly tempting weapon.It surpassed the limitations of ordinary Mana Bombs, which couldn't seriously threaten Knight-class fighters.

Even I, a Master, could have suffered severe injuries if Yuria hadn't recovered the Divine Relic and cast a defensive Shamanism spell.

The mana-infused flames were that deadly.

‘The bomb itself has more or less been replicated. The problem is the Lava Stone.’

The key material for the Fire Bomb was Lava Stone.

We had already figured out the new Mana Crystal binding structure to a certain extent.

But Lava Stone itself—the most important ingredient—was completely unfamiliar to me.

It was supposedly found only near volcanoes.

And there weren't any volcanoes on the Levela Peninsula.

Still, I couldn't give up.

If it could injure a Master, then it would certainly work against high-ranking monsters as well.

It meant that the Mana Bomb, previously useful only for intimidation or demolishing buildings, could finally become a genuine battlefield weapon.

If we could mass-produce it, the territory's military strength would take another major leap forward.

‘Looks like the only ones I can rely on are the Dog Tribe.’

First, I asked the Dog Tribe to investigate the thermal zone inside the Forest of Illusions.

It was an area with abnormally high temperatures, making it the most likely place to contain Lava Stone.

Since the Dog Tribe regularly visited the thermal zone anyway to tend the pepper trees, they gladly accepted my request.

Besides, the Forest of Illusions was actually more dangerous in spring than in winter.

The Dog Tribe had already planned to clear the outer forest during the winter.

-My Lord, we're sorry.

Unfortunately...

The results weren't encouraging.

Even after carefully searching the entire surface of the thermal zone, they failed to find any Lava Stone.

They even dug surprisingly deep into the ground.

Nothing.

Perhaps the thermal zone here simply had nothing to do with Lava Stone.

Or perhaps it lay buried so deep that even the Dog Tribe couldn't reach it.

Either way...

Obtaining Lava Stone through the Dog Tribe was no longer an option.

Though...

They did discover something else.

Apparently, there was a rather impressive hot spring deep inside the thermal zone.

They invited me to visit whenever I had time.

A hot spring resort inside the monster-infested Forest of Illusions sounded ridiculous...

But I agreed anyway.

Someone like Leisha or Irene would probably enjoy soaking in a hot spring without caring about monsters at all.

If the opportunity arose, visiting the thermal zone to inspect the pepper trees as well wouldn't be a bad idea.

‘Then all that's left is brute force.’

-How exhausting.

‘We're only missing Lava Stone now. It'd be a shame to give up.’

Although the search inside the Forest of Illusions had failed...

I refused to abandon the idea.

Humans.

Beastmen.

I mobilized everyone I knew to search for information regarding Lava Stone or Fire-attribute monsters.

Whenever possible, I met people directly.

For those farther away, I contacted them through the Mana Communication Network.

Since nearly every Beastman tribe now possessed Mana Communication devices, communication was remarkably easy.

After asking around everywhere...

The decisive clue came from someone I hadn't expected.

The Ape Tribe Chieftain, Wontera.

The Ape Tribe, who lived along the northern tributaries of the Monster Mountain Range, knew exactly what I was looking for.

More precisely...

They knew a monster closely connected to Lava Stone.

-Ah, that guy. I haven't seen him around lately. Wait... what? He actually wandered all the way over there?

The monster was...

The Variant Crocodile.

The very same Variant Crocodile that attacked our territory last year actually lived not far from the Ape Tribe settlement.

Wontera was genuinely shocked.

He'd wondered why the Variant Crocodile he'd occasionally encountered had suddenly disappeared.

To think it had wandered all the way to our territory and died there.

Apparently, they'd always avoided fighting it because it was such a troublesome opponent.

When they heard we'd already killed it, they were absolutely delighted.

-Ah, I know exactly what you're talking about. That thing has a cave. It's incredibly deep. If you keep going all the way inside, it connects to a lava region. You might be able to find that Lava Stone there.

“Really? Then perhaps we'll go ourselves—”

-What? No need for that. We'll collect it ourselves. Though... you know, right?

Apparently delighted that such an annoying monster was gone, the Ape Tribe volunteered to gather the Lava Stone themselves.

When I suggested we'd go personally, they immediately refused.

They insisted it wasn't difficult.

Naturally...

They did ask for payment in return.

Honestly, that arrangement was much more comfortable for me.

We'd simply purchase the Lava Stone they mined.

-Ta-da! We got it. Just looking at it, this has to be the right thing. We'll send it over through the Cow Tribe. Just hand the payment to them.

Several days later...

The Ape Tribe actually delivered.

Using the Cow Tribe, who had been dispatched for defensive support and road construction, they sent us the Lava Stone.

In return...

We loaded the Cow Tribe down with canned meat.

It was our brand-new product.

The perfect 80% meat, 20% bean golden ratio, produced using the new grinder.

Naturally...

We didn't forget to reward our hardworking Cow Tribe friends with mountains of potatoes as well.

-Wow, this is seriously delicious. I think this version is even better than the old one. The texture's much nicer too.

“Really? I suppose this recipe suits the Ape Tribe's taste better.”

-We always welcome this kind of trade. Keep it coming. We'll stockpile plenty of Lava Stone.

“Good. I'll be counting on you.”

Thanks to our trade with the Ape Tribe, we'd secured a stable supply of Lava Stone.

Now that the Variant Crocodile, the cave's owner, was gone...

They claimed they could continue mining it indefinitely.

In other words...

We could continue obtaining Lava Stone through the Ape Tribe.

There was another pleasant surprise as well.

The new canned meat recipe I'd envisioned was apparently a huge success among the Beastmen.

I'd sent it over without explaining anything.

Yet the response was overwhelmingly positive.

They actually thought it tasted better than the original.

From now on, we'd simply sell this version to every tribe.

It was an incredibly encouraging result.

-I don't understand. It contains less meat, yet they think it tastes better?

‘Except for weirdos like the Lion Tribe, Beastmen are omnivores too. Honestly, this version's healthier for them anyway.’

-And yet your true objective was simply getting rid of surplus beans.

‘Enough already. Let's check the Lava Stone first.’

After receiving the Lava Stone from the Ape Tribe, I headed straight for the Alchemy Workshop.

It was finally time to see whether we could truly recreate the Empire's Fire Bomb.

Naturally...

Every Rabbit Tribe member who heard the word "bomb" came running.

They wanted to witness the birth of a truly lethal explosive with their own eyes.

-Boom!!

“Oh.”

“The destructive power is similar to the one we saw before.”

“Incredible... and those flames...”

“Beautiful.”

“A work of art.”

A deafening explosion.

A crushing shockwave.

Then...

A storm of flames.

It was exactly the Imperial Fire Bomb I'd experienced firsthand.

The explosion itself was slightly smaller.

But that was only because we'd deliberately used fewer materials.

Just as one Rabbit Tribe member had exclaimed...

It truly was beautiful.

‘This is huge.’

The Rabbit Tribe...

A race practically born for guerrilla warfare...

Now possessed a decisive weapon like this.

Anyone invading our territory was practically guaranteed a one-way ticket to hell.

Even now...

They were staring at me with sparkling eyes.

The message was obvious.

Produce Fire Bombs immediately.

Then hand them over.

They clearly intended to throw every invader into an inferno.

Moments like these really reminded me that the Rabbit Tribe's insanity was no joke.

-Don't forget... you're the one who first introduced Mana Bombs to the Rabbit Tribe.

‘At this point, the student has already surpassed the master. Just look at everything they've accomplished with explosives...’

The Rabbit Tribe's military achievements already exceeded those of several Knight Orders combined.

Now they were receiving Fire Bombs as well.

I couldn't even imagine what they'd accomplish next.

‘Then there are the Rangers... the Priest-Warriors... even the Crimson Comet has Rabbit Tribe members now.’

Was the entire world slowly becoming Rabbit Tribe territory?

I'd originally recruited them simply as workers.

Yet somehow...

Their responsibilities kept growing.

At this point, even I had to admit...

The Rabbit Tribe had become one of our territory's greatest military assets.

‘And their population just keeps exploding.’

This year alone, countless Rabbit Tribe children had been born.

The number of little Rabbit Tribe youngsters continued growing without end.

Family planning clearly wasn't part of their vocabulary.

Their reproductive rate was honestly terrifying.

Give them another ten years...

And they could probably establish an entire territory of their own.

Perhaps...

The truly terrifying Beastmen weren't the strongest ones.

But rather the Rabbit Tribe, with their unbelievable adaptability.

As Fire Bomb production entered mass production...

The Rabbit Tribe began using them more and more frequently.

Since they were such overwhelmingly destructive weapons, even the Rabbit Tribe had to learn proper handling procedures.

Before using them in battle...

They first needed to fully understand the behavior of the flames after detonation.

“So... ordinary fire really isn't the same thing.”

The firestorm produced by a Fire Bomb clearly wasn't normal flame.

Even while snow fell...

The fire refused to go out, continuing to burn everything nearby.

It strongly resembled the fiery breath of the Variant Crocodile, which hadn't been extinguished even after being buried beneath piles of snow.

Mana-infused flames apparently behaved this way.

“Now I understand why the Empire didn't use these immediately.”

-Because they're too dangerous?

“Exactly. If they accidentally burned down an entire castle, they'd lose all their food supplies too.”

It was obvious.

Even the Empire couldn't casually deploy something this dangerous.

“So in the end... the only reliable way to extinguish it is to cut off the oxygen.”

After several experiments...

We discovered that completely burying the flames beneath soil was by far the most effective method.

Mana or not...

Fire was still fire.

Without oxygen, it couldn't continue burning.

The problem was...

Once the flames spread too widely, burying them under dirt became almost impossible.

A weapon dangerous enough to erase entire mountains if misused.

Definitely something that required serious thought before deployment.

-Boom! Boom!

-Now that's a real explosion!

-Boom! Boom!

-Whoa! It's burning! Everything's burning!

Still...

There was no reason not to use a weapon we already possessed.

We distributed low-powered Fire Bombs to the Rabbit Tribe.

Since they were dangerous weapons, I wanted them to become thoroughly familiar with their characteristics through practice.

As a result...

The Rabbit Tribe had recently become completely addicted to throwing Fire Bombs.

“This is becoming a problem.”

“Really?”

“Yes. We've received countless complaints today alone. Everyone says it's too noisy. I've managed to calm them down so far... but I don't know how much longer that'll work.”

“We'll have to do something.”

The Rabbit Tribe playing with bombs had turned the entire territory into a constant racket.

Every explosion seemed to generate another flood of complaints.

It was almost like neighborhood noise disputes.

‘Yuria really deserves credit here. Otherwise things would've exploded long ago.’

Yuria had actually been doing an excellent job.

Regardless of the actual circumstances...

She was publicly recognized as the Lady of the Territory.

Calming the residents was naturally part of that role.

She kept reassuring everyone that everything was being done for the territory's safety.

Thanks to her...

The residents had reluctantly endured it.

“I understand, Guide.”

“Really? Then about using the bombs...”

“We'll simply build a separate testing facility.”

“...What?”

We couldn't ask the residents to keep tolerating endless explosions forever.

So I explained the situation to the Rabbit Tribe as well.

I hoped they'd reduce their bombing exercises.

Instead...

They came up with an entirely different solution.

Rather than stopping the experiments...

They'd simply build a dedicated testing ground.

And so...

An underground Rabbit Tribe testing facility was constructed some distance away from Johnson Castle.

-Rumble...

Even today...

Faint explosions occasionally echoed through the ground.

The Rabbit Tribe was detonating bombs beneath the surface.

As unquestioned masters of the underground...

They'd built a proper testing range complete with ventilation systems and fire suppression equipment before happily continuing their explosions.

Honestly...

They looked like some secret nation conducting underground nuclear tests.

I genuinely couldn't understand why they went to such lengths.

Once again...

I was reminded just how terrifying the Rabbit Tribe's obsession truly was.