Guronde’s scales looked like chunks of pitch-black rock.
In reality, a single piece was roughly three to four meters square. They were nearly a meter thick... well, maybe not quite. More like eighty centimeters. They were massive. And they were hard. Incredibly hard.
No, Hakuren, you don’t need to compete with her. Raimeiren, stop trying to go get your own scales too.
Anyway.
Two hundred of these massive, rigid scales were piled before me. Apparently, they were meant to cover her staying expenses.
Originally, they were intended as payment for the World Tree leaves used in Guronde’s treatment, but I had declined. I’ve been bedridden before, so I know the misery of being unable to move. I couldn't just ignore someone in that state. Besides, if I accepted them as payment, I wouldn’t be able to use the leaves as food for the silkworms anymore.
That’s why I turned her down. I told her that if she wanted to show gratitude, she should direct it toward the World Tree itself and the Angel Race who protected its seedlings. After all, I had done nothing more than pick a few leaves.
Seeing my refusal, Guronde and Giral pivoted. Since the martial arts tournament was approaching, they planned to stay in the village for a while longer. Thus, the offering was rebranded as "staying expenses."
If it was for their stay, I would accept. The problem was what to do with them.
To be honest, the village storehouses were already overflowing with dragon scales. It felt like we were building a new storehouse every single year. I really wanted to do something about this soon. I knew the scales were valuable, and it would be disrespectful to simply discard something Guronde had given me. I had to put them to use.
...
I handed about ten scales to Beezel to donate to the academy the beastman children attended. He mentioned that converting them to cash would take time. Since they were so valuable, only a handful of people in the world were actually capable of buying them.
Well, that made sense. I told him he could take a cut as a commission and left the details to him. Ah, he couldn't carry more than one at a time? Sorry, I’ll help.
I also gave ten to Lu. She said she had no way to liquidate them. I suggested asking Michael-san, but she thought one scale would likely be his limit. I see. In that case, I sent just one as a donation to Ifuls Academy in Shashato City.
I thought about giving some to Yoko, but she fled the moment she saw me coming. She insisted that the operating funds for Village Five were already sufficient. More importantly, she claimed she had no way to exchange them for currency. Was it really impossible, even for the merchants of Village Five? Was I supposed to be the one buying the scales in the first place? Is that how it worked? That was a shame.
If I couldn't trade them, I would just have to use them as raw materials. Universal Farming Tool, I’m counting on you!
I processed Guronde’s scales and tried making a kitchen knife. A black blade. Heh. It didn't look half bad. I had Ann give it a test run.
"It is far too sharp; it’s a hazard. Into the vault it goes."
She sealed it away in the deepest part of the storehouse. A knife that sliced through the cutting board and the kitchen counter as easily as the ingredients was definitely a problem. It was a pity, especially since I had already made fifty of them. Every last one was sealed.
It was a mistake to try and turn them into household items. I should have just stuck to weapons. I made swords, axes, scythes, and spears. I crafted the handles from forest timber and finished the set.
"Don't they look a bit... ominous?" one of the High Ogre maids asked.
I thought black weapons looked cool, but I had to admit she had a point. As for the sharpness... I wasn't sure. I asked Galf to test them.
"This is no good. Absolutely not. We have to seal these."
Even though he managed to fell a massive tree with a single swing, he insisted on locking them away. Were weapons that cut too well just as dangerous as the kitchen knives?
"No, it’s not just that. With one swing, things... started coming out of it. Ominous things. And it’s incredibly draining. Actually... excuse me, I think I’m going to collapse."
Nothing like that had happened when I swung them, but I deferred to Galf’s judgment and sealed the weapons. I made sure he was carried back to his house. At this rate, I figured it was best to skip making armor as well.
So... what now? Maybe I could cut them into manageable sizes and use them as weights for pickling?
"Um, the problem is that you are using the dragon scales as they are," Gatto pointed out. "Usually, dragon scales are crushed into powder and mixed into iron."
Is that right?
"For a lower-class dragon, you might use them whole, but the dragons who visit this village are high-ranking—Special Grade, really. You have to turn them into powder just to make them usable."
Gatto tried to demonstrate, but it turned out I was the only one who could actually do it. Using the knife form of the Universal Farming Tool, I scraped away at Guronde’s scale. I gathered the powder into a small barrel and handed it over.
Gatto, please stop worshipping me. Suarlou already provides more than enough of that.
Seeing how carefully Gatto handled the powder made me realize just how precious dragon scales were. He worked quickly to forge two daggers. One was made of ordinary iron, and the other was iron mixed with Guronde’s scale powder. They looked identical, but the difference in sharpness was night and day.
"The scale powder supposedly draws in magic power from the surroundings to enhance and maintain the edge," Gatto explained. "Therefore, a blade forged with this powder never needs maintenance."
I see. I didn't think scale powder had a mind of its own, but it was fascinating. He said it maintained itself, but I wondered at what point the magic decided the "edge" was set. Did it recognize when it was still being forged? It was a mystery. Though, I suspected it wasn't that it stayed sharp so much as it simply became impossible to sharpen by normal means.
Regardless, I had found a use for the scales. I decided to turn them all into powder.
Wait, what? No? This one small barrel is enough? Don't be so modest. Hahaha.
In the end, I could only convince him to take two small barrels. Since I was just using the scraps from the failed weapons and knives, the number of scales didn't even decrease. I hadn't even finished using up a single one.
Hmm. This left me with no choice. I would seriously have to make pickle stones. I shaped them to be easy to grip, but I quickly realized I could make dozens of weights from just a single scale. Even I could see this wasn't the right way to use them.
Wasn't there a more appropriate use? I pondered while staring at the pile. They were just so large.
...
I polished one side of a scale with the Universal Farming Tool, turning it into a mirror. I made sure it was perfectly flat and free of distortion. It reflected beautifully—perhaps a little too well. It was a magnificent, oversized full-length mirror.
Wait. Gucci, Draim’s butler, was reflected in the mirror. But he wasn't standing behind me. What was going on?
As I stared in confusion, Gucci’s reflection grew larger and larger until he actually stepped out of the mirror I had just finished. He looked at me, looked at the mirror behind him, looked back at me, and smiled.
"Well... it’s a rule, so I suppose I must. Ahem. Are you the one who summoned me? State your wish."
What was this? A wish? Oh, I see, like a magic lamp. Very well.
"World peace."
It seemed like a safe choice, but Gucci whispered, "Please, give me a break."
I guess that was a no. "Well then, please continue to look after Draim and the others."
"Fuhahaha! Very well. Farewell!"
Gucci stepped back into the mirror and vanished. Then, a second later, he came sprinting from behind me and punched the mirror with all his might. It shattered into a million pieces. He didn't stop until the scale had been reduced to powder. Even if I had thinned it out by polishing, his strength was incredible to break such a hard material.
Wait, that wasn't the point. "What are you doing?!"
"That is my line! I’m sure it wasn't intentional, but if you make a mirror of that size out of Guronde-sama’s scales, you will summon members of the Devil Race!"
Was that true?
"It is. And depending on which ancient Devil you summon, you could end up bound by some very troublesome rules. Please, do not ever make one of these again."
Well, if it was going to cause problems, I’d certainly stop. But I thought I had finally found a use for them.
"Ah, I see. You have more than you know what to do with. Very well. I shall buy them from you."
I was genuinely grateful for Gucci’s offer. He bought about a hundred of them. In exchange for the mirror he broke, he gave me a silver mirror. It was a circular mirror about two meters in diameter. It was a bit of an awkward shape for a dressing mirror, but it would do.
I thought about putting it in the entrance hall, but I was told it deserved its own dedicated room. So, I placed it in one of the guest rooms. Lu, Progenitor-san, and Raimeiren use it from time to time.
It... is a normal mirror, right?
Regardless, thanks to Gucci, I managed to significantly reduce the pile of scales. It was a relief.
"Village Head. What should we do with this mountain of old gold coins?"
I followed the High Ogre maid’s finger. Since I had sold the scales, I had naturally been paid.
Hahaha. There was enough gold to fill five whole storehouses. My entire sense of value was crumbling. I realized, a little too late, that the scales had actually taken up less space.
No, gold coins were useful. "Yoko! For the operating funds of Village Five!"
I took off, chasing after the fleeing Yoko.